Monday, January 11, 2010

A GUTTER SNIPE RACE SETS INDIAN ON FIRE

Death sentences over Myanmar leaks (plus 49 more items)

Link to Rebel Newsflash

Death sentences over Myanmar leaks

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 09:12 AM PST

A foreign ministry employee and a retired army officer in Myanmar have been sentenced to death for allegedly leaking confidential details of a government visit to North Korea.

The two men were handed their sentence by a court inside the country's Insein prison on Thursday, official sources said.

A third man was jailed for 15 years on a related offence.

Portugal passes gay marriage bill

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 09:11 AM PST

Portugal's parliament has approved plans to legalise gay marriage, making the country the sixth in Europe to allow homosexuals to get married.

The government bill was passed by 123 votes to 99 on Friday, with the opposition voting against it and calling for a national referendum on the issue.

Jordan slams Israeli settlement activity

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 09:09 AM PST

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh has criticized the new Israeli housing constructions in the East Jerusalem.

The Jordanian official made the remark at a press conference with his American counterpart Hillary Clinton on Friday.

Iran says regional states responsible for security

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 05:08 AM PST

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said Saturday regional states are responsible for the security of the oil-rich Middle East.

"The security of countries in the region is interdependent, and a prerequisite for progress and sustainable development," Saeed Jalili said in a meeting with Bahraini Parliament Spkear Khalifa Ahmad al-Zahrani. "Iran is ready to increase its cooperation with neighboring countries to ensure security."

Indian man set on fire in Australia

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 04:10 AM PST

A man of Indian descent was
left with 15 per cent burns after he was set on fire in Australia, police have said.

Authorities said there was no evidence of a racial motive after four men poured an unidentified fluid on the 29-year-old man and set it alight in a Melbourne suburb.

Togo to play Africa Cup of Nations

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 04:09 AM PST

Togo's national football squad have decided to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, a day after their bus came under fire.

The driver of the bus was killed and nine other people were wounded, including two players, in the attack, claimed by separatist fighters in Cabinda province.

Al-Quds Brigades warns Israel over Gaza attacks

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 04:08 AM PST

The military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine has warned that armed Palestinian groups will confront Israel if its attacks on Gaza continue.

The remark was made by an Al-Quds Brigades spokesman on Friday.

Natalie Portman doesn't like casts in Holocaust films

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 04:07 AM PST

The Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman says that she has always tried to stay away from playing Jewish women in Holocaust movies.

"I've always tried to stay away from playing Jews," she told Elle magazine.

Counting the Cost - The price of Dubai's bailout

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:45 AM PST

Counting the Cost looks at the opening of the tallest building in the world through the prism of Dubai's still very real debt problems, along with the even bigger debt problems in Greece, which got overshadowed by the Dubai story. Plus, an indepth look at airport security in the wake of the failed Christmas Day bombing in the US. Full body scanners, increased security: What will it cost us when we buy our plane tickets?

Scientists discover second smallest super-Earth

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:37 AM PST

American scientists have detected the second smallest exoplanet ever discovered with a mass just four times heavier than the Earth.

Astronomers, using the 10-meter Keck I Telescope at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, discovered and named it HD156668b.

JAL set to file for bankruptcy within weeks

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:37 AM PST

Japan Airlines (JAL) is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as January 19 under a government plan to protect Asia's leading carrier from total collapse.

Reports say JAL's main creditors are in the final stages of accepting a plan to put the airliner through bankruptcy.

Larijani: US targeted Iran national unity

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:37 AM PST

Iran's parliament speaker rules out the possibility of a US-led war against Tehran, saying that Washington is targeting his country's national unity.

"The Western and American strategy is to make us waste away our national strengths through internal strife," Ali Larijani said as he addressed a gathering of police commanders in the central Iranian city of Qom on Thursday.

Lebanon slams US airport security measures

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:37 AM PST

Lebanon's Information Minister Tarek Mitri has voiced concern over the US government's decision to adopt stringent security screening measures for Lebanese passengers.

