Iran's reformist former President Mohammad Khatami Sunday blasted the trials of people arrested in demonstrations as an "insult" to Iran and Islam. "Such play-acting ... damages the system and reduces public trust," he said in a statement provided by his office. Nearly 100 Iranians arrested in the aftermath of the disputed June 12 presidential elections went on trial Saturday, two Iranian news agencies reported. But Khatami said the trials were unconstitutional, contrary to "the law and the rights ...

Amidst all the other tumult, causes and revolutions of the 1960s — race, sex, war, feminism — the fight of the fat is a historical footnote. But America's overweight had their cause too. When hippies started staging "be-ins" to protest the Vietnam War, the first fat activists co-opted the idea: they staged their own event in New York City's Central Park, dubbed it a "Fat-In" and ate ice cream while burning posters of uber-thin model Twiggy. Viva la revolución. ...

To hear his neighbors tell it, Daniel Boyd is one of the most upstanding citizens of Willow Springs, North Carolina. "If he's a terrorist, he's the nicest terrorist I ever met in my life," one resident told reporters after Boyd, a 39-year-old drywall contractor, was arrested on July 27 — along with six others, including his twenty-something sons, Dylan and Zakariya — for allegedly plotting "violent jihad" overseas. According to the indictment, Boyd has spent the past three years ...

Iran's supreme leader has ordered the closing of a prison over reported mistreatment of detainees who protested the presidential vote last month, according to government-backed media. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued the order to shut down the Kahrizak detention facility amid reports it did not meet required standards, said the head of Iran's National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, according to a Press TV. "In the course of recent events, the Leader has ordered officials (to take measures), so that no one, ...

A week of U.S. diplomatic maneuvering in the Middle East began Sunday with special envoy George Mitchell meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before heading to Israel. Top U.S. defense officials, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, also will be in Israel this week to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security counterparts. Netanyahu, who has been at odds with President Obama's government on some key issues, welcomed the U.S. visitors. "These important visits are part of a thick and ...

There's the story about the billionaire American who buys an ancient English castle and has it moved brick by brick to Texas. But the lawn, which has also been cut into pieces and transported, doesn't have its old lustrous green. "How do I make it look beautiful again?" the American asks the British lord, who replies, "Just leave it out in the rain and tend it lovingly for a thousand years." As with lawns, so with language: the ...

Ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya returned to the Honduran border on Saturday, a day after crossing a few yards into the country. Surrounded by supporters and members of the press on the Nicaraguan side of the border, Zelaya vowed to keep fighting to return to power. On Friday, he walked across the border from Nicaragua and stayed for several hours, carrying on extensive conversations on his cell phone and press interviews. He returned to Nicaragua late Friday night. The Honduran ...

Human rights supporters in dozens of cities around the world plan to rally Saturday to show solidarity with Iranians seeking democracy and civil rights, one of the organizing groups said. United4Iran said it expects protests at Iranian embassies and other sites to condemn the Iranian government's violent response to citizens who claim the June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was fraudulent. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets after the election, and many were met with brutality ...

Usain Bolt gave further evidence if any was needed of his superlative form ahead of the world championships with an outstanding victory over 100 meters in the London Grand Prix on Friday night. The Jamaican superstar ran a blistering 9.91 seconds into a strong 1.7 meter headwind to leave a world class field, including arch-Jamaica rival Asafa Powell trailing. Compatriot Yohan Blake finished second in 10.11 seconds with Antigua's Daniel Bailey third. Powell faded to sixth in 10.26 seconds. But ...

A passenger plane skidded off an airport runway and burst into flames in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad on Friday, killing at least 17 people and injuring about 20, according to government-backed Press TV.