Middle East Live Blog from AL JAZEERA 8APR11

THE Middle East, the Maghreb, the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf are all in turmoil, protest and revolutions for freedom and democracy and human rights, against the corruption and repression of governments most of which our government has supported, supposedly for our own security, but in reality for increasing the profit margins of American corporate interest and the military-industrial complex. The people in these countries have had their fill of the repression, economic stagnation and violations of human rights they have suffered for American corporate and military greed for money and power. From Al Jazeera, this Middle East Live Blog has updates on the situations in Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Libya, Bahrain, Iraq and links to reports and video from different media and social media networks. Click the header or the link in the blogs list on this blog to go to the Al Jazeera blog...

By Al Jazeera Staff in

Middle East

on April 8th, 2011.

A file photo of demonstrators in Amman, Jordan [AFP]

Show oldest updates on top

As the unrest  in the Middle East continues, we update you with the latest developments from Syria, Yemen and across the region.
Read on for the latest from our correspondents, news agencies and citizens across the globe.
Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.
Region in turmoil - Syria Unrest - Yemen's Uprising - Battle for Libya - Egypt's Revolution - Bahrain Protests
(All times are in GMT)

• 12:03pm

  YEMEN - Read more about the latest updates from Yemen on our website here.
• 12:02pm

  SYRIA - This video on YouTube is said to show a protest in the Damascus suburb of Harasta today.
• 12:00pm

  YEMEN - Embattled President Saleh rejected an exit plan by Gulf states trying to broker an end to bloody unrest in Yemen. Here is some of what he said on his address broadcast on state TV:
• 11:49am

  EGYPT - Thousands gather in Cairo's Tahrir Square, calling for prosecution of the ousted president and his regime. Read out latest news report here.
• 11:43am

  SYRIA Reuters quotes witnesses as saying security forces use live ammunition against protesters in Daraa.
• 11:37am

  YEMEN - Crowds of pro-Saleh supporters shown on Yemeni television during his address:
  
• 11:29am

  IRAQ - Amnesty International will release a report on April 12, urging the Iraqi authoritie to address attacks on protesters. In a statement, the group said:
  

  Forces deployed against demonstrators have used lived ammunition, killing and injuring protesters and bystanders.
  Amnesty International also found disturbing evidence of targeted attacks on political activists, torture and other ill-treatment of people arrested in connection with the protests, and attacks or threats against journalists, media outlets, government critics, academics and students.
  Amnesty International will call on Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional authorities to investigate the attacks and killings, torture and other ill-treatment, and hold the perpetrators to account.

• 11:24am

  EGYPT - Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna reports from Cairo's Tahrir square, where Friday prayers have ended and massive crowds have gathered:
  

  Within the crowd, there is no sign of political division, or political banners, just the egyptian flag waving

  Here, there is anger at military authorities for not taking action against the Mubarak regime. This is a crowd very angry, a crowd questioning the army and a crowd united about its concerns

• 11:19am

  YEMEN - In his address to supporters in Sanaa, President Saleh said:
  

  Our power comes from the power of our great people, not from Qatar, not from anyone else. This is blatant interference in Yemeni affairs...

  We were born free, and we have free will, and they have to respect our wishes. We reject any coup against democracy, the constitution and our freedom.

• 11:16am

  YEMEN - Al Jazeera's correspondent in Sanaa reported that there are tens of thousands of people gathered in Change Square, still demanding that President saleh leaves power. "they feel it is important to show solidarity and to show their resolve, no matter what happens to them," our correspondent said.
  She added:
  

  We met a university professor at Change Square who claims a member of the ruling party offered him money yesterday to attend the pro-Saleh rally.

• 11:13am

  SYRIA Mazen Darwish, an activist in Damascus, tells Al Jazeera that protests have been held in cities including Qamishli in the mainly Kurdish region, the coastal town of Banias, Deir e-Zor in the east and Daraa in the south. He says no violence has been reported but he's heard that security forces in Daraa have been using teargas against protesters.
• 11:12am

  YEMEN - Al Jazeera's correspondent in the Yemeni capital Sanaa said:
  

  President Saleh addressed his supporters in Seventy Square, and made a total rejection of the offer put forward by the GCC. According to that proposal, they had called for him to stand down and hand power to a coalition of tribal leaders and other political figures. But he said 'I reject, I reject, I reject'. He singled out Qatar and Al Jazeera and said 'we dont have to follow their agenda'.

• 11:01am

  OMAN - Heavy security has prevented fresh protests breaking out in the industrial capital Sohar. Dozens of armoured vehicles have blocked roads and worshippers attempting to enter mosques had their names checked against lists by security forces, Reuters reports.
  Protesters camped out in the city for more than a month before security forces moved them out last week.
  They had been attempting to demonstrate against the killing of at least one person and demanded the prosecution of ministers who have been sacked for corruption.
• 10:56am

  
  

  YEMEN - President Saleh slammed Qatar's intervention in Yemen's affairs. He said, "We derive power and legitimacy from the people. It is a unified democratic Yemen."

