Rally in US City of Charlottesville Turns Deadly as Car Rams into Counter-protesters

At least one person has been killed by a vehicle that crashed into a crowd of counter-demonstrators who were marching against a far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The rally organised by the ultra-nationalist group, "Unite the Right", was planned to voice opposition to the removal of a Confederate statue and has been described as one of the largest white supremacist events in recent US history.

But Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe was forced to declare a state of emergency after violence broke out in the city.

Erdogan Spokesperson on State of Emergency

Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin speaks to CNN's Nic Robertson about the attempted coup and its aftermath.

France Security: Government Extending State of Emergency

The French government is extending the country's state of emergency following the deadly attack in Nice last week when a man drove a truck down a busy promenade on a national holiday, killing 84 people. Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee reports from Paris.

State of Emergency in Myanmar Following Riots
Curfew imposed in Rakhine following clashes between Buddhists and Muslims that left seven dead and many houses razed.

Egypt Braced for Verdict of Hosni Mubarak

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Egypt is braced for a new round of street violence as relatives of those killed in last year's revolution demand the death penalty for their one-time dictator Hosni Mubarak when a verdict is handed down in his trial on Saturday.

Relatives of the “martyrs of Tahrir Square” told The Daily Telegraph they did not believe the former president’s trial was fair and said they would reject a lenient sentence.

“I was happy when Mubarak was first put on trial, but now I don’t have any trust,” Ali Hassan, 50, whose son Mohab, a 20-year-old computer science student at one of Egypt’s leading universities, was shot dead by police.

“Now I have no doubt that he will get a light sentence or nothing.”

He and other relatives warned there would be trouble outside the special courtroom set up in the Cairo police academy – once named after the defendant – when the verdict was given.

That could easily spread to Tahrir Square, particularly as activists are already calling for demonstrations.

The army is preparing for trouble in what will be the first test of the end of Egypt's state of emergency, which has been in place since 1981 but expired with little notice on Thursday. » | Richard Spencer, Cairo | Thursday, May 31, 2012

Obama Welcomes End of Emergency Law in Bahrain
After low key meetings in Washington, Bahrain's crown prince, has made another promise of national dialogue.

But the US president, although welcoming the end of emergency law, has made his position clear: "You can't have national dialogue if you keep locking up the opposition".

The US needs the Gulf state as a port for its fifth fleet and while the price of oil remains so high the US cannot afford to annoy Saudi Arabia whose troops remain in Bahrain as support for the Sunni monarch.

Nearly three months since the crackdown began hundreds of people including activists, students, teachers, hospital staff and member of the political opposition have been arrested but Bahrain insists it is only punishing criminals.

Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports.

Mistrust Abounds as Bahrain to Lift Emergency Law
ZAWYA: MANAMA - Tanks have begun withdrawing from Manama's streets ahead of the planned lifting Wednesday of a state of emergency enacted amid a crackdown on demonstrators but mistrust still abounds in Bahrain.

Backed by Saudi-led Gulf troops, Bahraini forces in mid-March crushed the Shiite-led pro-democracy demonstrations that had paralysed central Manama, the capital of Sunni-ruled Bahrain, for a month.

Authorities continued with a crackdown on Shiites, who make up the majority of the kingdom's population, storming their villages and arresting hundreds of men and women, mostly for the mere accusation of supporting the peaceful protests.

But with the apparent gradual return to normality, stories are told behind closed doors of continued persecution of Shiites and mass dismissals from public-sector jobs for people accused of participating in the protests.

Sunnis, on the other hand, have been radicalised, with many of them welcoming the government's heavy-handed approach as a measure that saved the tiny kingdom from an Iranian-backed[A] Shiite plot to overthrow the regime.

Many do not trust the Shiites. » | Ali Khalil | Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Bahrain Says it Will End State of Emergency
THE NEW YORK TIMES: JERUSALEM — The king of Bahrain said Sunday that the state of emergency he imposed in mid-March to quell antigovernment protests on that strategic and contested island would be ended on June 1st.

The announcement was a sign that Bahrain was seeking to assure banks and foreign governments that the chaos of recent months was over and the kingdom, which depends heavily on financial business, was trying to return to normal. It was also a sign that the numerous arrests and rushed trials of opposition figures in military courts were running their course. Some leading opposition figures went on trial as the announcement was being made.

Bahrain is majority Muslim Shiite state run by a Sunni royal family and elite. The government came down hard on the protests, which the organizers said were inspired by Egypt and Tunisia but the government accused of being aided by Iran. » | Ethan Bronner | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Inside Story: Syria's Emergency Laws
Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, says the country's state of emergency should be lifted by next week. 



