News Archive - 24 October 2011

>DUBAI (Reuters) - The funeral of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan on Tuesday sets the stage for an eventual generational shift in the aging leadership of the world's top oil exporter, even if King Abdullah picks 77-year-old Prince Nayef to succeed him. At stake is the direction of a U.

>Azerbaijan's victory was confirmed when it received 155 votes in the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly, ensuring that it joins Pakistan, Morocco, Guatemala and Togo as temporary members of the 15-nation council in January. Those four nations were elected to the council on Friday.The Security Council is the powerhouse...

>LONDON (Reuters) - The United States is seeking European support for tougher sanctions on Iran in response to an alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, a senior U.S. official said on Monday. David Cohen, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said he met British officials...

>LONDON (Reuters) - Turkey is much better placed to deal with its latest earthquake since overhauling its emergency operations in the past decade, but international experts questioned on Monday its decision to rebuff many outside offers of help. The country has plenty of experience in dealing with earthquakes after living...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iranian-American man who U.S. officials say has links to Iran's security forces pleaded not guilty in federal court on Monday to plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington in a bomb attack. Manssor Arbabsiar, 56, who was arrested on September 29 in New...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected to publish intelligence soon pointing to military dimensions to Iran's nuclear activities but stopping short of saying explicitly that Tehran is trying to build atom bombs, Western diplomats say. Russian and Chinese reluctance may frustrate any Western bid to seize...

>DUBAI (Reuters) - The death of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan sets the stage for an eventual generational shift in the aging leadership of the world's top oil exporter, even if King Abdullah picks 77-year-old Prince Nayef to succeed him. At stake is the direction of a U.S. ally...

>AMMAN (Reuters) - The United States has pulled its ambassador out of Syria over security concerns after his cultivation of contacts with protesters led to attacks on his embassy and residence by backers of President Bashar al-Assad, diplomats said on Monday. Robert Ford left Syria over the weekend, the Western...

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s forces have killed thousands of opponents as he has fought to stamp out the sparks of the Arab Spring in his country

U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, run to a building after detonating explosives to open a gate during a mission in Ramadi, Iraq. U.S.'s long and deeply unpopular war in Iraq will be over by year's end.

A contractor from New York was busted yesterday for allegedly trying to export restricted technology from the United States to Iran.Richard Phillips, 53, was charged in Brooklyn federal court after he tried to ship what he believed to be a large spool of industrial carbon fiber to Tehran in...

Queensland's Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman says claims of party-room bullying are not an issue for him.

An Iranian official has announced that the country is engaged in talks with a Chinese consortium for participation in the construction of an LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) plant in the country.

by: AMB. JOSE V. ROMERO, JR., PH.D Cultural Revolution and Information Explosion The information explosion and greater access to data brought about by advances in information technology will produce a much smaller world. The revolution in telecommunication technology will surely bring about globalization of business and integration of...

Trial resumed, Monday, behind closed doors in the case against an Iranian, Azim Aghajani, and a Nigerian, Alli Abass Jega, accused of importing arms illegally into Nigeria from Republic of Iran.

Tokyo — The winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan marks a pivot point for the U.S. military, which must now focus on looming threats such as the rising military might of China, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday.

TOKYO -- The winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan marks a pivot point for the U.S. military, which must now focus on looming threats such as the rising military might of China, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday. Panetta used his f ...

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration has pulled its ambassador home from Syria, arguing that his support for anti-Assad activists put him in grave danger -- the most dramatic action so far by the United States as it struggles to counter a Mideast ...

The winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is a pivot point for the U.S. military, which must now focus on looming threats such as the rising military might of China, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday.

The White House announced on Friday that US troops would all be pulled out of Iraq by the end of this year as Obama had been planning all along.  If this is the situation, why were negotiations carried out in an attempt to keep several thousand US troops in...

TRIPOLI, Libya - After giving a speech that emphasized the Islamization of Libya, the head of the tr ...

Bob Hyldburg, the author of the book “Total Patriots,” went from a fan to archivist over the course of nearly two decades. The hard-copy book illustrates profiles of more than 960 Patriot players, from Rabih Abdullah to Scott Zolak, who wore the red, white and blue uniform.

