News Archive - 26 October 2011

>Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said "the prohibition is necessary because of Iran's role in state-sponsored terrorism, pursuit of nuclear weapons and threat to world peace," according to a copy of his schedule.The bill, which Silver plans to unveil on Thursday, is modeled after a similar proposal in California.

>Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed "the full range of human rights issues" with Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa of Bahrain, a Gulf island kingdom that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the State Department said.Unrest still roils Bahrain months after the Sunni ruling family brought in...

>GUVENCLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Standing near homes that have become deathtraps since Sunday's massive earthquake, the men of the Turkish village of Guvencli gazed at the leaden sky and predicted more deaths unless they were given shelter before the winter snows arrive. "In fifteen days, half of the people here...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to open a "virtual embassy" for Iran that will give Iranians online information about visas and student exchange programs despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday. Clinton, in interviews with the Persian language services of...

More than three decades of U.S. policy toward Iran clearly demonstrates that pressure without an open door is an exercise in futility. The time is now ripe for the president to venture beyond doing things right and do the right thing: negotiate.

>ERCIS Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey struggled to provide shelter on Wednesday to tens of thousands left homeless by an earthquake that killed nearly 500, and rescue teams began taking painful decisions to call off searches for those buried alive. A 27-year-old woman was pulled out alive from a collapsed building...

>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's help for earthquake-struck Turkey is a humanitarian gesture with limited prospects of rebuilding ties between the former allies, Israeli officials said on Wednesday. Responding to an international appeal by Ankara following Sunday's 7.2 magnitude quake that killed more than 400 people and forced thousands to...

>LONDON (Reuters) - When ministers, officials, tech executives, Internet activists and security experts meet in London next week to discuss the management of cyberspace, they will be taking some of the first steps down a very long road. With worries over social media's ability to fuel unrest, intellectual property theft,...

>KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to announce at a regional conference in Istanbul on November 2 the areas chosen for the second phase of the planned handover of security responsibility from foreign to Afghan forces. In a gathering of provincial governors on Wednesday, a potential list...

>DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was expected to name Interior Minister Prince Nayef as his heir after a mourning period for Crown Prince Sultan ends on Thursday, formalizing a smooth succession in the world's biggest oil-producer. Nayef has already run the kingdom on a daily basis for extended...

>(Reuters) - More democracy is bringing more political Islam in the countries of the Arab Spring, but Islamist statements about sharia or religion in politics are only rough indicators of what the real effect might be. The strong showing of Tunisia's moderate Islamists in Sunday's election and a promise by...

London (UPI) Oct 26, 2011 Cross-party Members of Parliament and Peers as well as prominent jurists at a parliamentary meeting Tuesday in London called on the United Kingdom, European Union and the United States to urgently propose a draft text to the U.N. Security Council approve the stationing of...

Singapore (AFP) Oct 26, 2011 Singapore said Wednesday that a US request to extradite four Singaporeans linked to the supply of components for roadside bombs used in Iraq will be reviewed by the city-state's judiciary. The four were arrested on Tuesday after the US sought their extradition on charges of...

Picture two television screens. One looks down on a chaotic city street and a car in flames — a scene of unrest, violence and danger. Here’s another view from the same spot: A slightly upward-tilted lens reveals a calm, inviting cityscape on a gorgeous spring day. The burning car is...

Oct 27 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in TheWall Street Journal on Thursday. Reuters has not verified thesestories and does not vouch for their accuracy.* After a marathon negotiating session, ...

BEIRUT: Energy and Water Minister Gibran Bassil disclosed Wednesday that the Cabinet is studying a proposal to lease powerful electricity generation ships to compensate for the electricity shortage in the country.

(MENAFN - Arab News) The real GDP growth of oil exporters in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is expected to pick up this year to almost 5 percent and then moderate to about 4 percent in ...

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt was peppered with a wide range of questions from economic issues to education to congressional redistricting by a standing-room-only crowd at a town hall-style forum at the Lawrence Township Municipal Building Monday night.

THE nerve-racking moment a pilot landed a jet without landing gear is caught on camera. And yes, they landed safely.

Which colony in the Americas executed two Quakers for their beliefs Oct. 27, 1659?

