Assad scotched any suggestion he might flee Syria and warned that any Western military intervention to topple him would have catastrophic consequences for the Middle East and beyond.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel may have won the Bahrain Grand Prix, but there was no winner in the main event: a public relations battle between the ruling Al Khalifa family and protesters in the streets over competing visions of Bahrain.
The Gulf Arab state has imposed a security clampdown this week in a bid to avert mass protests on the anniversary of the February 14 pro-democracy uprising.
The Islamist Ennahda party was officially declared winner of Tunisia's election, setting it up to form an Islamist-led government, as poll violence erupted in the town where the Arab Spring uprisings began.
Anti-corruption groups have asked authorities in the United Arab Emirates to take action over possible transfer of assets in Dubai by fallen Arab rulers and their loyalists, seeking a haven after uprisings.