Thursday, May 27, 2010

Flotilla delayed but en route to Gaza

Flotilla delayed but en route to Gaza (plus 80 more items)

Link to Rebel Newsflash

Flotilla delayed but en route to Gaza

Posted: 26 May 2010 09:10 PM PDT

The Turkish passenger ferry which departed Istanbul with humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza has docked in Antalya to wait for other partner ships.

The vessel is part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla convoy which will carry humanitarian aid from 50 different countries.

South Pars Can bring in up to $130bn

Posted: 26 May 2010 09:09 PM PDT

Iran's South Pars oil and gas field development project can bring the nation up to $130bn in revenues annually when it is fully implemented.

"When all phases of the South Pars project come on line, it is estimated to bring in between 96 to 130 billion dollars per year.", said Mousa Souri, Managing Director of the Pars Special Economic Zone.

Israelis kill 3 Palestinians in Gaza

Posted: 26 May 2010 09:08 PM PDT

Hours after 16 people were wounded by Israeli warplanes; Israeli soldiers have opened fire on Palestinians, killing three workers in the Gaza Strip.

A Press TV correspondent reposted on Wednesday that the three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli troops.

Varifocal lenses up fall risk in elderly

Posted: 26 May 2010 08:45 PM PDT

Limiting the use of varifocal glasses is a simple but effective strategy to prevent the surging number of falls among the elderly population, a new study finds.

Presbyopia, defined as a progressive inability to focus on near objects, is the most common form of impaired vision among old individuals. To correct this condition, elderly are recommended to use either single lens glasses for distant and near vision or a single pair of multifocal (varifocal) glasses.

Russians visit Tehran Research Reactor

Posted: 26 May 2010 08:01 PM PDT

A delegation comprising Russian nuclear experts has arrived in Tehran to visit the Tehran Research Reactor and hold talks on the production of radioisotopes.

The Russian experts hailed the high quality of work conducted by the staff at the research reactor, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Shirzadian said Wednesday.

Heartburn drugs, fracture linked

Posted: 26 May 2010 07:44 PM PDT

Health officials caution against the long-term use of high doses of heartburn drugs, stressing that they are linked to increased risk of fracture, a new report says.

Also known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), heartburn medication are commonly used to control the amount of acid in the stomach and subsequently to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

China to ship gasoline to Iran

Posted: 26 May 2010 07:41 PM PDT

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation better known as Sinopec Corp. is to ship well over a half million barrels of gasoline to Iran.

Sinopec Corp's trading arm Unipec is shipping around 600,000 barrels of June arrival gasoline from Singapore to Iran, Reuters quoted industry sources as saying on Tuesday.

US Congress delays Iran sanctions

Posted: 26 May 2010 07:10 PM PDT

US Congressional leaders have decided to delay a new round of sanctions against Iran, waiting for multilateral embargos against Tehran's nuclear program by the United Nations.

Negotiations have been underway to combine separate Iran sanctions bills -- passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate -- into one bill for US President Barack Obama to sign into law.

Warnings ignored before US rig blast

Posted: 26 May 2010 06:46 PM PDT

An inquiry by the British Petroleum (BP) says there were multiple warning signs just hours before a US rig explosion which caused the devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

The BP's internal investigation of the Gulf Coast oil spill has also found a series of problems in the 24 hours before the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blast.

Pakistan may summon US envoy

Posted: 26 May 2010 06:11 PM PDT

Pakistani lawmakers urge the government to summon the US Ambassador to Pakistan over "the inhuman detention" of Pakistani national Aafia Siddiqui in US prison.

During a meeting of the Senate's Standing Committee of the Pakistani parliament, lawmakers from both the government and opposition voiced their concern over the trial of Aafia Siddiqui by calling it violation of human rights, a Press TV correspondent reported late on Tuesday.

Mladic's family wants him declared dead

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:49 PM PDT

The family of the Serb war criminal, Ratko Mladic, is seeking to declare him dead but officials announce that the hunt for the fugitive will continue.

Milos Saljic, Mladic's family lawyer, said since the former Bosnian Serb army commander had been in poor health and has not been seen for years, his family intends to request that Serbian courts declare him officially dead, "because it wants to put an end to everyday pressure and prosecution," the Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

Nigeria knocks foreign firms for graft

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:40 PM PDT

The head of Nigeria's anti-corruption agency accuses foreign companies of bribery and the spreading of corruption in the country.

