Habari Post

Foreign journalists have been largely censored from covering protests in Iran over the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Twitter has emerged as the primary communication tool, both for protesters to organize, and for outside news organizations to gain insight into what's happening in Tehran.

This is an interview with Clay Shirky about the role Twitter has played organizing election protests in Iran.

There is also a video of the professor speaking about trends in social media and mobile technology in the role of elections:
http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

In 1978, President Carter's foreign policy team was primarily occupied with signing a treaty between Egypt and Israel in an effort to bring peace in Palestine and Israel. His senior advisers paid little attention the the weakening position of the Shah in Iran and the rise of support for then exiled Ayatollah Khomeini (Ayatollah is a high ranking title in structure of Shiite Islam).

The Iranian Parliament elected Ari Larijani as their new speaker on Wednesday. Mr. Larijani was a rival to Mr. Ahmadinejad in the presidential election of 2005. Mr. Larijani was elected as speaker in an unusually lopsided vote: 232 to 31.

It seems that Iran's involvement in Iraq has declined since the capture of a few dozen Iranian operatives selling arms in Iraq in December of 2006.

The over 40 leaders from Muslim countries meeting in Dakar, Senegal wrapped a two-day summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) last Friday.

Heads of state and representatives of over 40 Muslim nations gathered today in Dakar, Senegal for the Eleventh Session of the Islamic Summit Conference.