Iran Live Coverage: Ahmadinejad Anoints His Right-Hand Man for President

See also Venezuela Analysis: Hugo Chavez's Dubious Legacy for Iran and the Middle East
Monday's Iran Live Coverage: A Complicated Relationship with Pakistan

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1514 GMT: It's Not About the Nukes. EA's Joanna Paraszczuk reports:

First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi repeated the regime line that the West has not sanctioned Tehran because of its nuclear program. "The cause of the sanctions is not our nuclear science and knowledge, particularly since Iran has officially announced and will also go on record with the UN that Iran is not seeking a nuclear bomb," he explained.

Rahimi added that the West has sanctioned Iran because of its achievements and innovations in science and technology.

The Vice President concluded with comments about the US: "The country of America was formed by a bunch of English malfeasants," adding that America was not superior to other countries in terms of science and technology.

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Syria Exclusive: The Western-Armed Insurgents Who Executed POWs and Captured UN Peacekeepers

 The Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, filmed last Wednesday, explaining how they seized United Nations peacekeepers to force Assad to retreat from Jamlah village near the Golan Heights

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The insurgent brigade that detained 21 UN peacekeepers near the Golan Heights last week, and that executed prisoners of wars day before that, is one of the groups that has obtained foreign arms, research by EA has established.

The revelation's follows last month's discovery, highlighted on EA, that the US is backing an effort by Gulf nations to arm elements within the Syrian opposition.

Last week, as the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade seized the UN peacekeepers, video evidence indicated that it had killed a group of captives in cold blood.

Now we have further video evidence linking the Brigade to the US-supported initiative, from at least January, to get advanced weapons through Jordan into the hands of fighters in Daraa Province in southern Syria..

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Qatar Says No More Aid to Cairo

Qatari Minister of Finance Youssef Kamel1617 GMT: Bahrain. An interesting political development --- a royal decree has appointed Crown Prince Salman, often framed as a "moderate" within the regime, as 1st Deputy Prime Minister --- working with his uncle, the "hard-line" Prime Minister --- "to develop the performance of the executive".

1610 GMT: Egypt. Cairo is studying an offer from the International Monetary Fund of a bridging loan, a source at the Ministry of Finance ministry has said.

The funding, known as the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument, is temporary and would not replace Egypt's negotiations with the IMF on a $4.8 billion loan, the source said.

The source added, "Egypt continues to work towards restructuring its economy through the economic reform programme."

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Syria Feature: Who Killed the 110 Men Found in the Quweig River? (Chulov/Solomon)

The bodies in the Quweig River in late January (Photo: Thomas Rassloff/EPA)

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In the days following the massacre, Syrian officials blamed "terrorist groups" for the deaths. State television broadcast a ‘confession’ from an alleged member of Jabhat al-Nusra, the jihadist group....

The confession was derided by every one of the 11 people interviewed by the Guardian as well as dozens of others that came and went from the Revolutionary Security centre during the week we were there.

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Syria Live Coverage: Iraqi Insurgents Claim Killing of 48 Regime Troops

2020 GMT: Rebels Take Series of Bases Southwest of Damascus. Since Friday, rebels have overwhelmed and captured several regime bases southwest of Damascus on the road to Daraa province. Confirming the specific locations has been hard to do, but we know that the bases are in the Kiswah area (map), and to the south of this suburb as well.

We've heard from some sources that some of the Surface-to-Air missiles sites in the area were decommissioned. However, videos from the base of the 137th regiment appear to show fully-functional missiles there (hat tip to Brown Moses for sending us this Youtube channel):

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Iran Live Coverage: A Complicated Relationship with Pakistan

A report on the importance for Pakistan of imports of Iranian gas

See also Sunday's Iran Live Coverage: Looking for Energy Deals

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2031 GMT: Press Watch. Abbas Darvish Tavangar, deputy editor of the "hard-line" Tasnim News, has been released after a few hours in detention.

Tavangar was seized because of a Government complaint, the details of which have not been specified.

1815 GMT: Press Watch. The regime's mixed approach of crackdown and prison releases continues....

Journalist Ehsan Mazandarani, one of the 18 journalists seized in late January, has been released from detention.

However, Abbas Darvish Tavangar, deputy editor of the "hard-line" Tasnim News has been arrested after a Government complaint; blogger and student Badri Safiari has been detained at Shiraz University; and the permit for reformist daily Maghreb has been annulled by the Media Supervisory Commission.

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Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting in Cairo Kills 3 After Port Said Court Verdicts

Protesters in front of the Ministry of Interior in Cairo on Saturday

See also EA Video Analysis: Drones, President Obama, and Rand Paul's Filibuster --- "More Macbeth Than Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
US Feature: How the Obama Administration Killed 3 US Citizens in Yemen
Syria Live Coverage: 21 UN Peacekeepers Freed
Saturday's Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Port Said Braces for Protests After Court Verdicts

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2122 GMT: Egypt. Al Jazeera English profiles Colonel Ahmed Wasfi, "the man who came in as the police departed, and the man who is now in charge of getting Port Said running again" after weeks of clashes and protests:

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Iran Live Coverage: Looking for Energy Deals

Iran Live Coverage: "UN Human Rights Investigator Bribed by US", Regime Claims

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2105 GMT: All the President's Men (Trial Edition). Presidential advisor Saeed Mortazavi has been in the second court hearing in his trial for complicity in the abuse and murder of post-election protesters in Kahrizak detention centre in summer 2009.

Mortazavi, who was Tehran Prosecutor General at the time, claimed he was on vacation during the time of Kahrizak. He also questioned the competence of the judge to hear the case.

Mortazavi's defence will continue tomorrow.

Abdolhossein Ruholamini, the conservative political advisor whose son was killed in Kahrizak, said Mortazavi showed no sign of regret and will tell "untold details" in the next court session.

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Syria Live Coverage: 21 UN Peacekeepers Freed

Release of 21 United Nations peacekeepers at the Jordanian border on Saturday

See also Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting in Cairo Kills 3 After Port Said Court Verdicts
Saturday's Syria Live Coverage: Regime Shelling Prevents Release of 21 UN Peacekeepers

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1826 GMT: View from a Regime Tank. "Tank's-eye" footage of the devasted Damascus suburb of Darayya:

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Kenya Feature: Kenyatta Wins Presidential Election But May Face Court Challenge (France 24 and Al Jazeera English)

See also Kenya Feature: A Beginner's Guide to The Elections

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Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya's deputy prime minister, has won the country's presidential election with 50.07 percent of the vote, official results show, just enough to avoid a runoff.

The country's electoral commission said voter turnout in the election was 88 percent.

Following the announcement on Saturday, Raila Odinga, outgoing Prime Minister, who came second in the election, said he would contest the result.

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