Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "All Rallies and Gatherings Are Illegal"

See also Yemen Opinion: Questioning Washington's Model of Drones and Permanent War
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A "Ceasefire" Ends

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2121 GMT: Syria. The Local Coordination Committees claim that 134 people have been killed today, including 50 in Idlib Province --- most from shelling of insurgent-held Ma'aret Al-Numan and attacks on Saraqeb and Kafar Batekh --- and 43 in Damascus and its suburbs.

1929 GMT: Bahrain. Russia Today discusses the banning of all protests in Bahrain:

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Yemen Opinion: Questioning Washington's Model of Drones and Permanent War (Johnsen)

Al Jazeera English's Inside Story asks, "Are US Drone Strikes A War Crime?"

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1. Despite the US bombing campaign in Yemen, which has been partially designed to keep Al Qa'eda in the Arabian Peninsula on its heels so that it can't plot attacks against the US, the organization is still actively plotting and attempting to launch new attacks;

2. The more recruits AQAP gains the bigger of a talent pool it has upon which to draw.

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Iran Analysis: The Regime Tells the US, "You Are Plotting Against Us --- Let's Talk"

Ali Akbar Velayati & Hashemi RafsanjaniThe focus on "plots" means that State outlet Press TV does not address the developing story --- arguably far more important --- of Iran's back-channel talks with the US, looking toward a resumption of formal negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme.

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Iran Exclusive: Did Supreme Leader's Top Advisor Meet US Officials in Qatar?

Ali Akbar Velayati & Supreme LeaderAccording to well-placed EA sources, the Supreme Leader's top advisor for foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, has met US officials in Doha in Qatar earlier this month. Velayati and the Americans discussed the renewal of high-level talks over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The account from our sources follows more than a week of reports and rumours about "back-channel" US-Iran discussions.

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The Latest from Iran (29 October): We Will Defeat the Sanctions, The Sanctions Are Killing Us

See also Iran Exclusive: Did Supreme Leader's Top Advisor Meet US Officials in Qatar?
The Latest from Iran (28 October): Blame the Zionists, Don't Mention the Political Prisoners

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1529 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. Forces within the regime, including the Supreme Leader's office, may have blocked the interrogation of President Ahmadinejad last week, but MP Ali Motahari, a leading critic of the Government, is not giving up.

Motahari said he will re-submit the petition to the Board of Parliament, this time with 83 signatures and no possibility of withdrawals.

The drive earlier this month to interrogate Ahmadinejad had 102 signatures, far more than the 74 needed for consideration, but some MPs took back their endorsements as key politicians and allies of Ayatollah Khamenei signalled that the questioning should not proceed.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A "Ceasefire" Ends

Claimed footage of a regime airstrike on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta this morning

See also Syria Opinion: "Leadership is Nowhere to Be Found"
Turkey Special: A Tangled Situation --- Ankara, The Kurds, and US Messages
Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Deadly Clash Between Insurgents in Aleppo

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2128 GMT: Syria. Protest in the Tareeq al-Bab area of Aleppo tonight:

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US Elections Analysis: One Week to Go --- Why "Moderate Mitt" and Crucial Ohio Point to a Cliff-Hanger

Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan in Celina, Ohio on Sunday

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Why are we witnessing the emergence of a "moderate Mitt" so late in the campaign?

The answer lies in his demeanour on the stage in Florida in the third Presidential debate. Mitt Romney was a man who is truly convinced that he is winning this election, avoiding any potential controversy that would detract from the message that put him in the role of frontrunner.

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Syria Opinion: "Leadership is Nowhere to Be Found" (Hanano)

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Leadership on Syria is nowhere to be found, not in Syria nor in the rest of the world. Instead, the Syrian crisis has been reduced to these cliched statements, by politicians, journalists and pundits, that seem to create some kind of equality between the two sides.

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Turkey Special: A Tangled Situation --- Ankara, The Kurds, and US Messages

Recep Tayyip ErdoganAn intervention from the US Ambassador, a challenge from Washington's top military commander --- what is “Erdogan’s country” to do now? Facing the Americans, Iraq's Barzani, and the PKK --- all in the context of the evolving Syrian crisis --- will Ankara change its tough-on-Kurds inside Turkey? Will it make a move regarding Syria's Kurds? Or will it try to gain time until Ankara can see a clearer message from Washington following the US elections?

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The Latest from Iran (28 October): Blame the Zionists, Don't Mention the Political Prisoners

See also The Latest from Iran (27 October): Supreme Leader Says, "Obey Me"

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Jafar Panahi & Nasrin Sotoudeh1630 GMT: Straits of Hormuz Watch. Minister of Defense Ahmad Vahidi has said the Islamic Republic has no plan to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key lane for oil shipments in the Persian Gulf, in response to international sanctions: “These two issues are not related and are totally independent of each other."

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