News Archive - 6 July 2011

> * Says supporting Saudi Arabia in Germany's interests By Eric Kelsey BERLIN, July 6 (Reuters) - A German minister defended on Wednesday arms exports to Saudi Arabia because he said they strengthened the Gulf country's ability defence against Iran, as Berlin came under fire over a controversial tank deal.

>ROME (Reuters) - The leader of an exiled Iranian opposition group rejected a U.S. proposal to move the residents of a dissident camp in Iraq to a new location following deadly clashes in April, saying the plan would lead to a "massacre." The settlement known as Camp Ashraf,...

>TEHRAN (Reuters) - Leafing through an old family photo album, 74-year-old Molook Amini wished she could afford to buy a gold coin as a wedding gift for her youngest grandchild as did for others. "It was always a tradition to give gold coins to close family members on special occasions.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 7 (UPI) -- Pakistani military officials got bribes from North Korea for access to sensitive nuclear technology, A.Q. Khan, founder of Pakistan's nuclear industry, claims.

Experience has shown that Western democracies often have difficulty dealing with dictators. We suggest a simple formula:

THE founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program claims that North Korean officials paid kickbacks to senior Pakistani military officers in exchange for critical nuclear technology.

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (Reuters) - Dr. Mahathir Mohamad sits at a vast desk cluttered with work, hands clasped before him and looking at his visitors with a slight smile.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is engaged in an unusually public fight with the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Philippines dodged an early bullet Wednesday, avoiding tough groups with highly-ranked opponents at the 26th FIBA Asia Championship that will be held in Wuhan, China from September 15-25 this year.

WASHINGTON - The founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program claims that in the late 1990s North Korean officials paid kickbacks to senior Pakistani military figures in exchange for critical weapons technology.

Yale just announced a new program for studying anti-Semitism, just weeks after it shut an earlier version that called attention to manifestations of Muslim Jew-hatred. The program will let Yale claim that it considers the subject important. Alas, the replacement might only make a bad situation worse. And it won...

Stepping into the gardens of the Shrine of Bab is like entering a hallucination. They rise in steps all the way up the mountainside above Haifa's downtown, and at the midway point, at mid-morning, the clear light off the Mediterranean combines with the precise efforts of 150 gardeners to achieve...

The Associated Press The Associated Press LOS ANGELES One of three defendants involved in a scheme to illegally ship specialized vacuum pump equipment with potential nuclear applications to Iran has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. Prosecutors said Jirair Avanessian, owner and operator of a Glendale company called...

ORAM Executive Director Neil Grungras spoke of the challenges many refugees face at a recent gathering in San Francisco. (Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland)

BOGOTA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear chief said on Wednesday that he planned to meet with Iran's foreign minister next week and that he was "quite concerned" over plans by Tehran to triple uranium production capacity.

An Iranian short range "Tondar" missile is launched during a war game at an undisclosed location in Iran in this undated handout photo released July 6, 2011. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday it successfully test-fired two kinds of "modern, smart and radar-evading" missiles, local Fars news...

International education: Part one of a two-part series that looks at SD79's hotly debated program

Past and present coaches of the national basketball team believe that for SMART-Gilas Pilipinas, being bracketed with China in the FIBA-Asia Championship for Men in September is a good thing.

Don't look now, but the real action in Washington this week isn't the parti san wrangling over the debt ceiling but something -- literally -- even more incendiary: Operation Fast and Furious, which seems about to explode right in the face of Attorney General Eric Holder -- and...

For all the talk among pundits of Mitt Romney’s charisma problem, Romney’s Jewish supporters say what’s most inspiring about the Republican presidential candidate is that he actually does rather than just talk.

Persecution of Religious Minorities in Iran Press Statement Victoria Nuland Department Spokesperson , Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC July 6, 2011 We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Youcef Nadarkhani to recant his Christian faith or face the death penalty for apostasy – a charge based...

Whereabouts of man Israeli authorities called a ‘senior Hezbollah fighter’ unclear

LOS ANGELES - One of three defendants involved in a conspiracy to illegally ship specialized vacuum pump equipment with potential nuclear applications to Iran was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison.

The Obama administration is having a hard time finding any more sand to place its head in when it comes to evolving events in Syria.

