Egyptian tycoon, ex-cop face execution

An Egyptian court on Thursday confirmed the death sentences of a business tycoon and a former police officer convicted of killing rising Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim. In a case that has captivated Egypt and the region because of the fame of the victim and one of the defendants, a judge sentenced to death real estate mogul Hisham Talaat Moustafa and former officer Muhsen el Sukkari last month. Tamim’s body was found stabbed, with her throat slit, in her apartment in the United Arab Emirates in July 2008.

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Iranian forces ready to clear country of ‘hooligans’

Iranian protesters who "disturb the peace and stand up to security forces" will be considered a threat to the regime and will be met with a strong response, the country’s Revolutionary Guard warned Monday. “The guardians of the Islamic revolution and the courageous Basiji together with the security forces following the orders of the supreme leader and following him unquestioningly, are determined to act strongly to return peace and tranquility to society ..

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Arab neighbors watch Iran’s troubles

"Millions voted for President Ahmadinejad and that makes the elections definitive," declared Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ali Akbar Khamenei during his Friday sermon. With these simple words addressing Muslim worshippers, he ended speculations about his position following a week of pro-opposition demonstrations claiming vote-rigging and denouncing their candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi’s defeat

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Witnesses describe violence in Iran as protesters stand firm

Defying threats of arrest or worse, witnesses to protests in Iran are managing to leak reports of violence after the country’s disputed presidential elections. “Censoring is very bad here and they have reduced Internet speed,” two Iranians said to a friend outside the country. The pair wanted to broadcast images of damage and casualties after a reported attack on a dorm at the University of Tehran

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Briton’s software a surprise weapon in Iran cyberwar

A web designer in London was amazed to discover that Iranian election protesters are attacking the Iranian president’s Web site using software he developed in his spare time, he told CNN Wednesday. With anti-government activists in Iran sidestepping official attempts to silence them on the Internet by posting photos, videos and blogs on sites like Facebook and Twitter, others are using a site that automatically refreshes a Web page every few seconds, potentially overloading the host server. The page reboot software means that dissidents can “attack” sites with a barrage of hits — known as a denial of service attack — causing them to appear to users as “unobtainable.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Web sites was one of those displaying this message on Monday, according to Britain’s Channel 4 News, although on Tuesday it was loading correctly.

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Iran: Foreign media supporting ‘hooligans’

Iran on Wednesday accused international journalists in the country of being the "mouthpiece" of "hooligans" who have created unrest at post-election rallies in Tehran. “Hundreds” of international reporters were allowed into Iran to cover last week’s election as “a sign of the total transparency in the trends of the elections and the effective performance of the system of religious democracy,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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Media group asks nations not to recognize Iran results

Media rights group Reporters Without Borders is urging nations to not recognize the results of Iran’s presidential election, citing censorship and a crackdown on journalists. The nongovernmental group, which advocates freedom of the press, said it has confirmed the arrest of four reporters by Iranian authorities, including one who won the organization’s press freedom prize in 2001. In addition, the France-based group said, it has no information on 10 other reporters who have either gone into hiding or have been arrested.

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Germany summons Iran ambassador over elections

Germany is summoning the Iranian ambassador Monday to explain the disputed presidential election in the Middle Eastern nation, particularly the "brutal handling" of protesters, the German foreign minister said. The move is noteworthy because global reaction to the Iranian election has been guarded.

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