Ahmet Davutoglu with Massoud BarzaniAnkara faces its recurring problem: in its search for a post-Assad settlement in Syria involving the Kurds, it cannot escape the situation of the Kurds inside its borders.
US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner after a visit to Bahrain, 14 June 2012
The only leverage the White House has is a real threat to withdraw support --- the support of arms sales and other political and military links --- from their regime. Its alternative is no more than persisting in "suggestions"...and hoping Bahrain's police runs out of tear gas.
2020 GMT:Bahrain. Speaking before a Congressional committee enquiring into human rights in the kingdom, US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner has called on the regime to take three steps to implement the "reform" sought by last November's report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry:
First, there are several hundred pending criminal cases related to the events of February and March 2011. Many individuals have been in detention for over a year. The government continues to prosecute 20 political activists and appeals cases are ongoing in the prosecution of respected medical professionals. In addition to the ongoing cases against doctors and nurses, we are discouraged by the Court of Appeals’ decision to issue a gag-order banning the media from reporting on trials for the 20 high-profile activists. We urge the Government of Bahrain to ensure fair and expeditious trials in appeals cases and to drop charges against all persons accused of offenses involving political expression and freedom of assembly....
Second, we call on the Government of Bahrain to hold accountable those officials responsible for the violations described in the BICI report....
Third,...further efforts need to be made to enhance the professionalization of the police. Ongoing violence in the streets between police and protesters points to the need for professional, integrated police and security forces that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve and that adopt a community policing approach.
However, activists have noticed the limits in Posner's call for change --- for example, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain has noted this exchange between Representative James McGovern and the Assistant Secretary of State:
McGovern: has the administration called for the release of @nabeelrajab ? #bahrain
Tammam al-SaabA peaceful demonstrator to his supporters, a "terrorist" according to the government --- Tammam al-Saab's killing by Syrian forces in Damascus on 20 July has galvanised protesters in the city, writes a journalist in the Syrian capital.
State media announced that Saab had died during one of the army's "cleansing" operations targeting "terrorists" in the north-eastern suburb of Barzeh.
Opposition activists in Barzeh meanwhile mourned the "uncle of the revolutionaries", who they said had led peaceful anti-government protests there and was shot dead by a sniper while rescuing a wounded demonstrator.
1755 GMT: All the President's Men. The head of the Administrative Court has reacted to 1st Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi's insistence that Presidential aide Saeed Mortazavi will remain as head of the Social Security Fund, despite the Court's order that he step down (see 1045 GMT).
The head of the Court said any official who refused to give up his post could be suspended.
1750 GMT: Energy Watch. Ahmad Malakouti, head of the Revolutionary Guards in Asalouyeh in southern Iran has dismissed any concerns about the withdrawal of foreign investement from the South Pars oil and gas field --- he said that 1200 Basij militia were active in the South Pars project, hence its amazing progress.
A nation that was supposed to be a role model for all the World --- and be a messenger of peace, friendship, justice,compassion and human dignity for all the people --- is , today, most worried about Chicken.
Waking up every morning, he is worried that, God forbid, a kilo of chicken priced at 7,000 Toman has become 8,000 Toman, and [consequently] this fruit of the Earth gets further away from his reach daily, and every night he goes to bed wishing for a miracle to happen so chicken becomes cheaper.
Can a Nation that spends its days and nights obsessed with poultry possess "human dignity" and be a decent role model for the people of the World?
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Syrian President AssadThroughout Damascus, there are small blue plaques with yellow Arabic writing, providing a brief history of an important building, event, or person who once lived nearby. The plaques are not only in the historic medina adima --- The Old City --- but also in newer neighborhoods, such as Sha’alan. Some commemorate the martyrs who died resisting the Ottoman presence in the city during World War I --- they are a reminder of Syria’s troubled ties with its northern neighbour Turkey and the factors which are shaping the response of Ankara, and the "West", to recent events in and beyond Damascus.
1855 GMT: Oil Watch. Both an Iranian officialand a representative China National Petroleum Corp. have denied a Sunday report in Iran's media that CNPC is pulling out of a major gas project.
The Iranian official said the Chinese company has had "some difficulties" because "it has not brought its financing"; however, "there is no formal withdrawal from CNPC. It still has staff in Tehran and in Assaluyeh," the southern Iranian port city where the project is being overseen.
A CNPC representative said officials have denied that the company is leaving the project in the South Pars gas field, one of the largest in the world.
In 2009, Tehran signed a $5-billion contract with CNPC to develop the field after the Islamic Republic accused French oil major Total SA of delaying the project. Last year, Iran warned CNPC thatthat it would cancel the contract if delays in developing the field persisted.
1845 GMT:Sudan. Six people were killedtoday at a protest in Nyala in South Darfur, according to a Government source . The specifics of the killings are still unconfirmed, but witnesses have reported that police used batons and tear gas against protesters who were chanting "No, no to high prices" and "The people want to change the regime". AFP reports, citing an eyewitness, that protesters "threw stones at government buildings and burned tyres in the street":
Four bleeding protesters and three security officers were taken away for medical treatment from the demonstration, the witness said.
Nobody was allowed inside the city's hospital where a crowd had gathered outside, he added.
The UNAIDS Executive Director
presents the Red Ribbon Award in the category "Prevention Among/By
People Who Use Drugs" to representatives of the Afraye Sabz
Association. Credit: UNAIDS/C. Kleponis
This week --- Iranian organizations and individuals receive awards for their work on HIV/AIDS as Mississippi doctors try to fix healthcare inequalities by learning from Iran. The Supreme Leader puts an end to family planning. The "Unveil a Woman's Right to Unveil" goes from Facebook to the streets of Iran, residents in Neyshapour take to the streets to protest inflation,and a report shows the lopsided impact of economic sanctions on women. A group of citizens cleans a park in Isfahan and the loss of Iranian identity is lamented.
Ahmet Davutoglu with Massoud BarzaniAnkara faces its recurring problem: in its search for a post-Assad settlement in Syria involving the Kurds, it cannot escape the situation of the Kurds inside its borders.
Ahmet Davutoğlu, 
