Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: What Happens After the "Friends of Syria" Meeting?

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Turkey Live Coverage (2 April): After the "Friends of Syria" Left....
Sunday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Gathering of the "Friends of Syria"

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2040 GMT: A mass demonstration in the Douma suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus:

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Turkey Live Coverage (2 April): After the "Friends of Syria" Left....

1545 GMT: The President of the Constitutional Court, Hasim Kilic, speaking at the International Judicial Reform Symposium, has said that politics cannot compromise the judiciary. He said that major problems in the Turkish legal system are due to problems in practice, including a lack of objectivity among judges, shortcomings in vocational education, and a distancing from universal values. Hasin continued:

Judicial practices that know no bounds and that cannot be accounted for engendered the outcome of paying heavy prices and formed the justification of amendments in the laws and the Constitution itself. Just as we objected to the aims of the judiciary in surrounding politics, we will not give permission to politics to surround the judiciary today.

The state of law is formed and developed in line with the way you use the language [of laws and rules]. Making judges free from worries, fears, ideological pressures and emotions of "friend & enem"' in his/her inner world is the sine qua non of his/her objectivity. As long as the invasions of consciences are not overcome, it is impossible to provide an independent and objective judiciary.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Gathering of the "Friends of Syria"

A march in Bilad Alqadeem in Bahrain today, expressing solidarity with political leaders in prison

A protester amidst the tear gas in Salmabad in Bahrain on Saturday

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Saturday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Teenager is Shot to Death in Salmabad

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2005 GMT: CNN posts a video profile of prominent Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat --- abducted and badly beaten by gunmen in Damascus last August, he left the country but now hopes to return:

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The Latest from Iran (31 March): All Quiet on the Tehran Front...Almost

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The Latest from Iran (30 March): After Turkey's Prime Minister Went Home....

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1530 GMT: Nuclear Watch. During her visit to Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China) will begin talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on 13 April in Istanbul.

1430 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Press TV, which has reported for weeks that sanctions were not forcing Ankara to curb trade with Tehran has been forced to headline, "Turkey to Decrease Iranian Oil Imports".

The admission follows Friday's announcement by Minister of Energy Taner Yildiz and Turkey's largest refiner that purchases of Iranian oil will be cut by 20%, with supplies coming instead from Libya.

Taner Yildiz also said Turkey is in talks with Saudi Arabia on spot oil purchases and longer term contacts: “We plan to increase the number of countries we buy oil from and the routes we use.”

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The Latest from Iran (30 March): After Turkey's Prime Minister Went Home....

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Iran Snap Analysis: Syria and Ahmadinejad --- Sifting Reality from Propaganda over the Erdoğan Visit
The Latest from Iran (29 March): Erdogan's Meetings with Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader

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<2030 GMT: Economy Watch. Die Presse offers an overview of the effect of sanctions on Iran's trade through the United Arab Emirates, affecting 25,000 Iranian exporters in Dubai.

2000 GMT: Assurance of the Day. Parviz Sarvari, a member of Parliament's National Security Committee, has said, "It is sensed that Turkey is gradually withdrawing from its past positions on Syria and is correcting these incorrect positions....Although Turkey has not definitely retreated from its past wrong...positions on Syria, it seems Turkey is gradually distancing itself from the ... hegemonic system on this issue and we take this as a good omen."

A quick reminder of Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan's statement as soon as he returned to Ankara from his visit to Tehran, "[There is no need] now for me to say I am hoping or expecting something. Because [President Assad] continues to kill. As we now see such a picture, I don't have any hope."

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Iran Snap Analysis: Syria and Ahmadinejad --- Sifting Reality from Propaganda over the Erdoğan Visit

In the aftermath of the two-day visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, what is significant is far beyond any "news" that has been printed.

What we may have seen --- or rather not seen, in the prepared Iranian statements --- was the eclipse of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 14 months before his term in office finishes.

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Turkey Live Coverage (29 March): Ankara Adjusts Its Line On Syria

1800 GMT: Prime Minister Erdogan's meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ended. Khamenei underlined the significance of "the support for the resistance against Zionism" and said that "Iran supports reforms" while they "reject any American plan for Syria". The Iranian leader implied that this is the position an "independent" and "Islamic" country shall take.

In addition to the emphasis on "beneficial alliance and cooperation"with Turkey, Ayatollah Khamenei said that they were glad to see their "Muslim brothers in power in Turkey". 

1645 GMT: Prosecutor Hikmet Usta has appealed the ruling in the Hrant Dink murder trial and argued that the investigation must have been expanded although the court had acknowledged the existence of an organization behind the killing. Usta continued:

The court should have requested that the prosecution collect more evidence if it was lacking. The court rejected our requests to expand the investigation, it did not examine documents related to the Ergenekon gang and did not include people in the case who should have been put on trial with the existing suspects.

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The Latest from Iran (29 March): Erdogan's Meeting with Ahmadinejad is Postponed

Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan belatedly meets President Ahmadinejad in Tehran today

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The Latest from Iran (28 March): A Visit from Turkey's Erdoğan

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2105 GMT: Economy Watch. Khabar Online posts an analysis focusing on the increasing, negative gap between income and expenses for the average Iranian household.

2055 GMT: Politics Watch. While the focus today has been on the Erdoğan visit to Tehran, domestic political manoeuvring has continued. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, on a visit to Mazanderan Province in northern Iran, has spoken about the economy, "I am concerned about closings --- banks should support production units."

Even more interesting is the intervention of key MP Ahmad Tavakoli, a cousin of Larijani's. Saying "politicians must beware not to be separated from people", Tavakoli continued, "I am optimistic about progress in nuclear talks in 1391 (March 2012-March 2013)."

That could be significant because, in October 2009, the emergence of public opposition from Ali Larijani was a major reason why the Geneva nuclear talks between Iran and the 5+1 Powers were sidelined. Could Tavakoli be indicating that, 29 months later, the Larijani camp will be happy to accept a deal provided President Ahmadinejad does not get the credit?

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The Latest from Iran (28 March): A Visit from Turkey's Erdoğan

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Turkey Live Coverage (28 March): Any Outcome from Tehran Talks?
The Latest from Iran (27 March): The Lull Before the Talks

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Iran Foreign Minister Salehi Greets Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan2030 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Back from a break to find yet more Iranian firms, connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, sanctioned by the US Treasury....

A day after imposing economic restrictions on several Iranian firms and Guards commanders, for alleged sales of arms to Syria and Gambia, the Treasury sanctioned engineering firms and sanctioned individuals and shipping companies with ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

The companies sanctioned include Iran Maritime Industrial Company SADRA, which has offices in Iran and Venezuela and is owned by Khatam al-Anbiya, the engineering arms of the Revolutionary Guards. Deep Offshore Technology PJS, which the Treasury said was a subsidiary of SADRA, was also punished.

Malship Shipping Agency Ltd and Modality Limited and two individuals, Seyed Alaeddin Sadat Rasool and Ali Ezati, were sanctioned because of alleged connections with IRISL.

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The Latest from Iran (27 March): The Lull Before the Talks

See also The Latest from Iran (26 March): Ahmadinejad Grabs the Spotlight

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1845 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Syrian Front). President Ahmadinejad, meeting a Syrian envoy in Tehran, has praised the Assad regime: "I am very happy that Syrian officials are managing the situation well....I hope the situation in Syria improves day after day."

Ahmadinejad said there was no limit to expanding ties with Syria, and Iran would do "all in its power to support this country".

The President also castigated the US, "By chanting false slogans of defending people's freedom, the Americans want to take control of Syria, Lebanon, Iran and other countries and we should be aware and stand firm against their plots."

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