News Archive - 24 August 2011

> * Disruption could cut off funds to security apparatus * Assad quoted as saying Syria will not sell out By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Syrian forces raided an eastern tribal region for a second day on Thursday, activists said, extending a crackdown on pro-democracy protests...

> * Potential value had been put at up to $7 billion * UAE said to scrap elements it can "do without" By Jim Wolf WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has trimmed what had been billed as a possible $7 billion purchase of an advanced U.

> * Megrahi has survived 2 years despite cancer * U.S. politicians want him extradited from Tripoli (Adds comment from father of victim, Scottish council) LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Wednesday he would like to see convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset...

> * Unclear how long Libyan output will take to recover * Oil in range of $100 a barrel is "still strong" LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - OPEC's Gulf members are unlikely to reduce oil output in the early phases of a restart of Libyan supplies, because it is unclear...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - After Iranian-American filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz made" Circumstance," she knew she would might never be able to return to her homeland again, but that hasn't stopped her from telling the story. The film, which begins playing in U.S. theaters on Friday after a strong debut at...

Syrian forces raided an eastern tribal region for a second day today, activists said, extending a crackdown on pro-democracy protests that could lead to European Union sanctions on the oil sector as early as next week.

TEHRAN - Muslim nations are now more determined than ever in their efforts to liberate all of the occupied territories, including occupied holy Qods, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast.

TEHRAN - Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi rejected on Wednesday media reports that the U.S. plans to deploy troops along Iraqi Kurdistan's borders with Iran.

On July 31, after being detained for two years, American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in Iran .

TEHRAN - The Iranian Embassy in Kuwait has protested the attendance of a Kuwaiti MP in a meeting organized recently by the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) in Paris.

Tehran, August 23 (KCNA) --Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman on August 20 strongly condemned new brutal attacks of Zionist regime forces on the fasting and defenseless Palestinians.

Two Americans received eight-year prison sentences from Iranian authorities, who accused them of espionage when they illegally entered Iran in 2009 while hiking, according to reports on Saturday citing Iran’s state TV.

Here’s Reason No. 501 never to set foot in the People’s Republic of Park Slope. And it’s got nothing to do with the loony couple who recently lost, then found, a stuffed monkey they’re raising like a baby. This is as serious as the Middle East...

Dubai's official airlines Emirates has welcomed Saudi Arabia's decision to consider allowing foreign carriers to operate domestic flights within the Gulf Kingdom but said it does not have immediate plans for entering that market.

DJERBA, Tunisia - The idealism of the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, where the power of the street revealed the frailty of authority, revived an Arab world anticipating change. But Libya's unfinished revolution, as inspiring as it is unsettling, illustrates how perilous that change has become as it unfolds in...

When American publishing magnate Henry R Luce (1898-1967) announced exactly 70 years ago the beginning of the "American Century", he correctly anticipated the United States pre-eminence following World War II, but overestimated the duration of the Pax Americana.

As part of a large release of 55,000 cables from various world capitals, the activist organization WikiLeaks has unexpectedly dumped today some 150 cables alleged to have been sent by US diplomats from Ashgabat.

With the world’s eyes on Libya, the reported sentencing of two Americans in Iran went a bit under the radar. That’s unfortunate.

Iran has exported about 500 million liters of oil products since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (on March 21), according to an oil official.

Kiana Hayeri forgot why she became a photographer, until she heard Christopher Anderson talk about "Son," his very personal project.

BEIRUT -- The European Union announced on Wednesday that it was leveling sanctions against Iran's Al Quds military force, saying it had given technical and material support to President Bashar Assad of Syria in his efforts to crush the five-month-old uprising against his rule.

Qaddafi’s ouster would present opportunities for oil companies, but Libya needs stability first

A CORONIAL inquest into the Christmas Island boat tragedy could delay the start of a trial for three alleged people smugglers.

Rebel leaders looking to assert control in Libya face the challenge of dealing with remnants of dictator Moammar Gadhafi's regime that remain intact, international expert Arnaud de Borchgrave told the Tribune-Review on Wednesday.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Defense and Security in India" report to their offering.

