The Latest from Iran (30 July): Declaring The "Resistance Economy"

See also Iran Feature: PhotoShopping a "Decent" Assad Family
The Latest from Iran (29 July): US Presents "Contingency Plan" for Attack to Israel

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1351 GMT: Espionage Watch. According to The Times of India, Delhi Police have alleged that members of the Revolutionary Guards were involved in the 13 February bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat in the Indian capital.

The investigation report states that the five Guards members had discussed the plan to attack Israeli diplomats in India and other countries with Indian journalist Syed Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi in January 2011, after Iranian nuclear scientists were allegedly attacked by Israeli intelligence services.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Is Aleppo "A Nail in Assad's Coffin"?

See also Egypt and Syria Feature: Comic Artists Get Serious
Sunday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Inside and Outside Aleppo

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1921 GMT: Syria. The Guardian has a pair of stories on the growing role of jihadists in the conflict. Martin Chulov, drawing from residents and a Turkish smuggler, reports on the growing number of foreigners crossing into Syria from Turkey in the past two weeks, some saying that they are planning to travel to Aleppo to join the battle.

Many of the men reportedly come from the Caucasus, while others have arrived from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Gulf Arab states.

Insurgent leaders say about 15-20 foreign fighters have been crossing each day since mid-July, trying to join up with an estimated 200-300 foreigners already in the country.

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad speaks to Syrian fighters who claim connections with Al Qa'eda and car bombings.

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Syria Audio Feature: Assessing the Latest in Aleppo and Beyond --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

Insurgents seize the Anadan checkpoint, three miles northwest of Aleppo, this morning

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Is Aleppo "A Nail in Assad's Coffin"?

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I spoke with Monocle 24's The Globalist this morning about developments in Aleppo and, equally important, beyond Syria's biggest city.

The take-away lines? Inside Aleppo, "the Assad regime cannot impose its authority", and outside it, "in large parts of Syria, especially in the north, the insurgents have taken control".

There is also analysis of the US position and its balancing of overt and covert action: "What the Americans want is for Assad to step down before there is an even worse situation....I think it's wishful thinking."

And there is conversation about the position of Syria's opposition: "To be honest with you, I don't think this is a question of what the opposition wants one year from now, three years from now, five years from now. I think the fight has overtaken that."

To listen to the discussion, go to The Globalist's homepage, click Play on the programme for 30 July, and go to the 11:57 mark. 

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Inside and Outside Aleppo

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2035 GMT: Syria. Christian Science Monitor correspondent Scott Peterson, who has just returned to Turkey for Syria, has spoken of the battle in Aleppo:

It was a very up and down fight at the very early stages....I think [the victory] took the rebel forces by surprise a little bit. They claimed they knocked out eight tanks....

It was surprising to feel the degree of optimism that some of the rebels there felt. Of course what they were concerned about wsa that the quality and the volume of the shelling...was going to yield kind of a destroyed neighbourhood.

Peterson said the supply of weapons to the insurgents markedly increased in the past few days, with many more rocket-propelled grenades and even DShK or "Dushka" anti-aircraft guns appearing.

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Egypt and Syria Feature: Comic Artists Get Serious (Bank)

TokTok's film about the making of its latest issue

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As far as the general public in the Arab world was concerned, comics and animation films were for a long time nothing more than children's entertainment. To this day, only a small amount of people know that the genre can address topical, even explosive subject matter.

Initiatives such as the Egyptian comic magazine TokTok are trying to buck the trend. The publication was founded in early 2011 by a group of young graphic designers and illustrators with the aim of providing a vibrant forum for Egypt's nascent comic scene. As well as publishing new stories, the initiators also want to make a point of informing people about their predecessors in this art form.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Waiting for the Showdown in Aleppo

Claimed footage of fighting in Salaheddin section of Aleppo this morning

Bahrain Feature: Pushing A Deal with the Crown Prince
Friday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Aleppo --- Expecting the Regime Assault

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1633 GMT: Syria. A 13-minute video of street fighting in Saleheddin in Aleppo today:

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Syria Feature: The Allied "Nerve Centre" in Turkey Aiding Insurgents (Doherty/Bakr)

Turkey has set up a secret base with allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct vital military and communications aid to Syria's rebels from a city near the border, Gulf sources have told Reuters.

News of the clandestine Middle East-run "nerve centre" working to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad underlines the extent to which Western powers - who played a key role in unseating Muammar Gaddafi in Libya - have avoided military involvement so far in Syria.

"It's the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main co-ordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom," said a Doha-based source.

"The Americans are very hands-off on this. U.S. intel(ligence) are working through middlemen. Middlemen are controlling access to weapons and routes."

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Syria Feature: Why Tribes Matter (Hassan)

Protests on "The Friday of the Tribes", 10 June 2011

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The tribes have been neglected, sidelined and exploited by the Baathist regime in Damascus for decades but in a democratic Syria that will certainly change. Members of the tribes inside and outside the country are organising themselves and have certain expectations when the regime falls.

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Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Aleppo --- Expecting the Regime Assault

1810 GMT: Syria. Russia has made a direct threat that any attack on its naval base in Tartous will be met with extreme prejudice:

"If the armed Syrian opposition ventures to implement their threat and to attack the Russian naval supplies and maintenance facility, Russia has ample capabilities in the region now to provide an adequate response. We won't recommend hotheads in the Syrian opposition doing that," a source in the Russian General Staff told the Interfax news agency.

What's fascinating is the source also added a line about the Syrian government having stepped up their support of the base as well.

Also interesting, the word "now," indicating that the Russians have significantly stepped up their ability to strike targets inside Syria.

Still, it's an unverified threat from a low-level anonymous staff member. One would expect any attack on Russian property to be met with force. What's interesting isn't the content of the report - it's the fact that a threat was made in the first place. Whether this was a direct response to a threat from insurgents, or a provocation, is not known.

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Syria Snapshot: The University Students Caught in the Conflict (Mohajer/Morris)

Students at Al Baath University in Homs burn their IDs and refuse to attend exams, 23 May 2011

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Wedged between the Sunni neighbourhood of Baba Amr to the west and Alawite areas to the east, the Al Baath university campus is at the heart of the conflict that has ripped apart Syria's opposition stronghold of Homs.

It is a university in turmoil. Alawite students, from the same sect as the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad, are pitched against Sunnis, who make up the bulk of the opposition.

But amid the tumult, many students are still desperately trying to complete their degrees, dodging violence and checkpoints to sit their end-of-year exams.

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