Latest from Iran (4 September): Shrinking Lake, Growing Protests

1710 GMT:Environment Watch. Associated Press' coverage of the Lake Urmia protests is taken entirely from the summary of Mehr, which claims demonstrations have ended with no casualties.

Mehr --- and thus AP --- assert that the protests ended Saturday night.

1410 GMT: Protest Watch. Peyke Iran reports that the strike of cloth merchants in the Tehran Bazaar, complaining about the Government's policies on value-added tax, is continuing despite talks with MPs.

1405 GMT: More claimed footage from Saturday's protests in Tabriz over Lake Urmia:

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Iran: Assessing Latest Cyber-Threat, Rogue Certificate Part 2 (Arseh Sevom)

Earlier in the week, our colleagues at the civil society organistion Arseh Sevom assessed the security threat, possibly introduced by the Iranian regime, that left Google users in Iran susceptible to a rogue certificate attack.

Now, Arseh Sevom reanalyzes the threat in part 2 of the series. And they have an alarming piece of information, that users of Tor, Yahoo, and Mozilla may also have been compromised...

See Also, Iran Special: Assessing the Latest Cyber-Threat --- The "Rogue Certificate" (Arseh Sevom

Latest from Iran (3 September): Elections and the Revolution

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UPDATE: Google and Mozilla have revoked more than 200 security certificates as a result of a hack into the accounts of certificate authority, DigiNotar.

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Latest from Iran (3 September): Elections and the Revolution

1901 GMT: People protest in Tabriz, but there appear to be snipers on the rooftops.

Yet another video from Tabriz. Some of the people there are carrying objects (it is unclear whether they are looters, or merchants who work in the area) when suddenly gunfire breaks out:

1856 GMT: Video of the protests in Tabriz, in support of the people of Urmia and against government policies that have led to the drying of Urmia lake:

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Libya Special: A Guide to The New Political Landscape (Hussain)

The Guardian's Ghaffar Hussain attempts to answer the question on many people's minds this week - After Qaddafi, and after the National Transitional Council, what happens next in Libya? He then gives a provocative subtitle:

"A post-Gaddafi Libya will see liberals, Islamists and secularists jostling for position with the largest grouping: nationalists"

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The ousting of the Gaddafi clan and the collapse of their jamahiriya system, has left many feeling unsure about Libya's political future. After all, the National Transitional Council (NTC) is not a political party and won't exist beyond the first elections. Many of its members, being having been officials in Gaddafi's regime, are unlikely to seek executive political positions.

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Iran Feature: China Curbs Iran Energy Work

Reuters reports that China is pulling the plug on plans to invest heavily in Iran's oil industry, in large part in order to escape US Sanctions and the ire of the US State Department. The opposite claim is being made by the Iranian regime and its state-run media, that China is set to invest $8.4 billion in the Azadegan oilfield.

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China has put the brakes on oil and gas investments in Iran, drawing ire from Tehran over a pullback that officials and executives said reflected Beijing's efforts to appease Washington and avoid U.S. sanctions on its big energy firms.

The stakes are high for OPEC's second-largest producer, as China is one of the only powers on the international political stage capable of providing the billions of dollars of investment Tehran needs to maintain the capacity of its strategic oil sector.

Four energy executives in Beijing described retreats and slowdowns of Chinese ventures in Iran in recent months, even as China has bought more crude from its Middle East partner, which leans on Beijing for backing and investment to counter sanctions over its disputed nuclear plans.

Read full article.....

Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Won't Give Up, Won't Back Down

1911 GMT: Al Jazeera offers their latest summary of the events in Syria, which echos much of our own coverage:

1907 GMT: This video was reportedly taken today in Homs, where State Run SANA TV claims 1 soldier was killed. In the video, we see plain-clothed Shabiha ("ghosts", paramilitary) walking along with Syrian military and firing at unseen targets. None of the Syrian security forces seem too nervous, as if their targets are unarmed. I repeat a question posed by an activist earlier, do these people look like they are being shot at?

1842 GMT: Multiple sources and activists are reporting that Joabr, Damascus, has been sealed off by security forces.

1839 GMT: A video claiming to show a large protest today in Hama:

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Syria Video Special: Death Rather Than Humiliation

11. Tanks entering Idlib. The first video is Kevromh, the next a very large convoy entering Idlib city:

10. Irbeen, Damascus, gunfire rings out and protesters scatter. At least one person was reportedly killed:

9. This video claims to show anti-aircraft guns firing into the city of Deir Ez Zor, yesterday:

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Israel-Gaza-Turkey Special: Taking Apart the UN Report on the Attack on the Freedom Flotilla

In its narrow condemnation of Israeli actions, the United Nations' Palmer Report undermines its wider absolution of West Jerusalem. If the vessels and the passangers on board were not a "direct military threat" to Israel's "security needs", then why could the vessels not arrive in Gaza? Even if the purpose was to "generate publicity", there was no necessity to board the Flotilla, killing nine people in the assault.

The Palmer Report cannot have it both ways. It cannot sweep aside the political context of the Gaza situation and the Flotilla and then, by default, sanction an Israeli operation which --- in the conclusion of the Report --- was motivated by political rather than military considerations.

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Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Prayers, Protests, and Pressures

View Syria - Friday 02/09/2011 in a larger map

Interactive Map of today's protests in Syria posted by The Syrian Uprising 2011 Information Centre.

See also, Syria Video Special: Death Rather Than Humiliation

Israel-Gaza-Turkey Special: Taking Apart the UN Report on the Attack on the Freedom Flotilla

Syria Video Special: A Protest Movement Renewed
Syria, Libya (and Beyond) Liveblog: Cracks in the Regime
Syria Special: The Resignation of Hama's Attorney General

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0030 GMT: Scott Lucas dropping in to post this video from Al Jazeera English of Friday's demonstrations by women in Martyrs Square in the heart of the Libyan capital Tripoli, celebrating the fall of the Qaddafi regime:

2007 GMT: That wraps up our liveblog for the evening. We will be posting analysis of today's developments in Syria, but the bottom line is that the opposition movement has taken some significant steps forward in recent days, and it has shown by how large and widespread the protests were today.

And they are far from over. We'll also collect more videos and reports and make those available soon.

Please tune in tomorrow, and enjoy our features (links above).

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Latest from Iran (2 September): Who's Meddling in the Revolutions?

1747 GMT: Ayatollah Namazi, a member of the powerful Assembly of Experts, has warned the government that use of libel, lies, deceit, and illegal money towards the influence of the elections would be considered " haram," banned by Islamic law. He warned that the next election would be a moral issue, and candidates should subscribe to strict morality in order to ensure that the fittest candidate won. He also said that this was imperative, because moral abuses threaten to discredit the legitimacy of the elections.

1740 GMT: The Armenian Church in Kerman, registered as a national treasure, has been destroyed. Here is a picture gallery of the church now.

1515 GMT: Energy Watch. Deutsche Welle reports that the construction of a gasoline refinery has been stopped after five years because the Ministry of Oil did not pay its assigned share of 70% of the cost.

According to the website, only 8% of the project had been completed. The halt to construction means the dismissal of 6200 employees.

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