Tag Archives: country

Roxana Saberi: Out of Iranian Prison, Into a Soap Opera

In an unexpectedly swift move, a Tehran court reduced the sentence of Iranian-American reporter Roxana Saberi and released her from prison on Monday, only a day after she appealed her case in court. Last month, Saberi had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment on charges of spying for the United States, causing tension between the two countries at a time when President Barack Obama had declared his Administration’s intention to improve relations with Iran. Just before the official announcement came, Saberi’s parents and lawyers, as well as dozens of reporters, had gathered in front of Tehran’s Evin prison in anticipation of her release

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Official: More than 1M child prostitutes in India

Around 1.2 million children are believed to be involved in prostitution in India, the country’s federal police said Monday. After weeks of competition, the 75-year-old dynamo beat out 15 other contestants, including Dennis Rodman, Tom Green and Brian McKnight, to take the top spot in this season’s edition of the reality show hosted by Donald Trump. Rivers went up against poker champion Annie Duke in Sunday night’s finale in which both women were charged with planning a VIP party and silent auction for the last and deciding task.

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U.N.: Hundreds killed in Sri Lanka weekend fighting

Hundreds of civilians died during weekend fighting between Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil rebel fighters, the United Nations reported Monday. “Verification is, of course, the part of the problem, because humanitarian agencies are denied access to the region,” U.N. spokesman Gordon Weiss said from the capital, Colombo.

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Why Mideast Christians Are Wary of Pope Benedict’s Visit

Ever since the year 1204 A.D., when the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade sacked the Christian city of Constantinople instead of “liberating” Jerusalem from Muslim rule, Christians in the Middle East have been understandably wary of emissaries of Rome. Today, as Christians in the Middle East welcome Pope Benedict XVI on his first trip to the Holy Land, many are worried that the unpredictable Pontiff might stir up passions at a time of religious strife and political cold war.

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Saudi judge: It’s OK to slap spendthrift wives

Husbands are allowed to slap their wives if they spend lavishly, a Saudi judge said recently during a seminar on domestic violence, Saudi media reported Sunday. Arab News, a Saudi English-language daily newspaper based in Riyadh, reported that Judge Hamad Al-Razine said that “if a person gives SR 1,200 [$320] to his wife and she spends 900 riyals [$240] to purchase an abaya [the black cover that women in Saudi Arabia must wear] from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment.” Women in the audience immediately and loudly protested Al-Razine’s statement, and were shocked to learn the remarks came from a judge, the newspaper reported. Arab News reported that Al-Razine made his remark as he was attempting to explain why incidents of domestic violence had increased in Saudi Arabia

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Sri Lanka denies claims civilians hit by shelling

Sri Lankan officials on Sunday disavowed rebel claims that government troops had indiscriminately shelled a no-fire zone, killing many civilians Saturday night and Sunday morning. The accusations came after the government announced Thursday that it had “re-demarcated” the no-fire zone to encompass a new area 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) long and 1.5 kilometers (0.9 mile) wide

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