Today on EA (28 December 2009)

Iran: The situation remains tense today. As we follow events and consider long-term significance,  we have an interim assessment: has Iran reached a point of no return? This follows Scott Lucas' five-minute, five-point reaction, given last night to an Italian journalist.

Demonstrations continued well into the night: we've posted the most recent clips we've received. And we now have the video of President Obama's statement this evening on Iran.

Josh Shahryar, who also live-blogged Ashura, concludes that, for the first time in 200 days, Iranians decided "enough was enough". His overall assessment, "Iranians are not punchbags", offers provocative thoughts on non-violence and self-defence.

As always, all the news as we hear it, can be found in our live weblog.

Palestine: EA's Ali Yenidunya reviews Mahmoud Abbas' interview last week with the Wall Street Journal, where he promised "No Third Intifada".

Israel/Palestine: EA's Ali Yenidunya analyses the anniversary of the Gaza War and asks "Who Won" after operation Cast Lead?

Britain/Israel: The controversy over the arrest warrant for former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni continues: the head of Britain's Muslim Council has written to the British Government criticising Foreign Secretary Miliband's statement on the need to change British law to prevent any further warrants.

Today on EA (27 December 2009)

Iran: On the holy day of Ashura, coinciding with the 7th day of mourning for Ayatollah Montazeri, thousands of protesters are on the streets of Tehran and other cities throughout Iran. Amidst clashes with security forces, five demonstrators have been killed.

Today's videos are already coming through and we are adding to them continuously, now starting a second set (and now set #3). There is also a link to a detailed map of Tehran to help follow events.

We have a video special on the attack on the Jamaran memorial and the Khatami speech yesterday (26 December).

EA's Scott Lucas has written an open letter to the columnist Charles Krauthammer, saying thanks for his "concern" but "Now Go Away": the people of Iran can manage without "false friends".

We have uncovered a top secret relationship between US President Obama and Ahmadinejad! (but please note we have at times been known to have a joke with our readers).

All the latest news can be read in our live weblog .

Israel: A few days after Israeli PM Netanyahu announced that he would break-up Kadima unless Tzipi Livni joined a national unity government, Haaretz's Nehemia Shtrasler has responded by accusing him of being being "corrupt".

Copenhagen Climate Summit: Scott Lucas on Al Jazeera's "Inside Story"

On Sunday, I was on Al Jazeera English's "Inside Story" to discuss whether the agreements at the Copenhagen summit on climate change offered any grounds for optimism. The other panellists were Daniela Vincenti-Mitchener, the managing editor of EurActiv, the European Union's information website, and Vandana Shiva, an ecologist and environmental activist.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUgARv_yKs4[/youtube]

Climate Change: The State Department Video Contest