Bahrain Special: Candles, Balloons, and Molotov Cocktails

The candle-lit vigil for Mohammed Ebrahim Yaghoob, the latest teenager killed in the uprising, held Monday night in Mehaza village

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An EA correspondent reported from Bahrain last night, "On my way to attend a candle-light march in Sitra, Sefala village. We are planning to fly 63 light balloons, the same as the number of martyrs."

Later, the correspondent reported that the march had been disrupted by police:

We got attacked with teargas and stun grenades before we started in Sefala village.

So we have regrouped in Mehaza village now. The march just started with protesters chanting, "down, down, Hamad."

The young organizers came holding....candles and started distributing the candles to protesters before we started marching. While others look for police in case they decide to attack, we are marching inside the village roads. The march is very peaceful and protesters are saying sad slogans in the memory of the martyrs. While we walk and chant, I see a small group of kids writing "DOWN WITH HAMAD" using the candles. [Protesters chanted] "Oh world, hear us, we will not bow."

The march completed peacefully, then we lit the balloons --- 63 balloons representing the martyrs.

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US Opinion: Are We Suffering from "Drone Hysteria"? (Osboune)

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta justifies the killing by drone in Yemen of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen

See also: US Opinion: Do Drones Undermine Democracy? (Singer)

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Anyone who decries a “new surge” of military interest in drones is just admitting they never paid attention before, that they don’t know what they’re talking about, and that they are riding on the word “drone” because it’s trendy and scary. Such opinions should carry exactly as much weight as a paper airplane, because they aren’t really about drones at all but war in general. There is nothing a drone can do that could not be done up close and personal, though at greater risk. A drone merely removes risk from the attacker — which is what warriors have been doing since the invention of the bow and arrow.

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Syria Video Special: On the Ground with the Free Syrian Army

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France 24 reporters Adel Gastel and Karim Hakiki were able to get into the town of Binnish in northwest Syria. In the video above, they speak to members of the Free Syrian Army, who said they had succeeded in driving out heavily-armed regime snipers.

And then there is this interview with a captain in the Khaled bin AlWaleed Brigade in Homs. He describes a major battle in the Bab al Dreib district, and claims that the Free Syrian Army soldiers captured a BMP vehicle, destroyed a T-72 tank and a BRDM recon vehicle, and will continue the fight tomorrow. He also reported the formation of a new brigade, "The Grandchildren of Khaled bin AlWaleed."

(hat tip for translation to "DSyrer")

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Can the Regime Recapture the Suburbs?

2215 GMT: More impressive video from Bab al Dreib, Homs - the fighters in the foreground are with the Free Syrian Army, and they are attempting to capture a hospital nearby. We're told by sources that by the end of the day, the FSA controlled the hospital and another checkpoint nearby:

2203 GMT: An EA correspondent in Bahrain sends us this video of the candle-lit vigil for Mohammed Ebrahim Yaghoob, the latest child to be killed in the uprising, that was held tonight in Mehaza village (see update at 2035 GMT):

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Syria 1st-Hand: The Cat-and-Mouse Game in Kafar Souseh (Damon)

CNN's Arwa Damon reports from Kafar Souseh, near Damascus, where activists try to evade capture by security forces as they carry out protests:

The Latest from Iran (30 January): Posturing Over Oil

A map of Tehran's oil exports

See also The Latest from Iran (29 January): Future Election, Past Election, House Arrest

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2039 GMT: A Shift in the Awakening. The Supreme Leader has sent a message to an international youth conference in Tehran, centred on the theme of the "Islamic Awakening".

Much of the message, put out by Ayatollah Khamenei's Twitter account, is standard rhetoric: "The Zionists, Great Satan (USA), & Western powers are incapable in facing the Islamic awakening, & they'll fail more & more."

This, however, catches the eye: "Due to geographical, historical and social differences, there is no single model that can be applied to Islamic countries."

Hmm... Last year, just after the Egyptian uprising had removed President Mubarak, the Supreme Leader put out a message that Iran's Islamic Revolution was precisely that model.

So why has the line changed?

2027 GMT: Currency Watch. Gholam-Reza Mesbahi Moghaddam, the head of Parliament's Economy Committee, has blamed currency fluctuations on "poor Government and poor management by the Central Bank".

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Tunisia Video: A Revolutionary Model? (Al Jazeera English)

Al Jazeera English's Empire series looks at Tunisia a year after the toppling of President Ben Ali and considers the political situation and future of the country:

Sudan Feature: On 1st Anniversary of Protests, a New Vision for the Country? (Nasr)

Thousands in Sudan protesting last month at the University of Khartoum

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The arrests of activists in Khartoum this week is yet another troubling indication of President al-Bashir's unwillingness to accept open critique. It also shows, however, just how scared the regime is of the growing solidarity movement in the north of the country, between the Manasir's continued struggles and youth activists in the capital (many Manasir themselves) who wish to see change in Sudan and freedom from corrupt rule. Coupled with the continued violence in Darfur --- and al-Bashir is a wanted war criminal for his role in the genocide there --- the one year anniversary of last year's attempted uprising marks an opportune moment to consider a vision for what a new Sudan could be.

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Global Elites Analysis: Fretting About Dystopia at Davos

while American politics may tend to descend into petty bickering and gridlock, can it really offer some hope that US democracy --- and the confrontational political culture in which it thrives --- may find what the World Economic Forum calls a “viable alternative” to a dystopian near-future?

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The Latest from Iran (29 January): Future Election, Past Election, House Arrest

A Comment on the Currency Situation: President Ahmadinejad vs. the US Dollar

See also Iran Update: Guardian Council Approves New Islamic Penal Code
The Latest from Iran (28 January): Back to the Battle Within

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2145 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More than 140 writers, journalists, artists, and activists have issued a statement condemning the new wave of repression and arrests, noting in particular the detention of prominent literary translator Mohammad Soleimani Nia.

Soleimani Nia was seized on 10 January and taken to an unknown location.

2130 GMT: Execution Watch. International media have noticed, from Iranian outlets such as Fars, that the death sentence has been confirmed for Iranian-Canadian web designer Saeed Malekpour.

In fact, the news is old --- Malekpour was condemned at least 11 days ago by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, which has confirmed the punishment for several bloggers and website operators in recent weeks.

Malekpour was arrested in October 2008 and charged with disseminating obscene materials via the Web.

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