Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Thousands March as Clashes Continue

Opposition montage of the funeral march for 16-year-old Hassan AlJazeeri on Saturday

See also Syria Live Coverage: Insurgents Take Another Major Airbase Near Aleppo
Saturday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protests and Clashes Continue

---

2007 GMT: Egypt. The State Prosecutor has ordered the detention of an Islamic preacher on suspicion of insulting religion, following a complaint from a Christian activist.

Ahmed Abdullah, known as Abu Islam, is already on trial for tearing up a Bible during a protest outside the US embassy in Cairo in September over the American-produced film "The Innocence of Muslims", which denigrated the Prophet Mohammed.

1616 GMT: Egypt. The Ministry of Finance has said that funds allocated for diesel fuel subsidies have run out for the current year.

An official source within the ministry has said that meetings are being held with Ministry of Petroleum officials to solve the crisis. The two ministries are considering opening an additional source of funding for diesel subsidies through a law giving the Minister of Finance the power to approve additional credits.

The government's subsidies for diesel fuel are currently estimated at LE50 billion (about $7.43 billion).

Click to read more ...

Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protests and Clashes Continue

Today's funeral procession for 16-year-old Hassan AlJazeeri, killed on Thursday by security forces

Mass opposition march in Bahrain on Friday

See also Syria Live Coverage: "Assad Must Be Held Accountable for His Crimes"
Friday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More Protests Expected After Police Kill Teenager

---

2155 GMT: Bahrain. A candlelight march by women in Alkharjya village for Hassan AlJazeeri:

Today's clashes after AlJazeeri's funeral:

Click to read more ...

Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protesters Block Key Building for 3rd Day

See also Syria Live Coverage: Car Bomb on Turkey Border; Insurgents Take Major Dam
Monday's Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The 2nd Anniversary of Mubarak's Fall

---

1739 GMT: Tunisia. The leader of the Ennadha Party, the dominant faction in the ruling coalition, has said he expects that agreement will be reached on a new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.

Rachid Ghannouchi said, "I expect that agreement will be reached and I expect Jebali will remain the prime minister of a coalition government."

Following last week's assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid, Jebali proposed a Cabinet of apolitical technocrats but pthers in Ennahda objected.

Ghannouchi said a counter-proposal would be made, "There is a project for a political government that will be presented to the prime minister to form a team of politicians and technocrats."

The Ennadha leader continues, "We don't have much time before we announce this government. The time limit is this week."

Ghannouchi indicated that Ennahda was prepared to compromise over the control of portfolios such as defence, foreign affairs, justice, and interior.

Some groups in the ruling coalition, notably President Moncef Marzouki's Congress for the Republic, had threatened to withdraw their ministers if the Justice and Foreign Ministers were not replaced.

Click to read more ...

Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The 2nd Anniversary of Mubarak's Fall

11 February 2011: The crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square reacts to news of Hosni Mubarak's resignation

See also Syria Live Coverage: Fighting Escalates Near Damascus
Sunday's Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Prime Minister Threatens Resignation if New Cabinet Not Accepted

---

2030 GMT: Egypt. Clashes continue at the Presidential Palace --- Sherine Tadros of Al Jazeera English tweets:

Police firing tear gas at protesters #presidentialPalace #Egypt twitter.com/SherineT/statu…

— Sherine Tadros (@SherineT) February 11, 2013

Click to read more ...

Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Prime Minister Threatens Resignation if New Cabinet Not Accepted

See also Syria Live Coverage: Assad Changes His Ministers Amid Economic Crisis
Saturday's Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Overnight Clashes In and Beyond Cairo

---

1900 GMT: Mali. French and Malian troops fought running gun battles with Islamist insurgents in northern town of Gao today.

The French-Malian force took the town earlier this month, as insurgents --- who had moved in last April --- withdrew.

Gunfire broke out in the area of the central market and police station, hours after French and Malian forces reinforced a checkpoint that had been attacked for the second time in two days by a suicide bomber.

