You are in the 184th Witness Revolution diary, bearing witness to pro-democracy movements in North Africa, the Middle East and beyond. We aim here to simply report, from as many reliable worldwide resources as possible, on the successes, challenges or failures as brave people strive against oppression for representative democracy with civil and human rights. One small bit of assurance that they do not strive in obscurity.
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
SYRIA
(h/t UnaSpenser 5/4) Video shot by two journalists posing as tourists inside Syria
(ht JustJennifer 5/5) -
The future of Syria, From The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page
(ht JustJennifer 5/5) - Heartbreaking visual aide about the conditions in Daraa, Daraa under siege
(ht JustJennifer 5/5) - From The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page
More news listed country by country below the fold...
This group produces a series of diaries which provide background and analysis on the region in general and on individual countries. We hope these provide context for you as you read about current events. The published diaries in the series are:
Eyes on Egypt and the Region Background Resources
See the group stream for other diary series.
We collect suggested readings for background reference materials in support of the Eyes on Egypt and the Region group. These may be non-fiction or fiction, general to the region or specific to a country or issue. If there are resources which you believe could aid our understanding of the events and processes we are witnessing, please either a) post a comment in the Liveblog with the title "Suggested reading:" and a brief description of the reading in the body of the comment, or b) send your suggestions via the dKos internal message to angry marmot.
Libyan Doctors for Hospitals in Libya is an impressive new aide organization launched by one of our own: StepLeftStepForward.
PLS REC THIS DIARY! Will you please do the following to keep our dKos community eyes on our international friends risking their lives for self-determination?
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Thank you!
NOTE: We renamed the original "Egypt Liveblog" to "Witnessing Revolution". From Egypt the pro-democracy fire spread rapidly. It's not clear that it will be limited by geography or ethnicity. So, we wanted a name which states what is happening yet allows us to grow with the movement, wherever that will be. The number sequence will be continuous. The group name will remain the same. Only this particular diary series within the group changed names.
GENERAL ANALYSIS
Excellent dairy by DK’s unspeakable How an Authoritarian Regime Operates – Why the Arab Spring Protesters are Heroes
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Bank group sees recession in Egypt, Tunisia, Syria
The economies of Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Syria are likely to fall into recession in 2011 as economic activity falls sharply following popular uprisings since January, a global bank group forecast on Tuesday
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Arab Spring sparks review of EU border-free area
BRUSSELS (AFP) – The EU was poised to reinstate border checkpoints and deploy a new corps of frontier guards as fears of a north Africa migrant deluge triggered a review Wednesday of the bloc's passport-free Schengen accord
ALGERIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/3) - Algeria govt approves big hike in public spending
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria announced a sharp increase in budget spending and waived duties on staple foods on Monday in a move designed to stop public discontent spilling over into the kind of revolts rocking other Arab states
BAHRAIN
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - Bahrain's medics are the targets of retribution
At about 11pm on 2 May, Bahrain's criminal investigations directorate summoned Dr Nedhal al-Khalifa, a 42-year-old dermatologist. Her father dropped her off at their headquarters at the ministry of interior at about midnight. Her family, including her four young children, didn't hear anything from her until she was released two days later. Her husband, Dr Sadiq Abdulla, a vascular surgeon, also 42, was detained in the same fashion on 14 April. His whereabouts and condition remains unknown, as does the reason for his detention.
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - UN rights chief slams Bahrain military trials
GENEVA, May 05, 2011 (AFP) - UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Thursday condemned death sentences imposed by military courts in Bahrain on protestors accused of killings as well as military trials for civilian activists
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - Bahrain: Arbitrary Arrests Escalate
(Washington, DC) - Security forces arrested two former members of parliament from Bahrain's largest opposition group, Human Rights Watch said today. The arrests were the first targeting elected representatives of the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, which won the popular vote in October 2010 elections, since the large-scale crackdown against protesters and opposition members began in mid-March
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - Bahrain, Kingdom of Silence
An eerie silence and a paralyzing sense of fear currently grip Bahrain. Since mid-March, when tens of thousands of protesters last took to the streets demanding political reform, Bahraini security and military forces have engaged in an ongoing, systematic, and brutal campaign to crush the country’s pro-democracy forces. The crackdown has been sweeping and shocking. Dozens of activists have been killed. Hundreds more have been imprisoned and tortured. Bahrain’s leading independent newspaper, al-Wasat, is expected to close down on May 10
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - In Bahrain, World Press Non-Freedom Day
Today is World Press Freedom Day, a day that is being commiserated more than celebrated in many nations, including Bahrain, where journalists and bloggers are currently under siege by government.
