News Archive - 30 August 2011

>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The popular herbal sleep aid valerian could help ease some of the sleep problems that can come with menopause, a small study suggests. Valerian root has been used since ancient Greek and Roman times for various health problems, including insomnia. Modern science is split on...

CAIRO - In a grim conclusion to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Syrian security forces killed at least seven protesters across the country Tuesday, activists said, as the United States announced new sanctions against top Syrian officials.

A bomb blast near a playground killed five people, including a woman and a child, in Pakistan today as the country celebrates the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr.

Tehran, August 29 (KCNA) -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that Zionist regime's establishment and survival are in contrast with human dignity and independence.

Tehran, August 29 (KCNA) -- Rallies were held in many cities including Tehran in Iran in support of the establishment of the Palestinian independent state on the occasion of the International Quds Day.

Team Melli coach Carlos Queiroz has made a rallying call for 100,000 Iran fans to turn up for Friday's opening third round 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Tehran against Indonesia.

Tottenham and Leyton Orient's challenge to West Ham's tenancy of the Olympic Stadium has been bolstered.

Tehran (UPI) Aug 30, 2011 Iran has filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice in a bid to force Russia to sell it the powerful S-300PMU air-defense system under an $800 contract Moscow abrogated in 2010, citing U.N. sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. But Moscow's...

U.S.-China relations are among the most complicated affiliations within international affairs. The relationship is dominated by both countries' interactions over Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the South China Sea and Iran. It also enta Copyright 2011 Vail Daily. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or...

QUETTA, Pakistan, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A bomb blast near a playground killed five people, including a child and a woman, in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province on Wednesday, police and hospital officials said, as the country celebrates the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr.

ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia Australia's highest court ruled Wednesday that asylum seekers can't be sent to Malaysia, a major blow to the government's plan to stem an influx of people from poor, war-torn countries attempting to reach Australia by boat. The High Court reached a 6-1 majority decision...

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned against plots hatched by enemies to hijack the Muslim world's achievements, urging Muslim nations to remain vigilant.

(MENAFN) Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company's director, Naji Sa'dooni, said that within ten years, China's National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) would invest USD8.4 billion in order to ...

Live coverage of Libya as new rebel government confirmed it knows whereabouts of Matouk Mohammed Matouk, threatening a diplomatic row.

Hyderabad (Pakistan), August 31 : Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader and former provincial senior minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza has upped the ante against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) barely 48 hours after shaking up the country’s political landscape with his explosive allegations.

Australia's High Court will rule on the legality of the government's plan to swap asylum seekers in Australia for Malaysian-based refugees on Wednesday.

Rediff.com brings you a series of leaked Wiki cables, which point towards some startling revelations. Read on

DALLAS, Texas, August 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ ReportsnReports Announces it Will Carry Market Research Intelligence on Carbon Fiber Market, E-Waste Management Market & Q3 2011 Oil and Gas Reports for Multiple Countries in its Store A. Carbon …

HAMBURG -- Mariam Fizazi arrived in this north German port city five days before Sept. 11, 2001, when 19 terrorists changed the world.

Tehran, Aug 31 : Iran, which gave contracts to publishers in China to print copies of the Quran, has said the books are full of spelling mistakes, the Mehr news agency reported.

THEATER Onstage, a woman and her father battle over modern sensibilities versus religious tradition. The father leads with a left jab and the mantra "in the Koran, in the Koran, in the Koran," which the daughter counters with a roundhouse punch and "third-wave feminism."

Haitian police spokesman says kidnappers released American man PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) and - Haitian police say a U.S . citizen kidnapped last week from his home in the capital has been freed. Po...

A bank teller counts 10,000 yen bank notes in Tokyo. Asian markets were mixed Wednesday following a two-day rally as weak consumer confidence data from the United States and Europe outweighed renewed hopes ...

Wikileaks's latest cables offer a particularly revealing insight into the way Alexander Downer and some of his officals conducted themselves when he was Foreign Minister. Read more on the blog...

Something extremely important and exceedingly dangerous is unfolding in a most explosive part of the ...

Much of Tripoli remains divided up into fiefs, and this jockeying for power illustrates the challenge a new provisional government will face in trying to unify Libya's fractious political landscape.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Wednesday as forecasts of a spike in US crude stockpiles were offset by geopolitical concerns in the Red Sea, analysts said.

