Tunisia Video Interview: Ennadha Party Leader Rachid Ghannouchi "Violence is Not the Answer" (Al Jazeera English)

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Al Jazeera English interviews Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennadha Party, the largest faction in the Assembly. He speaks about the recent protests and violence over a US film denigrating the Prophet Mohammad, the role of sharia law, and politics and free expression in Tunisia --- a take-away quote:

This event can give service only to anti-Islam....Whoever plans this crime with the intention or without intention, they destroy the dialogue between Islam and the West, they help Islamophobia in the world.

Violence is not the solution it is part of the problem,. We have many problems between Muslims and some Western countries, but violence is not the solution. It can increase the problems and difficulties and push things towards a war between nations and religions. It is not [part of] Islamic politics.

Libya, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protesters Take Over Militia Bases in Benghazi

Police arrest protester during Friday demonstration in the Bahraini capital Manama --- 29 people were detained (Photo: Mahmood Alshaikh)

See also Syria Video Documentary: "The Heart of the Battle"
Bahrain Letter: Detained Zainab Alkhawaja Accepts Freedom Award "For The People Who Fight Against All Odds"
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Proclaims, "We Will Defeat Armed Groups", as His Planes Kill 100s of Civilians

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1940 GMT: Syria. Residents and activists report fighting and snipers throughout Aleppo today.

In Suleiman al-Halabi, one of Aleppo's main streets, the army prevented residents from venturing into the area amid steady gunfire in the third day of fighting.

One resident said, "Almost 80 percent of the people in Suleiman al-Halabi left their homes after rebels entered the area."

Locals warned of snipers in the adjacent neighborhood of Midan, held by the regime, as streets were empty, shops were locked up, and several buildings and apartments were destroyed.

"The battle is now between snipers," Sheikh Walid, the head of an insurgent brigade in the southern Amiriya district said, as only few hundred meters separated the rival forces.

In Maysar, nine people were reportedly killed, including five members of the same family. Residents said insurgents reinforcements were pouring into the eastern district of Sakhur and Shaar.

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The Latest from Iran (22 September): The Syria Muddle Continues

President Ahmadinejad and military commanders review Friday's parade in Tehran

See also Iran Audio Feature: "Tehran's Clean Internet" --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24</ br>
Iran 1st-Hand: Fashion and Politics --- Defiance Through Hijab
The Latest from Iran (21 September): Worrying about Inflation

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1515 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. More on the denial of visas to Iranians accompanying the President to the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week (see 1011 GMT)....

Fars reports that, of Ahmadinejad's 160-member entourage, 20 have had visas denied --- another Iranian outlet says 60 did not receive visas in time for the trip --- and two of these are Ministers.

The Ministers are not named, but Fars identifies two members of Ahmadinejad's staff --- Mohammad Shaikhan, in charge of communications and information, and Mohammad Jafar Behdad, in charge of political affairs.

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Syria Video Documentary: "The Heart of the Battle" (PBS Frontline)

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad travels inside the insurgency in Aleppo for PBS Frontline in this two-part documentary, "The Battle for Syria" and "The Regime Responds":

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Bahrain Letter: Detained Zainab Alkhawaja Accepts Freedom Award "For The People Who Fight Against All Odds"

My father, my sister and I have expected many things since the start of the pro-democracy revolution in Bahrain. Exile, injury, imprisonment, & torture are amongst those things, but I don't think we ever expected getting an award.

I will take this opportunity not to say what is expected or appropriate, as I'm not even sure what that is but to share what I feel with you.

In a prison cell in Bahrain, I close my eyes & I see image after image from this past year and a half.

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Iran Audio Feature: "Tehran's Clean Internet" --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

On Friday I spoke with Monocle 24's The Briefing on latest developments in the Islamic Republic's effort for a "national Internet". The regime has reportedly achieved the first stage of linking up government agencies and some businesses in a self-contained system. Will it go farther and seal off Iranians from outside sites, search engines, and e-mail systems?

To listen to the discussion, go to The Briefing's homepage, open the programme for 21/9, and start at the 47:30 mark.

Iran 1st-Hand: Fashion and Politics --- Defiance Through Hijab (Egherman)

It wasn't just relatively secular women who complained. Many of the observant women I met chafed at the dress restrictions. "Hejab is my choice," my sister-in-law, an observant Muslim, told me, echoing what I heard from others. "What gives some beardless boy the right to tell me that my hair is showing?" She would talk to her friends about her trip to visit us in Amsterdam. "There are plenty of women in hejab there. Is the government forcing them? No. It's their choice, just like it's mine."

To me, the scarf was the manifestation of mistrust and coercion. There was no pact between me and God, no choice. The regulations felt arbitrary and insulting. I could only guess that the morality police riding up and down busy streets on motorbikes harassed women based on some nefarious measure such as how stimulated they got at the sight of an exposed ankle or a lock of hair. A little wiggle and it's "Fix that scarf." A big wiggle and "We are taking you in for reeducation."

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The Latest from Iran (21 September): Worrying about Inflation

See also The Latest from Iran (20 September): The Currency "Situation"

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1900 GMT: Reverse Sanctions Watch. The Supreme Leader's military advisor, Yahya Rahim Safavi, has urged Muslims to "sanction" the US by boycotting American products.

1810 GMT: Discovery of the Day. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of Parliament's National Security Committee, has claimed that the German company Siemens installed explosives in equipment for an Iranian nuclear site. He said that the operation was discovered by authorities, and Siemens must explain itself.

Reports have circulated that the Stuxnet virus was introduced into Iranian computers, used in the nuclear programme, through vulnerabilities in Siemens equipment.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Assad Proclaims, "We Will Defeat Armed Groups", as His Planes Kill 100s of Civilians

1902 GMT: Syria. The inevitable attack on the border crossing at Tal Abyad, north of Al Raqqah, started earlier this morning. Regime tanks and ground forces finally reached the city after having been blocked yesterday.

However, residents in Turkey expressed panicked concern, as the attack was just on the other side of the border:

The sound of explosions caused fear in Akçakale, as Syrian tanks and artillery pounded rebel positions in Tell Abyad. Smoke from the explosions crossed onto the Turkish side of the border as the battle for the town raged on roughly 300 meters from the frontier.

1842 GMT: Syria. At least 100 people have been killed today by regime forces, according to the LCC:

38 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its suburbs, including 17 people who were martyred in Buwaida massacre; 15 in Aleppo; 15 in Homs; 13 in Idlib; 8 in Daraa; 7 in Deir Ezzor; 2 in Hama; 1 in Lattakia and 1 in Raqqa,

See our note on the casualty figures posted by the LCC.

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MENA Feature: The Gathering Storm in the United Arab Emirates (Davidson)

Opposition video in support of the "UAE Five", activists arrested and convicted for their dissent

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The United Arab Emirates’ ruling families are beginning to be challenged directly by a few brave citizens, some of whom are  even publicly calling for regime change. The unprecedented detention of dozens of political prisoners (along with a marked crackdown on civil society) highlights the government’s heaviest restrictions on free speech and the media in the region. Frustration among the educated class is growing — toward corruption, lavish spending on western-branded museums and universities, lack of transparency, and human rights abuses. Among the less educated (particularly those in the north), there is a widening wealth gap which is leading many to voice their discontent, and although the government embarked on a massive Saudi-style spending splurge in order to appease the national population in the wake of the Arab Spring, it has not been nearly enough—especially as concurrent political reforms have yet to manifest.

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