Ironically, one of those world leaders celebrating World Press Freedom Day is King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, one of 38 heads of state who have been named “predators of press freedom” by Reporters Without Borders. He issued a statement today saying that he believes “a free, impartial and independent Press is the backbone of democratic development.”
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights lawyer Mr Mohammed Al-Tajir in Manama, Bahrain
The International Observatory for Lawyers expresses its deep concern regarding the arbitrary arrest and detention, on 15 April 2011, of Mohammed al-Tajer by the country security forces.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4 ) - Bahrain renews emergency law as repression persists
The Bahraini government must end its relentless crackdown on human rights, Amnesty International said today after the country's parliament voted to extend a repressive state of emergency amid continued arrests of dissidents.
"The Bahraini authorities must stop detaining anyone who opposes them and release protesters who have been locked up for peacefully demanding reform," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Bahrain to Put Medical Staff on Trial
Bahrain plans to try in a military court nearly 50 doctors and nurses who treated antigovernment protesters during months of unrest, broadening the ruling Al-Khalifa family's crackdown on Shiite opposition supporters.
(h/t Dibsa 5/3) - Bahrain: Medics blamed for protestors' deaths
Bahrain has said it will charge a number of medical workers with causing the death of two demonstrators, broadening a big crackdown on the opposition in the wake of protests that shook the Gulf island kingdom
(h/t Dibsa 5/3) - Death sentences in Bahrain: joint statement by EP committee chairs
The death sentences passed on four anti-government protesters in Bahrain on 28 April prompted thousands of appeals, posted by Bahrainis on the European Parliament's Facebook page, for help to get them revoked. Moved by these appeals, committee chairs Gabriele Albertini (Foreign Affairs), Heidi Hautala (Human Rights Sub-Committee) and Angelika Niebler (Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula) issued the following joint statement on Tuesday
BURKINA FASO
(h/t Dibsa 5/4 ) - Burkina Faso opposition 'aiming for coup'
Ouagadougou - Burkina Faso's ruling party on Tuesday accused the opposition of trying to stage a coup by calling for President Blaise Compaore's ouster in a series of popular protests.
The head of the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), Roch Marc Christian Kabore, said the situation has revealed "putschist tendencies" which he thought were a thing of the past.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4 ) -
Burkina Faso unions cancel march over violence fears
OUAGADOUGOU — Trade unions and civil society groups in Burkina Faso called off a May Day march here Sunday to avoid violence amid a wave of popular anger against President Blaise Compaore's regime.
"Unfortunately comrades, the information we have is that the route is not secure. If we hold the march now we run the risk of bringing back wounded or dead people," said union spokesman El Hadj Mamadou Nama.
COTE D'IVOIRE
(h/t Dibsa 5/4 ) -
Ivory Coast: Dozens die as Laurent Gbagbo's militia fight on
Dozens of people have died in Ivory Coast's commercial capital as the remnants of a militia loyal to Laurent Gbagbo fight on – three weeks after he was deposed.
The stubborn resistance in Abidjan is said to come from mainly Liberian mercenaries hired by Gbagbo as a last throw of the dice after he suffered election defeat and his army crumbled
DJIBOUTI
(h/t UnaSpenser 4/14 ) -
JIBOUTI: WHY NO ONE CARES
section of article which covers pro-democracy movements throughout Africa
Whilst the world was watching Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt and Libya, Djibouti had an election on 8 April. With no opposition, a state-controlled media and no civil society movement, it was easy enough for President Omar Guelleh to change the constitution allowing him to run for a third term - thereby continuing 35 year rule by the same family. But this little dictatorship is strategically central to the US Africa Command (2,000 US troops are based here) and the NATO countries. Unlike in Libya, Djibouti's 1 million population can expect no support from the West in their small attempts to have a voice.
