Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 250 Civilians Die on Monday

See Also Today's Bahrain Live Coverage: Will High-Profile Activists Receive Court Verdicts Today?
Jordan Feature: The Government's Threat to Internet Freedom (Tarawneh)
Bahrain Opinion: You Can Imprison the 13 Activists. You Cannot Imprison Their Ideas.
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 1600 Killed in the Deadliest Week

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2034 GMT: Syria. A second video claiming to show the jet downed in Idlib:

Another video of the MiG that was downed in #Idlib today. youtube.com/watch?v=7kquGa… The pilot was shot in the head while parachuting. #Syria

— Abdullah Aldahhan (@SyrianSmurf) September 4, 2012

The Blogger Brown Moses adds this context:

The man talking to the camera in the video is Jamaal Maaruf, the leader of Shuhada Jebel al-Zawiya Battalion (thanks for Asher Berman for that ID, who explains that the battalion has been attacking Abu Dhuhur air base for 6 days, and the jets are being used to attack civilians.

According to Brown Moses, the jet in question appears to be a Mig 21, based on pictures he has posted on his analysis.

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Jordan Feature: The Government's Threat to Internet Freedom (Tarawneh)

Successive governments have consistently accused Jordanian news sites of practicing irresponsible journalism, publishing slanderous articles, and partaking in character assassinations as well as blackmail. However, for the average Jordanian Internet user, such sites represent a vital resource of fairly unfiltered, local breaking news, as well as a platform for discussion, which may help explain the antagonistic relationship between the state and the budding, unregulated sector.

Yet, what would push Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh's government (which has recently passed its 100-day mark and faces upcoming parliamentary elections) to initiate such a controversial legislative move now?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 1600 Killed in the Deadliest Week

Al Jazeera English's report on how the Syrian conflict is affecting trade with Jordan

See also Egypt Feature: Mubarak-Era Officials "Retain Millions of Pounds" of Assets in Britain
Syria Opinion: "A Population Can Now Dismantle A Modern State on Its Own"
Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Unavoidable Change on the Ground

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2033 GMT: Syria. Back from a break to find a video of fire and explosions in the Sukkari district of Aleppo because of regime shelling:

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Jordan Discussion: The Future of the Country and "Reform" (Al Jazeera English)

Al Jazeera English's The Cafe hosts a 45-minute discussion with Jordanians across the political spectrum on the state of the country, the monarchy, and the prospect of "reform":

Syria Snapshot: As Refugees Surge, Jordan Turns Some Away (Marrouch)

Syrian Family in Jordan (Photo: Ned Colt/IRC)Jordan has been praised for welcoming tens of thousands of fleeing Syrians. The United Nations refugee agency has registered roughly 35,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, but there are reported to be far more Syrian refugees along its borders, upward of 140,000 people. The latest round of violence has sent thousands more Syrians streaming to the Jordanian border, seeking help.

Jordan has agreed to create camps to house the swelling numbers of refugees, including one camp already in the works in northern Jordan that could hold up to 113,000 people. But the crisis seems to have tested Jordanian officials' patience, as Syrians report being turned away.

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Great Moments in Politics: Jordanian MP Pulls Gun on Activist During TV Debate

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Here's something you don't see every day on your television....

In this programme on Jordanian politics, MP Mohammed Shawabka was debating activist and former MP Mansour Sayf al-Din Murad.

In an exchange over the uprising in Syria, Shawabka and Murad accused each other of various crimes, including working for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

Ignoring the host's pleas to "calm down", Shawabka hurled his right shoe at Murad and followed up by pulling out a silver pistol.

Shawabka only briefly pointed the gun at his opponent, but the two men wrestled on-camera until the programme cut to credits.

Syria 1st-Hand: The Stories of the Widows (Sutton)

Photo: Tara Sutton/The GuardianI didn't find out the day he died. My family told me gradually. They told me "your husband was shot" and then they told me he might have passed away. Two days after he died, they finally told me that he had been killed. I felt that I lost a piece of my heart. I told my eldest, Ahmed, myself, but the neighbours had to tell the youngest.

I am proud that he was killed for a good cause and he was not a traitor to his country or his people. The Koran says: "Those who are killed fighting for the cause of God are alive and not dead."

I am surviving with the help of God and I have a strong personality. I don't like to collapse in front of my kids. If I fall apart, what will happen to them?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 96 Die Amid International Fiddling

A Saturday evening rally in the Bustan Al Qasr section of Aleppo

See also Syria Feature: Razan Ghazzawi's Speech for Her Human Rights Defenders Award
Egypt Video Feature: State TV's "Don't Talk to Foreigners" Warning
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting in the Streets of Damascus

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1930 GMT: Libya. Fighting between government forces and Toubou tribesmen has continued for a second day, with at least 16 people killed.

Government officials said the fighting began after members of the Toubou tribe attacked a checkpoint and tried to gain access to a security building to steal vehicles. However, representatives of the Toubou tribe said they were shelled by the Libya Shield Brigade, former insurgents under Government control, with residents killed and houses burned.

Meanwhile, in Tripoli, officials confirmed that Assembly elections planned for later this month has been postponed to 7 July. The authorities have said that extra time is needed to consider the applications of more than 4000 candidates.

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Jordan Feature: Troubled "Reform" as Prime Minister Resigns (Murphy)

Former Prime Minister Khasawneh, a long time adviser to Jordan's royal family, who helped negotiate the country's peace deal with Israel in 1994, was appointed to his post last October in an attempt to mollify growing street protests demanding an opening of the political system.

The election law he's been working on was intended to deliver that opening. But he's been hemmed in on two sides: one, by tribal leaders close to the court and the security services worried that it would end up delivering power into the hands of Jordan's opposition. And two, by the opposition, which has complained loudly that the new law doesn't go far enough.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 80 Dead As UN Says Ceasefire "Incomplete"

1946 GMT: The destruction and shelling in Douma, a key Damascus suburb, has not subsided because night has fallen (see update 1816 GMT):

2210 GMT: The spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has released the following statement on Bahrain, raising specific concerns over the continued detention of Abdulhadi AlKhawaja:

The Secretary-General remains concerned about the situation in Bahrain, particularly with regard to the continuing clashes between security forces and protesters which have resulted in more casualties. He reiterates his appeal to all sides for utmost restraint and an immediate end to the violence.

The Secretary-General also calls on the Bahraini authorities to fully respect the fundamental human rights of the Bahraini people, including due process concerning all detainees.

In this regard, he is concerned about the situation of Mr. Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who remains on a hunger strike in detention. The Secretary-General once again urges the Bahraini authorities to resolve Mr. Al-Khawaja’s case based on due process and humanitarian considerations without any further delay.

1928 GMT: In Syria, the Local Coordinating Committee in Zabadani, another suburb of Damascus that has suffered greatly at the hands of the Syrian regime, released a statement today suggesting that UN monitors are not protecting civilians, and those who do speak to them are doing so at great personal risk - probably to no avail:

Monday, April 23, and met with opposition activists. The meeting lasted 10 minutes.

Upon their arrival, only three of the monitors emerged from the UN vehicle: the head of the mission, an Indian; a Brazilian monitor; and a third, a Moroccan, Col. Ahmad Hamishi. The rest of the observers remained in the vehicle.

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