News Archive - 18 July 2011

>AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed 10 people in attacks on residential districts in Homs on Monday, the Local Coordination Committees activist group said. "Tens of people have been also wounded. Security forces and shabbiha (militiamen) are rampaging in streets and firing randomly.

> The story of two teenage girls struggling for sexual freedom in Iran, "Circumstance" (pictured) took home the Audience Award for Outstanding First U.S. Dramatic Feature Film (which includes a $5,000 cash prize), as well as Nikohl Boosher’s Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film. The...

>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq wants the United States to supply several thousand trainers for its military but is unlikely to ask Washington to extend its troop presence beyond a year-end deadline, Iraqi security and political sources say. The difference between troops and trainers, usually former soldiers and police contracted to...

>BEIJING (Reuters) - China stepped up its criticism of Washington on Monday after President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama, but stopped short of threatening retaliation, indicating Beijing was keen to avoid escalating tensions between the world's biggest economies. Obama met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader for 45 minutes on...

> The state run Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation and the Cyprus News Agency quoted sources saying Kyprianou would contact President Demetris Christofias on Monday, informing him of his plans to resign. There was no immediate confirmation of the reports. Christofias' administration is struggling to cope with the public outrage after the...

Islamabad, July 19(ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is due to visit Kabul today to hold talks with his Afghan counterpart President Hamid Karzai.

This week on Science Weekly Alok Jha meets the environmental activist and science writer Mark Lynas . Best known for his award-winning book Six Degrees about the horrific consequences of global warming, he's back with The God Species: How the Planet Can Survive the Age of Humans in which he describes...

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Eight Pakistani employees of a U.S.-based aid organization are missing and feared kidnapped in Pakistan's volatile southwest bordering Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani government official said on Tuesday.

A former News of the World reporter who was the first to allege that Andy Coulson knew phone hacking was taking place at the paper was today found dead at home. Sean Hoare's body was found on a extraordinary day when a Met police chief resigned over ...

The organizers of the next voyage to the shores of the Gaza Strip announced that the fleet will leave the court in the sea on Tuesday. Initially, it was announced on sailing today, but in the end the organizers decided that this would happen after the press conference which is...

Sharia means "the clear, well-trodden path to water" in Arabic.

Sreyneath Poole is a young blogger who has begun documenting "inspiring Cambodian women". Her blog project wants to dispute the traditional belief that Cambodian women belong to the kitchen. This is her story.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's decision to block the judicial nomination of University of Wisconsin law professor Victoria Nourse has drawn a pointed protest letter by a group of legal academics from around the country.

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in New Delhi today, her first order of business is to assure U.S. support for the Indian government and people as they deal with the aftermath of last week’s terrorist bombings in Mumbai.

Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Monday that Israel will likely not attack Iran anytime in the near future. In a post on his Twitter page, Crowley wrote: “The claim Israel will attack Iran soon is not credible.

Iranian animal lovers are ignoring a fatwa on dog ownership and frequenting dog websites.

PETALING JAYA: Only a mere 2% of Malaysians have donated their kidneys in the last 20 years, says National Kidney Foundation (NKF) founder Dr S.S. Gill.

New Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has more work ahead of him after Team Melli snuck past African minnows Madagascar 1-0 in his first official game in charge of the side in Tehran on Sunday.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has stressed the importance of international cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and not politicizing the issue.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met with Pope Benedict XVI on Monday in what analysts say is an attempt to strengthen ties between Muslim-dominated Malaysia and the country’s Christians.

THE handover of Bamiyan province by foreign forces to the Afghan police on Sunday does not signal a military triumph. Like the Panjshir valley, Bamiyan was never a Taliban-infested area and has seen little or no fighting over the last 10 years.

THE 2nd NSL Five-Man Team Bowling Tournament 2011 will open Tuesday night at the Super Lanes of the Goldenfield Commercial Complex in Bacolod City. The tournament is open to all bowling enthusiasts in Negros. Up for grabs are cash prizes and trophies to the top four winners, team record holders,...

