Tag Archives: analysis

Guardian Council rules out nullifying election

Iran’s Guardian Council has ruled out the possibility of nullifying the results of the country’s disputed presidential election, saying irregularities were reported before the balloting — not during or after. The announcement, reported by Iran’s government-funded Press TV on Tuesday, was another in a series of inconsistent stances by the council on how to handle the unrest stemming from the disputed June 12 race. “If a major breach occurs in an election, the Guardian Council may annul the votes that come out of a particular affected ballot box, polling station, district or city, like how it was done in the parliamentary elections,” council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei was quoted as saying late Monday

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Britain summons Iran’s ambassador over Khamenei’s comments

Britain’s Foreign Office is summoning Iran’s ambassador over the comments made Friday by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a Foreign Office spokesman said. The ambassador is expected to meet with the Foreign Office’s political director sometime Friday afternoon, said the spokesman, who would not be named in line with policy. Khamenei addressed a crowd at Tehran University in a sermon during Friday prayers

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Advice for Coddling Parents: Put Baby to Bed Alone

Entire volumes have been written about the subject of infant sleep — getting babies to sleep, keeping them asleep, making sure their sleep environment is safe.   One topic of continued debate among parents is co-sleeping, or bed-sharing, a common practice in countries outside the U.S. Fueled by increasing evidence, however, more pediatricians and sleep experts are dissuading parents from sharing a bed or a bedroom with their babies, recommending instead that babies be allowed to learn how to fall asleep and stay asleep on their own.

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Independent Intel: High Stakes in a New CIA Turf War

There’s a growing dread at the CIA these days that the vultures are circling, waiting to pick off the agency’s best parts. The latest move causing concern is a play by Admiral Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, to name the next intelligence chief in Kabul. CIA Director Leon Panetta, who has already named his own chief from the CIA’s ranks, is reportedly fighting back, much to his boss’s consternation.

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Pro-West bloc retains control in Lebanon

Lebanon’s pro-Western bloc will retain its control of the country’s government despite a strong challenge from a Hezbollah-dominated alliance, according to official election results released Monday. The “March 14” coalition won 71 seats in Lebanon’s parliament, while the Hezbollah-dominated “March 8” alliance won the remaining 57 seats, Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud announced

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Woods wins at U.S. Open warm up

Woods broke away from a four-way tie for the lead Sunday at the Memorial with birdies on his final two holes, the last one a 7-iron that stopped a foot away from the cup for a 7-under 65 and a one-shot victory over Jim Furyk. The “March 14” coalition won 71 seats in Lebanon’s parliament, while the Hezbollah-dominated “March 8” alliance won the remaining 57 seats, Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud announced. Saad Hariri, the leader of the Sunni-dominated March 14 bloc, gave a victory speech Monday after the polls closed but hours before the official results were released

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UK, Netherlands vote in Euro elections

Voters in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands became the first European Union citizens to go to the polls Thursday to elect a new European Parliament. The massive election, involving all 27 member states, around 375 million eligible voters and 736 MEP seats, is the biggest exercise in transnational democracy the world has ever seen, with voters from Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU in 2007, participating for the first time.

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