NGO Summit on Discrimination and Persecution, Sept. 21-22, New York City. A coalition of human rights groups today announced a major summit on September 21-22, 2011 to spotlight the world’s most urgent human rights situations. The Global Summit Against ...

Above the outdoor cafÉs of this city's trendiest suburb, some 60 exiles are busily dubbing Brazilian soap operas, Japanese cartoons and American music videos into Farsi. They work for GEM-TV, a privately owned, Dubai-based bootleg satellite station that beams the modern world into Iran from a broadcast station in Malaysia.

"Zenga Zenga daar daar" was the subversive YouTube video made by Noy Alooshe sending up the bizarre Libyan dictator, Moamar Gaddafi.

Ships are seen anchored near a major oil refinery in Singapore. Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Wednesday as forecasts of a spike in US crude stockpiles were offset by geopolitical concerns in the ...

Iran has filed a complaint with at the International Court of Arbitration against Russia since Moscow has failed to honor its agreement to deliver S-300 rockets to the Islamic republic, Press TV reported.

Nearly a quarter million classified U.S. State Department documents containing sensitive information that could harm government informants, are floating around the Web.

AS THE WORLD marks International Day of the Disappeared today, Reporters Without Borders notes that many countries are still violating international law on this matter, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which the UN General Assembly adopted in 2006.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has rejected remarks attributed to the Saudi Arabian interior minister regarding the two countries' relations.

While some people might say that they have seen stories like "Contagion" in the past, there are tones in the movie that weave many common fears into one tapestry for our entertainment. One of the basic principles of horror is that fears have to be realized by the writer and...

Confirming that the Fed's doves, every single one of them, are genocidal sociopaths, we have a repeat appearance from Chicago's Chuckie Evans, who first sent stocks barreling in the latest algo driven, no volume meltup, earlier, this time dodecatupling down, by telling Fed lackey Jon Hilsenrath that " we need...

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has accused the Federal Government of ratting out Australians named as having links to a radical Yemeni cleric in a classified US embassy cable.

Two dozen environmental protesters have been arrested in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province in recent days, following demonstrations sparked by the failure of Iran's Parliament to adopt measures to stem the gradual drying and disappearance of a vast salt lake.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said have expressed hope that the regional developments would benefit all the Muslims of the world.

In the mid-1980s, Clair George, who has died aged 81, was deputy director of operations for the Central Intelligence Agency, its third-highest position, in charge of covert espionage operations worldwide. George was in one sense an American George Smiley, a professional less concerned with his own advancement than with the...

If the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor was, in the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the "date that shall live in infamy," 9/11 was the "day that hate became everyone's problem."

It was probably not the coronation the head of the London 2012 Local Organising Committee had envisaged. When Sebastian Coe stepped forward to present the medals after the completion of the World Championship heptathlon yesterday, he found himself crowning a new global queen of the seven-event test of all-round athletic...

Per Mertesacker ticks boxes. For a club looking for a player to bring height, experience, defensive acumen and leadership the 6ft 6in, 75-times capped Werder Bremen captain offers a seemingly ready-made solution.

The following are lists of books releasing the weeks of August 29th and September 5th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers. May we ask that you forward this newsletter to friends who you think would enjoy reading it?

Former US vice president Dick Cheney has said there is no contradiction in advocating harsh interrogation tactics against suspected enemies and opposing it when used against U

AMSTERDAM -- British-based LiveLeak.com, which was the first Web site to post the anti-Koran film by a Dutch lawmaker, has removed the film after threats to its staff “of a very serious nature,” it said.

In the late 1970s, Brazil and Iraq became major commercial partners. The South American nation, then ruled by military dictator Ernesto Geisel, needed oil to run its industrial machine, which was booming at the time. Meanwhile, Iraq needed food, technical support, appliances, automobiles and, perhaps most importantly, engineering services to...

BRUSSELS, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Italy said Tuesday it wants to delay a European Union embargo on Syria until its oil contracts expire in November.

On the occasion of yesterday’s “International Day Against Nuclear Tests”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon reiterated the need for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to enter into force. The UN established an International Day against Nuclear Tests in 2009 on the 20th anniversary of ...

