All Blog Posts from World Watch

Despite the Guardian Council's recent suggestion that a partial recount of the disputed Iranian presidential election's ballots may be conducted, an Iran expert said that a re-run of the election is the only way to restore confidence in the government.

Ali Ansari, director of the Institute of Iranian Studies at St. Andrews University, believes there's little point recounting the results of a foregone election.

He shared analysis about the Iranian elections at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London this morning.

Ansari said Iran's leadership remains divided about how to proceed, making statements designed to quell public unrest even as it allows police brutality on the streets of Tehran.

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President Obama's address to Muslims was the buzz of the Jihadi blogs and chat rooms today, and I have the feeling that the e-muj just hated it!

On Ansar al-Jihad chat room on Paltalk, participants expressed their surprise at the way many people, including Muslim scholars, welcomed the speech. One member going by the name "al_brsteej" was furious at how some clerics rebuked al Qaeda chief, Osama Bin Laden, over his comments on Mr. Obama just hours before the president delivered his speech.

"Sheikh Garni was so upset with Sheikh Osama .. he was saying that the sheikh should not be talking about his Obama 'darling' .. may Allah fight the traitors," the commentator said. Garni, a renowned Saudi cleric, had earlier said that Muslims should open their hearts and extend their hands to Obama. He also attacked Osama Bin Laden, and claimed that what he said about Obama reflects his ignorance.

Another member, "3EUON AL ZARQAWI," commenting on Mr. Obama’s citation of Quranic verses in his speech, said: "Even [if] he reads out the entire Quran, he is still the devil of the Black House."

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Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has cancelled a planned trip to Iran next Tuesday, prompting speculation that he is responding to rapidly-mounting criticism of his long absence from the country just when his presence is needed the most.

His latest trip out of the country — now almost three weeks long — has taken place just as the Army unleashed a war against Taliban militants in the northern Swat valley, displacing at least 1.5 million people.

Zardari's critics have used his absence during the growing security and humanitarian crisis in their attacks on him, writes CBS News' Farhan Bokhari.

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Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is again using the Internet to let the White House know just what concerns Havana.

In an blog posting Wednesday evening, Castro raised a laundry list of Havana’s grievances with Washington going back five decades.

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Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has released another blog post, using the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay and the current Mideast situation as fodder for criticizing President Barack Obama, who Castro had previously praised.

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Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro continued to praise newly inaugurated U.S. President Barack Obama in a blog posted late today on the Cuban Web site, Cubadebate.cu.

His post then took a personal turn, saying he has decided to remove himself further from domestic affairs on the island. While saying, “I am fine,” he urged government and Communist Party leaders to do what they have to without first considering what he might have to say or the state of his health.

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With a blog post entitled “Encounter with Cristina,” former Cuban President Fidel Castro broke his prolonged halt in once-regular newspaper columns and his months-long absence from public view. In it, he says President Obama strikes him as "absolutely sincere".

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As we watch an unprecedented worldwide economic crisis, two unresolved conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the foreign policy of a new American president, our global connections have never been more important. That's why we're launching World Watch.

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