News Archive - 28 July 2011

> Treasury said the group was headed by Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil and described him as "a prominent Iran-based al Qaeda facilitator" operating under agreement with the Iranian government. It said the network served as a pipeline for al Qaeda to move money and operatives across the Middle East to...

> * Excess of under-employed workers at factories By Aseel Kami ISKANDARIYA, Iraq, July 28 (Reuters) - - In a country only slowly recovering from the impact of war and economic sanctions, Iraq's state-owned car assembly plant is a hive of activity. Workers bustle around, fixing tyres and bumpers on...

>The 4,831 dwt flagged oil tanker was captured in the northern Indian Ocean and had 17 crew on board, the report said. The tanker was captured while loaded with oil on a regular route from UAE to the Somali port of Berbera.Here are details of ships still held by...

WASHINGTON -- The United States on Thursday accused the Iranian government of engaging in a "secret deal" to help move money and operatives for al-Qaida in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

Tehran, July 27 (KCNA) -- Iran's Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani in an interview with a Press TV on July 24 condemned the U.S. and Israel's base act.

The incorrigible chief of Perkasa, Ibrahim Ali (pic) , never fails to spawn a host of laughter every once in a while, offering friends and foes a moment of comic relief in what is otherwise a tensed political scene. This time around, the staunchly pro-UMNO member of parliament defended an...

The families of two Americans imprisoned in Iran for nearly two years say they're counting on a court hearing Sunday to end their ordeal.

Even after death of Bin Laden, ex-counterterror official says biological attack by Al Qaeda is still a threat Do Iran and Al Qaeda Have a 'Secret Deal'? Special Ops Chief Warns of Al Qaeda 2.0

An Iranian delegation is expected to visit India this weekend to discuss an arrangement under which Union Bank will make payments to Halk Bank in Turkey.

In the presence of the Minister of Roads and Transport Ali Nikzada work began on the construction of the railway section of Gorgan, Gonbad-Cavus – Inche-Barun to the border with Turkmenistan, the Iranian Mehr News Agency.

Former astronaut kicked out of Navy ORLANDO, Fla. A former astronaut banished from NASA after

With more than 200 million users worldwide, Twitter is an online powerhouse. More than 350 million messages, or tweets, are sent daily. And it has played an important role in political protests in Tunisia, Egypt and Iran .

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan July 27 to arrive in Azerbaijan. It is unknown exactly which documents will be signed Erdogan to Baku. Nor is it clear, if provided at all signing any documents in the near future.

BANGKOK, July 27 - Thailand's rice exports increased to 6.3 million tonnes in the first half of 2011, valued at Bt107 billion, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

How a rich and peaceful country like Norway could suffer a deadly massacre and bomb attack at the hands of one of its own citizens is something of a mystery.

The pro-democracy Egyptian revolution is heading towards producing results contrary to the expectation of those who spearheaded it.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia William Burns assumed on Friday the post of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.

Obama Administration alleges Iran gives Al Qaeda money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan Relatives of American Hikers Held in Iran Hold Rally to Demand Release Iranian Shot Allegedly Nuclear Expert

Opponents question Tony Hayward's potential influence on a northern Minnesota copper mine venture.

The Soviet Union collapsed under the weight of a stagnating state-run economy, cynical ideology and popular disillusionment. Modest reforms by the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, raised hopes but failed to remake a rigid and grossly inefficient system.

Performance of “Star Soul and Country Music” American singer and songwriter Mary McBride in the courtyard of the Kaluga Regional Museum today, July 8 in the evening, was opened at the annual international project “Guitar World” season “Summer Jam”. As told BakuToday artistic director of the festival, Kaluga, musician and...

U.S. accuses Iran of 'secret deal' with al Qaeda terrorists

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 27 (Reuters) If US plans to deploy a missile shield to protect Europe against a possible attack by Iran are realized, it will spark a new nuclear arms race, North Korea's U.N. ambassador said on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia is buying 244 Leopard 2A7+ tanks from Germany. Saudi Arabia is believed to have already ordered 44, and now has increased that order. It was only a year ago that German tank manufacturer KMW has revealed this, the latest version of its Leopard 2.

From Ruhollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein taking power, a timeline of a tempestuous relationship 1979 A crucial year in the history of both countries. In February, Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran from Paris as leader of the Islamic revolution. In July, Saddam Hussein succeeds the ailing Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as...

SAN ANGELO, Texas — A Texas prosecutor told jurors Thursday he would present an audio recording of a polygamist sect leader raping a 12-year-old and other evidence showing the 55-year-old impregnated a 15-year-old girl during the man’s sexual assault trial. The trial began shortly after Warren Jeffs fired his high-powered ...

Iran has claimed a 1-nil victory over Maldives in the Maldivian capital, Male, during the second leg of the Asian qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

DATES are in high demand as Ramadan is fast approaching. Companies have been importing various varieties of the fruit to cater to the demand.

Glendale Police officers are sworn into office at the Glendale Police Department on Thursday, July 28, 2011. ( Cheryl A. Guerrero/Staff photographer )

Today, 19 February, in the center of Moscow in the Kaluga area about 6:00 GMT accident occurred. Car BM, moved along Leninsky Prospekt toward the center of speeding, the driver lost control on. The car hit the curb, enclosing a statue of Lenin, and then crashed into a street lighting...

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration accused Iran on Thursday of entering into a “secret deal” with an al-Qaida offshoot that provides money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Treasury Department designated six members of the unit as terrorists subject to U.S. sanctions. The U.S. intelligence...

ISLAMABAD: Partners in the ruling coalition decided on Thursday to defend the ‘supremacy of parliament’ and not to back off on the crucial issue of the authority of the executive.

Iran plans to increase its share of renewable energies by installing new wind turbines generating 500 megawatts of electricity, says an Iranian official.

Members of the international community in Montgomery County are taking a stand against domestic violence.

THE PRESIDENT of Cyprus Demetris Christofias insisted he would not step down, following calls for his resignation over a munitions explosion that destroyed the republic’s main power plant and deepened economic woes.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Singapore beat arch-rivals Malaysia 6-4 on aggregate to reach the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers last night after a tense 1-1 away draw while regional heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia cruised through. The trio, and the 12 other second round winners yesterday,...

New Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC July 28, 2011 Today, Bill Burns began serving as the Department of State’s newest Deputy Secretary of State, alongside Tom Nides. I am grateful for Bill's decision to continue his nearly 30 years...

IF the aim of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and her colleagues on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs is to discredit U.S. foreign policy and resuscitate the most retrograde concepts of the Cold War, they are doing an excellent job.

Iranian Police Chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam has praised the cooperation between Iran and Turkey in improving the security of the common border.

The United States Wednesday announced sanctions on six men accused of operating a network which moves Al-Qaeda operatives and money through Iran.

Today, 22 March, the forecast from the Centre for Environment, geology and meteorology, as well as recommendations from the people of Latvia Rescue Service. In the lower and middle reaches of the Daugava formed large accumulations of ice, which caused large differences in water level.

International sanctions designed to stop Iran’s disputed nuclear program would only really bite if its other big Asian buyers follow India’s lead and bow to U.S. pressure to cut the flow of oil money to Tehran.

VIENNA: A man shot dead on a Tehran street by motorcycle-riding gunmen last weekend was a scientist involved in suspected Iranian attempts to make nuclear weapons and not a university student as officially claimed...

Bahrain’s king approved parliamentary reforms Thursday after the suppression of pro-democracy protests...

SUICIDE attackers killed at least 22 people, including ten children, when militants stormed government compounds in Tirin Kot, capital of Afghanistan's Uruzgan province ye

I'm not entirely sad to say that Piers Morgan's problems haven't gone away just yet. And nor, I imagine, have those of the once-married Heather Mills and Paul McCartney. In 2006, Morgan wrote of having heard a touching voicemail left for Mills by McCartney after an argument. So touching was...

> * Stuxnet designed to attack industrial control systemsBOSTON, July 28 (Reuters) - U.S. government cyber security experts are warning that the Stuxnet virus could become more menacing, more than a year after it surfaced in an attack believed to be targeted against Iran's nuclear program. The Department of...