Sony said that the PlayStation Network will be undergoing maintenance for three hours today, with perhaps some rough patches for online players.

The conventional wisdom explaining the 2011 Egyptian uprisings holds that the revolution was fueled by texts, tweets, and Facebook pages. But a new study conducted by a Yale graduate student suggests the opposite about social media.

Yahoo! is asking Americans how September 11 changed them. Below is an account from a reader.There are many instances in history that qualify as "defining" moments. The Battle of Hastings in 1066, the signing of the Magna Carta, the Boston Tea Party and Dec. 7, 1941, fall into this...

China-directed investment is spreading across the globe, sometimes to surprising pockets.

Republican Mitt Romney portrays Obama's Democratic administration as unprepared and naive in a dangerous world

Syrian protesters, IRL. Amid deadly protests in Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, some of his supporters have taken to Facebook to defend their leader of over a decade, whose father ruled for the previous 29 years, until his death in 2000. On a page purporting to be...

If you were to check out this Columbia University Facebook page on Tuesday afternoon, you would find not the expected chattering of students and alums, but hundreds and hundreds of messages staunchly in support of embattled Syrian President Bashar al Assad. As a Columbia spokeswoman pointed out, the page isn't...

The past five months brought a great deal of controversy and criticism to the White House's handling of Libya. Now, with the apparent ouster of Moammar Gadhafi, the administration is claiming some vindication. Even so, people looking for a clear Obama doctrine have had a hard time finding it.

Germany international has supported the London club for years and has the quality to improve theier shaky defence.

Certificate authority DigiNotar says its system was breached and that a fraudulent certificate for Google.com found its way to the Web.

BAGHDAD, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Tuesday U.S. troops will leave by December and there will be no permanent U.S. bases in Iraq.

By Alana Buckley-Carr, The West Australian Habibullah may not agree with the Malaysia solution but his are exactly the words Immigration Minister Chris Bowen wants to hear: "No, I don't think I would get on a boat if I was sent to Malaysia." With the High Court set to...

The organising committee of the 20th World Petroleum Congress (20th WPC) has issued its updated official programme, which is now available for download at www.20wpc.com . The 20th World Petroleum Congress will take place at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) in Doha from December 4 to 8.

Former Iranian fighter pilot Yadi Sharifirad trained in the U.S. and flew 40 missions in the Iran-Iraq War. Imprisoned by the Khomeini regime for criticizing authority, he escaped with his family to Vancouver in 1994.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration froze the U.S. assets of Syria's foreign minister and two other senior officials on Tuesday in response to Syria's increasingly violent crackdown against anti-government protesters.

OAKLAND -- Being gay in Uganda was never easy for gospel singer Daniel Dyson, but the anti-gay hysteria that erupted in the African nation two years ago forced him to flee.

A Republican leader in the House is introducing a bill to pressure U.N. members to vote against Palestinian statehood next month

In speech to veterans, former Mass. Gov. lambastes Obama for "confused" foreign policy vision, says "I will not apologize for America!"

The smaller casting for Ben Affleck's third directorial effort, Argo, is falling into place. The movie already has a great topline cast: Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler, Bryan Cranston and Scott McNairy are part of the true story about a CIA team that attempted to extract diplomats from...

Last week, the beloved Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat was brutally attacked by Syrian security forces who broke his hands as a message to those who condemn the ruling regime. Ferzat was found beaten and dumped on a Damascus road. Justice Through Music, www.jtmp.org, a national non-profit that supports...

Exclusive: President George W. Bush’s post-9/11 pivot from targeting al-Qaeda to invading Iraq left behind two open-ended wars – and bought al-Qaeda’s leaders time to regroup and recuperate, a reality recognized by one named “Atiyah,” whose fate turned as President Barack Obama shifted U.S. assets back to Pakistan, writes...

Six women living in Australia have been named by American intelligence agencies as potential targets of an al-Qaeda plot to recruit women for terror attacks, according to a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.

Six women living in Australia named by US intelligence as potential targets of al-Qaeda recruitment plot.

Russia and China's Energy Dispute and the Struggle for Eurasian Dominance. According to the 2009 Russian-Chinese intergovernmental agreement, oil deliveries to China through the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline are made under contracts among ...

