Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Time to Call It What It Is"

Despite shelling, the people protest on Friday in Hawleh, west of the Syrian city Homs

See also Bahrain Live Coverage: The Many 1000s on the Highway
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Deaths at the University

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1950 GMT: Syria. The Local Co-ordination Committees in Syria say 27 people have died in violence today, with nine killed in Aleppo Province, eight in Barzeh outside Damascus, and six in Homs Province.

1800 GMT: Egypt. The head of the military prosecution, Adel El-Morsi, has announced that all women arrested during Friday demonstrations at the Ministry of Defence will be released.

According to lawyers and military statements, at least 14 women amongst the hundreds arrested on Friday were to be detained for 15 days pending investigations. They faced charges including infringing upon state institutions, using violence against members of the armed forces, halting traffic, and congregating and trespassing on a military area.

It was reported earlier today that 179 people seized on Friday were being held on 15-day detention orders. Ahram Online has claimed from a military source, however, that orders have been handed down to 300 people.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Deaths at the University

2018 GMT: Syria. Activists are still counting the bodies of those killed today, still collecting the names. Beyond this, scores more were injured in many areas today, but most notable are the deaths and injuries in the capital, Damascus. According to reports that continue to come in, from Damascus to Homs to Idlib to Daraa, the gunfire has not stopped despite the late hour.

Death, however, is not the main headline. The most important thing that occurred today were extremely large and extremely widespread protests. Though widespread protest is now common on Fridays, today's protests were much larger than in recent weeks, a show that the resolve of the peaceful demonstrators has not been eroded by 14 months of relentless violence.

And the protests have lasted well into the night, even after the regime intensified its attacks on protesting civilians.

This video was reportedly taken this evening in the Naher Aisha district of Damascus, where large protests also took place earlier today:

An evening protest in Daraa province:

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Relative "Calm"?

Syrian security forces fire on students at Aleppo University, killing at least four (see 1015 GMT)

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2015 GMT: Syria. Back from a break to find confirmation that Alepppo University, after the death of four students at the hands of regime forces and arrests of dozens more, has suspended classes for 10 days:

Dear students, due to the current situation, classes of theory-based majors will be suspended until the beginning of exams.

Classes of practice-based majors and institutes will be suspended until 13-5-2012, in order for the practice-based exams to take place.

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "War Crimes" in Idlib, Deaths in Cairo

1946 GMT: Yemen. An airstrike has killed another 15 Al-Qaeda linked militants today, another major strike in an escalating campaign against Islamic radicals in the country:

The officials said the air attack targeted the militants' camp north of the town of Jaar in the southern province of Abyan. It coincided with a Yemeni government offensive against the militants.

On Monday, 17 al-Qaida militants were killed in a two-pronged attack by military units and civilians who took up arms against al-Qaida south of the town of Lawder. Two civilians and a military officer were also killed in the fighting.

1928 GMT: Egypt. A potentially historic announcement from Egypt's ruling military. Al Jazeera reports:

Egypt's military council said the army may transfer power to an elected president on May 24, much sooner than expected.

• The announcement came after 11 people were killed in clashes during an anti-military protest.

• Meanwhile, thousands of people are still gathering in central Cairo.

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Syria Analysis: Sorting Out The Truth Beyond Car Bombs and Ceasefires

A protest in Sermin in northern Syria on Tuesday night

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The unanalysed death tolls, the heavily-qualified publishing of conflicting claims, and the overall murky picture leaves the average reader with an inaccurate impression: the situation in Syria is chaotic, truth is unattainable, and there are no real options for resolution. 

Call it disaster fatigue, war fatigue, Middle East fatigue, or confusion fatigue. The likely outcome, after the repetition of days and weeks, is that readers will be left disinterested, tired of hearing about tragedy, and sick of feeling clueless and possibly manipulated.

So, in an effort to avoid this, what do we know about car bombs, death tolls, and ceasefires?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Idlib Explosions Raise the Stakes

See also The Real Net Effect: The Saudi Regime Tries to Control Social Media
Bahrain Live Coverage: The Regime Plays for Time
Monday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Enter the Observers

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1545 GMT: Palestine. Al-Monitor claims, from Palestinian institutions monitoring Israeli prisons, that 15 Palestinian detainees have now been on hunger strike for at least 25 days, with one now on the 63rd day of a fast.

The article asserts that there are now almost 2000 prisoners on hunger strike.