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Technip (Paris:TEC) (ISIN:FR0000131708): € million (Except Diluted Earnings per Share) 3Q 10 3Q 11 % Change Change ex. FX Impact 9M 10 9M 11 % Change Change ex. FX Impact Revenue 1,512.1 1,698.6 12.3% 15.6% 4,315.0 4,798.7 11.2% 11.9%...

Obama?s decision to leave Iraq should deal a staggering blow to America?s critics at home and abroad. After all, what kind of empire does this sort of thing?

UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations Security Council may vote as early as today to end the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's no-fly zone in Libya on Oct. 31. The 15-member body, which on March 17 authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Muammar Qaddafi, is taking steps to direct...

HENDERSONVILLE — The race for Western North Carolina’s seat in Congress shifted into a new gear Wednesday with a debate among five Republicans hoping to replace U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler.

Students at West Wyomissing Elementary learned about countries around the world Wednesday with help from parents with diverse backgrounds. At the International Fall Fair, students heard from parents originally from Romania, Cuba, Sierra-Leone and Germany.

The first time Jordan Awali passed through downtown New Westminster, he wasn’t impressed. The sidewalks were deserted, the city “felt old,” he says. Now he runs the Quantum Café and Bistro on Sixth Street, just off Columbia.

Washington, Oct 27 : A US man was Wednesday sentenced to nearly four years in prison for illegally exporting components for fighter jets and attack helicopters to Iran.

An Afghan HIV patient speaks during an interview in Kabul on February 2, 2011.

Petaling Jaya (The Star/ANN) - Critics have lambasted Pahang PAS Youth for its call to ban Elton John.

Digi International confirmed Wednesday that it is the unnamed Minnesota company smugglers tricked into exporting 6,000 radio control devices to Iran, including 16 items that ended up in improvised explosive devices in Iraq.

Thumbs up: To President Barack Obama for announcing he will withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year, keeping the campaign promise he made in 2008.

SOMETIMES the Third World looks like an ancient Roman stadium in which syndicates of powerful democracies, the latter-day Caesars, indulge in a favourite bloody pastime — of pitting local gladiators against one another.

The Issue: President Obama’s declaration last week that he will be removing all troops from Iraq. *** President Obama has declared an end to the war in Iraq -- a proud day for most Americans (“Valor Unsurpassed,” Michael A. Walsh, PostOpinion, Oct. 24). Our involvement there has been debated for...

The four Singaporeans wanted by the United States for exporting bomb parts to Iran have been remanded without bail. Their fate will be determined at a court hearing, which will decide whether there a .....

Letters from Daily News readers.

EIGHTY-FIVE years and counting — that is how long the Parmanands Tailor has been around.

Battlefield 3 review scores are in. Take cover!

This is the incredible moment a pilot stops his plane plunging nose-first into the Tarmac despite not having any front landing gear. Captain Hooshang Shahbazi brought in the IranAir 727 at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport knowing if he got it wrong almost 120 people could die.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Iran is "morphing into a military dictatorship" and a power struggle was underway.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is expected to extend a six-month ceasefire by his Mehdi Army militia, two senior officials in his movement confirmed for the first time on Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Four-term U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, is forgoing a costly, uphill campaign to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, in favor of remaining in Congress to pursue the chairmanship of the House Committee on Homeland Security. McCaul's decision sets the stage...

ISLAMABAD: In a crucial round of talks, Pakistan and Turkmenistan stopped short of finalising a gas sale-purchase price for the $7.6 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) pipeline here on Wednesday as the visiting team wanted a final go-ahead from its political leadership back home before locking the deal.

Russia 's foreign policy community is watching with growing nervousness as leading Republicans in the US , including at least one top contender for the party's presidential nomination, turn their ire against Barack Obama 's already troubled "reset" in US-Russian relations , which the Kremlin sees as vital to its...

Changes in the building code that followed a devastating 1999 quake were never fully implemented in Van

Forty-three years ago, author Bob Hyldburg attended his first Patriot’s game.

OCT 27 — “Rule of law. This is a country, built on the rule of law.” Malaysian officials never tire of repeating that mantra. Problem is two-fold, laws have been passed, removed and altered to always serve the interest of those in power, and the right to decipher, enforce...