EGYPT
DailyKos Diary from someone in Egypt doing political organizing consulting:
Challenges with Democracy in Egypt by katienaranjo
Note: For the last year and a half, I have been working on-and-off with Egyptian political parties and youth activists. Below is the first blog post in a series of reports on the upcoming Egyptian elections. This series represents my views from interactions with activists, party leaders, and candidates on the ground in Egypt. I am currently in Cairo after a week of traveling around Egypt meeting with eager activists.
I am a week into my efforts to train Egyptian political activists on how Americans campaign, and it is clear the challenges facing political parties and youth activists here are daunting. In addition to high illiteracy rates, limitations on election resources, and a politically-uninitiated populace, Egypt’s troubles are mounting as its parliamentary elections draw near.
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - Egypt ex-minister Habib al-Adly jailed for 12 years
Egyptian former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly has been sentenced to 12 years in jail on charges of money-laundering and profiteering.
As head of the country's security services, Adly was a key part of ex-President Hosni Mubarak's regime.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Mubarak faces possible execution, Egyptian official says
Cairo (CNN) -- Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could be executed if he is convicted of ordering the killing of protesters, Egypt's justice minister said Wednesday.
"One of the charges he is facing is complicity in the killing of martyrs and issuing the orders for premeditated the killing of those people," said Justice Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz al-Juindy. "This is a charge with a harsh punishment -- the death penalty."
IRAN
(h/t Dibsa 4/29) - Iranian journalist protests against sentences with hunger strike
"I will refuse food, telephone contacts, visits or furloughs until my demands are met. I protest against all the sentences issued against me. I will continue this path until I get a result and everything that happens to me will be the responsibility of those who have issued sentences against me and have a role in keeping me imprisoned in Ward 2A," Nourizad wrote in a letter addressed to Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, Tehran's Prosecutor.
IRAQ
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - Slide Show: Iraqi Kurdistan's Democratic Challenge
The protests sweeping the Middle East have motivated thousands of Kurds from all walks of life to demonstrate in cities across Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous region in northern Iraq. While their demands—an end to widespread corruption and greater civil and political rights—have been more modest than their regime-change-seeking counterparts in neighboring countries, the democratically elected Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has reacted to these protests in much the same way as despots around the regi
ISRAEL
(h/t Dibsa 4/21 ) - Israeli leftists call for Palestinian state
TEL AVIV (AFP) – Some 300 Israeli left-wingers, including prominent cultural leaders, gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday to call for the Jewish state to embrace the creation of a Palestinian state.
The activists met to sign a petition, which is endorsed by 17 winners of the prestigious Israel Prize, in a symbolic ceremony in front of the building where the state of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948.
The ceremony was met with anger by several dozen right-wing protesters who also gathered at the site and had to be kept away by a heavy police presence, an AFP photographer at the scene said
JORDAN
(h/t Dibsa 4/27) - Jordan king creates panel to review constitution
AMMAN (AFP) – Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday asked a former prime minister to head a committee to review the constitution and consider amendments, in a bid to face growing demands for reforms.
The king asked Ahmad Lawzi and the 10-member committee, which includes other former premiers, to "look into constitutional amendments that would be suitable for Jordan in the present and future," said the state-run Petra news agency.
KUWAIT
(h/t Dibsa 4/29) - Ahistorical Kuwaiti sectarianism
Sectarian violence in Bahrain has led many to nervously speculate about the potential for these events to set rapidly into motion a downward spiral of Sunni-Shia relations in the rest of the Gulf, and the catastrophe that could arise should the violence pit the regional religious rhetorical powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran against each other. One vital question is how much weight will the turmoil in Bahrain have over other Shiite communities in the Gulf, namely the large Shia population in Kuwait, perhaps the U.S.'s strongest regional ally and strategic partner in the region?
LEBANON
(h/t UnaSpenser 04/19 ) - Turkish envoy to Lebanon: Democracy will spread
Turkey's ambassador to Lebanon, Inan Ozyildiz, believes that despite the recent political uncertainty, all political actors in Lebanon are "engaging in dialogue," and expects democracy to take root in every country in the Arab world.
"Although every country in the region has its own characteristics and political history, the people of the Middle East have a common demand: Democracy," said Ozyildiz.
According to Ozyildiz, the Arab world's transition to democracy is late in coming. "These uprisings were kind of late, they should have started immediately after the end of the Cold War," said Ozyildiz.
