Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Counter-Attack, Move Closer to Capital

See also Mali Feature: A Beginner's Guide --- The Timeline of the Conflict
Syria Live Coverage: Deadly Bombardment of Damascus Suburbs Continues
Monday's Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: French Warplanes Continue Attacks

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2055 GMT: Bahrain. An appeals court has upheld a 15-month prison sentence on former MP Jawad Fairooz, imposed in absentia, for participation in protests in 2011.

Fairooz was convicted of calling for protests without notifying authorities, but acquitted of inciting hatred against the regime and spreading false information.

In November, Fairooz and 30 other activists were stripped of their Bahraini citizenship over accusations of "jeopardising state security".

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Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: French Warplanes Continue Attacks

See also US & Middle East Opinion: Sense and Sensibility About Al Jazeera America
Syria Live Coverage: Worries About "Disorganised" Insurgency and a "Failed State"
Sunday's Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Israeli Military Overruns Village of Bab al-Shams

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2134 GMT: Mali. Al Jazeera English summarises the day's developments, including the insurgent victory in Diabaly in the centre of the country:

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Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Israeli Military Overruns Village of Bab al-Shams

See also Syria Live Coverage: The Fight Near Damascus
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Insurgents Advance While Brahimi Stalls

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1830 GMT: Israel-Palestine. A day after ordering the military to disband a new village on Palestinian territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he will support Jewish settlements on the site.

Netanyahu told Israel Army Radio that, while it will take time to build in the "E1" area, "we will complete the planning, and there will be construction".

Asked why the protesters were removed, Netanyahu said, "They have no reason to be there. I asked immediately to close the area so people would not gather there needlessly and generate friction and disrupt public order."

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Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Activist Tries to Re-Enter the Kingdom

See also Syria Live Coverage: The End of the Brahimi Mission?
Thursday's Turkey (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Three Kurdish Officials Killed in Paris Attack

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1748 GMT:Tunisia. Hundreds of protesters demanding jobs and the reopening of a border crossing with Libya set fire to a police station and cars, as security forces used tear gas and fired shots into the air to disperse them.

Demonstrators in Ben Guerdane want the Ras Jedir crossing reopened so that trade with Libya, on which most of the population depend, can resume.

Tunisian and Libyan authorities opened the crossing briefly on Thursday but shut it when four days of protests in Ben Guerdane turned violent.

1818 GMT: Bahrain. Zainab AlKhawaja's reaction:

MY SISTER IS HOOOME!!!! #bahrain

— angry arabiya (@angryarabiya) January 11, 2013

Maryam and Zainab Alkhawaja:

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Remains Defiant

2232 GMT: Syria. Brigadier General Salim Idris talks to Al Jazeera English, saying that his forces need more ammunition and weapons to fight Assad. Idris also says that special rebel units are working to protect and monitor chemical stockpiles.

2149 GMT: Bahrain British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt has criticised the Court of Cassation's decision to uphold the sentences against the 13 leading Bahrain activists and politicians. In a statement, Burt said:

At the time these individuals were sentenced, reports which were acknowledged by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry suggested that some had been abused in detention, denied access to legal counsel and were coerced into confessing.

I call on the government of Bahrain to meet all its human rights obligations and guarantee its citizens the fundamental liberties to which they are entitled.

I am deeply dismayed at the decision.

2006 GMT: Libya. In order to establish law and order and find a place for many former soldiers, over 6000 militiamen have been trained to be police, according to the new Interior Minister Ashour Shuail:

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Israel Feature: "The Most Hated Woman in the Country?" --- Member of Knesset Hanin Zoabi

Zoabi shrugs off the incident with the right-wingers in the court building. She is not afraid of them, she insists, and even chuckled when she noticed that I was shaken at the time. “I can triumph over the right-wingers who attacked us in the Supreme Court. I am a democrat and I have values, and they are a rabble.”

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Syria Live Coverage: "220 Executed" as Regime Advances in Homs

Rally in Deir Baalba in Syria, November 2011

See also 2012 in Review: How Did EA's Predictions Turn Out?
Egypt Feature: Not All "Islamist" Movements Are the Same....
Iraq Video: Evaluating the Surge in Anti-Government Protests
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: UN Envoy Brahimi's Mission is "Dead in the Water"

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1735 GMT: Syria. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has told thousands of Syrian refugees that their country is preparing for a "sacred birth" replacing President Assad with the will of the people: "We can see very clearly that God's help is close. Don't forget victory comes to those who are patient."

Erdogan stood next to Moaz Al-Khatib, the head of the Syrian opposition National Coalition.

Refugee camps in Turkey host 150,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: 156 Killed as UN Envoy Brahimi Meets Assad

See also Israel-Palestine Feature: Jerusalem's "Extreme Makeover" & "Perilous Decline"
Syria 1st-Hand: Attempting to Live a Normal Life in Insurgent-Held Yabroud
Monday's Syria Live Coverage: "94 Killed" in Regime Airstrike on Bakery Queue

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2100 GMT: Egypt. The US State Department has reacted to today's official declaration of the approval of the Constitution:

The future of Egypt’s democracy depends on forging a broader consensus behind its new democratic rules and institutions. Many Egyptians have voiced deep concerns about the substance of the constitution and the constitutional process. President Morsi, as the democratically elected leader of Egypt, has a special responsibility to move forward in a way that recognizes the urgent need to bridge divisions, build trust, and broaden support for the political process. We have called for genuine consultation and compromise across Egypt’s political divides. We hope those Egyptians disappointed by the result will seek more and deeper engagement. We look to those who welcome the result to engage in good faith. And we hope all sides will re-commit themselves to condemn and prevent violence.

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Israel-Palestine Feature: Jerusalem's "Extreme Makeover" & "Perilous Decline" (International Crisis Group)

The announcement of significant new Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem has put the spotlight on the city, but the changes it has undergone since 2000, when the parties first negotiated its fate, are far broader and have far deeper roots.  Israelis, Palestinians and the international community must adjust their strategies accordingly, or Arab East Jerusalem will continue its perilous decline, with catastrophic consequences for all.

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Israel, Palestine (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Netanyahu Dismisses Criticism of Settlements

See also Kuwait Analysis: Has the Emir Halted the Protests?
Syria Live Coverage: "The Land Where Assad Killed Santa Claus"
Friday's Iraq (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Security Forces Raid Minister of Finance's Home and Offices

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1945 GMT: Israel-Palestine. Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to disband the Authority, handing full control of the West Bank back to Israel, if West Jersualem does not halt its expansion of settlements: "We will not be guards of Israel's security and will never be a tool at Israel's hand to implement its plans on the Palestinian territories."

Abbas told his Fatah Party's Advisory Council that Israel's construction in the E-1 zone on Palestinian territory is "a red line and we will never allow it to happen", as it aims to "sabotage the peace process".

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