Latest Iran, Middle East News & Beyond *******************************
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 York Times For Iran, enriching uranium only gets easier - -
Making the leap from reactor-grade nuclear fuel to bomb-grade is like the rich getting richer: really fast By William J. Brroad
The Guardian Biden offers Israel full support - -
In talks with Binyamin Netanyahu, US vice-president stresses need to prevent Iran obtaining nuclear weapons By Rory McCarthy
The New York Times Region unimpressed by balloting in Iraq - -
According to analysts and commentators, few people in the Middle East saw the Iraqi elections as a success for democracy By Michael Slackman
The Christian Science Monitor After Iraq election fragile democracy faces the real test - -
Sunday's Iraq election saw good turnout despite scattered violence. But with no party powerful enough to rule alone, the tough task of coalition building begins for the nascent democracy By Jane Arraf
The New York Times For Iraqi voters, a dizzying democracy - -
In Baghdad, politics are much more confused than they were in the 2005 election. And that’s good news By Bartle Breese Bull
The Yahoo News Iragi parties both claim to be ahead in election - -
A win for al-Maliki or secular rival Iraqiya could indicate Iraqis' frustration with religious parties who have been the dominant political force since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. By Rebecca Santano & Qassim Abdul - Zahra
The Washington Post Nearly two - thirds of Iraq's voted in election - -
No results were expected until later in the week, and analysts said it was unlikely any single political party would emerge as the clear winner By Ernesto Londono & Leila Fadel
The New Republic The Mousavi mission - -
Iran finds its Nelson Mandela By Abbas Milani
The Financial Times Fuel cut ignaites debates on punishing Tehran - -
Government plans to curb consumption by slashing hefty subsidies as of next month. Each car is currently entitled to 80 litres of subsidised petrol per month at 11 cents per litre, with extra petrol sold at about 45 cents. The government hopes to decrease the quota to 60 litres, and possibly to axe subsidised rations By Javier Blas
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
The Guardian West Bank construction plans approved - -
Approval to build 112 new flats in Beitar Illit comes despite Israeli government's partial curbs on settlement construction By Rory McCarthy