LIBYA
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - Libya: International group discusses funding for rebels
An international grouping is meeting in Rome to discuss financial aid for Libya's rebels.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Libya Contact Group would also look at ways to put pressure on Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Libyan govt forces shell port as aid ship docks
MISRATA, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi's forces shelled the port area of this besieged rebel city on Wednesday, killing a woman, a man and two children as an international aid ship was docked, a medical official said.
The ferry, chartered to evacuate nearly 1,000 migrant workers, had spent three nights outside Misrata waiting to come in. Last week, Gadhafi's forces were caught mining the harbor entrance, and the Red Star One was guided into the port by tug boat Wednesday to avoid mines.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Libya's Misrata pounded as ICC eyes crimes
TRIPOLI (AFP) – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's forces pounded the lifeline port of Misrata with deadly fire on Wednesday, as the International Criminal Court said his regime was still carrying out crimes against humanity.
A rebel spokesman said at least five people were killed as loyalists shelled Misrata port, from which an International Organisation of Migration ship managed to evacuate about 800 people, including stranded migrants and wounded
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Car bomb explodes at rebel headquarters in Libya
BENGHAZI, Libya – The general in charge of Libya's rebel forces says a car bomb exploded in front of their headquarters in northeast Benghazi.
Gen. Abdel-Fattah Younis says no one was injured, but an APTN cameraman saw a person with an arm cut by shattered glass.
RESOURCES:
A vision of a democratic Libya an 8-point plan from the National Transitional Council
The full text of UN Resolution 1970 on Libya.
The full text of UN Resolution 1973 on Libya.
President Obama's letter to Congress regarding commencement of operations in Libya. (h/t greenbird)
Al Jazeera Libyan live blog. (h/t jnhobbs)
UK Telegraph Libyan live blog. (h/t bee tzu)
BBC Libyan live blog found here. (h/t greenbird)
The New Yorker Dispatches from Libya. (h/t suejazz)
BBC's Libyan crisis mapped. (h/t phil S 33)
revolutionology is a blog from an American in Benghazi
MAURITANIA
(h/t dibsa 4/26) - Mauritanian police use teargas to break up protest
NOUAKCHOTT, April 25 (Reuters) - Security forces using teargas and batons dispersed several hundred anti-government protesters in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on Monday, the most serious clash in the West African state for nearly two months.
MOROCCO
(h/t mimi 4/30 ) -
CIA Part of Investigation of 'Düsseldorf Cell'
The arrest of three suspected al-Qaida members in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Friday followed a months-long investigation that, in addition to the German authorities, also included the participation of the CIA and Moroccan secret service. The German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) created its own special "Comet" investigative unit to look into the case.
...
The detainees are suspected of being members of the international terrorist organization al-Qaida. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, the main suspect in the so-called "Düsseldorf Cell" is Abdeladim K. of Morocco. He is believed to have been in regular contact with an allegedly high-ranking al-Qaida official in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.
...
Meanwhile, the report in Die Welt claimed that the three Moroccan men, who have German passports, are part of a larger group of terror suspects
PALESTINE
(h/t Dibsa 4/27 ) - Palestinian officials: Unity agreement reached
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians have reached initial agreement on reuniting their rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza, officials from both sides said Wednesday, a step that would remove a main obstacle in the way of peace efforts with Israel.
Even before the agreement was to be signed, however, key questions about how to unify rival security forces remained unsolved. Israel immediately rejected the prospect of a Palestinian government including Hamas, and the U.S. expressed similar concerns
(h/t UnaSpenser ) - Hamas-Fatah reconciliation a Palestinian form of Arab spring
Reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas is a historic achievement for the Palestinians, whose rivalries and divisions have weakened them and been exploited by their enemies.
Agreement to form an interim government and fix a date for elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip next year is also a real triumph for Egyptian mediation – and a surprise given the momentous changes in Cairo in the past few months.
But above all it is a challenge to Israel, the US and EU, which have all shunned Hamas as a terrorist organisation since its shock victory in Palestinian elections in 2006.
The agreement is, in its way, a version of the Arab spring shaking regimes from Libya to Syria and giving hope of change after years of impasse.
OMAN/QATAR
(h/t JustJennifer 4/23) - Protests break out in Omani city
At least 1,000 protesters have taken to the streets in Oman's southern port city of Salalah in one of the biggest pro-reform demonstrations since scattered unrest began in the Gulf Arab sultanate two months ago.
