Syria, Bahrain, Yemen (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Months of Protests and Violence

1905 GMT: A man claiming to be Moussa Ibrahim, the spokesman for former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, has denied claims that he was captured this week by forces of the National Transitional Council, outside of Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte.

"This information is a lie and does not reflect reality," the man said in a live telephone interview with Syrian-based Arrai television, an outlet for declarations by Qaddafi and his allies.

On Thursday, NTC field commanders said Ibrahim had been captured as he attempted to flee Sirte in a car. A spokesman for the NTC's Misrata military council said the next day: "We cannot confirm he was arrested."

Meanwhile, the NTC has declared a two-day truce to allow civilians to leave Sirte, as its forces continue to try to take one of Qaddafi's last two strongholds.

And in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the first commercial flight since March --- a jet from Istanbul --- has landed.

Flags representing Turkey and Libya's new leadership flew outside Mitiga International Airport as the plane touched down.

A U.N. Security Council resolution had imposed a no-fly zone in March.

1855 GMT: An EA reader asks if there has been any footage of protests in the Deir Ez Zor area of northeast Syria this weekend --- a couple of answers among many clips, beginning with the Al Arfi neighbourhood:

And claimed footage from Al Quriya today:

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Bahrain Feature: The 20 Doctors' Reply to Their Prison Sentences

As the Bahraini regime continues to insist, two days after 20 doctors were given 5 to 15-year prison sentences by a military court, "This has nothing to do with treating the protesters. [The doctors were] collaborating with the hard liners... to overthrow the regime. This is an attempted coup d'etat," we post the statement put out by the defendants:

During the times of unrest in Bahrain, we honored our medical oath to treat the wounded and save lives. And as a result, we are being rewarded with unjust and harsh sentences.

Thirteen Bahraini medics out of 20 received a sentence of 15 years in prison.

The charges that we have being accused of are absolutely ludicrous. We are highly professional and experienced medics and specialists, and we categorically deny all charges against us.

This is the first time in the history of medicine that the medical profession has been attacked on such a large scale by any government.

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Afghanistan Special: Presenting "The Fruit of Our Labor: Afghan Perspectives in Film"

"‘L’ is for Light, ‘D’ is for Darkness" - Full Version from Michael Sheridan on Vimeo.

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The Fruit of our Labor: Afghan Perspectives in Film is a series of short documentaries offering a corrective to Western-centric accounts of life in Afghanistan. Focusing on issues of social and economic development, as documented and told by Afghans themselves, the films work to puncture typical mainstream perspectives centered on conflict, corruption and humanitarian relief. As such, they present intimate glimpses into routine struggles of employment, education and health and of accomplishments and failings at the level of community and infrastructure.

The ten documentaries, produced by Michael Sheridan for Community Supported Film, are available to watch online until 7 October, the 10th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan. They are also currently being screened in cities across America and have just been released on DVD. American audiences to date, observes Sheridan, have been “dumbstruck” by seeing a side of Afghanistan --- the everyday life, difficulties and opinions of its citizens --- routinely hidden in the view of the mainstream media. Indeed, for some, the films are simply unbelievable, given how removed they are from the national portrait painted by CNN, MSNBC and FOX.

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The Latest from Iran (1 October): Problems with Banks and Oil

See also The Latest from Iran (30 September): Where's the President's Right-Hand Man?

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1845 GMT: Cyber-Question of Day. So who is behind the fake BBC Persian website, with the lead story that its editor raped a female employee, but she returned to work?

1835 GMT: Do You Think the Supreme Leader Knows? Hours after Ayatollah Khamenei opened Tehran's International Conference on the Palestinian Intifada by denouncing the Palestinian Authority's leadership, including Mahmoud Abbas, and its approach to the UN for recognition of Palestinian leadership, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal sang a different tune, even in the cautious wording of the Tehran Times....

The article frames Meshaal's position as "the plan presented by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is worth mulling over", but in expressing his criticism that "the United States and the Zionists exposed their true face as they have started efforts to stymie the plan", the site portrays support for his Palestinian rival:

Meshaal said Abbas is resisting pressure exerted by the U.S. and Israel. “In this moment of history that the true face of the Zionists has been revealed, Mahmoud Abbas and our brothers in the Fatah movement as well as other independent figures should make efforts to achieve unity,” the Hamas political leader stated.

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Bahrain Report & Videos: Protests in 40 Villages on Friday, Man Dies From Tear Gas

Protest in Aldair on Friday

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UPDATE 1115 GMT: EA sources provide translations of the speeches at the major rally in Bahrain on Friday, organised by five leading opposition parties/movements.

Fathel Abbas, the Security General of the National Democratic Assembly promised the audience, "You will transfer us from dictatorship to democracy”. He offered "deep greetings" to detained opposition figures and political prisoners: "Despite being in jail they are free. Our demands will never change."

