Iran is doing its bit for space exploration. The Islamic Republic’s extra-terrestrial ambitions are carried on the shoulders of a mouse, two turtles and a handful of worms (do worms have shoulders?) launched into space this morning inside an “experimental biological capsule” in the Explorer 3 rocket. read more

Permalink||(4) Comments

Today marks the beginning of the Ten Day Dawn, the period leading up to the anniversary of the Revolution in Iran on 11 February 1979.

Last year, the 30th anniversary, we were in Tehran watching President Ahmadinejad giving an interminable speech to his bussed-in supporters.

read more

Permalink||(4) Comments

Having reported the impact of Tony Blair’s judgements rather than the making of them, watching his evidence to the Chilcot inquiry has raised more questions than it has answered.

Or as Winston Churchill said: “However beautiful the strategy, you should also occasionally look at the results.”

Mr Blair warns against reflecting with the benefit of hindsight, but from what we have heard so far, the problem was foresight. read more

Permalink||(7) Comments

Saturday would have been the 27th birthday of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman who’s become the poster-child martyr of Iran’s opposition Green Movement.

Her fiancé, Caspian Makan, told Channel 4 News that he wants Iranians to commemorate the occasion.

“Neda pursued neither peace nor war,” he said, speaking from Canada where he has fled. read more

Permalink||(2) Comments

What a difference a year makes. Last November hope drove US voters; now it seems the key emotion is anger.
 
The winning candidate in the Massachusetts senatorial election, Scott Brown, drove across the state in a truck whipping up anger about everything President Obama has done, and failed to do, in the one year he’s been in office.

Unemployment is high, and the president’s bailing out banks. The deficit is astronomical and the president’s pushing a trillion dollar healthcare reform bill. read more

Permalink||(2) Comments

After any earthquake, people need food, water, shelter and medical aid. But in Haiti, plagued by instability and violence, law and order is equally urgent.

The collapse of government institutions is symbolised by the ruined presidential palace, but government was weak to begin with.

read more

Permalink||(8) Comments

In China, many commentators believe Google is challenging the Chinese government to provoke expulsion because their business is doing badly. The Chinese search engine Baidu is twice as popular – it has reportedly 63.8 per cent of market share, as compared to Google’s 32.8 per cent.

With 338 million internet users in the People’s Republic that’s still a fair number. But the Chinese government is not going relinquish control over anything to do with information, so Google may have come to the conclusion that pressure and censorship are just a tool to limit their growth, so it’s simply not worth it.

read more

Permalink||(2) Comments

For months now, we’ve heard horrific stories of rape and abuse from Iran’s gaols.

Since the election last June, hundreds, maybe thousands, of opposition protestors have been beaten and gaoled. Human rights groups have documented persistent reports of rape within the police stations and gaols.

Now, for the first time, we’ve spoken to a member of the Basij militia – the group said to be responsible for many of the abuses. read more

Permalink||(76) Comments

Iran’s universities are in ferment. This is the third day of anti-government protests. On Monday, National Students Day, students and others took to the streets and hundreds, maybe thousands, were arrested and beaten by the basiij militia. read more

Permalink||(5) Comments