News Archive - 19 September 2011

The Associated Press The Associated Press LONDON Six independent filmmakers have been detained in Iran, the BBC said Monday, denying an Iranian media report that the group were the broadcasters' staffers. The BBC said in a statement that the group consisted of "independent documentary filmmakers." It added that while...

Moscow (AFP) Sept 19, 2011 Iran's top national security official arrived in Moscow Monday to discuss with Russia Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West and the two sides' row over an abandoned arms contract. Saeed Jalili was to hold private talks with Russian officials at the Islamic state's embassy in...

In his new book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and energy expert looks at how the need for energy is shaping the world. He joins NPR's David Greene to discuss the global implications of natural gas production in the U.S.

WASHINGTON — Recent media reports have suggested that the Obama administration has decided to reduce sharply the number of U.S. troops it is willing to keep in Iraq beyond this year, possibly to as few as 3,000.

Iran and Indonesia plan to set up joint private banks to facilitate bilateral trade, according to a senior Indonesian embassy official in Tehran.

Supporters of two American hikers detained in Iran on espionage charges were elated Tuesday after Iran’s president said they could be released this week on $500,000 bail. One day later, Iran’s judiciary has refuted reports of the hikers’ imminent release.

The Labor caucus voted down a move from within the party to restrict asylum seekers to onshore processing.

Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran.

World leaders converge on the United Nations in New York this week for the 66th annual session of the General Assembly. Of 193 member nations, South Sudan being newly inducted this past July, 121 heads of state and government are expected to attend the six-day event.

File picture of people walking past Bank Saderat Iran in Dubai. Russia and Iran are creating a $1.2 billion joint venture between state company Russian Technologies and Tehran state Bank Saderat to tap ...

The "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay men and women from serving in the U.S. military has expired, in a historic moment for gay rights in the United States.

During the 1930s, the Rockefellers pushed hard for war against Japan, which they saw as competing with them vigorously for oil and rubber resources in Southeast Asia.

U.S. Rep. Todd Platts said he is amazed by the resiliency of the Israeli people. "They've endured attacks and they're surrounded by turmoil," Platts said.

TEHERAN - Iran on Tuesday publicly hanged a convicted murderer at a square in the capital Teheran, local media reported.

(MENAFN) Emirates Industrial Bank (EIB) said that since demand in the region started to recover in 2010, UAE's non-oil re-exports rebounded notably in the year after they fell in 2009 due to the ...

While Dave Gavitt was best known locally as former Providence College coach, Celtics chief executive, and Big East founder, his most impressive achievement may have been his deft behind-the-scenes diplomacy in the US Olympic men’s basketball team’s transition from amateur to professional.

(MENAFN - Arab News) "This was the statement that was supposed to persuade President (Mahmoud) Abbas not to go? Mr. (Tony) Blair doesn't sound like a neutral interlocutor. He sounds like an Israeli ...

Washington, Sept 20 (ANI): The Obama administration has reportedly begun making plans on what American policy should be in Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, which many believe will happen soon.

KUCHING: SEGi College Sarawak gave its international students a taste of Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration by hosting an [...]

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -- American wrestler Jordan Burroughs won his first world championship title on Sunday, defeating Sedagh Saaeed Goudarzi of Iran 3-2, 4-1 in the 74-kilogram freestyle category.

by John Grooms Bless our city's little heart: The wince-worthy moments just keep coming. Take last week, when four serious Charlotte embarrassments reared their heads.… [ Read more ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

(MENAFN - Qatar News Agency) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left here Monday for New York to take part in the 66th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. According to ...

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 12:22:00 NEW YORK: Activists vowed on Monday to greet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with angry protests when he visits New York for this week's United Nations General Assembly.

WASHINGTON -- When President Obama sits down with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on Tuesday at the United Nations, he will mark another chapter in what is perhaps the most intense relationship that he has cultivated with a foreign leader.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil has begun building its first nuclear submarine to protect its vast, new offshore oil discoveries. Colombia's oil production is climbing so fast that it is closing in on Algeria's and could hit Libya's prewar levels in a few years. ExxonMobil is striking new deals in...

