9.52am: Syria: Robert Mood (pictured) the head of the UN's monitoring team, appears to have given a gloomy assessment about the effectiveness of the mission.
He told a press conference that no amount of observers in Syria can achieve a permanent end to the violence without dialogue, according to AP.
There are currently 257 monitors deployed in Syria. A further 43 monitors will be deployed by the end of the month.
Egypt's presidential candidates Amr Moussa (R) and Abdel Moneim Abul Futouh (L) during a televised presidential debate in Cairo, Photograph: Ahmed Hayman/EPA
9.40am: Egypt: Preliminary expat results are beginning to emerge pointing to wins for the moderate Islamist candidate Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh.
The former member of the Muslim Brotherhood has come out top among Egyptian in the UK, according to random sampling and exit polls seen by Omar Ashour, visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Centre.
Omar Ashour
@DrOmarAshour #EgyPresElex results in UK: #Aboulfotouh wins w/1300 votes, hamdin 962, #Moussa 907, #Morsi 354 @SultanAlQassemi @monaeltahawy @seldeeb 18 May 12
Abul Foutouh also appears to be winning among expats in the US, according to activist Mostafa Hussein.
Mostafa Hussein
@moftasa Prelim. elections results from Washington DC according to @ymzada: AF 882, AM 644, HS 641, AS 404, Others 497. Out of 3068 valid votes. 18 May 12
More significantly perhaps Abul Foutoh looks set to get the backing of Hazem Abu Ismail, a leading Salafist who was excluded from the presidential race, according to the Egypt Independent.
9.31am: Syria: A UN panel of experts which investigates sanctions-busting has accused North Korea of providing weapons-related supplies to Syria, Reuters reports.
One of the cases involving illicit arms trade with Syria was reported to the council's sanctions committee last month.
"In April 2012, France reported to the committee that it had inspected and seized in November 2010 an illicit shipment of arms-related materiel originating from the DPRK and destined for Syria," the report [from the investigators] said.
The shipment, which was on board the ship M/V San Francisco Bridge, was said to be containing "copper bars and plates."
"However, France's inspection of the cargo revealed that it contained brass discs and copper rods used to manufacture artillery munitions (pellets and rods for crimping cartridges and driving bands) and aluminum alloy tubes usable for making rockets," the panel said.
Another case involved a 2007 shipment of propellant usable for SCUD missiles and other items that could be used for ballistic missiles. The panel had referred to it in last year's report but added details about a Syria connection and confirmed that it had been transported via China.
"This shipment originated in the DPRK [North Korea], was trans-shipped in Dalian (China), and Port Kelang (Malaysia), and transited through other ports," the report said. "It was en route to Latakia, Syria."
Although both shipments were made before the Syrian government launched its assault on opposition demonstrators in March 2011, diplomats said they were worrying because it showed the kinds of items Damascus had been trying to add to its arsenal – and the aid it received from North Korea and China.
The panel also reported recently on illegal arms shipments from Iran to Syria.
9.14am: Syria: Video has emerged of protesters at Aleppo university taking shelter in a graffiti-daubed UN monitoring vehicle, as the security forces beat fellow protesters outside.
The footage is unverified but would be difficult to fake.
The state news agency Sana acknowledged that the UN monitors visited Aleppo but made no mention of what took place.
It did say an investigation has been ordered into Tuesday's events in Khan Sheikhoun when UN monitors were fired at after a protest at a funeral.
9.07am: Syria: The state news agency Sana has leapt on Ban Ki-moon's remarks about al-Qaida being responsible for last week's bomb attacks in Damascus.
It says the al-Nusra Front, a shady group with links to al-Qaida, has claimed responsibility for the attack. It doesn't point out that it later denied claiming responsibility.
8.47am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. Even before yesterday's clashes in Aleppo, protesters across the country were planning to pay a Friday tribute to students in Syria's second city. Yesterday scenes at the university, which were live streamed over the internet and occurred under the gaze of UN monitors, are likely to give added impetuous to today's demonstrations.
Syria
• The slogan for Friday's protests is "heroes of Aleppo University," in solidarity with students who demonstrated despite brutal repression against the university, Now Lebanon reports. Yesterday students called for the arming of the Free Syrian Army, it said citing an activist.
