Iran State TV station FARS announced Saturday morning that four American dual-nationality prisoners were released from Iranian custody in a “prisoner swap” with the United States.
(AP) – Invitations to Margaret Thatcher’s funeral are going out to more than 2,000 celebrities, dignitaries, colleagues and friends of the late British leader — from former U.S. presidents to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Invitations are being printed Thursday and
With mobile missile launchers on its east coast and missiles believed to be fueled and ready for launch, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel warns that North Korea is “skating very close to a dangerous line.” Agreeing with an unnamed Pentagon
Wilfred de Bruijn’s face is bloated, seeped in blood, his bruised right eye shut tight, his tooth broken — the victim of a brutal attack in Paris while he was “walking arm in arm” with his boyfriend. His is one
A US citizen has married her Mexican fiance on a raft on the river border between their two countries, a unique ceremony designed to meet US immigration requirements. Stephanie Guerra, 26, and Ruben Alfonso Fierro, 27, defied the swirling currents
This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com Syria’s al-Nusra Front pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda EU warns Spain, Slovenia, France of economic risks Is Germany the poorest country in Europe? Europeans debate how much to tax bank deposits in bailouts Syria’s al-Nusra Front
Upon the death of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first and only woman Prime Minister, Hadley Freeman of the Guardian wrote, “In truth, Thatcher is one of the clearest examples of the fact that a successful woman doesn’t always mean a step
(AFP) – Mired in a scandal over an ex-minister’s secret Swiss bank account, French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday vowed to “eradicate” tax havens, increase checks on officials’ finances and crack down on tax cheats. Laying out a series of
(AFP) – Paris’s Louvre museum was on Wednesday closed due to a walkout by some staff in protest at a growing number of increasingly aggressive pickpockets targeting both workers and tourists, a union said. Management said it had already lodged
(AFP) – A New York federal judge has set the terrorism trial of Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law for January after defense lawyers said US budget cuts would make it hard to prepare by an earlier date. Judge Lewis Kaplan issued
(AP) – A judge in Tuscany fined Italian cruise line Costa Crociere SpA 1 million euros ($1.3 million) Wednesday for the 2012 shipwreck of the Concordia cruise ship that killed 32 people. Costa had asked for a plea bargain deal
(AP) – The leader of a militant group fighting on the side of Syria’s rebels has for the first time pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and the terror network’s No. 1, Ayman al-Zawahri. In an audio message Wednesday, Abu Mohammad al-Golani
(AFP) – Palestinian support for rocket fire by Gaza militants on southern Israel has fallen sharply over the past four months, according to a survey published on Wednesday. “Support for firing locally-made rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israeli regions
(AFP) – The United States reacted with concern Wednesday after Iran unveiled a new uranium production facility and two extraction mines, but said it had not been “blindsided” by the news. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed the advances on Tuesday
An official in the Obama administration believes North Korea has completed preparatory steps and is ready to launch at any second, according to CNN. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said North Korea could fire from the mobile launchers it
The French Senate, the upper house of its parliament, has approved the first article of a draft law allowing same-sex marriages. The first article is considered the most important part of the proposed law because it throws out the requirement for
The Russian Orthodox Patriarch has cautioned against the dangers of feminism, denouncing “propaganda” that encourages women to take roles beyond housekeeping and rearing children. But he argued: “The man should be focussed on matters outside (of the house), he must
The United States is mulling ways to step up support for the Syrian opposition, a top US official said Wednesday, as US Secretary of State John Kerry and G8 ministers were to meet rebel leaders. The aim was to “move
This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com: Japan deploys anti-missile systems after North Korean threats Slovenia denies that it needs a bailout Cyprus scandal deepens over big withdrawals prior to bank shutdown Donor nations pledge $3.6 billion in aid to Darfur
(AFP) – A powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday near the Gulf port city of Bushehr, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant, killing at least three people, state television and officials said. Iranian news agencies made no immediate
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s Islamist-led government has asked independent legal experts to propose amendments to the new constitution, the state news agency MENA said on Tuesday, signaling that it may be heeding concerns of the liberal and leftist opposition. Members
Al-Qaeda in Iraq said for the first time on Tuesday that Al-Nusra Front, a jihadist group battling President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, was part of its network and fighting for an Islamic state in Syria. The remarks by the leader of
Then-Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos forced his military chiefs to parade as women during a tasteless, sycophantic birthday party planned by his unstable wife, according to US diplomatic cables. The US ambassador to the Philippines in the mid-1970s, William Sullivan, wrote
The US Navy said it is preparing to roll out a sea-based laser weapon capable of disabling small enemy vessels and shooting down surveillance drones. The laser system will be deployed in 2014, two years ahead of schedule, aboard the
(AP) NKorea urges foreigners to vacate South KoreaPYONGYANG, North KoreaNorth Korea on Tuesday urged all foreign companies and tourists in South Korea to evacuate, saying the two countries are on the verge of nuclear war. The new threat appeared to
(AP) Egypt’s Christian pope blasts Islamist presidentBy HAMZA HENDAWIAssociated PressCAIROThe leader of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church on Tuesday blasted the country’s Islamist president over his handling of the recent deadly sectarian violence, including an attack on the main cathedral in
