US Politics Feature: Why Romney's Tax Returns Could Decide an Election

Vice President Joe Biden, in a speech on Tuesday, calls on Republican Presidential candidate to release his tax returns

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What Democrats are looking for is an issue for Obama to embarrass Romney in October debates.

The Obama team will have watched over and over again Romney's performance in the Republican primary encounters, and they must have noticed his discomfort and indecision when Gingrich went after him over the tax returns. Romney was visibly on the defensive when Gingrich goaded him, and his response of publishing only one year's accounts has allowed Democrats to picture a similar scene in October.

Some commentators might regard this interest in Romney's tax returns as irrelevant or misguided, compared to important matters like the economy. But what both campaigns need is a surprise wedge issue. The longer Mitt Romney allows the perception to fester that he is hiding something about his wealth, the greater the chance that he will hand the Democrats the "buzz" they need to prevail on Election Day.

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EA on the Road: The International Summer School in Dublin

I will be in Ireland at the International Summer School of the Clinton Institute for American Studies on Thursday-Friday, working with staff and students on ideas about the US and the world --- from historical patterns to current developments to the role of media.

James Miller will be here this afternoon with latest developments in our Live Coverage of Iran and of Syria and Beyond. In the meantime, please enjoy our features and bring in your own news and ideas through our Comments sections.

Syria Special: 16 Months Later, A History of the Insurgency --- And What It Foreshadows for the Regime

Free Syrian Army fighters celebrate their overrunning of regime soldiers and destruction of armoured vehicles

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Nothing in Syria is certain but Death and Protests. The debate about whether the Free Syrian Army is good for Syria, or whether they can be trusted, or whether they will harbor extremists, will likely continue. However, as the conflict drags on, this debate is becoming increasingly academic, as are the efforts by Kofi Annan and others to negotiate a peace. No fighters, and no commanders, in the Free Syrian Army are in a position to agree this: why should they, as they ride a series of military victories?

Peace is not in Syria's immediate future, nor is the dissolution of its insurgency. The only questions that remain are how long the Assad regime can last, who will fill the void when he is gone, and what will be left of Syria when all that transpires.

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Turkey Live Coverage (11 July): The Russian Challenge on Syria Awaits

1610 GMT: The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu criticized Prime Minister Erdogan's Syria policy:

We don't want war. You have to consider the balances in the United Nations and the decisions made by the Security Council. Syria is not Libya. If you speak without paying attention to balances of power, they will turn you upside down. You can't succeed in the international arena with such incorrect policies.

1530 GMT: Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) once again states that no trace of an explosive material was found. The statement reads:

The Turkish Armed Forces found no petroleum-like residue or trace of any organic or inorganic explosive matter on the surface of the pieces from the downed jet that were taken from the sea surface.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Annan Calls for "One Authority, One Gun"

1812 GMT: Egypt. In the latest chapter of the battle between Egypt's President Morsi and the former regime(see update 0535), Morsi has no said that he will respect the latest court rulings, despite disagreeing with them, over the parliament issue:

In a statement Wednesday, the president says he will seek dialogue with political forces and judicial authorities in an effort to ease tensions over the dispute.

CNN's Ivan Watson has this analysis - "Morsi blinks."

1722 GMT: Syria. Shells fall in a neighborhood of Deir Ez Zor:

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The Latest from Iran (11 July): Enforcing "Morality" in the Summertime

See also The Latest from Iran (10 July): "I Have No Hope, None at All"

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A Threat to Morality?1823 GMT: Economy Watch. The head of ‪the‬ Administrative Medical Association has said that inflation in the health sector is now 40%.

1512 GMT: Economy Watch. Yadollah Javani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Political Bureau, has warned of 50-70% inflation within next six months, calling on the Government to fight the price rises.

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Syria Opinion: Annan Endorses Assad as the "One Authority, One Gun"

Kofi Annan has granted President Assad a carte blanche license to continue the killing, in the name of hunting down an illegal insurgency. The Free Syrian Army, according to this plan, should lay down its weapons and trust that the Assad regime is ready to negotiate cease fires and a political transition. Statements like these read as if the Free Syrian Army started this fire, the Free Syrian Army fired on protesting civilians in the streets of Daraa and Hama and Damascus, and the Assad regime can be trusted with being an unchallenged military force.

And that's just a straight up pro-Assad agenda.

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Bahrain Opinion: This is "Reform" --- The Imprisonment of Nabeel Rajab

Interview with Nabeel Rajab, moments before he was taken to prison on Monday

See also Bahrain 1st-Hand Special: The Coupled Suffering of Younis and Amina Ashoori

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Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has been arrested once again. This time, he is going to serve a three-month prison sentence for his messages on Twitter,  found guilty of "insulting" the people of Muharraq village.

This is "reform".

This is a reform where a man is repeatedly detained and then convicted for 140 characters on social media but no one has been convicted of:

- The murder of dozens of protesters. 
- The torture in Bahrain's prisons. 
- The teargassing of residential areas where children have choked to death. 
- The trial and imprisonment of doctors for treating injured protesters. 
- The killing of Bahraini citizen journalists.

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Bahrain 1st-Hand Special: The Coupled Suffering of Younis and Amina Ashoori

Younis AshooriOn the morning of 20 March 2011, 60-year-old Younis Ashoori went to Muharraq Maternity Hospital as usual, where he worked as an administrator. Suffering from a migraine and pain from kidney stones, he decided to go home early. Amina, his wife, recalls that he arrived around 11:30 am. Shortly afterwards, he received a call from his boss asking him to come back as there was an urgent need for his assistance.

Despite his pain, Younis, a dedicated worker with nearly 30 years of public service, consented to his boss’s request. Saying goodbye to his wife, he drove back to the hospital.

Amina waited anxiously for her husband to return home, but he never did. He still hasn’t.

Upon his return to the hospital, he had been violently arrested. He was subsequently tortured and tried before a military court, where he was convicted of transporting oxygen to the site of a protest on 14 March and given a three-year sentence.

Younis is back in court tomorrow, with many hoping Wednesday’s appeal hearing will finally bring his freedom. Foremost among them are his wife Amina and their son Hamad. With Ramadan just days away, any further adjournment will likely keep Younis behind bars until at least September. “It's very difficult for someone to be away at Ramadan. It is a very special time for a family. His mother needs to see him. We need Younis home,” Amina says.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Assad-Annan Plan?

See also Bahrain 1st-Hand Special: The Coupled Suffering of Younis and Amina Ashoori
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: UN Envoy Annan Returns to Damascus
Syria 1st-Hand: Not Quite Angels --- Making the Free Syrian Army Work as An Institution (Rafeeq)
Syria Audio Feature: "Assad's Latest Performance" --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
Syria Video Feature: President Assad's Latest Interview "I Still Have Public Support"

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2044 GMT: Saudi Arabia. Earlier we posted video reportedly showing large protests in Qatif, a response to a series of clashes between police and activists, the death of a protester, and the imprisonment of a prominent cleric.

Those protests have grown considerably:

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