Syria Video Special: The Destruction of Deir Ez Zor

Even as the Syrian regime claims it has withdrawn military forces from Hama, Deir Ez Zor in the northeast is still under attack. In the dramatic video above, the top of the minaret of the Othman bin Afan mosque is blown off by military shelling of the city. Around the city, other signs of destruction are clearly evident.

See also Syria Video Analysis: Assessing Propaganda and "Truth" on Both Sides
Wednesday's Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Raising Shoes to Assad

As we pointed out in a separate feature, the regime denies that there are tanks in Deir Ez Zor. The video below, including another clip of the minaret, tells a different story....

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The Latest from Iran (10 August): Lawyers in Prison, Lawyers in Exile

Abdolfattah Soltani (see 0545 GMT)1930 GMT: Currency Watch. Aftab reports that the price of gold coins continues to rise --- now from 474,000 to 482,000 tomans (about $450 to $460) as Iranians put their faith in them amidst economic tensions. Meanwhile, the differential between the "free" and official rates for the US dollar continues to widen --- the Central Bank has set the rate at 1055 tomans to the dollar but the exchange rate on the street is 1200:1.

1735 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. More on the arrest of Parvin Mokhtare, the mother of journalist Kouhyar Goudarzi, as her son was being put in prison again --- while she was having a bath, the house was raided by security agents who climbed over walls to get into the property.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Raising Shoes to Assad

See Also Syria Video Special: The Destruction of Deir Ez Zor

Syria Video Analysis: Assessing Propaganda and "Truth" on Both Sides
Bahrain Video: How to Confuse Security Forces --- Use a Laser Pointer
Tuesday's Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Turmoil in the West, Turmoil in the East

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2030 GMT: Night videos from Syria are coming in --- some of them are too dark to feature, but they include a march in Talbiseh in the south sympathising with the victims of Homs and the burning of a picture of President Assad in Jableh on the coast.

Kafranbel in the northwest:

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Britain Video Feature: The Start of the Unrest in Birmingham

Yesterday an EA reader pointed us to this notable 12-minute video documenting the beginning of trouble in central Birmingham on Monday evening.

We present it as a vivid snapshot of the events that have overtaken England since last weekend's unrest began in Tottenham in north London. We are more cautious in trying to draw any conclusions about "blame", in contrast to opinion expressed in this video: despite the wide range of imagery --- often dramatic --- the context is often unclear. For example, did the alleged police "kettling" and charging of people begin before or after serious episodes of looting --- including the strippling of mobile phone shops (an event only briefly alluded to with the shot of empty mobile phone boxes) --- began?

Britain Latest: Quieter in London but Trouble Elsewhere (The Guardian)

UPDATE 0640 GMT: We have followed claims overnight that at least two men, reportedly defending their neighbourhood amidst unrest, were killed in north Birmingham when they were hit by a car.

The BBC now reports that police have begun a murder inquiry. A third man was critically injured in the incident.

Video taken by frightened foreign students in Birmingham

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Central Manchester and Salford saw serious looting and disorder as gangs waged running battles with police, ransacking dozens of shops. Similar, if less widespread, trouble flared in Birmingham and elsewhere in the West Midlands.

The most serious disorder came in Manchester. Groups of young people consistently evaded police attempts to stop them from the late afternoon onwards, breaking into a series of upmarket shops and setting a branch of the Miss Selfridge clothing chain ablaze. As evening fell, up to 200 youths raided an off-licence and other shops in the main shopping precinct of Salford, a couple of miles to the west.

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Syria Video Analysis: Assessing Propaganda and "Truth" on Both Sides

Some news agencies have occasionally been duped by propaganda promoted by individual "activists", but those observers tuned in, after months of experience, to the claims of the activists now know which individuals or groups produce credible information, and they know when to be extra-sceptical about reports. However, many of these claims are reliable, and the media who drop in on the Syria story need to pay attention to the journalists who are working hard to separate the "good" reports from the "bad".

Because in Syria --- to take a position --- one side is lying, one side is mostly truthful, and thousands of lives are in the balance of the two.

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The Latest from Iran (9 August): Drawing Different Lessons from Overseas

1920 GMT: Energy Watch. Sniping at the Government over its energy policy --- Seyed Emad Hosseini, speaker for Parliament's Energy Committee, said energy security has sharply decreased in past years and is now unacceptable. Another committee member, Asgar Jalalian, has chided that at the current speed of development of the South Pars project, Qatar --- which shares the giant field with Iran --- will have ensured no gas is left.

1910 GMT: Media Watch. Is Alef, the site owned by leading MP Ahmad Tavakoli, having a go at the press in Iran? The site posts the story of "Pinocchio and our ignorance" to preach that those who listen to domestic media are less informed people.

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Bahrain Video: How to Confuse Security Forces --- Use a Laser Pointer

From the town of Eker, a twist on the standard video of night-time skirmishes between protesters and security forces: a mischief-maker flashes a laser pointer on a wall, leading the officers to fire randomly into the night.

US Politics: Latest in the Wisconsin Saga on Union Rights --- Recalling Senators Sets a Historic Precedent?

The result of the six recall elections today will have an impact on the short-term course of politics in Wisconsin. But their significance may lie more in their contribution to a growing participatory style of US politics. The intensive scrutiny of politics in Washington by outside interest groups and the media is not going to go away. With the increasing role of national politics in state affairs that attention engenders, it would be a surprise not to see more recalls, initiatives, and referenda take place.

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Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Turmoil in the West, Turmoil in the East

1955 GMT: Night protests in Al Mayadin, Deir Ez Zor:

1953 GMT: The people of Amouda, al Hasaka, Syria, protest tonight:

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