• Saudi King overturns lashing sentence for female driver
• Yemen's truce broken by heavy shelling in Sana'a
• Interpol issues red notice for the arrest of Saadi Gaddafi
• Read the latest summary
William Hague has condemned Britain's ally Bahrain for those sentences against medics. The foreign secretary said:
I am deeply concerned, that after the briefest of hearings, a Bahraini Special Tribunal has sentenced a group of medics to between 5 and 15 years in prison, upheld life sentences against Bahraini opposition leaders and passed one sentence of the death penalty.
These sentences appear disproportionate to the charges brought. These are worrying developments that could undermine the Bahraini government's moves towards dialogue and the reform needed for long-term stability in Bahrain.
Bahrain
• Twenty medical staff have been sentenced to jail for up to 15 years, after being convicted of taking part in demonstrations. Activists say they were simply treating injured protesters. The authorities accused them of spreading stories to forment terror and possession of unlicensed weapons. A protester was also sentenced to death for the killing of a policeman, while another protester was jailed for life for the same crime. The sentences were widely condemned. Amnesty described them as "ludicrous".
Libya
• Interpol has issued a red notice for the arrest of Gaddafi's son Saadi, a former footballer who fled to Niger after reports that he was negotiating with Libya's new rulers. The National Transitional Council accuse him of "misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation".
• Forces loyal to the new government have captured the airport in Gaddafi's birthplace of Sirte. The city continues to be the target for Nato's bombardment.
• Former US presidential candidate John McCain mistook Tripoli for Baghdad during a speech in Libyan capital. "I have dreamt of returning to the liberated capital of Iraq", he said before being corrected by a fellow senator during a visit for talks with Libya's new leaders.
Saudi Arabia
• A Saudi woman sentenced to be lashed 10 times for defying the country's ban on female drivers has had her punishment overturned by the king. The woman, named as Shaima Jastaina and believed to be in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission in Jeddah in July. Saudi rights groups claimed that the harshness of the initial sentence was payback by the ruling class for this week's landmark speech by King Abdullah, which cleared the way for women to participate in elections.
Syria
• The US ambassador, Robert Ford, a vocal critic of the Syrian regime, was been pelted with eggs and tomatoes by supporters of President Assad during a visit to an opposition leader. A state department spokeswoman said he "safe" after the incident.
• Syria accused the US of encouraging armed resistance against the Assad regime. In an interview with Time magazine Ford confirmed that some protesters have begun using guns against government troops, but he blamed the Syrian government for the escalation in the violence.
Yemen
• Heavy clashes have rocked northern neighbourhoods of Yemen's capital, Sana'a, breaking a truce aimed at ending the worst violence since a popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh began eight months ago.
The former Republican presidential nominee John McCain has been speaking in Tripoli, where he is part of the highest-profile US delegation to visit Libya since Gaddafi was ousted.
McCain and the three other Republican senators - Mark Kirk, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio - accompanying him, met the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, and other high-ranking officials from the interim government.
The men then gave a press conference. McCain began with a slip of the tongue saying "I have dreamt of returning to the liberated capital of Iraq", and corrected himself after the mistake was pointed out by one of his fellow-senators.
He thanked the US's French and UK allies in the Nato operation and told the press conference:
"This is Libya's revolution not ours but the US will stand with you."
McCain, who has previously voiced concerns that Tripoli should not turn into another Baghdad, with "looting and mayhem", said :
"The next few month will shape the future, the NTC will announce a new cabinet and it is important for it to be inclusive of all.
It is important of the NTC to bring in any armed groups under its responsible authority, they also need to bring Gaddafi and his family to justice.
We [the US] want to encourage free flow of trade between our countries."
The aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières MSF has suspended its activities in the northern Yemeni province of Saada after the government insisted on ending the independent assessment of medical needs in the area.
Explaining the decision, Vipul Chowdhary, MSF representative in Yemen said:
These new conditions would greatly affect our possibility to guarantee the quality and effectiveness of our work. We had no choice but to suspend our activities.