• The presence of UN monitors, prompted hundreds of students to converge on Aleppo university yesterday where they were set upon by pro-government students and security forces, the New York Times reports. The protest and the mayhem, conveyed by students who streamed live video to the Internet, was the first big demonstration at Aleppo University since security forces raided and emptied the dormitories two weeks ago in a crackdown that left at least four students dead.
• UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said he believed al-Qaida was responsible for two suicide car bombs that killed at least 55 people in Damascus last week. "A few days ago there was a huge, serious, massive terrorist attack. I believe that there must be al Qaida behind it. This has created again very serious problems," Ban told a youth event in New York without elaborating.
Scroll forward to 41 minutes to hear Ban discussing the crisis in Syria.
• The head of Syria's main opposition council has offered to resign "as soon as a replacement is found" after a network of activists threatened to leave the group warning it had drifted away from the spirit of the country's revolution. Burhan Ghalioun said he did not wish to be a divisive figure and was ready to step down, just days after he was re-elected to a third, three-month term.
• Yesterday we featured a video of protesters and UN monitors coming under firing in Khan Sheikhoun, but we failed to spot that it appeared to show a UN monitoring crawling to safety. The New York Times's Lede blog noticed the crucial detail and a subsequent video appearing to show the same monitor being dragged to safety.
• Residents in Areeha, 50km southwest of Aleppo have an ambivalent attitude to UN monitors, according to activist Shakeeb Al-Jabri writing on the opposition website Ayyam.
After each UN visit, Assad's army opened fire on the residents, a move that was seen as regime punishment for receiving the monitors. The short, and largely useless, visits enraged Areeha's residents. "We hated them for this," Ahmad, a local activist said, "They came, did nothing of use to us, they didn't even talk to us, but we still got punished."
However, the activists admit that the mere presence of monitors in Idlib, the main city 15 km away, has helped reduce the regime's assaults ...
The activists have mixed feelings about the monitors' potential. "Every time they visit we get punished," Jalal said "things have improved a bit, but not enough." Ahmad is more optimistic, "They made promises," he said, "we need to give them time to deliver."
• Syria's ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja'afari claims two British citizens who were "engaged in terrorist activity" have been killed in Syria. The letter, addressed to Ban Ki Moon, the UN General-Secretary, lists Hassan Blidi and Walid Hassan among ten foreigners killed in Syria's 15-month conflict, the Times reports.
Bahrain
• King Hamad al-Khalifa's invitation to the Queen's diamond jubilee gathering at Windsor Castle, has provoked widespread criticism because of Bahrain's brutal suppression of pro-democracy protests. The former Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane accused the FCO on Thursday of placing the Queen in an impossible position. The Labour MP said: "Many in Britain will regret that the foreign secretary, who approves all invitations sent in the Queen's name as head of state, has decided to include a representative of the Bahraini regime which has done such terrible things to its own people since the Arab awakening a year ago." Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell accused eight countries whose leaders may be on the guest list of human rights abuses. He said: "It is outrageous that the Queen has invited royal tyrants to celebrate her diamond jubilee. "She should not host the monarchs of countries such as Brunei, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and United Arab Emirates."
• There are three main camps in Bahraini politics - the government, the opposition, and the loyalist opposition - and they are all becoming more entrenched, according to a research paper published in Foreign Policy magazine. It concludes:
To avoid that conflagration, everyone must work toward ameliorating the distrust, street, and sectarian dynamics that threaten to rip the very fabric of Bahraini society apart. Unfortunately, potential spoilers abound within each camp, especially among the hardline factions who view the crisis with vastly different lenses and even personally benefit from the continuation of the crisis. It is unclear whether these factions can be convinced to play a productive role on the path to reconciliation. What is clear, however, is that if current trends continue, it is only a matter of time before Bahrain suffers a major escalation.
Egypt
• A week before the polls open for the presidential elections, the results from expatriates ballots are due to be announced. The Egyptian embassy in London said the counting is likely to start Friday morning with results announced by end of the day, Ahram reports.
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