Yemen, Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: And the Downbeat Goes On

View LCCSyria Protest Map June 10, 2011 in a larger map

Activists have created this map of protests today during "Syria's Day of Clans"

2055 GMT: A doctor has told Reuters that the death toll from the regime bombardment of opposition-held Misurata, Libya's third-largest city, has risen to 31. More than 110 people are wounded.

1739 GMT: Earlier, we reported that helicopters were being used to shoot civilians in the streets of Ma'ara Al Nu'man. Another source now says that security forces are going door to door, searching for defected sodliers. 

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The Latest from Iran (10 June): No Ceasefire

1855 GMT: Girls and Boys. Ayatollah Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayer leader of Mashhad, has explained that a woman who wears her headscarf back is "more dangerous than any insect". When seen on a bike, she "shatters a boy's faith".

The opposition website Peyke Iran helpfully illustrates the Ayatollah's point with this photograph:

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Bahrain Snapshot: Obama Administration's Ineffectual Plea to Crown Prince "Please Change"

The significance of this article by Mark Landler of The New York Times is not in the immediate story of Obama Administration officials meeting the Crown Prince of Bahrain in Washington this week but in the political reality beyond the encounter.

The Administration's strategy of persuasion, alongside some mildly critical rhetoric, is unlikely to achieve much, if anything, in Bahrain. Indeed, as Landler indicates below, the Crown Prince's visit may be a political sideshow --- in mid-March, his approach of engagement of some elements of the opposition to discuss reform was quashed by other members of the ruling family, and he has struggled to regain influence since then.

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Iran Interview: The Green Movement and the Battle in the Media (Jami)

I think in terms of media, as far as it concerns individual behaviour and even network behaviour, the Green Movement have really excelled themselves and they have truly proved that if there is a people in the Middle East who is prepared for citizen journalism, it is for sure Iranians. The Greens pushed the Persian media to a new age in which media shifts from informing to networking, deliberation and dialogue.

However, as far as it concerns big media, except at times when they conquered the BBC, they almost had no success at all! This is an important point to ponder. Structurally, the Greens claimed a space that other rivals neither paid attention to nor were interested in. Or they were missing the expertise or media resilience for it. However, with mainstream media, the predominant structures did not allow the birth of an independent Green media. This remains to be a huge obstacle.

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EA on the Road: Talking about the "West" and "Foreign Menaces" in London

I will be a conference at King's College, London, on Thursday and Friday about the images of Arab and Iranian leaders in the "West", from Egypt's Nasser to Iran's Ahmadinejad.

Updates on the LiveBlog will be limited at times, including this morning, and new features will be posted this evening. If you do not use Disqus to post your comments, they may be not appear for some time.

As usual, thanks to readers in advance for bringing in news and ideas via the Comments section.

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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The Latest from Iran (9 June): Devaluing

2055 GMT: Diversion Watch. Back from a conference break to find that Iranian authorities, the press, and State broadcasting have teamed up --- well, sort of --- to offer a spy story as an alternative to real-life political tension.

Both State broadcaster IRNA and Fars have claimed that the Ministry of Intelligence has foiled a US plan to form a "government in exile" for Iran.

The scheme, which included scholars Gene Sharp and Joseph Nye and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, was headed by former Repvolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Reza Madhi. The American organisers arranged for Madhi to travel to Washington, where he met with Vice President Joe Biden, who promised full support.

Meanwhile, Dennis Ross of the National Security Council tried to establish the government in exile. Candidates included Amir Hossein Jahanshahi, a businessman with dual French-Israeli citizenship who is close to Ashraf Pahlavi, the twin sister of the late Shah; Abdollah Mohtadi, leader of Kurdish dissident organisation Komala; Hassan Sharafi; Alireza Nourizadeh, a London-based political analyst; Reza Hosseinbor, the leader of a secessionist group; and filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, all of whom participated in a conference at the Atlantic Hotel in Paris.

The US provided $7 billion for the effort, but it fell apart when the identity of Ahmad Maleki, a diplomat in the Iranian embassy in Italy and a nephew of Mehdi Karroubi, was revealed.

A grand story, although there have been glitches. For Fars claimed that Madhi, working for the Ministry of Intelligence, had penetrated the "counterrevolutionaries", while IRNA and Kayhan referred to him as a "CIA spy".

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Yemen, Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Bombings, Sit-ins, and a False Defection

2026 GMT: Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, has stated that he is investigating the charge that Colonel Gaddafi supplied his soldiers with Viagra in order to use rape to punish women. He is contemplating adding a charge of mass rape to Gaddafi's indictment.  

2003 GMT: Something is happening in the Yemeni capital Sana'a.

Yemen State TV has announced that President Saleh's operation was successful. Ain News is reporting that a crowd of President Saleh's supporters have started shooting into the air. Panicked opposition members are reporting that they are fleeing into their homes to escape any potential violence.

Rumors appear to be spreading that Saleh has returned to Yemen, but these are almost certainly false, sparked by the celebration.

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The Latest from Iran (8 June): The Devil Made Them Do It

2035 GMT: Oil and Politics. Talks at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries broke down over oil output, with Saudi Arabia failing to convince the cartel to raise prodcuation.

"We were unable to reach an agreement --- this is one of the worst meetings we have ever had," said Ali al-Naimi, Minister of Oil for Saudi Arabia.

Iran held out against an increase in output, fearing it might bring down oil prices.

The Iranian Government has based its 2011/12 budget on an oil price of $85 per barrel. The price for crude oil today is just over $101 per barrel; the price for Brent crude is just under $118 per barrel.

2010 GMT: Labour Front. Opposition media is reporting that 1600 workers of the South Pars energy complex, mainly in the electrical and mechanical sections, have been on strike since last Wednesday over unpaid wages.

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Iran Feature: The Squeeze of Ahmadinejad's Subsidy Cuts (Baji)

Owners of industrial and agricultural enterprises who initially welcomed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's plan to reduce subsidies by lifting the price-support system for basic goods have now become its chief critics.

Six months after the controversial plan took effect, these producers are still awaiting the promised financial support for their companies and worry that, with the sharp rise in fuel prices, they will not be able to stay afloat. 

"What do people think? That we make so much profit that despite astronomical cost increases we can still produce?" asked one food producer in exasperation, who spoke to IPS on condition of anonymity. "The reality is that sectors of production can't continue and are reducing their production, if not being shut down altogether." 

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