Press Association: Twelve United Kingdom parliamentarians today supported a call for the main Iranian opposition group, the Peoples Mojahedin, to be removed from the international list of terrorist groups.
Parliamentarians Back Iran Opposition Plea
Journalist and weblogger sentenced to 14 years in prison
Reporters Without Borders: Reporters Without Borders expressed outrage after journalist and weblogger Arash Sigarchi was sentenced to 14 years in prison on 22 February
by a revolutionary tribunal in Gilan, northern Iran.
The worldwide press freedom organisation called on President Mohammad Khatami to intervene on behalf of 28-year-old Sigarchi, who has been in custody since his arrest on 17 January.
Bush, Schroeder Demand Iran End Nuke Quest
AP: President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed Wednesday to turn down the volume on arguments about Iraq and Iran, demanding in unison that Tehran abandon its nuclear ambitions. Nearing the end of a five-day reconciliation visit to Europe, Bush also prepared for a showdown Thursday with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Bratislava, the snow-covered capital of Slovakia.
European parliamentarians call for unified policy against Iran
Iran Focus: Brussels, Feb. 23 As U.S. President George W. Bush made his first tour of Europe after winning his second term in office, dozens of European parliamentarians called on Europe and the United States to develop a unified strategy to stop the Islamic Republic in its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
European parliamentarians call for unified policy against Iran
Iran Focus: Brussels, Feb. 23 As U.S. President George W. Bush made his first tour of Europe after winning his second term in office, dozens of European parliamentarians called on Europe and the United States to develop a unified strategy to stop the Islamic Republic in its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
U.S.’ Prewar Visions Get Further Out of Focus
Los Angeles Times: Two years ago, as the U.S. planned to march into Baghdad, many in the Bush administration had a vision for Iraq’s first freely elected government in decades. It would be a pro-U.S. regime that would support American military bases, embrace U.S. businesses and serve as a model for democracy in the region. Now as Ibrahim Jafari seems certain to become Iraq’s new prime minister, the U.S. faces the prospect of dealing with a government whose views may be closer to Tehran’s than to Washington’s. And U.S. officials are left wondering how many of their assumptions will prove true.
Iran Quake Survivors Complain of Slow Aid Effort
Reuters: Tired and cold survivors of a powerful earthquake in southeastern Iran begged authorities for food and shelter on Wednesday, complaining aid was slow to reach the worst-hit mountain villages. Iran has so far declined offers of foreign assistance to deal with the aftermath of Tuesday’s tremor
which had a magnitude of 6.4 and killed at least 420 people.
Iran editor jailed for insulting leaders
Reuters: An Iranian journalist has been jailed for 14 years on charges ranging from espionage to insulting the country’s leaders in an unusually heavy sentence in Iran, where tens of journalists have been tried in recent years. Rights activists said on Tuesday that Arash Sigarchi, 28, was convicted by the Revolutionary Court in the Caspian province of Gilan in northern Iran.
Chirac Urges Bush to Offer Iran Incentives
Reuters: French President Jacques Chirac said Tuesday he had urged President Bush to help European negotiations to curb Iran’s nuclear program by offering incentives on trade and aviation. “It seems to me legitimate to make a gesture in the area of Iran’s bid for WTO membership and wish to buy civil aircraft engines,” Chirac told a news conference after talks with Bush on Monday night.
Iran “street kids” crisis growing more acute
Iran Focus: Tehran, Feb. 22 More than 50 percent of Iran’s street-children return to living on the streets after attending rehabilitation centres, according to the head of the Office for Victim Support in the Ministry of Social Affairs. Dr. Seyyed Hadi Motamadi said, “A considerable number of such children, are secretly rented from their parents, at hardly any cost, to work illegally in the black-market despite it being illegal, and they earn inadequate salaries.
