China to send ‘harmony makers’ to Urumqi

China is sending 7,000 officials to the western city of Urumqi after last week’s deadly protests over a strange series of syringe stabbings, state-run media reported. The officials, known as “harmony makers,” are meant to ease tensions after demonstrators, demanding better police protection, clashed with police for two days

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On Tehran’s Streets: Defiance and a Crushing Response

Nearly two weeks of silence on the streets of Tehran were broken in the evening of July 9 when thousands marched through the central districts of the Iranian capital to protest the June 12 presidential election. Another anniversary helped precipitate the show of apparent defiance: the 10th anniversary of a bloody student uprising that was brutally put down by the government. Despite threats earlier in the day of a “crushing” response, men, women and even some children went onto the streets with chants of “Death to the dictator” and “Mousavi, Mousavi!” But the response was indeed crushing

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Storm kills 8 in Philippines

Eight people were killed and 11 were left missing after tropical depression Nangka triggered flooding, a tornado and a landslide in the Philippines, according to disaster officials. “The minority can’t impose their opinion on the majority,” Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri told CNN en Español. “They can’t impose a dictatorship saying that the majority is not going to govern.” There are acceptable ways of addressing electoral fraud, if any occurred, he said.

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Iran ambassador: Protesters represent a minority

The anti-government protesters who have streamed into streets across Iran to protest this month’s presidential elections as rigged represent a small minority of the nation, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri, said Wednesday. “The minority can’t impose their opinion on the majority,” Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri told CNN en Español.

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Iran’s Crisis: The Opposition Weighs Its Options

Iran’s political crisis would end pretty quickly if the opposition went toe-to-toe with the security forces — and no matter how courageous and determined the demonstrators, the likelihood of them toppling the regime on the streets right now is pretty remote. Although at least 30 and perhaps many more opposition supporters have been killed and hundreds have been arrested, the regime has used only a fraction of its capacity for violent suppression, and its security forces show no sign of wavering or splintering. The authorities have warned that defiance of bans on demonstration will no longer be tolerated, and reports out of Iran Tuesday suggested that the regime may be moving to arrest opposition presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

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Chants against West punctuate Khamenei’s defiant speech

People in the crowd sang songs of tribute as they waited. TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — People in the crowd sang songs of tribute as they waited. When he arrived, they stood and welcomed him in unison: “Praise be to God and to his prophet, Mohammed.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for two decades, took the stage with a few notes on small pieces of paper in his left hand

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Cries in the dark: ‘God is great’

Even sequestered by government order in our hotel, we could still hear the sounds of protests in the night. TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Even sequestered by government order in our hotel, we could still hear the sounds of protests in the night. Voices shouted “God is great!” from rooftops, from faces hidden in the dark

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