Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Will a Few Thousand Deaths Change Anything?

1938 GMT: Syria. The LCC's deathtoll is even higher than the CFDPC's. According to the Local Coordination Committees, 224 people have been killed nationwide by regime forces:

148 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs (including 42 martyrs in Zamalka, 39 in a new massacre in Daraya, and 25 in Mouadamiyeh) 27 in Daraa (including 11 in Jiza; most of them are women and children), 12 in Idlib; most of them in Ariha, 10 in Aleppo, 8 in Deir Ezzor, 10 in Homs (including a person who was martyred in Tadamun neighborhood, Damascus), and 9 in Hama.

Dissecting the numbers, it's worth noting that Zamalka is on the other side of the capital as Darayya and Moudamyah.

1927 GMT: Syria. The CFDPC has posted this summary of events in Zamalka, an eastern suburb of Damascus, where battles and shelling have been reported since dawn:

Tanks and helicopters of regime forces began to shell the Zamalka suburb of Damascus early morning causing the collapse of entire buildings on their residents.

So far the number of dead is about 30, among them children, while about 150 people were injured (some of them are in critical condition).

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The Latest from Iran (26 August): Summit of Non-Aligned Movement Opens in Tehran

See also The Latest from Iran (25 August): Bigging Up the Non-Aligned Summit

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1515 GMT: Press Watch. The hard-line Raja News launches an attack on Reuters, condemning the agency for its reports on Iran's nuclear programme, economic tensions, and political situation.

The Reuters bureau in Tehran was effectively closed this spring by authorities, with its reporter Parisa Hafezi summoned to court and forbidden from leaving the country.

1447 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Fereydoun Abbasi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, says Tehran has no problems with snap inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency: "“Iran's nuclear programs are transparent and the IAEA inspectors can inform us of their decision two hours in advance and then visit our activities.”

“However, the [IAEA inspectors] should have adequate rationale to justify their demands for the inspection of certain sites or provide us with sufficient reasons for their allegations so that we would be convinced."

Talks on Friday between Iranian officials and the IAEA failed to resolve outstanding issues over inspections and supervision.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Several Hundred Bodies" After Regime Offensive in Darayya

See also Iraq Feature: The Critical Issue of Succession in Kurdistan
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More Deaths, More than 200,000 Refugees

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1658 GMT: Bahrain. For the second time in four months, prominent activist Maryam Alkhawaja is being held at Cairo airport and denied entry. Alkhawaja, the international representative of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has been providing a running report via Twitter:

Saying order is from intelligence and reson is "top secret" as to y im not allowed in #egypt

— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 26, 2012

Theyre putting me under observation with the police cuz im insisting on knowing y im not allowed into #egypt

— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 26, 2012

They want me to sign docs and im refusing, told them i want lawyer @amr_imam present #egypt

— Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 26, 2012

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Iraq Feature: The Critical Issue of Succession in Kurdistan (Van Wilgenburg)

Jalal Talabani & Massoud BarzaniIf you wish to understand the future of Kurdish politics and its significant role in the evolution of democracy in Iraq and the Kurdistan region, then an introduction to the question of succession is essential.

This week's case? Jalal Talabani is both the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Iraqi President. According to Kurdistan Tribune, Talabani has been absent from Iraq when he left for a knee operation on 20 June, feeding speculation about his ill health.

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US Politics Analysis: Romney's Team to Republican Convention --- Please, No Fiery Speeches

Mitt Romney speaking on Saturday in Ohio

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Despite the roster of renowned conservative politicians scheduled to speak at the convention, Romney's campaign will aim to present a bland espousal of generic conservative ideas with as little of the controversial and substantial as possible. We will witness a rally for vague concepts like "limited government" and 'individual freedom' designed to present a unified –-- and non-threatening --- Republican face to the rest of the nation.

But the Republican Convention is still important in that it gives Romney one last chance, before the critical television debates with President Obama, to project some personality into his campaign. In his acceptance speech Mitt needs to show that he can empathise with everyday Americans, those who do not employ tax accountants or make small bets of $10,000.

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The Latest from Iran (25 August): Bigging Up the Non-Aligned Summit

See also Iran Feature: Kafka in the Islamic Republic --- An Interview with Cartoonist Mana Neyestani
The Latest from Iran (24 August): Nuclear Talks Resume With IAEA

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1522 GMT: The House Arrests. Prominent Tehran-based analyst Sadegh Zibakalam has said that the house arrests of opposition figures Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi are "useless" and that Mousavi's popularity remains unchanged: "Mousavi and Rahnavard cannot be eliminated from people's minds."

1520 GMT: Economy Watch. Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Jafar Assadi has said the Iranian economy is "in the situation of Shaab Abi Taleb", the 7th-century conflict in which Prophet Mohammad and his followers were forced to live under an economic and social blockade for three years.

The Supreme Leader, who has called for a "resistance economy", had dismissed the allusion in January.

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Syria Audio Feature: What Now For Western Intervention? --- James Miller with Monocle 24

Dawn shelling of Saraqeb in Idlib Province

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EA's James Miller spoke last night with Monocle 24's The Daily about this week's developments in Syria, considering the question of Western intervention in the escalating crisis.

To listen to the discussion, go to The Daily's homepage, click on the programme for 24/8 (possibly 25/8 in certain time zones), and start at the 8:24 mark.

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: More Deaths, More than 200,000 Refugees

2000 GMT: Syria. The violence is usually the headline. The story is usually about the regime dropping bombs, or battles between the military and the insurgents, or the worsening humanitarian crisis, or the international response to the death. But an activist reminds us that, though they've been largely pushed to the shadows because of all the violence, there are still protests, even in the center of Damascus:

Despite all the battles! RT @lccsy: مظاهرة مسائية في كفرسوسة بدمشقEvening Demonstration in Kafar Souseh, #Damascus... fb.me/1G9jAHIKh

— zain (@ZainSyr) August 25, 2012

...Even though the most likely form of protest is a protest at a funeral, like this one in Idlib province:

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Lebanon Analysis: The Surge of Fighting in Tripoli --- Serious, But Not Out of Control (Nassif)

The latest clashes in Tripoli are being seen as a message related directly to the disturbances in Syria, but into which not too much should be read. They are not about to expand further, despite the heavy casualties, nor is this the last round in a long series. In context, they can be viewed as part of an expected, even normal, course of developments.

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Iran Feature: Kafka in the Islamic Republic --- An Interview with Cartoonist Mana Neyestani (Shringarpure)

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We often feature the commentary through images of Iranian political cartoonist Mana Neyestani, so we read with interest his interview with Bhakti Shringarpure. Speaking from Paris, where he now lives in exile with his wife Mansourieh, Neyestani talked about his recently-published graphic novel Une Métamorphose Iranienne (An Iranian Metamorphosis). The title is a reference to Franz Kafka's short story; however, it also alludes to the incident in 2006 when a cartoon by Neyestani led to riots and his arrest and detention.

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Sometimes, the authorities just watch the scene; they have done their job to perfection ahead of time. It is not easy for me to overcome the red lines in my mind even right now when I am living in a free society.

Regarding the people who follow the orders, I am not sure if they are seeking the financial benefits or doing their religious duties, it could be a combination of both. In a tyranny, people are trained to be feared and to follow. It is a paranoid situation: fear, hate, distrust. You know, it reminds me of little fish near a big whale. They try to get shelter and feel safe moving alongside the big brother.

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