News Archive - 22 September 2012

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>* Speaks highly of Iran and its importance to region* Promises to tackle people's demandsBy Yasmine SalehCAIRO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist President said on Saturday that having a strong relationship with Iran is important for Egypt at this time to be able to work out a way to...

Conflict and crisis will dominate the annual summit of world leaders at the UN General Assembly as it gets underway. -AFP

Just about a year ago, Josh Fattal, one of three American hikers imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of espionage, tasted freedom. But the road back from an Iranian jail cell -- where he spent more than two years -- to life in the United States has left the 30-year-old reflecting...

The father of a former marine being held by Iranian government has scare with brain tumor and wants to see his son before he dies.

Ask almost any American adult about the Iran hostage crisis, and you’ll get the outlines of the well-known story: militants storming the American embassy in Tehran in 1979 and holding dozens of Americans hostage for 444 days.

It seems you can't turn your back on the Middle East for more than a few minutes without something going bump in the desert.

Associated Press Author Salman Rushdie poses for a photo as he promotes the movie “Midnight’s Children” during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto.

Just about a year ago, Josh Fattal, one of three American hikers imprisoned in Iran on suspicion of espionage, tasted freedom.

Iran's foreign minister has met embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Jim Calhoun, who retired recently as the coach at UConn, looked to Israel for talent as he was building a men’s basketball powerhouse. It seems you can’t turn your back on the Middle East for more than a few minutes without something going bump in the desert.

The family of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson can't help but count the days since he vanished during a business trip to Iran's Kish Island on March 8, 2007.

The family of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson can't help but count the days since he vanished during a business trip to Iran's Kish Island on March 8, 2007. Saturday marked 2,024 days since he's been gone. "Every day I miss him," said Christine Levinson, his wife of 38 years.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to arrive in New York Saturday and is scheduled to speak before the United Nations General Assembly next week.

Students who have no valid excuse for not doing a required assignment cannot be given a zero? You’ve got to be kidding.

Nation & World briefing WASHINGTON -- Trader Joe's is recalling peanut butter that has been linked to 29 salmonella illnesses in 18 states.

TEHERAN (AP) — El presidente iraní atacó el viernes a Occidente con motivo de la película estadounidense que ridiculiza al profeta Mahoma y la publicación de sus caricaturas en un semanario satírico francés.

ABOARD THE PONCE A key addition to American-led naval efforts to ensure that Mideast oil keeps flowing has emerged as an unusual mix of a ship combining decades' worth of wear and tear with state-of-the-art technology and a largely civilian crew.

US Secretary of Defence shows commitment to NZ: “I mean, my approach to this as Secretary of Defence is whatever we can do to try to help New Zealand develop its capabilities and build a stronger friendship, I’m prepared to do.”

A suicide bomber failed on Saturday in an assassination attempt on a former Islamist in Yemen who helped drive al Qaeda militants out of a southern region this year, a security source and resident said.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate gave final passage early Saturday, Sept 22, to a stopgap spending measure that will ensure the government's lights stay on through March and then closed the doors of one of the least productive Congresses in generations until after the November elections.

JERUSALEM — It is a taboo for Israeli leaders to give even the slightest hint of favoritism in politics in the United States, Israel’s closest ally. So some Israelis are squirming over a perception that their prime minister is siding with Republican Mitt Romney in the U.S. presidential race,...

IN his first local television interview, Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi has called for an end to the bloody conflict in Syria.

PARIS, France - These are the key events in the worldwide protests related to the publication of an anti-Islam film in the United States and cartoon images of the Muslim prophet in France. SEPTEMBER 2012 11: On the anniversary of the Al-Qaeda attacks on ...

ABOARD THE USS PONCE (AP) — A new, key addition to American-led naval efforts to ensure Mideast oil keeps flowing has emerged as an unusual mix of a ship combining decades' worth of wear and tear with state-of-the-art technology and a largely civilian crew. After winning a reprieve from the...

John Major’s government offered little assistance to Sir Salman Rushdie when an Iranian cleric called for him to be killed, while the Foreign Office was actually “hostile,” the author has claimed.

Tehran, Sep 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The Iranian navy is planning to extend its presence in international waters near the South Pole, Navy chief Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari said.

An Egyptian-born Canadian from Montreal's West Island says he's under threat of death after being wrongly linked to the notorious anti-Islam video that has sparked violence in the Muslim world.

The US has denied visas to about 20 Iranian government officials hoping to attend next week’s UN General Assembly, including two ministers, Iran’s Fars news agency reported yesterday.

A Free Syrian Army fighter from the Al-Faruk brigade steps on a portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad Saturday at a Turkish-Syrian border crossing captured by the rebels earlier in the week.

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT A CAMPAIGN EVENT Milwaukee Theater Milwaukee, Wisconsin 3:21 P.M. CDT THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you!  (Applause.)  It is great to be here.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  All right, everybody have a...

Human Rights Watch urged Iran yesterday to lift restrictions on women attending university and enrolling in certain academic fields.

JERUSALEM (AP) — It is a taboo for Israeli leaders to give even the slightest hint of favoritism in politics in the United States, Israel's closest ally. So some Israelis are squirming over a perception that their prime minister is siding with Republican Mitt Romney in the U.S. presidential...