  
  
• 10:50am

  YEMEN - Addressing the country in a speech on state television, Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh said he rejects initiatives from any other country to resolve the current crisis there, Reuters reports.
• 10:46am

  YEMEN - President Ali Abdullah Saleh is expected to address the country in a speech broadcast on state television shortly. Friday prayers have ended and rival pro and anti government demonstrations are expected to gather momentum.
• 10:41am

  SYRIA - Al Jazeera's Cal Perry tweets from Damascus:
  

  Residents in #Deraa reporting that the police presence is heavy: police armed with electric batons - an attempt to quell protests. #Syria

• 10:26am

  EGYPT - About 3,000 people have gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from the square, says the demands of the protesters are very clear: that action needs to be taken against ousted president Mubarak and those close to him, that there must be a presidential council established so that the people can express what they want to see as Egypt's future.
  

  Unlike on previous occasions recently, this is a fully representative gathering of EGypt's political movements, including the very powerful Muslim Brotherhood which had stayed away from recent gathering saying they would give the military council more time to meet the people's demands.

  
  
• 10:22am

  YEMEN - Groups of both pro and anti government demonstrators are rallying in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, Al Jazeera's correspondents report.
• 10:03am

  Another day of mass protests is planned across the Arab world after noon prayers on Friday.
  Here is an overview of the expected demonstrations.
  And reports from Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna in Cairo, as well as Cal Perry in Damascus.
• 9:34am

  
  SYRIA Al Jazeera's Cal Perry in Damascus says yesterday's move by President Bashar al-Assad to grant citizenships to 200,000-300,000 stateless Kurds can be interpreted as a measure to "keep the Kurdish community off the streets" today, as activists are calling for fresh protests.
  
  

  There is a lot of pressure on him [Assad] from people who want to see reform. They are tired of hearing the same old talk ... for the people of Daraa, who just recently buried their dead, they want to see those responsible brought to justice and until that happens, I think we'll see the situation here simmer.

  
  
  
• 9:09am

  EGYPT - Thousands of Egyptians are gathering to protest in Cairo's central Tahrir Square. They are holding banners and signs demanding the prosecution of former regime officials, including ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
• 9:02am

  
  YEMEN - Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Kurbi said in a statement that the country's government is studying an initiative by Gulf Arab states to end a months-long confrontation with anti-regime protesters, the AFP news agency reported.
  Concerned by the continuing unrest in Yemen, members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) offered to mediate between Yemen's government and the opposition.
  
  
• 8:38am

  IRAQ - At least five Iraqi soldiers and up to dozens of Iranian opposition members were wounded in overnight clashes at a base north of Baghdad after the Iraqi military moved in to part of the disputed camp, an Iraqi government spokesperson told Al Jazeera.
  The account could not be independently verified.
• 7:53am

  YEMEN - The United States froze its largest aid package for Yemen in February after popular protests broke out against the Yemeni president, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
  "The first instalment of the aid package, worth a potential $1 billion or more over several years, was set to be rolled out in February, marking the White House's largest bid at securing President Ali Abdullah Saleh's allegiance in its battle against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," the publication said.
  Read more here.
• 7:33am

  IRAQ - Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, has arrived in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region for talks with regional president Massud Barzani on security needs after American troops pull out this year.
  
  [Image by AFP]
• 6:05am

  SYRIA - Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, issued a decree granting nationality to thousands of Kurds living in the eastern al-Hasaka region as part of efforts to ease resentment over nearly five decades of strict Baathist rule.
  Read the full article on our website here.
• 6:01am

  YEMEN - Less than two years ago a Yemeni opposition party leader told a US embassy official in Sanaa about a secret plan to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh, The Washington Post reported.
  Several previously undisclosed US diplomatic cables, provided by the website WikiLeaks, revealed that US officials were aware of Yemen's political state but largely discounted the prospect that Saleh could be forced out, the newspaper's report said.
  Read more on The Washington Post's website.
• 5:44am

  YEMEN - An anti-government demonstrator attends a protest in the capital Sanaa on Thursday. [image by AFP]
  
• 4:05am

  JORDAN - A Jordanian man - Mohammed Abdul-Karim- set himself on fire outside the prime minister's office, on Thursday, in the first such act since political unrest hit the country in January.
  It was a similar act of self-immolation by Mohamed Bouazizi, a poor vegetable vendor in Tunisia in December, that ignited the wave of protests which have since swept through the region and seen the ousting of autocratic regimes in both Tunisia and Egypt.