Syria Feature: Anderson Cooper Smacks Down Assad's Ambassador

Anderson Cooper of CNN takes the Syria ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Ja'afari, to task over the videos posted that show human rights abuses. Ja'afari responded by calling for "objectivism", insisting that there were some civilian casualties but most of the violence was at the hands of "armed terrorist groups," Salafists, and Takfiris who are the "the outcome of the British and American invasion of Iraq".

The invasion of Iraq was over 7 years ago, so Cooper asks, why did these events happen now? And if the Syrian regime is telling the truth, then all these other reports are lies? Is Assad history's biggest victim?

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Syria Video and Analysis: Who Killed These Men and Where is the River Where They Were Dumped?

Warning: GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING IMAGES

The video was uploaded on 31 July. The Arabic caption reads: "Is there any crime worse than killing someone and then throwing the body in the river? Where are human rights? Where is world opinion? Where is Amnesty International?" There is no way to properly verify the clip.

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Media Feature: Al Jazeera English Makes It to the US...Well, New York City (Stelter)

Every cable news channel has its moment.

CNN had the gulf war. Fox News had the war on terror. And Al Jazeera English had the Arab Spring.

But six months after widespread protests erupted in the Middle East, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera has not gained distribution on any major cable or satellite systems in the United States. The channel’s supporters say they feel it has been blacklisted; the distributors say they have to contend with limited channel space.

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Libya 1st-Hand: A Tour of the Frontline in Zlitan (Watson/Karadsheh)

Photo: CNNWhen Libyan government minders last brought CNN to Zlitan about a week and a half ago, it was to see a large pro-Gadhafi rally in the city's main square. Crowds of Libyans waved green government flags, fired guns in the air, and fervently pledged their loyalty to their embattled leader.

But the scene was dramatically different Monday, as fire trucks and ambulances regularly raced through the city's largely deserted streets. Many shops appeared to be closed, and the ominous rumble of warplanes could be heard overhead periodically.

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The Latest from Iran (4 July): Pick Your Fight

2025 GMT: President v. Revolutionary Guards. Back to our main story of the day and our questions about how to interpret the statements of President Ahmadinejad and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps over "smuggling" (see 0800 GMT).

An EA correspondent gets to the point, "[IRGC Commander] Jafari wouldn't have reacted, if Ahmadinejad's allusions were not so obvious. Ahmadinejad's speech, between the lines, is completely apparent."

And one might add that the Supreme Leader wouldn't have reacted as well (see 1345 GMT)....

See also Iran Special: Ahmadinejad v. The Revolutionary Guards

2020 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The Speaker of Germany's Parliament, Norbert Lammert, has asked his Iranian counterpart, Ali Larijani, to pursue the release of photojournalist Maryam Majd, detained on the eve of her departure for the Women's Football World Cup in Germany.

Lammert denounced the arrest "not only as an attack on media freedom but also as a striking breach of internationally guaranteed freedom rights and human rights".

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Egypt Feature: The Military's Virginity Checks on Protesters (Amin)

 A senior Egyptian general admits that "virginity checks" were performed on women arrested at a demonstration this spring, the first such admission after previous denials by military authorities.

The allegations arose in an Amnesty International report, published weeks after the March 9 protest. It claimed female demonstrators were beaten, given electric shocks, strip-searched, threatened with prostitution charges and forced to submit to virginity checks.

At that time, Maj. Amr Imam said 17 women had been arrested but denied allegations of torture or "virginity tests."

But now a senior general who asked not to be identified said the virginity tests were conducted and defended the practice.

"The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine," the general said. "These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs)."

The general said the virginity checks were done so that the women wouldn't later claim they had been raped by Egyptian authorities.

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Libya Video: Eman Al-Obeidi Tells Her Story (with Help of Qaddafi's Son)

On Wednesday, Eman Al-Obeidi, the woman who attempted to tell foreign journalists of her abuse and rape by regime forces but was taken away by security, appeared on camera in a CNN interview.

The interview was arranged by Saadi Qaddafi, the son of the Libyan leader, but transmission was held up for 18 hours by Libyan officials who wanted to review the tape. The video --- unaltered, according to CNN --- was finally transmitted yesterday afternoon.

Saadi Qaddafi later told CNN, "The people responsible for raping her should face charges. She is a strong woman." No one has been arrested in the incident.

Libya Video: Eman Al-Obeidi Talks About Her Ordeal

On Monday, Eman Al Obeidi spoke with CNN. She talked about how she was abused and raped by regime forces, how she was taken away by security forces when she went into a Tripoli hotel to tell foreign journalists, and how she is still threatened.

Ivory Coast: An Introduction to the Conflict (Purefoy)

Latest (10 April): The Battle for Abidjan

The west African country of Ivory Coast --- also known as Cote d'Ivoire --- has been rocked by civil conflict as forces loyal to opposition leader Alassan Ouattara seek to oust incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo after a disputed presidential election last November. Most of the international community recognize Ouattara's victory and are urging Gbagbo to go.

What's the wider background to the unrest?

Ivory Coast, which won independence from France in 1960, is one of west Africa's leading powers and, historically, had been one of its success stories.

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Iran Video: A 1st-Hand View of the Marches of 25 Bahman

"Sara", a participant in Monday's rallies, speaks to CNN about the day. Note, amongst her effective account of events, her reference to Sanee Zhaleh, who was killed by a gunshot. He was not, as the Iranian regime is claiming, one of its supporters; instead, he was marching when he was slain.