All Blog Posts from World Watch

Some families in Switzerland are trying to reduce their energy consumption by 2/3, in line with an ambitious new target policy adopted by the City of Zurich, "2,000 Watt Society".

Elizabeth Palmer spoke to some of the people trying to use no more than their global "fair share" of energy — roughly 1 sixth of what an average American consumes at any given time. As she reports, it's not easy, but it's a start.

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This story was filed by CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer in Vienna.

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Senior diplomats from the U.S., Iran, France and Russia missed a noon deadline Tuesday to start talks aimed at hammering out a historic deal on Iran's uranium stockpile.

At first, the negotiations at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria seemed to hold real promise. After the introductory round of talks late Monday, a senior U.S. official said the Iranians had "engaged constructively".

Officials said Iran forced Tuesday's delay by suddenly announcing that France should be excluded from the talks — apparently the latest twist in a long-running business dispute.

Diplomats are now wondering whether Iran's last-minute objections to France's presence at the table in Vienna are in fact a thinly disguised attempt to derail the whole process.

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Iranians are bracing themselves for more street violence Wednesday, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

The country's reform movement intends to demonstrate outside Parliament tomorrow to protest the swearing-in of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) for a second term as President. Reformers believe he stole victory in a rigged election on June 12, and has no right to take office.

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A heaving sea of the faithful packed Tehran University's mosque, enthralled to find themselves so close to Iran's holiest man - Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Thousands who couldn't squeeze in listened outside in the surrounding streets.

All week, Iran's state media have been trying to convince people that the political unrest was incited by foreign plotters, including Americans, so we chose to observe from a quieter side street.

On the face of it, the Friday prayer ceremony is a religious occasion. But in spite of thousands of the devout who came to hear the Supreme Leader, everybody knows this is a pivotal political moment.

"The results of an election come from the ballot box - not the street," the Supreme Leader told the crowd.

He defended President Ahmadinejad's landslide win last Friday, saying, "Our system has no room for fraud."

Click below to watch all of CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer's report from Iran.

For the fourth day in a row, a river of protestors streamed through the streets of Tehran.

"The only thing we want now is to have a new election," a protestor told CBS News by phone.

Tens of thousands of people marching silently, morning those killed at the start of the week.

State television is now saying eight people died in violent clashes, and unconfirmed reports say some of them were students at the University of Tehran.

Today, Mir Hossein Mousavi made a personal appearance, thrilling the vast crowd.

Organizers say they are inspired by the ideals and solidarity of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, a mass protest movement which overthrew the government. Now, 30 years later, no one wants to a return to chaos and bloodshed, but that hasn't stopped authorities from embarking on a wave of arrests.

Click below to watch all of CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer's report from Iran.

Like everyone paying attention to the epic political power struggle going on in Iran, we'd heard there was to be an opposition rally in the afternoon.

Then we heard there wasn't, because it had been declared illegal by the Interior Ministry. Anyone who marched could expect to face the riot police and their truncheons… or worse.

Then, suddenly, there was. The word flowed in digital streams from cell phone to cell phone, computer to computer — and, of course, from mouth to mouth.

Now. Come. Everyone. We're marching from the University to Freedom Square.

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What a spectacle this election is. It has galvanized young people and polarized the country.

Two main candidates – President Ahmadinejad, a hard-line conservative, against Mir Hossein Mousavi, a mild reformer. In admittedly unreliable polls, they are neck and neck.

Mousavi's organizers hope he'll also benefit from a big protest vote — politically-cynical Iranians who wouldn't normally bother to turn out, but will make the effort this time to cast a ballot against the President, whom they loathe as an evangelizing rube.

The wild enthusiasm of millions of 20-somethings for Mousavi has been moving to watch, but they are probably in for a big disappointment, even if he wins. He bills himself as a "reformer". But what he means by "reform" and what many Iranian young people mean by "reform" are worlds apart.

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In the economic boom time of the 1990's, property developers moved in, jobs were plentiful, and Ireland became known as the Celtic Tiger.

Recession knocked that tiger off its paws with stunning speed, leaving thousands of Irish emigrants who returned home in the good days lamenting their move.

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