The Lebanese official made the remark following his meeting with a delegation from Hamas in Beirut on Friday.

Qaradawi: Abbas must be stoned if proven guilty

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:36 AM PST

Doha-based Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi says if it is proven that acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas instigated the Israeli war against Gaza, he must be stoned.

"During the debate raised over the Goldstone UN report which accused Israel of war crimes against Gaza, there were reports that Abbas encouraged Israel to launch its offensive against Gaza," Qaradawi said as he delivered a Friday sermon at Doha's Omar bin al-Khattab mosque.

Gunmen attack Togo football team in Angola

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:36 AM PST

At least one person has lost his life and nine others were wounded when unidentified assailants opened fire on the Togo soccer team's bus in Angola.

The 16-team African Cup starts on Sunday in Angola, with Togo due to play its opening match on Monday against Ghana in Cabinda.

Iran, Turkey plan to set up joint industrial zone

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 02:36 AM PST

Iran and Turkey plan to set up a joint industrial zone on their shared border, a Turkish official has announced.

Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun made the remarks after a meeting with Iran's Industry Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian in Ankara on Friday.

Togo weighs Africa cup withdrawal

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 01:38 AM PST

Togo's national football squad is considering whether to withdraw from the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola after their bus came under fire.

The driver of the bus was killed and nine other people were wounded, including two players, in the attack, claimed by separatist fighters in Cabinda province.

China warns US about arms sales to Taiwan

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 01:36 AM PST

China has objected to the US plans to sell missile equipment to Taiwan, urging Washington to abandon the move as it would undermine trust between the US and Chinese militaries.

"The US arms sales to Taiwan infringe upon China's security interest[s] as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and interfere with China's internal affairs," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement on Saturday.

Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets 'intercept US warplane'

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 01:36 AM PST

Venezuela has scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to ward off a US 'military plane' amid reports of "US trespassing the country's airspace."

President Hugo Chavez has ordered the fighters to confront a US P-3 maritime patrol aircraft that had purportedly violated Venezuela's airspace, Reuters quoted the Venezuelan president as saying on Friday.

Iran embassy in China rejects execution reports

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 01:09 AM PST

Iran's embassy in China has rejected reports that a number of Iranian nationals have been executed in China on charges of drug smuggling.

Reports have circulated in the past couple of weeks that a number of Iranians convicted of drugs smuggling in China have been put to death by the Beijing judicial authorities.

Berri slams US Congress bill on satellite channels

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 01:08 AM PST

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has criticized the US Congress for passing a bill to impose sanctions on satellite channels.

Berri voiced the criticism in a letter sent to the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday.

Karzai nominates new ministers

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 12:38 AM PST

The Afghan president has submitted a new list of cabinet ministers to parliament, a week after legislators rejected two-thirds of his nominees.

Karim Khalili, the second vice-president, read out a list of 16 names to parliament on Saturday.

The list contained none of the 17 candidates who were rejected last week. Two positions were left unfilled.

CIA attack 'revenge for Mehsud'

Posted: 09 Jan 2010 12:37 AM PST

The suicide bomber who killed eight people at a US base in Afghanistan said he was carrying out the attack in response to the death of Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban leader killed by a US drone.

In a video released to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Hammam Khalil al-Balawi is shown shooting a gun as he describes how the attack would target US and Jordanian intelligence agents.

Obama: US economic recovery is not straight

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 11:37 PM PST

US President Barack Obama says that the road to economic recovery has never been straight in reaction to a newly released report of more job losses.

"The jobs numbers that were released by the Labor Department are a reminder that the road to recovery is never straight and that we have to continue to work to get our economy moving again," Obama said on Friday.

Palestinian body excavated out of Rafah tunnel

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 11:37 PM PST

The body of a Palestinian, who lost his life in an overnight Israeli airstrike on Friday, has been removed from a Rafah tunnel in the south of the Gaza Strip.

It brings to three the number of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli attack early on Friday.

Karzai to introduce remaining cabinet nominees

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 11:37 PM PST

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is about to introduce his remaining cabinet nominees to Parliament, Afghan officials have said.

