pantslessprogressive:

Demonstrators spend the night at Puerta del Sol Square during a protest in Madrid, early Sunday, May 22, 2011. Thousands of Spaniards defied a ban on a pre-election demonstration and have mounted a protest camp in the heart of the Spanish capital to express anger at political parties and the country’s handling of the economic crisis. The crowd have packed the square since last Sunday and pledged to stay there until municipal and regional elections this weekend. [Photo: Emilio Morenatti / AP]

Weekend News Roundup: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Georgia, Morocco, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen

Algeria:

Algeria to hold reform talks, boycotted by opposition | AFP

Bahrain:

Bahrain upholds death sentences for Shiite protesters | AFP

Bahrain’s top human rights activist targeted two days after Obama speech | McClatchy

Al-Wifaq has reportedly decided to return to its boycotting roots and will not contest in the make-up elections scheduled for September 2011 | Bahraini Politics

After destruction of the actual protesting site at “the Pearl”, the government shifts to eliminate virtual protests | Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Half a Doctrine Will Have to Do | NY Times

How Bahrain is oppressing its Shia majority | Joshua Colangelo-Bryan

Letters: Torture fears over Bahrain crackdown | Guardian

Obama and the Street Vendor of Manama | Iraq and Gulf Analysis

Egypt:

Death sentence for Egyptian policeman convicted of shooting dead 20 protesters | AJE

Egyptian Groups Call for Second Round of ‘Rage’ Protests on Lack of Change | Bloomberg

Egypt Is ‘Disintegrating’ as Tourism Drop Cripples Economy, ElBaradei Says | Bloomberg

Georgia:

Anti-president protests continue in Georgia; opposition calls for massive turnout Monday | AP

Georgia opposition calls for Day of Rage protest | Reuters

Morocco:

Many wounded as Moroccan police beat protestors | Reuters

Police chase Moroccans defying protests ban | Reuters

Spain:

Spanish PM Is Punished In Polls Over Economy | Sky News

Spain’s Governing Party Suffers Heavy Losses in Election | NY Times

Spain is voting in regional elections as thousands of young protesters remain camped out in squares across the country | BBC

Spanish vote overshadowed by protests | FT

Socialists ready to be slammed in Spanish vote | AP

Opinion: ’Yes we camp’ activists hit Spanish streets | AJE

Photo gallery: Madrid protests | El Paíz

Syria:

Shootings in Syria push death toll above 900 | AP

Activists raise death toll to 76 in three days of violence | LA Times

Syrians Are Fatally Shot at Funeral for Protesters | NY Times

The Syrian Revolution Lives | Syria Comment

Syria’s defiant women risk all to protest against President Bashar al-Assad | Guardian

The Syria Illusion: Bashar Assad is not going to become a democratic reformer | WSJ

Tunisia:

UN official says 300 killed during Tunisian uprising, torture still continues | Al Arabiya

High death toll challenges claims of smooth transition | LA Times

Tunisia considers postponing elections | Telegraph

Yemen:

Yemen’s Saleh refuses to sign exit deal | AJE

GCC to drop deal, withdraw from mediating Yemen’s power transfer if Saleh doesn’t sign | AP

Photos: 100 days of protests in Yemen | Iona Craig/GlobalPost

Envoys airlifted from Sanaa embassy | BBC

Diplomats trapped by Yemen loyalists, blocking deal | Reuters

Analysis: Yemen’s Saleh plays cat and mouse with Saudis and US | Al Arabiya

(Source: pantslessprogressive)

neighborhoodr-bahrain:

Health of Bahrain hunger striker slumps as regime comes under pressure

Mother of Zainab al-Khawaja – a 27-year-old protesting against treatment of father – says she is struggling to stand up

pantslessprogressive:

A Yemeni girl is held up by anti-government protestors during a demonstration demanding the resignation of President Saleh in Sana’a, Yemen on April 12, 2011. [Photo: Muhammed Muheisen / AP]

Bahrain, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Syria, Yemen News Roundup: April 12

Bahrain:

List of people killed in Bahrain since 14th February | Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Bahrain opposition figure ‘dies in custody’ | AJE