Through her carefully crafted characters and cinematography, Iranian American writer and director Maryam Keshavarz has created a masterpiece that is luscious, erotic and profoundly complicated.

Who 'really' is this Bruce Fein?

Just months after killing Osama bin Laden, the U.S. may have just taken out al-Qaida’s newly anointed second in command — a terrorist that experts consider “irreplaceable” to the organization.

Benn Harradine has given the Australian athletics team a boost by finishing fifth in the men's discus.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is sending more than $25 million in military equipment, small boats and other support to Tunisia and Malta, two nations that flank Libya and are key U.S. allies in the tumultuous region, The Associated Press has learned.

The tantalizing cuisine of Persia isn't what most people expect from a part of the world best known for searing spices and political unrest. But it's that perfect combination of vibrant, fresh flavors and marinated, grilled meats that makes dishes such as jeweled rice, grilled quail and a chilled eggplant...

Increase in Nigerian, Saudi Arabian exports helps boost supply

Women drive the new film "Circumstance"—as is surprisingly common for Iranian movies

Google issued warnings this morning of a possible man-in-the-middle attack against users attempting to access various Google services over a secured and encrypted HTTPS protocol. Google notes that the man-in-the-middle attacks appear to be "p...

Iran has acknowledged that it possesses new technologies that could bring it closer to developing nuclear weapons and more advanced missiles.

JIM ABRAMS Associated Press WASHINGTON The head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is asking Congress to block U.S. funds for any United Nations entity that supports giving Palestine an elevated status at the U.N. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., in legislation unveiled Tuesday, also would ban U.

DigiNotar says it was breached ... but little else A counterfeit credential authenticating Gmail and other sensitive Google services was the result of a network intrusion suffered by DigiNotar, the parent company of the Netherlands-based certificate authority said in a press release that raised disturbing new questions about security on the...

The Associated Press The Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. Secrecy, sealed courtrooms and redacted documents are becoming commonplace in the government's prosecution of a former CIA officer accused of leaking government secrets about Iran to a New York Times reporter. A judge held a secret hearing Tuesday in the case against...

Both President Obama and Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney were addressing veterans groups today. The Globe is posting both prepared texts. In his remarks, Romney not only criticized Obama, but seemed to jab at GOP rival Rick Perry, lashing out at “career politicians.”

There has been a recent uproar surrounding the issue of apostasy amongst the Muslim community, and fingers of blame have been pointed in all directions, from Christian tuition schools to opposition leaders.

I hadn’t planned on doing a follow-up on last week’s column about my Iranian friends Sahar and Farid’s first time visit to America, but the welcome they received was so wonderful, I wanted to share some of it with you.

Yoram Gross’ films will represent Australian animation at the Chitrakatha’11 international festival in India, from October 19 to 23. Yoram Gross built an animation empire by bringing Australian characters, from Dot and the Kangaroo to Blinky Bill, to the screen.

Iranian discus thrower Ehsan Haddadi wins bronze medal in the World Athletics Championships to secure Iran's first ever medal in world championships.

Dozens were arrested or severely injured, according to reports from the region.

The Associated Press The Associated Press CAIRO An official Iranian news agency says Iran is sending a submarine and a warship to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Press TV quotes the commander, Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, as saying the deployment will serve the country's interests and "convey...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney fiercely defended the Iraq War on Tuesday, disputing the notion the controversial conflict tarnished America's image abroad.

There remains seminal moments in the life of others that are worth dusting down every so often for a nostalgic look back, especially in times of extended hardship. On the cusp of the 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands at Hampden Park that saw Scotland tumble out of contention to reach...

WASHINGTON — The United States is scheduled to withdraw its final 46,000 troops from Iraq by the end of this year. We must not miss the opportunity. read more

Iran's Organization of the Holy Quran is scolding Iranian publishers who've outsourced production of the holy book to Chinese printers. Apparently, their copies of the Quran are riddled with typos , according to the Tehran Times. "These tableaus are made quite cheaply in China but are sold for much more...

Berlin’s annual anti-Israel Islamist march, the Al Quds Day demonstration, drew pro-Israel counter-protesters to the streets of former West Berlin.