On Tuesday, Farida Waziri, the Head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) censured foreign companies for offering bribes to secure lucrative contracts, warning that "Both the givers and receivers are guilty and must answer charges," AFP reported.

Peru grants parole to American prisoner

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:36 PM PDT

Peru has granted conditional freedom to an American citizen named Lori Berenson, after she served 15 years of her 20-year jail term for aiding leftist rebels.

40-year-old Berenson was arrested in 1995 for having a role in a plot to overthrow the Peruvian Congress.

Car bomb near US base in Kandahar

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:31 PM PDT

A car bomb has exploded near a civilian-military base used by Americans in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar, a high-ranking Afghan police official has said.

"It was a car bomb attack carried out by militants in a parking lot, destroying several vehicles and motorbikes," regional police chief Mohammad Shafiq Afzali told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Iran slams US stance on fuel declaration

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:20 PM PDT

Days after Iran issued a declaration on a possible nuclear fuel swap, Iranian foreign minister moves to criticize Washington's stance toward the diplomatic statement.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Burundian Foreign Minister Augustin Nsanze on Wednesday, Manouchehr Mottaki singled out remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the declaration and described her comments as "misleading."

'Tehran declaration leaves no excuse'

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:00 PM PDT

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has termed Tehran's nuclear fuel swap declaration as the last opportunity for the West to resolve Iran's nuclear case.

"There are no excuses left as Tehran's declaration is the best opportunity. We have taken important steps," President Ahmadinejad said during a speech in the southeastern province of Kerman.

Clinton warns N Korea to halt threats

Posted: 26 May 2010 04:07 PM PDT

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned North Korea to halt belligerent actions after meetings with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Clinton arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for a half-day visit to discuss growing tensions between the two Koreas after a multinational team blamed the sinking of a South Korean warship on North Korea, CNN reported.

Iran 'not to bow to US oppression'

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:54 PM PDT

Prominent American scholar Noam Chomsky says Washington cannot apply its policy of oppression to Tehran, saying it is not in Iran's nature to follow orders.

Speaking in Beirut after Israel denied him entry into the occupied West Bank, Chomsky said the US is not concerned about what government is in power, adding that it solely wants administrations "to follow orders."

Larijani reelected as Majlis speaker

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:46 PM PDT

With 214 votes in his favor, Iranian lawmakers have reappointed incumbent Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani for the third consecutive year to his post.

Forty-four lawmakers out of the total of 258 members present at the session voted in abstention for Larijani's reelection.

BBC radio closure provokes protests

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:31 PM PDT

Campaigners against the BBC's closure of two digital radio stations, 6 Music and Asian Network, stage protests outside of BBC's corporate offices.

BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, proposed the multimillion pound cuts to the BBC Trust's budget as a part of their Strategy Review consultation. The proposed cuts, in addition to closing the 6 Music and Asian Network digital radio stations, will also halve the size of its website.

UN confident, yet concerned at Iraq

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:22 PM PDT

The UN has expressed confidence that Iraq will soon see a new government but says voiced concern over a recent hike in violence and a heavy toll on Iraqi civilians.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Iraq Ad Melkert praised the country's electoral process during his Tuesday address at the Security Council, highlighting the need for a broad-based, inclusive coalition government in Iraq.

Two dead in twin Thailand bombings

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:10 PM PDT

Two people have been killed and nearly thirty others wounded, three seriously, in a twin bomb attack in southern Thailand, police say.

The first blast went off on Wednesday morning in Yala, the main town in the province of the same name, wounding eight people, AFP reported.

89 deaths linked to Toyota acceleration

Posted: 26 May 2010 02:53 PM PDT

Toyota faces more trouble as a new report suggests that unintended acceleration of its vehicles may have been involved in the deaths of 89 people since 2000.

The report, released Tuesday by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), upgrades the number of deaths possibly linked to the massive recalls from the 52 reported in March.

Iraq urges UN to lift sanctions

Posted: 26 May 2010 02:34 PM PDT

Iraq has renewed its call on the United Nations Security Council to lift Saddam-era sanctions on the country over its alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"We think that lifting the sanctions against Iraq will enable Iraq and Iraq ministries to rehabilitate all these facilities," Iraq's UN Ambassador Hamid al-Bayati told a Press TV correspondent on Tuesday.