Daughter of jailed Bahrain human rights activist says she’s on hunger strike until his release | AP

Bahrain questions 3 reporters, may charge activist | Reuters

Bahrain urged to drop charges against editor | AFP

Hospital Is Drawn Into Bahrain Strife | NY Times

Bahrain Ambassador to the U.S.: CNN Report on Bahrain flawed

U.S. Stays Mum as Bahrain Unleashes Brutal Crackdown | ProPublica

Human Rights Watch: Suspicious Deaths in Custody

Ivory Coast:

Gunfire in Abidjan despite Gbagbo arrest | BBC

EU urges national unity government in Ivory Coast | Reuters

Obama Congratulates Ivory Coast’s Ouattara on Assuming Power | Bloomberg

UN names Cote d’Ivoire rights probe team | AJE

France sees no long military role in Ivory Coast | Reuters

Group Sees Ivory Coast Sanctions Lifted Soon | Corruption Currents - WSJ

New Leader Consolidates His Control In Ivory Coast | NY Times

Search for Lasting Ivorian Peace Begins | AllAfrica

Danger stalks streets of tired, angry Abidjan | Reuters

Sen. Inofe defends Gbagbo with ‘happy face’ | TPM

Why France must tread carefully in Ivory Coast | BBC

Analysis: Ouattara unlikely to salve Ivorian wounds | Reuters

Jordan:

Jordan tries 81 over March 24 demonstration | AFP

Jordan releases 4 jailed members of radical Islamist group in effort to stave off protests | AP

Saudi Arabia:

Why the United States should push Saudi Arabia toward democracy | PRI/WNYC

Swaziland:

Swaziland Police Beat, Arrest Protesters | VOA

Swazi forces fire at crowds to halt anti-king protest | Reuters

Unions’ Leadership Arrested | AllAfrica

Swaziland security forces target journalists | Committee to Protect Journalists

University of Swaziland Students Unanimously Endorse Uprising | AllAfrica

Syria:

Syrian soldiers shot for refusing to fire on protesters | Guardian

Syrian protesters ‘barred from medical care’ | AJE

Syrian forces arrest 200 in rebellious town, says lawyer | Reuters

Witnesses say Syrian gunmen attack 2 villages as regime tries to quell uprising | AP

Syrian University Protests Violently Suppressed | NY Times

Video shows Syria clash from two angles | The Lede

No end in sight | The Economist

Comment: White House finally condemns Syria | Guardian

Yemen:

Yemenis protest against mediation deal offering president immunity from prosecution | AP

Yemen opposition seeks details on Gulf plan | Reuters

Yemen protesters vow to stay in Sanaa square | AFP

Argument: Who’s Really In the Yemeni Opposition, Anyway? | Foreign Policy

Argument: Twilight of a Strongman | Foreign Policy

(Source: pantslessprogressive)

pantslessprogressive:

A Yemeni army officer, center, salutes as he is lifted along with other officers by anti-government protesters during a demonstration on Sunday, April 10, 2011. [Photo: AP/Muhammed Muhelsen]

Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen Weekend News Roundup

Algeria:

In Algeria, a chill in the Arab spring | Washington Post

HRW: Restore Civil Liberties - With State of Emergency Over, Amend Laws to Restore Rights | AllAfrica

Bahrain:

Two Shiite activists die in Bahraini custody | AFP

Nearly 800 people have been detained since protests began | Bahrain Center for Human Rights

Human rights leader missing, taken by Bahraini police | CNN

Bahrain human rights activist “arrested, beaten up” | Reuters

Bahrain prosecutor to question former editors of main opposition newspaper Al Wasat | AP

Students in Iran Demonstrate in Support of Bahrain’s Shiites | NY Times

Bahrain is the line in the sand | Boston Globe

Bahrain, Syria and Yemen ‘playing with fire’, says EU diplomat | EU Observer

Djibouti:

A Friendly Little Dictatorship in the Horn of Africa: Why the world doesn’t care about Djibouti’s autocracy | Foreign Policy

Ivory Coast:

