News Archive - 2 July 2011

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad sacked the governor of Hama province on Saturday, a day after tens of thousands of protesters massed in the provincial capital to demand the Syrian leader step down. The demonstration in Hama, scene of a bloody crackdown by Assad's father nearly 30 years ago,...

>MANAMA (Reuters) - Talks between Bahrain's opposition and pro-government groups began on Saturday, aimed at healing the deep rifts caused by protests earlier this year by majority Shi'ites that were stamped out by the Sunni rulers. The opposition has expressed skepticism over whether the national dialogue, decreed by King Hamad...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iran denied in a statement issued by its U.N. mission on Friday that two U.S. citizens detained on spying charges have been mistreated, saying they had consular contact and a visit from their families. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, together with Bauer's fiancee...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to pressure Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi out of power are succeeding, and there will not be stability in Libya until he steps down, U.S. national security adviser Tom Donilon said.

Months after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, the ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima compounds the humanitarian tragedy and impedes recovery. The damaged reactors and spent-fuel ponds contain around ten times as much nuclear fuel as did the Chernobyl reactor that exploded in 1986. In three reactors,...

Intellectually, I understand the Supreme Court's 7-2 decision that the First Amendment protects the ...

TEHRAN, July 2-- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi refuted the arms allegations made by U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates against the Islamic Republic of Iran as "baseless", the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has dismissed Washington's latest allegations against Iran as repeated lies.

He Guoqiang, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), arrived in the southern French coastal city of Nice on Saturday to begin a four-day official goodwill visit to France.

Indictments have been issued in the investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Four members of Hizballah are reportedly named in the case and the ...

A demonstrator shows a picture of former presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi during a rally in support of Mousavi in western Tehran, June 15, 2009.

I've noticed that the Fox viewership seems to be marked by a sort of collective personality disorder whereby the viewer feels almost as though they're in a secret society.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sepaktakraw is set to take off on a bigger scale with the introduction of two major world events.

NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN FIRST ROUND Home-and-home Winners advance Wednesday, June 15 Montserrat 2, Belize 5 Sunday, June 19 Belize vs. Montserrat, ppd., Belize suspended Saturday, July 2 Turks and Caicos Islands 0, Bahamas 4 Sunday, July 3 U.S. Virgin Islands vs. British Virgin Islands...

Hezbollah’s leader said he would never turn over four members indicted in the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The titles that win the Berlin Film Festival's top prize the Golden Bear are, by and large, pitilessly short on glamour. To be honest, they're not always that distinguished either. This year's winner, however, was very good indeed – but as spare and unembellished as kitchen-sink realism comes. Asghar Farhadi's...

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia are virtually assured of a place in the quarter-finals of the mixed team event at the Asian Junior badminton championships after Iran failed to show up for their match at Lucknow, India, yesterday.

Elite from the worlds of entertainment, royalty, government and business watched as Monaco's prince took a bride

A mid-day question and answer session at the Aspen Ideas Festival featured UK ambassador to the United States Nigel Sheinwald in a question and answer session with Nicholas Burns.

>The ban took effect on Friday. But the state Department of Corrections began emptying the death row cells in Pontiac in March. The prisoners have been evaluated and moved to other maximum security facilities throughout Illinois, department spokeswoman Stacey Solano said on Saturday."For us everything is already finished," Solano...

Talks between Bahrain's opposition and pro-government groups began on Saturday (local time), aimed at healing deep rifts opened when the state's Sunni rulers crushed protests led by the majority Shi'ites earlier this year.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah's leader vows never to give up four members indicted in 2005's PM assassination; Blames Israel for plot

President Bashar al-Assad sacked the governor of Hama province on Saturday, a day after tens of thousands of protesters massed in the provincial capital to demand the Syrian leader step down.

Follow Israel news on and . The country's military and political leaders were all in attendance Thursday at the graduation ceremony of the Israel Air Force's pilot training course, as dozens of pilots – including the air force's first religious female pilot – received their “wings.”

Off-the-field incidents are making as many headlines as the games in Germany. Major international soccer tournaments always produce all sorts of interesting sideshows and, one week into the Women's World Cup in Germany, the same is holding true.

Iran's defense minister says the country's missile development shows that U.N. sanctions are ineffective and won't hinder defense programs.

