Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 277 Dead in Two Days?

The moment, at 1:35 of the clip, when the crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square learned that Mohamed Morsi had been confirmed as Egyptian President

See also Sudan Analysis and Video: Explaining the Latest Protests
Palestine Film Special: "Live: From Bethlehem"
Egypt Analysis: Why This is Not a "Soft Coup"
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Turkish Plane is Shot Down --- What Next?

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2016 GMT: Egypt. President-elect Mohamed Morsi has given a televised speech in which he has thanked the "martyrs" of the uprising against the Mubarak regime, saluted the people, and thanked the army, police, and judiciary for their service to Egypt.

Meanwhile, an officer "close to the ruling military council" has put out a message to Morsi, "The onus now is on the new President to unite the nation and create a true coalition of political and revolutionary forces to rebuild the country economically and politically...."The challenge for Egypt now is rebuilding its institutions and ensuring that these institutions are independent and work for the people, not a single party or movement."

The officer also upheld the legitimacy of the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces, "The military council has done its duty in keeping the election process free and fair, a true example of democracy, to the world."

1951 GMT: Libya. Former Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi has been extradited to Libya from Tunisia, where he fled during the uprising againstthe Qaddafi last year.

Mahmoudi had served as Prime Minister from March 2006. He was arrested in Tunisia last September for illegal entry. A sentence of six months' imprisonment was overturned on appeal, but Mahmoudi remained in Tunisian custody following an extradition request from Libya.

Libyan Ministry of Defence official Mohammed al-Ahwal said, after the former Prime Minister was flown in by helicopter, "Mahmoudi is now in Tripoli and we are holding him in a prison."

Human rights groups had asked Tunisia not to extradite al-Mahmoudi, saying he could be subject to rights violations.

1929 GMT: Syria. Claimed footage of the shooting of a protester in Aleppo today:

1917 GMT: Bahrain. If the report in the Gulf Daily News is accurate, US Ambassador Thomas Krajeski has just propped up the monarchy's line that Iran is threatening the Kingdom.

Krajeski said, "There was no direct involvement in the events last spring in Bahrain," but he continued, "Iran continues to exert a negative influence and propaganda through its news media, most of which is twisted and inaccurate about Bahrain."

Krajeski then drew parallels, emphasising that the Islamic Republic was trying to destabilise the region by interfering in Iraq and acting through groups such as Hizbollah in Lebanon: "It is a country that has used its proxies in this region for many years."

At the same time, Krajeski portrayed a victory against the Iranian activities, "[Iran] failed to obtain the kind of influence that they wanted to. "Interestingly, at one point, Iraqis said, 'We are Iraqis, not Iranians' and rejected much of the Iranian influence."

Krajeski added, "Our president stated clearly that we will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon that is a threat to our allies and friends in the region and even a dangerous threat to the US."

1910 GMT: Egypt. Two contrasting images --- supporters of Ahmad Shafiq, the defeated candidate in the Presidential election, call for the execution of Marshal Mohamed Hassan Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces:

The more cheerful scene in Tahrir Square tonight:

1851 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria reports that 61 people have died today, including 19 martyrs in Deir Ez Zor Province and 14 in Aleppo Province.

A rally in Kafaranbouda in Hama today:

1845 GMT: Egypt. Sherine Tadros' report for Al Jazeera English upon the announcement of Mohamed Morsi's Presidential victory:

1835 GMT: Iraq. Authorities have ordered the closure of 44 news organisations for failing to operate with licences.

Most of the 44 newspapers, radio, and television stations named are Iraqi, although foreign broadcasters such as the BBC, Voice of America, and the US-funded Radio Sawa are on the list. The BBC and Voice of America have already closed most permanent news operations in Iraq.

Ziyad al-Aajely, the head of the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, said the step wss "a setback to the freedom of journalism in Iraq." He claimed, "It is a government message to the media outlets that if you are not with us, then you are against us."

Safaa Rabie, the head of Iraq's communications and media commission, said said it was only targeting unlicensed operations: "It is an organisational matter, not a crackdown on the press."

Radio Sawa deputy director Salah Nasrawi said, "We were surprised to see our radio station on the list because we think that we work in accordance with all Iraqi laws."

1810 GMT: Egypt. Mohamed Morsi, the newly-elected President, has fulfilled his pledge to resign from the Muslim Brotherhood.

