News Archive - 7 July 2011

>LOS ANGELES (TheWrap) - Honest, delicate portrayals of family and twisted, explicit sexual obsessions will pepper the 29th annual Outfest film festival, opening Thursday night at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The oldest continuously running film festival in Los Angeles, the 11-day Outfest 2011 will kick off with...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An ancient bead necklace, terra cotta tablets from ancient Babylonia depicting Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, and posters of deposed leader Saddam Hussein were among artifacts that U.S. officials returned to the Iraqi government on Thursday. The repatriation of the relics -- some as...

>CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab governments were swift to condemn Libya's Muammar Gaddafi in February when he tried to crush a popular uprising with machineguns and heavy artillery. Now, as Syria's Bashar al-Assad uses tanks and live bullets to smash a wave of street protests, the relative silence from Arab capitals...

After the UN Human Rights Council’s Palestine expert denied and then admitted that he published a “strongly anti-Semitic” cartoon, UN Watch called on UN rights chief Navi Pillay to lead efforts to fire him.

A Jewish rabbi insists that Zionism is a political movement that does not reflect the Jewish religion but rather serves as an embarrassment to Jewish people and the religion in general.

The United States and Iraq are negotiating a possible new security deal that would keep US forces in the country beyond a December 31 deadline for withdrawal, the top US military officer said.

"We believe that countries of the region could see economic boom in the region," MFA spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

New Delhi, Jul 7: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao today ended her three-day visit to Tehran where she had gone for the 9th round of Foreign Office Consultations at the invitation of her Iranian counterpart Dr Mohammad Ali Fathollahi.

Only a few months ago, Khairat El- shater was languishing in an Egyptian prison, put there by the Hosni Mubarak regime. Many of his businesses were shuttered.

Jirair Avanessian was accused of violating a trade embargo and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Syria has charged the United States with meddling in its internal affairs and inciting unrest by dispatching its ambassador to the restive city of Hama without coordination with Syrian authorities.

Panaji, Jul 7 : With an objective to woo the tourists during the monsoon season, the Goa Tourism Department (GTD) today unveiled an ad film featuring Indian and Russian beauties who are shown travelling to the state's different tourist attractions.

Hey, Turkey and Israel, can't we all get along? One thing's for sure: The United Nations isn't making that any easier. Even as Ankara and Jerusalem are trying to get over several years of hostilities, the United Nations is due to issue an explosive report on last...

Did Pakistan's Army Sell Nukes to North Korea?

The World Bank projects that the country's current account surplus this year will narrow, partly as a result the increasing trade deficit and the projected slowdown of deployment of overseas Filipino workers.

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 Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Thursday called on Saudi Arabia to pull out its forces from Bahrain, the local Mehr news agency reported.

As Canadian combat forces pull out, with the U.S. to follow, soldiers in Panjwaii doubt they can hold off the Taliban unaided.

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2011 (AFP) - The architect of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program claims North Korea paid bribes to senior Pakistani military officials in return for nuclear secrets in the 1990s, the Washington Post said Wednesday.

World Digest: Baghdad bombing kills 2 American soldiers; Mexico extend search for 7 missing U.S. tourists

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has praised Iranian weightlifters after they finished first in the 37th World Junior Weightlifting Championships in Malaysia.

A roadside bomb killed two U.S. soldiers Thursday outside the main American base in Baghdad.

Animated: A Film Festival, Global Lens Series, 'Dirty Pretty Things,' 'Bloodied But Unbowed,'

Lending at the IMF increased 10 times under Dominique Strauss-Kahn. To borrowers who can't pay it back, such as Greece and Portugal. Meanwhile, under Ben Bernanke, America's central bank, has taken the same approach. Got a problem? Lend it more money!

In my most recent book, "The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East," I argued that civil societies in the Greater Middle East and Arab world had reached a critical stage in their repudiation of all authoritarian forms of government: regime, theocracy, military and ultra-nationalist.

Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt ISI boss General Pasha said that when he met CIA boss in Washington, Leon Panetta was insulting (bad-tameezi ki) towards him after which he insulted Panetta in return. Pasha told him that the Bog Boss for him was Allah alone.

