Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: France Prepares Ground Operations While Insurgents Seize 41 Foreigners in Algeria

2126 GMT: Algeria. Algerian State Television has confirmed that at least four foreigners have been killed into today's attempted hostage rescue:

Two of the victims were Britons and the other two Filipinos, the report said after the end of the operation was announced late on Thursday.

Communication Minister Mohamed Said said earlier that troops had been forced to act after talks with the kidnappers failed.

He said many fighters had been killed in the operation at the In Amenas gas field.

Sources for Reuters report that the death toll may be much higher:

Quoting an unnamed Algerian security source, Reuters reports that 30 hostages were killed in the gas plant attack, including 7 foreigners. The report does not give the nationalities of the foreigners who died.

Eleven militants from six different countries – including one from France – also were killed, the report says. The militants' nationalities were given as 3 Egyptians, 2 Algerians, 2 Tunisians, 2 Libyans a Frenchman and a Malian.

Meanwhile, David Cameron has cancelled a planned speech, but did say that the UK needs to be "prepared for the possibility of further bad news."

1814 GMT: Algeria. A summary of the press conference at the US State Department:

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Yemen Interview: Nadia Al-Sakkaf "The Revolution Doesn't Relate to Daily Lives"

The Media Line's Felice Friedson posts this interview, by phone, with Nadia Al-Sakkaf, the editor-in-chief of The Yemen Times:

TML: Nadia, did Yemen go through a revolution?

AL-SAKKAF: It was a semi-revolution for Yemeni women in terms of being able to participate strongly in the public sphere in a way they had never done before. For certain women, it was the first time ever they had a voice which they could display publicly and feel safe and accepted by the male-dominated society. But other than that, I don’t think it had any sustainable or institutional element so I wouldn’t say it was a revolution, I would say it was a phenomenon that happened for a purpose and doesn’t have any long-term consequences.
 

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The Real Net Effect: Can Social Media Make A Difference in Yemen? (Alwazir)

Yemeni Activist Tawakkul KarmanSocial media is not a silent witness, nor is the cause of the mass people’s movement. Twitter and Facebook do not cause revolutions, people do. These people, fueled by years of injustice and wide grievances, are the true agents of change.

The power of these revolutions lies in the people’s strength to collaborate together. While the bulk of mobilization efforts in Yemen happen through word of mouth, radio, brochures and SMS services; sites such as Facebook helped people meet each other with one click, without having to travel great distances between cities.

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Yemen Document: The Nobel Peace Prize Speech of Tawakkul Karman

I see on the horizon a glimpse of a new world, of a shining and flourishing globalization. I certainly see the end of a vicious and black history in which so many peoples and nations had experienced horror, tragedies, destruction and disaster. I certainly see the beginning of a humane, prosperous and generous history full of love and fraternity.

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Occupy Wall Street Follow-Up: 1000s March, New York Times Shrugs Shoulders

A journalist for Agence France Presse films her own arrest by New York police

See also Occupy Wall Street LiveStream: The March on the Stock Exchange

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Thursday brought new life to the Occupy movement, at least for activists and many protesters, as thousands of people marched on Wall Street in the morning and later gathered at Union Square and Foley Square. Two days after the eviction from Zuccotti/Liberty Square, and amidst police clearances of protest sites in other cities, the marches --- which took up many New York avenues and intersections --- were a sign of persistence, even if aims and outcomes are far from clear.

You would be hard-pressed to know this from the website of The New York Times, however.

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Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Victors as Abusers?

Protesters in the Barzeh district of Damascus chant, "We don't bow down except to God"

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2034 GMT: The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have released a statement describing the events that took place today in Syria:

The Governorate of Idlib has witnessed a fierce military campaign that involved the death of several dozen martyrs from the village of Binnish alone, along with dozens of forced disappearances and arrests. Most of the villages and towns in the Idlib Governorate reported gunfire and a complete shutdown of telephone, satellite, and Internet communicatons.

In Binnish, a massive number of mourners, including more than 10,000 people who were able to travel in from neighboring villages, came out to hold funerals for the martyrs.

Nighttime demonstrations began all over Saraqeb and Idlib proper, and continued in a number of Governorates. In the Damascus suburbs, protesters came out in Douma, Harasta, Saqba, Zamalka, Daraya, Irbeen, Kafrbatna, and Jdeidet Artouz. Protesters were chanting for the toppling of the regime and for the victory of Homs and the cities under siege.

