World News
Iranian Nuclear Scientist Assassinated
Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, a prominent Iranian professor in nuclear physics, was assassinated Tuesday morning as he left his home in Qeytariyeh north of Tehran. According to Iran’s official news agency, IRIB, Ali-Mohammadi was killed in a blast after a booby-trapped motorcycle exploded when he was going to open the door of his car. The explosion... »
Guantánamo Inmates Released Return Again to Terrorist Activity
At least a dozen former Guantánamo Bay inmates have rejoined al-Qaeda to fight in Yemen, according to The Times of London. The 91 Yemeni prisoners currently in Guantánamo make up the largest national contingent among the 198 being held. Although the Obama Administration promised to close the Guantánamo facility by January 22, it appears... »
China Fears New H1N1 Virus Outbreak
The Chinese Health Ministry has announced that the H1N1 virus is rapidly spreading into China’s vast countryside. “Outbreaks in Beijing, Shanghai, other large cities and in schools have seen an obvious decline, but the virus continues to spread into villages and communities,” the ministry said. The BBC reported that The government has been especially... »
Is Iran at the Tipping Point? (VIDEO)
The peaceful protests in Tehran of the past few days have degenerated into violence with at least eight people killed, according to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council — making it the deadliest incident since June. A video leaked to YouTube graphically shows demonstrators cornering a handful of riot police who were sent to... »
“Arbeit Macht Frei” Sign Recovered – Five Arrested
The “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign, which was stolen late last week from the front gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp has been recovered and five men in their 20s and 30s have been arrested. Journalist Tomas Machala of CNN affiliate Polsat in the Polish capital Warsaw said Monday that the men were not... »
Protests Erupt During Funeral for Top Iranian Cleric
The funeral procession that attracted thousands of mourners in Qom, Iran, for a top Iranian cleric turned into another major protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his hard-line Iranian government. Shouts of “death to the dictator!” loudly echoed outside the home of senior Iranian dissident Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, who died early Sunday. According... »
Obama Offers Laison Office In North Korea
South Korean news agency, Yonhap, said on Friday that President Barack Obama has proposed setting up a liaison office in North Korea next year. Reuters reported that this move is a step to ease tensions between the two rival states. Yonhap quoted diplomatic sources in Beijing as saying that the offer was in a... »
Swiss Ban Muslim Minaret Construction
Swiss voters on Sunday approved a constitutional ban on the construction of Muslim minarets. The referendum passed with over 57% of the votes cast. The minaret “is a political symbol against integration; a symbol more of segregation, and first of all, a symbol to try to introduce Sharia law parallel to Swiss rights,” Ulrich... »
Chavez-Ahmadinejad Love Affair
The lovers made a conspicuous display of their affection toward each other which included words of mutual praise, displays of hugging, and, most touching, they were even holding hands. This was not a scene from a cheesy Brazilian soap opera, this was the Chavez-Ahmadinejad affair scripted for public consumption during Ahmadinejad’s final stop of... »
Body Parts of Murder Victim Sold to Russian Kebab Shop
Police in Russia have arrested three homeless men suspected of killing a man, consuming parts of the body and selling other parts to a kebab shop. Police statements indicate that the homeless men, who have prior criminal records targeted the 25-year-old victim out of “personal hostility,” and have been charged with murder. The investigators... »
Chavez Prepares for War with Colombia
The words from George Orwell’s 1984 echo amongst us. Although the new title is based on a time 25 years later, we have in Venezuela a new book being written. Unfortunately this time; it is fact, not fiction. The title is 2009, by Hugo Chavez. The dates are different, but the words sound the... »
Violence In Tehran Again
Once again, the streets of Tehran were echoing the shouts of “Death to the Dictators”, with hundreds of demonstrators in the background chanting “God is Greatest.” And once again, police charged the crowds with batons and tear gas. According to the reformist website, Mowjcamp, police opened fire on protesters at Haft-e Tir square. “Some... »
Iran Prepares For Another Confrontation With Demonstrators
Once more the rhetoric and warnings are escalating in Iran. Tehran’s deputy police chief Ahmadreza Radan warned that Iranian police will confront any “illegal” gatherings on November 4, when the Islamic Republic marks the 30th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, the Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday. This... »
Medvedev Speaks Out Against Stalin
A sound of hope is echoing on the Russian Internet. As reported by the BBC, in a videoblog posted on the Kremlin’s website, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made an outspoken attack on those seeking to rehabilitate former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. This is a marked departure from the trend begun during the rule... »
Mystery Ship Returns To Port
The infamous mystery ship, the Arctic Sea, has returned to port in Malta. The BBC reports that the ship was towed into harbour in the Maltese capital, Valletta, after maritime officials inspected the vessel and declared it radiation-free. The ship’s whereabouts captured international attention as it appeared to vanish on its way from Finland... »