Today in History

WASHINGTON -- American law enforcement agencies have significantly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country's most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations, according to security officials on both sides of the border.

ANKARA, Turkey — Cries of panic and horror filled the air as a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey, killing at least 138 people as buildings pancaked and crumpled into rubble. The death toll was expected to rise as rescuers sifted through the rubble and reached outlying villages.

The magnitude 7.2 earthquake may have killed 1,000 people, experts say, given the force of the quake and the scale of destruction. So far, at least 279 bodies have been found. Constanze Hasimoglu said she last heard from her daughter, Hattice, in a telephone call immediately after a powerful...

A Gold Star Mother is any mother who has a lost child in military service.

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, welcome back to Meet the Press. I want to start with Iraq and the President’s decision about withdrawal.

Tehran, Oct 25 : Iran Monday hanged two people -- one for beating a policeman to death and the other for drug trafficking, according to national media.

What Next for Libya? Libyan Colonel Gaddafi's 42 year brutal reign is over, but the future looks murky ahead for a country primarily known for exporting oil and terrorism.

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 25, the 298th day of 2011. There are 67 days left in the year. On Oct. 25, 1854, the "Charge of the Light Brigade" took place during the Crimean War as an English brigade of more than 600 men charged the Russian army despite hopeless odds...

This editorial appeared in Sunday’s Washington Post:

A stage production of Shakespeare's Macbeth by artists from the TNT Theatre will be performed in three major cities – HCM City, Ha Noi and Da Nang – from October 26 to November 4.

If you've been watching the new ABC-TV series "Pan Am," you probably get the feeling that the life of a stewardess back in the 1960s was full of adventure, luxury and glamour.

Earl Deal Jr. spent nearly two years in Iraq fighting for its freedom.Deal, of Valparaiso, served as a combat engineer with the Indiana National Guard 113th Engineering Battalion, from which he is retired.President Barack Obama ’s announcement last week that American troops would withdraw from Iraq by the...

When President Obama took the podium last Friday to abruptly announce the imminent end of the Iraq War, he ended on a ringing McGovernite note: “After a decade of war, the nation that we need to build -- and the nation that we will build -- is our own.”...

In about a month, if a congressional “super committee” can’t come up with a plan to slim down the federal budget by $1.5 trillion in 10 years, the Pentagon will be facing the budget cleaver-- again. That’s right, if the super committee can’t agree on a...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed sympathy with and condolences to the people and government of Turkey over the devastating quake which hit the eastern part of the country.

For President Obama, the announcement of the U.S. troop withdrawal was a campaign promise fulfilled, for Ambassador James Jeffrey it was an encouraging sign, for the Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi it was expected.

China bashing is bad campaign politics. It is bad for the important relationship between the two largest economies in the world. It is bad for China and it is bad for the United States.

The funeral of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan on Tuesday sets the stage for an eventual generational shift in the ageing leadership of the world's top oil exporter, even if King Abdullah picks 77-year-old Prince Nayef to succeed him.

WASHINGTON -- Iran should not misread the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as affecting the U.S. commitment to the fledgling democracy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday.

AN Iranian-American man who US officials say has links to Iran’s security forces pleaded not guilty in court last night to plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington in a bomb attack.

ANKARA, Oct 24: Turkish families wept in joy and sorrow on Monday as a few lucky survivors and many more victims were pulled out of the rubble after a 7.2-magnitude quake levelled over a hundred apartment and office buildings.

The United States announced Monday that the U.S. Ambassador to Syria had left the country due to concern for his personal safety following several months of meeting with opposition activists and openly criticizing the Syrian government’s crackdown on protesters.

Distraught Turkish families mourned outside a mosque or sought to identify loved ones among rows of bodies Monday as rescue workers scoured debris for survivors after a 7.2-magnitude quake that killed at least 279 people.

President Obama’s announcement on Friday that every single American troop will be out of Iraq by Christmas received mixed responses from a nation tired of wars and a dismal economy.

