Welcome to our coverage of what could be another significant day in the unrest in the Middle East.
The Syrian regime looks set to once again crush planned demonstrations after Friday prayers today. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is reported to have ordered troops not to fire against protersters, but the claim is being treated with scepticism after weeks of a violent crackdown documented on numerous YouTube clips.
Anti-government demonstrations are also planned in the Yemeni capital Sana'a today. At least people were killed yesterday after snipers fired on protesters in Sana'a.
Here is a round-up of some of the other latest developments in the region:
• European nations have moved to reverse decades of unfettered travel across the continent over fears of flood of immigrants fleeing the upheaval in north Africa. The policy shift was pushed by France and Italy, who have been feuding and panicking in recent weeks over a small influx of refugees from Tunisia.
• The EU is expected to agree on personal sanctions against president Assad and other members of the Syrian regime over the continuing killing of protesters. The president's name was not on a list of 13 official sanctioned by the EU, but a source told the Guardian that the list would soon expanded to include him.
• The father of al-Jazeera journalist Dorothy Parvaz, who was deported to Iran by Syria, has spoken to the Guardian of his "grave concern" for his daughter's safety. Fred Pravaz said: "We are in the dark. Syrian officials have made a statement that Dorothy was sent to Tehran on 1 May. We are a very close family so this really breaks my heart."
• Leading Yeneni activist Wasim Alqershi explains opposition to a Gulf states plan to allow president Saleh to stand down with impunity. Writing on Comment is Free he says: "Our young people have decided to escalate civil disobedience until Saleh's regime is overthrown. It remains for the international community to realise that the youth will complete their revolution with or without international support."
• Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli has been hit by Nato rockets again, a few hours after he appeared in public for the first time in almost two weeks. Gaddafi was shown on state television in a traditional brown robe addressing tribal leaders, whom he empowered to speak on behalf of a nation he has ruled with absolute power for almost 42 years.
A source in Damascus reports:
Troops in tanks have taken up positions in key towns in preparation for a day which is being seen as a decisive test of government's claims to have the upper hand over pro-democracy protesters.
Presidential adviser Buthaina Shaaban has told prominent opposition activists that security forces have been given strict orders not to fire on the crowds expected to gather after Friday prayers.
But the prominent military presence on Syrian streets - and the regimes willingness to repeatedly use extreme violence in previous weeks - has led many to doubt such promises.
Activists say fewer people may take to the streets today, but they say that unrest is still spreading. "When you send tanks against protesters and arrest thousands, sure, you'll see fewer people out," said Razan Zeitouneh, a lawyer and human rights activist in Damascus whose husband was arrested yesterday. "But looking at it the other way, it's significant anyone is still coming out."
A Syrian member of the security forces says snipers were under orders to shoot protesters in the head in a suburb of Damascus. An English translation of the interview is published on the blog EA World View. Here's a chilling extract:
Each officer was to be accompanied by a volunteer sniper [usually a member of a militia or a mercenary]. They were also ordered to position themselves in places from which it would be easy to shoot. They were ordered to aim for the head as soon as they saw a protester. Their goal was to terrify people so they wouldn't leave their houses.
What most struck me after talking with several army officers was the authorities' clear intention of pitting the army against protesters. Police live with their families, but army recruits live secluded in their barracks, where they are completely brainwashed by their superiors. They are told that the protesters are trouble-making rioters who are manipulated by foreign agents. Soldiers' families need to warn them that the state is feeding them lies – otherwise their children will have too much blood on their hands.
Gaddafi, Assad or Saleh: who will go first?, asks the Guardian's Middle East expert Brian Whitaker.
Following the comparatively swift exits of Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt, we now have three Arab leaders who face serious challenges to their power but are proving more much difficult to dislodge: Gaddafi in Libya, Saleh in Yemen and Assad in Syria. Which of them, I wonder will be the next to go – and when?
The Syrian uprising is the most recent – it began in the middle of March – and my gut feeling is that it will not succeed quickly. The Assad regime could easily survive into next year, if not for longer, though it is unlikely ever to recover from the blow to its authority.
"The regime will dig in its heels and fight to the end," Syria expert Joshua Landis writes on his blog. But he continues:
"The Syrian opposition has successfully established a culture of resistance that is widespread in Syria and will not be eliminated. Even if demonstrations can be shut down for the time being, the opposition will not be defeated. Syria's youth, long apolitical and apathetic, is now politicised, mobilised, and passionate. All the same, the opposition remains divided and leaderless, which presents great dangers for a post-Assad Syria."