According to Parliament's head of media relations, Hasib Noori, the list of candidates would be unveiled around 10 a.m. (0530 GMT) Saturday.

US denies jet flew over Venezuela

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 10:39 PM PST

The US has denied claims by the Venezuelan president that a US military jet twice violated the South American country's airspace.

Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, said that the overflight was the latest violation of his country's airspace by the US military from its bases on the Netherlands' Caribbean islands and from neighbouring Colombia.

Workers killed in China mine fire

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 10:38 PM PST

At least 12 people have been killed in a fire at a coal mine in China's southeastern Jiangxi province.

The chief of the coal mine management section in Xinyu city said a short circuit in an underground cable had caused the fire at the Miashong mine late Friday afternoon.

China, the world's new leading exporter

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:36 AM PST

As the prospects of China over-shadowing the struggling US economy grow stronger, Beijing robs Berlin of its title as the world's leading export.

Chinese exports from January to October were valued at 1.07 trillion dollars, enjoying a wafer-thin lead over Germany whose exports during the same period had amounted to 1.05 trillion dollars, AFP reported.

Iraq bans 14 politicians, parties from polls

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:36 AM PST

Iraq on Thursday banned a number of politicians and parties from running in the parliamentary elections scheduled for March, citing suspected links with the outlawed Baath party.

The Independent Commission for Justice and Accountability made the decision as part of Baghdad's efforts to purge parties alleged to have been sponsored by remaining elements of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to prevent it from coming back to life.

Netanyahu vows no flexibility in Shalit talks

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:36 AM PST

Israel says it will not show any flexibility in the prisoner swap talks with the Palestinians as tensions between the two sides grow amid Israeli air raids on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the proposal to exchange soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by resistance fighters in Gaza in 2006, for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is the last of its kind.

France plans to set up war crimes tribunal

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:36 AM PST

The French government says it will form a panel to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

The new judicial unit was concocted to advance the efficiency of legal procedure surrounding such cases, according to France's Justice Ministry spokesman, Guillaume Didier.

Explosions kill 11 in Afghanistan

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 09:36 AM PST

Two separates explosions in southern Afghanistan killed at least 11 security personnel and wounded three others on Friday.

The blasts took place near Tarin Kowt, the capital of Oruzgan in southern Afghanistan.

Egypt deports UK MP George Galloway

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:38 AM PST

George Galloway, the British MP leading the Viva Palestina international aid convoy to the Gaza Strip, has been declared 'person non grata' by the Egyptian government and deported from the country.

The politician was picked up by Egyptian officials at the Rafah border crossing on Friday and driven to Cairo, the capital, where he was placed on a flight back to London.

US loses 85,000 jobs, jobless rate holds

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:37 AM PST

As the sluggish US economy tries to recover, a government report said Friday the economy lost more jobs than expected in December while the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent.

The Department of Labor said employers cut 85,000 jobs last month, worse than the 8,000 drop that analysts predicted.

SBS Championship opens season without Woods

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:37 AM PST

The SBS Championship has opened another season without its No. 1 player, Tiger Woods who is in a world of troubles.

Meanwhile at Kapaula, US Open champion Lucas Glover recovered from a rocky start by making two eagles on his way to a 7-under66 and a one shot lead.

Iran cleric reveals details of Ashura unrest

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:36 AM PST

After Iran's Judiciary promised to "quickly and firmly" follow up on the recent unrest that erupted in the country during the Ashura mourning ceremony, a cleric on Friday gave more details about the events.

"Eyewitnesses said a person chanted slogans in favor of one of the defeated presidential candidates and threw Molotov cocktails," said Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi during the Friday prayers in Tehran, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

Questions over safety of Dakar Rally

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:36 AM PST

Is the Dakar Rally cursed or is it just plain dangerous? Since its inception 31 years ago, it has claimed the lives of 27 people, including a female spectator on Saturday.

And now, Italian motorcyclist Luca Manca was critically injured in a fall during the sixth stage and finds himself in a medically induced coma.

