News Archive - 1 October 2011

Over the past two weeks, the UN General Assembly witnessed a historic event that soon became the focus of diplomats and the media equally. The event was none other than the address by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the international community.

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian soldiers have taken control of most of the town of Rastan from deserters and gunmen, an activist said on Saturday, after the most prolonged armed clashes of the six-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said...

>TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader rejected the Palestinians' U.N. statehood bid on Saturday, saying any deal that accepted the existence of Israel would leave a "cancerous tumor" forever threatening the security of the Middle East. As leader of a country under a long-standing threat of military action from...

Dhaka (The Daily Star/ANN) - Look at Afghanistan. What do you see? Other than desolate mountains, grinding poverty and senseless killings, there is not much else.

Iran's Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani says the United States does not want to accept the power of the Muslim world in resolving regional and international issues.

Organisers hope rock festival could inspire Afghans to pick up guitars instead of guns.

Series Two Part Two: Security In this lecture called Dame Elizabeth Manningham-Buller argues that the security and intelligence services in a democracy have a good record of protecting and preserving freedom

The US State Department’s obsession with Al Jazeera, as exposed by Wikileaks in the US diplomatic cables, is a good read for most anyone, but for journalists especially. Al Jazeera’s top director has already resigned.

The CIA drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born propagandist for al-Qaeda's rising franchise in Yemen, was one more demonstration of what U.S. officials describe as a cheap, safe and precise tool to eliminate enemies.

Arriving passengers at Phuket International Airport are likely to face very long delays during the high season unless Immigration can support the TAT's ...

THE fate of Rajko Toroman remains up in the air, even after the veteran international coach met with businessman/sportsman and Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Manny V. Pangilinan on Thursday.

The stunned expressions on Palestinian delegates’ faces as they listened to President Obama bluntly reject their bid for statehood at the United Nations last Wednesday was proof of just how far they had allowed themselves to believe in their own hype.

Phuket Gazette would like to thank its readers for their support in our continued growth, not only with the newspaper, which is now on board 10 of the ...

It's another major victory in the war on terror. Just in the nick of time, police busted a 26-year-old Boston-area man accused of plotting to attack the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol with remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives.

Murata stunned reigning champion Abbos Atoev at the world boxing championships with a shock 16-1 win. -AFP

TORRINGTON - Life was not an easy thing for Ninoos Yousefzadeh, his parents or his three brothers in Razia, Iran during the first 14 years of his life.

The CIA drone strike that killed Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born propagandist for al-Qaida's rising franchise in Yemen, was one more demonstration of what U.S. officials describe as a cheap, safe and precise tool to eliminate enemies. It was also a sign that the decade-old U.S. campaign...

The Syrian opposition groups’ meeting in Istanbul highlights their urgent efforts to streamline an effective resistance against President Bashar Al Assad’s regime. It is for this reason that the Syrian National Council, the largest grouping of the opposition, is making efforts to forge links with other groups and form a...

KARACHI: When the regulators of the capital market meet with their counterparts in other countries, they are sure to do two things: shake the other by the hand and express deep desire for promoting cross-border listing of securities.

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Strikingly True. By Ripley Publishing. 254 pages. $28.95. Where do the upper-echelon competitors in trivia games get their smarts? Probably from books like this -- colorful, entertaining and steeped in stuff, not to mention packed with...

Kenyan Deputy Agriculture Minister Japhet Kareke Mbiuki says Nairobi is keen to increase the level of its trade transactions with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It was a celebration more than two years in the making in Montgomery County Saturday night.

Something has gone terribly wrong on the plant floor at ACME Specialty Chemical International Inc.

Pune, Oct 1 : Hosts India qualified for the quarterfinals of the Asian Women’s Rugby 7’s Championship at the Balewadi Sports Complex on Saturday.

The Iranian national taekwondo squad has pocketed seven medals on the first day of the 4th British International Open.

BANGKOK - Top-seeded Andy Murray survived a second-set scare to beat Gilles Simon at the Thailand Open on Saturday and set up a final against American Donald ...

