The Latest from Iran (24 January): "Iranian Economy is Humming Along Nicely"

Nikahang Kowsar's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad deals with the currency crisis, using a wishing well and "Heads or Tails?"

See also Iran Featured Question: Is the Currency in Free Fall?
The Latest from Iran (23 January): Hibernating While The Currency Falls

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2154 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Former student activist Saeed Razavi Faghih was arrested at Imam Khomeini International Airport and sent to Evin Prison on 18 January.

1924 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Minister of Interior Mostafa Mohammad Najjar assures,“The sanctions [imposed] by the European Union will not affect Iran and will further deteriorate the economic condition of the European countries. We do not mind the implementation of sanctions by Europe because we have constantly faced such sanctions in the past 30 years."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has apparently explained how Europe is self-harming with the sanctions by summoning the Danish Foreign Minister. Denmark is the current President of the European Union.

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US Politics Opinion: How a Disastrous George W. Bush Led to Craziness Inside the Republican Party

So much ink and so many pixels have been spilled of late, all attempting to explain the modern conservative zeitgeist. What has possessed the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight Eisenhower, to drive them to such extremes?

What happened to the Republican Party?

Simple. George W. Bush happened.

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Iran Featured Question: Is the Currency in Free Fall?

Claimed footage of Iranians seeking foreign currency in front of Bank Melli in Tehran on Monday

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Some may cling, in theory, to a horizon of a Tehran going from strength-to-strength with a devalued Rial and exports --- traded for rupees and rubles, rather than dollars --- taking over the world. I think, however, that reality is leaving theory behind --- and it is doing so on a daily, rather than a long-term, basis.

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The Latest from Iran (23 January): Hibernating While The Currency Falls

1944 GMT: Sanctions Watch. Fars, citing an "informed source", dismisses today's sanctions adopted by the European Union, which included a ban on oil imports starting 1 July and an immediate tightening of restrictions on deals with Iran's Central Bank.

"One of the sanctions announced recently was blocking the Central Bank's assets in the European countries, while the CBI does not have even one single Rial (Iran's currency unit) in Europe," the source said.

Fars, reflecting the regime line that the dollar can be bypassed (see 1325 GMT), insists, "During the last two years, Iran has been replacing dollar with other currencies in its trade with the outside world."

Iranian officials have said that arrangements have been made for trade with Russia in rubles and the Iranian Rials, and Tehran is pursuing exchange with India in yen as well as rupees.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Arab League Speaks --- Does It Matter?

2141 GMT: Large protests have lasted well into the night in many cities across Syria. This video was one of the more impressive ones, reportedly showing a protest in the Bab Qebli neighborhood of Hama:

2115 GMT: It has been another extremely bloody day in Syria, as the LCCS is now reporting 33 people killed by security forces, "including 2 children and a defected recruit and 2 men who died under torture. 11 martyrs in Homs, 9 martyrs in Idlib, 6 martyrs in Daraa, 3 in Damascus Suburbs and a martyr in each of BoKamal, Raqqa, Damascus and Hasakeh."

The steepest escalation since the last report is in Homs, where reports of heavy attacks have been reported, perhaps in response to a new wave of defections in the city.

Also, the civilian who was killed in Damascus was reportedly, killed in a protest near the Mujtahed Hospital in Midan. This video was taken, reportedly showing the protest:

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Bahrain Special: Interview with Nabeel Rajab "We Will Continue Our Uprising"

I don't believe violence is a policy of the opposition or that it is systematic. Lately we have seen some isolated cases of violence. We as human rights groups and the opposition in Bahrain disagree with violence and don't think it could be the means for change for the better. However, we understand the frustration of the people. They are being arrested, tortured and their loved ones are being killed.

The other side [the regime] is offering no solutions. Due to political considerations and economic interests, the international community is ignoring these abuses as well. That is adding to the feeling of frustration. Then we see people getting killed because of tear gas to which the international community replies with more silence. Foreigners come to Bahrain, they demolish mosques, they rob houses, they destroy property. An indigenous opposition in this country exists that is now being crushed by foreign mercenaries.