The Issue: Iran’s sentencing of two Americans hikers to jail for eight years for alleged spying. Two American citizens, arrested in Iran for doing nothing more than hiking, already have been in jail for two years and now have been sentenced to eight more (“US Hikers Can’t Walk...

IT is a feature of our times that many a good intention has turned into a right-wing menace, and Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign galvanising swaths of urban India in recent days is a prime example.

MOSCOW, Aug. 24 -- Teheran has filed a lawsuit against Russia to the International Court for Moscow's refusal to supply Iran with the S-300 missile systems, Iranian ambassador to Moscow Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi told a news conference here on Wednesday.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, will arrive in Tehran on an official visit on Thursday, an Iranian offcial says.

By KEVIN BOWDEN Staff Reporter David and Tammy Ursery are no strangers to the military life. He is a staff sergeant with the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 913th Engineer Co. in Union City and deployed with that unit to Iraq in 2005.

NATO's war planners call it the "iron mountain," the $2.7 billion mass of military equipment that will be dropped on Afghanistan over the next eight months. But it won't include fighter jets and tanks.

A Slovakia-based computer-security firm could face a U.S. investigation for sanctions violations after its anti-virus products were downloaded in Iran in an apparent attempt to secure the country's networks against the cyberworm that attacked Tehran's nuclear program. A former employee said he showed executives at ESET's San Diego offices...

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will award four Iranian scientists for outstanding contribution.

The new engineering research laboratory is predicted to open before June 2012.

These must be lonely times for Syria 's Bashar Assad. When he tries to phone Egypt 's Hosni Mubarak or Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, he gets no answer. Likely when he tries to call Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, he gets a recording that states this is no longer a...

Listen to the Audio KWAME HOLMAN: Wall Street scored new gains, thanks partly to news of improving orders for autos and aircraft. The Dow Jones industrial average gained nearly 144 points to close above 11,320. The Nasdaq rose 21 points to close at 2,467. The federal budget deficit will top...

— Jens Hansen was relieved when he was handed his Canadian citizenship at a ceremony in Hamilton in January.

A man who stabbed and cut his close friend 59 times after overhearing him have sex with his wife will spend at least 12 and a half years in jail.

WikiLeaks made public thousands of US diplomatic cables on Wednesday hours after its Californian DNS host was ordered to hand to authorities everything it had on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

Turkey's deputy prime minister, Besir Atalay, says some foreign powers lend support to the PJAK and PKK terrorist groups.

Q. What threat remains from the Gaddafi regime?

Iran is trying to start a war between Hamas and Israel, in order to save the pro-Iranian dictatorship in Syria. It works like this.

Amman - Syrian forces killed two people in raids on an eastern tribal region on Wednesday as part of a crackdown on dissent that could lead to European Union sanctions on Syria's oil sector as early as next week.

The NFL and the players' union remain at an impasse on HGH testing. NFL lead counsel Jeff Pash tells The Associated Press on Wednesday that the World Anti-Doping Agency, which would conduct the testing, "demonstrated to our satisfaction that there is very sound science and very thoughtful testing protocols" during...

CLUB teams from four countries — Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand — will be making their debut at the third artistic and rhythmic gymnastics international friendship competition from Sept 1 to 5.

One man did not welcome the death of Iraq's playboy sadist.

SOVEREIGNTY as defined in political science textbooks — “omnipotent, permanent, original, illimitable, indivisible, internal and external” — doesn’t exist on Planet Earth, governed as it is by the harsh realities of geopolitics.

Libyans hunting Moammar Gadhafi offer a $2 million bounty on the fallen dictator's head and amnesty for anyone who kills or captures him as rebels battle to clear the last pockets of resistance from the capital Tripoli.

NORTH Korea has intensified its co-operation with Iran this year and supplied it with a computer programme that could help Tehran build nuclear weapons, according to German in

WHEN a new government finally takes hold in Libya, it will have every incentive to get oil production back up and running. But if history is any guide, that task will not be a

We hit the Battlefield to try out the co-op, Team Deathmatch and 64-player Conquest modes – here's what we discovered Last week, at the Gamescom festival in Cologne, I got my first proper hands-on time with Battlefield 3. A five minute blast through the Operation Metro level during E3 provided...