Commentary on the Arab revolution has been marked by a mix of hopeful anticipation for the triumph of democracy over tyranny and reserved trepidation about the challenge of Islamism. There is widespread consensus that the opening up of the political space will benefit Islamist forces.

Islamabad, Sept 20(ANI): Islamabad has apparently decided to use Washington's opposition to the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project as a bargaining chip to persuade the United States to grant Pakistan a civilian nuclear deal similar to the one between the US and India.

HONG KONG - Asian football giants Japan, South Korea and Australia are eyeing winning starts when the final round of Asian qualifying for next year's Olympics gets under way on Wednesday.

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz has announced a 28-man squad for a two-day training camp in Tehran as Team Melli prepares for October 11's 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier against Bahrain.

FRONT ROYAL -- Researchers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute hailed the birth of a rare Persian onager earlier this month.

An interfaith delegation of religious leaders from Washington didn’t come home from Iran on Monday with the news it had hoped for, but members said they remain optimistic about what they call the “imminent” release of two U.S. hikers. The delegation hoped to return with hikers Shane Bauer and...

"Your people, sir, is ... a great beast."

Moscow, Sep 20 : The period of global domination of the US should come to an end, the head of Iran's Supreme National Council has said.

Its now post 9/11 plus 10 and it is clearly time to bring to a halt the American military's desire to continue to be an occupying force. I thought that Gen.

A girl holds out her hands with Arabic writing that reads "Hama is bleeding" at a protest Saturday in front of the Russian embassy in Amman, Jordan. Yemen uprising: In what may be the start of the collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year-old regime, thousands of protesters backed by...

Whether China and other BRICS members will give a helping hand to European countries that have been severely plagued by their looming debt crisis is now a hot topic around the world. China's purchas .....

Young footballers of the northern province of Nam Dinh won the trophy at the Thanh Nien Newspaper sponsored-National U-21 Football Championship after beating the hosts Binh Duong 5-4 in the penalty-shoot-out yesterday.

Gary Simpson of Orange County had the soil from all but one of the 193 U.N. member countries for his project. He knew he had to make the trip himself to North Korea for it. Kazakhstan was becoming a problem. Gary Simpson had already failed once to get his...

By Shudip Talukdar , New Delhi, Sep 20 : Yoga, whose all-round benefits are increasingly being accepted across the world, has now been found useful in treating mental and psychiatric disorders, a number of scientific studies have found.

Russia and Iran have agreed to jointly develop the world's largest zink-lead deposit in central Iran

Iran has detained six documentary filmmakers on accusations that they worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation's Persian service, activists said on Monday.

A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy, arrested in San Bernardino in connection with a domestic-violence case in Beaumont, has been transferred to the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

WASHINGTON: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and his US counterpart Leon Panetta met Monday at the Pentagon to discuss political changes in the region ahead of the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations.

The Issue: Plans for a group of Columbia University students to have dinner with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. *** While parents sacrifice to send their offspring to Columbia University, some students plan to dine with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who holds two American sons, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, in prison (“ ‘Look at...

The coming US veto of a UN Security Council measure on Palestinian statehood this week raises the question, once again, of why the United States needs to stick its neck out to help Israel. Many forget that America’s pro-Israel policy advances vital practical and strategic goals. The United States...

Luke Durbridge took Australia's second gold medal of the day following up on Jessica Allens excellent perfomance earlier in the day.

The Iranian basketball team has trounced Malaysia 121-36 in its opening match of the second round of the 2011 Asian Basketball Championship.

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Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said on Monday he had no idea he was entering an event for Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) at a Harlem restaurant. A delegation of U.S. Christian and Muslim leaders has returned from Iran saying the release of two Americans is imminent.

After cycling 28,000 kilometres through 28 countries to be here, Tom Hudson and Jodie Burton rolled into Blenheim yesterday just in time to see the Russian rugby team leave.

source: Nelson Beltran | philstar.com UPDATE: Smart Gilas PHL vs. Japan [CLICK HERE] WUHAN – Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan had to personally fight for Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz and urge FIBA Asia deputy secretary general Hagop Khajirian to let the two embattled Fil-Ams play...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stopped over briefly in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on his way to the United States.

