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A close aide to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested that Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a reformist critic of the president, appeared so gaunt during his televised confession this month because he himself had decided to take off some weight."It's natural that when someone has become fat, in prison he understands that his fatness harmed his body and spirit," said Ali Akbar Javanfekr (left)."So maybe Mr. Abtahi took advantage of this opportunity to lose weight." The president's advisor on media affairs spoke to the Iranian Labor News Agency.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras - On June 28, 2009, graduates of the School of the Americas overthrew the democratically-elected government of Honduras. In a well-planned operation, 200 masked soldiers under the command of General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez stormed the presidential palace in the middle of the night. The soldiers grabbed President Zelaya from his bed, forced him onto an airplane and flew him into exile. The state television was taken off the air. Electricity to the capital, Tegucigalpa, was cut, as were telephone lines and cell phone service. The leadership of SOA graduates in the coup follows a pattern of anti-democratic actions by graduates of the school (renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, WHINSEC), a U.S. military training facility for Latin American soldiers.

The Honduran Supreme Court on Saturday announced that ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya would face charges for violating the constitution if he returned from exile, creating a potentially deal-breaking obstacle to a proposed agreement to end nearly two months of political turmoil.In a statement, the high court replied to a request from the government of interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti to consider a proposal that would have ended the crisis in part by restoring Zelaya to the presidency, albeit with reduced powers.

Burma's military leaders locked down monasteries, arrested dissidents and set up barricades across Rangoon yesterday in an attempt to suffocate the waves of street demonstrations calling for an end to their rule.They also tried to cut off ordinary people's communication with the outside world, heightening fears that the crackdown that appears to have knocked the wind from the demonstrations could become more violent.Yet, despite the regime's best efforts, a day after security forces killed at least nine demonstrators – dissident groups say the total could be as high as 200 – hundreds again risked their lives to defy the government in small but angry protests across Burma's main city.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Rangoon today to support monks protesting against the Burmese government.More than 1000 monks braved rain in the former capital today to stage another protest against government harassment around the famous Sule Pagoda, where several monks gave political speeches, slamming the military's use of violence against peaceful protests.Huge crowds of civilians gathered in the streets to watch the monks protest. Some reports from Rangoon claimed that almost 10,000 people had turned out to watch the demonstrations.

Defying the Myanmar military junta’s warnings against any further mass protest, nearly 50,000 Buddhist monks and an equal number of civilians swarmed the streets of Yangon and other centres on Tuesday.It was as if a sea of humanity had surged on to the streets. But the junta stayed its hand and did not order crackdown, which was implicit in the warnings issued on Monday following a similar demonstration over economic and political hardship.

Thousands of protesters are dead and the bodies of hundreds of executed monks have been dumped in the jungle, a former intelligence officer for Burma's ruling junta has revealed.The most senior official to defect so far, Hla Win, said: "Many more people have been killed in recent days than you've heard about. The bodies can be counted in several thousand."Mr Win, who spoke out as a Swedish diplomat predicted that the revolt has failed, said he fled when he was ordered to take part in a massacre of holy men. He has now reached the border with Thailand

Iranian police used batons to disperse dozens of opposition supporters chanting "death to the dictator" in central Tehran Monday to protest against the closure of a reformist newspaper, a witness said.The latest street unrest after Iran's disputed June 12 presidential vote took place near the offices of the Etemad-e Melli, the daily of leading pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi.Karoubi angered many hardliners last week by saying some post-election protesters had been raped in jail. His party said Monday that the paper had been temporarily shut down, and the prosecutor's office later confirmed this.

In recent days, we continue witnessing the magnificent demonstration of millions of people from all ages, genders, and national and religious minorities in Iran. They request that their basic human rights, particularly the right to freedom and to choose independently and without deception be recognized. These rights are not only constitutional in most of the countries, but also have been protected against all odds.

The Stalinist show trial of Saturday August 1 – when a number of prominent ‘reformists’ appeared on Iranian state TV to ‘thank their interrogators’ before repenting – was not the first such event in the Islamic republic’s history. Leaders of the ‘official communist’ Tudeh Party were similarly paraded on Iranian TV to denounce their own actions in the 1980s, while in the 1990s we had the trials of ‘rogue’ elements of the ministry of intelligence.However, this time the Islamic leaders forgot that a precondition for the success of such show trials in terms of imposing fear and submission on the masses is total control of the press and media.

Thousands of Hondurans supporting ousted President Manuel Zelaya protested in the nation's capital on Thursday, as a U.S. diplomat prepared to meet representatives of the government that has been in power since a military coup.Zelaya, who was rousted from his home at gunpoint in June and flown into exile by Honduran soldiers, spent the day in Chile, his latest stop on a Latin American tour he hopes will solidify backing from the region's governments.

Hadi Ghaemi, director of the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights, said he had spoken with family members and colleagues of people who have been arrested or disappeared and was told that there were at least 200 across the country. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the rights groups' reports because of government restrictions on reporting inside the country. The Iranian government has said that it has arrested a relatively small number of people responsible for violence and other crimes.

Security forces in Niger have used batons and tear gas to disperse a group of women protesting at the president's attempts to hold on to power. About 100 women from the main opposition coalition tried to hold a sit-in outside the constitutional court in the capital, Niamey. President Mamadou Tandja wants to hold a referendum to decide if he should be allowed to seek a third time in office.