SERIOUS MONEY:BLACK GOLD has been headline news all year as strong global demand and supply disruptions emanating in war-torn Libya coalesced to send the price of a barrel of Brent crude up by more than $30 from its low in early-January to a 2½ year high of $127 in early...

Despite pleas from the Obama administration to delay the execution of Mexican national Humberto Leal in Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt the proceedings on Thursday.

I will mark my return to blogging with the writing equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. So I read this post on Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish, guest written by a man named Bruce Bawer. It is quite dumb. The basic premise of the post is that gays in Pakistan...

JORGE David Arroyo Valdez of Ecuador clinched the country's first three gold medals in the junior men's 105kg category on the final day of the World Junior Weightlifting Championship at Penang International Sports Arena yesterday.

There is no way of knowing how many hymen-repair surgeries are happening in Canada, but at least four plastic surgery clinics specialize in them.

On June 28, Iran 's rulers test-fired 14 ballistic missiles, including long- and medium-range Shahab missiles and short-range Zelzal missiles. Also, their new and improved centrifuges are turning out more enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

KOBE: Mahboob Ali Hasan Mahbood pulled ahead of Bilsuma Gelassa on the last lap yesterday to win the men’s 10,000m on the opening day of the Asian athletics championships.

Canada called on the Iranian judiciary to respect human rights Thursday after reports that a man may be sentenced to death for his religious beliefs.

Leading Britain through 10 years of reforms was rather easy compared to Tony Blair's current task. As the Middle East envoy of the Quartet -- U.N., E.U., U.S., Russia -- Blair is the international community's point man in the volatile region.

The Wandering Falcon's opening chapter appeared in a collection of essays and short stories on Pakistan last year, marking Jamil Ahmad's debut as a fiction writer. "The Sins of the Mother" dramatised a tribal honour killing and was written with such a terrible beauty that its author became Penguin's bright...

Iran is stepping up its support for Shiite militants in Iraq, supplying them with more sophisticated weapons, the top US military officer said Thursday.

Cert PG, 123mins ★★★★

The country doesn't have to end the space shuttle program, says a former astronaut who grew up in Bucks County.

Iran is exporting oil to India, despite receiving no payment for months, to protect its market share from price-cutting competitors such as Saudi Arabia, its OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said Thursday.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has met senior Iraqi clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, during his official visit to the country.

A top Israeli official said he was unaware of a disputed German deal to sell hundreds of tanks to Saudi Arabia but had complete confidence in the German government, in an interview published Thursday.

Iran is directly supporting extremist Shi'ite groups that are killing US troops in Iraq and any agreement to keep American forces there beyond the end of the year would have to address the problem, the top US military officer said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON — Iran is sending Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq the most lethal weapons it's ever provided them, aimed at killing American troops there, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was under pressure last night to address reports that the country's security council had approved the sale of 200 tanks to Saudi Arabia, after a Green MP suggested bribes "could have played a role" in the decision.

Even amongst the proponents of interventionism and its theorists, a full-scale invasion of Iran is far from popular, yet the limited effectiveness of air strikes, either American or Israeli, has been widely acknowledged.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is a breath of fresh air after the long-serving and vituperative Mahathir Mohamad, who retired in late 2003. Abdullah promotes a tolerant, progressive approach to religion that he calls "Islam Hadhari" (civilizational Islam). He is publicly committed to fighting corruption and reining in costly mega-projects, though...

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Bahrain has sentenced a convicted spy for Iran to 10 years. Copyrights 2008, Middle East Newsline. All rights reserved.

• North Korea paid senior figures $3.5m, letter claims • AQ Khan 'wants to set the historical record straight' The story of the world's worst case of nuclear smuggling took a new twist on Thursday when documents surfaced appearing to implicate two former Pakistani generals in the sale of...

The reported rise in executions described by human rights groups seems designed to crack down on the civil unrest Factional infighting, paranoia, economic ineptitude and deepening confrontation with the west have characterised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 's leadership of Iran. But a second-term presidency launched amid bloodily suppressed protests in 2009 now...

