Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Battle of Baba Amr

2127 GMT: A new Tweet by the activist "Sami" who is inside Homs:

Electricty is back to many of #Homs 's districts after 3 days of its cut off #BabaAmr & #Inshaat are still in darkness.#Syria

— Samsom homs (@Samsomhoms) March 1, 2012

Earlier, Sami spoke to NPR's Andy Carvin, and said that electricity, and water, was cut for much of the city.

2111 GMT: Reuters, citing several sources, says that wounded French journalist Edith Bouvier has arrived in Lebanon. French President Sarkozy also told Reuters that he spoke to Bouvier, and she will be flown back on a government plane.

Sarkozy sparked a false rumor earlier this week that Bouvier was free, but this seems like a legitimate report.

2103 GMT: An explosive allegation from a major opposition group in Syria tonight:

Qunaitara: Jabatha: Regime forces stormed the town which lies on Israel's border with Syria. They are not permitted to enter this specific area without an Israeli permission or without the observation of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) . The regime's forces killed 7 citizens during their operation, among them 3 brothers of the Marweed family and one woman with her daughter, as well as a man from the Hariri family.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Remembering All the Dead

A montage of more than 70 people who have died in violence in Bahrain since the start of mass protests in February 2011

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2127 GMT: A member of the Syrian National Council, Mulham al Jundi reports on the situation in Baba Amr, Homs:

In a phone call with Abu Haneen from the heart of Baba Amr, he informed us of the following:

Baba Amr has faced multiple attempts of being stormed by the Syrian National Army. Activists worked hard to save the neighborhood and protect the civilians. In the meanwhile, Baba Amr was still being shelled. Clashes continued until the evening. The Free Syrian Army succeeded in affecting loss in the Syrian National Army, both people & supplies. Some of the leaders of the Farooq Division left the site of the clashes to securely transport women and children to safer regions. Activists are still defending the neighborhood against the army that was essentially defeated at its attempts. The activists have seized control of Baba Amr and the Assad army is positioned at the outskirts of the region.

While we can't verify the specific details of the report, there are two key points that continue to be repeated by all the trusted sources EA has made contact with - the FSA has been clashing with Assad soldiers, especially in the northeast of Baba Amr, and the troops have not fully occupied the neighborhood...

Yet. The third detail that is in nearly every report - Assad's military is capable of taking Baba Amr. It is possible that they are holding out to lessen the media attention, or because they want to avoid heavy losses, but the entire city is surrounded by extremely large amounts of pro-Assad military forces, and tonight they are closer to Baba Arm than they have been since the siege started.

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Bahrain Videos: 10,000s at Friday's Opposition Rally "A Nation That Refuses Humiliation"

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If tens of thousands of people protest but the media is elsewhere, do they make a sound?

With attention focused on Syria --- and, it must be said, with no tear gas and violence to grab a headline --- press and broadcasters may have overlooked the rally called on Friday by Bahrain's main opposition societies, "A Nation That Refuses Humiliation".

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Bahrain Feature: The Long Tentacles of the Regime's PR Octopus (Owen Jones)

The CEO of Bell Pottinger PR with Bahrain's Minister of EnergyThe BBC World Service show "World Have Your Say" broadcast a show last week that concerned the media war in Bahrain. Among the topics discussed was the government PR machine, though unbeknownst to the BBC, one of the guests on the show is the managing director of a company who receives money from the government to do PR. Another guest on the show was also suggested to the BBC by a PR company connected to the royal family, though the BBC were quick to emphasise that she was not representing the royal family.

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Bahrain 1st-Hand: US Activist Radhika Sainath "Joining the Protests, Being Detained"

Police arrest protesters in Bahrain's capital Manama, 11 February

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The police started questioning me about my attendance at the protest, how I go there, and why I was present. Did I know that "they were saying bad things about the Bahraini regime, that they were chanting down with Hamad"?

Do they allow people to say bad things about the government in America?” asked one. The others nodded at his logic, certain that I would now understand the outrageousness of the protesters’ actions.

“Of course. People said bad things about George Bush all the time. They hated Bush. And now lots of people protest against Obama.”

They were quiet, and I pressed on, telling them that I was in their country, Pakistan, a few years ago supporting the lawyer’s democracy movement. “The people hated Musharraf, and they went to the street.” I hoped I played my cards right—what if these guys liked Musharraf? But nobody liked Musharraf. I watched their eyes blink in understanding. They hated their dictatorship, but were supporting another non-democratic regime.

Eventually, they left, taking the youth with them. The woman thanked me, if I had not been there, perhaps they would have taken her too.

