- Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by Alan22

Father jailed for encouraging his teenage son to rape and marry his cousin, 12

Alan — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:16:44 +0000

The father of a teenager encouraged to marry and rape his 12-year-old cousin was jailed for three years today.

The 54-year-old man was arrested by Scotland Yard child abuse detectives over an arranged marriage at a house in Woolwich, south east London.

Investigators discovered a 16-year-old boy was told by several family members to illegally marry the young relative and have sex with her.

Mugabe slams the west at the Copenhagen summit

Alan — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:04:19 +0000

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has spoken at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit chiding the west for having double standards. He said western countries fall short of addressing global warming, while taking developing countries to task over...

Death by Salad: Whistleblower on Iranian Torture Is Poisoned with drug-laced salad

Alan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:17:06 +0000

A 26-year-old doctor who exposed the torture of jailed protesters in Iran died of poisoning from a delivery salad laced with an overdose of blood pressure medication, prosecutors say. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew.

Investigators are still trying to determine whether his death was a suicide or murder, Tehran’s public prosecutor Abbas Dowlatabadi said, according to the state news agency IRNA.

The revelations of torture against prisoners in Iran’s postelection turmoil angered even government supporters and deeply embarrassed the country’s clerical leadership and security forces.

Yemen says Iran funding rebels

Alan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:05:31 +0000

Yemen has repeated its accusation that Iran is funding Houthi rebel fighters in their war against government forces in the north of the country.

General Yahya Salih, Yemen’s counter-terrorism chief, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that it would be impossible for the group to be able to wage its campaign without foreign support.

“The Houthis cannot fund and fight this war with pomegranates and grapes or drugs,” he said.

Rogue Afghan officer kills five British soldiers inside base

Alan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:58:59 +0000

Five British soldiers have been shot dead in an attack in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said today. They were killed by a “rogue’’ Afghan policeman who turned on them inside a military compound, officials said.

The soldiers, three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military Police, died in the Nad-e’Ali district of Helmand Province yesterday afternoon. Their families have been informed.

The MoD said the att

Tensions mount between Turkey, West as Turkey turning ‘East instead of West’

Alan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:40:32 +0000

With Turkey’s prospects for joining the European Union growing more elusive and the country reaching out to predominantly Muslim countries with a vigor not seen in years, a longstanding question is vexing the United States and Europe: Is this...

Kuwaiti women win passport rights

Alan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:52:17 +0000

Kuwaiti women will be able to obtain their own passport without the consent of their husbands, following a ruling by the country’s constitutional court.

Golfer kills mother-in-law on 3rd hole

Alan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:23:37 +0000

Janet Llewellyn, 66, was playing on a nine-hole course with Ronnie Battersby when she was hit in the back of the head by his tee shot, it is understood.

The widowed mother-of-two collapsed immediately after being struck by Mr Battersby’s drive on the 271-yard par four third hole.

She was helped from the course by staff using a golf buggy and flown by air ambulance to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.

Fearful of Iran's influence, Saudi king reaches out to Syria

Alan — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:51:26 +0000

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia arrived here Wednesday to mend fences with Syria and strengthen regional cooperation in a move that some hope could advance President Barack Obama’s Middle East peace plans.

The two day visit by the king – his first since he took power in 2005 – will focus on unrest in Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, where political rivals backed by the two countries are wrangling over power. The Saudi monarch and close US ally is also seeking to nudge Syrian President Bashar al-Assad out of Iran’s diplomatic orbit toward closer cooperation with fellow Arab states.

The visit is the latest sign of a thaw in relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, which went into deep freeze after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Mr. Hariri was a close friend of the king’s family, and Saudi Arabia and many others believe that Syria ordered his murder, a charge Damascus has denied.

Brown refused extra Afghan troops

Alan — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:20:14 +0000

Prime Minister Gordon Brown refused a major Afghanistan troop reinforcement against the military’s advice, the former head of the Army has said.

Gen Sir Richard Dannatt stood down in August 2009 after repeatedly speaking out against what he said were equipment shortages and poor pay and conditions.

He told the Sun that ministers had to be taken “screaming and kicking” to agree to necessary measures.

Downing Street has denied refusing a request for 2,000 extra personnel.

“Any suggestion that the prime minister has been unwilling to deploy more troops or provide the necessary resources is simply wrong,” a Downing Street spokesman said.

“The key point here is that there were 7,800 troops in Afghanistan in the summer of 2007. Now there are over 9,000.”

The cabinet is due to sit within the week to consider another request from military chiefs for more troops.