Egypt (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Marching Again in Cairo

1645 GMT: Thanks to James Miller for taking the LiveBlog through the afternoon.

Video testifies to a series of protests across Yemen today, calling for a transitional government. Claimed footage of a march in Taiz attacked by security forces:

A march of women and children in Taiz:

A demonstration in Hodeidah:

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"New Egypt" Feature: Striking Back at Workers' Protests (Sallam)

Workers on Strike, February 2011It remains unclear if the new, post-Mubarak Egypt can succeed in addressing the socio-economic grievances that helped to spark the January 25 uprising.

The prevailing discourse among Egyptian elites and opinion makers, however, already signals that the answer is no. The ambivalent, if not hostile, rhetoric directed toward demands for more humane standards of living points to the potential for continuity in the highly uneven economic order. While most believe that there will be no return to the pre-January 25 political system, even if post-Mubarak Egypt is not fully democratic, workers may continue to be marginalized by the economic liberalization begun under the previous regime.

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Egypt, Yemen, Syria & Beyond LiveBlog: Stopping Virginity Tests, Making Protests "Criminal"

Tahrir Square, Cairo, 11 February 2011

1805 GMT: Is the Gaddafi regime negotiating? US Secretary of State Hillary CLinton said today that there are ongoing talks with people close to Colonel Gaddafi, and there was at least the potential for a transition of power.

An opposition website is reporting that an aide to National Transitional Council leader Mahmoud Jebril said that Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, has approached the rebels in an attempt to negoiate a settlement. 

1743 GMT: Activists are claiming that another child, Tamer Al Sha'ry, has been killed, and his body has just been released to his parents. The description of the graphic video of the body reads:

"Tamer Alshary, 15 yr-old, was arrested on the day of Sayda Massacre, April 29th, 2011. the same day Hamza Alkhateeb was arrested too, when people of the town of Aljiza tried to deliever food and clean water to the besieged city of Daraa. the body of this innocent child was deleivered to his family on June 8, after more tham 5 weeks, filled with torture marks. The savage monsters took one eye out, pulled his teeth. burnt his body with cigarettes, and then shot him in face, belly and legs."

1736 GMT: A Syrian source has this update:

"Military and security checkpoint seperates Bansh from besieged city of #Idlib from all directions, heavy presence of security forces/Shabiha/army within the city"

1727 GMT: 2,5000 Syrian refugees have now crossed the border into Turkey, most refugees from Jisr al Shughour and other towns and villages in Idlib province. Turkey Prime Minister Erdogan said today that Turkey would keep its door open for refugees.

"It's not possible for us to shut our doors at a time when deadly violence is on the rise (in Syria) and our brothers there are looking for shelter."

1716 GMT: Soldiers beat, kick, and stand on protesters who have their hands bound. The video claims to be from Baba Amro, Homs, Syria, today. According to the video uploader, abdullahdib, at least one of the men featured in this video is already dead.

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Egypt, Yemen, Syria, & Beyond LiveBlog: Challenging the Regimes

Tahrir Square in Cairo today. See our separate video entry, "Syria Video Special: Friday Protests"

1536 GMT: Security forces attempted to break up protests in Banias, Syria, and protesters respond by throwing stones.

1530 GMT: Besides the armed conflict (and truce) between Saleh and Yemen's largest tribe (noted below), and beyond the massive protests in Sana'a (noted below), there were also large protests elsewhere in Yemen. This video shows protesters in Taiz's Freedom Square chanting "The people want to prosecute the butcher."

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Egypt 1st-Hand: A Twitter Diary of Detention and Interrogation by the Military (Elshamy)

Photo: ReutersWe were usually awaken during this time of the night to observe soldiers torture newly arrived (naked) prisoners.

During detention, an army officer called me a son of a whore. I asked him to leave my mum out of it and he kicked me in the face. 

Everyone with long hair or beard was called a homosexual. Everyone who wore a Kuffeieh was called a "Palestinian faggot".

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Occupation and Defiance

View Syria - Tuesday 17/05/11 in a larger map

Map of protests on 17 May

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Today's videos have moved to a separate entry "Syria and Yemen Video Special: The Protests of Defiance

2045 GMT: Within this summary of the Obama Administration's diplomatic push ahead of the President's speech on Thursday is this nugget:

White House counterterrorism advisor John Brennan has been busily firming up the administration's stance on Yemen, where protesters have been pressing the government to fulfill promises of a leadership change. Brennan called President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Wednesday to urge him to implement the Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered agreement, which would see Saleh step down from power.

"Brennan noted that this transfer of power represents the best path forward for Yemen to become a more secure, unified, and prosperous nation and for the Yemeni people to realize their aspirations for peace and political reform," the White House said in a statement about the call.

The US intervention did not work, at least in the short-term: Saleh pushed away the deal this evening.

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