Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Internet Returns as Regime Tries to Hold Damascus "Periphery"

Saturday's rallies for Egyptian President Morsi and the draft Constitution

See also Syria Feature: How the Assad Regime Shut Down the Internet
Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Breaking Through the Blackout

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2135 GMT: Yemen Two tribesmen have been killed following intensive Government shelling in Marib province, east of the capital Sanaa. According to Associated Press, citing an anonymous official, the shelling "was aimed at intimidating militants who attacked a crude oil pipeline just half an hour after repairs to it were completed a day earlier".

2130 GMT: Syria. Journalist Jenan Moussa reports on food shortages and rising prices in Aleppo:

A pack of bread, 8 loafs, was for 20 Syrian liras b4 revolution in #aleppo. Now a pack, 6 loafs, costs 150 Syrian liras, 2 dollars | @akhbar

— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) December 2, 2012

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The Latest from Iran (2 December): Ahmadinejad Puts His Right-Hand Man in a New Post

Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai & President Ahmadinejad1955 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said, “The second round of the meeting of Syrian groups, and national and popular figures, will be held with the participation of representatives from the Syrian government."

Appearing with Hesam Manaa, the vice chairman of the Damascus-based National Coordination Committee, Amir-Abdollahian said the meeting would again bring together members of the regime and the opposition, including the NCC.

In November, Iran promoted a two-day meeting in Tehran with representatives of both sides, to little apparent effect.

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Syria Feature: How the Assad Regime Shut Down the Internet (Gallagher)

Arbpr Networks graphic of Syria's cutoff from the Internet on Thursday

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Just after noon Damascus time on Thursday, the government-owned Syrian Telecommunications Establishment essentially deleted the whole country from the Internet's routing tables, blocking all inbound and outbound network traffic. Rather than the result of terrorist attacks, as the government claimed on state television, the blackout was a well-rehearsed and deliberate act intended to deny connection to Syria's citizens and the opposition forces currently trying to topple the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad.

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US War on Terror Feature: "Vast Majority of Those Targeted by Drones Are Not Al Qa'eda" (Zenko)

See also EA Video Analysis: Mr Obama, Why Should We Trust You With Drones?

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Under the Obama administration, officials have argued that the drone strikes are only hitting operational Al Qaeda leaders or people who posed significant and imminent threats to the U.S. homeland. If you actually look at the vast majority of people who have been targeted by the United States, that’s not who they are.

Most of the people who are killed don’t have as their objective to strike the U.S. homeland. Most of the people who are killed by drones want to impose some degree of sharia law where they live, they want to fight a defensive jihad against security service and the central government, or they want to unseat what they perceive as an apostate regime that rules their country.

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Syria, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Breaking Through the Blackout

Today's rally in Cairo in support of Egyptian President Morsi and the draft Constitution:

See also EA Video Analysis: Mr Obama, Why Should We Trust You With Drones?
Friday's Syria Live Coverage: The Country Goes Dark as Internet Cut Off

Friday's Palestine, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Statehood for the Palestinians, A Constitution for Morsi

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1948 GMT: Egypt. President Morsi has set 15 December as the date for the referendum on the draft Constitution.

1945 GMT: Syria. Medics announce the opening of a new field hospital Aleppo, some of them covering their faces for anonymity.

A previous field hospital was shelled by the regime last month.

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The Latest from Iran (1 December): Politics, Oil, and Propaganda

See also Iran Analysis: How to Misread Ahmadinejad's Position
The Latest from Iran (30 November): An Economy in Confusion

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1935 GMT: Health Watch. A Ministry of Health official has said that the Central Bank has agreed to the Ministry's request for an earmarked $2 billion for imports of medicine to cope with domestic shortages.

Amid international sanctions that have reportedly limited drugs and medical supplies, the Ministry has been criticised for mismanagement and failure to allocate funds to deal with the worsening situation.

1715 GMT: Oil Watch. India's private refiner Essar Oil increased imports of Iranian oil about 30% in October.

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EA Video Analysis: Mr Obama, Why Should We Trust You With Drones?

Last week the Obama Administration said that rules for drone attacks had been drawn up this autumn. The reason? Because of the prospect that Mitt Romney, not Barack Obama, would be President from January 2013.

So a question to President Obama: "If you didn't trust Mitt with drones, why should anyone trust you?"

Iran Analysis: How to Misread Ahmadinejad's Position

Jason Rezaian, the Tehran correspondent of The Washington Post, proclaims, "Ahmadinejad Proves Resilient in Iran", a claim which might prove surprising to those who have closely followed months of political and economic turmoil for the President, as Rezaian admits: "[Ahmadinejad] has been seen here as an increasingly marginal figure who may not even be able to serve out his term, which ends next summer."

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Palestine, Egypt (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Statehood for the Palestinians, A Constitution for Morsi

1513 GMT: Kuwait Tens of thousands of Kuwaitis took to the streets earlier, calling for a boycott of tomorrows elections (see 1213 GMT entry).

Historic photo of Kuwait protests today #karametwatan #مسيرة_كرامة_وطن3 #Kuwait #MarchOfDignity twitter.com/moniraism/stat…

— Monira AlQadiri (@moniraism) November 30, 2012

Reuters reports:

"The people want to bring down the decree!" demonstrators chanted, a spinoff from the main slogan in popular uprisings that have ousted four autocratic Arab rulers since early 2011.

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Israel Opinion: "I Stand For People, Not Policies" (Sienkiewicz)

Logo of "I Stand for Israel"If standing with Israel means demanding that the Israeli government do everything it can to secure the long-term peace and security of its people, then I will be first in line. If it means playing at public relations for one of the world’s most powerful defense forces, I’ll keep sitting out.

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