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US Elections Analysis: Assessing Gingrich and Romney in the Florida Primary

Only 120 miles of interstate highway I-95, cutting through Newt Gingrich's home state of Georgia, separate South Carolina and Florida, but those 120 miles could be vital in the ex-Speaker's crusade to be the next President of the United States.

The emphasis is on "could".  After Gingrich's stunning victory in Saturday's vote in South Carolina, and with eight days before the primary in Florida, no one can claim with any authority to know what is going to take place in the Sunshine State --- or the consequences of the outcome. 

Consider one piece of political wisdom widely cited after Gingrich's weekend triumph. Florida has an electoral system that allows easy access to early voting, and even before the South Carolina contest was resolved, around 30% of Floridians are estimated to have cast an absentee ballot. That would seem to favour Mitt Romney, as he held a healthy lead in Florida polls for some time, and his campaign machine has been encouraging his supporters to use the early voting option.

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North Africa Feature: Has "Arab Spring" Brought Reconciliation in Region? (Malkhy)

Saad Eddine OthmaniOn 14 January, the first anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution, leaders from Morocco, Libya, Algeria, and Morocco travelled to the country in a show of solidarity. The visit also highlighted the interest in building links across the region, in part through revival of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

This weekend, it was announced that interim Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki will be reciprocating the gesture, with official visits to Morocco and Algeria in early February. In a further indication that the regional disagreements which led to the suspension of the AMU in 1994 are easing --- for now at least --- Morocco's new Foreign Minister Saad Eddine Othmani will arrive in Algeria today for two days of discussions. Writing for MoroccoBoard News Service,Hassan Masiky examines the significance of the visit, and how a thawing of hostilities will play to domestic populations still seeking greater political reform and economic opportunities.

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The "Arab Spring" Spurs Algeria to Reconcile with Morocco"
Hassan Masiky

Reports of the upcoming visit by the new Moroccan Foreign Minister to Algiers are signs that recent political and social events in North Africa are forcing the Algerian government and the Moroccan authorities to reconsider their long-simmering rivalry.

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The Latest from Iran (22 January): The Currency Slide

The new Iranian banknote: President Ahmadinejad's "Many Thousand Rials"

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2115 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Al Arabiya reports that prominent Arab singer, Ghalib Manabi, and his brother Hassan have been arrested in Ahwaz in southern Iran.

Ghalib Manabi and several members of his family are known for their activism challenging regime programmes allegedly designed to reduce ethnic Arabs to a minority in the region. Members were previously arrested in 2005 during an uprising by ethnic Arabs against a programme requisitioning land from Arabs in Ahwaz, with a government-directed migration of non-Arabs into the region.

Local sources told Al Arabiya that about 60 Arab-speaking activists have been arrested since November 2011.

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Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond): Finding the Dead in Idlib

Clashes on Saturday in AlEker in Bahrain, from police dispersing a funeral procession --- with detentions of youths and pushing of women --- to young people forcing the security forces to flee (see also 0814 GMT)

See also Syria Interview: Kurdish Leader Abdulhakim Bashar "We Demand the Right to Self-Determination"
Saturday's Syria, Bahrain (and Beyond) Live Coverage: An Exclusive in Zabadani, A Rally in the Kingdom

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2200 GMT: The Arab League has put forth a political roadmap for Syria, with President Assad delegating power to a deputy and setting up a unity government as a prelude to early Parliamentary and Presidential elections.

The League called on Assad to open discussions with other groups, including the opposition, within two weeks on the intiative. The new government would be formed within two months, electing a council that will write a Constitution and prepare for the elections.

Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told a news conference, after the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, that the League would ask for the enforcement of the UN Security Council.

One observer, journalist Blake Hounshell, has noted the plan is similar to the approach taken by the Gulf Co-operation Council to resolve the Yemen crisis. The GCC put forth its call to President Saleh to transfer power in spring 2011; Saleh finally agreed in November and said today that he is leaving for the US for medical treatment.

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