Troubling news of kidnapping, rape, torture, and murder is flooding out of Iran.
Commentary: Iran confronts rape, torture allegations
Tag Archives: security
Monitors: Taliban cut off fingers of Afghan voters
Making good on a threat of election day violence, the Taliban sliced off the index fingers of at least two people in Kandahar province, according to a vote monitoring group.
Ridge: Bush officials sought to raise terror alert before ’04 vote
Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge says he successfully countered an effort by senior Bush administration officials to raise the nation’s terror alert level in the days before the 2004 presidential vote. “An election-eve drama was being played out at the highest levels of our government” after Osama bin Laden released a pre-election message critical of President George W. Bush, writes Ridge in his new book, “The Test of Our Times.” Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld strongly advocated raising the security threat level to “orange” — even though Ridge believed a threatening message “should not be the sole reason to elevate the threat level.” The former Pennsylvania governor also writes that he saw no reason for the move, which he now calls a bad idea, because additional security precautions had already been taken in advance of the election
Abuse highlights China’s Web addict camps
A 14-year-old boy allegedly beaten at a boot camp in China for young Internet addicts was in critical condition Thursday, less than three weeks after a youth at a different camp died, Chinese state media reported. Internet use has skyrocketed in China, especially among teens
Disney performer dies after suffering head injury
A Disney stunt performer died Monday night after suffering an injury during a rehearsal, company and local officials said. Walt Disney World spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said the performer was injured while performing a tumbling roll for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, part of the Orlando, Florida, theme park. It was the third fatal incident at the park in less than two months
Muslim Women Demand an End to Oppressive Family Laws
While Western governments have been worrying about bearded men with bombs in caves, a new jihad has quietly gained strength in the Muslim world: Islamic feminism. Earlier this week, 350 women and men gathered in Malaysia to launch Musawah — “Equality” in Arabic — a movement for justice in the Muslim family. Organized by the Malaysian Muslim feminist group Sisters in Islam, the conference, two years in the planning, is a kick-off to a campaign to enshrine Muslim women’s rights within an Islamic framework.
U.S. senator meets with Suu Kyi in Myanmar
A U.S. senator met Saturday in Myanmar with detained pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, an eyewitness said. The meeting with Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, lasted about 40 minutes, an eyewitness said.
Radical Muslim cleric among 21 killed in Gaza clashes
A radical Muslim sheikh called Friday for the creation of an Islamic emirate in Gaza, sparking clashes with Hamas forces that left 21 people dead and injured at least 121 others. Hamas forces blew up the home of Sheikh Abu al-Nour al-Maqdessi, leader of the radical group Jund Ansar Allah, or Soldiers of the Partisans of God, Hamas sources said
Sen. Webb first U.S. lawmaker to meet junta chief in Myanmar
U.S. Sen. Jim Webb arrived in Myanmar on Friday where he is scheduled to meet with the reclusive country’s military junta, his office confirmed
‘In Any War, Mistakes Happen on the Ground’
TIME sat down with Sudan’s President Hassan Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum two weeks ago. In March, the International Criminal Court indicted Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict in Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died since 2003. The interview — his first with the American newsmedia since the ICC’s arrest warrants were issued — was conducted in collaboration with “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” on PBS