I walked back towards where protesters had re-gathered. Little did I know that in the next few minutes, I would not escape so easily.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "A City of Torture"

Vehicles and a house set on fire by regime shelling of the Baba Amr section of Homs in Syria on Monday

See also Palestine Breaking: Israel Frees Hunger Striker Khader Adnan
Bahrain Analysis: The Anti-National Dialogue
Bahrain Opinion: No Reform, So Why is the Grand Prix Going Ahead?
Monday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Watching the Protests

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2053 GMT: Activist Zilal translates this video from Homs which shows the now-famous doctor, Mohammad al-Mohammad, speaking about the death of citizen journalist Rami Ahmad Al Sayed:

The doctor says that Ramy Sayed died after he hemorrhaged for 3 hours. He was hit by shrapnel from a rocket in the chest, abdomen, thigh and feet. He was injured while accompanying a family (4 member of the family also died). He also says that Rami was one of the most important cameraman and activist in Baba Amr and that he was killed because he was filming the reality in Baba Amr.

The man who speaks at the end of the video is Rami's brother. He says that Rami asked him to give him his phone to film demonstrations the first times, and after that he said to his brother "Bring me a camera, I want to film."

The video may be disturbing to some viewers.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Watching the Protests

Security forces, using hot water, scatter protesters in Aldaih in Bahrain after dispersing a funeral procession (see 1347 GMT)

See also Bahrain Opinion: No Reform, So Why is the Grand Prix Going Ahead?
Syria Audio Feature: Iranian Rappers Sing for the People of Homs
Sunday's Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Violence Escalates
Syria Live Coverage: Defiance in Damascus

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2225 GMT: Apologies for limited service tonight, as EA staff have been travelling and giving presentations. We will be back from 0600 GMT with latest news.

1805 GMT: A Bahraini court has acquitted former MP Matar Matar, a leading member of the opposition society Al Wefaq, of taking part in "unlawful" protests.

The last of three charges, "undermining public security by assembling with a group of more than five people", was dropped on Monday by a court in Manama.

Authorities had released Matar and another Al-Wefaq member, Jawad Fayruz, in August after three months of detention.

1730 GMT: Protesters makes another dash for Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain as security forces fire sound bombs:

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Bahrain Feature: Updated List of 68 Killed Since February 2011

Ali MushaimaA Bahraini activist, Mohammad Ashoor, has updated his list of those who have died from violence in Bahrain since the start of mass protests on 14 February 2011. The list does not appear to include five policemen who have also died in clashes, according to the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry:

1. Martyr Ali Mushaima - 14 February 2011 - Killed by birdshot in Al Daih

 2. Martyr Fadhil Salman Al Matrook - 15 February 2011 - Killed by birdshot during the funeral of martyr Ali Mushaima

3. Martyr Ali Mansoor Khudair - 17 February 2011 - Killed by birdshot during the first Lulu (Pearl Roundabout) attack

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Violence Escalates

Protesters throw Molotov cocktails at security forces in Aldair in Bahrain on Saturday

See also Palestine Letter: Khader Adnan "Why I Am on Hunger Strike"
Bahrain Feature: Updated List of 68 Killed Since February 2011
Sunday's Syria Live Coverage: Defiance in Damascus
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Story Gets Out

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1244 GMT: At least 15 people have been killed and 21 wounded when a bomber wearing a suicide vest blew himself up near the entrance to the Iraqi Police Academy in the east of Baghdad.

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Deadly attacks have also been reported in and around the city of Baquba, to the north of Baghdad. Four police informants were killed by suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen.

Gunmen also attacked a checkpoint in Abu Khamis, north of Baquba, killing one policeman and two members of the Sahwa (Awakening) militia.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Story Gets Out

The moment that Syrian security forces opened fire on a funeral crowd in Mezzeh in Damascus today

See also Tunisia Feature: Islamists, Faith, and Democracy
Egypt 1st-Hand: Nine Views of a Country's Future
Bahrain Movie: "Tn Tn Ttn" --- The Story of a Horn and Its Resistance
Bahrain 1st-Hand: The Deported Irish Activist's Week on the Island "They Are Slowly Killing These People"
Syria Audio Special: A Resident of Homs Speaks to EA Worldview
Yemen Interview: Nadia Al-Sakkaf "The Revolution Doesn't Relate to Daily Lives"
Friday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Two More Anniversaries

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2156 GMT: Scenes of clashes in Sitra in Bahrain today --- in the first, a youth is struck by fire from the police:

Youths pursue the security forces, throwing Molotovs:

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