In Yemen, where protests directed specifically against the president began during the second half of January, Saleh has been playing his usual wily game. He has already agreed to go, but he keeps finding reasons why he should stay a bit longer. Protected by his Republican Guard, he seems to have decided that street protests alone – even if millions take part in them – are not going to dislodge him.
This has led to many predictions that the result will be armed conflict. But there is also a possibility that the economy will bring him down.
The Chinese news agency, Xinhua, has a grim report today which quotes the Yemeni oil minister as saying economic collapse is "imminent".
The report says Yemen's oil production "has been halved in recent weeks after producers pulled out their staff and halted output, which led to the closure of the country's sole refinery in Aden".
The minister, Amir Salim al-Aydarus, blamed this mainly on "sabotage", though he also acknowledged the role played by "political deadlock".
"The sabotage and destruction by outlaws on oil and gas pipelines as well as electricity lines exacerbated the economic situation," Aydarus is reported as saying. "If the problem persists, the government will be unable to meet the minimum needs of the citizens. The situation will pose a catastrophe beyond imagination."
In Libya, where the rebellion began in mid-February, there has been much talk of a prolonged stalemate – though I'm sceptical about that. Judging by recent reports, the rebels are gradually consolidating their position while the Gaddafi regime is being slowly worn down by the Nato bombing and other factors. When the time comes, it could collapse quite suddenly.
The course of events in Libya is now largely in the hands of outside forces, unlike Syria and, to a lesser extent, Yemen (where the GCC countries are involved diplomatically), and my reading of the situation is that western powers are in no great hurry to see Gaddafi go. After more than 40 years in power, another few months is neither here nor there, so it's better to keep him pinned down in Tripoli until the rebels have properly got their act together and are capable of running the show.
One way or another, all three regimes – in Libya, Yemen and Syria – are on the slide. In any of these countries, unforeseen events such as assassination or a coup could hasten their demise but as things stand at the moment it looks like a toss-up as to whether Saleh or Gaddafi will be the first to go.
A dissident Syrian opposition group predicts that the security forces will prevent mass protests today in Damascus, Deraa, Homs, and Banias, but that there will be significant demonstrations elsewhere.
In a email briefing the group, who are coordinate this Facebook page, said these areas were under siege by the military.
It said:
For more than a week the Assad Regime is using mass arrests as a new strategy. Whole cities or part of towns get surrounded by security forces, power and phone lines get cut off, and secret police goes from house to house to arrest people. After being arrested, people get tortured and then released so that they can tell others about their horrible experiences. It is the same strategy Iran has used in the green revolution in 2009 to scare people and they think this way the protesters will stop demonstrating.
We are expecting protests in all major cities as well in a big number of smaller towns.
However we do not expect big protest in towns that are still under siege.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton stepped up US rhetoric against the Assad regime claiming its crackdown was a sign of weakness.
At a press conference on a trip to Greenland she said:
Despite overwhelming international condemnation, the Syrian Government continues to exact brutal reprisals against its own citizens, including, tragically, the deaths of hundreds of Syrians since March. They engage in unlawful detention and torture and the denial of medical care to wounded persons. Now, there may be some who think that this is a sign of strength, but treating one's own people in this way is, in fact, a sign of remarkable weakness.
President Obama and I have condemned these actions in no uncertain terms, and I do so again today. The recent events in Syria make clear that the country cannot return to the way it was before. Tanks and bullets and clubs will not solve Syria's political and economic challenges. And relying on Iran as your best friend and your only strategic ally is not a viable way forward. Syria's future will only be secured by a government that reflects the popular will of all of the people and protects their welfare. President Assad faces increasing isolation, and we will continue to work with our international partners in the EU and elsewhere on additional steps to hold Syria responsible for its gross human rights abuses.
Up to 850 people have been killed since the violent crackdown in Syria began, the UN now concedes.
Rupert Colville, spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: "We believe the numbers are quite likely to be genuine."
Speaking a news conference he added: "We again call on the government to exercise restraint, to cease use of force and mass arrests to silence opponents."