UN, French attack Gbagbo heavy weapons, damage presidential palace | Reuters

Ouattara Forces Kill, Rape Civilians During Offensive | HRW

Ouattara pledges he’ll establish human rights body, says UN | Reuters

Ouattara’s lawyers want Gbagbo to face trial | Reuters

Mortars fired at Ouattara’s hotel in Abidjan | AJE

Killings keep west Ivorian cocoa farmers in hiding | Reuters

Ivory Coast’s Abidjan risks health disaster, says MSF | Reuters

Ivory Coast fighting sparks fresh influx of refugees in Liberia | CS Monitor

Analysis: Manufacturing Côte d’Ivoire’s ‘Good Guy’ | AllAfrica

AUDIO: A jewel before its decline | NPR

VIDEO: Ignoring Cote d’Iviore | AJE

Beware of internet misinformation: hoax footage of atrocities in Ivory Coast | France24 (h/t news-intercom)

Mapping the conflict in Ivory Coast | Maps With The News (h/t futurejournalismproject)

Saudi Arabia:

Saudi rights activist: Hundreds of Shiite demonstrators demand release of political prisoners | AP

Saudi unemployed graduates protest to demand jobs | Reuters

Top White House aide to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE | Reuters

Swaziland:

Swaziland bans protests | AFP

Pro-democracy campaign groups are calling for an ‘April 12 Uprising’ | AllAfrica (h/t ligao)

South Africa’s largest labour group plans to blockade a key border crossing with Swaziland next week to support planned protests | AFP

Syria:

Syrian rights group says funeral comes under fire in southern city on Saturday | AP

Four Killed on Sunday as Syria Cuts Off City | NY Times

Syria death toll rises as threats of force become more explicit | Guardian

Syrian activists distribute video of protests | The Lede

Iran blames Jordan, Saudi Arabia for Syria | UPI

Ban Ki-Moon voices concern after deadly clashes in southern city | UN News Centre

Tunisia:

Ben Ali’s brother arrested in Tunisia | AJE

Tough transition in Tunisia after “Arab spring” | AP

VIDEO: Tunisia tourism industry struggling‎ | BBC

United Arab Emirates:

UAE detains another pro-democracy activist and an academic in widening crackdown on dissent | Washington Post

Yemen:

24 children killed in Yemen unrest: Unicef | Gulf News

Yemeni forces fire on protesters in 2 cities on Saturday seeking president’s ouster; several wounded | AP

Thousands march in Yemen over protesters’ deaths | Guardian

Gulf bloc calls on Yemeni ruler to transfer power to vice president | AP

Yemen resolution unlikely as president dismisses Gulf plan to end rule | Guardian

Yemen yanks diplomat over Qatar’s resignation talk | AP

WikiLeaks: Yemen tricked Saudis into nearly bombing president’s rival | Guardian

US embassy cables: Saudi defence minister explains targeting of Yemeni rebels with air strikes | Guardian

State cables show rising concern about al-Qaeda in Yemen | Washington Post

Hard-line Islamic enclave in Yemen illustrates militant risk if regime crumbles | AP

The Yemen President’s Pariah Family | The Daily Beast

Comment: Our revolution’s doing what Saleh can’t – uniting Yemen | Guardian

Comment: Western policymakers shouldn’t accept this Saleh spin | Guardian

(Source: pantslessprogressive)

pantslessprogressive:

A Syrian woman reacts as she sits next to her son who was seriously wounded during a violence between security forces and armed groups in Latakia, northwest of Damascus, Syria, on March 27. [Photo: Hussein Malla/AP]

Bahrain, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen News Roundup: March 28.