Islamic Jihad of Palestine Secretary General Ramadan Abdullah says jihad and resistance are the only options left for the Palestinian people to restore their rights.

THE row which broke out in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) over hudud is not the first — nor will [...]

Yes, Josh Fattal, you can go home again. You'll be amazed at how people tried to get you back.

Both ‘Britannia’ and the Western alliance are losing the means to perpetuate military-political hegemony worldwide.

SANAA, Yemen -- Al-Qaida's branch remains a powerful threat in this deeply unstable nation, even after a U.S. drone strike that eliminated three of its key figures. Its military leadership remains intact and is only growing stronger amid months of political turmoil tearing Yemen apart.

RAMALLAH, West Bank - An aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas demanded Saturday that international mediators insist on a halt to Israeli settlement construction. Nabil Shaath characterized earlier actions by the mediating group known as the Quartet as a slap on the wrist.

Browser makers are devising ways to protect people from a security protocol weakness that could let an attacker eavesdrop on or hijack protected Internet sessions. Potential solutions include a Mozilla option to disable Java in Firefox.

GOP presidential hopeful fields questions on immigration, climate change in New Hampshire town halls

Hijab, the Muslim head scarf, carries unexpected weight: political, religious, cultural and deeply personal. And the decision to take it off can be wrenching, as it was for Shaila Kibria.

British Council director Peter Clack who left the country last month for a new posting, talks fondly of local food and the role he played in Malaysia’s quest to be an education hub.

Saturday in New Hampshire, Texas Gov. Rick Perry got a question he wasn’t expecting. Well, it wasn’t the question that was surprising so much as the person who asked it.

An evangelical pastor has been sentenced to death in Iran for being having committed "crimes against national security." While officials in Iran have said the death sentence against Yusef Nadarkhani is not a religious issue, his lawyers have suggested otherwise.

The government of Iran has resumed gas exports to Turkey after a break of eight days, as requested by the state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), as reported by the channel Press TV Iranian TV.

Four commanders of anti-Iranian terrorist groups known as al-Ahwazi have met with the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, Press TV reports.

PETALING JAYA: A Siberian Husky with mesmerising blue eyes, a brown cocker spaniel with curly locks and a rare Persian cat are among the pedigree pets dumped at the Society For The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as rising affluence and easy access to pedigrees “breed” callousness in pet...

Ministers were "mortified" by the Prime Minister's decision to agree a plan to withdraw British troops from the country by the end of 2014, a senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) source revealed yesterday. Britain's defence chiefs are now resigned to a "face-saving" retreat from Afghanistan within three years, amid concerns...

At the Idaho National Laboratory, Homeland Security analysts are working to find and stop cyber-attacks. A federal think tank says the number of attacks is growing. In a gray office building across from the scenic Snake River, analysts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sift through the latest...

The criminal case against accused Mexican narco-trafficker Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla now appears to be threatening to unravel the U.S. government’s ugly national-security interests in the drug war.

It may be a backhanded compliment, but one of the most impressive aspects of Kevin Smith's Red State is how unlike a Kevin Smith film it is.

A war of extraordinary brutality is being waged across the Muslim world which is largely ignored by the media. It is a war in which victims are assassinated or massacred with no chance to defend themselves. Most of those who die are poor people murdered in obscure places without the...

THEY have dedicated three decades to racing in where everyone else is desperate to escape, pulling people to safety in the aftermath of earthquakes, floods, mudslides and manmade disasters.

The flow of natural gas to Turkey from Iran pipe-line repair then began again after eight days. Mehr News Agency reports that, for technical reasons, Turkey is ready to be stopped by the gas flow to Turkey’s requested, and then restarted after the afternoon set.

The Qatar Natural History Group (QNHG) will launch its new season of activities on October 5, when entomologist Professor Phillip Watson of Qatar University gives a presentation on the biodiversity of insects.

Senior police officer Ali Dizaei, who was jailed for perverting the course of justice, has demanded his job with the Metropolitan Police back.

Readers discuss whether some crimes are so abhorrent that justice demands death.

President Barack Obama ordered the targeted killing of al-Qaeda figure and American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki despite the lack of any legal due process.