The Syrian state news agency Sana claims 3,713 people have "turned themselves in" for rioting. The regime is facing growing international condemnation for the crackdown notably from the US and the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Sana makes much of calls from both China and Russia for the international community to stay out of Syrian affairs.
Tens of thousands of people have gathered again in Cairo's Tahrir Square. The rally is being held as a show of religious unity after Muslim-Christian clashes left 12 last weekend.
Al-Jazeera showed live footage of a large peaceful gathering in the square. It says the demonstration is also a show of support for the Palestinian unity deal between Fatah and Hamas.
The first reports of protests after Friday prayers in Syria are beginning to come in from credible sources on Twitter
@wissamtarif (founder of the human rights group Insan)
Demos in #AienArab #Amouda #Derbasieh #Qamishli #Amouda Chanting "people want to topple the regime" #Syria
More than 3500 protesters are now in the streets of #Amouda #Syria
3000 Syrian Kurds protest now in Qamishli and chanting "people want to topple the regime" and "leave [Bashar], you traitor!" #Syria #fb
Update: We previously stated that Razaniyat was the Egyptian lawyer Razan Zaitouneh. We have been told this is not the case. Apologies.
There are new protests in the southern villages around Deraa, Gaseem, central Damascus, and the Damascus suburbs, reports Wissam Tarif founder of the human rights group Insan.
Tarif is receiving regular updates from contacts inside Syria. In an Audioboo interview he said:
It is extraordinary. It is courageous. Young people want to live with dignity and to live with freedom. The crackdown has proven for the last three weeks that is not effective. There are lots of people who want to go out and protest. The crackdown has failed to achieve its main purpose which is to make people scared. Now they have to answer the question what next?
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Twitter user Razaniyat has a troubling update:
Breaking: Homs: shooting is heard in Al-Ashira neighborhood in Al-Sitteen street. #Syria #fb
My colleague Peter Walker has been interviewing two senior figures from post-Ben Ali Tunisia. They came into the Guardian this morning while in London for a series of meetings, including with the Foreign Office.
He says they had some fascinating insights into how Tunisia, in many ways, is now facing perhaps the hardest part of the reform process – setting up a new political and judicial system once a long-serving despot has been deposed.
First, Hammadi Jebali, secretary general of Ennahda, the previously-outlawed moderate Islamist party whose leader, Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi, returned in January after 22 years in exile. Speaking through a translator, he said:
The mood of the people has completely changed because they have succeeded in their revolution, after a long period, half a century, of oppression. The people are in control of their fate.
Ben Ali the oppressor has fled the country, although the systemic structure of dictatorship is still trying to react. We have a multi-party system now in place, and the banned political parties have been legitimised, including Ennahda. This is the most important thing that has changed, but we have a huge task ahead.
The people want the revolution to keep going because they want to see tangible reforms, not just mirages. (But) what is interesting in Tunisia is that the young people are highly educated and they understand the complexity of the task. When they see tangible results and there is a legitimate, democratic government in place, and have reforms have started then will be patient. They know there is no magic solution. We also need quick economic change, but speedy democratic reform is a prerequisite for any meaningful economic and social reform.
In Tunisia we're not interested in slogans about something being secular or non-secular. We are interested in democracy, full stop, genuine democracy, based on all freedoms – freedom of faith, non faith, intellectual freedom.
It's not the job of a government to impose ideas on people or to impose faith on people. It's up to them. It's a government which is based on freedoms and rights, including the rights of women and equal justice for men and women – rights in jobs, political rights, the right to wear a hijab or not to wear a hijab. This reinforces and reinvigorates civil society, and a democratic state must have a vibrant and free civil society.
In the second of Peter Walker's interviews he talked to Mokhtar Yahyaoui, a judge who was removed from his post in 2001 for complaining about political interference. Yahyaoui is now involved in setting up a new judicial system in Tunisia.
The system was completely manipulated by the Ben Ali regime. I complained about this in a letter which got a lot of publicity abroad, and was a blow to the regime. I was disciplined and lost my job, I was banned from leaving the country and put under house arrest.
After Ben Ali's removal I was reinstated. Now I want to work in a democratic system with freedom of expression. Perhaps the most difficult thing in this period of transition for the government is judicial reform. For me, it's the most important thing for the revolution. Justice is at the centre of everything.
We're not building a system out of nothing. We have more than 2,000 judges, the majority of whom are very good. We have a lot of experience. The big problem was interference from the Ben Ali regime. There was no separation between executive powers and judicial powers. It's vital for reforms that the new system inspires new confidence in justice.