Submitted by Ben Tanosborn Insignificant Significance Of The “47%” Videos What needless uproar; what absurd battle of wits among clueless pundits lacking the most rudimentary knowledge of both logic and arithmetic; what a sad picture of blatant ignorance of the true makeup of America’s electorate; what an embarrassing moment for...

Polls are looking better --not good, just better -- for President Barack Obama, but as one mystery Dem quoted by Politico says, it ain't over until Karl Rove sings.Polls have Obama up anywhere from 2 to 11 points, but things are so volatile that anything could happen.

A Smart Gilas-Pilipinas squad that played its heart out still couldn’t find its range on Saturday and settled for fourth place in the Fiba-Asia Cup after bowing to Qatar, 79-63, at Ota Gymnasium here.

It seems you can't turn your back on the Middle East for more than a few minutes without something going bump in the desert. Sure enough, a few shorts hours after we reported that the leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guards is certain war with Israel is coming , here comes...

During his decade in exile, under the code name "Joseph Anton," Salman Rushdie partied, cheated and lived under armed guard.

Hundreds of Brazilians have held a demonstration in Sao Paulo to condemn a recent film that disrespected Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Editor: Will Dunham + 1 202 898 8457 Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775 Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595 (All times GMT) TOP STORIES Libyan Islamist militia swept out of Benghazi bases BENGHAZI, Libya - An armed Islamist group is swept out ofthe Libyan city of Benghazi in...

President Obama had to reassess his view of what caused the attack in Libya that killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, raising questions about whether the White House has a solid grasp on the angry convulsions rocking the Middle East.

United Against Nuclear Iran announced today that it is currently protesting Warwick Hotel guest Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with bicycle billboards circling around the hotel. UANI’s

Iraq is set to replace its national anthem and flag in a move to provide unifying symbols for the country.

>Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a regular at the assembly since he took office in 2005, will give his final speech there on Wednesday and will address a meeting on the "rule of law" on Monday.But of the 160-or-so visas requested by the Iranian delegation two months ago, about 20...

TEHRAN (AFP) - An Israeli war on Iran "will eventually happen" but the Jewish state will be destroyed as a result, the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday, according to reports.

Opposition group the People's Mujahedeen of Iran welcomes its imminent removal from the U.S. terror blacklist, saying it will help boost the fight against Islamic "fascism".

Police in Bahrain said Saturday they arrested 29 people suspected of involvement in acts of violence during a protest in the capital of the Sunni-ruled, Shiite-majority Gulf state.

The world's leaders are gathering in New York, but President Barack Obama has no plans to meet privately with any of them. He will make time for "The View," a freewheeling TV talk show more likely to reach voters than Obama would with the diplomacy he is skipping at the...

I was not aware of a film insulting to Islam until American embassies were attacked in Libya and Egypt. Thus, Muslim extremists managed, through the expedient of riot and rampage, to bring attention to the very thing they loathe, a thing which, but for their help, would have been little...

Iraq's Najaf province has decided to scrap a ban on Bahraini carrier Gulf Air's flights after receiving complaints from Bahraini Shiites, a provincial council spokesman said on Saturday. The provincial ...

The stakes now are similar to what caused the U.S. to invade almost 11 years ago: the threat of more al-Qaida attacks. President Barack Obama says U.S. forces must not leave until Afghan forces can defend the country on their own.

International rights groups protest as 36 universities across Iran have banned women from 77 different majors.

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A deeply divided and unproductive Congress wrapped up its final business before November's elections early on Saturday as the U.S. Senate passed a stopgap measure to fund federal programs and avoid an October 1 government shutdown. The 62-30 vote on the funding bill, which now moves...

>As speculation mounts that Israel could launch air strikes on Iran before U.S. elections in November, Mohammad Ali Jafari told a news conference that the Jewish state would be destroyed if it took such a step."Their threats only prove that their enmity with Islam and the revolution is...

>Rostam Qasemi's remarks, made to an Iranian news agency on Friday, countered a forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) of a fall in Iranian production this year.Iran produced about 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in 2011, according to OPEC figures."The...

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has done just about everything wrong since being nominated at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, last month. Yet, while the momentum has dramatically shifted to President Barack Obama, it is not too late for Romney to win the White House. Romney's road to...

A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the ongoing maneuvers of the US and its allies near the Persian Gulf are not considered as a threat to the Strait of Hormuz.

Senators are scheduled to begin voting on a series of measures at midnight Friday before leaving Washington to return home and campaign for re-election.

The use of drones in Pakistan normally brings to mind images of U.S. spy planes attacking tribal areas. But drones now are being used to capture a different kind of picture in the country - showing some of the world's...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved a resolution insisting that the United States will do all it can to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was to leave Tehran for New York on Saturday for the UN General Assembly, where he will deliver his final speech to the world gathering, state television reported.

Before leaving Washington to concentrate efforts on their re-election campaigns, U.S. senators voted Saturday to fund the federal government into 2013 and passed a measure asserting a tough stance towards Iran over its nuclear program. In a 62 to 30 v...

-- Congress completed its major task for the week with Senate passage of a six-month stopgap spending bill to keep federal agencies running past the end of the budget year and the elections. The House approved the legislation last week. Action was needed before the budget year ends on Sept.

Oh, how lovely it is this weekend to be Argentine - able to take a mini-vacation to the mountains or the sea, or simply relax at home for three days, blissfully enjoying yet another new government benefit: More paid national...