Whale Wars & Whale Whores
According to the Chico NewsReview, the Sea Shepard Conservation Society, a nonprofit conservation organization that focuses on ending the destruction and slaughter of marine wildlife recently unveiled a new vessel that will be used to combat Japanese whalers in Antarctica. The Society will board a new ship, the Ady Gil, which will join their... »
Ortega – Chavez Protégé
With Fidel Castro ageing, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega has found a new leftist leader to emulate. Marching to the same tunes conducted by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, Ortega has manipulated the system to overturn the constitutional ban on his re-election. Nicaragua has a one-term limit for presidents, and Ortega’s term expires in 2011. However,... »
Chavez: “I don’t Stink”
“I don’t stink”: insists Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who has told the people of Venezuela to stop singing in the shower and to wash in three minutes as their country faces an energy crisis. According the UK’s Daily Mail, Venezuela has suffered several serious blackouts in the past year because of rapidly growing demand... »
Trade War Begins
Five weeks ago, President Obama announced that the U.S. was increasing the tariff by 35% on all imported vehicle tires manufactured in China. By doing so he effectively fired the first shot in what was sure to become a full scale trade war. The Chinese government quickly returned fire with the announcement that it... »
Iran Will Punish US And Israel
Iranian media say the Sunni Muslim insurgent group Jundollah (God’s soldiers) has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Sistan-Baluchestan province, which killed 42 people in all. The suicide bombing attack Sunday morning left a number of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders among those dead and wounded. Reuters reports that the incident threatened to overshadow... »
Rape As A Weapon Of War
A CNN report shows that rape has turned into a weapon of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the number of attacks on women having grown threefold over the past few years. Anneke van Woudenberg, senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, told CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour, that 200,000 women and girls have been... »
Afghan Surge Soon?
President Barack Obama may announce a substantial surge in US troops to Afghanistan, the BBC has been told. BBC’s Newsnight program said the increase could be announced next week. Newsnight reported that Said Jawad, the Afghan ambassador to Washington, was asked if he could confirm that the United States would be sending more troops.... »
Armenia & Turkey Sign Accord
It was incredible history in the making. It took over 100 years, but today Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark peace accord to restore ties and open their joint border. After a century of hostility stemming from the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces, Turkey’s Foreign MinisterAhmet Davutoglu and his... »
Iran Sentences 3 Demonstrators To Death
Just released by Reuters – a court has sentenced three people to death over street unrest that erupted after Iran’s disputed election in June and links to exiled opposition groups. The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), citing the head of the publication relations office of Tehran provincial court, did not identify those condemned, giving... »
Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize (VIDEO)
The Nobel Committee announced Friday that the peace prize has been awarded to President Barak Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” “He has created a new international climate,” the committee said in its announcement from Oslo, Norway. According to The New York Times, President Obama’s name had... »
Obama Willing To Appease The Taliban?
America and its NATO allies have paid dearly in lives fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Now it seems, according to leaked information, that President Obama is beginning to map out a plan that appears to offer appeasement to the Taliban in order to concentrate the fight with Al Qaeda. FOX News released the... »
Herta Müller Wins 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature
Romanian-born German novelist, poet, and essayist Herta Müller has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in literature. The 56-year-old author, noted for her works depicting the harsh conditions of life in Romania under the criminal Ceauşescu regime, made her literary debut in 1982 with “Niederungen,” a collection of short stories which was censored by the... »
William Kamkwamba: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
William Kamkwamba dreamed of powering his African village with the only resource that was freely available to him. Wind. For an educated adult living in a developed nation, designing and building a wind turbine that generates electricity is something to be proud of. For a half-starved, uneducated boy living in a country plagued with... »
Irish Vote Yes This Time
Apparently, the EU is better “the second time around.” At least that’s what the Irish voters said on Sunday. After a humiluating defeat in last year’s referendum, this time Ireland backed the EU’s Lisbon Treaty by a 2/3 majority. With the Irish obstacle now removed, The treaty is now firmly on course to becoming law in... »
10-Year-Old Girl Tries to Sell Grandma on eBay
10-year-old Zoe Pemberton was annoyed at her “moaning” grandmother, so she put her up for sale on eBay. The girl was visiting her father, Thomas Pemberton, and her grandmother, Marian Goodall, in their home in Clacton-on-the-Sea, when she decided to put the 61-year-old woman up for auction. Although she later clarified that the posting... »