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Congress has been warned that the U.S. Navy was vulnerable to Iran's new anti-ship missiles. Copyrights 2008, Middle East Newsline.

MONACO (AP): Monaco's Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene promised each other love and fidelity in an extravagant religious wedding attended by international celebrities and royalty, bringing new allure to the tiny principality known for its luxurious casinos and as stomping ground for the rich and famous.

wsj.com: TEHRAN--Iran's elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has transferred lethal new munitions to its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent months, according to senior U.S. officials, in a bid to accelerate the U.S. withdrawals from these countries. The Revolutionary Guard has smuggled...

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) – Majlis Defense Committee Chairman Gholamreza Karami has said Iran will destroy all U.S. military bases in the region if the U.S. makes any hostile move against Iran.

Two Swiss tourists have been kidnapped in Pakistan's southwest Baluchistan province, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Saturday.

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) -- The Iranian documentary “A Crime in Silence” will go on screen at the 16th Sole Luna Festival, which will be held from July 4 to 10 in Palermo, Italy.

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) – Iran’s domestically-manufactured Ghadir radar system was tested for the first time to detect missiles fired during the Great Prophet Muhammad 6 war game, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said.

1456 GMT: France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived, without his pregnant wife Carla Bruni. The cameras have all focused on His Excellency Monsignor Bernard Barsi, Archbishop for Monaco. It looks like the ceremony's about to begin.

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that all illegal border checkpoints must be closed.

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) -- The Iranian puppet show “The Moon Pieces are Raining like Feathers” directed by Maryam Moini will be on stage at the Golden Dolphin International Puppet Festival in Varna, Bulgaria.

Borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan to be closed to prevent drug smuggling and infiltration of armed groups. -AFP

I don't think a country can be too interdependent because if the United States is, then the whole world is. Our economic systems rely on each other so that means if we are in a recession right now, then the whole world is in one.

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) – Army Commander Ahmadreza Pourdastan has said that the Iranian Army is adequately prepared to counter any possible cyber threats against the Islamic Republic.

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) -- Thousands of nuclear warheads possessed by the United States and certain other countries is the main cause of concern appertaining to global security, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency said in Berlin on Friday.

TEHRAN, 2 JULY, 2011: Over 7 tonnes of different types of illicit drugs discovered and seized from drug-traffickers in various operations were set on fire in Iran's Southeastern province of Kerman, a provincial police chief announced.

Tehran -- Iran has dismissed U.S. claims that Tehran has smuggled weapons to Iraq and Afghanistan. The semi-official Fars news agency quotes Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying "the ridiculous and repeated lies of the Americans are aimed at justifying their own errors."

A woman wearing a full veil like the burka or the niqab. MONTREAL -- As a devout Muslim who wore a hijab, or head scarf, Miriam Abushaban was used to having strangers tell her: "Go back to your own country."

Bolivian President Evo Morales is apologizing to the Jewish community in neighboring Argentina for having hosted the Iranian defense minister last month.

QUETTA, July 2, 2011 (AFP) - Pakistan has launched a search operation and engaged tribal elders to help secure the release of a Swiss couple abducted in the insurgency-hit southwest, officials said Saturday.

Saudi Arabia urged to leverage IDB membership

Timothy Shaw: People go without health care as insurance CEOs make massive salaries

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has underscored the importance of closing 'all' illegal border points to stem the smuggling of commodities and foreign exchanges.

Bhutan team at the training session in Bangkok, Thailand U-19 Challenge Cup 2 July, 2011 - Bhutan will play China at the Penang Sports Club ground in their first match of the U-19 Challenge Cup to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from tomorrow.

Israel, Greece, Turkey join hands to stall Gaza flotilla. Palestinian UN move next DEBKA file Exclusive Report July 2, 2011, 11:50 AM (GMT+02:00)

The Iranian military has reportedly smuggled new deadly munitions to its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the strategy of auto industry development in the 2025 perspective, at least 50 percent of products portfolio have been planned to be allocated to domestic brands.

WASHINGTON — June was the deadliest month in nearly a year for U.S. service members in Afghanistan and Iraq even as the United States said that improved security in both countries allows it to reduce troops in those war zones.