The pragmatic warlord

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TheStreet) -- The threat of a "cyber war" against critical U.S. infrastructure looms larger than ever, according to Rep. Jim Langevin (D., R.I.), co-chair of the congressional cyber-security caucus, who warns that the country's power grid remains an attractive target. "We are already...

Van, Turkey • Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Turkey’s construction industry of criminal neglect, saying shoddy work had contributed to the collapse of buildings when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit southeastern Turkey at the weekend.

I came away from a 50th anniversary screening of Judgment at Nuremberg on Tuesday at the Motion Picture Academy with the feeling that nothing materially has changed in the world since that trial in 1947.

A LOT of laughing and tea drinking goes on at the Ku-ring-gai Neighbourhood Centre's weekly yarning group.

Letters: Political 'ending' of war will have consequences

The Emirates' Y1A satellite was launched from the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, atop an Ariane 5 rocket.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia ends a mourning period for Crown Prince Sultan on Thursday, opening the way for King Abdullah to appoint his new heir who is widely expected to be the veteran interior minister.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has been informed that Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who is currently in prison awaiting a final decision from the Supreme Leader of Iran regarding a death sentence for apostasy, was recently presented with Islamic literature, allegedly as part of an official campaign to convert Christian prisoners. Local...

Regional News 2. Tibet (China): Monks Burn Themselves Alive To Protest Police Attacks, Confinement And Surveillance 3. Nigeria: Tv Journalist Gunned Down By Notorious Islamic Sect 4. Mauritius: Journalist Sentenced To Jail For First Time Ever In Island-State

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A Georgia man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison Wednesday in a plot to supply Iran with U.S. military aircraft parts, the Justice Department said.

Diplomacy is not a science but sometimes diplomatic theories can be tested. As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama hypothesized that relations with Russia could be much improved. The key was offering respect and demonstrating a commitment to engagement and compromise.

Persepolis general manager Mohammad Ruyanian is confident the popular team will get back on track soon. “Persepolis is the greatest team in Iran as well as Asia and our players must believe that. We can make people happy, for sure,” Ruyanian said on Wednesday.

Hope of finding more survivors from Sunday's powerful earthquake is beginning to fade

Fast-paced techno dance music blasts through Chikas, a retail clothing store off Santee Street in the heart of downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District, which many call the Garment District.

Rick Santorum might be the family values candidate, but his parents never taught him that you can't assassinate all your problems away.

The Obama administration is setting up an Internet-based embassy to reach out to Iranians hoping to broaden their understanding of the United States, while at the same time studying new sanctions to raise the pressure on Iran's government over its disputed nuclear program and alleged ties to terrorism.

Issue 4753. Last Updated: 10/26/2011 There cannot be positive change without the desire for it first. And the young Russians I met definitely have a strong desire to improve the country they live in.

The House approved a federal land swap Wednesday that would clear the way for creation of North America's largest copper mine in Arizona, despite opposition from the Obama administration and complaints that the proposed mine operator had partnered with Iran and faces allegations of human rights violations.

I do not know how political sage Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, would have estimated the OWS prospects of success. However I am certain of the warning he would be giving the ruling class, the one-percenters: they are pushing the people too far.

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said America was doing everything it could to provide technology to ensure people in Iran had access to the internet.

Islamists triumphed in Tunisia’s election, and women stand to gain the most.

Security vendor Kaspersky Lab has identified infections with the new Duqu malware in Sudan and, more importantly, Iran, the main target of the Trojan's predecessor -- Stuxnet.

Twelve members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are pressing for a hearing on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq by year's end.

New York Congressman Peter King says the U.S. should kick out Iranian officials at the U.N. in New York and in Washington because many of them are spies.

A journalist with the U.K.-based Observer newspaper who was executed under Saddam Hussein’s regime, was killed to make Britain and its then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher look bad.

AFP/Washington The US should use covert action against Iran or even “kill” some of its top officials in retaliation for an alleged plot to kill Saudi Arabia’s US envoy, lawmakers heard yesterday.

