News Archive - 27 March 2011

>He has deployed the army for the first time in the heavily fortified northwest port city of Latakia. Human Rights Watch has said at least 61 people have died in Deraa, the flashpoint of the protests.Here are some key facts about Assad:* ASSAD AS PRESIDENT:-- The world welcomed the...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday appeared to rule out the United States intervening militarily in Syria in the same way it has in Libya, saying in a TV interview that each Arab uprising was unique. Speaking in an interview taped on Saturday, Clinton said she...

>MANAMA (Reuters) - Bahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition group Wefaq has accepted Kuwait's offer to mediate in talks with Bahrain's government to end a political crisis gripping the tiny kingdom, a member of Wefaq said on Sunday. Bahrain on March 16 ended weeks of protests by mostly Shi'ite protesters that had...

Wanting to know more about the recent revolution in Egypt, members of First Lutheran Church called on the best local sources they could find when they invited Mahmoud Taman and Emil Ibrahim to speak.

As we use computers in more parts of our daily lives, we're more vulnerable to security threats.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan paid a working visit to Tehran on the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Democracies dither. It's what they do. It's probably in their DNA. Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin held democracies in contempt for their apparent inability to take decisive action.

Master of Ceremonies Sean Balingit, who is the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce vice-president and Beaumont Planning Commission chairman, looks on as members of Tahquitz High School’s JROTC presents the colors at the opening ceremony of San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital’s 60th anniversary celebration.

Thirty one countries have abolished the death penalty but China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Yemen remain amongst the most frequent executioners, according to a new report from Amnesty International released Monday.

Çѹ·Õè 28 ÁÕ¹Ò¤Á 2554 12:16 ¹. AirAsia Incorporated, the Philippine-based affiliate of AirAsia Group, has chosen Clark as its hub in the country. The airline, which announced its set up last December, will be basing its operations at Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.

In the summer of 2009, Nicolas Rapp decided to take a break from his art director job at the Associated Press to attempt a one-year overland travel around the world.

Polls show that President Obama's Libya intervention has the lowest public sup port of any US military action in three decades. That's not surprising, because Obama seems ambivalent about the enterprise himself. Whatever he says tonight to rationalize it, Americans are learning a sober truth. America's chief...

President Bashar al-Assad, facing the gravest crisis in his 11-year rule, deployed the army in Syria's main port of Latakia for the first time after nearly two weeks of protests spread across the country

Paste bin postings attempt to prove hacking feat.

RAWALPINDI, March 27: An expected foreign investment worth 10 million euros (Rs1.2 billion) to install a Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) plant in Rawalpindi city is in jeopardy after the investors failed to get an agreement signed with the Punjab government despite visiting the country four times.

Qatar on Sunday denied reports that the Gulf Arab emirate had seized two Iranian ships loaded with weapons. The Qatar News Agency quoting a statement from the Interior Ministry said reports on stopping two Iranian ships with weapons on board in the territorial waters of Qatar were baseless.

A Citi strategist, Guillermo Felices, in a study has enumerated eight shocks that are hitting, or are soon going to hit, the global economy.

The Nepali Students’ Association’s Nepal Night included traditional dances, garments and foods.

ROME, MARCH 27, 2011 ( Zenit.org ).- A report recently published by Aid to the Church in Need gives a round-up of how Christians are being persecuted in many countries. In particular it looked at the very difficult conditions in the Middle Eastern countries.

TEHRAN, March 27-- A number of Iranian lawmakers criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council for adopting an anti-Iran resolution, local satellite Press TV reported on Sunday.

Tehran, March 25 (KCNA) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Thursday strongly condemned the recent insult to the Muslims' holy book in the U.S. state of Florida, and warned that the U.S. attempts to spread Islamophobia in the world.

Tehran, March 25 (KCNA) -- Iranian Air Force Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Chitforoush on Monday warned the enemies against their anti-Iran military actions.