Global warming striking polar bears

Posted: 26 May 2010 02:28 PM PDT

The number of polar bears is expected to decline suddenly and dramatically as their sea ice habitat thins and shrinks due to climate change.

Climate change and global warming will trigger a drop in the polar bear population whose survival is inextricably linked to sea ice, stresses a new study by Canadian scientists.

Obama backs Vatican over abuse case

Posted: 26 May 2010 02:14 PM PDT

The administration of President Barack Obama has taken sides with the Vatican over sexual child abuse lawsuits, saying the Holy See is immune from prosecution in the US.

The stance comes after the country's largest court of appeals, the nine Supreme Court Justices, asked the White House to declare its position over a case brought by a victim of alleged priestly pedophilia in the US state of Oregon.

UN to pull forces from Chad

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:57 PM PDT

Upon a unanimous vote by the Security Council, the United Nations peacekeeping forces have been mandated to leave Chad by the end of this year.

The UNSC's vote to end the peacekeepers' mission is in conformity with the views of Chadian President Idriss Deby, who has described the forces' presence as "a failure" which had not improved conditions in the troubled African nation.

Protesters silenced before Queen's speech

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:17 PM PDT

Brian Haw, the anti-war protester who has stationed himself in Parliament Square for the past 9 years, has been arrested before a speech by the Queen.

While the Queen's speech covered a range of themes, in particular measures to reduce the national deficit, she also touched on, ironically, the restoration of rights of non-violent protests.

Israel plans more demolitions in WB

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:37 PM PDT

Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have said Israel plans to raze a number of Palestinian houses in a village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Israel's Civil Administration distributed nine demolition warrants to home-owners in Yatma village south of Nablus City on Tuesday, Ma'an news agency quoted Ghassan Doughlas, the PA official in charge of settlements in the northern West Bank, as saying.

CNN uses the Census to Spin Anti-White Propaganda

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:30 PM PDT

A national census should be nothing more than a statistical exercise, arousing no more emotion than renewing one's driver's license. However, given the fact that the US has become a cauldron of competing ethnic interests where anti-White hostility is the norm for the mainstream media, it has aroused all sorts of controversies, especially among liberals with the usual axes to grind.

Peter Beinart on the future of American Zionism

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:24 PM PDT

kevin macdonald Beinart does a good job describing the dominance of racial nationalism in Israel and the rationalizations, blind spots and hypocrisies of the organized Jewish community committed to minority empowerment in the US. Like John Mearsheimer, he thinks that American Jews are liberals at heart and are pulling away from Israel, especially because the rhetoric of victimization on which Israel is founded is more and more remote from their daily lives.

US to send troops to Mexican border

Posted: 26 May 2010 10:11 AM PDT

President Obama will send 1,200 National Guard troops to the US-Mexican border following calls from both parties to step up the fight against border violence.

The White House will also request $500 million to help fund more law-enforcement activities at the border, an administration official said on Tuesday.

Gov't claims no attack on Villa Somalia

Posted: 26 May 2010 10:01 AM PDT

The Somali government rejects media reports of an attack on the Presidential Palace by al-Shabab fighters as "false and fabricated".

The renewed clashes this week in Mogadishu between the government's Ahlu Sunna troops, backed by African Union peacekeepers, and the al-Shabab fighters has left dozens of people, mainly civilians, dead and wounded. But no attack has taken place on the Villa Somalia, a government statement said on Tuesday.

Israel downplays Iran declaration

Posted: 26 May 2010 09:24 AM PDT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Iran's nuclear declaration is a form of "trickery" by Tehran to ward off new sanctions.

"The pact concluded by Iran is a trickery which will not prevent it from getting enriched uranium," AFP quoted Netanyahu as saying during a parliamentary debate on Tuesday.

15 injured in Israel raid on Gaza

Posted: 26 May 2010 08:46 AM PDT

Israeli F-16 warplanes have attacked the northern Gaza Strip, reportedly leaving 15 people, including civilians and police officers, wounded.

The Israeli Air Force also struck the south, targeting the tunnels near a disused airport south of the town of Rafah, a Press TV correspondent reported.

US to boost Mexico border troops

Posted: 26 May 2010 08:35 AM PDT

The US president is planning to send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the US-Mexican border to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking, officials say.

