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Latest Iran, Middle East News & Beyond *******************************
The Washington Post Early results: Maliki leads in Southern strongholds - -
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's slate won the majority of votes in two southern provinces during Sunday's parliamentary election, Iraqi officials announced Thursday By Ernesto Londono
The Christian Science Monitor Mahmoud Abbas: Israel - Palestinian peace talks off unless new settlements canceled - -
PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that Israel-Palestinian peace talks are off unless Israel cancels 1,600 newly planned homes for East Jerusalem. US Vice President Biden encouraged talks to go forward By Kristen Chick
The Los Angeles Times Iran: Move afoot to restore Rafsanjani to powerful friday prayers post - -
According to a report Wednesday in the reformist daily newspaper Bahar (in Persian), the dean of Tehran's elite Imam Sadegh University (where many of the leaders of Iran's intelligence and security apparatus get trained) got the ball rolling in a speech last week By
The National Review Resetting our reset foreign policy - -
Obama’s old foreign policy wasn’t working; thank goodness he’s hitting the reset button By Victor Davis Hanson
The Christian Science Monitor Iran president Ahmadinejad attacks U.S. during Afghanistan visit - -
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the US of playing a 'double game' during his Afghanistan visit, echoing an accusation lobbed at Tehran by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this week By Scott Peterson
The Christian Science Monitor Lebanon resumes defense talks on Hezbollah's military wing - -
The most powerful politicians in Lebanon resumed discussions on national defense, with questions of how to rein in Shiite political party Hezbollah's powerful military wing on the table By Nicholas Blanford
The Financial Times U.S. rebuke for Israel over plan for homes - -
Joe Biden, the US vice-president, accused Israel on Wednesday of “inflaming tensions” and “prejudicing the outcome” of peace talks, delivering an unusually sharp rebuke to America’s closest ally in the Middle East By Tobias Buck
The Wall Street Journal Gates calls Iran support for Taliban limited - -
The U.S. defense secretary said that Iranian support for the Taliban in Afghanistan is "pretty limited" so far By
The New York Times Diplomacy 102 - -
If the Israelis and the Palestinians lag in moving the peace process forward, then Washington must be ready to push its own proposals on the central issues By Editorial
The Washington Post Familar hurdels for U.S. as it ramps up pressure on firms doing trade with Iran - -
House and the Senate have approved separate bills that would impose sanctions on companies that supply gasoline to the Islamic republic and on the insurance, reinsurance and shipping companies that facilitate such trade By Steven Mufson
The Guardian Britain to Hamid Karzai: Start Afghanistan peace talks now - -
Foreign Office officials believe elements of Taliban ready to talk but fears grow of long Afghan conflict, and growing casualties By Julian Borger
The New Republic Maleki vs. Allawi - -
Which one should we prefer to lead Iraq? By Michel Crowley
The Washington Post Iran blocking web sites in effort to cut anti - government activists - -
Now, the Treasury Department, at the request of the State Department, has decided to allow companies such as Google and Microsoft to export free mass-market software to Iran, as well as Sudan and Cuba By Thomas Erdbrink & Kay Armin Serjoie
The Guardian Burmese election law requires NLD to expel Aung San Suu Kyi - -
New law prohibits parties taking part in this year's election from having members with a court conviction By
The Christian Science Monitor Tehran lobbies China against new Iran sanctions - -
Tehran urged China not to bend to US pressure for new Iran sanctions, which Vice President Joe Biden strongly supported in meetings with top Israel leaders today By Scott Peterson
The Los Angeles Times Iran: Students keep opposition fires burning with small campus protests - -
Students at two Iranian universities staged small protests Monday and Tuesday, video footage uploaded to the internet showed, in the latest sign that the opposition movement unleashed by the country's disputed elections last year has not been stamped out By
The New York Times Somalia food aid bypasses needy, U.N. study says - -
As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted to a web of corrupt contractors, Islamist militants and local U.N. staff, according to a report By Jeffrey Gettleman & Neil FarQuhar
The Wall Street Journal Israeli faith in Iran's opposition gains favor - -
Israel's top Iran expert advocates fomenting revolution in Tehran, as the political and military establishment appears to tilt away from support for a military strike By Charles Levinson
The New York Times It's up to Iraqis now. Good luck - -
The elections were a good step forward, but now Iraq must prove that it wants a more democratic future By Thomas L. Friedman
The Washington Post Disqualification dispute could mar Iraqi election - -
Top politicians tangle over whether to count votes for 55 candidates who were barred from election By Ernesto Londono & Leila Fadel
The Times Online Israeli settlement plan threatens to wreck talks - -
Announcement of 1,600 homes in east Jerusalem condemned by Joe Biden as he spent second day trying to restart peace talks
By Sheera Frenkel
The Los Angeles Times U.S. Changing focus of Iran policy - -
With the apparent failure of Obama's initiative to open negotiations, the administration turns toward support of the opposition and a focus on sanctions targeting the powerful Revolutionary Guard By Paul Richter
The Washington Post Some Muslims, fearing backlash, worry about intend of census forms - -
"They can look for the count of how many people live here, and that's a good thing," he said, "but God knows what is in their heart." By Tara Bahmanpour
The New Republic Our man in Kabul ? - -
The sadistic Afghan warlord who wants to be our friend By Michael Crowley
The Guardian Iraq after the elections: slogging towards stability - -
Two significant differences separate Iraq's parliamentary election from the first postwar poll in 2005 By Editorial
The New Republic The Mousavi mission - -
Iran finds its Nelson Mandela By Abbas Milani
The New York Times On the importance of being counted - -
Americans should participate in the census because it supports building and rebuilding a representative democracy By Editorials