Egypt 1st-Hand: "Do I Now Regret Voting for Morsi? No."

Montage of protests against President Morsi on Friday and Saturday

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I voted for Morsi last June, not because I liked him, but because I did not want [former Prime Minister Ahmed] Shafiq to win. Now, after Morsi’s decisions yesterday --- which I am suspicious about and do not really support --- and what is going on in Tahrir right now, do I regret voting for him? Well, no, I don’t regret my vote. Why? Because if Shafiq won in June, it would have been worse. No one would have been allowed to demonstrate in Tahrir or in any other place in Egypt. And Shafiq would have grabbed power with the help of the SCAF [Supreme Council of the Armed Froces]. And the terrible train crash of last Saturday would have occurred anyway, but Amr Adeeb, the famous news commentator, would have not dared to say that President Shafiq is a failure like he said about Morsi.

At least, under Morsi, the January 25 movement still has power.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Spread of the Conflict

2202 GMT: Syria. There are widespread reports of violence tonight, in nearly every region of Syria. Despite the fact that the number may rise, the Local Coordinating Committees, a network of activists, report that at least 140 people have been killed, including them ore than 70 reportedly killed in a single village in Hama province:

92 in Hama (35 martyrs from one family, the youngest victim was a 3 month old baby), 15 in Latakia, 11 in Idlib, 12 in Homs, 5 in Deir Ezzor, 2 martyrs in Damascus Suburbs,and 1 in Daraa.

2152 GMT: Syria. The blogger Brown Moses offers a good translation of an opposition Facebook page we cited earlier. This is the most complete detail of the attack on Qubair village that we have seen yet:

Hama Countryside | al-Qubair Farm near Ma'arzaf Village | Details of the Massacre Ma'arzaf village lies about 20 km west of Hama city and 2 km south of the city of Mharde. al-Qubair is considered to be a residential area south of Ma'arzaf with about 25 houses where members of the al-Yateem, al-Farees and 'Alwan families live.

At around 2 p.m., 3 T-72 tanks moved from the direction of al-Majdal village and Aseela village towards Ma'arzaf and began shelling Ma'arzaf and al-Qubair, another small village whose residents are mostly from the al-Yateem family.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Opposition Expands

Claimed footage of Syrian troops and tanks moving into Ghouta suburb, east of Damascus

See also Syria Opinion: "Women Have Been Essential in the Uprising"
Bahrain Feature: Rubber Bullets --- Another "Non-Lethal" Weapon For The Police
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 100 Die But Opposition Slowly Advances

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2052 GMT: Earlier today (see 1535 GMT) we posted video of a march in Kafranbel in northwest Syria, with Free Syrian Army soldiers holding their weapons high. Now we are pointed to claimed footage of the insurgents standing in a "liberated" main square:

2045 GMT: Video from Dumistan in Bahrain on Friday, as police shoot tear gas inside a car --- a woman, reported to be driving, faints after she gets out of the vehicle:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 100 Die But Opposition Slowly Advances

The Free Syrian Army protects protesting civilians in the town of Madaya on Friday

See also Bahrain Feature: Obama Administration "Quietly Sells Arms to Regime"
Syria Video Analysis: "Beginning of End of Regime is At Hand"
Bahrain Feature: The Clouds of Tear Gas and Death Gather Once More
Friday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Blanket of Tear Gas, A Battle in Homs

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2220 GMT: A boy in Dael in southern Syria holds up a poster, "Come kill us and leave the people of Homs and Hama":

2155 GMT: John Horne writes:

Bahrain's Minister of Interior has called tonight for prison sentences of up to 15 years for anybody caught attacking a police officer.

The call by Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalif comes after a week of violence and bloodshed in Bahrain. On Tuesday, a fightback by some demonstrators, mostly youths, resulted in an officer being attacked and wounded. Images of the incident were broadcast across the world.

However, today's call by the Minister of Interior is likely to raise many eyebrows, given the documented attacks by police against both protesters and civilians this week. There have been at least four Bahrainis killed as a consequence of police action, with reports that one of the victims was abused in police custody. Thursday night also saw security forces covering towns and villages with tear gas, bringing concern both for mmediate conequences and also long-term health risks.