Barack Obama's move, for which $500m is being sought, follows demands from both Republicans and Democrats for more federal resources along the frontier.

Jamaica unrest fatalities reach 60

Posted: 26 May 2010 08:20 AM PDT

At least 60 civilians have been killed in the Jamaican capital of Kingston as police stormed a drug kingpin's stronghold while violence spread to outlying regions.

Hospital sources told AFP that more than 60 bodies had so far been unloaded at a morgue in one of Kingston's main hospitals. Another 32 people have been injured and more than 200 arrested.

Turkey Demands Israel Not To Intercept Freedom Flotilla

Posted: 26 May 2010 08:15 AM PDT

The Turkish government officially demanded Israel not to intercept or obstruct the Freedom Flotilla, heading to the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian supplies, and to stop its threats against the Flotilla and the activists on board.

Turkey is one of the countries heavily participating in the Freedom Flotilla. The government in Istanbul demanded Israel to lift the illegal siege on Gaza.

Pakistan frees 26/11 Mombay mastermind ‎

Posted: 26 May 2010 08:04 AM PDT

India expresses disappointment at a decision by Pakistan to release the alleged mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack for lack of evidence.

The Indian Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao complained that the Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday had released Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed from house arrest despite there being enough evidence against him for his arrest.

Hezbollah warns Israel against attack

Posted: 26 May 2010 07:33 AM PDT

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's secretary general has vowed response to any renewed Israeli offensive on Lebanese territory.

"If we are targeted, we target them as well. (If) we are killed, we can kill. (If) we are forced to leave our homes, we force them to leave their homes. (If) we are confronted, we confront them and so they will have a real problem," Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday.

Iran, Syria to set up joint bank

Posted: 26 May 2010 07:27 AM PDT

Iran and Syria have signed agreements to boost trade and cooperation in the spheres of banking, industry, technology, and energy.

Economic delegations from both countries met in the Syrian capital, Damascus on Tuesday and signed memorandums of understanding to improve such ties.

North Korea cuts ties with South

Posted: 26 May 2010 07:18 AM PDT

North Korea has severed key communication links with South Korea after vowing to cut all ties with its neighbour in response to the South's tightening of sanctions against Pyongyang over the deadly torpedoing of one of its warships.

In a statement early on Wednesday the North shut down communication lines between Red Cross authorities on either side of the border and also lines connecting maritime officials, Seoul's unification ministry said.

Israel planes raid Gaza, hover around

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:37 AM PDT

Israeli warplanes carry out multiple raids on the southern parts of the Gaza Strip, raising the prospects of more airstrikes as they hover over the coastal sliver.

The Tuesday attacks targeted tunnels near a disused airport in the city of Rafah, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Erdogan: Nuclear enrichment Iran's right

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:36 AM PDT

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Iran, like any other country in the world, is entitled to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

"If a country enriches uranium at low levels for peaceful purposes and not production of nuclear weapons, then this is its right … and this is what Iran is doing," Erdogan said in a meeting with the South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe in Ankara on Tuesday.

Mauritania sentences 3 to death

Posted: 26 May 2010 05:33 AM PDT

Three self-proclaimed members of al-Qaeda plead "not guilty" as a Mauritanian court passes them the death penalty for the alleged murder of four French tourists in 2007.

The three agreed during their trial at the criminal court in Nouakchott that they were members of al-Qaeda but denied killing the Frenchmen, who had been picnicking alongside a highway near the town of Aleg, in southern Mauritania, when they were gunned down.

Hamas calls Flotilla threats terrorism

Posted: 26 May 2010 04:59 AM PDT

The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, has condemned Israeli threats against a multinational Gaza-bound aid convoy, Freedom Flotilla.

The fleet, consisting of nine vessels from Turkey, Ireland, Britain and Greece, is on its way to break the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip. It carries around 10,000 tons of construction material, medical equipment and school supplies, as well as around 750 activists.

Israel launches air raids on Gaza

Posted: 26 May 2010 04:46 AM PDT

Israeli air strikes on Gaza has left more than a dozen people wounded.

