My attempt at translation follows under the fold.
1620 GMT: Organisers of today's ralliesy [sic] in Yemen estimate that the crowd swelled to 100,000 as vast numbers of people took to the streets across the country after the weekly Muslim Friday prayers.
1537 GMT: Yemeni police shot dead a protester in Yemen's main southern city of Aden, where at least 20 other people were injured in Friday demonstrations, medics told AFP.
1528 GMT: Protester killed by Yemen police in Aden: medics
1201 GMT: The situation at midday:
- The uprising grows across Iraq but Moamer Khadafi's regime is attempting to cling on, with pledges of a $400 gift for each family and big pay rises for government workers.
- Mass demonstrations are taking place in Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain and across Iraq, where seven protesters have died in confrontations with security forces in two northern cities.
1056 GMT: Al Jazeera TV shows a crowd of several thousand people waving placards as they march through Yemeni capital Sanaa.
Playing cat and mouse with the Libyan censor
Following Egypt's precedent, Libya seeks to manage information flow by means of heavy censorship and the throttling of links. Major difference: so far the Internet has hardly penetrated Libya. Meanwhile, the opposition in the east of the country has captured two AM stations.
Independent media do not exist in Libya and the state media carry no criticism of Gaddafi. The two major newspapers and state television make little mention of the rebellion except to say they condemn it.
Opposition transmitters
Since several days ago, two AM transmitters in the east of Libya have been in the hands of the opposition. The stations broadcast under the name Voice of Free Libya (1125 AM) in Al Bayda and Radio Free Libya from the Green Mountain (675 AM) in Benghazi. According to the BBC listening service, Iranian television showed scenes that appear to have been taken in the city of Ajdabiyah. The television report shows a message from a soldier where in the background a pre-Gaddafi era flag can be seen.
At present it is unclear to what extent state television is still able to offer a complete program. Its HQ in Tripoli was reportedly plundered and in the broadcasts the technical capabilities seem noticeably reduced. That might be one of the reasons why Gaddafi's most recent speech was by phone.
The regime is still capable of jamming international news channel broadcasts. Reception of the Arab news channel Al Jazeera and several Lebanese television channels on Arabsat is poor or nonexistent. Broadcasts on Nilesat and Hotbird, on the other hand, can be received.
Phones
In Libya, there are more than five million mobile phone users out of a population of 6.5 million (source: CIA Factbook). There are two mobile phone operators under state control. Mobile phone service is thus severely disrupted. Within the country, people seem to be able to call each other, but are almost impossible to reach from abroad whether by voice or SMS. The security forces monitor mobile calls and text messages closely. On the eve of the demonstration on February 17, text messages were sent warning recipients not to go out.
At the moment Libyan authorities seem to be focusing on blocking calls and satellite links. Thus contacting RNW reporter Hans Jaap Melissen in Libya by satellite phone is barely possible.
Internet
Internet in Libya, unlike other Arab countries, is hardly a significant factor. According to the most recent available figures, from 2009, more than 350,000 Libyans do not have Internet access. There are no more than 12,000 direct connections (hosts) on the Internet, Internet service providers included. By comparison, in 2010 Egypt had 186,000. At least half the subscribers still employ an old-fashioned modem.
The major ISP is owned by the state-owned Libya Telecom and Technology (LTT). As far as is known, there are seven distinct providers active nationwide, but ultimately all are subject to direct control by LTT. This company also operates the international Internet "gateway". The telecom company has thus the power to seal off the country from the Internet completely. (Source: OpenNet Initiative)
Internet blackout
Immediately after the Libyan uprising broke out on February 17, the regime tried to shut down the Internet. This led to a weekend with a nightly blackout. Between the hours of 1 and 8 a.m. there was no detectable activity. Since Monday [February 21], no more blackouts have occurred.
The majority of web addresses, including social media websites, are accessible. Websites of the opposition have been made unavailable by "throttling" a connection so that a "timeout" occurs.
Internet connections remain slow and unreliable. Analyses of the Google Transparency Report and the data collector Renesys seem to show that the amount of traffic has decreased. That may be due to deliberate disruption in the country itself. In such a case the Internet provider "throttles" Internet access and the amount of data that can be sent. The lines simply become overloaded. At the same time, Libyan sites remain accessible from abroad.
Security
Internet connections without additional security measures such as a proxy server or Tor place the user in danger. According to an employee of Global Voices in Bahrain, Libya contacts come online for a moment to disseminate information, then disappear again, saying, "It is not safe."
Even under normal circumstances, Internet users report that the Libyan security forces closely monitor web surfing behavior. Even owners of Internet cafes make it their business to know which pages their customers are trying to visit, engaging in self-censorship in order to avoid having their shop closed down.
Alternative communication methods
During the Egyptian uprising the Internet company Google worked together with Twitter and SayNow to develop the communications program Speak to Tweet (@speaktotweet). The concept is both elegant and simple. The user leaves a voicemail message; a tweet with a link to the audio file is automatically generated on Twitter. In this manner, people who only have phones can disseminate messages to a broad audience.
Numbers: +1 650 419 4196 or +39 06 62207294 or +44 20 33184514
To circumvent an internet blackout, Internet providers (among them one in the Netherlands and one in Sweden) have set up open modem pools:
Netherlands: XS4all: +31 205350535 User: xs4all password: xs4all
In Sweden: +49 23197844321 User: telecomix password telecomix
The use of the Internet connection is free, but not the call from Libya. Internet via modem is also slow.