Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Anticipating A Friday of Protests and Clashes

1954 GMT: Bahrain. Earlier we noted that there were clashes between police and protesters as crowds, gathered to mourn the loss of a prisoner of conscience who dies this week fro sickle cell anemia, were disrupted by teargas. It seems that some of the youth reportedly threw molotov cocktails, and injuries are reported. The Ministry of Interior released this statement, along with a phone number to call:

The General Director of Northern Police announced that a group of lawbreakers targeted on-duty policemen on Friday, while trying to secure Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman road near Buquwa. They attacked the police with Molotov Cocktails. The car gutted and one policeman was injured.

1841 GMT: Turkey/Syria. More escalation near the border:

#BREAKING: Turkish army shells al-Qaysaryia town 13km south of Tel Abyad town - Activists #Syria #Assad #Turkey #Ankara

— Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) October 5, 2012

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (31 August): The Failure of the Charm Offensive

See also Iran, Syria, and the Non-Aligned Summit: 5 Questions and Answers
Iran Special: Regime Show Collapses as Morsi Gives Tehran an "Islamic Awakening" on Syria
The Latest from Iran (30 August): The Big Names Arrive at the Non-Aligned Summit

---

Photo: Hamid Forootan/ISNA/REUTERS1543 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani took the podium today to convince the faithful of the success of this week's displya in Tehran, "Holding the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Iran was a show of power and political manoeuvre for Iran under conditions that the country is facing various threats. Such moves foil all plots and destroy them.”

The cleric called for expanded influence for the organisation, "This movement should be deepened and should move towards providing security in the world."

There is no indication that Emami Kashani spoke about the address by Egyptian President Morsi or the remarks of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Click to read more ...

Syria All-Is-Well Snapshot: "All Food Items Available at Moderate Prices"

State news agency SANA puts claims of inflation and shortages in Syria to rest:

Prime Minister, Dr. Wael al-Halki, said that all food items are available in the governmental sale centers at moderate prices.

During a tour of a number of sale centers on Thursday, al-Halki said that are diverse food items, including vegetables, fruit, meat and oil, since they are domestic industries that are a source of power for Syria in the face of schemes to subdue the Syrian people.

Dr. al-Halki stressed that the national economy is robust and capable of withstanding the economic sanctions against the Syrian people.