Abbas welcomed President Obama's speech at the UN, which called for further reforms in Bahrain, and asked him and the British Government to take serious steps against any crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

Saluting "the youth and families who are working to clean their villages and towns after the government failed to carry out its responsibilities", Abbas denied any sectarian division --- "there is only one struggle between the regime and the opposition" --- and emphasised the peaceful nature of the protest movement.

Jameel Khadhim, one of 18 MPs of the opposition Al Wefaq party who resigned in March, praised the audience for the effective boycott of Parliamentary by-elections last weekend and denounced the detention and abuse of protesters, including female demonstrators: "What the government is doing to our women has shocked the humanity, and it is far away from all our moral values and ethics." He added a message for the women, "A special thanks to your heroic stands that defeated many men", and thanks those who have protested the detentions.

Khadhim also denounced the sentences handed down on doctors on Thursday --- "their only crime was to treat the wounded from the citizens who fell by the 'brave' police gunfire" --- and continued:

After more than seven months of implementing the repressive security policy, and its utter failure, then the failure of the “Official Forum of Dialogue” as well as the unsuccessful strategy of paying media for incitement, and finally the huge failure in the last elections. I ask what is left to the authorities to do?

Our people do not accept any more living under the government that is plagued by corruption, and under a council of deficient powers and unfair electoral districts, as well as unfair justice and absent security.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Punishment and Protests

Protest in Anadan in Aleppo Province tonight, chanting about Syrian President Assad, "Bashar is a traitor"

See also Syria Video Special: The Friday Protests
Yemen Interview: President Saleh "I Will Retire When There Are Elections"
Syria Special: #MediaFail --- It's Not Yet a Civil War
Bahrain 1st-Hand: "48 Hours in Sanabis"
Thursday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Showdown Looms?

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2010 GMT: An EA source in Bahrain reports blocked roads in many villages, some blocked by protesters to prevent police getting in, others blocked by police to prevent protesters getting out. The source continues, "There are clashes between protesters and police in many of the villages. On my round now I passed on at least seven protests/clashes."

2000 GMT: A lower-than-expected turnout --- at least for protest organisers --- in Tahrir Square in Cairo today.

Thousands came out for the rally, with most stages set up by leftist and revolutionary youth movements, chanting against the ruling Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and its head, Field-Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi: "Tell the truth! Will you nominate yourself for the Presidency?" demonstrators shouted in reference to SCAF chief Field-Marshal Hussein Tantawi. Many protesters wore shirts with stickers reading “No to SCAF” and carried signs bearing anti-SCAF slogans. One banner depicted a turtle, reflecting popular frustration with the slow pace of change during the post-Mubarak transitional period.

One bright spot amidst the disappoointment: Hollywood actor and political activist Sean Penn, waving an Egyptian flag, put in an appearance.

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The Latest from Iran (30 September): Where's the President's Right-Hand Man?

1955 GMT: Bank Fraud Watch. MP Gholamreza Assadolahi has said the report on the $2.6 billion bank fraud will be sent next week to Parliament's Article 90 Commission, supervising Government activities. Assadolahi said only 1% of the money has been returned to Iran.

1950 GMT: Press Feud. The pro-Ahmadinejad website Doulate Ma throws a punch at the hard-line Kayhan, claiming it has not paid employee insurance for four years and owes 12 billion ($950 million) to social welfare funds.

1945 GMT: CyberWatch. Khodnevis reports that VPNs [virtual private networks], which allow remote access to central networks, are "slowly dying" in the country with most VPN accounts shut down.

An EA correspondent, with excellent sources in Iran, confirms the story.

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Syria Video Special: The Friday Protests

Idlib in northwest

Binnish in northwest

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Yemen Interview: President Saleh "I Will Retire When There Are Elections"

Six days after returning  to Yemen from medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, President Ali Abdullah Saleh spoke on Thursday with Aryn Baker of Time magazine and Sudarsan Raghavan of The Washington Post.

Beyond the standard rhetoric --- Saleh has authorised his Vice President to conduct dialogue with the opposition, even though that opposition is linked to Al Qa'eda, note two things.

First, any talk of negotiation is limited by Saleh's insistence that his main opponents, General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and tribal leader Sheikh Sadegh al-Ahmar, cannot not have any influence: "[The initiative] says to remove all the elements causing tensions. Because if we transfer power and they are there, this will mean that we have given in to a coup."

And second, Saleh is playing up the image of his "alliance" with the US --- note how often he refers to co-operation with American intelligence.

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Syria Special: #MediaFail --- It's Not Yet a Civil War

In most parts of Syria, it doesn't look like anything has changed at all. We saw large, peaceful protests in many areas of the country. It did appear that the protests were larger than they have been in recent memory, perhaps signalling a renewed commitment to resistance. If some members of the opposition have taken up arms against the regime, while large peaceful protests continue, the human cost of this conflict could escalate rapidly.

So while we were the first to post news of the violence, we may be the first to recognize that a Libyan-style civil war is still a long way off

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