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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 …

TRIPOLI, Libya: Several suspected diehards of slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi have been subjected to torture and some have even died in detention centers run by armed militias, human rights groups said on Thursday. “Several detainees have died after being subjected to torture in Libya in recent weeks and months amid widespread torture and ill-treatment of suspected pro-Gadhafi fighters and loyalists,” Amnesty …

BEIRUT: Real Madrid are looking for replacements for Jose Mourinho should the Portuguese manager decide to leave the Spanish capital. One man in the running for the job is Arsene Wenger. Wenger has been the subject of increased criticism from Arsenal fans this season. The criticism has led some to believe that Wenger may finally decide to call it quits …

BEIRUT: Syria on Monday rebuffed as a “conspiracy” an Arab League call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down in favour of a unity government to calm a 10-month-old revolt in which thousands of Syrians have been killed. But a day after Arab ministers urged Assad to step aside, a senior Russian lawmaker said that Moscow could do little more …

WASHINGTON: U.S. congressional leaders put anti-online piracy legislation on hold Friday following a wave of protests led by Google and Wikipedia denouncing the bills as a threat to Internet freedom. Senate majority leader Harry Reid said he was delaying next week’s vote on the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and House Judiciary Committee chairman Lamar Smith said he would “revisit” the …

NEW YORK: After receiving tepid reviews for his first book of fictional short stories, actor James Franco has sold his debut novel to Amazon Publishing, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The novel is titled “Actors Anonymous” and will be published in 2013. The spokeswoman for Amazon declined to say how much money the book deal was worth and whether the …

Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Tuesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports. Al-Mustaqbal Hezbollah accuses Arab League of serving American plans Government rejects implementation of Arab resolutions The government of Lebanon – more precisely, its foreign minister [Adnan Mansour] , who was hailed Monday by …

BEIRUT: Progressive Social Party MP Walid Jumblatt announced Sunday that he would only run as head of the party one last time. “My candidacy today will be the last one and we should consider the new council to be elected as a transitional, or temporary council, until we reach new elections which should not take more than one year,” Jumblatt …