News Archive - 26 July 2014

>ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Saturday ordered the formal arrest of 12 more police officers, including the former head of Istanbul's intelligence unit, pending charges they may have illegally wiretapped Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, media said. The detention of 115 police officers in overnight raids earlier this week...

Ornate tapestry, enchanting music and sweet treats brought hundreds to Olympic Plaza on Saturday for what might be the first Iranian cultural festival in Western Canada. The Tabestoon Festiival competed with the weekend’s Folk Festival but managed to pack the downtown park with its artists, fragrant snacks and children’s activities.

Boeing has a government-approved deal to sell Iran Air some replacement parts to sustain its aging fleet of commercial airliners. Also: Seahawks hand out blingy Super Bowl rings to all staffers; Trupanion’s stock offering got an experimental assist from a social IPO website.

WASHINGTON — A Washington Post reporter who grew up in Marin and his wife are among four journalists detained in Iran.

MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — Bill Cowan is starting to savor the country life in rural Surry County, but he’s not out to pasture, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. Cowan, soon to be 71, is a retired Marine Corps officer with immense experience in combat (Vietnam) and military intelligence (the...

WASHINGTON — The United States, Britain and other allies failed to help abate “a humanitarian disaster” in Syria and now weigh the consequences of involvement ...

John Adams wrote: “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other,” Our founders never anticipated that a person intending to destroy the nation would be elected president.

Today is Sunday, July 27, the 208th day of 2014. There are 157 days left in the year.

Today is Sunday, July 27, the 208th day of 2014. There are 157 days left in the year.

TODAY IN HISTORY Today is Sunday, July 27, the 208th day of 2014. There are 157 days left in the year.

As American lawmakers request $225 million in emergency funding to support Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, Hamas militants are reportedly negotiating an arms deal with North Korea to boost their own supplies of weapons and communications equipment.

How sanctions are hurting Iranian science students in Norway

States whose citizens perished in the tragedy can pursue the perpetrators in their domestic courts if their criminal laws have extra-territorial jurisdiction.

Washington (CNN) – They came ready, aimed and fired – calmly. On Saturday, the first U.S. Senate debate between incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican nominee Ed Gillespie was marked by zings - but also political politesse. During civil exchanges across 90-minutes stood two Virginians pushing different ideas...

The United Nations' new human rights envoy to Myanmar, also known as Burma, says camps housing tens of thousands of homeless Muslims are "deplorable." Yanghee Lee spoke to reporters in Yangon Saturday at the end of her first official 10-day visit to the country. She said many Muslims living...

The fourteenth commemoration ceremony for the passing of Iranian poet Ahmad Shamloo was interrupted by Islamic Republic security forces. HRANA reports that the ceremony was organized by Iran's Writers' Association and was held on Thursday July 25.

THE REGION’S best karatekas will converge at Festival Supermall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, from July 30 to Aug. 3 for the 3rd Asia Pacific Karatedo and Kabudo Championship.

Israel and Gaza. I hate the deaths on both sides. I hate the outsiders on both sides claiming to care. I hate the lack of empathy on both sides. I hate the hatred.

Hugh Dunleavy, commercial director of Malaysia Airlines, defends the route taken by the downed MH17 and says the authorities should take more responsobility for 'safe' flight paths

The continuing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is the result of the former’s rejection of the Arab Peace Plan. Netanyahu accused Hamas of kidnapping and killing three Israeli citizens and retaliated by causing chaos in the West Bank, arresting hundreds of Palestinians including Hamas leaders.

A suggestion for brokering peace in the Middle East has come from an unlikely star: Farrah Abraham. The former MTV Teen Mom cast member-turned-porn star believes the ongoing conflict with Iraq, Syria, Iran, Israel, the Palestinians, Hamas, and other players is centered on religion. Therefore, the Backdoor star suggests radical...

Jonathan Freedland My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict by John B. Judis Old Wine, Broken Bottle: Ari Shavit’s Promised Land by Norman G. Finkelstein In the toxic environment that characterizes much, if not...

From the first mission of note, when, the CIA later concluded, a drone captured video of Osama bin Laden presiding over an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, the drone program has grown into perhaps the most prominent instrument of U.S. counterterrorism policy.

In the latest case of Iranian authorities cracking down on fashion they deem “un-Islamic,” a famous clothing design institute called “Khaneh Mode” or Mode House was shut down last week in Tehran. The fashion designer had caused a controversy last month when it held a show with models wearing coats...

Whether you’re about to wrap up your Ramadan fast or just craving for something unusual, here’s an authentic, unadulterated halal gathering for Muslim and non-Muslim foodies alike. For sure, if you’re a non-Muslim, you’d go crazy on the daily 12-hour fasting for 30 days that Muslims go through every year...

Secrets and slide rules fly in WGN America's 'Manhattan,' which plausibly re-creates the WWII race for the atomic bomb. It's best when it captures the daily business of life in a strange place. WGN America, which plunged into original dramatic programming in April with the historical fantasia "Salem," has returned...

So-called radicals who side with the Russian despot on Ukraine are stuck in a poisoned Cold War narrative

How U.S. stumbled into using drones

One trillion dollars. That may be the cost to Russian investors of Vladimir Putin's rule. It is the equivalent of about $7,000 for every Russian citizen. The calculation stems from the fact that investors regard Russian assets with suspicion. As a result, Russian stocks trade on a huge discount to...

Fury and frustration still mount over the downing of Malaysia Air Flight 17, and justly so. But before accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of war crimes or dismissing the entire episode as a tragic fluke, it's worth looking back at another doomed passenger plane — Iran Air Flight 655 —...

Iraqi police say gunmen have seized a senior Sunni Baghdad politician. Police say Riyadh al-Adhadah, a medical doctor and the head of the Baghdad Provincial Council, was taken away late Friday by armed men traveling in 10 black SUVs. It was not immediately clear whether Adhadah was arrested by security...

Like many former government officials, Mrs. Albright, who is now a professor at Georgetown University, keeps showing up in the media as a foreign affairs expert. Unfortunately, she's doing it at Israel's expense.

By Nick Said CAPE TOWN, July 26 (Reuters) - Ephraim Mashaba was re-appointed as coach of South Africa's national team on Saturday, the fourth time he has taken the helm of Bafana Bafana. Mashaba, more commonly known as 'Shakes', has had two previous caretaker spells with the senior team and...

157 asylum seekers to be transferred to mainland detention

Iran's Ambassador to India, Ghulam Raza Ansari, has called on Muslims across the world to help Palestinians to have their own land, as death toll in the Gaza Strip passed 800. Muslims in Agra in Uttar Pradesh staged a protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Gaza officials said Israeli strikes...

Kolkata, July 26 (IANS): Bengali actor-producer Arindam Sil, whose company is handling the regional production of Hollywood film "Deity" - the remake of Bollywood blockbuster "Kahaani" - Saturday expressed gratitude to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for extending help for the shooting in Kolkata.

As the global spotlight shifts to the ground offensive in Palestine, reverberations are being felt in Syria, with which Israel shares a border - and a contentious history.