Rising living costs and a surging Australian dollar mean it is now more expensive to live in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth than in London, Vienna, Rome or New York.

Two people a day executed by Islamic regime in first half of 2011 Iran has executed an average of almost two people a day in the first six months of this year, human rights groups have warned. The sharp escalation in the use of capital punishment comes at a time...

The Iranian submarine Yunis returned to Tehran after a 66-day mission in international waters - mostly in the Red Sea. The Yunis accompanied Iran's 14th Fleet, comprised of the Naqdi destroyer and Bandar Abbas warship, on a mission that took it to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Follow Israel news on and . The Yunis accompanied Iran's 14th Fleet, comprised of the Naqdi destroyer and Bandar Abbas warship, on a mission that took it to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Palestinians Thursday open fire from Gaza on an Israeli border patrol near Ain Hashlosha, injuring a soldier • Farmers in the area advised to leave their fields and take cover • Israeli-Turkish talks end in New York without agreement on UN flotilla report • Publication postponed without new date •...

Ukraine ranks as one of the world’s five worst economies, according to a senior editor at Forbes, the popular American business magazine.

Ben Affleck denies that he lost thousands of dollars while taking part in a high-stakes poker ring.

WASHINGTON — Weapons flowing from Iran into Iraq are becoming more lethal and sophisticated, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday as Washington and Baghdad negotiate over whether American troops will remain in the country beyond the end of the year.

Iraq's elected leaders are moving toward clerical rule while in Iran a leading Shiite cleric, who advocates secular rule, suffers in prison.

A Decisive Record: The CTBT seeks to outlaw explosive tests of nuclear weapons. U.S. ratification of the CTBT would jeopardize vital national security interests by undermining the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

Iran has executed an average of almost two people a day in the first six months of this year, human rights groups have warned.

(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES) FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: In 2008, President Obama promised over and over again to get all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. After winning the presidency, he vowed to keep that promise. Now as that deadline for military withdrawal from Iraq...

WASHINGTON - A former managing director of a Chinese company appeared in a U.S. court Thursday on charges that she secretly exported hundreds of gallons of paint coatings to a nuclear power plant in Pakistan.

Agustina Woodgate is an Argentine artist living in Miami whose work includes everything from doormats to produce-sticker collages to giant rugs made of stuffed-animal "hides." When she's not doing all that, Woodgate also finds the time to go "poetry bombing" around Miami thrift stores. Using her deft hands and...

WASHINGTON -- The United States is negotiating with Iraq to extend the U.S. military presence, as the number deadly attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq by militiamen trained and armed by Iran is on the rise. Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said...

The Guardian : Iran has executed an average of almost two people a day in the first six months of this year, human rights groups have warned. The sharp escalation in the use of capital punishment comes at a time when the Islamic regime is fighting to prevent pro-democracy...

>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - As the smallest of the world's big four oilfield services players, Weatherford International (WFT.N) always seems to have something to prove. That's especially true now, with its stock suffering since a $500 million accounting error unearthed this year only added to the uncertainty of a...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Lawyers for a New York Times reporter argued Thursday that the First Amendment should shield him from having to testify about his sources when prosecutors put a former CIA officer on trial for allegedly leaking classified information about Iran.

The Republicans are stalling on closing a tax loophole that favours the super rich.

Iran is maintaining its oil exports to India, despite receiving no payment for them for months, as that is the price it must pay to maintain market share, its Opec governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said in an interview on Thursday.

The letter is said to have been written to Abdul Qadeer Khan by Jon Byong Ho, a North Korean who American intelligence has long put at the center of the country’s trade in nuclear technologies.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi says the Islamic Republic and Iraq have agreed to increase the volume of their bilateral trade to $20 billion in the near future.

Israel’s military intelligence chief says Iran has deepened its influence over the Middle East and is actively intervening in Egypt ahead of planned September elections there.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran is directly supporting extremist Shi'ite groups that are killing U.S. troops in Iraq and any agreement to keep American forces there beyond the end of the year would have to address the problem, the top U.S. military officer said on Thursday.