OTTAWA – They arrive at the clinic terrified, desperate and in secret – they need to be made virgins again. Some Canadian women who are arranged to be married in Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Egypt are getting their hymens surgically repaired at private clinics.

As congressmen old and new shuffle back to Washington following the holiday season and new Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, John Boehner, receives the gavel from Nancy Pelosi, now is a good time to examine what Israel can expect from Washington in the coming year.

Sometimes it takes an outrageous comment from a foreign leader to remind Americans of how advanced our capacity for empathy has become. To many in the West, it may come as a surprise that Iranian President (and, for all purposes, dictator) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has angered many of the country's powers-that-be...

In the power game that is being played by India, China and the USA over Sri Lanka, Norways interests are insignificantly few. There is no reason for Norway to maintain deafening silence over the need for an international tribunal on the war crimes that took place in the island. The...

Automobile exports for Chery Auto, the country's largest domestic carmarker, surged by 105.9 percent year-on-year to hit 16,500 units in June, setting a monthly export record since the 2008 global financial crisis, company sources said Wednesday.

The Muslim Brotherhood has recently captured American headlines with the recent Egyptian revolution that began on January 25th of this year. There are many stories and perceptions that surround this organization. Some are true, however, many are false.

As any stoner who’s polished off an epic portion of late-night mac and cheese will tell you, marijuana can give you the munchies—so much so that pot is prescribed to stimulate the appetites of patients with AIDS-wasting syndrome and terminal cancer. Forget the dispensary: Now, scientists are unraveling the body’s...

BERLIN HAS come under fire for reportedly green-lighting the multibillion-dollar sale of tanks to Saudi Arabia, denying it marks a shift in restrictive rules for German arms exports.

PETALING JAYA: Development is not just about producing champion athletes but also coaches of good calibre.

Fifteen Americans were killed in June, the deadliest month for U.S. personnel serving in Iraq in more than two years. And some say Iranian influence is showing up more and more in attacks on troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Alan Rodger was one of the original 12 members of the UK Supreme Court and had recently been caught up in a row over the Court's authority in Scottish criminal affairs. Widely regarded as one of the finest legal minds of his generation, Rodger, an Oxford academic and former Lord...

Iran’s economic prospects don’t depend on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s fate.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said plans to segregate male and female students at Iranian universities must be halted, drawing another battle line in his ongoing tussle wi

DETROIT - A Lebanese-born Canadian man on the FBI's most wanted list of terror suspects is accused of using a fake passport in an attempt to enter Israel and conduct a bombing on behalf of the Islamic militant group Hezbollah, according to an indictment unsealed in U.S. federal court...

Ahmed Ezz El-Arab, a vice chairman of Egypt’s liberal Wafd party, also said that the September 11 terrorist attacks were “made in the USA.” He gave the interview to The Washington Times while in Hungary for the Conference of Democracy and Human Rights, which was convened on June 28.

Bahrain’s opposition Wednesday cast doubt on the success of a national dialogue for reforms in the Gulf kingdom as Bahrain sentenced one of its citizens and two foreigners to 10 years in prison for spying for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards...

Many of the screenings that are part of this year's Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival hit political hot buttons. Many of the screenings that are part of this year's Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival hit political hot buttons.

Sanctions on Iran are aimed at hampering its nuclear program, but ordinary people both rich and poor are getting caught in their tightening net.

Not a single Senate Democrat quizzed the president.

Hugo Chavez's health saga has had ups and downs, but specially has born the trademark of the Cold War era. After 24 days of absence he arrived in Caracas under total secrecy. But what exactly is wrong with Chavez?

# appoftheday You know Barack. You know W. Qaddafi, Ahmadinejad, Berluscoli, Wen Jiabao. They're leaders of the world. In POWER Platon, a portrait book iPad app about the world's leaders, you get to see them closer than ever. More »

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, July 7 (PNA) -- More than 20 local and international teams will be competing in the upcoming second leg of the PALS paintball competition from July 8 to 10 at the CDC parade grounds of this bustling Freeport.

The American Jewish Committee acquired LEED certification for its headquarters. It hopes to to help decrease American dependence on Arab oil.

I was the 13th juror: What's wrong with me? And us?