Egypt police arrest 3 for drive-by shooting

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:36 AM PST

Egyptian police arrested Friday 3 suspects in connection to a shooting that killed 6 Coptic Christians and 1 security official on Thursday.

Egyptian Coptic Christians, who were celebrating Christmas Eve on January 7, were victims of a drive-by shooting as they were leaving a Naj Hammadi church in southern Egypt, the BBC reported.

Nadal, Federer advance to Doha semis

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:36 AM PST

The world's top two players and top two seeds at the Qatar open, namely and respectively, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have seamlessly progressed to the semis of the tournament in Doha.

Federer raced through the first set against Ernests Gulbis, winning 6-2 in 34 minutes including two breaks. But the unseeded Latvian bounced back to take the second set 6-4, with the only break coming in the tenth game.

Argentina bank chief reinstated

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:10 AM PST

A federal judge in Argentina has ruled that the head of the central bank should be reinstated after being sacked by Christina Fernandez, the president.

The government has responded that it will appeal the decision on Friday, a day after Fernandez issued a presidential decree removing Martin Redrado from office after he refused to release money for national debt repayments.

'Not guilty' plea in bomb plot case

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 08:09 AM PST

A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a US-bound plane on Christmas Day has had a plea of not guilty entered for him during his first appearance in a US court.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab made his first court appearance on Friday in the city of Detroit, to hear six charges over the alleged failed attempt to set off a bomb
stitched into his underwear on a Northwest Airlines transatlantic flight.

US consulate building in Herat targeted

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:36 AM PST

Unknown attackers have fired three rocket-propelled grenades at the US consulate building in the western Afghan city of Herat.

"The building was targeted by RPG7, but did not cause any casualty," as there was no one in the building on Friday, said Ikramuddin Yawar, a senior police official.

Iraq 'bars politician from polls'

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:11 AM PST

An Iraqi parliamentary committee has reportedly prevented a prominent Sunni Muslim politician from running in elections due to his alleged connections with the deposed government of Saddam Hussein.

'US plane bomber' due in court

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:10 AM PST

A Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a US plane on Christmas Day is to appear in a US court for the first time.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, will make his first court appearance on Friday in the city of Detroit, to be charged over his botched attempt to set off a bomb stitched into his underwear on board a Northwest Airlines trans-Atlantic flight.

Egypt deports British lawmaker Galloway

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:08 AM PST

Cairo has deported British lawmaker George Galloway, following clashes between a Gaza-bound aid convoy he was accompanying and Egyptian police.

The lawmaker was planning to return to Gaza via the Rafah crossing early Friday when several Egyptian plainclothes security forces detained him and bundled him into a plane and flew him to London.

Two arrested in NYC 'terror' investigation

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 07:08 AM PST

Two men have been arrested in the US in the investigation of an attempted bomb plot targeting New York City around the anniversary of the September 11 attacks last year, officials said Friday.

Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay, who were arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, were introduced as "associates" of a Denver airport shuttle bus driver, Najibullah Zazi, who was accused of planning the bomb plot.

Venezuela devalues currency

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 06:38 AM PST

Venezuela has devalued the bolivar, its currency, for the first time in five years in a move to reduce the fiscal deficit.

Hugo Chavez, the president, announced the devaluation to 2.6 against the US dollar from 2.15, in a speech on Friday.

Galloway steadfast in breaking Gaza siege again

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 06:37 AM PST

British lawmaker George Galloway says he has been manhandled by Egyptian intelligence officers before being deported from country on Friday.

Upon his arrival to London, Galloway told Press TV that Egypt took revenge on him due to its disdain for aid convoys which expose the Israeli-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip.

US urges new Mideast peace talks

Posted: 08 Jan 2010 05:37 AM PST

The United States has urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks and to focus immediately on borders and Jerusalem, suggesting this could break their deadlock over Jewish settlement building.

While repeating US concerns about Israeli construction in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of a state, Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, suggested the only way to deal with the issue was to get into talks.

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