The protesters assembled in a car park across the street from the governor's office on Friday, where a preacher led mid-day prayers and led them on a march across the city.
"The Omani people are not afraid of protesting for as long as it takes for reform, [but] first and foremost is to get government officials, who have been embezzling funds for years, to stand trial," Amer Hargan, the leader, told the crowd.
(h/t Dibsa 4/21) - Oman pardons 234 arrested during protests
(CNN) -- Oman's ruler has pardoned 234 people who were arrested during anti-government protests earlier in the year, the Gulf state's news agency said.
Sultan Qaboos bin Said pardoned only those who were taken into custody for "the crimes of crowding in public streets," the Oman News Agency said Wednesday
SAUDI ARABIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - FACTBOX-Key political risks to watch in Saudi Arabia
May 3 (Reuters) - The world's No. 1 oil exporter faces the twin challenges of creating jobs for a young population at a time of unrest in the Arab world, and pursuing economic reforms with a royal succession looming.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Saudi Arabia keeps female voting ban
Recently, Saudi Arabia opened registration for the second municipal elections, initially scheduled for Oct. 31, 2009, but delayed on the grounds that the authorities "needed time to expand the electorate and study the possibility of allowing women to vote." The first such elections were held in 2005 when women were excluded.
SYRIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/5) - Syria: Raid in Damascus suburb as crackdown defied
Hundreds of Syrian troops stormed the Damascus suburb of Saqba overnight - breaking into houses and arresting about 300 people, witnesses say.
Tanks and troops are also reported to have been sent to other trouble spots, amid fresh reports of anti-government demonstrations in Homs and Hama.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Syria protesters vow to stay firm on 'revolution'
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Anti-regime protesters pledged to press ahead with their "revolution" on Wednesday despite sweeping arrests by Syrian authorities, as France called for sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad.
The vow came as around 150 students held a brief sit-in at the university in the besieged southern flashpoint town of Daraa, as activists said more than 1,000 people had been arrested across the country so far this week.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Syrian leader: Army operation in south to end soon
BEIRUT – Syria on Wednesday promised to end its military operation in the southern city of Daraa, where its forces are besieging the anti-government protesters that sparked a wave of demonstrations across the authoritarian nation.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Syrian authorities holding Al-Jazeera reporter
BEIRUT – Al-Jazeera news channel says Syrian authorities have confirmed the detention of one of its reporters missing since Friday.
Dorothy Parvaz traveled to Syria on Friday to report on the political turmoil there.
Parvaz works for the English-language arm of the news network. She holds U.S., Iranian and Canadian citizenship and was once a reporter and columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Al-Jazeera called on Syrian authorities to release Parvaz immediately.
(h/t Dibsa 5/3) - Red Cross Presses for Access to Syria Victims
The International Committee of the Red Cross is urging Syria to lift restrictions on access to people injured in violence between police and anti-government protesters.
Representatives for the relief group said Tuesday that the violence has resulted in a large number of casualties and if the situation worsens, more lives could be lost.
(h/t Dibsa 5/3) - Iran presses Syria over missing journalist
Iran's foreign minister wants the Syrian government to look into the case of an Al Jazeera journalist who has been missing in Syria since Friday afternoon.
Dorothy Parvaz left the Qatari capital, Doha, for Syria to cover events in the country, but there has been no contact with the 39-year-old since she disembarked from a Qatar Airways flight in Damascus
(h/t Dibsa 5/3) - Activist says 1,000 arrested in Syria sweep
A prominent rights activist has said Syrian authorities have arrested more than 1,000 people in their latest security sweep.
Ammar Qurabi, the head of the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria, said on Tuesday that his group had documented about 1,000 names of people who were detained across Syrian provinces in door-to-door raids since Saturday.
TUNISIA
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Tunisia hands ousted dictator additional charges
TUNIS, Tunisia – The official TAP news agency says Tunisia's toppled president and his wife are facing additional charges of wrongdoing in a bloody crackdown that followed his January ouster.
Wednesday's report cites a Justice Ministry statement as saying Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and former first lady Leila Trabelsi are facing charges including "inciting disorder, murder or pillaging on Tunisian soil."
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(h/t Dibsa 5/5 ) - FACTBOX-Political risks to watch in the United Arab Emirates
(Reuters) - As political upheaval sweeps through the Arab world, the federation of seven emirates remains one of two unaffected Gulf Arab states, in addition to Qatar.
