Bam, Iran, August 8 – A young Afghan man was hanged in public on Monday on a highway close to the ancient city of Bam, southern Iran, the government-run news agency Fars reported.
The man, identified as Najib Karzahi, was hanged in public in the presence of the deputy commander of a local Revolutionary Guards garrison, Qassem Rezai; the governor of Bam, Majid Etemadi; and a number of other provincial officials.
ST. LOUIS (AFX) – Federal prosecutors said Friday, August 10, they will continue prosecuting BetOnSports PLC even though the online gambling company is shutting down its operations that take bets from U.S. customers.
The Australian, August 7 – AUSTRALIA has lost almost the entire Iraqi wheat market to US farmers as AWB battles against claims it bribed the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Gulg News, August 7 – Arab filmmakers are being urged to enter their work into a contest that aims to celebrate the region’s cultural heritage.
LONDON (AFX) – Leading shares opened lower this morning, weighed down by weakness across miners and oils, with BP falling back after a shutdown at its Alaskan operation, dealers said.
LONDON (AFX) – Mobile Streams PLC has bought The Nickels Group, a California-based mobile content production company, for up to 690,000 usd.
AP, August 5 – SAN FRANCISCO_Google Inc. is paying The Associated Press for stories and photographs, settling a dispute with a major provider of the copyright news that the online search engine finds and displays on its popular Web site.
Both Mountain View, California-based Google and New York-based AP disclosed the business relationship Wednesday. But neither would divulge financial terms or other details because of a nondisclosure agreement.
Phil Hazlewood
LOS ANGELES, Aug 1, 2006 (AFP) – British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday called for a "complete renaissance" of the global approach to tackling extremism, with as much emphasis on "soft" power as military might.
In a keynote policy speech to the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, Blair pledged to continue to work to halt hostilities in Lebanon — where he was still hopeful of a settlement — and in the wider Middle East.
"But once that has happened, we must commit ourselves to a complete renaissance of our strategy to defeat those that threaten us," he said.
"There is an arc of extremism now stretching across the Middle East and touching with increasing definition countries far outside that region.
Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Financial Times, August 5 – The US government failed to prepare adequate procurement and contracting systems before its 2003 invasion of Iraq, a predicament that has severely hampered the Dollars 20bn (Pounds 11bn) reconstruction effort, according to a report released to Congress yesterday.
Gulf News, August 5 – The Israel-Hezbollah conflict has, so far, had only a minimal impact on the UAE’s economy, but analysts are predicting the impact on the Emirates could worsen if a ceasefire fails to materialize.