Having fled before advancing rebels, Muammar Gaddafi’s whereabouts were cause for wild speculation yesterday—has he sought refuge in his hometown Sirte or exile in Venezuela or South Africa?

France ruled out intervening in Syria without international backing, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday, while the European Union broadened sanctions to include the elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard for providing equipment...

Among the frailties of human nature is the temptation, often exercised, to kick folks when they’re down.

Home » Political news » Stanislav Tarasov: Real Union if Ankara-Yerevan? Russian political analyst Stanislav Tarasov. Collage: BakuToday Messages that were signed in 2009 in Switzerland protocols with Armenia removed c agenda Turkish parliament, have caused a mixed assessment from the expert community.

My neighbor and I were recent victims of checking account fraud. Someone stole outgoing mail out of our mailboxes and created phony checks with our names and account numbers on them. They apprehended the first person who tried to get $1,500 out of my account on Aug. 4 in San...

Struggling Tehran giants Persepolis finally collected their first victory of the season at the fifth attempt with a win against Sanat Naft, while Saba Battery missed the chance to go top after crumbling 4-0 at Shahin.

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and his Chinese counterpart have congratulated each other on the 40th anniversary of Sino-Iranian diplomatic ties.

When the United States gets its diplomatic claws around a country's throat, does it mean the beginning of the end? It seems to have worked in Libya and elsewhere but Syria is not Libya.

A journalist with family in Syria told me there’s a joke going around that country these days.

It accuses the Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard of providing support to Syrian forces seeking to quell the uprising against President Bashar Assad. The European Union accused an elite branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guard of giving supplies and other support to Syria to help crush a popular uprising against...

Qatar national team striker Sebastien Soria (C) stretches with teammates during a training session on the eve of their friendly match against hosts UAE in Al Ain. The match starts at 10.30pm local time (9.30pm Qatar).

Monterey, Calif. — Citing the myriad threats facing the United States, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Aug. 23 that one of the biggest challenges to U.S. national defense is the so-called “doomsday mechanism” that will trigger across-the-board budget cuts if Congress doesn’t make the decisions necessary to avert...

A journalist with family in Syria told me there’s a joke going around that country these days. “Why don’t women in Damascus have to wear a veil?” “Because there’s no men there.”

Christians in Iran are facing increasing hostility from authorities in the officially Islamic country

Prolific writer and political journalist Christopher Hitchens will release a new book this September titled Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens .

In the shadow of the Temple Mount on Wednesday, at a podium erected in the shallow area below the Al Aqsa Mosque and a stone’s throw from the Western Wall, Glenn Beck took the stage. In America his theme was “Restoring Honor,” but in Jerusalem he was “Restoring Courage.”...

It’s not a good sign when you can no longer differentiate between lunacy or rationality in Iranian foreign policy. The real question, though, is who is to blame. Thus is the case when we examine two foreign policy developments in Iran, both dealing with purported espionage. In the first, ...

Ever since the failure of their reform agenda and their subsequent marginalization by the coming to power of Ahmadinejad, Iran’s reformists have been in near constant search of a well-articulated stance on their role in the country’s political future. The reform agenda by Iranian reformists was crystallized ...

Ignored by the media and dismissed by the Republican Party in general, liberty-minded Congressman Ron Paul leaped into third place today in the Gallup Presidential Nomination preference poll.

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- A Brookline man's yard had been home to a flock of pet pigeons. He was asked to get rid of them, and did his best to do just that, but the birds came back.

Abstract: In June 2011, President Barack Obama released a new National Strategy for Counterterrorism. This document profoundly misreads the nature of the global transnational threat.

Reuters/Berlin North Korea has supplied Iran with a computer programme as part of intensified co-operation that could help the Islamic Republic build nuclear weapons, a German newspaper reported yesterday, citing Western intelligence sources.

One man did not welcome the death of Iraq's playboy sadist, writes Colin Freeman.