The overnight raid was in response to cross-border attacks by Palestinian fighters, and targeted tunnels used by them, an Israeli military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Italy approves austerity measures

Posted: 26 May 2010 04:44 AM PDT

Italy's cabinet has approved austerity measures worth 24 billion euros ($25.9 billion) for the 2011-2012 fiscal year to reduce the national deficit to beneath the EU limit of 3% of GDP.

The measures are expected to help Silvio Berlusconi's government cut the public deficit from 5.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2009 to 2.7 percent in 2012 and consequently save the country from its worst post-war recession.

Iran declaration could be 'reconsidered'

Posted: 26 May 2010 04:25 AM PDT

Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi has warned that new sanctions will force Tehran to reconsider its recent nuclear declaration.

Sajjadi said that the UN Security Council should support Iran's declaration instead of talking about new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Israel Wants the World to Know that They Have Nuclear Weapons, But Leave Us Guessing as to ...

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:57 AM PDT

Mordechai Vanunu has done the Israelis a huge service, if not worked in the service of the Israelis, by informing the World that Israel has a stockpile of nuclear weapons. What good are these weapons if noone knows you have them, i.e. what value do they have to terrorize, intimidate and deter if non-Israelis have no knowledge of them?

Oil, Oil Everywhere

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:16 AM PDT

A spill of epic proportion: The explosion of the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20 that killed 11 workers has produced what as of late this month is officially the largest oil spill ever in U.S. waters. The leak began 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana, caused by a burst pipe that BP then failed to shut down. Official estimates now put the magnitude of the leak at 5,000 barrels of oil per day, but scientists point out that that number only accounts for the oil that BP has been able to siphon off from the spill -- not the total. Others believe the true number is at least eight times the figure released by the White House. Above, a marine biologist shows oil gathered from the mouth of the Mississippi River on May 17.

Whoa There, Rising Powers!

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:13 AM PDT

When I first read the news about the nuclear deal that Brazil and Turkey reached last week with Iran, I flinched. My reflex reaction was: Third-World troublemakers rally to the side of evil-doer in the face of Western pressure. That was, of course, the wrong reflex. This was not China giving succor to Zimbabwe, or Venezuela recognizing Abkhazia. Brazil and Turkey are among the most solidly founded democracies and market economies in the developing world. Both are important U.S. allies, and mature actors in international fora. Their joint bid to break the impasse on Iran represents something more encouraging, more worrisome, and much more significant than any of Hugo Chávez's antics.

BP set to smother oil leak with mud

Posted: 26 May 2010 03:06 AM PDT

Amid an investigation into just how cosy the relationship between a government oversight department and the oil industry was, BP is getting ready to attempt a so-called "top kill" manoeuvre to choke off the gushing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

As early as dawn on Wednesday, the oil company will try to choke the gusher with heavy drilling mud and cement - a tactic called a "top kill" that has been used above ground but has never been tried 1,500 metres underwater.

P.A Forces Arrest Al Biereh Deputy Mayor

Posted: 26 May 2010 02:53 AM PDT

File - P.A Security Forces

Palestinian security forces arrested on Tuesday that deputy mayor of Al Biereh city, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

Jamal Tawil, affiliated with Hamas, was arrested after Palestinian security men broke into the city council.

11 Swedish citizens onboard the Freedom Flotilla

Posted: 26 May 2010 02:31 AM PDT

Ship to Gaza and Freedom Flotilla, at this moment bearing for Gaza over the Mediterranean, have 11 Swedish citizens onboard. Among these can be found both members of parliament, activists, medical doctors and intellectuals.

N Korea to sever all ties with South

Posted: 26 May 2010 02:08 AM PDT

Pyongyang says it will cut off all ties with Seoul as the crisis over the sinking of a South Korean warship near a disputed sea border escalates.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Tuesday that Pyongyang was to ban all South Korean ships and planes from its territorial waters and airspace.

Sotheby's to auction 1st Holmes novel

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:54 AM PDT

The Sotheby's auction house will offer one of the two existing inscribed copies of the first Sherlock Holmes novel in the British capital of London.

The rare copy of Arthur Conan Doyle's Study in Scarlet is estimated to fetch more than USD550,000 as part of an English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations sale on July 15.

Rights groups slam Israel expulsions

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:45 AM PDT

Human rights groups have called on Israel's top court to halt the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank, saying it causes severe damage to their families.

Sixteen Palestinian and Israeli rights organizations issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that thousands of people in the West Bank live in constant fear of being expelled.