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai have highlighted the need for cooperation to counter terrorism.

stocks have been down since the opening bell. The Dow has been down in triple-digit fashion.

The deputy chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces says that Iran was the only winner in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

Relatives of the victims of the 1994 bombing on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, called Iran on Monday to hand over eight suspects who are wanted in Argentina for their role in the attack, AFP reported.

At night and on Friday morning, July 8 at Ben Gurion Airport was silent and calm. Part of the police, strapped to prevent “left-wing provocation” dismissed to their homes, said, “Yediot Aharonot”.

Herman Cain laid out his Cain Doctrine Sunday and continued his verbal barbs against Islam

Baker Miguel Contreras flips Noor Afghani bread dough at California Lavash. The bread is part of the California Lavash line available at Northern California Whole Foods and Safeway. Photo by: Lora Schraft, Staff Photographer If you purchase a bag of California Lavash from the local Safeway and later find yourself...

ATLANTA (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain says he wouldn't hesitate to attack Iran if it attacks Israel first.

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain says he wouldn't hesitate to attack Iran if it attacks Israel first.

TEHRAN, July 19 (Bernama) -- Head of Iran's Red Crescent Society Aboulhassan Faqih said Iran is prepared to send humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, reported semi-official Fars News Agency.

TEHRAN, July 19 (Bernama) -- Iran will conduct research aimed at localising the manufacture of equipment and arms by complete reliance on domestic capabilities in order to stage massive nationwide air drills later this summer.

The political left is pressing the White House and Congress to inflict a wave of Pentagon budget cuts not seen since the post-Cold War 1990s. Liberals are citing the debt crisis and troop drawdowns from Iraq and Afghanistan to argue that now is the time for the Defense Department to ...

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Five male and four female participants recited verses from the Quran on the third day of the 53rd International Quran Reciters Assembly at Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Centre here Monday niht.

LONDON, Jul 15 (Reuters) Oil rose on Friday as the market focused on the potential for a weaker dollar amid concerns about U.S. budget talks meant to cut deficits and avert a debt default.

News Analysis: A Marine Corps general's attempt to short circuit Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn's Cyber-Security plans could result in disaster if adopted.

Follow Israel news on and . A bombing attack in Istanbul that wounded eight people two months ago now appears to have been aimed at Israel, and not Turkish citizens, according to a report by an Italian newspaper.

Contact: Hamid Azimi, +1-415-652-1525

Iran could stop oil exports to India starting on August 1 if the financial dispute over the payment of arrears is not resolved, according to an Iranian Oil Ministry official.

MALAYSIA finished fifth overall in the inaugural Asian Cross Country championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia recently.

Syrian forces and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed 10 people in attacks on residential districts in Homs on Monday (local time), the Local Co-ordination Committees activist group said.

CYPRUS’S FOREIGN minister Marcos Kyprianou yesterday submitted his resignation in the wake of the July 11th explosion at a naval base that killed 13 people and devastated the republic’s main power station.

KUALA LUMPUR: Just a week ago, Malaysia’s archery trio of Cheng Chu Sian, Haziq Kamaruddin and Khairul Anuar Mohammad were the early birds in sealing tickets to the London Olympic Games.

New Delhi, July 18 : In their first contact after the July 13 Mumbai terror attacks, Indian and Pakistani officials met Monday to firm up new confidence-building measures to expand trade and travel across the two halves of Kashmir, which are likely to be unveiled during the foreign minister-level talks...

A DISSIDENT Iranian actress was arrested last week as she prepared to leave for Germany to write a blog for a German radio station about the women's football World Cup, Ir

A dissident Iranian actress and blogger was arrested as she prepared to leave for Germany to write a blog for the Deutsche Welle radio station about the women's football World Cup, the semi-official ISNA news agency said yesterday.