Yemeni doctor and activist, Hamza Shargabi, linked MSF's move with the sentences handed out in Bahrain.
Bad day for medical relef personnel all over the world #MSF ceases operation in saada #Yemen nd drs r convicts for helping in #Bahrain
Amnesty International has denounced the lengthy sentences issued today to a group of doctors and other health workers who were convicted of attempting to topple the government in Bahrain.
Middle East and North Africa deputy director Philip Luther said:
These are simply ludicrous charges against civilian professionals who were working to save lives amid very trying circumstances. It appears that the real reason for targeting these health workers was the fact that they denounced the government crackdown on protesters in interviews to international media. We've repeatedly said that the Bahraini authorities should never have used military courts to prosecute ordinary civilians, including doctors, teachers and human rights activists. The ruling government clearly wants to send a message that anybody perceived as advocating political reforms will be dealt with severely.
Saudi Arabia's political paradoxes mean that a woman can be elected to parliament – but she'll need a man to drive her there, writes Saudi blogger Eman al-Nafjan on Comment is Free.
How do you explain the ingrained paradox of the driving ban on women? The point of the ban is that women avoid situations that lead to them mixing with and meeting men. However, the ban then leads to the necessity of hiring a strange man and getting into the car with him on a daily basis.
How do you explain the huge amounts of money the government spends on educating and training women, so much so that 60% of college graduates in Saudi are women – educating and training all these women, despite the fact that gender segregation laws makes employing them virtually impossible.
In a cross post on her blog Eman al-Nafjan uses a wonderful cartoon to illustrate the point.
While the US ambassador was being pelted with tomatoes by Assad loyalists, Syria has been accusing America of encouraging armed protests against the Syrian government.
Damascus reacted angrily to a press briefing given by state department spokesman Mark Toner on Monday in which he suggested that the US expected the Syrian uprising to turn violent. He also blamed the Syrian government for the violence and refused to condemn protesters who took up arms.
Toner's comments "clearly indicate that the US is involved in encouraging the armed groups to carry out acts of violence against the Syrian Army," an official told the state new Syrian state news agency Sana.
In a statement today it added:
Describing the terrorist acts as normal ... is an irresponsible attitude that would encourage the acts of violence and sabotage serving the foreign agendas which contradict with the interests of the Syrian people.
Post-Mubarak Egypt is in negotiations to become a member of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), the Kuwaiti paper al-Watan Daily reports. It says that Jordan and Morocco are also in negotiations to join. The GCC has been at the heart of unsuccessful attempts to broker a deal for President Saleh to step down from power in Yemen.
Forces loyal to Libya's interim government have taken the airport in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, the BBC reports:
A BBC correspondent says jubilant fighters moved through the partially destroyed terminal buildings tearing down symbols of the Gaddafi regime.
Gaddafi loyalists have put up stiff resistance in Sirte. Two weeks ago transitional forces took the airport, a short distance from the city centre, but were then driven back.
The BBC's Jonathan Head says that this time they hope to hold it, despite facing continued rocket and gunfire from the other side of the runway ...
The airport is about 5km (3 miles) from the centre of the city.
Here's a summary of the main developments so far today:
Bahrain
• Twenty medical staff have been sentenced to jail terms ranging from between five to 15 years. Activists say they were convicted for treating injured protesters. The authorities accused them of spreading stories to forment terror and possession of unlicensed weapons. A protester was also sentenced to death for the killing of a policeman, while another protester was jailed for life for the same crime.
Libya
• Interpol has issued a red notice for the arrest of Gaddafi's son Saadi, a former footballer who fled to Niger after reports that he was negotiating with Libya's new rulers. The notice was issued after a request from the National Transitional Council, who accuse him of "misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation"
Saudi Arabia
• A Saudi woman sentenced to be lashed 10 times for defying the country's ban on female drivers has had her punishment overturned by the king. The woman, named as Shaima Jastaina and believed to be in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission in Jeddah in July. Saudi rights groups claimed that the harshness of the initial sentence was payback by the ruling class for this week's landmark speech by King Abdullah, which cleared the way for women to participate in elections.