TEHRAN, Oct. 1 -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei criticized on Saturday what he called U.S. President Barack Obama's support for Israel, the English language satellite Press TV reported.

R&D should focus more on new lipid nano-carrier technologies that can be easily scaled up to meet industry demands, given the potential of nano-delivery systems for use in food, says a new review

WASHINGTON -- Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, the head of a network of Christian house churches in Iran, could be executed as soon as midnight Wednesday in Tehran for refusing to recant his religious beliefs and convert to Islam, said the chair of a commission that monitors religious freedom around the world.

Director of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization Hamid Safdel says the value of the country's exports of technical and engineering services exceeds USD four billion.

As Japan struggles with its nuclear energy policy, the world is struggling with problems surrounding the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Introduced 15 years ago, the CTBT has been signed by 182 countries and ratified by 155. The treaty prohibits nuclear weapon test explosions anywhere and provides a means to...

Plans for Iraq to host football's Gulf Cup in 2013 ran into problems as a senior MP claimed to have proof of graft Saturday, while participating states have asked Baghdad for assurances over safety.

Aid workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) brought medical supplies into ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's besieged hometown of Sirte on Saturday as fears grew that a humanitarian disaster was unfolding there.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh begins a hectic round of diplomacy here on Friday ahead of his address to the United Nations focusing on terrorism, the economic slowdown and the vexed Palestine issue.

Martin Ward and Anthony Ogogo were the latest Great Britain boxers to move closer to Olympic qualification after recording comprehensive wins in the World Championships in Baku on Sunday.

Egypt's permanent representative in the United Nations said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is the most important neighbor of the Arab World while emphasizing Tehran-Cairo relations benefits the people of the region.

Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Tehran will make every effort to help resolve any remaining ambiguities in its peaceful nuclear program.

Dr. Ali al-Akri sits at home in Bahrain waiting for the jailer to call. When it happens, probably within days, the veteran physician will pack his bag, kiss his family goodbye and go to the prison that he will probably call home for the next 15 years.

AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen Al-Qaida's branch remains a powerful threat in this deeply unstable nation, even after a U.S. drone strike that eliminated three of its key figures. Its military leadership remains intact and is only growing stronger amid months of political turmoil tearing Yemen apart. As...

Iran's Majlis (parliament) has sent a letter to the country's monitoring organizations, asking them to provide it with relevant documents and evidence in the recent bank scam case.

The Philippines has suffered a second setback after three rousing early victories in the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. 20 y ...

A senior Iranian commander says despite having deployed a fully-equipped aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, the US is terrified of potential confrontation with Iran's naval forces.

In a press release issued late on Wednesday, the Presidential Office refuted claims by certain news websites that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took his daughter, groom, and his grandchild to New York as he attended the annual UN General Assembly meeting. In a related report, Mehr News Agency has published a...

Espionage is a special crime that is considered serious not just by governments but also by peoples. They do not forgive it because it is seen as an act against the interests of people. But this is a peculiarity of societies that respect and trust their judiciary. In Iran, the...

Iran's top police official has slammed the effects of satellite TV programming on Iranian society and says police have intensified efforts to confiscate receiver dishes in homes.

The Australian Navy on Saturday intercepted a suspected people smuggling vessel carrying more than 70 people, the government said. It is the second vessel in less than a week. HMAS Albany, operating under the control of Border Protection Command, intercepted the vessel north of Christmas Island, an island in the...

Educators are to undergo extra training by the clergy, the Iranian Ministry of Education has announced. ILNA reports that Mohammad Bonyadi, a ministry advisor, said the education system will make every effort to avail itself of clerical teachings.

The 5th International Conference on Palestinian Intifada has opened in the Iranian capital of Tehran, aiming to call enough attention to the issue of Palestine.

The following is a review of the news highlights of the Jewish year 5771. Despite offers of increased U.S. military equipment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides against extending the 10-month West Bank settlement freeze.

TEHRAN, Oct. 1 (MNA) - A former health minister says seditionists are trying to enter the political scene again through pretending that they are wise and moderate.

