Turkey Live Coverage (28 March): Any Outcome from Tehran Talks?

1845 GMT: Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi reportedly said that Iran was ready to share its experience on nuclear energy with Turkey. 

As mentioned earlier, at the Nuclear Security Summit in the South Korean capital Seoul, Erdogan said that Turkey was determined to provide about 10% of its electricity from nuclear facilities by 2030.

1800 GMT: Due to Iranian President Ahmadinejad's suffering from gastrorrhagia, the scheduled meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan postponed.  

1645 GMT: The co-chairman of BDP, Selahattin Demirtas is speaking to Turkish HaberTurk channel now. When asked what BDP's role in the Kurdish problem, Demirtas said that BDP can only facilitate the solution of the problem yet it can only be solved between the government and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) at the end of the day. Therefore, Demirtas argued that sidelining Kandil and dialogue with the outlawed organisation would produce nothing. 

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Syria Special: Will Turkey Back Foreign Intervention? (Cagaptay and Meral)

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan & Syrian President AssadSince the beginning of the political crisis in Syria, no country has been more outspoken about the atrocities of the Assad regime than Turkey. Faced with a desire to strengthen its popularity in the region, and faced with a humanitarian crisis on its door, Turkey was forthright in its criticism. By the late fall of 2011, Turkey was pushing the international community towards action and was increasingly hostile towards Damascus, both behind closed doors and in front of them.

So what happened to Turkey's zeal to end the crisis in Syria? The answer to that question may tip off that the fate of foreign intervention lies in Ankara's hands.

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Russia Feature: 100s Arrested in Protests over Putin Victory (Al Jazeera English)

See also Russia Feature: Putin Wins Election, But Will There Be Protests?

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Thousands of Russians have rallied in Moscow and other cities to challenge Vladimir Putin's victory in Russia's presidential election, prompting hundreds of arrests.

Police said they had arrested 250 people in Moscow and 300 in Saint Petersburg on Monday after moving in roughly to break up demonstrations against what opposition activists say was a rigged vote.

About 20,000 anti-Putin protesters turned out in Pushkin Square in central Moscow chanting "Russia Yes! Putin No!".

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Russia Feature: Putin Wins Election, But Will There Be Protests? (Heritage)

Vladimir Putin cries with joy at his post-election rally

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Vladimir Putin faces new protests on Monday to challenge his victory in a presidential election he said had prevented Russia from falling into the hands of enemies trying to usurp power.

Putin's opponents, complaining of widespread fraud in Sunday's election, said they did not recognize the results and would rally near the Kremlin at 7 p.m. (1500 GMT).

But the former KGB spy, who after four years as prime minister will be returning to the post he held from 2000 until 2008, said with tears rolling down his cheeks that he had won a "clean" victory.

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The Real Net Effect: The Paid Bloggers and Trolls for Russia's Putin (Elder)

The existence of on-line fronts, of fictional individuals or of people paid to post, has long been suggested but seldom proved. Howver, as more and more corporations, governments, and organisations keen to shape public perceptions, further evidence of such online manipulation may be left behind. Writing for The Guardian, Miriam Elder looks at a campaign in Russia to inflate the status of Vladimir Putin, seeking the mirage that he is very, very popular amongst Russian citizens.

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Polishing Putin: Hacked E-mails Suggest Dirty Tricks by Russian Youth Group
Miriam Elder

A pro-Kremlin group runs a network of internet trolls, seeks to buy flattering coverage of Vladimir Putin and hatches plans to discredit opposition activists and media, according to private emails allegedly hacked by a group calling itself the Russian arm of Anonymous.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Security Council Vetoes --- What's Next?

Protesters in Aleppo burn the Russian flag on Saturday night

See also Bahrain Special: Who Exactly is Ill-Informed? And How Did That Happen?
Bahrain Feature: Problems for the Financial Sector?
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Hundreds Dead in Homs as Regime Strikes

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2250 GMT: A demonstration tonight in the Dummar section of the Syrian capital Damascus:

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Syria Snap Analysis: What the Massacre in Homs Means

Dany Abdul Daym talks to CNN while shells fall in Homs

See also Syria 1st-Hand Video: Inside Homs Before the Massacre
Syria Video Special: The Dead, Dying, and Injured in Homs
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Hundreds Dead in Homs as Regime Strikes

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Last night, after two days of relative calm, there were reports that the Free Syrian Army had won some key positions in the Bayada district in northern Homs and captured perhaps 75 regime soldiers. There have also been reports of several major defections in the area, and despite a week of losses, the opposition had used a few captured armoured vehicles to score strategic victories. It appeared that the FSA was still standing its ground.

By this morning, as many as 300, or perhaps even more, were dead in Homs. Wholesale shelling of the city has reportedly flattened whole neighbourhoods, including a major hospital. The shelling lasted 12 straight hours, and reports of violence continue, with more than 60 killed on Saturday. There are also assertions that a major military convoy is headed to Zabadani.

The Syrian regime is trying to remind the world, the United Nations, its people, and members of its own military that it is still powerful and capable of holding control over its own territory.

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Syria Video Analysis: "Beginning of End of Regime is At Hand"

View Syria - Friday 27/01/2012 in a larger map

Map of Friday's protests and clashes in Damascus, as reported by the Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre

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On Friday, the talk about Syria was death, destruction, and a story about "Iranian soldiers"/engineers in the custody of the Free Syrian Army's al-Farouk Brigade in Homs. Amidst this, the most important piece of the narrative may have been missed:

The protests across the country, particularly in and around Damascus, are large, defiant, and increasingly confident in the face of the violence.

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The Real Net Effect: How States Fail at the Manipulation of Social Media (York)

When a state --- be it Bahrain, Israel, Syria or China --- needs to stoop to the level of paying citizens to fight its public relations wars, it has already lost.

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Russia Feature: The White-Ribbon Protests Return

See also Russia Feature: Renewed Protests Against Putin... But Will the "Dear" Leader Hang On?

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Saturday saw peaceful, large protests across Russia. In Moscow, the central site of the demonstrations, estimates of crowd size vary. Whilst government figures suggest around 30,000, some protest organisers have claimed upwards of 120,000 attended the rally.

Russia now enters a 10-day national holiday, which will likely keep protests low, but we can expect to see renewed demonstrations in January, carried forward by the momentum of today's events.

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