http://www.earthtimes.org The Earth Times online newspaper, serving the planet with world news and current affairs that matter en-us PHP/4.4.4 http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276035,syrian-security-strongman-removed-from-intelligence-post.html Damascus/Cairo - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has removed his brother-in-law Asef Shawkat, suspected of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, from his post as a director of military intelligence, the Syrian web... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:35:45 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276035,syrian-security-strongman-removed-from-intelligence-post.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276020,biden-in-iraq-optimistic-on-reconciliation--summary.html Baghdad - US Vice President Joe Biden said that he was optimistic about Iraq's prospects for stability and security, as he met with US and Iraqi officials in Baghdad Friday. Biden met first with the commander of US forces in Iraq, Ray Odierno, whos... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:53:47 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276020,biden-in-iraq-optimistic-on-reconciliation--summary.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276013,report-hamas-militants-plotted-to-assassinate-abbas--summary.html Ramallah - A group of Hamas militants tracked the movements of Mahmoud Abbas with the clear intention of assassinating the Palestinian president, senior sources in Abbas' Fatah party told an Israeli newspaper Friday. The Hamas members were caught w... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:17:48 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276013,report-hamas-militants-plotted-to-assassinate-abbas--summary.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276006,remains-of-ten-people-found-in-junkyard-in-eastern-turkey.html Istanbul - The remains of some ten people, including skulls with apparent gunshot holes, have been found in a waste disposal site near the city of Van in eastern Turkey, local media reports said on Friday. The discovery was made by a group of childre... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:41:44 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/276006,remains-of-ten-people-found-in-junkyard-in-eastern-turkey.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275994,british-embassy-staffers-confessed-iran-clergyman-claims--summary.html Tehran - British embassy staffers detained in Tehran have admitted involvement in demonstrations against the outcome of recent elections, a senior member of Iran's clergy claimed Friday. Do not take the issue easy, it is indeed more serious than bel... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:41:36 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275994,british-embassy-staffers-confessed-iran-clergyman-claims--summary.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275986,arrested-british-embassy-staffers-confessed-iran-clergyman-claims.html Tehran - British embassy staffers arrested and detained in Tehran for alleged involvement in recent protests over alleged election fraud have confessed, a senior member of the Iranian clergy claimed Friday. Do not take the issue easy, it is indeed m... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:11:45 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275986,arrested-british-embassy-staffers-confessed-iran-clergyman-claims.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275981,opposition-acts-like-dissidents-says-iranian-cleric.html Tehran - A senior Iranian cleric said Friday that the country's opposition led by Mir-Hossein Moussavi was acting like dissidents because of its fraud accusations after the June 12 presidential election. They (the opposition) neither acknowledge the... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:29:45 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275981,opposition-acts-like-dissidents-says-iranian-cleric.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275972,rebels-charge-that-yemens-hunt-for-abductors-is-sham.html Cairo - A rebel group in Yemen which denies any role in recent abductions there has charged via a statement on their website that government efforts to save the hostages are a sham. The rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi alleged that two suspects ha... Middle East,World Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:47:46 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275972,rebels-charge-that-yemens-hunt-for-abductors-is-sham.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275901,israeli-shelling-on-gaza-kills-one-girl-wounds-3.html Gaza City - A Palestinian girl was killed and three men injured early on Thursday evening in Israeli artillery fire directed against the Gaza Strip, witnesses and medical sources reported. The witnesses said that the Israeli shelling had occurred in ... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:53:51 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275901,israeli-shelling-on-gaza-kills-one-girl-wounds-3.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275879,jordan-shuts-down-offices-of-two-iranian-satellite-tvs.html Amman - Jordanian authorities on Thursday ordered the closure of the Amman offices of two Iranian satellite channels, citing their failure to obtain licenses. The Iranian channels al-Alam and Press TV were ordered to stop reporting from Jordan becau... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:35:44 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275879,jordan-shuts-down-offices-of-two-iranian-satellite-tvs.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275866,oic-condemns-israeli-plans-for-settlements-expansion.html Jeddah - The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu condemned on Thursday Israel over its expansion plans for Jewish settlements in the West Bank. In a statement, he said he considered Israel's decisio... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:53:40 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275866,oic-condemns-israeli-plans-for-settlements-expansion.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275839,security-officials-targeted-in-iraq-blasts.html Baghdad - At least four members of the Iraqi security forces were killed on Thursday in separate blasts across Iraq, two days after US troops officially withdrew from the country's cities. Two Iraqi army officers were killed in separate attacks by un... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:11:37 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275839,security-officials-targeted-in-iraq-blasts.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275820,syria-changes-honour-killing-law.html Damascus - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree changing the penalty for honour killing to at least two years in prison, Minister of Justice Minister Ahmad Hamoud Younes said in a statement Thursday. The number of wife-killings has inc... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:05:46 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275820,syria-changes-honour-killing-law.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275797,amnesty-israel-hamas-committed-war-crimes-during-gaza-war--summary.html Jerusalem - Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during the Gaza war last winter, Amnesty International said Thursday in its first comprehensive report on the 22-day conflict. The London-based human rights groups called for an international arms emb... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:47:48 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275797,amnesty-israel-hamas-committed-war-crimes-during-gaza-war--summary.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275788,extra-amnesty-report-unbalanced-and-unprofessional-says-hamas.html Gaza City - The radical Islamist Hamas movement rejected Thursday accusations by Amnesty International that it had committed war crimes during last winter's Israeli offensive in Gaza. The 117-page report from the London-based human rights group accus... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:53:43 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275788,extra-amnesty-report-unbalanced-and-unprofessional-says-hamas.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275768,extra-israel-amnesty-report-questionable-and-objectionable.html Jerusalem - Israel Thursday rejected Amnesty International's report accusing it of having committed war crimes during its offensive in Gaza last winter. Israel slammed the report as biased, because it failed to mention that the Gaza offensive followe... Middle East,World Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:05:42 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275768,extra-israel-amnesty-report-questionable-and-objectionable.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275703,moussavi-digs-in-on-ahmadinejad-election-win--summary.html Tehran - Iranian opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi reiterated in a statement Wednesday that he did not acknowledge the re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. From now on we will have a government the legitimacy of which the major... Middle East,World Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:47:43 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275703,moussavi-digs-in-on-ahmadinejad-election-win--summary.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275692,barak-israel-and-us-closer-to-deal-on-settlement-dispute.html Jerusalem/New York - Israel and the United States are closer to resolving their dispute over Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview broadcast Wednesday. He told Israel Radio... Middle East,World Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:59:36 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275692,barak-israel-and-us-closer-to-deal-on-settlement-dispute.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275677,israel-court-orders-harsher-charges-to-be-filed-against-soldiers.html Jerusalem - Israel's High Court ordered the military judge advocate general Wednesday to refile charges against a lieutenant colonel and a sergeant accused of shooting a bound Palestinian last July. The court ruled that the original indictment filed ... Middle East,World Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:47:43 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275677,israel-court-orders-harsher-charges-to-be-filed-against-soldiers.html http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275655,baghdad-residents-wake-up-to-city-free-of-us-troops.html Baghdad - Intisar Khazaal, a 43-year-old civil servant, could scarcely believe her eyes when she woke up on Wednesday to find no US soldiers on the streets of Baghdad. This is the first day I feel that Iraq has been liberated from the US occupation,... Middle East,World Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:05:41 GMT http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/275655,baghdad-residents-wake-up-to-city-free-of-us-troops.html