News Archive - 1 June 2011

>TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliament said on Wednesday President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad acted illegally by declaring himself caretaker oil minister and referred the case to the judiciary, increasing pressure on him to quit the post. The legislature, which has repeatedly clashed with Ahmadinejad over key policy issues, voted to approve a...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's parliament voted on Wednesday in favor of taking Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to court over what lawmakers say is a violation of the country's constitution stemming from the president's move last month to declare himself caretaker oil minister. The vote in the conservative-dominated assembly is its latest...

>Haleh Sahabi, 54, herself an opposition activist and women's rights campaigner, had been allowed out of prison to attend the funeral of her father Ezatollah Sahabi. She fell to the ground in the scuffle and died of a cardiac arrest, Kaleme said.The semi-official Fars news agency confirmed Sahabi's death...

I have become a Facebook and Twitter addict. Today I went online to post a tweet/status about how happy I was to be picking up my son at the airport. My maternal glee transformed into sorrow and horror when I saw the news posted by the women's rights group...

He woke up naked on his bathroom floor. Hamid could hear police officials sifting through his ex-wife's jewelry boxes, emptying the drawers of his child's dresser and conducting an arbitrary search of his possessions. Like many gay Iranians, Hamid was pressured by his parents to marry a woman based...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - Western states are pressing ahead with a drive to report Syria to the U.N. Security Council over suspected nuclear activity, despite misgivings among some other countries and a last-ditch bid by Damascus to thwart the move. Next week the 35-nation governing board of the International Atomic...

> * Nearly 3 months of martial law ends on June 1 By Andrew Hammond MANAMA, June 1 (Reuters) - Bahraini Shi'ites say they have endured a reign of terror during 11 weeks of martial law imposed to break up a pro-democracy movement that for the first time threatened the...

> Alireza Janeh, head of security matters at the Tehran governor's office, said there were no clashes and that Haleh Sahabi, daughter of the deceased veteran dissident Ezatollah Sahabi, had died of heart problems exacerbated by stress and hot weather at his funeral. (Editing by Tim Pearce)...

>At a meeting with Egyptian academics, clerics and media representatives in Tehran, Ahmadinejad pushed his plan to rebuild links with Cairo after the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February."I proudly announce that we are ready to give all our experiences to the Egyptian nation ... if there is...

>BEIJING/SHANGHAI, June 2 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Thursday . Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL -- Six listed power companies, including Datang International Power Generation Co Ltd , GD Power Development...

The Ofer Brothers Group did not break any laws in the Iranian tank affair, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said on Wednesday, saying that he did not know of any boycott on Iran.

Syria’s crackdown on anti-government demonstrations reached Bushra’s street on the evening of May 11.

LONDON — America’s new cyber czar said Wednesday that international law and cooperation — not another treaty — was enough to tackle cybersecurity issues for now.

Vigilante hackers group "Anonymous" declared Wednesday an online attack against the International Monetary Fund over the strict conditions imposed by its bailout for Greece.

The Israel Defense Forces will ask the state to increase its defense budget significantly to contend with the growing terror threats in the region, Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said on Tuesday.

The UN atomic agency is voicing growing concern about possible military aspects of Iran's nuclear program and Western envoys believe it may firm up its suspicions later this year, adding to pressure on Tehran.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down to pave the way for democracy after an uprising against his rule showed he had lost legitimacy, the country's opposition in exile said on Wednesday

LA PAZ, Bolivia, June 1 (UPI) -- Bolivia's lucrative new relationship with oil-rich Iran have been thrown into jeopardy amid a developing row over the expulsion of a senior Tehran minister allegedly implicated in terrorism events in Argentina.

ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) - Syrian forces killed 41 civilians in an effort to crush pro-democracy protests, a human rights lawyer said on Wednesday, as opposition leaders met in Turkey to plot the downfall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

There was a time in Europe when people believed that getting into a professional career would interfere with a woman’s duty as a wife and mother. Now things have changed. The oldest living Nobel laureate and the first ever to reach the age of 102 is a woman and one...

>* Says Syria must take "clearer, more ambitious" stepsPARIS (Reuters) - France said on Wednesday that Syria's amnesty after a crackdown that killed hundreds of protesters had come too late and called for a more fundamental change in policy to deal with protests sweeping the country.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad...

> * Laughs off report of missile base, says it's a wind farm By Frank Jack Daniel CARACAS, May 31 (Reuters) - Venezuela will not take immediate action against the United States in response to sanctions on its oil company PDVSA, President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday after several days...

>CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Iranian national pleaded guilty in Chicago on Tuesday to federal charges of trying to illegally export missile parts and radio test sets from the United States to Iran. Under the terms of his plea deal, Davoud Baniameri, 38, who lived in Los Angeles, faces up to...

Democratically elected Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says an independent Palestinian state is only viable by means of resistance.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says an error made in announcing a code was the cause of delay for the passage of Angela Merkel's plane over Iran's airspace.

Western companies create 'spyware' used by Mideast nations to monitor rebellious activity planned via Skype Street Battles in Yemeni Capital Leave 41 Dead Syrian Troops Attack Town, 8 Dead

American University has ties to royal family, but critics say institution should address kingdom's human rights record.

Bolivia apologises to Argentina after a visit by Iran's Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi who is wanted by Buenos Aires over a 1994 bombing.

What is truth? According to Merriam-Webster, truth is defined as: fact, the body of real things, an idea that is true or accepted as true, and reality. What then is a journalist? A journalist is a writer who aims at a mass audience through the medium of journalism.

Iranian opposition activist Haleh Sahabi dies after scuffles with security forces at her father Ezatollah's funeral.