1545 GMT: Syria. Another video of the funeral today in Idlib Province for victims of this morning's regime shelling and mortar fire:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Enter the Observers

A protest in Aleppo on Sunday night

See also Bahrain 1st-Hand: Smuggled Footage of Crackdown & Interview with Ala'a Shehabi
Iraq Snapshot: The Divisions Among the Shia Factions
Bahrain Snap Analysis: The Regime's Propaganda Struggles
Bahrain 1st-Hand: The AlKhawaja Story - Wife/Mother Speaks Out
Turkey Live Coverage (30 April): Questions on the Syrian Front
Sunday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Two-Step of Protest and Detention

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2100 GMT: Iraq. In a further escalation of political tension, fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi and some of his bodyguards have been charged with a series of murders, including the killing of six judges.

Hashemi, a Sunni politician, fled Baghdad in December when the Shia-led Government issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of running death squads. He is now in Turkey and is not expected to attend the trial when it begins on Thursday.

2034 GMT: UAE. Amnesty International has called on the United Arab Emirates to immediately and unconditionally release nine political activists who have been detained in the last month.

The nine men belong to the Reform and Social Guidance Association (al-Islah), a non-profit organization that advocates --- through peaceful debate --- greater adherence to Islamic precepts.

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Turkey Live Coverage (30 April): Questions on the Syrian Front

1800 GMT: National Security Council (MGK) convened under the chairmanship of President Abdullah Gül.The meeting's main topic is thought to be Syria, its border with Turkey, other Middle East-related issues, the political crises in neighboring Iraq and the NATO summit. The MGK statement said:

We have drawn attention to the obligation to fulfil all requirements of the six-point Annan plan.

We think that problems in Iraq should be solved within the framework of pluralist democracy and rule of law principles and by restoring unity and solidarity of the country

1140 GMT: Istanbul's Mayor Avni Mutlu said that all the measures for the coming May Day were taken. More than 14 thousand security officers will be on duty on Tuesday.

1100 GMT: Four members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been captured in the province of Sanliurfa by Turkish security forces. It is claimed that they were well trained in bombing and infiltrated through the Syrian border for an operation.

1045 GMT: Having blocked Israel's participation in NATO's new Partnership Cooperation Menu, Ankara says it will block EU participation in an upcoming NATO summit on Afghanistan taking in Chicago on May 20-21 unless the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is also allowed to be present. 

1000 GMT: In an explosion in front of the Istanbul Regional Directorate for the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, one person is injured.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Two-Step of Protest and Detention

Bahraini police charge a protest march in Manama on Saturday

See also Iraq Analysis: Kurdistan's Contest with Prime Minister al-Maliki Heats Up
Egypt Feature: Cairo Cuts Gas Supplies to Israel --- Will the Power Play Backfire?
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Two-Step of Protest and Detention

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1912 GMT: Egypt. In a sign of more tension between political factions, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the Egyptian Parliament suspended the sessions of its lower house on Sunday for a week to protest SCAF's refusal to dissolve the Cabinet.

The legislature’s speaker, Saad el-Katatni of the Muslim Brotherhood, announced the decision on Sunday after lawmakers spoke in a televised session against the Government of Prime Minister Kamal El Ganzouri.

A "senior Government source" said the dismissal of the Cabinet was unnecessary as it will only last until 30 June. The source said El Ganzouri met on Saturday with Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of SCAF, to discuss the crisis. although The source said Tantawi did not mention any dismissal or reshuffle to Ganzouri.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The "Terrorists" on the Streets

Friday's protest rally in Bahrain

See also Palestine Feature: Communications Minister Resigns Over Blocking of Websites
Jordan Feature: Troubled "Reform" as Prime Minister Resigns
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Just Another Protest Friday?
Friday's Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers

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2235 GMT: We're taking a Saturday night break --- back at 0600 GMT on Sunday with the latest news from North Africa and the Middle East.

1718 GMT: Iraq. A Bahraini activist is reporting that human rights defender Said Yousif and former MP Sayed Hadi Al Mosawi, detained earlier today during a march in Manama (see 1525 and 1607 GMT), have been released.

1700 GMT: Iraq. Wladimir van Wilgenburg passes on reports of closed-door meetings today in Erbil in Kurdistan between Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, Iraqiyya Party leader Iyad Allawi, and leading Shia politician Moqtada al-Sadr to discuss political tension over the national government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, embroiled in a number of disputes with other prominent politicians, was not present.

Van Wilgenburg evaluates that the session indicates that Talabani's opinion might not be that different from that of Barzani, despite earlier reports of points of disagreement. In contrast, Sadr met with al-Maliki in Iran before heading to Kurdistan, and a Sadrist spokesperson said they would not discuss withdrawing confidence from the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Iraqiyya list member Salih al-Mutlaq, despite his opposition to al-Maliki, criticized Barzani's call for a referendum in September for Kurdish independence.

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