MANAMA: International relations and media battles came under the spotlight during Friday sermons yesterday.

Candidate Sen. Barack Obama faced plenty of criticism for being wet behind the ears on national security issues, particularly in contrast to his war hero opponent. And yet the highlight of his tenure so far has been the near eradication of Al Qaeda. On last night's program, Rachel Maddow looked...

A senior Kenyan official has urged Iranian investors to invest in different economic projects in the East African country, saying Nairobi welcomes the initiative.

BAHRAIN'S youth national football team take on Tajikistan today in their opening group 'C' qualifier for next year's Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 Championship. The match is set to be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which is hosting the week-long qualifying tournament.

BAHRAIN coach Peter John Taylor has named a 31-member squad that will begin training tonight in preparation for their Fifa World Cup away qualifier against Iran on October 11. Inspirational skipper Mohammed Salmeen, who has recently been nursing an injury and has missed Bahrain's first two qualification matches, is now...

TEHRAN, Oct. 1 (MNA) – Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal has said that liberation of occupied territories is a prerequisite for the establishment of Palestinian state.

Allen Dulles, John Foster Dulles' brother, was the first civilian and longest-serving director of the C.I.A. Our Brian Dwyer and photojournalist R-D White look back on the life of the North Country native.

TEHRAN, Oct. 1 (MNA) – Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has advised Palestinian groups not to be engaged in futile political infighting, advising them to benefit from Muslim nations’ support for the resistance movement.

Inspired by the popular uprisings in Muslim countries, the anti-imperialist 'Occupy Wall Street' protests are creeping with vigorous rapidity into other states in the USA.

An Iranian official says Youssef Nadar-Khani, an Iranian-born convert to Christianity, is guilty of security charges and running a brothel but his verdict has not been finalized.

TEHRAN, Oct. 1 (MNA) -- For a long time now, it has been quite clear that popular Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wants to become president again one day.

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.

KABUL, Oct 1 — Afghans are used to having their days broken by a burst of gunfire or the boom of an explosion. But the barrage of drumming, bass beats and amped-up guitar solos that will hit the city next week may stop many in their tracks. Sound Central, a...

TEHRAN, Oct. 1 (MNA) – Iran is closely monitoring the movements of foreign naval vessels in the Persian Gulf, the deputy commander of the IRGC Naval Force announced on Saturday.

Going to church is hard. Every week they expect you to be there Saturday night or Sunday morning for sometimes up to three hours.

Saudi Arabia's interference in the internal affairs of Yemen and Bahrain and its deployment of military troops in these countries to help quell the peaceful anti-government protests bring to mind the atrocious and brutal policies and actions of the Israeli regime in the Middle East.

Tehran, Oct. 1 (MNA) -- Iranian discus thrower Ehsan Hadadi has said that it’s time to win a medal in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"His crime is not, as some claim, converting others to Christianity," Rezvani told Fars

HAMILTON, Ohio #8212; A baby alligator that may have been flushed down a toilet has been rescued from a wastewater treatment plant. The Hamilton Journal News reports that a city worker at the Hamilton plant found the 11-inch-long alligator Friday.

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian security forces shot dead four protesters calling for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad and clashes continued in the centre of the country between insurgents and loyalist forces, activists said.

Iranian officials are claiming a controversial Christian pastor will face the death penalty for rape and extortion -not his original charge of abandoning Islam -- the country's semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

China marks national day with vows for ‘democracy’ BEIJING: China’s top leaders marked the country’s national day on Saturday with an appearance at Tiananmen Square in central Beijing after Prime Minister Wen Jiabao pledged greater “democracy” and rights for the people. AFP Number of dead from Cambodia floods reaches 148...

 By Vladimir Socor -- Turkey has joined the growing ranks of claimants to revision of their contracts with Gazprom. On September 29, Turkish Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz, warned that Turkey would end a 25-year-old supply agreement with Gazprom, unless the latter reduces the price of gas. Taner issued this warning...

Any plan to divide a Palestinian state would be unacceptable, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, but added that such a state could exist temporarily as part of "liberated territory."