Thousands rallied in Tahrir, calling on the military to hand over power to civilians [Reuters]
Thousands of people have taken to Cairo's Tahrir Square to protest against the handling of the nation's transition period by the ruling military council following the fall of former president Hosni Mubarak.Friday's demonstrators called for a quick exit of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and that officials from the ousted president's government be barred from May's upcoming presidential election.
Protesters gathered in the square chanted, "down with military rule", referring to the military's leadership role since the fall of Mubarak following protests in February of last year.
Supporters of presidential canididates who were barred from standing earlier this month accused the generals of "hijacking" last spring's revolution.
The crowds, growing throughout the day, have called for the military to hand over power to civilians.
'One hand'
Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Tahrir Square, said Friday's rally was the most inclusive of recent demonstrations in the square.
"There are more than 20 political parties and political groups represented here" he said.
Following calls for unity among the gatherers, protesters began chanting "one hand, one hand, one hand".
The chant is a modified version of one made famous during the February uprising when millions gathered throughout the country chanting "the army and the people are one hand".
However, our correspondent said that despite the brief moments of unity during prayers, separate areas have been established for the various political factions gathered.
"There is a group for the Salafi movement - the ultraconservatives - an area for the Muslim Brotherhood, and an area for those who see themselves as liberals," Hanna said.
Though the geographical separations within the square show the political rifts among the Egyptian people, our correspondent said, "the one point of unity" among the thousands gathered in Cairo is that those affiliated with Mubarak and his government not be allowed into the nation's political future.
Court ruling
A new law drafted by parliament last week would bar any Mubarak-era officials from taking part in the presidential election scheduled for May 23 and 24.
The law, drafted in response to former Mubarak spy chief Omar Suleiman's decision to run for presidency, must be passed by the ruling military council to take effect.
Though Suleiman, believed to be the military's favoured candidate, has been barring from running, MPs hope the law, if passed, will also disqualify Ahmed Shafiq, the former prime minister in power during the final days of Mubarak's rule.
SCAF has requested that the consitutional court rule on the amendment law governing political rights.
The Supreme Constitutional Court is expected to issue its ruling within 15 days.
Clashes have been building in the week leading to Sunday's round of the Formula One competition [Reuters]
Thousands of anti-government protesters have been dispersed after flooding a major highway in Bahrain demanding a halt to the Formula One race on the first day of its practice runs ahead of Sunday's race.
The move cames as the Gulf kingdom's crown prince vowed that the country's premier sporting event would go ahead.
Bahraini authorities stepped up security around the Formula One circuit on Friday after clashes between protesters and security forces intensified ahead of the Grand Prix.
Friday's massive rally was organised by Shia political blocs, including the main groups Al Wefaq and Al Waad.
The rally is part actions by the country's majority Shia population as they continue their longstanding demands for greater equality in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
Al Jazeera's special correspondent in Mamana, the capital, who cannot be named for security reasons, described the part of the protest that he followed:
"I would say about 3,000 people gathered with banners and chanting for freedom and democracy and dignity," he said.
"That demonstration has now been effectively disrupted by the police.
"I'm now inside a shopping mall where a good deal of the protesters are now taking cover from the tear gas and riot police who are outside now.
"I think it's going to be a tense evening because, although it's calm again where I am, the Shia villages that surround Manama are expected to be the scenes of renewed clashes throughout the night."
'Entering a war'
The rally was given a permit by the government, but riot police fired stun grenades and tear gas at a group of about hundred protesters who broke away from the rally and headed to Pearl Square, the now heavily guarded roundabout in the capital that had served as the opposition's hub during the first weeks of last year's uprising.
Sheik Isa Qassim, Bahrain's most senior Shia cleric, condemned the Sunni rulers for staging the race despite opposition protests.
In a strongly worded sermon during Friday prayers, the cleric said the rulers have cracked down on dissent aggressively ahead of the event "as if we are entering a war".
The race is Bahrain's premier international event, part of the tiny island kingdom's attempts to boost its prestige in recent years.
The 2012 race is going ahead despite appeals by rights groups for another cancellation and pressure from protesters, including a jailed activist who is on a more than two-month-long hunger strike.
Clashes between protesters and security forces have taken place almost every day for months.
The unrest has intensified in the lead-up to the race, including riot police clashing with opposition supporters in the predominantly Shia villages that ring Manama.
Al-Wefaq leaders said at least 50 people have been injured in the past two days when security forces fired pellets to disperse protesters on several occasions.
Additional security forces deployed this week, setting up checkpoints on Friday on roads leading to the Bahrain International Circuit, the location of the race, and increasing their presence across Manama.
'Force for good'
The rulers have depicted the race - expected to draw a worldwide TV audience of about 100 million in 187 countries - as an event that will put the divided society on the path of reconciliation.
During a visit to the circuit on Friday, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who owns the rights to the event, told reporters that the race should go ahead Sunday.
"I genuinely believe this race is a force for good, it unites many people from many different religious backgrounds, sects and ethnicities," Salman said.