ABU DHABI — Bahrain has sentenced a convicted spy for Iran to 10 years.

CARACAS (Reuters) - When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was briefly deposed in a 2002 coup, it was Cuban leader Fidel Castro who roused foreign ambassadors to lobby for his return and helped organize his rescue by loyal troops.

Iran's Asian discus throw record-holder Ehsan Haddadi has won the country's first gold medal on the opening day of the 19th Asian Athletic Championships in Japan.

Faouzi Ayoub, 44, faces one count of passport fraud, according to the August 2009 indictment that was only unsealed in U.S. District Court in Detroit within the past week.

HERE we go again. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a United Nations-backed body investigating the killing of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005, has accused four people of his murder.

A weekly column by Mel Wilde

KOBE, Japan (AFP) - Bahrain secured first and second places in the both men's and women's 10,000-metres on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships on Thursday.

Charged with conspiracy to import heroin

In Global Brief magazine's Strategic Futures segment recently published, experts and pundits were asked, what will be the key language(s) of this new century? Opinions were offered on why Chinese, Russian, French, Arabic, and Persian could be the lingua franca of the 21st century. Persian! ('Persian' is the correct...

The national security calculus of keeping U.S. forces in Afghanistan has shifted. Any gains that we made from keeping 100,000 American soldiers in harm's way are now questionable, especially since al Qaeda has been dealt a significant blow with the killing of Osama bin Laden. President Obama's decision...

British forces battle Taliban in Helmand province. But should they still be there? Photo: Getty Images.

The 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report features an increased focus on forced labor, and this is to be commended -- one step forward. However, it still falls quite short of expectations -- there are at least two steps back.

Brian Doyle is the sort who could throw a dart at a world map and be happy to head to wherever it landed. His wife Judy… not so much.

Amidst the gloom caused by doping scandal, some good news for Indian athletics came Thursday as Mayookha Johny won the women's long jump gold on the opening day of 19th Asian Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan.

It is no secret that Egypt has put all its faith in the US and Western international institutions since the days of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, contracting a huge foreign debt, a process that was increasingly corrupt, despite being careful watched over by those very agencies.

A 59-year-old Glendale man was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison for his role in shipping vacuum pump equipment that could be used in nuclear projects to Iran.

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.

First, there was the undetectable, ship-killing flying boat. Next, a brand-new jet fighter equal to the U.S. F/A-18. After that, a stealth fighter capable of striking Israel. Then a killer drone nicknamed the “ambassador of death.” Iran’s got a long history of developing homegrown weapons. Now we can...

They arrive at the clinic terrified, desperate and in secret – they need to be made virgins again.

WUHAN, China — Smart-Gilas Pilipinas is bracketed in Group D in the preliminary round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship with powerhouse China, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.   Two-time defending champion Iran drew Gulf competitor Qatar, East Asia’s Chinese-Taipei, and a yet to be named Middle Asia qualifier...

The state uses propaganda to justify eliminating civil rights because of the threat of 'terrorism'.

The city of Jerusalem uprooted, on Thursday, a protest tent that had been erected on Nabi Shayab in the Sheikh Jarach neigbhorhood. The city said the tent was put up Wednesday in an open area that comprised part of the street and posed a nuisance to the public.

WUHAN, China. – Smart-Gilas Pilipinas has been bracketed in Group D in the preliminary round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship set on Sept. 15-25 here with powerhouse China, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

GEORGE TOWN, July 7 (Bernama) -- China emerged overall winners in the men''sand women''s category of the 37th Men''s and 17th Women''s World JuniorWeightlifting Championships here today.In the men''s category Chinese weightlifters ruled supreme with 17 goldmedals while Russia finished second with 9 gold and Iran with 8 gold...

All Times EDT Saturday BASEBALL American League Tampa Bay at N.Y. Yankees, 1:05 p.m. Minnesota at Chicago White Sox , 4:10 p.m. Toronto at Cleveland, 7:05 p.m. Baltimore at Boston, 7:10 p.m. Detroit at Kansas City, 7:10 p.m. Oakland at Texas, 8:05 p.m.

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.