The per capita incomes of the UAE and Qatar remain among the highest in the world -- eighth and third, respectively -- thanks to their relatively small populations and oil and gas wealth.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4 ) - UAE: Human rights officials condemn government crackdown
Human rights advocates decried what they called a “crackdown on civil society” in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday after authorities replaced the leadership of the country's teachers association, a well-established group that had called for democratic reforms, with government officials sympathetic to the administration.
“This attack on civil society is further proof that those in power in the UAE see anyone calling for reform as fair game,” Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of the New York-based nonprofit organization Human Rights Watch, said in a Tuesday statement. “UAE authorities should immediately stop their hostile takeover of civil society and free the peaceful democracy activists.”
WESTERN SAHARA
(h/t Dibsa 5/3) -
UN extends peacekeepers in Western Sahara
The Security Council has approved a resolution that mentions human rights in the contested north African territory of Western Sahara for the first time.
But human rights groups and the organization backing independence for the territory's Sahwari people say the resolution doesn't go far enough. They say an independent rights monitoring body is still needed.
YEMEN
(h/t dibsa 5/4) - Yemen in Danger of Collapse If Pact Not Signed, Eryani Says
Yemen is in danger of collapse if a Gulf-brokered agreement that calls for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down within a month is not signed soon, said Abdul-Karim al-Eryani, Saleh’s political adviser.
(h/t Dibsa 5/4) - Blast kills 9 in Yemen, including 5 soldiers
SANAA, Yemen – An explosion on Wednesday ripped through a Yemeni military vehicle in the south, killing five soldiers, while another four civilians died in the ensuing firefight.
The blast hit the vehicle close to a busy market selling qat, the mildly stimulating leaf that Yemenis addictively chew in a province known as a stronghold for the local branch of the al-Qaida militant group
It bears repeating - Please Rec this diary.
Our Egyptian brethren articulated what people around the region are fighting for, though variations to the theme may exist from country to country. banner held by protesters and translated to English:
1 The departure of Mubarak
2 An end to the current Parliament
3 An end of the state of emergency
4 The creation of a national united government
5 A parliament elected by the people to modify the constitution and run the presidential elections
6 Put those responsible for the killings on trial
7 Put those responsible for stealing the country's money and other acts of corruption on trial
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Here's how it works:
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We're working on a publication schedule: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday. Ideally we would see fresh citations in the wiki by late evening the day before. That is, posts from late Monday evening would be published in Tuesday morning's diary. (If you'd like produce a diary on a different day of the week, we'd love to show you how to update the template and paste it into your diary!)
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Resources:
Note: The old Mothership Diary has good list of resources.
Al Jazeera English - Watch Live (the Youtube link below should work for Mac users unable to load this.)
Al Jazeera live also available on: Dish Network channel 9410 OR DirecTV Channel 375 Link
Al Jazeera on Facebook: - http: //www.facebook.com/aljazeera
Al Jazeera Live on YouTube
English Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
Arabic Stream http://www.youtube.com/...
BBC Middle East reporting
BBC Middle East and Arab Unrest
WorldWideTahrir{NEW} : Worldwide protests being organized to coincide with the upcoming ones in Egypt.
bicycle Hussein paladin - Why Iran 1979 Went to the Islamists and This One Won't
People to follow on twitter: - please suggest people for specific countries. Thank you!
@ArabRevolution - Region
@Dima_Khatib - Region
@March15Syria - Syria
@JNovak_Yemen - Yemen
@WomanfromYemen - Yemen
@Gheblawi - Libya
@ShababLibya - Libya
@feb17voices - Libya
@DrsForLibya - Libya
@libyanexpat - Libya
@lissnp - Iran
@prsianbanoo - Iran
@sandmonkey - Egypt
@JRamyRaoof - Egypt
@Elazul - Egypt
@Ssirgany - Egypt
@sharifkouddous
@monasosh
@ioerror
@ElBaradei
@SultanAlQassemi
@evanchill
@glcarlstrom
@nolanjazeera
@3arabawy
@shadihamid
@bencnn
@arabist
@speaktotweet: Egyptian Voice Tweets on Twitter
Previous Child Diaries:
Egypt and the Region Liveblog Archive by unaspenser
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