Inside Story, with presenter Darren Jordon, discusses with guests: Walid Saffour, president of the Syrian Human Rights Committee; Ivan Eland, a senior fellow and Director of the Centre of Peace and Liberty, at the Independent Institute.



This episode of Inside Story aired on Sunday, April 17, 2011.

Egypt's Emergency Law
Egypt's former leaders ruled the nation with what many deemed "excessive force", locking up people without due process and keeping them incarcerated even after courts demanded their release.
Since the fall of Mubarak, however, concern has been growing at the army's use of military tribunals and quashing of dissent.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Cairo on the calls to scrap Egypt's emergency law

Hundreds Shot and Wounded in Bahrain as King Cracks Down to Quash Protests
THE VANCOUVER SUN: At least 200 people were shot and wounded on Tuesday in a Shiite village south of the Bahraini capital, a medic said, as the king imposed a state of emergency after bringing in Saudi and Emirati troops to help quell anti-regime protests.

As violence escalated, close ally the United States warned that there was "no military solution" to political upheaval in Bahrain and that any violence against peacefully expressed political demands "should be stopped." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Bahrainis must "take steps now" toward a political resolution of the crisis.

"More than 200 people we received today had been shot with buckshot," a hospital medic in the village of Sitra, south of the capital, said by telephone. The medic, who asked not to be identified, said the hospital was under siege by armed gangs and security forces targeting Shiites -the backbone of anti-regime protests that have raged for a month. The medic said villagers "confronted the gangs when they arrived in the village," only to discover that they were carrying guns.

Helicopters were hovering over the area, the medic said, adding that the total number of injured people rises to more than 400 when those admitted for inhaling tear gas are included.

Neighbouring Iran condemned Monday's intervention by Saudi-led Gulf country troops to help put down the protests, prompting Manama to recall its ambassador. » | REUTERS | Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Bahrain Declares Martial Law as Protesters Clash with Troops
THE GUARDIAN: Kingdom's rulers tell police and army to take all measures against uprising but deny Saudi soldier was killed

The streets of Bahrain's capital, Manama, have again erupted in violence as the kingdom's besieged monarch declared martial law and ordered troops - including Saudi forces - to take all measures to quell a festering rebellion.

The clashes had been anticipated since more than 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states arrived in Bahrain on Sunday, after being invited by the ruling dynasty to help restore order.

Demonstrators and security forces faced off from mid-morning in the Sitra area on the outskirts of Manama. Bystanders reported the sound of gunfire and the scent of teargas by early afternoon, followed by the familiar cacophony of ambulance sirens as they sped casualties towards the city's two main hospitals.

By late afternoon, there were numerous reports of clashes inside Shia villages throughout Manama that had led to dozens of injuries.

At least nine people were admitted to hospital with moderate to serious injuries. Hospital officials reported that two victims had what appeared to be gunshot wounds. Many more appeared to be unconscious as they were wheeled into wards amid chaotic scenes. » | Martin Chulov | Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Related material here and here

King of Bahrain Declares State of Emergency
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The king of Bahrain has declared a three month state of emergency following weeks of unrest in the kingdom.

The financial district of Manama was deserted, shops and malls were shuttered and Sunni and Shiite vigilantes armed with metal pipes and clubs were in the streets after hundreds of troops rolled into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia.

State television interrupted normal programming to announce the state of emergency in the strategic Gulf state, which is home to the US Fifth Fleet and major international banks and finance institutions.

"Due to the ongoing circumstances in Bahrain ... King Hamad has announced a state of national emergency as of Tuesday for three months," it said.

Armoured troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had earlier rolled across the causeway from Saudi's Eastern Province to help Manama deal with pro-democracy protests which have shaken the kingdom for the past month.

Saudi Arabia's staunchly Sunni government said it had responded to a call for help from its neighbour under a mutual defence pact of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

But Iran's foreign ministry described the intervention as unacceptable and said it would complicate the already volatile situation. » | Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Mongolia Calls State of Emergency
BBC: The president of Mongolia has declared a four-day state of emergency in the capital amid violent protests over claims the general election was rigged.

Crowds torched the HQ of Mongolia's governing party - the former Communists - and attacked a police station.

Over 60 people were hurt - around half of them police - as officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon against stone-throwing protestors.

The unrest went on into the night, with reports of bank robberies and looting.

Rioters set fire to the Cultural Palace, home to a theatre, museum and national art gallery in the capital, Ulan Bator. Mongolia Calls State of Emergency >>> | July 1, 2008

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