Earlier, my colleague Martin Hodgson heard Yahyaoui speak about the situation in neighbouring Libya:
Tunisia has already received 300,000 refugees from Libya, when we are still witnessing the aftermath of the revolution and the country is still not stable. They need every form of support and we attempted to do that and we didn't complain, so I feel personally surprised when I hear in Western Europe the idea that 20,000 refugees will cause problems for Europe.
I would compare the example of supporting the rebels in Libya with supporting the (Afghan) mujahideen against the USSR. You are in the process of making another Afghanistan. The situation is heading towards a failed state. Libya will need many years to recover from the situation it's witnessing now.
The satellite broadcaster al-Arabiya reports that the International Criminal Court will issue arrest warrants against individuals in the Libyan regime on Monday. Muammar Gaddafi is expected to be among them.
ICC chief prosectuor to request Libya arrest warrants on Monday: official #alarabiya
Numerous videos of post Friday prayer protests have appeared on YouTube in the last few minutes.
They include this clip which purports to show chanting protesters in the city of Homs, scene of shelling and sniper attacks by the regime on Wednesday.
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This video claims to show chanting protesters emerging from a mosque in the Medan area of central Damascus (similar scenes were reported last Friday).
The Guardian's Jack Shenker reports again from Cairo's Tahrir Square as tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets again.
He explains there are three strands to the demo: support for the Palestinian unity deal; a protest against sectarian violence in Egypt; and a call for more meaningful reforms in Egypt.
"It's very noisy and very lively. There is a lot of that exuberant spirit [of February]. This is about ordinary people taking to the street and not the government controlling them," Jack reports.
Egyptians are also backing other protest movement in the region. As Jack spoke a protester carrying a placard of the Syrian president Assad depicted as Hitler walked by. "There is a feeling that this is beyond Egypt," Jack reports.
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The International Criminal Court has confirmed that prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will make a statement on Monday regarding arrest warrants against Libyan officials.
It pointed out that this does not mean that the warrants against Gaddafi will be issued that day.
Here's a summary of the latest developments.
• Tens of thousands of people have gathered again in Cairo's Tahrir Square. They are demonstrating support for the Palestinian unity deal and protest movements across the Middle East. They are also calling for an end to sectarian violence in Egypt and a call for more meaningful reforms.
• More protests have occurred after Friday prayers in Syria, despite a widespread crackdown by the regime. Hilary Clinton has led international condemnation of the violence.
• Libya is turning into another Afghanistan, a leading Tunisian judge told the Guardian. The International Criminal Court is to provide an update on Monday on war crime prosecution against the Gaddafi regime.
• There was a heavy security presence in the Yemeni capital Sana'a ahead of planned anti-government protests. A defiant President Saleh described the protesters as "saboteurs".
A source in Damascus emails this update on the scene in the Syrian capital.
There was a heavy security presence in Damascus today, a drizzly cloudy morning, as men poured out of the mosques after Friday prayers.
Soldiers were spotted on the streets, buses full of leather-jacket-clad personnel were parked up in areas and there was a heavy presence of security agents hanging out on the streets of restless neighbourhoods.
Videos show an increasing use of English language posters as Syrians seek international attention. Slogans have also become increasingly creative.
Demonstrators in some areas have this week called for president Bashar al-Assad to be sent to the Hague, a reference to the international criminal court to which Libyan officials are now being referred. One protester in Damascus describes how it feels to shout slogans: "You suddenly feel free, happy from deep inside and like you have no fear," he said. "It is an amazing feeling.
Activists and videos show protests have broken out in towns and cities across the country including the central towns of Homs and Hama, Amouda and Qamischli in the north-east, Abu Kamal on the Iraqi border, Deraa in the south and on a small scale in some Damascus areas.
A protester in Medan, a neighbourhood of the capital, said 200 people came out of al-Hassan mosque and shouted for peace but that the bulk of protesters had moved to other areas.
It is a tactic that has happened in the past - protests broke out of al-Refai mosque in Kafer Souseh for two weeks in a row and then moved to other areas due to a heavy security presence there.
So far there are limited reports of violence. Activists say gunfire has been reported in Deraa and Homs, but that is yet to be confirmed.
Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the deposed Egyptian president, has been arrested, according to Reuters.
Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP
Egypt's anti-graft agency said on Friday the wife of former President Hosni Mubarak will be detained for 15 days pending further investigations into corruption allegations.Suzanne Mubarak would be taken to a Cairo prison, security and judicial sources said.
Concern is growing over a British-based photographer who has been missing for 39 days after being captured in Libya, writes Peter Beaumont.
Anton Hammerl, an award-winning photographer, was captured on 4 April and his family have had no concrete news about him since then.
The regime has, however, allowed access to three other journalists who were captured with him.
Hammerl, who has joint South African and Austrian nationality but lives with his wife, Penny Sukhraj, in Surrey, had been travelling with Manuel Varela de Seijas Brabo, Clare Gillis and James Foley when they were captured.
The Libyan regime has admitted it is holding all four journalists, and has allowed the two Americans and the Spaniard to receive a visitor where they are being held, but it has provided no information about Hammerl.
On Monday the International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will name three individuals wanted for war crimes in Libya, sources told Julian Borger, the Guardian's diplomatic editor. Julian has been told that Muammar Gaddafi will be one of those named.
At least one person has been shot dead the Syrian city of Homs, a rights activists have told Bassem Mroue, reporting from Lebanon for Associated Press.
Human rights activist Wissam Tarif tweeted that there were five different demonstrations in Homs.
Within the last 30 minutes he also claimed teargas and live ammunition had been used in the Damascus suburb of Darraya.
The latest videos from Homs include this one of protesters chanting slogans against President Assad.
Another shows protesters holding up banners condemning Syrian state TV.
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AP has more on the arrest of Suzanne Mubarak
The state news agency Mena said Suzanne Mubarak was asked about 20m Egyptian pounds ($3.3m) held in her name in one of the Cairo banks as well as a luxurious home in Cairo.
Both Suzanne Mubarak and her husband were questioned in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where they have been staying since he was deposed.
She has been staying in the town in their villa, which has an estimated value of 36 million pounds ($6m).
A report by a financial oversight body said that Mubarak and his family had numerous bank accounts in foreign and local currencies, luxury apartments and palaces and valuable land holdings.
Mubarak denies the allegation.
Vast crowds of people have gathered in Taiz, in southern Yemen, to protest against President Saleh's government, according to this YouTube video (spotted by Scott Lucas at EA World View).
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Meanwhile, Qatar has pulled out of Gulf states talks to end Yemen's crisis based on an unpopular plan to allow Saleh to step down with immunity from prosecution.
"The government [of Qatar] was obliged to take the decision because of the stalling and delays in the signing of the agreement, the escalation of the events, the severe confrontations and the lack of wisdom which contradict the spirit of the initiative," Qatar's news agency QNA said, according to AP.
Yemen's official news agency Saba accused Qatar of siding with the protesters.
"It has become clear that Qatar has its own agenda and it is known who stands behind it", a source told Saba.
The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said one of its ambulances was hit by a bullet on Wednesday. Amidst heavy clashes on Wednesday in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ambulance being used to transport patients to surgical facilities throughout the day was struck by a stray bullet.
"The bullet entered through the back window," said Dr. Vipul Chowdhary, MSF's representative in Yemen. "Luckily, no patients were inside the vehicle at the time and the driver and nurse who were inside were not harmed. MSF reminds all parties of the absolute need to respect humanitarian medical work and staff in Sana'a and the rest of the country."
Two people have been shot dead by security forces in Homs, several different reports say, according to our sources in Damascus.
Lawyer and human rights monitor Razan Zeitouneh said the two people are Nadim Fouad Ragob, a man in his forties, and the second is a person from the al-Refai family.
There are also reports of gunfire in Madaya, close to Damascus, but there is no news of deaths and injuries so far.
There was an interesting new slogan today in Homs. Protesters could be heard chanting "Erdogan: Tell him [Assad] none of his people love him."
Syrian protesters are increasingly looking to Turkey - much admired in recent years by people and officials alike - to up pressure on Assad. Last Friday protesters in Hama waved Turkish flags and in Banias posters could be seen of the Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This week Erdogan did appear to up pressure, claiming 1,000 civilians had been killed in Syria's unrest - a greater number than activists are confirming and way above the official line which focuses on the deaths of soldiers and security agents.
