News Archive - 31 July 2011

>TEHRAN, July 31 (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday a payment row over the country's oil exports to India has been resolved, the Oil Ministry's website SHANA reported. "After intensive talks between India and Iran, the both sides agreed to clear the debt promptly ... in the coming days part of...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage said Sunday the court will announce its verdict within a week, dashing hopes for their immediate release after a final hearing in the case.

An Iranian woman blinded by a spurned suitor spared her attacker the same fate moments before she was due to drip acid into both his eyes in a Tehran hospital. Related Stories Obama announces debt ceiling accord Obama and Congress reach debt deal 'Miracle' as 163 escape after plane snaps...

Anchorage, Alaska — An Anchorage pilot and his family were the four people who died in a collision between their single-engine plane and another small aircraft, a co-worker of the pilot said Sunday. The Cessna'0 was registered to Corey Carlson, a 41-year-old private pilot, who died Saturday with his wife,...

Family, friends and supporters of the two hikers detained in Iran on espionage charges gathered in the street in front of the Iranian Mission in New York City early in the afternoon on July 29.

TEHRAN, 1 AUGUST, 2011: A political activist said there is no political solution which can help Muammar Gaddafi to continue his dictatorial rule over Libya, as the citizens are determined to exercise justice over the leader and his hirelings to put them through trials

A Kurdish lawmaker says the presence of the Party for Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) terrorist group in northern Iraq is the root cause of “security problems in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.”

Human rights groups have called for a review of Iran's punishment laws after a young Iranian woman granted a pardon to a man who blinded her by throwing acid in her eyes.

, At a press conference in Yerevan on July 4, said Director of Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan.

An Iranian woman blinded and disfigured by a man who threw acid into her face stood above her attacker on Sunday in a hospital operating room as a doctor was about to put several drops of acid in one of his eyes in court-ordered retribution.

Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, who assumed office Monday, said he has been mandated to pursue 'substantive dialogue' with Pakistan and underlined that constructive cooperation in the immediate neighbourhood would be one of his key priorities.

Lawyer Masoud Shafiei says an Iranian court will announce its verdict about two Americans accused of spying sometime this week after presenting his closing arguments for the defence.

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico has captured Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, the alleged leader of a gang called La Linea who federal police say was behind the killing of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate last year, federal police said in a statement Sunday.

At least 18 people have been killed and 15 others left wounded after a bus overturned in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah.

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) - Soon the fate of two American hikers charged with spying could be decided. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were in court Sunday, two years after their arrest near Iran's border with Iraq. Their lawyer says the two men looked good and seemed upbeat in court. Fattal...

Tehran, July 31 : A Iranian lawyer representing two American hikers, who have been accused of spying in Iran, has said his clients could be released Sunday after a two-year prison ordeal.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the two Americans arrested on July 31, 2009 within the Iranian border near northern Iraq and charged with espionage, look forward to today's court hearing, exactly two years . . .

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An Iranian court had sentenced the jilted suitor to be blinded with acid, as he had done to his victim.

A suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday at the main gate of a provincial police headquarters in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 11 people in a city where Afghans have recently taken control of security.

JERUSALEM -- For years Israelis told themselves they had to suppress major domestic difficulties to deal first with their existential challenge. Security needs required collective sacrifice.

Divers search pond for sign of girl, 11 STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. Divers searched a pond in northern

WASHINGTON #8212; Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said today that negotiators were "very close" to sealing a deal that would cut spending by some $3 trillion while averting the first federal default in the nation's history.

Washington, July 31 : Iraq is more dangerous now than it was a year ago, an official US government assessment has said.

THE Obama administration is having a rough time. Last week, it was revealed that the US economy has ground to a virtual halt, growing by only 0.4 per cent in the first half of this year.

Some British soldiers could be posted on year-long tours of Afghanistan to maintain continuity during the crucial withdrawal period, according to the commander of Task Force Helmand. Related Stories Iran acid victim pardons her attacker 'Miracle' as 163 escape after plane snaps in two Security forces kill 62 in Syria...

Syria uses tanks in Hama and other cities, and 70 people are reported killed. Most of the deaths are in Hama, where witnesses say Sunni mosque minarets are also targeted, just before the start of Ramadan. The months-long standoff between Syria's embattled government and a broad-based opposition movement escalated dramatically...