US anti-Iran drive failure: Iran MP

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:43 AM PDT

An Iranian MP says US efforts to secure a global consensus against Tehran have 'ended in failure' thanks to a nuclear fuel swap declaration brokered by Brazil and Turkey in Tehran last week.

"Brazil and Turkey are standing by Iran today", Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Ala'eddin Boroujerdi told IRIB.

Mikey Weinstein's Crusade

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:34 AM PDT

Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein shares his hate mail with both friends and strangers the way elderly people show off photos of their grandkids. He has plenty of it to share. For the past four years, the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has been doing battle with a Christian subculture that, he believes, is trying to Christianize the U.S. armed forces with the help of a complicit Pentagon brass. He calls it the "fundamentalist Christian parachurch-military-corporate-proselytizing complex," a mouthful by which he means holy warriors in contempt of the constitutional barrier between church and state.

Japan PM under fire over US base deal

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:18 AM PDT

Japan's beleaguered Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama faces fresh criticism after he made a decision to keep a controversial US airbase on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

The latest attack on Yukio Hatoyama came from coalition partner Social Democrat Party (SDP) leader Mizuho Fukushima.

Turkey urges Israel to lift Gaza siege

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:15 AM PDT

The Turkish foreign minister has called on Israel to lift the Gaza blockade and permit a flotilla of humanitarian aid ships to enter the coastal region.

"The blockade on Gaza should be lifted," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Jamaica violence leaves 27 dead

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:14 AM PDT

Twenty-seven people, mostly civilians, have died in armed clashes in Jamaica, as the violence waged by drug gangs continues to plague the Caribbean nation.

Police said on Tuesday that they arrested 211 people while searching for the wanted drug boss Christopher "Dudus" Coke.

Farsi to document European Iranalogists

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:08 AM PDT

Veteran Iranian documentary maker Mohammad-Ali Farsi plans to make a trilogy about European Iranologists and their studies on Persian literature.

"The first episode is about the 11th-century Persian poet Khayyam and the British poet, Edward Fitzgerald, who popularized Khayyam's Rubaiyat in the West," Farsi told Mehr News Agency.

A Day Without Mexicans

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:08 AM PDT

Hunter Wallace investigates what A Day Without Mexicans is really like: any other ordinary day in Virginia.

Can Obama Take Over the Oil Spill Response?

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:03 AM PDT

In recent days, as criticism of BP's handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has reached fever pitch, critics have also been taking aim at Barack Obama's administration for not assuming a more active role in the response. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said that he and his fellow Gulf Coast governors would begin to "take matters into our own hands" after protective equipment promised by BP was not set up and the federal government failed to force the issue. A group of Democratic lawmakers has gone even further, urging the Interior Department to shut down drilling on a second BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico. But does the U.S. government actually have the legal authority to do more than it has to address the crisis in the Gulf?

Australian lesson

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:03 AM PDT

Hamas strongman Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

The assassination of senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January refuses to go away. Two months after the British government expelled the head of the Mossad delegation there in response to the passport forgery and identity theft of 12 British citizens, Australia has decided to expel its Mossad representative to protest the alleged use the suspected assassins made of forged Australian passports.

Pregnancy ups HIV risk in male partner

Posted: 26 May 2010 01:02 AM PDT

The risk of becoming infected with HIV/AIDS virus is doubled in men whose HIV-infected female partner becomes pregnant, a new study finds.

Previous studies had reported that young women of reproductive age are more susceptible to HIV infection, adding that becoming pregnant increases the chance of becoming infected.

France to seek advice on reply to Iran

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:58 AM PDT

France says it will consult Russia and the US on a joint response to Iran's nuclear declaration, amid a Washington-led campaign for more sanctions against Tehran.

Foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said Tuesday that France was studying a copy of Iran's letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

British PM ups pressure on Iran

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:21 AM PDT

British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged Tuesday to 'ratchet up' pressure on Iran, rehashing the baseless accusation that Tehran seeks to develop nukes.

In his first speech to parliament since taking office after May6 elections, Cameron said he had spoken to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about fresh EU and UN sanctions against Tehran.

