US Audio Feature: The 166 Prisoners Remaining in Guantanamo Bay (National Public Radio)

Detainees at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, March 2002

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US National Public Radio considers the 166 prisoners remaining in Guantanamo Bay, almost 11 years after the first detainees were put behind bars and wire in the American "War on Terror". It also talks about those who have left, such as Canadian citizen Omar Khadr --- shut away as a 15-year-old in 2002 and released to a Canadian prison last month --- and those who have died, such as Adnan Latif, who apparently committed suicide in September.

The interviewees are Carol Rosenberg, a reporter for the Miami Herald, and Latif's lawyer Mark Falkoff.

Syria Interview: Free Syrian Army Commander Riad Al-Asaad "The Revolution is on the Right Track Now"

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From the beginning when we established the Free Syrian Army, our goal was to unify the fighters. It has a great name and we kept working on it --- we did a really good job....Until recent months, when some people appeared and tried to hijack the revolution or use it....We really don’t know what their aim was.

So they accused us, and tried to cut off all our support from the outside, but thank God they couldn’t cut it....We are calling for unity. We are the ones who want unity. If anybody wants unity, it’s the Free Syrian Army.

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Iran Feature: A Letter from Detained Journalist Jila Bani Yaghoub to Her Imprisoned Husband

Jila Bani Yaghoub & Bahman Ahmadi AmouiMy dearest Bahman, what I find most attractive about this prison is that individuals with a variety of backgrounds and apposing points of view are coexisting peacefully. We sit together, share meals, have discussions and arguments. I find this peaceful coexistence extremely gratifying. My experience here behind bars has made me hopeful that I may someday witness a similar model implemented across our society at large. I look forward to the day when men and women with a variety of political and religious beliefs live together without the need to eliminate one another, or become enemies as a result of their differences of opinion, religion, or political ideologies.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Insurgents Attack in the North

Syrian demonstrators in Aleppo burn a picture of President Assad on Friday

See also Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Feuding About a Plane --- Meanwhile, 200+ Die

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2027 GMT: Palestine. Doctors have said that at least one person has been killed and three others, including a child, have been wounded in two Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.

The Israeli military said two men, one killed and one critically wounded, were "terror operatives of the Hashora Council of the Mujahideen, a Gaza-based Global Jihad affiliate".

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The Latest from Iran (13 October): "We Hate You War-Waging Power Seekers (Let's Talk)"

The Supreme Leader addresses a crowd in northeastern Iran on Saturday

See also Iran Analysis: A Diplomatic Dance Towards Renewed Nuclear Talks?
The Latest from Iran (12 October): No News is Regime News

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2011 GMT: Execution Watch. HRANA reports that 10 prisoners on Death Row, reportedly scheduled for hanging today, have been returned to the general ward.

United Nations officials have called for a reprieve and for a general moratorium on executions.

2001 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. The full text of questions for the Parliamentary interrogation of President Ahmadinejad, sought in a petition by 102 MPs, has been published.

The initial focus of the questions is the currency crisis, with the challenge that the Central Bank did not inject foreign exchange into the market as the Rial sank from 22000:1 to about 40000:1 vs. the US dollar.

The MPs also ask why almost 16,000 luxury cars were imported with subsidsed foreign exchange between March and September and why the Government did not support domestic wheat producers, importing the commodity at a cost of $5.2 billion instead.

The Board of Parliament is considering the petition, which has passed the minimum of 74 MPs for consideration.

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US Politics Feature: The Biggest Story --- and Danger --- of the Vice Presidential Debate

Full video of the debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan

See also EA Video Analysis: How to Become An Expert on the US Presidential Election (Part 2)

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For all the verbal combat, the encounter illuminated that the differences between an Obama Administration and a Romney alternative are not as great as advertised.

That was particularly evident on foreign policy, where the concern for many is that a Romney presidency will lead to another misguided overseas adventure. I doubt that concern was eased last night, but at the same time, the debate was notable for how Ryan and Biden effectively converged on a "get tough" posture.

There was nothing on China or Russia, let alone the vanished continents of South America and Africa, and --- compare this to past campaigns --- nothing on Europe and NATO. The international economy, arguably the most important issue right now, did not make even a cameo appearance. Instead, this was a conversation about who could be the harder man over the Middle East and Iran.

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EA Video Analysis: How to Become An Expert on the US Presidential Election (Part 2)

See also EA Video Analysis: How to Become An Expert on the US Presidential Election (Part 1)
US Politics Special: The "Elite Eight" States That Will Decide The Presidential Election

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In Part 2 of our guide --- complete with illustrations --- on how you can become a top pundit on the US Presidential election, we take a look at the "Elite Eight" states that will determine who goes to the White House.

A note of caution, even as you climb the Expert's ladder, about comment during a volatile campaign: since we filmed this on Tuesday, the polls have swung towards challenger Mitt Romney. The basics of the analysis are still the same --- Romney has to win almost all the Elite Eight to become President --- but his chances of doing so are much better than they were before the 1st Presidential debate.

Iran Analysis: A Diplomatic Dance Towards Renewed Nuclear Talks?

The Supreme Leader reviews military forces on Friday in North Khorasan Province

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An interesting juxtaposition of regime messages on Friday....

The Supreme Leader, on the third day of his trip to northeastern Iran, told a military audience that the Islamic Republic was the only force checking the "war-waging impulse of power-seekers". His Foreign Ministry, however, had a far more conciliatory message via State news agency IRNA:

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Iran is ready to show flexibility to remove the West's concerns, but this move should have reciprocal measure, too....Iran can move toward eliminating concerns of the West, but the other side should guarantee Iran’s nuclear and enrichment rights for peaceful goals....In talks with Group 5+1, Iran was ready to solve all stated concerns step by step and in a mutually agreed framework.

Mehmanparast's statement is the Iranian response to a diplomatic development in the "West".

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The Latest from Iran (12 October): No News is Regime News

See also The Latest from Iran (11 October): A President Under Fire

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1704 GMT: Your Tehran Friday Prayer Update. More information on Hojatoleslam Seddiqi's jab at the Government in today's sermon:

Had our authorities devised better policies, our costs would have been reduced....Executing the subsidy reforms was courageous, but they handed out cash to the people, and infused it in the market rather than strengthening production. The money was not used to boost production....And this has some side effects....They should already have thought about it. We hope that the problems people are facing and some are using as a pretext to help the enemy will not be repeated.

"Paying attention to the issue of production, using Iranian products and [supporting] the national production is a necessary [issue], and the order of religion, God and the Quran. God would never be happy with the Muslim community of believers...being in the shadow of infidels. We are a blessed nation, and they should not dominate us economically.

(Hat tip to Iran Tracker)

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US Politics Audio: Who "Won" the Vice Presidential Debate? --- Scott Lucas with the BBC

Photo: API spoke with BBC Wales this morning about the Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, looking at the key moments and responding to "Who Won?" with a phrase from British football (soccer to our American readers): "It was a score draw"

The item begins at the 1:54:30 mark.