Bahrain:

Bahrain opposition says 250 detained, 44 missing | Reuters

Bahrain shuns Kuwait’s mediation offer | AJE

World ignoring Bahrain struggle | Toronto Star

Ivory Coast:

Battle Erupts For Key Ivory Coast Town | VOA

Ivory Coast Refinery Running Out of Crude, May Shut in April | BusinessWeek

EU weighs new sanctions on Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo | Reuters

Britain announces emergency aid for Ivory Coast refugees | Guardian

The Urgent Situation in Cote d’Ivoire | David Paltiel, Yale School of Medicine

Jordan:

Jordan PM defends freedom of speech after unrest | AFP

Jordan: Set Independent Inquiry in Attacks on Protesters | HRW

Syria:

Syrian protesters come under fire from security forces | Guardian

Syrian president wavers between crackdown or compromise as southern protests continues | AP

Assad to replace emergency law with worse: dissident | Reuters

What is at stake if Syria’s regime falls | CS Monitor

A bloody mess | The Economist

As Obama talks Libya, neocons move on to Syria | MinnPost

Pawlenty: Obama administration ‘naive’ on Syria | CNN

Pawlenty blasts Clinton on Assad: ‘ignorant or frighteningly misguided’ | POLITICO

Opinion Brief: Should the U.S. intervene in Syria? | The Week

Argument: The Syrian Time Bomb | Foreign Policy

Peter Goodspeed: Syrian violence raises the stakes on Arab upheaval | National Post

Reader writes the problems of Syria are larger than any individual | CNN

Tunisia:

Tunisia’s interim president sacks interior minister without explanation, report says | AP

The Casbah Coalition | The New Yorker News Desk

Yemen:

Blast at Yemen explosives factory kills 110 | AP

Yemen fighting worsening already dire humanitarian situation, warns UN official | UN News Centre

Activists urge UN rights council to meet on Yemen | Reuters

The Unfolding Situation in Yemen | Steven Heydemann, United States Institute of Peace

(Source: pantslessprogressive)

pantslessprogressive:

A picture taken under the supervision of Syrian security shows a man walking past closed shops in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, hub for a week of anti-regime protests, on March 24, 2011. [Photo: Getty Images]

Syria, Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen News Roundup: March 24.

Syria:

20,000 mourners march as Syria toll rises | ABC News Australia

Human rights groups say that more than 100 people may have been killed in Daraa | Guardian

Government pledges political reforms, including lifting emergency law and release of arrested protesters | BBC

Assad forms team to improve incomes after protests | Reuters

Syrian Human Rights League leader says authorities released several activists, writers and bloggers who were detained in different parts of Syria in an apparent response to events in Daraa. | AP

Kurds in Syria ‘waiting to take to the streets,’ academic says | CNN

Can reforms appease protesters? | BBC

Syria’s Bashar al-Assad faces most serious unrest of his tenure | Washington Post

The Assad regime faces a new Arab uprising | Slate

U.S. issues Travel Alert for Syria

Statement by the White House Press Secretary on Violence in Syria | WhiteHouse.gov

Sen. Kirk (R-IL) and Sen. Kyl (R-AZ) urge Obama, Clinton and Ambassador Ford to publicly condemn Syria government’s violent crackdown | KTAR

Germany urges Syria to halt violence, launch talks | Reuters

France urges Syria to embrace dialogue, change | Reuters

Next on the List? | The Economist

Profile of Deraa and Hawran region | BBC

Algeria:

Algerian police clash with rioters in housing row | Reuters

In Algeria, Popular Protests Still Simmer Beneath Surface | VOA

Bahrain:

Protesters in Bahrain village stage a brief anti-government demonstration amid crackdown | AP

Bahraini activists plan Day of Rage on Friday | Reuters

Protests planned for Bahrain despite ban | LA Times

EU envoy defends Bahrain police amid unrest | BBC

Bahrain fends off charge of pressing crackdown | AFP

Bahrain unrest brings economy to standstill | Reuters

Bahrain’s Foreign Police Add to Tensions | WSJ (sub. req.)

Jordan:

Jordan students demand ‘regime’ reforms | AFP

Jordan reform talks slow amid ‘explosion’ warning | AFP

Yemen:

Yemen’s president says to transfer power peacefully | Reuters

Yemen’s president and top general ‘close to agreeing peace’ | Telegraph

Yemeni President Nears Deal to Resign | WSJ

Yemen president offers amnesty to defectors | AJE

Yemen’s Slide Toward Civil War | The Atlantic

Yemen shuts Al-Jazeera offices; journalists beaten | CPJ

Comment: Yemen and Syria pose a greater threat to us than Libya | Telegraph

(Source: pantslessprogressive)