>The Department of Homeland Security has spent the past year studying the sophisticated malicious software, the first of its type designed to attack computer systems that control industrial processes, two officials said in testimony prepared for a congressional hearing.Stuxnet targeted industrial control systems sold by Siemens that are widely...

The families of two Americans imprisoned in Iran for nearly two years say they're counting on a court hearing Sunday to end their ordeal at last. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, are due for what Iranian authorities have said will be a final hearing in their protracted espionage...

Stephen Kinzer Turkey and the Dilemma of EU Accession: When Religion Meets Politics by Mirela Bogdani The Mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey by Banu Eligur Turkey, Islam, Nationalism, and Modernity: A History, 1789–2007 by Carter Vaughn Findley Streets of Memory: Landscape, Tolerance, and National Identity in Istanbul by Amy...

The Guardian has published an intriguing profile on Qassem Suleimani, an Iranian general with unchallenged power over Iraqi politics. Martin Chulov writes:

The United States supported protesters rallying for democracy in Tunis, Sanaa and Benghazi. It engaged in war to come to the aid of opposition groups in North Africa. So why did America choose to remain silent on the protests in the Gulf?

Grandmaster Joseph Sanchez, International Masters Richard Bitoon and Kim Steven Yap lead a high-powered Philippine contingent that will compete in the Raja Nazrin Shah International (KL Open) Championship 2011 on September 1 to 9 at the Swiss Garden Hotel and Residences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration accused Iran on Thursday of entering into a "secret deal" with an al-Qaida offshoot that provides money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Treasury Department designated six members of the unit as terrorists subject to U.S. sanctions.

Say what you will about the song's message and caliber of humor, it at least makes correct use of terms such as "discretionary spending," "quantitative easing" and "statutory budget restraint."

GRANDMASTER Joseph Sanchez, International Masters Richard Bitoon and Kim Steven Yap led a high-powered RP contingent that will compete in the Raja Nazrin Shah International (KL Open) Championship 2011 on Sept. 1 to 9 at the Swiss Garden Hotel and Residences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sanchez, Bitoon and Yap, who...

# sportsfinal Your p.m. roundup for July 28, the day we learned only losers live in Brooklyn . Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors . More »

>Mark Toner, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, confirmed on Wednesday that the United States has imposed visa restrictions on some Russian officials believed involved in Magnitsky's death. He said the restrictions were imposed as part of a broader program targeting human rights violators."We do issue visa...

> * Admission into a support mechanism "not a given" * President says he will not quit (Adds Christofias's quotes) By Michele Kambas NICOSIA, July 28 (Reuters) - Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said on Thursday he would not follow his cabinet in resigning over a munitions blast that destroyed the...

Iran retains its position as the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, despite a recent OPEC report that Nigeria moved from the organization's third to second place, OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has inaugurated the Islamic Republic's highest roller-compact concrete (RCC) dam in the country's southern province of Khuzestan.

Both the wars in Afghanistan and Libya reveal serious flaws in the alliance. If they can’t be fixed, perhaps it's time for a 'back to basics' NATO and a return to coalitions of the willing.

VIENNA - A man shot dead on a Tehran street by motorcycle-riding gunmen last weekend was a scientist involved in suspected Iranian attempts to make nuclear weapons and not a student as officially claimed, a foreign government official and a former U.N. nuclear inspector have told The Associated Press.

The FBI taught new recruits about Muslims with a power point presentation that recommended they read books criticised as sharply prejudiced against Islam.

April 19 g.Kusa Chelyabinsk region will open a new sports complex for children with disabilities. On April 15 this correspondent was told BakuToday in the government press service of the Chelyabinsk region. The complex was built in Kusinsk rehabilitation center for children with disabilities.

2011-07-28 Ramadan begins next week. The ninth month of the Islamic calendar is a time for spiritual reflection and fasting, and the fast will be broken with a celebration that includes gifts for children, those in need and loved ones.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "2011 Worldwide Waste Treatment & Disposal Industry Report" report to their offering.

Officials have told The Associated Press that a man shot dead in Tehran last weekend was a scientist involved in suspected Iranian attempts to make nuclear weapons and not a student as officially claimed.