Monday: Republicans shoot down President Obama's balanced plan for cutting the deficit; Then, A new study claims people with diabetes are twice as likely to develop dementia; Also, an investigation into the rogue pharmacies that distribute the powerful medications - no questions asked.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Masters Athletic Association (MMAA) will be hosting the 25th Malaysian Open Masters Athletics Championships on Oct 1-2 at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Star.

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mike Huckabee – who will address the biggest conference countering the expected Israel-bashing-fest at the UN’s Durban III “anti-racism” gathering Thursday – said today that the world body is dabbling in...

Marty Cheek is wrong for blaming America for Sept. 11 Dear Editor. With all the left wing articles published by the Times, mainly from Lisa Pampuch, the Big Picture column takes the cake. I cannot understand on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 how the Times can publish an article that...

The Obama administration is trying to avoid a repeat of what happened in Iraq, where the United States was not fully prepared for the aftermath of a leader’s fall.

Re: your Sept. 15 article, “Release of U.S. hikers by Iran still cloudy”: According to news reports, the $500,000 bail for the first released American hiker in Iran came from an "undisclosed source."

The Illinois Supreme Court has denied former Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson’s request to be released from jail while he awaits trial on charges that he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Hundreds of travellers arriving at Pearson airport who have been flagged for checks by border agents are being set free to speed up passenger processing times, posing a threat to national security, front-line officers say.

Beef farmers surprised at the strength in demand for cattle should not concern themselves that they are going through a blip in the market, according to the National Beef Asso

Several independent Iranian film-makers, some of whose work was screened by the BBC's Persian service, have been arrested in Tehran after the channel broadcast a candid pr

On April 28, 2011, members of the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, Workers Compensation Fraud Prosecution Unit, began an investigation into allegations of possible Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud involving Carlos Tehran Bernal, 37, of Highland.

The Palestinians won't get a state this week. But they will prove – if they get enough votes in the General Assembly and if Mahmoud Abbas does not succumb to his characteristic grovelling in the face of US-Israeli power – that they are worthy of statehood. And they will establish...

ADNAN Osman is a retired teacher, aged 69. However, instead of relaxing, he is venturing on a 10-month solo cycling expedition to raise funds for the Malaysian AIDS Foundation.

A global campaign to save new mothers and children under five in developing nations has made strong gains but is set to fall well shy of UN goals, according to a study released Tuesday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on the popular uprising against his rule, which has left some 2,600 people dead since March, has earned him opprobrium across the globe.

Foreign policy issues are hard enough, without being reduced to bumper-sticker slogans

MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, accused the opposition March 14 parties Monday of adopting what he called a spiteful opposition against the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati and obstructing its plans.

Turkey’s top diplomat predicted in an interview published Sunday that his country would form an alliance with a reformed Egypt, creating a new democratic axis of power in the Middle East.

Now that the book is out and its over 40-year history has been told, TCS will finally be able to look beyond.

(CNN) – Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann didn't walk back on recent comments about the dangers of a vaccine Monday, but...

The opportunity exists for a Turkey-Iraq style relationship in the Holy Land. Turkey provided Iraq with essential ingredients -- trade channels, key industry growth and international legitimacy -- which Israel alone has the power to provide the Palestinians.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrived at the United Nations today for the year’s biggest gathering of world leaders, bent on defying a threatened U.S. veto in the Security Council by seeking full membership.

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WHO: U.S. Congressman Tom Price (GA), Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee; Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Professor and Best-Selling Author; and Shelby Steele, Hoover Institution Fellow and National Humanities Medal recipient...

A 44-year-old Lincoln man on Monday got nearly the maximum sentence possible on a felony child abuse charge for sexual abuse involving two boys.

Reuters/Vienna The US and Iran traded accusations at a meeting of the UN atomic agency yesterday, underlining the deep deadlock between the two adversaries in a long-running dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

A group of U.S. Christians and Muslims made their way to Iran in attempt to free two Americans but returned empty-handed Monday.

