Bahrain Video: Learning about "Revolution" (Hedayat/BBC)

As part of a BBC series, "My Arab Journey", Nel Hedayat visits Bahrain to learn about the events of the last year. She spends time with the family of Dr Nada Dhaif, who sets out the political situation and describes the crackdown and her detention of almost 50 days before she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She also speaks with Mohammad, shot in the face by police, who describes his motives to protest, and she joins a night-time demonstration.

Syria Feature: Islamism and the Opposition (Rosen)

Syria's uprising is not a secular one. Most participants are devout Muslims inspired by Islam. By virtue of Syria's demography most of the opposition is Sunni Muslim and often come from conservative areas. The death of the Arab left means religion has assumed a greater role in daily life throughout the Middle East. A minority is secular and another minority is comprised of ideological Islamists. The majority is made of religious-minded people with little ideology, like most Syrians. They are not fighting to defend secularism (nor is the regime) but they are also not fighting to establish a theocracy. But as the conflict grinds on, Islam is playing an increasing role in the uprising.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protest and "Reform"

In Bahrain, a protester smashes a police CCTV camera (see 0747 GMT)

See also Saudi Arabia Analysis: A Kingdom in Trouble?
Bahrain Photo Special: Friday's Mass "March 4 Democracy"
Israeli Jets Kill 14 in Gaza; Rockets Fired into Southern Israel
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 100,000 March For Reform

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2248 GMT: A clash between police and protesters in a Bahraini village tonight, leading to a blanket of tear gas:

2242 GMT: The weekly pro-reform demonstrations in Morocco continue --- a march in Casablanca today:

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Afghanistan Developing: US Soldier Kills Civilians --- At Least 17? (Al Jazeera English)

Al Jazeera English reports:

A US soldier has killed more than a dozen civilians in a shooting spree in southern Afghanistan before being detained, officials say.

A member of the Kandahar provincial council who visited the site of the shooting in Panjwai district told Al Jazeera that at least 17 civilians were killed when the soldier left his base early on Sunday morning and opened fire.

Captain Justin Brockhoff, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) could not confirm any fatalities in the incident.

“This is a horrific incident, and our thoughts are with the families of the affected. Our initial reports indicate multiple civilians - between four and six- are wounded. Those civilians are receiving care at coalition medical facilities."

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The Latest from Iran (11 March): Changing the Drumbeats of War

Iran 1st-Hand: "People Here Are Boiling, But Don't Make A Sound"
Iran Snap Analysis: Walking Back from War?
The Latest from Iran (10 March): Oh, the US is So Weak

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1855 GMT: All the President's Men. Peyke Iran, citing Tabnak, claims that Presidential advisor Saeed Mortazavi, accused of responsibility for the Kahrizak detention centre abuses and killings in summer 2009, has been legally informed about the complaint and a trial could start soon.

Mortazavi was Tehran Prosecutor General when detainees were abused and three protesters died in Kahrizak. Although he supposedly had been suspended at one point from his duties over the case, he has never stopped service to Ahmadinejad and he has just been named head of the Social Security Fund.

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Saudi Arabia Analysis: A Kingdom in Trouble? (Fakhro)

A demonstration on Saturday at King Khalid University, protesting conditions and the arrest of female students

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The reality for most Saudis is far-removed from the Kingdom’s reputation for extravagance. Official unemployment stands at 10 percent, but unofficial estimates place it as high as 20 percent. The latest official figures reveal that 670,000 families—approximately 3 million out of a total population of 18 million—live in poverty. Nor is hardship restricted to rural areas: a recent documentary on poverty in Riyadh, Maloub Alayna (The Joke’s on Us) recorded testimonies of families living on one meal a day, with as many as twenty people living in the same home.

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Iran 1st-Hand: "People Here Are Boiling, But Don't Make A Sound" (Spindle)

Photo: ReutersReza rented a small storefront on a pedestrian mall along the route to a popular shrine in Tehran's working-class southern fringe. He hawks T-shirts, souvenirs, incense and, with the Iranian New Year approaching, fireworks. He says business conditions are "rubbish." He sells little.

Chicken and beef have almost doubled in price in the past few weeks, he says. His family has all but stopped eating those. His wife buys chicken livers. They're cheaper.

He has tried raising prices in his own store. Playing cards just went to 1,500 rials from 1,000—or to about seven cents, from five cents. Sales fell. "People just don't have the money," he says.

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Bahrain Photo Special: Friday's Mass "March 4 Democracy"

An image after Friday's March 4 Democracy in Bahrain (Photo: Reuters)

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An EA correspondent in Bahrain sends us this feature:

On Friday, the Bahraini opposition scored a symbolic victory with its March 4 Democracy. The numbers on the roads are still up for debate --- some activists claimed 400,000 while regime supporters insisted there were "only" 100,000 in Bahrain's 1.2 million population who turned out --- but the impact was beyond question.

Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, summarised: "A historic protestwith hundred of thousands of protesters participating from all sectors of society --- all expressed their demands freely. The march was a clear message to the regime and the international community that, despite all the brutality, this nation has returned stronger and more determined than before."

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Iran Snap Analysis: Walking Back from War?

A Bush-Era Cartoon on Drumbeats of WarA week ago, the media was dominated by the prospect of an Israeli strike and Tehran's reaction. But then President Obama, publicly and privately, let visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu know of Washington's line against this. The Supreme Leader, within his rhetoric of defiance, welcomed Obama's position with Israel, and the European Union accepted Tehran's offer for a resumption of talks about the Iranian nuclear programme.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More than 100,000 March For Reform

Mass turnout at Saturday's funeral for Fadhel Al Obeidi, killed by Bahraini security forces (see 1450 GMT)

See also Israeli Jets Kill 14 in Gaza; Rockets Fired into Southern Israel
Tunisia Feature: Women Speak Out for Rights in a "New Country"
Syria Snap Analysis: Kofi Annan --- Lost on the Road to Damascus
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A UN Envoy in Damascus

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2250 GMT: In Bahrain, the public prosecutor's office has said that it is dropping criminal charges against 15 of 20 doctors and nurses who have been given prison sentences of five to 15 years.

The medics, who treated protesters in Salmaniya Medical Center in the early days of last year's demonstrations, were convicted in September by a military court of incitement to overthrow the government and attempting to occupy a hospital. After international criticism, the case was transferred to a civilian court for new hearings.

"The Public Prosecutor...has stated he will only be presenting evidence for a small number of accused involved in the most serious criminal violations," the office announced. "Of the criminal cases involving medical professionals, only five have been accused of serious criminal charges."

The statement said the 15 others would face disciplinary hearings for acts including breaching patient confidentiality by allowing cameras into a hospital, leading political protests inside the hospital, and discriminating against patients based on their sect.

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