Despite visits to northern Iran by President Ahmadinejad in recent months, ostensibly to rebuild support and reach out to the community, trouble with the Republic of Azerbaijan may also be brewing. An unknown number of Iranian military helicopters violated Azerbaijani airspace on 22 February, just a day after the demonstrations in northern Iran, causing widespread speculation in Azerbaijan that the incursion was an intentional message – although the Iranian government subsequently apologized and claimed the helicopters had strayed into Azerbaijan accidentally.

Tens of thousands of people are rallying in Istanbul in support of secularism in Turkey, amid a row over a vote for the country’s next president.
The protesters are concerned that the ruling party’s candidate for the post remains loyal to his Islamic roots.

The candidate, Abdullah Gul, earlier said he would not quit despite growing criticism from opponents and the army.

The bomb exploded near the golden-domed mosque of the Imam Abbas shrine, which is protected by a barrier.

A suicide bomber killed at least 42 people in Karbala on 14 April.

Karbala is the second most important shrine city for the Shia, the BBC’s Andrew North reports from Baghdad.

He notes that attacks on shrines have become a hallmark of extremist Sunni Muslim groups, particularly al-Qaeda.

Araz Tabrizli, Hosein Nasiri and Norollah Hoseinian all Azarbaijani activists are beign held in ukknown places.

Araz was at home while bing captured, his personal staff and his PC were collected together with his books.

Unreported by most of the world’s media, as many as 100 demonstrators were killed during the 2006 demonstrations, and scores of injuries and an unknown number of fatalities occurred during this year’s February demonstrations.

Azeris make up roughly 24 percent of Iran’s 69 million inhabitants, according to the CIA, which would put their population at about 17 million and make it the largest ethnic minority group in Iran. Azeri sources in North America and Azerbaijan often put the

We wish to bring to your full attention our categorical denial, refuting substantial details in the statement issued by the Iranian “Committee of Vulnerable Political Prisoners – CVPP” (their Reference: 121/17). We hold that their statement is a plagiary, and their letter was never undersigned by Southern Azerbaijani prisoners of conscience including those deprived of their liberty at this moment or those who were deprived in the past. We attach the statement by the above Iranian Committee for your full reference.

The UN mission for Iraq said Iraqi authorities had failed to guarantee the basic rights of about 3,000 people they had detained in the operations.

The report said four million Iraqis were at risk because of lack of food.

A statement from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki dismissed the report as lacking credibility.

He strongly condemned the killing of innocent school children and about 200 tribesmen ever since the clashes started among religious tribal groups.

Mr Afridi said that the political administration was involved in the Bara clashes as they had been completely silent over the issue ever since the clashes started several months ago.

Boris Yeltsin, who oversaw the Soviet Union’s demise and became Russia’s first president, has died aged 76, the Kremlin says.
Mr Yeltsin – who had a history of heart trouble – died unexpectedly, of heart failure, in hospital.

He came to power after being promoted by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a man he then outmanoeuvred.

Stop Dashnak criminals, 24th of April

Q: Thank you, Mr. President. What’s the next step for the United States, or even the United Nations, in dealing with the belligerent behavior of Iran with regards to nuclear development?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, thank you. Excellent question. You go to school here? No. (Laughter.) I was going to say, give the man an “A.”

First of all, you do understand Iran is a Shia nation primarily. Interestingly enough, though, only 50 percent of the nation is Persian. A great portion of Iran is Azeri, Baloch, other kinds of nationalities make up their country….

concerned that such protestors have been increasingly targeted since Minister of Intelligence Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie publicly accused the womens’ movement and student campaigners of being part of an enemy conspiracy for a “soft subversion” of the government in Iran on 10 April 2007.

Teachers

Dozens of teachers, mostly members of local Teachers’ Associations or the National Council of Teachers’ Associations, have been detained in recent weeks in connection with demonstrations

Police have named a student who shot dead at least 30 people at a US university as Cho Seung-hui, a 23-year-old from South Korea.
He was studying English and had been living on the university campus. He killed himself after the rampage.

Police said a gun found at the scene was also used at an earlier shooting in which two people were killed.

Image of president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nezhad is taken when he was visiting the Fars provience in Iran.

One is uncle Sam, the other uncle Mahmoud!!

In waht Thought they are same?