Beware of BEAST decrypting secret PayPal cookies Researchers have discovered a serious weakness in virtually all websites protected by the secure sockets layer protocol that allows attackers to silently decrypt data that's passing between a webserver and an end-user browser.…

There are many good people working for Greenpeace who are genuinely and deeply convinced that nuclear power is not part of the solution. But they are wrong to suggest that gas is an adequate low-carbon bridge technology.

As the nation discusses how to react to our current financial situation, many elected leaders have taken a long look at the size of the military budget. We need to support our allies and live up to our military responsibilities, but could we do it for less money? One area...

WASHINGTON (BP) -- When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits New York for the U.N. General Assembly, he is due to dine on Sept. 21 with students from the Columbia International Relations Council and Association (CIRCA). A spokesman for the Columbia University student organization says they are "thrilled to have...

share: digg facebook twitter Saudi Arabia will spend $43 billion on its poorer citizens and religious institutions. Kuwaitis are getting free food for a year. Civil servants in Algeria received a 34 percent pay rise. Desert cities in the United Arab Emirates may soon enjoy uninterrupted electricity.

President Barack Obama heads to New York Monday to join world leaders attending the biggest annual diplomatic cocktail party of the year. That is, the flurry of events that surround the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly. Here are four things to watch for this week. 1. "You...

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. State Department's first list under the Obama administration of the worst violators of overseas religious freedom received disappointing reviews from some advocates on the issue.

If Israel DisappearsCal ThomasThe world - or at least the large part of it that hates Israel and wis ...

JUST when you think you've seen everything, you find Tony Abbott and the Labor Left cuddled up together in opposition to Julia Gillard. This is surely a wonderful sight to behold, especially when he's also holding hands with the Greens.

After ten years of war, it seems Washington not only continues to lack a comprehensive understanding of Afghanistan, but it lacks an understanding of its own role in creating both the economic and political catastrophe it now faces.

Since 9/11, the U.S. war on terror abroad and domestic terror incidents involving U.S. and immigrant Muslims have focused attention on Islam in the United States. Muslims face increased scrutiny and backlash on issues ranging from mosques and sharia law to questions of terrorism.

Saudi Arabia will spend $43 billion on its poorer citizens and religious institutions. Kuwaitis are getting free food for a year. Civil servants in Algeria received a 34 percent pay rise. Desert cities in the United Arab Emirates may soon enjoy uninterrupted electricity.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States urged Turkey on Monday not to do anything to worsen its relationship with Israel, officials said on Monday, seeking to prevent relations between two allies from deteriorating further.

Michael O'Hanlon and Omer Taspinar: The U.S. has done much self-reflection about the past decade, but how about over there?

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A delegation of American Christian and Muslim leaders today issued a joint statement on their return to the United States after meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other officials in Iran to foster theological dialogue and to seek the release of hikers Shane...

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — The state newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan reported Monday that the Central Asian nation has started up a new natural gas compressor station, boosting its annual export capacity by 2 billion cubic meters.

Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu had to settle for wrestling silver after losing to Mehdi Taghavi Kermani of Iran in the men's 66-kg freestyle final on Sunday. The 25-year-old Yamanashi native, who defeated Kermani in the final at the Asian Games last year in Guangzhou, China, was beaten 2-0 in his bid to...

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's nuclear energy chief accused British spies on Monday of shadowing him around the world -- even to the "back door" of his university office -- to gather information ahead of a failed assassination attempt on him last year.

India will make a case for better investment opportunities and proposed setting up of infrastructure debt funds, while calling the US to reverse the steep hike in visa fee for professionals. The issues will be raised during Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to the US starting Wednesday. Commerce Minister Anand...

GEORGE JAHN Associated Press VIENNA A colleague of a nuclear scientist shot dead recently in Tehran is being investigated by Iranian security services who suspect him of leaking information leading to the killing, says an intelligence summary shared with The Associated Press. The report by an International Atomic Energy Agency...

Fewer children under age 5 are dying, and the deaths of women in pregnancy and childbirth have also dropped annually.

U.S. President Barack Obama has revealed a plan to reduce America's swollen deficit that would include raising taxes on the rich.