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — World champion Spain was drawn on Saturday with 1998 winner France, Georgia, Belarus and Finland in a qualifying group for the 2014 tournament — the first World Cup in Brazil in 64 years.

Good evening. Thanks for coming out tonight. I suppose you considered it safe because you knew I would not be asking for your vote. I was fortunate to represent such great citizens as you for 13 years in Congress.

Yemen's ailing president Ali Abdullah Saleh has called for an end to months of street protests seeking his removal and urged dialogue during the holy month of Ramadan to end the crisis. Related Stories Iran acid victim pardons her attacker 'Miracle' as 163 escape after plane snaps in two Security...

Goldblog reader Patrick Elyas writes, in reference to the rise of Islamism in Egypt, which I wrote…

Vice Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Nokerguly Shagulyev at the government reported on a meeting in Turkmenbashi the next meeting of the leaders sided ports of Caspian states, Kazakhstan Today correspondent BakuToday . “The focus of the upcoming forum will be issues of increasing turnover between the Caspian Sea port, maritime security,...

The consensus is that it's almost too confusing what's going on in Washington these days.

All 163 passengers and crew on board a Caribbean Airlines jet survived when the plane skidded off the runway while landing at night in Guyana and broke in two on the edge of a ravine. Related Stories Obama announces debt ceiling accord Obama and Congress reach debt deal Iran acid...

Indonesia is seeing Qatar as a strongest opponent in the next Pre-World Cup 2014 round [...]

Judge should make a decision on Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal by the end of the week

Syrian security forces killed at least 62 people in an escalation of the crackdown on protests ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to activists and residents. Related Stories Obama announces debt ceiling accord Obama and Congress reach debt deal Iran acid victim pardons her attacker 'Miracle' as...

Syrian security forces loyal to President Bashar Assad launched a major military assault on opposition strongholds Sunday, using tanks and gunfire in the latest attempt to crush a pro-democracy movement that appears to be gathering momentum before Ramadan.

Anders Breivik demanded to be appointed the head of the Norwegian army and called for the abdication of King Harald V during police questioning, but despite his apparent delusions of grandeur, forensic experts have concluded that the confessed killer is unlikely to be declared insane. Related Stories Obama announces debt...

>KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - When Iraq's northern Kurdish region sent a division of troops to surround Kirkuk in February, it may have been a signal of the delicate balancing act to come when U.S. forces leave the disputed oil city. Officially, the 10,000 or so peshmerga fighters were there...

>March 16 - Security forces break up a gathering in Marjeh Square in Damascus of 150 protesters holding pictures of imprisoned relatives. Witnesses say 30 people are arrested.March 24 - President Bashar al-Assad orders the formation of a committee to raise living standards and study lifting the law covering...

> * Netanyahu deputy sees end to Israel's security priority By Dan Williams JERUSALEM, July 31 (Reuters) - Israel's government hit back on Sunday at protests against the rising cost of living, saying some reforms being demanded might lead to economic crises like those besetting parts of Europe and the...

> "Different currencies will be used by India to pay its debt to Iran but the main part of the payment will be in euro," the official said on condition of anonymity. (Reporting by Ramin Mostafavi Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alex Richardson)...

The Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to produce "Tehranis", a comedy which will be directed by Iranian filmmaker Kamshad Kooshan. The film is about an Iranian family that has left Tehran to live in Los Angeles

Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty has been reading his own political obituary for weeks. But he's still alive as he campaigns across Iowa.

Jailed Iranian journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amouyi has been awarded the Hellman-Hammett grant for 2011 by Human Rights Watch.

The ceremony of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification draw for the Asian confederation was held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro late Saturday as the Iran's Portuguese boss Carlos Queiroz was also present in the ceremony.

The man who led Milwaukee police to serial killer Jeffery Dahmer 20 years ago is charged with recklessly endangering safety in the death of a homeless man who drowned after he was thrown off a bridge.

Iran plans to dispatch submarines to international waters on a 90-day mission, Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari said on Saturday.

Despite the U.S. and the EU sanctions, Iran's exports to the EU's 27 member states in the first five months of 2011 rose 6.4% compared to the same period of the last year, reaching from 5.028 billion Euros to 5.35 billion Euros, the report said.

Iran's Revolutionary Court announced today that a verdict will be issued within one week regarding the arrest of Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, Americans who were caught hiking near the Iran-Iraq border with their friend Sarah Shourd two years ago.