Friday, June 24, 2011 at 21:38 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
Mass pro-reform rally in Taiz in Yemen today
See also Syria Video: Today's "Day of National Legitimacy" Protests Set 1 AND Set 2
2025 GMT: Claimed footage of security forces firing tear gas on a protest in Daih in northern Bahrain:
Abu Kamal in the far east
Syria 
Street Scene in HomsHotels that catered to sandal-wearing backpackers in the storied Syrian city of Aleppo stand empty. Capital from the Persian Gulf that underpinned Syrian ambitions of modernization has begun to dry up. The Syrian pound has faltered, exports have fallen and the government has promised respite with money it will not have for long.
In his first address to Syrians in two months, President Bashar al-Assad warned this week of “the collapse of the Syrian economy.” The words might have been hyperbole, aimed at rallying support for a leadership staggering from a three-month uprising. But the sentiments underlined the danger the economy there poses for a government that long promised its people better lives, even as it refused to surrender any real political power.
2145 GMT: Claimed footage of a protest in Idlib Province in northwest Syria today:
2015 GMT: The video of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's speech promoting a "national dialogue":
We got a tour of the place with lots of press. The story is that the Syrian Military Intelligence (SMI) garrison was attacked and seized over the course of about 36 hours between 4 and 5 June. 500 “armed criminals” attacked. The detachment, about 72 people, was overrun when they ran out of ammo. The condition of the place was pretty consistent with an armed attack, though I don’t think it lasted that long and I think the garrison likely surrendered. The insurgents then took over the city, looting several gov’t buildings, esp the Palace of Justice and burning the files there, esp the criminal investigation records. These buildings were extensively damaged. No evidence of real damage in the rest of the town – I don’t think the military took it by force. They just rolled in.
There are people returning – we saw a convoy of what we were told was refugees returning from Turkey, waving Syrian flags and photos of the President. The city is still pretty devoid of people, but there are some shops open and people in the streets. They seem to get along with the soldiers, but that could have been staged for our benefit.
Josh Landis, Syria, Syria Comment Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 14:47 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran Claimed footage of Syrian forces firing on protesters last Friday in the Khalidiya neighbourhood of Homs
2032 GMT: The BBC runs this report from Zliten, Libya...
1907 GMT: The US State Department Spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, has defended a Syrian-government funded trip by a US ambassador to tour northern Syria. Nuland said that it was an opportunity for Ambassador Robert Ford to "see for himself the results of the Syrian government's brutality." According to Ford, the town of Jisr al-Shughour, a focus of the tour, was abandoned, and there were no civilians present to dispute the Syrian government's claims.
1844 GMT: An activist with sources in Libya is claiming that NATO has struck positions occupied by pro-Gaddafi forces near Nalut. Also, Gaddafi's forces in Ghazaya have also been hit by NATO aitstrikes five times in the last day, and his forces in Ruwais have also been struck:
"Mobile Communication cut off in southern #Libya in the following cities :#Sebha #Murzuq #Shatti #Jufra."
1811 GMT: Journalists in Libya are reporting that Misurata is once again being shelled by Gaddafi forces, potentially by Grad rockets. Three or four large explosions have been heard in the last hour, and there were explosions on Benghazi street.
According to Ben Wedeman:
Monday, June 20, 2011 at 15:53 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 1855 GMT: Varying reactions to the speech of Syrian President Assad....
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said Assad's speech is "not enough", as the President should implement a multi-party-system; however, the deputy secretary-general of the Arab League, Ahmed bin Heli, said Syria is a "main factor of balance and stability in the region" and the League rejects any foreign intervention in its affairs.
1710 GMT: The journalists of the human rights organisation Avaaz claim the Damascus suburbs of Harasta and Arbeen the coastal city of Latakia have been locked down by security forces after protests today challenging the speech of President Assad.
The group asserts that security forces are currently conducting a random wave of arrests in Latakia, detaining dozens and chasing and attacking protesters through the side streets.
1705 GMT: Another protest in Syria reacting against President Assad's speech, this one in Binnish in Idlib Province in the northwest:
Sunday, June 19, 2011 at 14:43 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 
A refugee camp of Syrians in Turkey (Reuters)
2110 GMT: NATO has acknowledged that an airstrike on the Libyan capital Tripoli may have caused "a number of civilian casualties" when a residential building was destroyed.
The Libyan regime, claiming nine people were killed and six injured, has been showing foreign journalists the building site and taking them to a hospital where casualties have been taken.
"This is cold-blooded murder," regime spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said amidst the rubble of the building. "Is this the protection of civilians? Is this really the search for peace and democracy in Libya, to attack peaceful neighborhoods of Tripoli?"
NATO said in a statement Sunday that a military missile site was the strike's intended target: "However, it appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure."
The development has already had an effect on reporting: the BBC's Jeremy Bowen, in a lengthy report tonight that highlighted the damage and hostile reactions of local residents, declared, "For NATO, this has been the worst day since the start of the conflict."
Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 14:28 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 1620 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration in Homs in Syria today:
See also Syria Video Special: The Latest from Friday's Protests
1510 GMT: Bahrain's Minister of Justice has said it has "taken the necessary legal procedures in order to lift the ban" on the Wa'ad Party after the opposition group "expressed keenness to promote security, stability, and national unity and take part in the comprehensive National Consensus Dialogue due to start on July 1".
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 17:29 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran
View LccSy: Syria Protests June 17, 2011 in a larger map Activists records a map of today's protests in Syria.
See also Syria Video Special: The Latest from Friday's Protests
1655 GMT: Anthony Shadid summarises for The New York Times:
Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Damascus’s suburbs and three of Syria’s five largest cities on Friday, in a weekly show of defiance against President Bashar al-Assad. Activists said at least 19 people were killed.Security forces fired on protesters in Homs, one of Syria most restive locales, and the police and protesters fought in Deir al-Zour, a large city in the east. But thousands were permitted to demonstrate in Kiswa, a town south of Damascus and carry banners that read, “Leave!” and “The people want the fall of the regime.”
Some opposition figures had speculated that the government might try to bring down the weekly death toll, which surged past 100 on one Friday, in anticipation of a speech Mr. Assad is expected to give as early as Sunday. Syrian officials have portrayed the address as significant, though many in the opposition said their expectations were low.
Bashar al-Assad, Libya, Manal, Rami Makhlouf, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Women2Drive, Yemen 