Iranian Arannews.ir citing Azerbaijani website “Media Forum” said that the results of opinion poll, which was attended by 285 respondents, the most popular foreign leaders in Azerbaijan was named spiritual leader of Iran Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

The Radio-in-a-Box is a source of news for the locals of Safar, a village in Helmand Province. Music was banned under Taliban rule, so listening to the radio is in a way an act of defiance against the recently departed regime.

Diplomatic pressure mounted on Syrian President Bashar Assad Monday after Qatar...

The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council Monday delivered a protest note to Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia over an Iranian ayatollah’s remarks on Bahrain, a GCC statement said.

The kidnapping of the Estonians and their subsequent release, which was orchestrated by the French, leaves no room for doubt that Lebanon has become a bastion for kidnappers...

New York, July 18 2011 - The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) arrived today in Iran for talks on a range of issues, including the country’s efforts to curb illicit narcotics and to provide HIV prevention, treatment, and care services for injecting drug users.

Bahrain’s government expressed regret Monday that the country’s largest Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq planned to pull out of a national dialogue, but said political talks would continue on regardless of their absence.

ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina Seventeen years after 85 people died in Argentina's worst terrorist attack, their relatives criticized both Iran and their own government Monday for failing to solve the case. Speaking at a ceremony on the anniversary of the 1994 attack on a Jewish community center,...

AFP/Tehran Iran has taken “full control” of three camps of an Iranian Kurdish rebel movement inside neighbouring Iraq, a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards told the official IRNA news agency yesterday.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Seventeen years after 85 people died in Argentina's worst terrorist attack, their relatives criticized both Iran and their own government Monday for failing to solve the case.

A celebrated Iranian strongman has been stabbed to death in Tehran in an apparent revenge attack after he questioned the standing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's Supreme Leader.

Reuters/Nicosia Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said he would quit the government yesterday as political fallout mounted after a confiscated cargo of Iranian munitions exploded in the country’s worst peacetime disaster.

DAYVID FIGLER ON METRO'S DNA SNAFU VIDEO

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A daily miscellany of information by Michael Kesterton

Reuters/Tehran Iran warned India yesterday that it would stop exporting oil to India from August 1 if a financial dispute over payment was not resolved, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 03:45:00 ROME: Malaysia and the Vatican have agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations to promote bonds of mutual friendhip and strengthen cooperation between both sides. The announcement came following an audience between Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Pope Benedict XVI at the papal...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces have taken control of three bases of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in neighboring Iraq, the state news agency reported Monday.

The discovery of three corpses with their eyes gouged out sets off a sectarian killing spree that leaves 30 people dead in a chilling sign that the Syrian revolt against President Bashar Assad is enflaming long-simmering religious tensions.

DAYVID FIGLER ON METRO'S DNA SNAFU VIDEO

Follow Israel news on and . A popular Iranian actress and outspoken critic of the government has been arrested in Tehran. The Farsi-language service of Deutsche Welle reports.

The Associated Press ___ SYRIA The discovery of three corpses with their eyes gouged out sets off a sectarian killing spree that leaves 30 people dead in a chilling sign that the Syrian revolt against President Bashar Assad is enflaming long-simmering religious tensions. The opposition accuses the president's minority Alawite...

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Lebanon's prime minister said Monday his government will support the U.N. special tribunal that is investigating the 2005 killing of a previous Lebanese prime minister.

Fresh hope for debt resolution? Senate leaders discuss fallback plan as crisis talks continue More>>

Syria denied Monday night that Iran had offered to supply it with financial aid. Reports said that Iran had offered $6 billion in financial aid to assist Damascus with its budget problems, a result of the ongoing anti-government rioting in recent months.

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A Jalal Hosseini strike helped Iran edge past Madagascar 1-0 in a friendly on Sunday. In Carlos Queiroz' first official match at the helm of Team Melli, the hosts were superior in every department but barely managed to create any real chance early on.

After a year's absence, the World Beat team headed down South to the jungles of Borneo for the 14th Rainforest World Music Festival last week for three days of music, dancing, workshops and mad jam sessions by musicians after each night's concert.

