Dinah Lord

Iran gives shoe thrower a scholarship.

From Xinhua:

Iran's Deputy Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad Hosseini announced that his country was ready to grant a scholarship to the Iraqi shoe-throwing journalist Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, the official IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

"Al-Zaidi can continue his studies in any of the Iranian universities that he chooses," the report quoted Hosseini as saying. He expressed hope that he (Al-Zaidi) would "be acquitted after the court hearing due to be held (in Iraq) this week." Al-Zaidi, a reporter of Cairo-based Baghdadia Iraqi television, threw his shoes at the U.S. President George W. Bush at a news conference with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Dec. 14.

Iran: Benetton store torched.

Evil Zionists whose clothes were a bad influence on women.

A branch of Italian clothing retailer Benetton was set on fire in Iran amid angry protests against the Israeli onslaught on the Hamas-ruled Gaza, media reports said yesterday.

The store, located on Dowlat street in upmarket north Tehran, “was set on fire by unknown people,” conservative Jomhuri Eslami newspaper and several other media reported.  The Tehran fire department said the cause of the incident, which occurred very early Tuesday, was under investigation, ISNA news agency reported.

Benetton “is said to be linked with the Zionist network,” government newspaper Iran charged, adding that its opening in the Islamic republic “has sparked several disputes over the past two years and people and student bodies objected to its activities.”

Several Benetton stores have opened in the past two years in fashion-starved Iran, where global brands have largely been absent since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Last year a group of prominent MPs protested against Benetton’s presence in Iran, alleging that it was owned by a “Zionist millionaire” and that its fashions were a bad influence on female consumers.

UK: Don't call them inmates, you'll hurt their feelings.

From the Telegraph:

Ministers claim the age-old term is not appropriate if criminals are to be treated with "respect and dignity".

A Prison Service spokesman said: "The term prisoner, rather than inmate, has been preferred for a number of years as it is more accurate and specific to those held in prison. The term 'inmate' can refer to anyone held in any type of institution."

Earlier this year prison inspectors at Bullingdon jail in Oxfordshire, said prisoners should be addressed by their first names, given free condoms and be served evening meals later time to stop them feeling hungry in the night.

UK: Gitmo Detainees would get 42 pounds a week and health care.

From the Times Online:

It is little wonder that the prospect of Britain taking even a handful of the terror suspects being held in Guantánamo Bay is being described in Whitehall as a hot potato.

Several departments must address issues ranging from any potential security risk the detainees pose to the immigration status under which they enter Britain, the housing and other benefits they can receive, and the inevitable public backlash.

How people react to foreign terror suspects being given sanctuary in Britain with accommodation, weekly cash benefits and access to the health service is a key consideration.

The Guantánamo detainees are expected to enter Britain as asylum seekers on the basis that they have a “well founded fear of persecution and torture” if they were returned to their home countries.

It seems improbable that they would be offered work permits

Somalia: Sirius Star to be released?

Somali Pirates to Release Sirius Star.  Will the MV Faina be next?

Somali pirates have reportedly agreed to release the Saudi super-tanker, Sirius Star, withdrawing a 25 million dollar ransom demand.

"We decided to respect the request of Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Saud Al-Faysal who asked us to release the ship..." Press TV correspondent quoted pirate's spokesman Mohammed Said as saying.

However, he did not say when the giant oil tanker would be released.

The news comes amid other reports suggesting the possible release of the 'arm-laden' Ukrainian vessel, MV Faina, which was captured by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa in September.

Update from Mareeg Online:  About that ransom?  Word on the street is they got half the 25 mil.

As Said handed over the phone to one of the pirates Noh Adde he told Mareeg that they received no ransom money but want to release the ship to respect Muslim government, but sources close to the pirates told Mareeg that they’ve received half of the ransom money they demanded.

Said has noted that the crew of the ship are safe and happy the good news of their release.“All 25 crew members on board are safe," He said.

The update from AllAfrica.com has an additional comment on the ransom.  It appears if a ransom was paid, it was paid by Saudi Aramco.

The pirates demanded a $25 million ransom, but the Saudi authorities strongly opposed the idea of negotiating with hijackers and Prince Saud al-Faysal said it would be up to the owners of the vessel to decide how to deal with piracy.

Somalia: Ethiopian troops packing it in.

From Inside Somalia:

Ethiopian troops have started to prepare to leave Somalia on the day they were supposed to complete their withdrawal, witnesses say.

  The troops were packing mattresses, personal belongings and loading trucks with military supplies, they said. But there was no sign that the Ethiopians had started to leave the capital Mogadishu, as they have promised to do by the end of the year.

John McCain predicts India-Pakistan war

From Press TV

"The Indians are on the verge of some kind of attack on Pakistan," Senator McCain told The Daily Courier, a daily newspaper in his home state Arizona.

"I think it's a very dicey situation," he said. "We're going to be in for a very difficult time there."

McCain's remarks came amid efforts in Islamabad and New Delhi to work toward peace and de-escalation of tensions in South Asia.

Earlier this month, Senator McCain visited both New Delhi and Islamabad as part of US efforts to avert any standoff between the two neighboring countries.

Happy New Year possums!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!

Chorus
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

Best wishes for 2009.

Philippines: Grenade attack wounds New Year's revellers.

The you-know-whos are suspected.

From Stuff.co.nz

Hundreds of people had gathered for a street party in General Santos City when the grenade exploded, said Mayor Pedro Acharon. At least six of the wounded were policemen deployed there to control the celebrating crowd, he told reporters at the site.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack but General Santos has often been targeted by Islamist radicals.

On Tuesday night, a motor tricycle exploded after it was stopped at a police checkpoint north of the town, killing the driver and wounding one policeman.

Police said a bomb had apparently been concealed within a load of charcoal being carried on the tricycle.

Many of the Philippines' Muslim minority live in the impoverished south of the archipelago. Bandit gangs, communist rebels and Islamist radicals all operate in the area.

Watch Obama playing golf.

Tiger Woods he ain't.

From The Telegraph.

US President-elect Barack Obama may be preparing to take over at the White House from the outgoing George W Bush but the upper hand on the golf course belongs to the current rather than future leader of the free world...