Euro concerns pull down world stocks

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:18 AM PDT

Stock markets across the world have seen heavy drops on worries over Europe's debt problems with US shares tumbling about 2 percent in morning trade.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 198.00 points, or 1.97 percent, to 9,868.57. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 21.20 points, or 1.97 percent, to 1,052.45 and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 48.35 points, or 2.18 percent, to 2,165.20, Reuters reported.

9/11 attacks 'upped' miscarriage risk

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:14 AM PDT

The stress caused by the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center has increased the number of miscarriages of male fetuses throughout the US, a new study says.

Latest figures have revealed that fewer boys were born in all states three to four months after the 9/11.

Foreign envoys to witness Israeli drills

Posted: 26 May 2010 12:10 AM PDT

Amid fears that the ongoing Israeli war games could result in a military conflict in the region, representatives from 30 countries arrive in Tel Aviv to witness the drills.

The five-day-long military exercises, dubbed Turning Point 4, began on Sunday and will be conducted in 68 cities and towns.

Jamaica Declares State of Emergency After Obama Demands Arrest of "Robin Hood" Drug Lord

Posted: 25 May 2010 11:28 PM PDT

"Jamaican Security forces searched a volatile Kingston slum for an alleged drug lord on Tuesday after at least seven people died in violence triggered by government orders to extradite him to the United States," reports Reuters. "Heavily armed soldiers and police conducted went door-to-door in the hunt for Christopher 'Dudus' Coke in the Tivoli Gardens neighborhood of West Kingston."

Iran to launch 3 more satellites

Posted: 25 May 2010 11:23 PM PDT

Three Iranian satellites are on the waiting list to be catapulted into outer space as Iran continues to make major strides in the space industry.

Preparations are underway to launch three domestically-made satellites, namely 'Tolou' (Dawn), 'Navid' (Promise) and 'Mesbah 2' (Lantern 2), said a top Iranian space industry official.

North Korea accuses South of intrusion

Posted: 25 May 2010 11:20 PM PDT

As tension builds up on the Korean peninsula, Pyongyang threatens Seoul with a military response over alleged trespassing of South Korean warships.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, a senior North Korean army official said that "dozens of warships" entered the North's waters in the Yellow Sea from May 14 to 24.

Dozens dead in Jamaica fighting

Posted: 25 May 2010 11:16 PM PDT

Gun battles have raged in the streets of the Jamaican capital, Kingston, after police raided the stronghold of an alleged drug kingpin wanted by the US.

Panicked residents, who tried to flee as fierce fighting erupted between the security forces and gang members loyal to Christopher "Dudus" Coke, said they had seen bodies lying in the street.

Iran terms Karabakh vote illegitimate

Posted: 25 May 2010 11:10 PM PDT

Iran has not recognized as legitimate the so-called parliamentary elections in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Iranian Foreign Ministry says.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the parliamentary elections in Nagorno-Karabakh as legitimate," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.

Petty Freedom of Speech

Posted: 25 May 2010 10:54 PM PDT

Much controversy was recently sparked due to the first ever annual "Draw Muhammad Day", taking place earlier this week on the 20^th. The organisers of the day set out their intentions in a Facebook group which rapidly gained popularity, stating; "We simply want to show the extremists that threaten to harm people because of their Muhammad depictions that we're not afraid of them." Readers will remember the 2005 Muhammad cartoon controversy, which enraged Muslims all over the world, resulting in multiple Danish embassies being torched, and at least 100 people being killed in the chaos that ensued. Similar protests emerged more recently when the television cartoon South Park broadcast an episode with another depiction of the prophet.

The PA's disingenuous boycott campaign

Posted: 25 May 2010 10:52 PM PDT

In recent weeks, the US- and Israeli-backed Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) has made a show of calling on Palestinians to boycott goods manufactured in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Despite the rhetoric of defiance and resistance, and exaggerated screams of anguish from Israeli settler groups, the PA effort actually appears designed to co-opt, undermine and abort the much broader Palestinian civil society campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), and to reassure Israel of the continued docility and collaboration of its puppet regime in Ramallah.

Court upholds Jamaat head's release

Posted: 25 May 2010 09:52 PM PDT

Pakistan's supreme court has upheld the release from house arrest of the founder of an organisation allegedly linked to the attacks on Mumbai two years ago, despite appeals from the government.

Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, who helped set up the Lashkar-e-Taiba and also heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, an organisation blacklisted by the United Nations, was declared a free man by the high court in Lahore last year.

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