House Democrats failed in their attempt to block a bill that they say allows a stake in the largest U.S. copper mine to an Iranian-affiliated mining company.

Reuters/Tehran Iran’s parliament has dropped a summons calling President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in for questioning, Iranian media reported yesterday, signalling an uneasy truce after months of political struggle between rival conservative factions.

Germany should break off diplomatic relations with Iran to demonstrate its stated support for Israel, Germany's top Jewish leader said.

The ITF has expressed concern over summonses to attend court issued to Seyed Davood Razavi, a former treasurer of the Tehran bus drivers’ union, the Vahed Syndicate, and to his fellow Vahed executive board member Yaghoub Salimi.

GENEVA, October 24 -- A Wikileaks cable circulated for the first time today reveals that Kofi Annan was in possesson of an urgent World Food Program request to remove a UN Human Rights Council's expert on hunger because he was playing "profoundly immoral" and "inflammatory" politics that "had a negative...

Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, an Iranian, refused to compete against Ehud Shachar, an Israeli, in the fourth round of the Corsica Masters.

AFP/New York Masterworks of Islamic art will once again be on view at New York’s Metropolitan Museum, which next week reopens an exhaustive installation following an eight-year renovation.

An impending draft indictment into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which was widely expected to be released this month, will now be postponed until next month in a move linked to a new US approach toward Iran, Iraq's foreign minister said in remarks published Friday.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Saddam Hussein ordered the execution of some of his pilots during Iraq's long war with Iran and the hanging of an Iranian-born journalist, papers show.

A committee in Iran's Parliament voted Sunday to cut diplomatic relations with Britain, a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for "cooperation" with major powers.

BAGHDAD — The failure of the Obama administration to reach an agreement on a continued U.S. troop presence in Iraq will increase pressure from all directions on the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, testing the resiliency of this country’s fragile national institutions and a political class that had...

Iran's former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki has hit out at his sacking this week, branding the move both "un-Islamic and offensive" as his replacement called for "positive interaction" with the European Union and more cooperation with Saudi Arabia.

The Obama administration is setting up an Internet-based embassy to reach out to Iranians hoping to broaden their understanding of the United States.

WASHINGTON - The United States should use covert action against Iran or even "kill" some of its top officials in retaliation for an alleged plot to kill Saudi Arabia's US envoy, lawmakers heard Wednesday.

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has assessed that Iran plans to expand its Russian-origin submarine fleet. Copyrights 2008, Middle East Newsline.

Masterworks of Islamic art will once again be on view at New York's Metropolitan Museum, which next week reopens an exhaustive installation following an eight-year renovation.

A senior Iranian lawmaker says members of the European Parliament (EP) must consider engaging in logical dialogue with Iranian officials in their forthcoming visit to Iran.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman has dismissed as unfounded US allegation that Tehran illegally imported radio equipment which could be used in remote detonation systems.

Saudi Arabia and Syria are scrambling to reach a compromise to defuse rising political tension before an impending indictment into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination is issued as Britain warned of violence in Lebanon next month.

Kataeb (Phalange) Party leader Amin Gemayel has said Hizbullah's attempts to end Lebanon's cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) are a masked form of disobedience against state institutions, warning the party against resorting to force to accomplish its objectives.

Washington (AFP) Oct 26, 2011 A Georgia man was jailed for nearly four years Wednesday for his role in a "broad conspiracy" to illegally export sensitive military equipment to Iran, officials said. Michael Todd, president of The Parts Guys company, was also ordered to forfeit more than $160,000 in connection...

After the downfall of longstanding authoritarian rulers in Tunisia and Egypt, President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that the Arab Spring was being fomented by the West to bring change to Russia itself.

Ladies and gentlemen, Israel has extended its hand in peace from the moment it was established 63 years ago. On behalf of Israel and the Jewish people, I extend that hand again today. I extend it to the people of Egypt and Jordan, with renewed friendship for neighbors with whom...

TEHRAN, Oct. 26 (MNA) – The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations calls claims by the U.S. that Iran had plotted to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington a fabricated scenario devised with the help of the Zionists.

That rich aroma emanating from a warehouse off Evans Road is not only from the fresh coffee beans roasting inside. It’s the smell of success.