About 100 people charged over the violence that followed the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmdinejad, the Iranian president, are facing a second court hearing in Tehran. The suspects, including several prominent political figures, were appearing before the revolutionary court on Saturday to face allegations that they attacked security forces and destroyed property, among other charges.

Violent clashes throughout the week have left dozens of civilians injured in Honduras. Protests broke after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the army. On Sunday 28 June, Mr Zelaya was woken in his pyjamas at gunpoint, put on a plane and sent into exile to Costa Rica.

Otpor was formed on October 10, 1998 in response to repressive university and media laws introduced earlier that year. In the beginning, Otpor's activities were limited to University of Belgrade.In the aftermath of the NATO airstrikes against FR Yugoslavia in 1999 regarding the Kosovo War, Otpor began a political campaign against the Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. This resulted in nationwide police repression against Otpor activists, during which nearly 2000 were arrested, some beaten. During the presidential campaign of September 2000, Otpor launched its "Gotov je" (He's finished) campaign which would galvanize national discontent with Milošević and eventually result in his defeat. Some students who led Otpor used Serbian translations of Gene Sharp's writings on nonviolent action as a theoretical basis for their campaign.Otpor became one of the defining symbols of anti-Milošević struggle and his subsequent overthrow. By aiming their activities at the pool of youth abstinents and other disillusioned voters, Otpor contributed to one of the biggest turnouts ever for the September 24, 2000 federal presidential elections.Having succeeded in persuading a large number of the traditional electorate to abandon Milošević was another one of the areas where the smear-proof Otpor played a key role. Milošević had in the past succeeded in persuading the public that his opponents were spies and traitors, but on this occasion, it backfired, as the beatings and imprisonments during the summer of 2000 further cemented the decision to vote against the regime in many voters' minds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCrwX7rL_o

Un-noticed by a world otherwise obsessed with the threat from Islamist extremism, a 20 year old Muslim separatist struggle in South Asia has embraced non-violence.Since July this year, more than 40 protesters, all unarmed, have been gunned down by Indian security forces in the beautiful but deeply troubled Kashmir Valley.

The World Economic Forum has drawn the ire of thousands of protesters representing a wide range of issues including workers rights, the environment and the US war on terrorism. The streets outside of the WEF had been relatively quiet, the only large protests being members of the Falun Gong movement holding silent vigils to call for an end to persecution by the Chinese Government. But on Saturday police helicopters circled the streets of midtown Manhattan as several large-scale marches converged near the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, the forum venue. Organisers of the marches had promised boisterous but non-violent protest, and there were few confrontations between police and protesters. A police officer told BBC News Online: "We have a massive show of force here. "With all that's happened here, I don't think that it is time to be messing with the New York Police." The New York Police had promised a zero tolerance policy for lawbreaking and quickly arrested two protesters during an anti-war demonstration in the morning. They were charged with disorderly conduct for blocking traffic near the hotel. But it was the exception during a day of colourful and enthusiastic protest. Protests began Saturday with an anti-war demonstration of some 2,000 people. Saturday's first large-scale protest, organised by a group called Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, saw several thousand demonstrators carrying placards calling for the US to end funding to Israel, not to broaden anti-terror action to Somalia, and to "Let Iraq live".  Later they were joined by a march of several thousand that began from Central Park and wound its way through the streets of midtown Manhattan to within blocks of the Waldorf-Astoria. Fifth Avenue shoppers dressed in designer fashions and fur were perplexed and slightly put out as they tried to navigate a route through the curb-to-curb carnival. In addition to the environmental and labour messages common to anti-globalisation protests, the Enron scandal was emblematic for many of the protesters of the dangers of corporate influence. Ironically shaking the tin, one protester begged for spare change for the bankrupt energy company. The police allowed the march to proceed with minimal interference, and the protesters rarely tested police lines. The colourful demonstrations of dissent included an anarchist cheerleading group. Their homemade sweatshirts called for "Pom poms not bomb bombs". Many of the protesters carried messages critical of the war on terror. Not only did they call on the US not to broaden its military campaign to Iraq and Somalia, but they also questioned domestic initiatives such as anti-terrorism laws passed in the wake of the attacks last autumn. Protesters also responded to criticism that somehow protest was inappropriate as the nation and New York City recovered from 11 September. One protester carried a placard which read: "I'm a patriot and I dissent."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1798204.stm

Police have used batons and water cannon to break up a civil rights march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. At least 30 people, including MP Gerard Fitt and some children, have been injured. Reports say police tried to disperse the protesters by using their batons indiscriminately and spraying water from hoses on armoured trucks. The demonstrators retaliated with petrol bombs.

Like something out of an old world spy novel, a popular politician is poisoned in an attempt to ruin his chance at victory and install a ruthless opponent. Welcome to the ORANGE REVOLUTION.Steve York's riveting documentary chronicles what led to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine surrounding the 2004 election between Viktor Yushchenko, the people's choice, and Viktor Yanukovych, the government crony. With Yushchenko's mysterious near-fatal poisoning and a fishy assassination attempt on Yanukovych, the people cry foul and take to the streets when Yanukovych is proclaimed the winner of the election. At demonstrations in Kiev, the crowd quickly swells to many thousands as musicians and a disfigured struggling Yuschenko take the stage to protest corruption and fraud.With insightful political interviews and a sweeping lens capturing the power of thousands demanding change, York's ORANGE REVOLUTION will make you believe in the power of the collective voice and our ability to make a difference.