Letters from Daily News readers.

Written by John DalyLibyan Colonel Gaddafi's 42 year brutal reign is over, but the future looks murk...

When Ishmael Khaldi worked as the first Bedouin Deputy Consul of Israel in San Francisco, he was surprised how few people were aware of his country and the issues it was facing.

The Iranian-American man who allegedly plotted to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the United States pleaded not guilty on Monday in a Manhattan federal court.

Washington (AFP) Oct 24, 2011 A top US diplomat urged deeper engagement with China on thorny security and economic issues, warning of the dangers of miscalculation as the two great powers contend in the years ahead. "History teaches that moments of great change are when the dangers of misunderstanding, miscalculation...

Diyarbakir, Turkey (AFP) Oct 24, 2011 Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq late Monday, heading towards Kurdish rebel bases in Haftanin valley, as warplanes bombed the area, local security sources said. Some 20 tanks and 30 military trucks entered Iraqi soil from Siyahkaya village around 15 kilometers (eight miles) east...

NEW YORK — An American citizen who holds an Iranian passport pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he plotted to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Manssor Arbabsiar, 56, standing in a navy blue prison uniform, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to...

IN the wake of Sunday’s devastating earthquake in eastern Turkey, Google has launched a specialized Person Finder application to help victims find missing loved ones.

China's state-controlled media seem to enjoy giving a good lecture -- particularly when the target is a meddlesome Western government

Tunisia's election and Libya's celebration of the overthrow of Col. Muammar Gaddafi won't have made for a happy weekend among those in Washington who believe the West is locked in a struggle with political Islam

— A man convicted of importing opium argued Monday that he must have been framed by political enemies in his native Iran.

President unveils new rules to help alleviate the mortgage crisis.

It was a campaign promise, but still came as a surprise to some. President Obama announced Friday that all American troops will be out of Iraq by Christmas. The decision came after the two countries could not come to an agreement on the punishment of American soldiers who break Iraqi...

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has called on the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) to clarify the fate of Shia cleric Imam Mousa Sadr who disappeared in Libya more than thirty years ago.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Top-seeded Gilles Simon and third-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov made early exits in the first round of the St. Petersburg Open on Monday.

Martin Roth, the first non-Briton to run the Victoria & Albert Museum, tools around London in a classic Porsche.

Libya's NTC appears to have decided that an anonymous grave would at least ensure the plot did not become a shrine.

Turkey's October 2011 earthquake is the most powerful quake in a decade. Ercis, a town located in Van province was the hardest hit by the violent quake. Rescuers continue to search for people buried under the rubble. Kandilli Observatory estimated the death toll could reach 500 to 1,000. Barack Obama...

Thousands of people were working frantically yesterday to save survivors from the devastating earthquake in eastern Turkey despite rescue efforts being hampered by serious shortcomings in equipment.

There wasn’t much sign of the Arab Spring at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this year. This is to be expected when it comes to countries like Libya...

Conflicting accounts emerged Tuesday over the postponement of a visit by the Iranian foreign minister to Beirut.

The official Turkmen government web page, Turkmenistan: The Golden Age ran a major editorial signed by Turkmenistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on October 19 regarding what it calls the "European vector," part of its policy of diversifying energy sales and delivery among a variety of customers. It articulates a...

Using shovels, heavy machinery and their bare hands, rescue workers scrambled through piles of rubble to find survivors Monday after a deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake devastated parts of eastern Turkey.

THOUSANDS of people were working frantically to save survivors from the devastating earthquake in eastern Turkey despite rescue efforts being hampered by serious shortcomings in equipment.

The British paper The Independent says the US government is pursuing electoral aims by accusing Iran of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi envoy to Washington.

CLARINDA, Iowa -- Rick Santorum concludes a three-day swing of Iowa today, making seven stops in the Hawkeye State. Santorum, who typically focuses his talking points more about himself, spent additional time talking about his GOP rivals and President Obama this trip. "He has ju …

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Arab Spring uprisings have inspired repression in many countries as well as protests, international rights investigators said Monday.

