Moussa al-Dalah, a 35-year-old tribal leader from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, knew it would be a risky step to try and take his employer to court over alleged discrimination: He could easily end up in prison. "I had to tell the employer that the Bedouins won't be able to accept humiliation forever," al-Dalah told IRIN. "He used to give factory workers from other parts of Egypt higher salaries and better treatment."

The US is building a secret airbase "somewhere in the Middle East" from which the CIA can launch drone attacks against terrorist elements in Yemen, the AP reports, calling the move "a hedge against the danger that today’s friendly government could crumble and force America to continue its fight from outside." The US effort against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen is being jointly run by the CIA and the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. JSOC forces have been allowed by Yemen's government to conduct "limited strikes" there (some of which have apparently taken a grave civilian toll) since 2009 . The account states: “The Associated Press has withheld the exact location at the request of U.S. officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because portions of the military and CIA missions in Yemen are classified.” (Fox News, DoD Buzz, June 15)

Nearly 3,000 have crossed the border from Syria into Turkey in recent days as the Syrian army has moved to put down an uprising in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughur. The government alleges 120 of its soldiers were killed in the town last weekend, and it has since been flooded with 5,000 troops, backed up with several tanks. Large tent villages have been set up by refugees across the Turkish border. Meanwhile, Friday protests were held in over 50 cities and towns across the country June 10, according to a count by the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an umbrella opposition organization. In Deraa, security forces fired on protesters, wounding at least eight people, while in the town of Busra al-Harir government forces killed two protesters. (Foreign Policy, The Telegraph, June 10)

Rival rallies were held in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Friday June 10, as supporters and opponents of President Ali Abdullah Saleh gathered by the thousands just a few kilometers away from each other. Loyalists converged at Sabbeen Square to celebrate the news that Yemen's president was out of intensive care in Riyadh after treatment for bomb blast wounds. Opponents demanding that Saleh turn power over to a civilian transitional council simultaneoulsy converged on University Square—the symbolic heart of the protest movement, which has been renamed "Change Square" by the demonstrators who amass there each Friday. (Middle East Online, AlJazeera, RFE/RL, June 10) The previous day, fighting between Saleh-loyalist troops and tribesmen who have thrown in their lot with the protest movement in the southern city of Taez left seven dead. (Middle East Online, June 9) In Washington meanwhile, CIA director Leon Panetta said that the US has not halted cooperation with the embattled Yemeni regime. "While obviously it's a scary and uncertain situation, with regards to counterterrorism we're still very much continuing our operations," Panetta told the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Middle East Online, June 10)

Deadly repression is unabated in Syria, where security forces killed at least 70 demonstrators during Friday protests on June 3, according to activists' accounts. This was one of the highest single-day death tolls in the course of the uprising, and some activists said the day's final toll could be 100. Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said at least 60 people were killed in Hama, where President Bashir al-Assad's father Hafez crushed an armed revolt 29 years ago by killing up to 30,000 people and razing parts of the city. (Reuters, June 4)

Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia imminently to receive treatment for wounds he suffered in an attack on the presidential palace, Saudi government sources said June 4. Saleh has been left with shrapnel near his heart and second-degree burns to his chest and face after the palace attack. Saudi Arabia has brokered a fresh truce between a tribal federation and Saleh-loyal forces. But a Saudi-brokered truce agreed to a week ago held for only a day before fresh street battles broke out in the capital Sanaa, leading to the most intense fighting there since the uprising against Saleh’s 32-year role began. On June 3, fighting engulfed Sanaa, where residents cowered in their homes as explosions rocked the city. More than 370 people have been killed, at least 155 of them in the last 10 days, since the popular uprising began in January. (Reuters, Reuetrs, Khajeel Times, UAE, June 4; Reuters, June 3)

The Washington Post reports May 27:

US officials say Iran is dispatching increasing numbers of trainers and advisers—including members of its elite Quds Force—into Syria to help crush anti-government demonstrations that are threatening to topple Iran’s most important ally in the region. The influx of Iranian manpower is adding to a steady stream of aid from Tehran that includes not only weapons and riot gear but also sophisticated surveillance equipment that is helping Syrian authorities track down opponents through their Facebook and Twitter accounts, the sources said. Iranian-assisted computer surveillance is believed to have led to the arrests of hundreds of Syrians seized from their homes in recent weeks.

Protesters took to the streets of Egyptian cities on May 27 for nationwide Friday protests, again filling Cairo's Tahrir Square with tens of thousands. Demonstrations were also held in Alexandria, the canal cities of Ismailiya and Suez, and in the Sinai peninsula. Hundreds protested outside the hospital where ousted president Hosni Mubarak is being held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, demanding his transfer to prison. Protesters called on the military to hand over power to a civilian council, draw up a new constitution, and postpone September’s parliamentary election until new political parties can organize. The mass action, dubbed the “second day of rage,” was the largest since the rallies that toppled Mubarak on Feb. 11.