Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Proclaims, "We Will Defeat Armed Groups", as His Planes Kill 100s of Civilians

1902 GMT: Syria. The inevitable attack on the border crossing at Tal Abyad, north of Al Raqqah, started earlier this morning. Regime tanks and ground forces finally reached the city after having been blocked yesterday.

However, residents in Turkey expressed panicked concern, as the attack was just on the other side of the border:

The sound of explosions caused fear in Akçakale, as Syrian tanks and artillery pounded rebel positions in Tell Abyad. Smoke from the explosions crossed onto the Turkish side of the border as the battle for the town raged on roughly 300 meters from the frontier.

1842 GMT: Syria. At least 100 people have been killed today by regime forces, according to the LCC:

38 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs, including 17 people who were martyred in Buwaida massacre; 15 in Aleppo; 15 in Homs; 13 in Idlib; 8 in Daraa; 7 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Hama; 1 in Lattakia and 1 in Raqqa,

See our note on the casualty figures posted by the LCC.

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Middle East and Iran Videos: 4 Activists on Women's Rights After the "Arab Spring"

VisionOnTV posts four interviews around last week's "Half a Revolution" event, held by Amnesty International, in London. Those interviewed are Dalia Abdelhammed Ali Ibraheem (Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights), Yara Sallam (Nazra for Feminist Studies), Layla El Wafa (Women for Libya), and Sussan Tahmasebi, a Washington-based Iranian activist.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Regime's Dilemma in Hama

Claimed footage of a protest last night in Hama, telling the President, "To Hell with You, Bashar"

2015 GMT: David Smith reports for The Guardian of London, "Tripoli: A Stronghold by Day, A Battleground at Night":

Anecdotal evidence suggests that there are now regular night-time clashes in the Libyan capital. .

The raids have turned parts of Tripoli, a city with no shortage of privately owned firearms, into a no-go area after dark. The man, who said he has stocked up on diesel in readiness for "zero hour", added: "Normally wedding parties go on until 2am, but now they finish at 8pm. No one goes out after sunset. They all stay at home."

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Egypt Latest: Investigating a Death from "Torture"; Challenging the Government and Sectarianism

1435 GMT: Mohammad ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency of a founder of the National Alliance for Change, has responded to the alleged torturing to death of Sayed Balal: "If torture is proven to have occurred, officials at all levels must be punished. Torture is a crime against humanity. It is not an internal affair."

0725 GMT: The Egyptian public prosecutor has ordered an autopsy on the body of Mohamed Sayyid Bilal, who died in detention on Wednesday after he was arrested in a protest in Alexandria. 

Bilal's brother Ibrahim claimed the body had signs of burns and other abuse, and the family then filed a report with the prosecutor's office demanding an investigation.

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