Perhaps in response, on Thursday pro-regime daily al-Watan ran an opinion piece blasting Turkey. "Ever since the eruption of the events in Syria – over a month ago – the Turkish official performance seemed to be rash and improvised," it said. It also alluded to Turkey's political links to Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, activists say there are protests in the suburbs of the southern city of Deraa and rumours of a protest in Mohajireen, a Damascus neighbourhood very close to the president's residence.
The Foreign Office has called in the Syrian ambassador to London to "express concern about the situation in Syria".
The UN's human right organisation has ordered a fact finding mission to Syria and expressed "deep concerns" about the crackdown.
It highlighted reports that the Bab Amr residential district of Homs was shelled on Wednesday, and that up to 850 people have killed in the violence.
"We cannot verify these numbers for sure, but believe they are likely to be close to reality," said spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists in Geneva.
The UN Human Rights Council has ordered a fact-finding mission to Syria to assess the situation on the ground. It will be headed by Kyung-wha Kang, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, and "should be ready to deploy as soon as we are granted access."
It said:
Secretary general Ban Ki-moon, who has spoken by telephone with President Bashar al-Assad on several occasions during the crisis, this week urged him to cooperate with the human rights mission and with a separate planned humanitarian mission to the southern city of Deraa, where fighting has been particularly intense.
Colville also talked to "disturbing" reports that hundreds of people detained in connection with Bahrain's protest movement – including medical professionals, opposition politicians and human rights defenders – are being denied their legal rights to due process.
Protest videos from Syria are being uploaded to YouTube at a rapid pace. The latest include a new development - a motorbike and car rally recorded near the north western city of Idlib.
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Another appears to show security forces running after protesters with batons in Daria. A third claims to show a protest in Damascus.
The YouTube channel of Sham News has more.
Six people were killed in today's protests, the Damascus-based human rights lawyer Razan Zeitouneh just told me via Skype. The death toll in Homs has increased to three, she said, and two others were killed in a suburb of Damascus, while a woman was killed in the southern town of Deraa.
Zeitouneh said she has not heard from her husband since he was arrested yesterday. "You can't hear anything about arrested people. We don't even know where they are. I'm trying to stay safe, I'm trying to stay out of prison for as long as I can to do my work."
On today's protests she said:
The regime felt that they could scare people enough to stop people coming on to the streets - they have arrested thousands of people. But today it was as usual - more and more went on to the street - so they started shooting people.
Today was clear proof that nothing will stop the protests. No kind of violence will stop them.
Nobody believes the lies of the government [about armed terrorist groups]. We all see the crimes committed by the security forces through videos published everywhere. They know they are lying. I haven't seen faked videos. Some times there is a problem with dates and descriptions but that is very rare. People in Syria exchange the videos via their mobile phones.
The Guardian's video team has put together a compilation of clips of today's demonstrations in Syria including protesters calling for the toppling of the regime in Homs and signs that teargas was deployed in Damascus.
The Foreign Office has warned Syria that it faces further from EU sanctions if it continues killing protesters.
In a statement it confirmed that the Syrian ambassador had been called in for meeting with political director Sir Geoffrey Adams.
Sir Geoffrey emphasised the UK's profound concern about the Syrian government's violent repression of its own citizens, and called on the Syrian authorities to respect universal human rights, including freedom of expression. Sir Geoffrey also expressed concern about the continued denial of access of international media into Syria.Sir Geoffrey said that unless the Syrian government stopped the killing of protestors and released political prisoners, the UK along with its EU partners would take further measures to hold the regime to account. These measures would include further sanctions targeted at the highest levels of the regime, including travel bans and asset freezing.
The Syrian government has hinted at a desire for talks with the protest movement, writes our correspondent in Damascus
Syria's information minister Adnan Mahmoud said a national dialogue would be started this week. It comes after government spokeswoman Buthaina Shaaban met veteran dissidents last week.
Some analysts are seeing this as the government changing strategy and reverting to reforms - or promises of them - rather than the military crackdown, which has brought international condemnation and sanctions and not stopped people from going out on the streets.
But others say it is just a one off and are against dialogue with the regime, pointing out that none of the protesters or younger activists have been approached.
There are also still mixed signals - as Shaaban announced meetings with dissidents this week, Rami Makhlouf announced the regime would "fight to the end".