The massive air raid "Operation Odyssey Dawn," led by the United States, United Kingdom and France, against Libya has brought the North African nation once again under the spotlight.

The beleaguered president sends troops to protest areas and promises to repeal a controversial law. But there are signs that the unrest puts a strain on his regime. Syrian President Bashar Assad tried to retain control of his protest-roiled nation on Sunday, sending troops to the site of recent clashes...

BEIJING, March 27-- About 100 days ago, a young Tunisian fruit peddler might have never expected that he had plunged the Middle East into a massive turmoil when he set himself ablaze in southern Tunis.

Celebrations for the International Day of Nowruz kicked off in Tehran Sunday in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the local satellite Press TV reported.

With Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria now all embroiled in rebellions, it is not an exaggeration to suggest that the authoritarian lid that has smothered freedom in the Arab world for centuries may be coming off all 350 million Arab peoples at once.

The U.S. is vulnerable to a cyber attack, with its electrical grids, pipelines, chemical plants and other infrastructure designed without security in mind. Some say not enough is being done to protect the country. When a large Southern California water system wanted to probe the vulnerabilities of its computer...

THOUSANDS of people were beheaded, poisoned or hanged in 23 countries around the world in 2010, according to the annual death penalty report published by Amnesty International.

Crikey readers have their say on cheap booze, the no carbon tax rally and intervention in Libya. Read more on the blog...

Computerworld - A solo Iranian hacker on Saturday claimed responsibility for stealing multiple SSL certificates belonging to some of the Web's biggest sites, including Google, Microsoft, Skype and Yahoo.

RUSSIAN coach Dick Advocaat was not worried about his side’s 0-0 draw away to Armenia on Saturday.

Washington - Worldwide executions dropped sharply in 2010 as abolishing the death penalty gained momentum, Amnesty International reported in its annual study.

Having written my fair share of speeches for secretaries of state and contributed to presidential ones, I'd love to hear President Obama give this speech tomorrow night.

Assessment is part of the group’s data-based report titled Death Sentences and Executions in 2010

Amnesty International says fewer people are being executed around the world, although figures for China are unknown.

During his five-day tour of Latin America, President Obama covered just about every hot-button topic - Libya, drug violence, immigration, trade - but not once did he publicly mention Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The omission stands in stark contrast to the danger that analysts say Mr. Chavez poses to U.

Oil traded below $106 a barrel in New York as concerns that European nations’ debt may cut demand overshadowed the threat of the Libyan conflict spreading in the Middle East and restricting crude supplies.

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

The dramatic revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya have acted as a catalyst for a broader Arab awakening that has fundamentally shaken the Middle East's political order. Se

Russia held in Armenia

The use of capital punishment around the world declined last year, according to Amnesty International.

The use of capital punishment around the world declined last year, Amnesty International has said. Related Stories Libyan rebels recapture oil ports Problems mount at nuclear plant Historic defeat for Merkel's party German voters deliver Merkel blow Nato to control Libya operation

Jerusalem - The Israeli Foreign Ministry asked Argentina to clarify reports over possible negotiations with Iran to stop the investigation of the 1992 and 1994 bombings of Jewish targets in Buenos Aires, in exchange for trade agreements.

The number of recorded executions globally has fallen, but there are concerns that China continues to impose more unrecorded death sentences than any other country.

Copyright 2011 LARZ F. NEILSON That’s my lifeboat!” said Capt. Woodrow Wilson. “I spent ten days in that thing!” He was pointing at a picture of sailors on the deck of the SS Coloradan, pulling on a line. In the background was a lifeboat.

AT LEAST 23 countries used the death penalty last year, some four more than the year before, according to a report out today from Amnesty International.

More than a year after US President Barack Obama ended a US boycott of the UN Human Rights Council, diplomats and observers feel Washington is making its mark.

Over one-third of the 121 manufacturing sectors tracked by a CII-Ascon survey projected a growth of above 20 per cent for fiscal 2010-11 despite the rise in interest cost and inflation.