1510 GMT: Egypt. Adam Makary of Al Jazeera English comments on the reaction to the Morsi victory:

Never saw dancing in the street like this before. #Egypt twitter.com/adamakary/stat…

— آدم(@adamakary) June 24, 2012

Ghazala Irshad sees a different response from the Shafiq camp: "Hostile/hysterical crowd leaving hq are throwing rocks at mursi billboard, breaking sticks off chairs."

1450 GMT: Egypt. Journalist Liam Stack reports from Tahrir Square in Cairo:

Grown men are screaming crying in #tahrir. Young men rip off their shirts and climb up lamp posts. Euphoric pandemonium. #egypt

— Liam Stack (@liamstack) June 24, 2012

1430 GMT: Egypt. After a drawn-out process --- with a press conference that started 40 minutes late and then 50 minutes of preliminary statement by the head of the Electoral Commission --- the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi has been confirmed as the winner of the Presidential run-off.

Morsi won with just under 52% of the final count. He had 13,230,131 votes to 12,347,380 for Shafiq, the last Prime Minister in the Mubarak regime. There were 843,252 void ballots..

About 26.4 million of 51 million registered Egyptians, or just under 52%, voted.

The outcome matched the unofficial "final" total put out by the Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday, 48 hours after polls closed.

1110 GMT: Yemen. A road linking the capital Sana'a to an oil-producing province has been opened for the first time in more than a year, after the army and tribal fighters agreed to withdraw from positions along the route, military officials said.

The Republican Guard had skirmished with tribal groups in the area, blocking deliveries of gas and other products from Maarib to the capital. Both sides agreed to pull out after negotiations.

The tribal groups backed an uprising which started last year and eventually ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Republican Guard is led by Saleh's son.

1100 GMT: Syria. Turkey has called a meeting of NATO member states to discuss its response to the downing of its fighter by Syrian forces on Friday.

Ankara has invoked Article 4 of Nato's charter, under which consultations can be requested when a member feels its security is threatened.

0909 GMT: Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has challenged Damascus's account of Friday's downing of a Turkish jet, saying it was in international airspace adding that he did not agree with Syria's statement that it had not known the plane belonged to Ankara.

Davutoğlu said the plane entered Syrian airspace on Friday, but quickly left when warned. He claimed the F4 fighter "was hit when it was a distance of 13 miles from the Syrian coast" and crashed into the Mediterranean.

The two pilots of the fighter are still missing.

0855 GMT: Israel. Israeli police say 85 protesters were arrested after clashing with officers and vandalizing banks in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

Demonstrators gathered to challenge the arrest of 12 social activists on Friday. Some blocked main roads and scuffled with police. Police say windows of five banks were shattered; inside one of them, protesters planted a tent, the symbol of marches across the country last summer.

Police said 1500 people were involved, but media put the number around 6000.

0845 GMT: Sudan. The head of police, Gen. Hashem Othman al-Hussein, has ordered his forces to quell “firmly and immediately” protests against the regime.

Activists reported further arrests on Saturday in the seventh day of protests against austerity measures that have slashed subsidies and doubled the price of fuel and food. The Ummah Party said in a text message that at least three of its members were detained, including a member of its political bureau, Adam Gereir, and Baath Party spokesman Mohammed Diaa Eddin was arrested at his home early Saturday.

Siddique Tawer, a Baath member, said, “[Security forces] are afraid of street action. They are trying to terrorize people. [But] they can't stop these protests. They are legitimate, against the government's economic policies, corruption and repression of freedoms.”

For background and discussion, see EA's separate feature, "Explaining the Latest Protests".

0625 GMT: Egypt. Barring another complication, a President will finally be announced today, a week after Egyptians chose between the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and Ahmad Shafiq, the last Prime Minister of the Mubarak regime.

Last night there were parallel rallies, as protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square continued to challenge military rule while a large crowd in Nasr City supported the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and Shafiq.

0610 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees report that 131 people were slain on Saturday, including 31 in Deir Ez Zor Province in the northeast, 26 in the Damascus suburbs, 24 in Idlib Province, 20 in Homs Province, and 12 in Aleppo Province.

That number includes 20 "unidentified bodies" of people who may have died earlier, but then there is this addition to the toll. State media reports this morning that 68 troops, security forces, and "civilian martyrs" (shabiha militia) were buried on Saturday. Assuming that these victims were buried within 24 hours of their deaths, that puts the Friday-Saturday toll at 277.

A funeral for members of the Syrian security forces on Saturday:

Meanwhile, we follow an unconfirmed report that was circulating on Saturday night. Zaid Benjamin of Radio Sawa was claiming an "exclusive" that insurgents had taken key areas in Deir Ez Zor Province, in part explaining the high number of deaths in that area yesterday.