Activists say 136 people were killed today in Syria, including 100 in the third-largest city, Hama—the subject of a "major assault" seemingly intended to "pre-empt" protests during Ramadan, which begins tomorrow. [AJE]

The trial of deposed Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali begins today in absentia, since Ben Ali is yukking it up with Saudi royals on his extended vacation there. Today's trial is the first of many, but this one is pretty juicy. Ben Ali is charged with theft, as well as drug and weapons possession, and the case is built on evidence recovered from two of his palaces outside of Tunis.

Here's one way to quiet a small but steady pro-democracy movement: Pardon one-sixth of your citizens for everything from traffic tickets to protesting. That's what Jordan's King Abdullah II has done. And here's his back up plan.

After a post on the blog A Gay Girl in Damascus claimed its author, Amina Arraf, had been abducted by Syrian security forces, questions arose about her true identity. A widely-used photograph has turned out to be someone else.

A prominent Syrian American blogger, Amina Arraf, author of A Gay Girl in Damascus, was kidnapped yesterday in Damascus by several unidentified men carrying weapons as she walked to a meeting. Yesterday afternoon, Arraf's cousin posted this on her blog:

Syrian state news reports 25 protestors killed by Israeli troops during an attempt to cross the border. Last month, 12 died in similar protests; now, as then, Syria will use the deaths to distract from its own brutal crackdowns. [CNN]

A graphic video of the corpse of a 13-year-old boy who appears to have been sexually and physically tortured by Syrian security officials has sparked international condemnation and riots across the country. The video shows Hamza Ali al-Khatib, a resident of the southern village of Jiza, and appears to have been filmed by his family after they retrieved his corpse.

The family of Hamza Ali al-Khateeb, a 13-year-old Syrian boy tortured and mutilated by President Bashar Assad's forces, has posted a video of his corpse online that shows "cuts, gashes...burns...bullet wounds...jaw and kneecaps shattered...and his penis chopped off." [NY Times]

Yesterday, for about the hundredth time, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was supposed to sign an agreement to step down after three decades in power. And, unsurprisingly, he backed out for another bullshit, concocted reason. However, instead of just saying "no," he decided to surround the U.A.E. embassy in Sanaa — where the U.S. ambassador and at least four other diplomats were gathered — with hundreds of armed men. From the Times:

President Obama attempted to reset relations with the Arab world Thursday in a comprehensive speech that positioned the United States and its values squarely behind the democratic uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa and promised aid to help promote economic growth and stability across the region.

Since Vogue published an exquisitely timed fawning profile of the "glamorous, young, and very chic" first lady of Syria Asma al-Assad in February, her husband has presided over the murder of more than 300 demonstrators and jailed more than 10,000 political prisoners in a bloody crackdown. Now Asma has fled to England and Vogue has tossed the profile down the memory hole.

As her husband deploys tanks to kill civilians in cities across Syria, many have wondered where in the world the "glamorous, young, and very chic" Asma al-Assad could be. It turns out that the dual British-Syrian citizen is probably hiding out in west London where she grew up, according to reports. The Telegraph spoke with a "high-ranking Arab diplomatic source" who claims that she is indeed staying in North Acton with her family. The source also said, "Clearly her presence could cause huge embarrassment to the British, so none of this has been made public." Yes, that would be pretty embarrassing!

The U.S.-backed monarchy in Bahrain has apparently killed, arrested and terrorized enough doctors and pro-democracy protesters that it feels the state of emergency can be lifted on June 1st. Victory.

An ongoing fight between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has taken a turn for the weird, as several of the president's closest advisers have been arrested and charged with being "magicians" and invoking djinns, or spirits.

After sending tanks into the city of Deraa to "restore security, serenity and stability," the Syrian government is proud of itself for starting to pull out today. Oh, but they're just cracking down on other areas instead.

Staunch U.S. ally Bahrain, fresh off a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, is now going to put doctors and nurses who treated injured protesters on trial in a military court. Someone's loving all of the attention bin Laden is getting.

Vogue covered the Middle East crisis with a puff piece on the "glamorous" wife of a brutal dictator. Now it's sister publication Condé Nast Traveler's turn: the magazine just published a guide to luxury travel in Libya.

Amid growing public outrage that resulted in the death yesterday of two Egyptian protesters, Hosni Mubarak has issued his first, self-pitying statement since he was forced out of office two months ago. Meanwhile, state prosecutors have summoned him for questioning, and arrested his former Prime Minister, Ahmed Nazif.

These Sunday talk show hosts are so mean, the way they exploit Sen. Joe Lieberman's incurable love of endless war everywhere for a mini-scoop or two every week. Here's Fox News' Chris Wallace asking the despised Connecticut lame-duck yesterday, "What should we do about Syria?" Not a very subtle leading question, Chris Wallace. We all know that Joe Lieberman would sell his skin, teeth and bones for a few (million) bombing sorties over Damascus that he can watch on television, with his pants down.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a critical U.S. ally who's been abandoned by several generals, is supposedly nearing a deal to resign "within days in favor of a civilian-led transitional government."