Syria
• The US ambassador, Robert Ford, a vocal critic of the Syrian regime, has been pelted with stones and tomatoes by supporters of President Assad during a visit to an opposition leader.
Yemen
• Heavy clashes have rocked northern neighbourhoods of Yemen's capital, Sana'a, breaking a truce aimed at ending the worst violence since a popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh began eight months ago.
Supporters of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad threw stones and tomatoes at US ambassador Robert Ford, when he visited an opposition leader today, Reuters reports.
"Two embassy cars were damaged. The US delegation is still there and the crowd is surrounding the building," said the witness.
"They are chanting 'Abu Hafez (father of Hafez)'," the witness said, a nickname for Assad.
The witness said the diplomats were visiting Hassan Abdelazim, a centrist politician who has been demanding an end to a crackdown on a six month pro-democracy uprising as a condition for any talks with Assad.
Journalist Zaid Benjamin recorded this interview in Arabic with Abdelazim about Ford's visit.
Abdelazim said a large crowd had gathered outside his office to greet Ford, according to a translation by my colleague Mona Mahmood. He did not mention anything being thrown at the ambassador.
Abelazim denied he was conspiring against Syria by holding the meeting. He said Ford had made it clear that the US had no intention of arming the opposition. "The US is keen to find a peaceful solution," he said.
Ford has been the target of anger from Assad loyalists since he visited Hama at the height of anti-government protests in July. The US embassy was stormed following the visit and more recently Ford was filmed being jostled and heckled by supporters of the regime.
In an interview with the latest issue of Time magazine, Ford said the protest movement was turning violent, but he he accused the Syrian government of stoking the crisis.
"The [protester] violence problem will grow worse, as will the problem of sectarian conflict. The Syrian government's policies are driving this and they need to stop it."
The US-based group Human Rights First has launched a petition to try to stop the sale of arms to Bahrain following the crackdown against pro-democracy activists.
The petition, which has more than 3,500 signatures so far, is addressed to Senator John Kerry, the former presidential candidate and now chair of Senate foreign relations committee.
It says:
The US department of defence, with explicit consent from the US state department, notified Congress of a proposal to sell $53m worth of armoured Humvees and missiles to the dictatorship in Bahrain . Since you serve as chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, we urge you to stop this sale until Bahrain meets basic standards of human rights protection ...
Stopping this arms sale to a country currently abusing the rights of its citizens is in step with your long record of opposition to arming tyrants.
Arms sales to Bahrain at this time would contradict the United States' twin interests of regional stability and peaceful reform. If the United States aspires to be a global human rights leader and wants to inspire those struggling for democracy in the Middle East and elsewhere, it has to match its words with action. It must put real pressure on the Bahrain government to accept change. It should not reward the current repression with weapons.
We urge you to makes sure that the United States is in the right side of history—and that is on the side of democracy and human rights.
More details have emerged of the lengthy sentences imposed in Bahrain against protesters and medical staff. After 14 Shia activists lost their appeal against their sentences - 7 of them life terms - on Wednesday, 20 medical staff were sentenced to jail terms at a special security court, the Bahrain state news agency reports (Arabic).
It said 13 people were sentenced to 15 years in prison, two to 10 years in prison and seven to five years.
The allegations included the possession of weapons, the promotion of regime change by force, broadcasting false news (several medical staff were interviewed on television/radio after the crackdown by the security forces) and terrorism.
Maryam Alkhawaja, from the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, said the sentences were for nothing more than "treating injured protesters".
In June, the centre recorded accounts of doctors and medical staff who said they had been tortured at detention centres. The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights expressed "deep concern at the harsh sentences".
Also, on Thursday, two Bahraini protesters were found guilty of killing a police officer, with one of them - Ali Altaweel - sentenced to death and the other. The other, Ali Attiya, received a life sentence.