Hackers presumed to be from Iran compromised internet security earlier this month, but it’s not a meltdown, as one analysis put it. Read more on the blog...

Netanyahu knows how to deal with the Palestinians. Managing Obama is the harder task.

OPINION/ANALYSIS: There's a relatively new collection of essays making its way around Washington circles asking a provocative question that, I'm sure, many have acted out in their own personal lives yet never really pondered what it meant - a book titled "Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think?"...

The Defence Force has launched an investigation after Australian soldiers serving in Afghanistan posted racist messages.

Syria is far more important to American interests than Libya

The murals were being sold as part of an asset liquidation process for a failed insurance company. The murals were being sold as part of an asset liquidation process for a failed insurance company.

Israel wants clarifications from Argentina over a report it offered Iran a deal: It would stop investigating bombings on Jewish centers there in the 1990s in exchange for better trade ties, an Israeli foreign ministry official said Sunday.

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, Secretary Gates, welcome back to Meet the Press.

In addition to being too slow, Obama failed to consult sufficiently with Congress and now is paying the price by the constant second-guessing from both Republicans and Democrats.

QUESTION: And joining me now in their first interview since the attacks on Libya began, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Madam and Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for joining us.

LONDON—Global use of the death penalty continues to decline even though China, Iran, North Korea, Yemen, United States and Saudi Arabia still execute thousands of people each year, Amnesty International said.

JERUSALEM - Israel wants clarifications from Argentina over a report it offered Iran a deal: It would stop investigating bombings on Jewish centres there in the 1990s in exchange for better trade ties, an Israeli foreign ministry official said Sunday.

A number of Iranian lawmakers criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council for adopting an anti-Iran resolution, Press TV reported Sunday. The Islamic Republic had denounced the act as a political move meant to divert attention from human rights abuses committed by the United States. A member of the National...

During a ceremony outside the city theatre in Tehran, huge dolls of Amoo Norouz and Naneh Sarma were unveiled. The colorful and cheerful dolls promptly got engaged in entertaining the spectators. -Ashraf Tabatabaei, Amir Hossein Ghazanfari

The City of Florence has awarded its 2010 human rights award to jailed Iranian human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Peruvian human rights activist, Fr. Mario Bartolini.

Whatever reverses we suffered, we've learnt the lessons: Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). —

President Barack Obama is being criticized for the aggressive air strikes against Libya, but the real political risk for him will come if, a year from now, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi still rules Libya.

Catherine Ashton, the EU chief of foreign policy, is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. -Zamaneh

As part of the 2011 Virginia Festival of the Book, John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of The Freedom Wars , led a discussion with David Swanson, author of War Is a Lie and Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency , and Bruce Fein, author of The...

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the U.S. would not intervene in Syria in the way it has in Libya.

NEW YORK — When the French actress Juliette Binoche won her only Oscar, in 1997, for "The English Patient,'' she recalls journalists asking if she was planning to move to the United States to carve out a bigger career in Hollywood. Her response: "No, I just want to go to...

Interview With Bob Schieffer of CBS's Face the Nation Interview Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Washington, DC March 27, 2011 QUESTION: Good morning again. And we are joined in the studio by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense. Madam Secretary, let...

The US and its Western allies are repeating "mistakes" by intervening in Libya, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday as he hosted regional leaders to celebrate the Persian new year.

More than 134 countries across the world, including the UK, are switching off their lights for an hour today to support action to create a sustainable future for the planet.

Bob Schieffer on how quick thinking prevented a tragedy when a gunman fired on the president 30 years ago

TEHRAN : Iran Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi sees no reason to call an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Country (Opec), Mehr news agency reported on Saturday. Mirkazemi is currently the head of the oil producers' association. "Before, prices were pushed up by political crises in certain countries...

VIENNA: Oil and gas group OMV has not renewed a fuel supply contract with Iran's state airline because of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic, an Austrian newspaper reported.