Retired School Principal (Christ King College, Tudella, St. Xavier’s School Wewala - Jaela) Husband of late M.L. Kamalawathie, father of Melani (Australia), Dilan (Australia), Nessie (General Hospital Badulla), father-in-law of Rajitha (Australia), Priyani (Australia), Sumedha (General Hospital Badulla), grandfather of Mauli, Vinuki, Rayani, Akila and Ryan, passed into the...

Adm. Michael Glenn Mullen is rightly acclaimed as the American military leader who contributed more than any other in the past decade to the depth and breadth of US-Israeli security ties and the Israel's Defense Forces' (IDF) preparedness for a potential war with Iran. Adm. Mullen, who retires as Chairman...

(Channel News Asia) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak's visit to the Vatican was planned before street protests rocked the Malaysian capital two weekends ago. The scheduled meeting with Pope Benedict XVI is essentially to establish diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Malaysia is among 16 countries in the world that...

Iran does not need to invade Iraq in the conventional sense of the word because Iran has Muqtada al-Sadr, Iran's "Fifth Column." We should be watching this piece of work.

DUBAI - Even after hitting a record high of above $1,600 per ounce on Monday, prospects are that gold price is poised to continue its breathtaking rally to scale loftier heights ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 over the coming few years.

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KIRKUK, Iraq — If civil war were to resume in Iraq, a dread event that could spell the breakup of the world's next great oil power, Kirkuk is the likely epicenter.

U.S.-Russian relations are stalling. While U.S. officials hailed progress on eased visa rules and child adoptions as a highlight of bilateral relations, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov labeled missile defense as the greatest “irritant” and “key issue” to define U.S.-Russian talks in Washington last week.

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Monday:

There is growing concern about Iraq's ability to defend itself and counter Iranian influence after U.S. troops withdraw. Jackson Diehl argues that too many in the White House mistakenly believe that "a stay-on force" is not a vital U.S. interest and risk alienating an important ally.

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United Nations (UN) senior official on Monday began a three-day visit to support Iran`s fight against illegal drugs and promote HIV prevention measures. Chief of UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov will meet with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior officials during his three day visit to...

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signing into law a measure to allow same-sex couples to marry goes contrary to what legislatures in more than 40 states have passed, commonly known as Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs), which define marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman.

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain says he would attack Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons or to respond to aggression against Israel. Asked if he agreed with former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton's contention that the "only realistic alternative … is to use force preemptively against Iran's nuclear...

The two countries have been trying to resolve an impasse triggered in December

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Though News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, deputy COO James Murdoch, and former News (NWS) executive Rebekah Brooks have all agreed to testify before a select committee of the House of Commons tomorrow about allegations of phone-hacking and police-bribery by the company's newspapers, there are some strings attached.

Should the authorities release Dr Jeyakumar and the other five PSM members? ROME, 18 JULY, 2011: Malaysia and the Vatican have agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations to promote bonds of mutual friendship and strengthen cooperation between both sides.

Iran has taken full control of three camps of an Iranian Kurdish rebel movement inside neighboring Iraq, a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards told the official IRNA news agency on Monday.

The phrase that has been so extensively used in the mass-media these last few months (actually since the first victory of Tunisian protesters, in January 2011, and in Egypt, the following month) – the ‘Arab spring’ – will undoubtedly be recorded by history.

Southern Sudan after the official announcement of the formation of an independent state on its territory to open embassies in 21 countries, including in Israel. This was announced today, June 19, a source in the government of Southern Sudan.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran is threatening to cut oil supplies to India by August if billions of dollars in what it says are overdue payments for crude oil are not made.

Relatives of victims of a 1994 bombing that leveled the seven-story Jewish charity building demanded Monday that Iran hand over officials suspected of masterminding the attack.

An Iranian official says the export of Iran's oil products has enjoyed a 30 percent growth in the first quarter of the current Iranian Calendar year (ending March 20).