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.
European stock markets were mostly lower on Thursday on downbeat earnings from major banks while the euro rose against the dollar after the US Federal Reserve’s latest economic outlook, traders said. In midday deals, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index shed 0.57
The US embassy in Islamabad on Thursday banned its staff from restaurants and markets in the Pakistani capital for several days either side of the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. The Al-Qaeda kingpin was killed in a US special
The French Syria specialist Frédéric Pichon accuses the Western media of irresponsibility in its treatment of the Syria crisis: of being ignorant about the region and its history, neglecting to verify sources, blithely parroting activist talking points–in short, of “refusing to deal
Tonight, April 25, coincides with the 5th of Iyar on the Hebrew calendar, marking the 64th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. As celebrations erupt in Israel, the country knows that it faces an urgent danger in
On Monday we learned that President Obama felt he had no “choice but to cultivate [relations with] the Muslim Brotherhood and other relatively ‘moderate’ Islamist groups emerging as lead political players out of the Arab Spring in Egypt, Tunisia and
(AP) SAN DIEGOThe Marine Corps said Wednesday it has decided to discharge a sergeant for criticizing President Barack Obama on Facebook. The Corps said Sgt. Gary Stein will be given an other-than-honorable discharge for violating Pentagon policy limiting speech of service
This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com. Kofi Annan says that his Syria peace plan is failing Syria’s Circassian refugees add to Russia’s problems in the Caucasus Netherlands government collapses as right wing rejects austerity program Anti-austerity backlash grows across Europe
By KIRUBEL TADESSEAssociated PressADDIS ABABA, EthiopiaThe African Union called on Sudan to stop its aerial bombardment of South Sudan and for both countries to cease hostilities as an uneasy calm settled over the south Wednesday with a lull in violence.
By KARIN LAUBAssociated PressBEIRUTSyrian activists said troops bombarded a Damascus suburb with mortar shells and machine guns Wednesday, a day after special envoy Kofi Annan described the situation in Syria as bleak. This is the second day of government attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Iran should remain under biting sanctions until it halts all uranium enrichment, appearing to exceed UN demands on Tehran. His remarks appeared aimed at stepping up pressure on Iran as it engages in
TEHRAN, IranFour troops from Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards have been killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels in western Iran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Wednesday. Eight others were wounded. The fighting erupted outside Paveh, a town near the Iraqi
A military judge is expected to rule Wednesday on a request to dismiss all charges against a US soldier accused of passing a trove of secret government documents to the WikiLeaks website. Lawyers for Army private Bradley Manning have demanded
Turkey has blocked Israel from participating in a NATO summit meeting scheduled for May 20-21 in Chicago. The block was made last week in Brussels by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. The Turks claim that the move was made in
On October 2, 2008 Barack Obama wrote that “the Armenian Genocide” of 1915 was “a widely documented fact.” But on April 24, 2012, he would only go so far as to call it an atrocity. As a matter of fact,
A car bomb on Tuesday rocked central Damascus, a day after nearly 60 were killed across Syria despite a hard-won ceasefire and the upcoming deployment of 300 UN peace monitors. Three people were wounded when the blast went off in
TEHRAN, April 24 (UPI) — The conflict in Syria needs to be resolved internally for the sake of regional security, the Iranian foreign minister said. Syria agreed to the terms of a cease-fire brokered by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
TEHRAN, April 24 (UPI) — Iran is investigating allegations that one of its diplomats fondled several underage girls in a Brazil swimming pool, officials said Tuesday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast (pictured above) said the diplomat had been recalled to
By ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZOAssociated PressWASHINGTONThe retired top CIA officer who ordered the destruction of videos showing waterboarding says in a new book that he was tired of waiting for Washington’s bureaucracy to make a decision that protected American
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 24 (UPI) — Pakistan has asked India to keep commercial aircraft out of an area over the Indian Ocean while it conducts a long-range missile test. The announcement came five days after India successfully launched an intercontinental
Libyan authorities on Tuesday passed legislation governing the formation of political organisations which rules out religious, regional and tribal platforms and bans foreign funding. Political parties must have a minimum of 250 founding members while associations need only 100, according
Last week I criticized the premiere of Julian Assange’s new Russia Today chat show, which featured a tepid and occasionally fawning interview with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Breitbart News wasn’t the only outlet to criticize Assange and RT. The Guardian,
A New York judge is expected to rule Friday whether disgraced French politician and former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will face a civil lawsuit filed by a hotel maid accusing him of sexual assault. Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn asked McKeon in
By GEIR MOULSONAssociated PressBERLINGermany defended its pro-austerity stance on Tuesday, with Chancellor Angela Merkel and two ministers pressing for Europe to stick with a policy of fiscal discipline in spite of the latest bout of political uncertainty. Financial markets in
Host nation Great Britain will kick off the Olympic football tournament against Senegal at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground on July 26 following the draw made at Wembley here on Tuesday. Senegal became the final men’s team to clinch their