Amnesty International hcondemned the guilty verdicts upheld against the Shia activists on Wednesday as exposing the "inherent unfairness of the trial process".
It also highlighted the sentencing of two teachers on Sunday to terms of 10 years and three years in prison respectively, sentences it denounces as "outrageous".
Interpol has issued a red notice for the arrest of Gaddafi's son Saadi, a former footballer who fled to Niger after reports that he was negotiating with Libya's new rulers.
The notice was issued after a request from the National Transitional Council, who accuse him of "misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation".
Saadi is also accused of involvement in the repression of demonstrations by civilians during Libya's uprising.
Announcing the move Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble said:
The Interpol red notice against Saadi Gaddafi will significantly restrict his ability to travel and cross international borders. It is a powerful tool that will help authorities locate and arrest him.
This first Red Notice issued at the request of Libya since the Transitional National Council came to power is a compelling demonstration of the commitment of Libya's new authorities to work with the world police community."
Interpol will continue to offer Libya's Transitional National Council the full support of its global resources and services and is asking its member countries in the region to take all measures to apprehend Saadi Gaddafi.
Earlier this month Interpol issued red notices for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif and former director of military intelligence Abdullah Al-Senussi who are all wanted by the international criminal court for alleged crimes against humanity.
Once again Sirte was the only target for Nato's bombardment of Gaddafi's forces yesterday:
In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 ammunition / vehicle storage facility,1staging and firing location, 1command and control node and staging area, 2 ammunition and missile facilities, 1 tank.
Welcome to Middle East Live. Here's a round up of the latest developments:
Saudi Arabia
• A Saudi woman sentenced to be lashed 10 times for defying the country's ban on female drivers has had her punishment overturned by the king. The woman, named as Shaima Jastaina and believed to be in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission in Jeddah in July. Although there has been no official confirmation of the ruling, Princess Amira al-Taweel, wife of the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, tweeted: "Thank God, the lashing of [Shaima] is cancelled. Thanks to our beloved king. I am sure all Saudi women will be so happy, I know I am."
• Saudi rights groups have claimed that the harshness of the initial sentence was payback by the ruling class for this week's landmark speech by King Abdullah, which cleared the way for women to participate in elections. Samar Bedawi, who also drives her car around the Red Sea city of Jeddah, said the sentence undermined the king's speech, which had won plaudits from the international community. The king's speech was intended to quieten the religious current in Saudi Arabia. Both the judges reacted to this and want to show that they clearly hold the reins," she said.
Yemen
• Heavy clashes have rocked northern neighbourhoods of Yemen's capital, Sana'a, breaking a truce aimed at ending the worst violence since a popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh began eight months ago. Three areas in the north of the city were hit by heavy shelling and there were exchanges of gunfire between government troops and armed followers of a powerful tribal leader, Sadeq al-Ahmar, who supports the opposition.
• The United States and Saudi Arabia need to intervene to prevent Yemen descending into civil war, argues Yemen expert Gregory Johnsen. He writes:
Make no mistake, this will not be a nice, neat two-sided war like the 1994 Civil War, it is going to be messy, unpredictable and absolutely disastrous for regional security and US interests, especially the war against al-Qaida.To avoid this the US needs to take a strong leadership role and move from talking tough to acting tough. It is going to require strong coordination with Saudi Arabia, but this is not abdicating a leadership role to the kingdom.
Libya
Libya's chief Gaddafi tracker claims the fugitive leader is in Ghadamis near the Algeria border, while a military spokesman admitted that Gaddafi's whereabouts are a "riddle". But the NTC appears more confident about the location of Gaddafi's sons. Mutasim is believed to be in Sirte and Saif al-Islam is in Bani Walid, it claims.
Bahrain
A special security court has sentenced protester Ali Altaweel to death for killing a policeman during anti-government demonstrations earlier this year, campaigners report. The lawyer, Mohsen al-Alawi, says the special tribunal that was set up during emergency rule, on Thursday also gave prison sentences to doctors and nurses who treated injured protesters during the unrest in the island nation.