Ars Libri, a valued destination for art books in Boston, is heading for a new home

SINGAPORE: India and China's quest for clout and resources extends across the globe, but perhaps the best manifestation of this fierce competition, and possible sign of who will ultimately win, lies in a tale of two ports.

Qatar seized two Iranian boats carrying weapons in the northeast of Qatari waters near its sea-boundary with Bahrain. Qatar deployed forces in Bahrain alongside other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in support of that nations Sunni-minority Monarch.

Israel on Sunday stationed the first batteries of its "Iron Dome" short-range missile defence system in the south of the country, but stressed the initial deployment was experimental.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting Sunday reaffirmed that he will not retire in the near future following his team's exit from the World Cup and hoped to find form like that of Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad, facing the gravest crisis in his 11-year rule, deployed the army in Syria's main port of Latakia for the first time after nearly two weeks of protests spread across the country.

India's Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, on a two-day trip to Iran, Saturday called on Iranian President Ahmadinejad, an official statement here said.

South Korea has repatriated 27 North Korean nationals who drifted into South Korean waters on their fishing boat, the Red Cross announced. The boats crew totalled 31, but over North Korean objections, Seoul granted four members of the crew who wanted to stay asylum.

MANAMA, March 28 (Reuters) - Bahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition group Wefaq has accepted Kuwait as a mediator with Bahrain's government to end a political crisis gripping the tiny kingdom, a member of Wefaq said on Sunday.

Bahrain's largest Shia opposition group Wefaq has accepted Kuwait as a mediator with Bahrain's government to end a political crisis gripping the tiny kingdom.

Haifa Tombs "Pagan, Swine." Israel's antiquity authority says latest findings at controversial Andromeda Hill tombs in Haifa prove unequivocally graves at the site belong to pagan worshippers traditionally buried alonside swine.

Qatar, which has sea borders with Bahrain and Iran, has seized two Iranian boats in the Gulf carrying weapons, a Kuwaiti electronic newspaper reported on Sunday.

Syria today blamed unknown 'armed gangs' for the violence sweeping the country as it said that 12 people had been killed in town of Latakia over the weekend.

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria's government said Sunday that unknown gunmen firing from rooftops and prowling the streets of the Mediterranean city of Latakia are to blame for two days of violence that killed 12 people.

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A number of Iranian lawmakers have criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council for adopting an anti-Iran resolution.

A trip to the jungles during the dry season ensures rare sightings!

Organizers of the technical program at the American Chemical Society's 241st National Meeting & Exposition have identified these highlights from their own division or committee's presentations. The technical program is a journalistic treasure trove for spot news, features, story ideas, background, and sources for future coverage. It includes almost 9,400...

Syrian security forces have killed six people in two days of anti-government protests in the key port city of Latakia, reformist activists living abroad told Reuters on Saturday.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP): Syrian army units deployed in a seaside Mediterranean city rocked by protests and unrest, eyewitnesses and activists said Sunday.

Twelve people have been killed in violence rocking a seaside Mediterranean city in Syria. Related Stories Flights cancelled after Miami blaze Chavez solidarity for Syrian leader Gaddafi troops retreat from city Taliban 'snatched 50 Afghan police' State election test for Merkel

South By South West (SXSW) is now a week over. Imagine, 20000 people at a 5 day party in a two mile radius around the Austin Convention Center. Oh, and there are a few hundred panels, discussions and speaker sessions dealing with a mind-numbingly wide range of topics. The hearing...

Iran on Sunday hosted a Noruz (Persian New Year) summit attended by the presidents of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Iraq. The participants at the festival planted a tree as a symbol of peace and friendship.

BOSTON -- Geraldine Ferraro was a relatively obscure congresswoman from the New York City borough of Queens in 1984 when she was tapped by Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale to join his ticket.Her vice presidential bid, the first for a woman on a major party