With the earthquake death toll now around 300, workers are racing to find survivors and shelter thousands against the cold in Turkey.

A federal appeals court on Monday ordered a new trial for an Ivy League-educated scientist, tossing out his conviction for violating the Iran trade embargo and finding he deserves a second chance to show he wasn't part of an unlicensed money transfer business.

FILE - In this 2004 file photo provided by the Williamson County Jail shows Manssor Arbabsiar. Arbabsiar, a U.S. citizen ... Read More who used to live in Corpus Christi, and a member of Iran's special foreign actions unit known as the Quds Force were charged in New York federal...

TRIPOLI, Libya - After giving a speech that emphasized the Islamization of Libya, the head of the transitional government on Monday tried to reassure the Western powers who helped topple Moammar Gadhafi that the country's new leaders are moderate Muslims. Just as in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, Islamists have emerged...

A man looks through debris for family members trapped under a collapsed building as rescuers work to save people from debris in Ercis, Van, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. A survivor of the 7.2-magnitude quake that has killed at least 239 people in eastern Turkey was pulled from...

A smartphone application called I'm Getting Arrested allows a person to send mass text messages moments before the handcuffs go on.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird can guarantee Libya won't return to Stone Age laws and treat women as second-class citizens.

Libya's new leaders said they intend to make Islamic Sharia law the main source of legislation and will nullify any laws that contradict its tenets, giving the country a more Islamist character in the post-Moammar Gadhafi era. AD: Grainger fire protection and response.    Fire is the most common disaster,...

The time has come to think boldly of a brand new course that will help the Arab World extract itself from the malaise it has found itself in since the end of the Second World War.

Distraught Turkish families have been mourning outside a mosque or trying to identify loved ones among rows of bodies as rescue workers scour debris for survivors after a 7.2-magnitude quake that killed at least 279 people.

From Talk of the Nation : Opinions vary widely among a diverse group of experts about the wisdom of a U.S. withdrawal by year's end.

John Kerry got Swift-boated. Jimmy Carter had his re-election chances decimated in the Iranian desert. Then there was Michael Dukakis and that tank photo.

The embattled Syrian regime is largely "out of the danger zone" despite a 7-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said Monday.

Twenty drivers from different parts of the world will test their skills in the $100,000 Delhi championship with MRF, a support event for the inaugural Formula One race in the country. Qua...

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has described the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as a historic defeat for the US and a true victory for Iraqis.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan Monday to offer condolences for those killed in a devastating earthquake and said the Jewish state was ready to help, officials of both countries said.

The battle to shape the future of an Arab world in flux will be fierce, and will pivot on management of sectarian, ethnic and tribal tensions. 25 Oct 2011 7:07 AM

TOKYO — The winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan marks a pivot point for the U.S. military, which must now focus on looming threats such as the rising military might of China, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday. Panetta used his first visit to Japan as Pentagon...

President Michel Sleiman decried the state of disarray within the government Sunday, saying that political bickering among rival factions is holding up achievements and plans to deal with emergency crises like the fires that erupted in various Lebanese areas at the weekend.

Iran's official inflation rate rose for the third month running, the central bank chief said over the weekend, reflecting the government's move to slash subsidies in an economy under pressure from international sanctions.

The Obama administration's efforts at dialogue with Syria have done little to counter its interference in Lebanon, which has undermined the United States' efforts to promote Lebanese independence from external actors, said a report in the Washington Post over the weekend.

The 2nd edition of the International Congress on Recent Medical Achievements has kicked off during a ceremony at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Hospital.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's digital media adviser will travel to Moscow this week to address Russia's concerns about the Internet's use in diplomacy, a US official said on Monday.

Destitute Turkish quake survivors have been crammed into tents.

A spokeswoman for the Syrian embassy in Washington, Roua Sharbaji, said Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha had been recalled to Damascus for consultations on Monday.

Women wait as rescuers work to save people from debris of their collapsed buildings in Ercis, eastern Turkey, Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. More than 200 people were killed after a powerful quake struck in eastern Turkey with dozens of people are still trapped in debris, but authorities hope the death...