Iran death sentence for journalist upheld
Tehran, Iran
Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence against a Kurdish journalist accused of offering to provide the United States with information on Kurds in Iran, his lawyer said Saturday.
The ruling against Adnan Hasanpour, 27, upheld his original convictions in July for taking up arms against the ruling Islamic establishment, having unauthorized contacts with foreigners and helping several Iranian dissidents illegally escape abroad, said attorney Saleh Nikbakht.
Hasanpour wrote for Asou, a local magazine covering Kurdish issues until it was banned in August 2005. He also worked for foreign news media including Voice of America and Radio Farda, another U.S.-funded radio station.
Tehran, Iran
Iran, Pakistan OK pipeline deal
Iran and Pakistan have reached a deal to build a multibillion-dollar pipeline to transport natural gas between the two countries, Iranian state television reported Saturday.
The United States opposes the project because it fears it will weaken efforts to isolate Iran, which it accuses of running a clandestine nuclear-weapons program.
The pipeline is expected to run 1,625 miles from Iran to Pakistan and should carry 150 million cubic feet of gas a day.
The contract will be formally signed next month, state TV said.
India was viewed as a potential party to the deal, but for now has stayed away from the contract.
Baku, Azerbaijan
2 suspects held in terror attack plot
Azerbaijani security officers detained an army lieutenant and another man wanted in connection with an alleged terrorist plot targeting the U.S. Embassy and government buildings in Baku, authorities said Saturday.
The two confessed to the plot after their arrest Friday, the National Security Ministry said.
Lt. Kamran Asadov and a man identified as Farid Dzhabbarov were arrested in a forest outside the capital, Baku, about 10 days after they robbed a gas station, a ministry statement said.
Asadov and Dzhabbarov had been sought in connection with what the ministry last month called plans for a “large-scale, horrifying terror attack.”
The announcement that the plot had been foiled prompted the United States and Britain to close their embassies in Baku temporarily; several major international oil companies also briefly shut their offices.
No further details of the alleged plot were released.
Tbilisi, Georgia
President says he’ll lift restrictions soon
Georgia’s President Mikhail Saakashvili said Saturday he would not allow foreign pressure to determine when to end a state of emergency imposed last week, though he pledged to lift the restrictions soon.
His remarks came as a senior U.S. envoy headed to the country to seek reassurances that the emergency measures would be lifted soon, and after a European human-rights group criticized the restrictions, including a ban on independent news broadcasts.
The political crisis - the most serious Saakashvili has faced in his four years in office - began Nov. 2, when tens of thousands of people began noisy protests outside parliament to press for changes in the electoral system to give the opposition a bigger voice. They also began calling for his ouster.
He imposed the state of emergency Wednesday, and security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse anti-government protests. On Friday, ruling-party lawmakers voted to back the order.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, a senior U.S. diplomat, said he would express concern about the violence when he meets with Saakashvili.
Also
Malaysia protests: Police in Kuala Lumpur fired tear gas Saturday to disperse thousands of activists demanding electoral reforms in Malaysia’s biggest anti-government street protests in nearly a decade. Estimates of crowds ranged from 4,000 to 30,000, and police said 245 people were detained. No injuries were immediately reported.
Marchers clash: Neo-Nazis trying to march through the Jewish quarter of Prague on Saturday clashed with groups trying to stop them, and at least 80 people were arrested in outbreaks of violence around the Czech Republic’s capital. Six people suffered head injuries.
Plant protest: Some 20,000 demonstrators marched to Argentina’s river border with Uruguay on Saturday to protest the neighboring country’s impending startup of a paper pulp plant they fear will pollute the environment.
Seattle Times news services