The attitude of Western states, led by the United States of America, to recent events in Syria is eerily reminiscent of the build-up to the second Iraq War of 2003 and the US-led invasion of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. The media frenzy about deaths, demonstrations and refugees, and the remarkable ‘discovery’...

BAGHDAD, July 6 (UPI) -- Iran and Iraq signed agreements on taxes, culture, technology, communications and medical equipment in Baghdad Wednesday.

Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Libya have had their turn; now Syria occupies centre stage. More than 1,000 people have been killed in recent fighting, while hundreds of thousands still risk their lives challenging the regime.

One of Washington's key policy tenets since the 1991 collapse of Communism has been to pry out from under Moscow's control as much of the energy assets of the post-Soviet space as

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards yesterday launched several anti-ship missiles near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the country’s Arabic-language television channel Al Alam reported.

Baghdad and Tehran pledged yesterday to strengthen ties and put the past behind them, even as Washington accuses Iran of supplying new and more lethal weapons to anti-US militias.

"This book is very different from the previous three," he said of his current adventure spy novel, "The Persian Caper." Burke said he based it on his experiences living in the Middle East and on current news stories.

With protests raging throughout the country, the Syrian government is responding with deadly force. Citizens seeking freedom are relying on digital tools to organize and communicate -- so much so that the government temporarily shut off Internet access.

Agencies/Tehran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday plans to segregate male and female students at Iranian universities must be halted, drawing another battle line in his ongoing tussle with traditionalist rivals.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered an immediate end to the segregation between men and women at several universities in Iran.

Iran`s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission on Wednesday announced plans to try 26 United States officials in absentia and file lawsuits against them at international bodies, the Fars news agency reported. "The Islamic Republic has earlier lodged complaints with international circles against the crimes committed by certain U.S.

Iran is "stealing bases" while the world is preoccupied with other matters, said Israel's U.S. ambassador, Michael Oren.

By James Dolan Military leaders determine how and where to fight wars not if and when to fight them. The reason is obvious: Warfare is the culmination of a military career. It is only common sense to acknowledge that someone who has spent his entire career studying and practicing the...

Alasdair Thompson has a supporter in Parliament.

Police on high alert at Ben Gurion airport for fly-in pro-Palestinian activists from Europe let a handful enter under surveillance.

Almost every movie set in the Sahara Desert uses some version of a scene where the actors are threatened by a fast moving, on-coming wall of sand driven by high winds. Such a storm is known as a haboob. Movies portray the storm as capable of burying a camel caravan...

Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour has promised to help clarify the fate of four Iranian diplomats who were abducted 29 years ago in Lebanon.

Follow Israel news on and . A Bahrain court sentenced Wednesday one of its citizens and two Iranians to 10 years in prison for spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday announced that the second and last test on three radar-evading missiles was successfully completed, the Fars news agency reported. The recent missile drills codenamed Payambar-e Azam 6 (The Great Messenger) were a success after mobile naval targets in international waters were hit...

TEHRAN, July 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama should set an example and put his predecessor on trial, the chairman of the Iranian Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.

Iraqi authorities uncovered a mass grave with 900 corpses near the central city of Diwaniyah on Wednesday, believed to be Kurds killed during the rule of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, an official said.

Cisco Systems is helping the Chinese government build a massive surveillance system that will include more than 500,000 cameras. The Wall Street Journal reported that the “Peaceful Chongqing” project gets around US restrictions on US companies helping repressive foreign governments … Continue reading → Cisco Criticized for China Surveillance Project...

Officials said the mullah regime in Teheran has launched a campaign of destabilizing Iraq amid the last stage of the U.S. military withdrawal.

As much a symbol as it is a vehicle, the massive white spaceplane poised on the pad at Kennedy Space Center for one last launch has made the United States the world leader in space for three decades.

IRAN: The agreement came during a meeting between Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad-Ali Fathollahi and India’s visiting Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

FAISALABAD : Senator Javaid Ashraf Qazi, the member Standing Committee of Senate for Textile Industry, said Iran and Turkmenistan gas supply projects would help overcome gas crisis.

A mass grave containing the remains of 900 people, believed to be Kurds killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule, has been found in Iraq.

