Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: New Opposition Coalition Formed "In Principle"

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2015 GMT: Syria. The new opposition umbrella Syrian National Coaliation has chosen Damascus cleric Moaz al-Khatib as its head.

Al-Khatib, the former Sunni Muslim imam of the Umayyad Mosque, left the country for Cairo in July after several periods of detention.

Leading dissident Riad Seif said a "12-point agreement" had been sealed. Proposals include an assembly of 55-60 members, with representation for ethnic Kurds, Christians, Alawites, and women, and from the SNC. The new body will also have a military council that will include the Free Syrian Army.

The Syrian National Council, the previous umbrella leadership, was reportedly given a deadline of 10:00 (0700 GMT) to join the Coalition or risk being left out.

Bassem Said Ishak of the SNC said the Kurds required 48 hours to get the approval of their leadership.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Transition Plan Going Nowhere?

Two insurgents try to destroy a regime armoured vehicle with an RPG in Deir Ez Zor Province in Syria

See also Sudan Video Feature: Will the Protests Spread?
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Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: World Powers Agree to Disagree

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2202 GMT: Syria. At least 114 people were killed today, according to the activist network LCCS:

34 martyrs in Damascus Suburbs, 27 martyrs in Hama, 23 martyrs in Homs, 13 martyrs in Deir Ezzor, 6 martyrs in Idlib, 4 martyrs in Aleppo, 4 martyrs in Daraa, 2 martyrs in Damascus and 1 martyr in Lattakia.

The dramatic violence continues, and it is not isolated to a single region. The daily death toll appears to consistently stay above 100, just another sign of how quickly things are deteriorating in Syria.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Declares, "We Are In a Real State of War"

View Syria - 2012 June 26 - EA Worldview in a larger map

An interactive map of Tuesday's developments in Syria

See also Syria Audio Feature: Scott Lucas with Monocle 24 "No Negotiation Possible --- This is War"
Bahrain Document: Court Testimony of Abdulhadi Alkhawaja "I Have Been Subjected to Torture"
Saudi Arabia Feature: Interview with the "Eastern Province Revolution"
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: NATO Meets Over Downing of Turkish Jet

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2220 GMT: Syria. Below we have posted an interactive map, compiled by myself and our intern, Josh Moss. Each flag on the map links to a specific live entry, an effort to impose order on a bloody and chaotic day in Syria. You can click on the link below the map to see it in a large window.

View Syria - 2012 June 27 - EA Worldview in a larger map

2210 GMT: Syria At least 104 people have been killed today, including at least 20 children, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria:

42 martyrs were reported in Idlib, 15 in the Damascus Suburbs, 14 in Deir Ezzor, 10 in Daraa, 10 in Homs, 8 in Qamishli, 3 in Hama, 1 in Hasakeh, and 1 in Aleppo.

The numbers are staggeringly high, as they have been all week, and most of last week. The number of dead children is just heartbreaking, however. Among the dead, 10 year old Badreddine Sadeq, killed today in Aleppo:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting in the Streets of Damascus

Sounds of Friday's night fighting in the Syrian capital Damascus

See also Syria Video Feature: Regime Troops Celebrate Over Bodies in Idlib
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Syria Video Feature: Friday's Protests Across the Country
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Annan Plan is Failing --- We Must Have the Annan Plan

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2045 GMT: Bahrain. Images from clashes in Sitra tonight after a rally for political prisoners:

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Egypt, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Waiting for a Presidential Outcome

2103 GMT: Syria. According to the Local Coordinating Committees, today's death toll has risen to 51, with at least 40 killed in Houla, Homs (see previous updates).

2054 GMT: Egypt. It was messy, it was long awaited, it was ovedue, it's going to be disappointing to some, but it's hard to argue that it isn't historic. There are the results of the first presidential election in Egypt:

1. Mursi 5,553,097 (25.30 per cent)

2. Shafiq 5,210,978 (23.74 per cent)

3. Sabbahi 4,739,983 (21.60 per cent)

4. Abul-Fotouh 3,936,264 (17.93 per cent)

5. Moussa 2,407,837 (10.97 per cent)

As we predicted earlier, the results will trigger a runoff election between the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi and Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force commander and Mubarak's last Prime Minister.

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Syria Video Feature: What is the State of the Opposition? (Al Jazeera English)

Last week was marked by tensions over the opposition Syrian National Council, with key groups threatening to freeze their activities or even withdraw in protest. Days after he was re-elected to a three-month term, SNC head Burhan Ghalioun resigned.

Al Jazeera English's Inside Story considers the issues with Bassma Kodmani, a senior SNC figure; Kamal al-Labwani, a Syrian opposition activist and former SNC member; and Joshua Landis, the academic who runs the Syria Comment website.

Syria Snap Analysis: Lessons from the Resignation of the Syrian National Council's Burhan Ghalioun

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Says, "No Chaos, Please"

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The crisis marches on, regardless of how well, or poorly, things go in the expatriate community. Politically, the status quo is unlikely to change in the near-future. Do the Syrians, or the international actors, really want to latch their entire plan to end the crisis on a strong, officially-recognised leadership? If so, how will that plan adapt if the Syrian crisis deepens, or even closes in on a conclusion, before the legitimacy of that leadership is established inside the country?

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Battle of Rastan

1932 GMT: Syria. Another bloody day in Syria - the LCCS reports that 63 people have been killed today nationwide:

33 martyrs in Idlib, 8 martyrs in Homs, 7 martyrs in Deir Ezzor, 5 martyrs in Hama, 4 martyrs in Damascus Suburbs "Qalamoun - Qudsaya - Douma - Al-Tal", 4 Martyrs in Banyas, one martyr in Hasakeh and one martyr in Daraa "Daeel".

1924 GMT: Syria. Residents of Deir Ez Zor reported on Twitter that regime armored vehicles moved into the city in force today. Several of them were harassing residents, and security forces were making widespread arrests. The driver of the BMP vehicle in this video decided that it was in the best interest of national security to run over parked cars.

The strategy didn't work - as you'll find out if you watch to the end of the video:

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Gathering of the "Friends of Syria"

A march in Bilad Alqadeem in Bahrain today, expressing solidarity with political leaders in prison

A protester amidst the tear gas in Salmabad in Bahrain on Saturday

See also Syria Document: Beginner's Guide to The 27 Points of the "Friends of Syria" Meeting
Syria Feature: An Insurgency Running Short of Ammunition
Bahrain Video Interview: Nabeel Rajab on BBC HARDTalk "Why This Regime and This Revolution Are Different"
Bahrain Video Special: A Tribute to Ahmed Ismail Hassan, Citizen Journalist of Salmabad
Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Teenager is Shot to Death in Salmabad

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2005 GMT: CNN posts a video profile of prominent Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat --- abducted and badly beaten by gunmen in Damascus last August, he left the country but now hopes to return:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Crushing the Opposition?

1936 GMT: A prominent activist Facebook Page reports that 106 people have been killed today in Syria, most of whom were killed in Idlib province. There are unconfirmed reports that the city of Idlib has fallen to Assad military forces today. We'd note that the city has been nearly impossible to get any information out of for the last 24 hours or so.

The Local Coordinating Committees of Syria have not released numbers for several hours, but at their last tally, they had confirmed 49 deaths.

1929 GMT: Despite the violence, this is an extremely impressive protest in the Qusour neighborhood of Homs:

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