A day later the Syrian ambassador to the US denounced Makhlouf's view, saying it was not representative of the government. However, Makhlouf is part of the inner circle which has greater pull than the mainly rubber-stamp government and parliament.
Our correspondent in Tripoli, Martin Chulov, is highly sceptical of Italian claims about the health and whereabouts of Muammar Gaddafi
The Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini's claim today that Colonel Gaddafi has likely been injured in a Nato strike and is not in Tripoli has surprised everybody here and convinced few.
Frattini got his information from Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, a Tripoli-based priest and friend of the veteran autocrat.
Gaddafi made a public appearance at the Rixos Hotel on Wednesday night after laying low for 11 days. He wasn't injured then.
The air strikes in the early hours of Thursday did not target areas that he was known to frequent. And there were no bombs last night.
If the priest has more information, he seems to be the only one in town who does.
Before we wrap up here's a summary of another eventful day.
• Six people have been killed as protesters continue to defy a government crackdown in Syria. Hilary Clinton has led international condemnation of the violence and Britain called in the Syrian ambassador.
• Tens of thousands of people gathered again in Cairo's Tahrir Square. They were demonstrating support for the Palestinian unity deal and protest movements across the Middle East. As the protest continued the Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the former president, was detained for questioning on corruption charges.
• Libya is turning into another Afghanistan, a leading Tunisian judge told the Guardian. On Monday prosecutors for the international criminal court are expected to name Gaddafi as being wanted for war crimes. An Italian claim that Gaddafi is injured and out of the Tripoli has been treated with scepticism.
• Vast anti-government demonstrations have taken place in the Yemeni capital Sana'a and in the southern city of Taiz. A defiant President Saleh described the protesters as "saboteurs".
(That's it for today. Thanks for your comments)
Good evening, Laura Eades here with an addendum to Matthew Weaver's summary. There have been developments in Libya.
The Guardian's Martin Chulov in Tripoli reports that Libyan officials are claiming a Nato bombing raid last night resulted in heavy civilian casualties.
The Libyan government has shown video of what it claims to be an attack on a guest house in the city of Al-Brega in eastern Libya where dozens of Islamic imams or sheikhs were staying as part of a peace march to the east.
The gruesome images showed 11 dead imams and 45 wounded Muslim holy men – five of them in a coma – according to Libyan government officials speaking in the courtyard of a Tripoli mosque where Islamic elders and Christian Coptic priests had gathered to condemn the attack.
The carnage was allegedly caused by a Nato strike in the early hours of Friday.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said: "We will never accept from Nato that this was an accident. This barbaric, inhumane attack took place in the early hours.
"The imams had travelled to call for brothers in the east of the country to join them in peace.
"They were staying in a small guest house in the city of Brega to rest before moving on to Ajdabiya, and then hopefully Benghazi.
"Is this legal under any Security Council resolution, to kill people while they sleep just awhile before they were praying for peace?"
Nato was due to respond to the claim this evening at a press conference in Brussels, but did not take the opportunity to make a statement about the bombing.
If proven, the attack would be the worst strike on civilian targets since the bombing campaign began in March.
Nato commanders have stressed that they do not target civilians.
After early gains, and with up to one third of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's military strength destroyed, the Nato campaign appears to have slowed to a near stalemate with the east firmly in rebel hands.
Tripoli still under the control of Gaddafi loyalists, and the most active battle zone in the country, Misrata, is still bitterly contested by both sides.
The government strongly rejected a claim by Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini that Gaddafi was injured in a recent strike and is no longer in the capital.
Libyan state television says it will air a statement by Muammar Gaddafi shortly.
Here's the video Libya TV have released on the bombed guesthouse that allegedly killed 11 imams, with Reuters commentary: (above)
Libyan state television has broadcast brief audio remarks it said were by Gaddafi.
The comments came after Italy's foreign minister said that Gaddafi had probably left the Libyan capital and been wounded by Nato air strikes – a report that Tripoli immediately dismissed as nonsense.
The broadcast said:
"I tell the cowardly crusader [Nato] that I live in a place they cannot reach and where you cannot kill me .... I live in the hearts of the millions."
Reports say the voice sounded like Gaddafi's. There was no accompanying video.
Just to finish with, here are the Guardian's Middle East stories for the night:
• Martin Chulov writes on the Nato bombing that allegedly killed 11 imams
• Ewen MacAskill reports on George Mitchell resigning as US Middle East envoy