Homs, Daraa, and other neighborhoods were also subjected to a major military campaign, according to activists and confirmed by the LCCS:

Homs, as usual, did not fail to hold nighttime demonstrations; protesters came out in most neighborhoods. Security forces responded by firing on protesters in Dablan, Insha’at, and Khaldieh. In Hawla, Ghouta, and Qasir, security forces injured two protesters. Even Rastan held nighttime demonstrations, and today Homs experienced new kidnappings: Mrs. Sawsan Al-Saghir, her daughter Qamar Al-Rajab, and Mrs. Al-Rajab’s 1-year old twins Bahaa and Diaa were kidnapped.The Shabbiha kidnapped them from their home in Bayada.

In Qamishli, Deir Ezzor, Bokamal, Daraa, Basr Al-Harir, Hirak, Hara, and Daeel, thousands protested. Security forces fired on protesters in the Jabileh neighborhood to disperse them.

People in Douma, the Qadam neighborhood in Damascus, Homs, and Rastan were all subjected to a campaign of random arrests.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Celebration in Yemen, A Killing in Qamishli

1945 GMT: One of many "We are All Meshaal Tammo" demonstrations tonight in Syria, commemorating the Kurdish activist who was killed yesterday. In the Bab Amr section of Homs, a large crowd chant "Azadi (Freedom)" and "The Syrian people are one":

1845 GMT: Al Jazeera English shows footage of security forces firing on marchers at the funeral of Kurdish activist Meshaal Tammo. Up to five people were killed, according to activists (see 1610 GMT):

And video of gunfire in the Damascus suburb of Douma after the funeral of Osama Al-Shayfouni:

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Death of Ahmed Jabber Al Qattan

2020 GMT: We close this liveblog with video from a very large protest in Qamishli, Syria, where a leading Kurdish activist and opposition spokesman was killed earlier today. Combined with the beating of a former member of parliament, turned activist, the Syrian opposition is more active tonight than they have been, arguably, since Ramadan.

In Bahrain, the opposition is also energized by a new martyr, as police broke up a funeral procession for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber al Qattan, and raids are continuing into the night.

In both locations, these new actions by the regimes are likely to have a far-reaching ripple effect on the opposition movements, and they are already becoming fresh symbols for Arab Spring, both inside Bahrain and Syria, and beyond.

1953 GMT: According to multiple sources, the Bahraini opposition did not go "quietly into that good night" after the funeral for 16 year old Ahmed Jabber al Qattan was broken up by police. Protests, and police raids, have lasted well into the night.

An activist Tweets this video, and according to the voice on the recording, this is the scene in Sitra tonight. Gunfire (or flash grenades, or perhaps tear gas) can be hear, and police vehicles can be seen moving into the vehicle, while protesters honk out a warning to the rhythm of "down down Hamad."

1940 GMT: And now we've finally started to see the first videos from some of the very large protests reported this evening in memory of Meshaal Tammo. This video was taken in Amouda, where thousands reportedly took to the streets when news of the assassination broke:

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Yemen Feature: Nobel Prize Winner Karman "Our Revolution is Uniting Yemen"

We cannot let the bogeyman of al-Qaida and extremism be used to stall historic change in our country. President Saleh invokes this threat in an attempt to cling to power, as if he is the only one capable of bringing stability and tackling terrorism. It would be foolish to believe his lies. .

Let us be clear: the Yemeni revolution has already brought internal stability to a state riddled with war and conflict. I call on the global community to support the peaceful revolution as it did in Tunisia and Egypt. I call on the United States and the European Union to tell Saleh that he must leave now, in response to the demands of his people. They should end all support for his regime, especially that which is used to crush peaceful opposition – tear gas canisters have "Made in America" on them. They should freeze the Saleh family's assets and those of Saleh's henchmen and return them to the people.

If the US and Europe genuinely support the people, as they say, they must not betray our peaceful revolution. It is the expression of the democratic will of the overwhelming majority of the people of Yemen.

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Yemen Opinion: The Unfinished Revolution (Karman)

Pro-Reform Protest in Sanaa, 10 June 2011We call on American officials to engage with the leaders of Yemen’s democracy movement and abandon their misplaced investment in the old regime’s security apparatus, which has killed more innocent women and children than terrorists.

We understand America’s concerns about terrorism and recognize your right to attack terrorist sanctuaries. We have no objection to agreements that protect your security interests. We only ask that you respect international standards on human rights and the Yemeni people’s rights to freedom and justice.

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