Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 89 Deaths, 672 Protests, and a "Liberated" Regime Convoy

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1715 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria report 47 people have been killed by security forces so far today, with 17 slain in the shelling of Deir Ez Zor and 10 dead in Aleppo and its suburbs.

1615 GMT: Iraq. Officials say a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged belt at a gathering of his family, killing his pro-government cousin and six other relatives, in Ramadi, 115 kilometres ((71 miles) west of Baghdad.

The bomber entered the home of his cousin, the local leader of the Sahwa militia, on Friday night as the extended family was gathered for a meal. He approached his cousin and detonated his explosives, killing him as well as his wife, three of their teenage children, his brother and another relative.

1530 GMT: Syria. China's Foreign Ministry has rejected criticism by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Beijing is hampering efforts to end the Syrian conflict by supporting the Assad regime.

Spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement Saturday that Clinton's remarks were "totally unacceptable" and that China has wide international support for its "just and constructive" stance: "Any effort to slander China and incite discord between China and any other country will be futile."

Clinton told about 100 nations attending a conference in Paris on Friday that they should "directly and urgently make it clear that Russia and China will pay a price" for standing up on behalf of Damascus.

Neither Russia nor China, who have blocked UN Security Council condemnation of the Assad regime, attended the conference.

1500 GMT: Syria. A funeral procession today in the Yabroud section of Damascus for Mohammad Sulieman, killed when he was hit in the head by shrapnel:

1415 GMT: Libya. Officials say voter turnout in the election for a General National Conference has been high, but 101 of more than 1500 polling stations, mainly in the east, were unable to open.

1355 GMT: Yemen. Security forces shot dead four men and wounded 18 others at demonstrations by southern separatists on Friday, protest leaders said.

Three men were shot by a sniper as he marched with several hundred protesters in Aden who were trying to get into a public square in the Mansoura district, said Hussein Zaid bin Yahya, a leader of the Southern Movement. Security forces and the army had tried to block the protesters' way near the square, Yahya said.

Six other protesters were wounded in another district of Aden, bin Yayha said, and Saleh Yahya, a leading figure in the Southern Movement, was arrested.

A security official said that "armed elements in the march" had fired on security forces and the army. He could not confirm the protesters' deaths.

In the town of Sai'oun in the southeast region of Hadramaut, a man was shot dead and three others wounded when security forces attacked, a Southern Movement activist said.

Marches were being held to commemorate the day in 1994 that Government forces from Sanaa stormed Aden at the end of a brief civil war. Aden was the capital of the former South Yemen until unification in 1990.

1235 GMT: Syria. According to residents, Syrian artillery have hit villages in northern Lebanon, killing five people and wounding scores more after insurgents crossed the border into Lebanon.

Residents of the Wadi Khaled region said several mortar bombs fell on farm buildings, 5 to 20 kilometres (3 to 12 miles) from the border, from 2 a.m.

At midday, villagers reported more explosions and said they heard gunfire close to the border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that President Assad's military bombarded a string of towns in Aleppo Province today: "Regime forces are attempting to regain control over this region, where they suffered heavy casualties over the past months to rebels. A large number of families have been displaced from the area for fear of shelling and lack of water, electricity and medical services."

1205 GMT: Syria. A funeral procession in the Salaheddin section of Aleppo today:

1055 GMT: Libya. Amid reports that several polling stations in eastern Libya were attacked by pro-autonomy activists, who seized electoral papers and ballot boxes, a photograph of a human shield to protect a voting centre:

0925 GMT: Libya. Back from a Saturday break to find excited Libyans reporting their participation in today's elections for a 200-seat General National Conference to replace the interim government:

They voted!!! “@libyanproud: @Dima_Khatib me and my friend that was imprisoned by #Gaddafitwitpic.com/a4ub6h”

— Dima Khatib أنا ديمة (@Dima_Khatib) July 7, 2012

I now feel that the 70 days I spent in prison didn't go to waste #LYelect #ليبيا #تنتخب

— Mohamed Htewish (@HtewishM) July 7, 2012

A note from the Deputy Prime Minister, Mustafa Abushagur:

I just voted in the first election in Libya. Congratulation to all free Libyans.

— Dr.Mustafa Abushagur (@MustafaAG) July 7, 2012

0545 GMT: Syria. Friday was marked by developments which have become routine. Activists reported 89 deaths at the hands of security forces, with 28 killed in the Damascus suburbs, but defiance continued with hundreds of protests --- by evening, opposition sources were claiming 672 throughout the country, many of them large, including in the capital Damascus and the Syria's largest city Aleppo.

There were also far-from-routine events. President Assad's military reportedly re-took Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib Province, with unconfirmed claims of many slain amid the fighting. However, that military also suffered an embarrassing loss when a large convoy, including an oil tanker, were apparently seized by the Free Syrian Army in an ambush between Aleppo and the Turkish border.

Protest in the Kafarsouseh section of Damascus:

A rally in the Salaheddin neighbourhood of Aleppo: