World Press Review on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (August 26, 2011)

Major Western newspapers continue to report on events in Libya. The
Independent has published an article on a warning issued by UNESCO
about valuable artworks which have been looted in Libya in the last
few months and might soon appear on world markets. The article is
entitled “Watch out for looted Libyan artefacts, UN warns auction
houses.” The Independent reports that Libya has five World Heritage
Sites, including ruins of Roman cities and cave paintings dating back
14,000 years. There is no information evaluating the exact volume of
objects that have been looted, but experts expect the numbers to be
significant.

The Washington Post reports on the advance of Libyan rebels early on
Friday, as special forces are searching for fugitive leader Moammar
Gaddafi, after having smashed one of his loyalists’ last major
strongholds in the capital. In eastern Libya, rebel fighters remained
stalled Friday just outside the coastal oil terminal of Ras Lanuf,
which was coming under rocket fire from pro-Gaddafi forces based in
his home town and tribal power base of Sirte, about 130 miles to the
west, Washington Post reports.

The Los Angeles Times continues the theme with an article “Tripoli
chaos raises fear of missiles going to terrorists”. The article talks
about the appeal made by the Obama administration to the Libyan rebels
to secure missile depots from terrorists. According to Pentagon
officials, Gaddafi’s forces had 20,000 portable missiles, some of
which may not be operational. According to information from Chad’s
president, Idriss Deby, a cargo of missiles has already been smuggled,
but US officials have not yet publicly confirmed this information.

The New York Times and Huffington Post present articles on the new
Iranian film “Circumstance”, directed by Iranian filmmaker Maryan
Keshavarz. The film explores a lesbian relationship between two
sixteen-year-old girls, wealthy Atafeh and orphaned Shireen, in modern
Iran. The controversial nature of the movie did not allow it to be
filmed in Iran, and instead Keshavarz substituted Beirut for Tehran,
the Huffington Post reports. The movie has already been widely
criticized in Iran.