Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Failure to Suppress

2030 GMT: Hundreds & possibly thousands of protesters marched after Friday Prayers in Oman's southern port of Salalah, calling for democratic reform and an end to corruption.

Residents said between 300 and 400 people took part in the protest, but some activists claimed several thousand were present.

2015 GMT: Facing claims that more than 40 medical personnel are missing or detained in Bahrain, the regime is trying a new tactic tonight.

As State TV denounces doctors for lying about their treatment of injured protesters, the Bahrain News Agency has put out this request for people to add their criticisms:

The Health Ministry has called on people in Bahrain who may experience any problem or inconvenience at any medical centre or by any Health Ministry employee to lodge their complaints, supported with their personal information, on the ministry’s e-mail: Report2MoH@gmail.com so that all necessary measures could be taken.

The ministry has asserted that everything is functioning naturally, including Salmaniya Medical Complex and medical centres, after return of life back to normal in Bahrain thanks to the wisdom of the leadership.

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Syria, Yemen, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Waiting for Confirmation

2300 GMT: Apologies for the suspension in service --- EA staff have been on a holiday break this evening with family and friends. We will be back from 0530 GMT with all the latest news.

1700 GMT: AFP summarises today's protests for reform in Morocco....

Nearly 10,000 people, according to an an AFP correspondent, massed in the city centre and marched to Mohammed VI Square. Organisers put the turnout at nearly 20,000. More than 500 people took to the streets in Marrakesh, while more than 2,000 marched in Tangiers to demand the resignation of the mayor, Fouad El Omary.

Key demands of the marchers included curbs on the powers of the king, an independent judiciary, and steps against corruption.

A video of the rally in Casablanca:

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: An Escalation

1910 GMT: A doctor and residents have confirmed that four people died in Barzeh, a neighbourhood of Damascus, today.

That raises the overall death toll of protesters in Syria today to 14.

1900 GMT: A spokesman for the Yemeni regime says it has informed the Gulf Cooperation Council that it accepts a proposal for transition in power: "The ruling party informed the foreign ministers of the GCC of their acceptance of the Gulf initiative in full."

Under the plan, President Ali Abdullah Saleh will hand over power to his Vice President one month after an agreement is signed with opposition forces and will be granted immunity from prosecution.

1729 GMT: This video, reportedly filmed today, depicts civilians pinned down by gunfire in the streets of Syria. None of these men appear armed.

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Syria, Yemen, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Just Another Friday?

1838 GMT: Activists have compiled a list of 68 people killed in Syria protests today, including casualties in Moadamia (8), Homs (15), Douma (8), Izraa (15), Zamalka (5), Harasta (3), and Barzeh (2).

1835 GMT: Thanks to James Miller for taking the LiveBlog through the afternoon.

A doctor from Madamia, a Damascus suburb, has said:

There are four people killed and about 50 wounded and we cannot take them to the public or private hospitals. At Daraya hospital security were shooting and arresting people. So I have been treating people inside homes. It is very hard to treat the wounds because many have been shot in the head.

I can tell you now, the situation in Madamia will never be calm. Today is an historical day for the country. There is now a new strategy to kill all the protesters, not even arrest them.

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Bahrain, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Deaths and Disappearances

2030 GMT: My thanks to James Miller for taking you through the afternoon and early evening on the LiveBlog. With news slowing today, we are already looking forward to a lively Friday, with the prospect of mass protests in countries such as Syria and Yemen.

We will be back at 0600 GMT.

2030 GMT: Syrian activist Suhair Atassi writes that the Army has entered with tanks into Tahrir Square (formerly Clock Square) in Homs.

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Watching for Reactions

Prayer at Protest in Homs, Syria (Photo: Reuters)2110 GMT: The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Yemeni authorities to explain why they have held journalist Ali Salah Ahmed since Tuesday without revealing his location or charging him with a crime.

Ahmed, an anchor for the privately-owned news channel Suhail, with ties to the opposition party Al-Islah, was seized upon his arrival from Germany.

Ahmed worked for several years as the program director of the official state-run television station Yamania but resigned in 2009 denouncing government attempts to manipulate news coverage of civil unrest in southern Yemen.

Ahmad al-Mohamadi, a reporter for Suhail, is also missing after he was called in for questioning Saturday by the Republican Guards.

The CPJ also highlighted the testimony of several journalists in Iraqi Kurdistan, who said anti-riot police attacked them on Monday as they were covering protests in Erbil.

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Another Centre of Protest?

2045 GMT: The opposition party Wefaq has issued a statement that security forces arrived at two medical centers, Ibn Sina and al-Razi, and seized an unknown number of people.

"They detained doctors, nurses and other staff and brought them to an unknown location. We are worried what happened to them," said Wefaq politician Mattar Ibrahim Mattar. "I cannot reach by phone my brother who works in Razi."

An activist who works for the government said he saw more than a dozen members of the security forces surrounding al-Razi medical center while arrests were made inside.

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Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Grimness of Battle

2125 GMT: South African President Jacob Zuma says Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has accepted the terms of an African Union "road map", whichcalls for a ceasefire, protection of African migrant workers, and consideration of "the demands of the Libyan people" through a transition of power.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera is reporting that regime forces were "completely obliterated" in their assault on Ajdabiya in the east, with coalition aircraft inflicting heavy losses.

2120 GMT: Associated Press photographer Altaf Qadri has been located after going missing on Saturday near Brega in Libya (see 1610 GMT).

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Yemen: How the Protests Stopped Up to $1 Billion in US Arms to Regime

The U.S. was on the verge of launching a record assistance package to Yemen when an outbreak of protests against its president led Washington to freeze the deal, officials say, marking a sharper turn in U.S. policy there than the administration has previously acknowledged.

The first installment of the aid package, worth a potential $1 billion or more over several years, was set to be rolled out in February, marking the White House's largest bid at securing President Ali Abdullah Saleh's allegiance in its battle against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the group behind the failed underwear bombing in 2009 and the foiled air-cargo bombing plot in October.

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Libya, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Just Another Day of Many Thousand Protesters

2020 GMT: Der Spiegel reports on a possible shift in the German position on Libya, with Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle saying military support of humanitarian action, such as relief operations, is possible.

Germany abstained on the UN Security Council resolution for a no-fly zone and measures to protect civilians.

1755 GMT: Four journalists --- James Foley of Global Post, Claire Morgana Gillis, an American freelance journalist; Manu Brabo, a Spanish photographer, and Anton Hammerl, a South African photographer -- have been seized by regime forces near Brega in east Libya.

1750 GMT: Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan has said Ankara is holding talks with both sides in Libya, seeking a "roadmap" to achieve a cease-fire.

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