News

TEHRAN: Iran is stepping up its military and intelligence support for Syrian government troops in their crackdown against opposition strongholds, The Washington Post reported late Saturday. Citing three unnamed US officials with access to intelligence reports from the region, the newspaper said Tehran had increased supplies of arms and other aid for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as he is trying crush resistance in the key city of Homs. “The aid from Iran is increasing, and is increasingly …

TEHRAN: Under intense Western pressure over its disputed nuclear program, declared an initial turnout of 65 percent in a parliamentary election shunned by most reformists as a sham. Iran’s Islamic clerical leadership is eager to restore the damage to its legitimacy caused by the violent crushing of eight months of street protests after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election in a 2009 …

BEIRUT: Education minister Hassan Diab was admitted to the American University Hospital (AUH) early Saturday morning and is undergoing treatment, according to a statement issued by his press office. The statement, which did not specify the reasons for his admittance, added that he appears to be in stable condition.

BEIRUT: Hundreds of Lebanese gathered in downtown Beirut Saturday to protest the country’s lack of legislation against domestic violence. The campaign, STOP Domestic Violence Against Women, was held at Samir Kassir Square, attracting nearly 300 supporters. Local activists organized the demonstration to raise awareness of Lebanon’s lack of laws protecting women from domestic abuse, including spousal rape and physical violence. …

Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Monday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. An-Nahar Renewed calls for an arms-free Tripoli Aoun: Hellish alliance between Sleiman and Mikati Despite a cautious calm that returned to Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in Tripoli on Sunday amid measures by …

LOS ANGELES: Paramedics say they took Whitney Houston’s daughter to a Los Angeles hospital Sunday morning for unspecified medical reasons. The Beverly Hills Fire Department says Bobbi Kristina Brown was taken from the Beverly Hills Hilton around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, less than a day after her mother died in a room at the same hotel. The 18-year-old’s condition was not …

NEW YORK: Chris Brown will perform at this year’s Grammy Awards, the event where his career almost ended three years ago. Brown admitted to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna at a pre-Grammy party in 2009 and is serving five years of probation for the felony attack. A source told The Associated Press on Monday that Brown will hit the stage at Sunday’s …

TEHRAN: A law to be debated in Iran’s parliament on Sunday could halt exports of oil to the European Union as early as next week, the semi-official Fars news agency quoted a lawmaker as saying on Friday. “On Sunday, parliament will have to approve a ‘double emergency’ bill calling for a halt in the export of Iranian oil to Europe …