On the track, teams were practicing on Friday ahead of Saturday's qualification race.
"I think there's too much money involved in this and I think we're too far down the road for them to cancel [the race]," said our special correspondent.
Last year, Salman was tasked to lead a national dialogue aimed at reconciliation between Shia and Sunnis. The talks broke down without any compromise and have not yet resumed.
In Iraq, hardline Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr denounced Bahrain for staging the Grand Prix while "blood is being shed" on the island.
Sadr also condemned the teams for racing, saying their presence in Bahrain gives "support for injustices and the killings".
Syrian soldiers have fired bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters, activists said, as state media reported a deadly roadside bomb explosion, in the latest violence to defy international efforts to calm the country's crisis.
Protesters on Friday spilled out from mosques onto the streets in cities and towns across Syria, calling for the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad, chanting in support of the country's opposition armed forces, activists said.
The Local Co-ordination Committees, an opposition activist network, reported the deaths of at least 36 people, including three children.
Meanwhile, state television agency said 10 security personnel were killed by a roadside bomb planted by "terrorists" in Sahm al Golan village in the southwest of the country.
It said that the bomb weighed 100kgs but gave no other details.
A ceasefire plan, drafted by former UN chief Kofi Annan, technically went into effect last week, but has been steadily unravelling. Both the government and the opposition blame each other for violating the truce.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, said Damascus was not honouring the ceasefire and that violence was escalating. Observers deal
Ahmad Fawzi, Annan's spokesperson, said: "During the course of next week we hope that those that we are seconding from missions in the area who can move quickly will be there and we will make the numbers up to 30."
Only seven of the 30-men strong advance mission have so far arrived in Syria, and the Security Council must pass a resolution allowing the full mission which could number up to 300.
The preliminary agreement between the UN and the Syrian government states that observers will have freedom to go anywhere in the country by foot or by car, take pictures, and use technical equipment to monitor compliance of the truce.
But in a move likely to anger the opposition, the head of the team currently in Syria said they will not patrol on Fridays, the day of the week when the biggest numbers of protesters normally takes to the street.
"We don't want to be used as a tool for escalating the situation. So we will avoid going on patrols on Fridays," Colonel Ahmed Himmiche, from Morocco, said.
Protests were reported in the capital Damascus and its suburbs, as well as in the northern city of Aleppo, the central regions of Hama and Homs, in eastern towns near the border with Iraq and in the southern Daraa province.
"Security is extremely tight in Damascus," said activist Maath al-Shami, adding that despite the wide presence of plainclothes security agents, there were protests in the capital's neighborhoods of Qaboun, Midan, Barzeh and Mazzeh. 'Neighbourhoods shelled'
Shelling was reported in several neighbourhoods of Homs, the central city where government forces have been fighting armed opposition groups for months.
The Local Co-ordination Committees said at least 12 people were killed there.
It also reported the deaths of nine people in the northwestern province of Idlib, seven in Damascus, four in Aleppo, two in the Damascus suburbs of Douma, one in Qamishli and one in Deraa.
According to the UN, more than 9,000 people have been killed since the uprising Assad began 13 months ago.
On Thursday, the US secretary of state called for the Security Council to adopt an arms embargo and other tough measures against Syria.
Addressing the so-called Friends of Syria group in Paris on Thursday, Hillary Clinton stopped short of calling for outside military intervention, but said it was time to impose more consequential measures on Assad if his country failed to abide by the peace plan.
"We have to keep Assad off balance by leaving options on the table,'' Clinton said.
"We need to start moving very vigorously in the Security Council for a Chapter 7 sanctions resolution, including travel, financial sanctions, an arms embargo, and the pressure that that will give us on the regime to push for compliance with Kofi Annan's six-point plan." 'Unhindered access'
Under Annan's plan, the Syrian government is required to pull troops and heavy equipment out of towns and cities - which Ban said it has not done.
Thursday's agreement obliges the troops to return to barracks located "a minimum of 2-3 kilometres outside the perimeter of these population centres".
According to the deal, the Syrian government must allow unhindered access of UN personnel to facilities, locations, individuals and groups considered of interest.
As for the opposition, the agreement states that Annan must confirm that opposition fighters stop "all acts of aggression against Syrian army formations, bases, convoys and infrastructure ... against government agencies, buildings, infrastructure as well as private and public properties" and "commit to stop all illegal activities ... including assassinations, kidnapping or vandalism".
At their meeting in Paris, the Friends of Syria group called the peace plan the "last hope" to resolve the Syrian crisis, but cautioned that they were ready to consider "other options" if Annan's mediation efforts broke down.
Foreign ministers of countries including France, the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar said they would do everything to ensure the plan succeeded.
"Every day that passes means tens of new Syrian civilian deaths," Alain Juppe, France's foreign minister, said as he read out the conclusions of the meeting.
"It is not time to prevaricate. It is time to act. Though fragile, the Annan mission represents a last hope.
"If this were not to happen ... the UN Security Council and international community would have to look at other options."
Russia and China, two of Syria's strongest allies, were absent from the Paris meeting.
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