French helicopter gunships flew overhead.

"Islamists who have infiltrated the town are trying to attack our positions, but we're fighting back," a Malian army officer said. Another Malian soldier said one group of rebel infiltrators had come in on motorbikes.

Click to read more ...

Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Overnight Clashes In and Beyond Cairo

See also Syria Live Coverage: The Fighting from Damascus to Idlib
Friday's Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: General Strike and Marches as Slain Opposition Leader is Buried

---

1745 GMT: Saudi Arabia. Riyadh Bureau reports that dozens of women and children have been arrested in Riyadh and Buraidah amid protests to demand the release of imprisoned family members.

The demonstrators gathered outside the Human Rights Commission office in Riyadh and the Court of Grievances in Buraidah in the central region of Qassim.

A lawyer confirmed that those arrested include the wife, daughter, and granddaughter of Suleiman al-Rashudi, a political activist who was arrested in December after giving a lecture about the permissibility of protests.

Women in the security bus in Qassim, chanting for the freedom of detainees:

Click to read more ...

Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: General Strike and Marches as Slain Opposition Leader is Buried

See also Syria Live Coverage: Watching the Attack in Damascus
Thursday's Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Government is Dissolved After Murder of Opposition Leader

---

1642 GMT: Saudi Arabia. Thousands marched in Qatif on Thursday night in memory of leading cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, shot and detained by security forces last year.

Al-Nimr was a leading figure in the protests in the mainly-Shia Eastern Province, protesting detentions and calling for political reforms.

Click to read more ...

Tunisia (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Government is Dissolved After Murder of Opposition Leader

See also Syria Live Coverage: The Insurgents Attack Inside Damascus
Wednesday's Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: France to Withdraw in March After Successful Military Operations?

---

1855 GMT: Palestine. A boy in his the rubble of his home, destroyed by an Israeli bulldozer:

1755 GMT: Palestine. A Palestinian court has sentenced a West Bank man, Anas Awwad, to a year in jail for "cursing the President" on Facebook.

Awwad's father said his son --- commenting on a picture of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas kicking a soccer ball during his visit to Barcelona Football Club in 2011 --- wrote, "The new striker in Real Madrid".

Click to read more ...

Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: France to Withdraw in March After Successful Military Operations?

US Feature: Justice Department --- Yes, We Can Kill American Citizens Overseas with Drones
Syria Live Coverage: The Fight in Daraa Province
Tuesday's Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Israelis Arrest More than 20 Hamas Members in West Bank

---

2106 GMT: Bahrain. Opposition groups have "stressed the need to agree on the mechanism and the rules of the national dialogue" before the start of talks on Sunday.

"Agreeing on the mechanism before the dialogue starts would strengthen public trust in the dialogue," the groups, including leading society Al Wefaq, continued. This would "spare" Bahrain from the failure of the talks in the first round, a situation that would have unwanted "political and public implications."

The groups will write to the Justice Minister on Thursday to emphasise their position, renewing their request to meet him to agree over the mechanism of the dialogue.

The minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ali al-Khalifa, announced on Monday that the dialogue would resume this weekend, after an earlier round failed to the bring the opposition on board.

Click to read more ...

Israel (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Election Day

---

2045 GMT: Israel. Exit polls, announced at the close of balloting 45 minutes ago, indicate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance has a narrow lead in the Knesset but has lost ground to centre-left parties.

Netanyahu now faces the task of forging a new coalition Government with only 31 seats for the alliance between his Likud Party and the nationalist Yisrael Beitenu. Sixty-one members are needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

He is expected to seek an alliance with a new nationalist party, Habayit Hayehudi, led by the emerging politician Naftali Bennett. It is expected to win 12 seats, the same number as the religious Shas Party.

The surprise of the election may be the centre-left Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party, which has finished second to the Likud-Beitenu coalition and just ahead of Labour.

Yesh Atid, led by journalist-turned-politician Yair Lapid, is projected at 18 or 19 seats and Labour with 17.

Click to read more ...