The BBC reports that Israel-UN spat over Syria ‘bias’

The IAEA chief has reacted sharply to an Israeli accusation of bias in his attitude toward Syria, in a rare public controversy at the nuclear watchdog.

The body has been examining the case of an alleged Syrian nuclear arms facility that Israeli jets bombed in 2007.

Israel’s envoy told an IAEA debate on the subject in Vienna that Mohamed ElBaradei must “avoid political bias”.

The Egyptian hit back accusing Israel of breaking international law and he added bluntly “stop preaching to us”.

Mr ElBaradei said Israel’s attack on the facility had hampered his attempts to unearth the truth about the site.

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Juan Cole provides some background for the day of mourning in Shi’ia society.

CNN provides a general article, Tehran ‘mourning’ rally proceeds without violence

Clad in black for mourning, Iranians took to the streets to protest last week’s presidential vote and grieve for those who died in post-election violence.

Supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi — the country’s top opposition candidate — were turning Tehran into a sea of black as they marched in silence to express their displeasure. And he addressed the throngs, according to messages on Twitter from people who say they were at the rally.

Demonstrators started their rallies from mosques across the Iranian capital and planned to converge in a city square Thursday afternoon.

They were to march from the location, Imam Khomeini Square, near the city’s Grand Bazaar, along city streets in what is expected to be one of the largest protests since last Friday’s disputed election — which the government said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won by a huge margin.

CNN is threading a fine line to avoid being blacklisted by the government. People need to be reminded that the protesters are complaining about a flawed election, not about their government. This is not a revolution, unless the government screws up and overreacts. People are using the tactics of the Iranian revolution to remind leaders what the government was founded to do, not to alter their form of government.