> * Foreign Minister Davutoglu stays in the job * Egemen Bagis to head newly created EU ministry (Adds quotes, market reaction, byline) By Pinar Aydinli ANKARA, July 6 (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a new cabinet on Wednesday, retaining Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek to manage the...

> Azeri security forces arrested most of the men in late 2007 in a sting operation during which they uncovered an arms cache that included machine guns, pistols, hand-grenades and explosives. The group was accused of possessing illegal weapons, creating an armed group, weapons trading, crossing borders and resisting law...

>RAS AL-KHAIMAH, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) - Driving north from Dubai, the gleaming glass-and-chrome skyscrapers fade away and in their place are low-rise, dusty concrete buildings that few visitors to the United Arab Emirates would expect to see. Long reliant on richer Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the five northern emirates...

BAGHDAD: Baghdad and Tehran pledged on Wednesday to strengthen ties and put the past behind them, even as Washington accuses Iran of supplying new and more lethal weapons to anti-US militias.

Sadegh Tirafkan was born in Karbala, Iraq to Iranian parents in 1965, and like all Iranian families in Iraq at that time, they were expelled by Saddam Hussein in 1971. So they fled to Iran just before the Islamic revolution. From 15 to 18, Tirafkan became a member of the...

BAGHDAD and Tehran pledge to strengthen ties as US accuses Iran of supplying lethal weapons to anti-US militias.

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Stagnant peacemaking with the Palestinians has not stopped a blossoming of Israel's relations with Balkan states focused on liberalizing their societies and economies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday.

DUBAI: Bahrain’s opposition said on Wednesday the first session of a national dialogue for reforms in the Gulf island kingdom raised questions over whether talks aimed at easing tensions after unrest this year can succeed.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday plans to segregate male and female students at Iranian universities must be halted, drawing another battle line in his ongoing tussle with traditionalist rivals.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, blamed the West for being behind the secession of South Sudan which will be formally proclaimed within less than a week.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25 at Wuhan, China. [via] Draw Ceremony schedule: Manila time: July 6, 8:00pm; GMT +8 visit www.fibaasia.net for Latest Updates GROUP A Lebanon, Malaysia, South Korea, Middle Asia 1...

Top Cebuano rider Jon-Jon Adlawan gets ready for the third round of the FIM Asia Motocross Championship set on July 15 and 16 in Kuala Terannganu, Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR: KL Hoisan edged Union United 5-4 in an ill-tempered final at the OCM Arena to win the inaugural Kuala Lumpur Youth Handball Championships recently.

TEHRAN, Jul 06, 2011 (AFP) - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday ordered the immediate cancellation of plans to segregate sexes at some universities, blasting the move as "shallow and unwise," his website reported.

Contact: Kenneth Bandler, +1-212-891-6771

Bahrain has sentenced one of its citizens and two foreigners to 10 years in prison for spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guards. -AFP

BAGHDAD — Anti-US Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said Wednesday that his movement would not accept countrymen who had worked with “the Americans,” unless they had genuinely repented.

Saudi Arabia will continue bilateral talks with Iran on normalization of relations between the two West Asian countries.

TEHRAN — Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday launched several anti-ship missiles near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the country’s Arabic-language television channel Al-Alam reported.

source: June Navarro | inquirer.net UPDATE: 26th FIBA Asia Championship Draw Results (click here) Smart Gilas Pilipinas is hoping for what its coach says is a “good draw” when the composition of the four groups for the preliminaries of the 26th Fiba Asia Championship is decided today in Wuhan,...

A senior Iranian military commander says US President Barack Obama should be the pioneer of putting his predecessor George W. Bush on trial.

A very quiet summit recently took place at a North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO) base in Molesworth, in the United Kingdom.

With the expansion of the Islamic communities across the globe, Islamic banking and takaful insurance are already playing vital roles in today's global financial village.

Rarely have the leaders of the Arab world – its rulers, opposition activists, intellectuals, economic planners, bankers, major businessmen -- faced so many challenges as in this summer of 2011. Everything is changing before their eyes, both inside Arab societies and in the world outside.

 Editor’s Note: Veteran global correspondent Frank Viviano says a U.S. and European pull out from Afghanistan could trigger new killing fields—and a global catastrophe. BARGA, Italy--My head tells me it’s time to leave. But my heart, for reasons grounded in...