The Minister of Interior's call also follows the announcement that the police are to be given more equipment with which to defend themselves against attack. That equipment, which may be used in far more than a defensive manner, includes "gas and sound bombs as well as guns that fire rubber bullets".

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Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Year After the Uprising

2359 GMT: We close today's coverage with the news that a fourth person has died in Bahrain in two days. Mohammed Ebrahim Yaqoob, a 17-year-old from Sitra,, died this evening in hospital whilst under police custody, from injuries sustained earlier today.

As we noted earlier, police action in Sitra was especially reckless, endangering many lives. The following video, where Bahraini security forces drive aggressively at defenceless citizens, allegedly shows Mohammed fleeing from the Toyota manufactured jeeps. This detail is unconfirmed, but many activists are claiming that Mohammed was subsequently run over by police and that is how he sustained his fatal injuries:

The news of Mohammed's death follows the announcement of three other deaths, allegedly at the hands of security forces.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Arab League Speaks --- Does It Matter?

2141 GMT: Large protests have lasted well into the night in many cities across Syria. This video was one of the more impressive ones, reportedly showing a protest in the Bab Qebli neighborhood of Hama:

2115 GMT: It has been another extremely bloody day in Syria, as the LCCS is now reporting 33 people killed by security forces, "including 2 children and a defected recruit and 2 men who died under torture. 11 martyrs in Homs, 9 martyrs in Idlib, 6 martyrs in Daraa, 3 in Damascus Suburbs and a martyr in each of BoKamal, Raqqa, Damascus and Hasakeh."

The steepest escalation since the last report is in Homs, where reports of heavy attacks have been reported, perhaps in response to a new wave of defections in the city.

Also, the civilian who was killed in Damascus was reportedly, killed in a protest near the Mujtahed Hospital in Midan. This video was taken, reportedly showing the protest:

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Protesting, Filming, Dying

1934 GMT: Two Syrian opposition parties have signed an agreement in Cairo, promising to unite against Assad. The interesting part of the agreement - the two parties, the Syrian National Co-ordination Committee and the Syrian National Council, are committed to resist international intervention. But as Al Jazeera points out, many in the opposition are in favor of intervention:

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Egypt Analysis: Assessing the Elections (El Amrani)

An Activist Hands Out Leaflets to VotersWhat we saw today — so far at least — is that even amidst public uncertainty about the future, split public opinion on Tahrir and SCAF, and organizational chaos, the Egyptian people are eager to participate in the democratic process that may have real meaning for the first time in their lives. They are sharing in the fruits of the revolution, with pragmatism and hope, and testing whether the change is real. I don't see the high turnout (or what we think is a high turnout as we await official data) as a sign of support for SCAF. It's a sign of support for the democratic process and hope for its improvement.

That is a testimony of the Egyptian people's seriousness. But it does not change the fact that these elections were prepared with staggering, perhaps even malicious, incompetence and on that basis alone should not have been held, and that the transition blueprint in general is a bad one.

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Egypt Q&A: Why Is There A "Revolution Reignited"? (Elazul)

Why are they going to Tahrir (and other squares) now?

Because something is wrong:

When there is no security after 9 months .... despite billions being spent on the police,  something wrong.

When they say the chaos will continue until a president is elected in 2013, something is wrong.

When until today, not a single pound of the money stolen by the regime has been returned, Something is wrong.

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Egypt LiveBlog: One Week Later....

1959 GMT: Despite concessions, speeches, and a new prime minister, this is the scene in Tahrir Square, Cairo, this evening, as thousands remain to protest:

1954 GMT: Egypt's new prime minister will have more power than his predecessor, a concession to the protesters, perhaps, but will it be enough to alleviate their fears and frustrations?

Kamal el-Ganzouri, 78, served as prime minister between 1996 and 1999 and was deputy prime minister and planning minister before that. He also was a provincial governor under the late President Anwar Sadat.

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