"Circumstance" - which won the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival - is also the pick of the week, according to the folks polled on criticWIRE. From first time Iranian-American filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz, "Circumstance" takes on culture wars in contemporary Iran through the story of a wealthy family that...

One man did not welcome the death of Iraq's playboy sadist, writes Colin Freeman.

On Wednesday, United Against Nuclear Iran applauded Swiss-German construction equipment manufacturer Liebherr for pledging to end its business in Iran.

Muammar Gaddafi's whereabouts is cause for wild speculation - but has he sought refuge in his hometown Sirte or exile in Venezuela or South Africa?

NATO airstrikes were critical to Qaddafi's fall, but behind the scenes, the weakness of Europe's militaries and its leadership revealed problems for the US in its prime alliance – and in coming defense cuts.

Moammar Gadhafi, currently in an undisclosed location, got an expression of support from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Gadhafi also got an offer for asylum in the Central American country, according to Fox News.

Finding my religion

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa presided yesterday when Parliament met at 1 pm. After the presentation of papers and oral questions, the House took up the order under the Sri Lanka Export Development Act and Regulations under the Tea Small Holdings Development Law.

Multinational cosmetics store chain Lush is facing accusations of being a corporate hypocrite for its new campaign against Alberta’s oilsands and a pipeline development to connect the province to refineries in Texas.

Seven Grad missiles fired from Gaza Wednesday night explode in Ashkelon, Ofakim, Eshkol district Wednesday night.

Reviewed by Lisa Schwarzbaum | A-

Libya is a mess. It has been a mess for a long time, but as with other states in the Middle East, it was not always so. As Fouad Ajami put it, "Libya was a wealthy country, blessed with abundant oil, but the despot turned it into one of Africa's...

Iran's ambassador to Moscow on Wednesday assailed Gazprom Neft for a "delay" in developing the country's oil reserves, as fewer energy investors remain committed to cooperating with Tehran.

Major oil and gas companies have successfully diversified their upstream business lines. According to a report by Edinburgh-based Wood Mackenzie analysts released on Monday, unconventional oil and gas (like oil sands and shale), liquified natural gas, and deepwater oil and gas now make up about 50 percent of the future...

The invitation came to me from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's public affairs office to attend a "conversation" with Panetta and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton at the prestigious National Defense University in Washington.

Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Seyyed Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi says the Islamic Republic has only accepted Russia's 'step by step' nuclear proposal in principle.

Abstract: For more than 200 years, the United States has successfully preserved and protected its navigational rights and freedoms by relying on naval operations, diplomatic protests, and customary international law.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Iran's efforts to slow down the steady decline of its oil fields, some of which have been producing for six decades, is being seriously hampered by international sanctions imposed because Tehran refuses to abandon its contentious nuclear program.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution says the formation of the Islamic Republic and its subsequent pro-Palestinian bids countered colonialist efforts to remove Palestine from the map.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Participant Media's Social Action Campaign for the film Circumstance, opening in New York and Los Angeles this Friday, focuses on human rights issues with screening-and-conversation events around the country, and original video and editorial content created for the official film and Social Action site at TakePart.com/circumstance. Liana...

Libyan oil production may take years to recover if the history of supply shocks in Iran, Iraq and the Soviet Union is anything to go by.

I’ve been meaning to write about this for weeks, and just got around doing it. Maybe the subconscious procrastination was due to the conscious sanitization of this news by venues like this . Maybe it was the dread of having to tackle one of the quasi media phony darlings like this...

A top Iranian lawmaker denied Wednesday he had said the oil-rich country had decided to resume petrol imports, after the oil minister said Iran was "self-sufficient."

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman has condemned US allegations against Tehran, describing Washington as the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world.

The Arab Spring exploded on the world stage when very few had expected it. Perhaps that is why the Arab autocrats who reigned supreme for decades — as well as the leading global powers who remained on the sidelines or even supported the autocratic regimes — have been scrambling to...

Today's embedded system designers optimize mainly for performance and footprint, but with the rise of Internet-enabled devices, security has become the third leg of the embedded design process. View the full article HERE .