US Super Tuesday Preview: Can Mitt Romney Seal the Deal for the Republican Nomination?

Mitt Romney Campaigning in OhioToday, voters in 10 states cast their ballot in the next battle among Republicans to face President Obama in November. nomination contest. At stake are approximately 450 delegates, or roughly 20% of the total, to the National Convention in August, . It is a significant number, hence the tag "Super Tuesday", but at the end of today, barring an extraordinary performance from Mitt Romney, the GOP's choice is still unlikely to have been decided.

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: At Least 58 Dead on Sunday

2227 GMT: While we continue to look for more details on the explosion in Barzeh, it is worth noting how important the Barzeh district is. While we only know the general area of the explosion, it is only a little over a mile away from Tishreen Palace, the home of the President, and is within short distance of many other important buildings in Damascus.

2150 GMT: The explosion appears to have happened somewhere in the Barzeh district of Damascus, but as you can see from the reports below, the area where the explosion occurred is extremely large:

View Syria - 2012 March 5 - EA Worldview in a larger map

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (5 March): The Election? So Far, It's a Muddle

See also Iran Opinion: Why Iranians Voted in the 2012 Elections
Iran Elections Snapshot: The #1 Subversive Moment "They're All the Same"
Iran Snap Analysis: Rearranging the Political Chairs --- What Has Changed?
The Latest from Iran (4 March): The Play-Acting of the Election

---

1747 GMT: Oil Watch. Industry sources say India's largest customer for Iranian oil plans to cut daily imports by almost 50%.

State-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd could reduce imports to as little as 80,000 barrels per day from 1 April, the sources said. MRPL usually buys 150,000 bpd.

The report is further evidence that while New Delhi publicly says it will not comply with US-led, the Indian Government has privately instructed refineries to cut imports.

India, China and Japan buy almost half of Iran's estimated 2.6 million barrels per day of oil exports,

Click to read more ...

Turkey Live Coverage (5 March): A Bridging Role on Syria and Iran

2100 GMT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin over his election victory. In return, Putin reportedly underlined the importance of bilateral relations and promised to advance ties.

2020 GMT: After the French Constitutional Council's ruling out the genocie-denial bill (which was to punish people who denied the "Armenian genocide"in the Ottoman era) as it was "unconstitutional", deputy minister Bulent Arinc welcomed this development but said that Ankara would keep its political, economic and military sanctions on Paris since French President Nicolas Sarkozy had already asked his government to have a new draft of the original bill. 

2000 GMT: Turkish Foreign Ministry says the trilateral meeting between foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan will be held in Nakhcevan on 7 March. It is stated that the first meeting that took place in Urmia, Iran on 16 April 2011 were useful in developing the understanding of cooperation and consolidating regional stability and security. 

Click to read more ...

Syria 1st-Hand: With the Insurgents in Idlib Province (Los Angeles Times)

A unit in Idlib Province of the insurgent Free Syrian Army issues a statement, 14 February 2012

---

Despite the urgency of their armed resistance and the rising death toll across the country, rebels here aren't rushing into battle against an army with far superior weapons and organization. Rather, they bide their time, staging guerrilla attacks and planning for the insurgency they want to fight, not the one they are equipped for now.

Rebels hope they'll soon see an influx of cash for weapons from the wealthy Persian Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both now openly dedicated to Assad's overthrow.

Click to read more ...

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

Vladimir Putin cries with joy at his post-election rally

---

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.

Click to read more ...

Iran Opinion: Why Iranians Voted in the 2012 Elections (Mashreghi)

Iranian people are distinguished by their strong sense of adapting to difficult situations, even the worst ones directly affectig their everyday lives. In just over 30 years, Iranians have experienced Revolution, war, and the constant threat of war, even as they are hopeful and desiring peace.

This could be an explanation for those Iranians who participated to the 2012 Parliamentary elections, but there are two other important motivations, even as most of the voters oppose the policies of the Government. Those motivations are religion and country.

Click to read more ...

The Latest from Iran (4 March): The Play-Acting of the Election

A spoiled ballot in Friday's Parliamentary election, "Death to this rotten regime that forces me to vote for a stamp in my ID card!"

See also Iran Snap Analysis: Rearranging the Political Chairs --- What Has Changed?
Iran Elections Snapshot: The #1 Subversive Moment "They're All the Same"
Iran Special Analysis: The "Invented" Election
Iran Opinion: Elections, Power, and Political War in Tehran
The Latest from Iran (3 March): After the Vote

---

2005 GMT: Trouble-Making Watch. It has not taken maverick MP Ali Motahari long to stir feathers after the election. Motahari, who headed a breakaway faction called Voice of the Nation, has claimed that former Speaker of Parliament Gholam Ali Haddad Adel prevented his inclusion on the Unity Front list for Tehran.

The challenge is significant because Haddad Adel is a likely candidate for the next Speaker of Parliament.

1945 GMT: Ahmadinejad Watch. An EA correspondent adds context for our entries today considering whether Parliament, after this week's vote, will interrogate the President (see 0740 and 1340 GMT): "Ahmadinejad could be questioned by the outgoing Parliament, which still be operation for a month or two after the elections."

And will that happen? The correspondent replies, "It's really tough to say."

Click to read more ...

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Bombardment Continues

A demonstration last night in Hama in Syria

See also Bahrain Propaganda 101: Bringing the "Right" Youth Delegation to Washington
Saturday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Defiance

---

2040 GMT: Medics and officials in Yemen have said that at least 35 soldiers have been killed in clashes with insurgents near Zinjibar in the south of the country.

Dozens of troops were also reportedly wounded. A local offical said 12 insurgents were slain.

2035 GMT: The head of a Libyan militia has said that two British journalists working for Iran's Press TV, detained on 22 February in Misurata, are being held on suspicion of espionage.

Faraj al-Swelhi, commander of the Swelhi Brigade, said that, among the possessions of Nicholas Davies and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson, there was footage of them firing weapons and equipment used by the Israeli military.

Click to read more ...

Iran Elections Snapshot: The #1 Subversive Moment "They're All the Same"

---

It is precisely because of the authorities' control of the Iranian elections that this moment is special. In fact, it is doubly special because it occurs within an example of that control.

Click to read more ...