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Sunday
Feb172013

Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Thousands March as Clashes Continue

Opposition montage of the funeral march for 16-year-old Hassan AlJazeeri on Saturday

See also Syria Live Coverage: Insurgents Take Another Major Airbase Near Aleppo
Saturday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protests and Clashes Continue


2007 GMT: Egypt. The State Prosecutor has ordered the detention of an Islamic preacher on suspicion of insulting religion, following a complaint from a Christian activist.

Ahmed Abdullah, known as Abu Islam, is already on trial for tearing up a Bible during a protest outside the US embassy in Cairo in September over the American-produced film "The Innocence of Muslims", which denigrated the Prophet Mohammed.

1616 GMT: Egypt. The Ministry of Finance has said that funds allocated for diesel fuel subsidies have run out for the current year.

An official source within the ministry has said that meetings are being held with Ministry of Petroleum officials to solve the crisis. The two ministries are considering opening an additional source of funding for diesel subsidies through a law giving the Minister of Finance the power to approve additional credits.

The government's subsidies for diesel fuel are currently estimated at LE50 billion (about $7.43 billion).

1604 GMT: Libya. Mohamed al-Magarief, the head of the National Assembly, using an address on the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled the Qaddafi regime, has called on Libyans to "join ranks and resolve our differences to build our nation" amid concerns about security and economic difficulties.

Al-Magarief, speaking in the second city of Benghazi, promised to fight poverty and "marginalisation" giving Libyans extra cash to mark the occasion. He said he would not allow Libya to become "an incubator of terrorism and violence".

The Libyan leader promised that the next Constitution would explicitly declare Islam as the country's religion with Sharia as the main source of legislation.

1454 GMT: Tunisia. The Vice President of the Ennahda Party, the leading faction in the ruling coalition, has called for the departure of Ennadha's Rachid Ghannouchi.

Abdelfattah Mourou said Ghannouchi had led Tunisia to “disaster" and claimed he was the person who prompted Prime Minister Jebali to attempt the formation of a new government of technocrats earlier this month to “save the country".

Jebali, who is the deputy leader of Ennadha, has faced resistance from the party to the plan. He made the move amid public anger over the assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid.

Mourou accused Ghannouchi and his leadership of turning Ennadha into “a family affair": “It is controlled by people who do not open up to realities and modernity. It is a disaster."

1440 GMT: Iraq. The death toll from this morning's three car bombs, in mainly-Shia areas of Baghdad, is now at least 37 people with more than 100 injured.

1400 GMT: Egypt. The head of armed forces, Major General Sedki Sobhi, has said that the army will avoid involvement in politics but could have a role if things became "complicated".

The Chief of Staff said rival political groups were expected to solve disputes by dialogue.

1120 GMT: Libya. The head of the National Assembly, . , Mohamed Al-Magarief is addressing a crowd in Benghazi on the second anniversary of the start of the uprising against the Qaddafi regime.

The mass protests began in Benghazi, Libya's second city, amid complaints over preferential treatment of the Qaddafi elite and detentions of regime opponents.

0940 GMT: Iraq. Three bombs in Baghdad this morning have killed at least 20 people.

The blasts were in the neighbourhoods of Ourfally, Kiyara, and Falah Street in the eastern suburb of Sadr City.

0813 GMT: Bahrain. The resurgent pattern of protest and clashes was marked by the thousands who marched in the funeral procession for 16-year-old Hassan AlJazeeri, killed on Thursday by security forces. Once again, the main march was followed by widespread confrontations, as police used tear gas to prevent young men reaching Pearl Roundabout --- the symbolic centre of the start of the mass protests in February 2011 --- and moved through villages in search of "troublemakers".

After three days of sustained fighting, the Ministry of Interior claimed two police officers had been killed and 75 injured. It added the assertion that eight men, linked to Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon, had been arrested on "terrorist-related charges".

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