Dozens of Iranian banks were blocked from doing business with much of the world as the West tightens the financial screws on a country it wants to prevent from developing nuclear weapons.The Belgium-based company that facilitates most international bank transfers on Thursday took the unprecedented step of blocking 30 Iranian banks from using its service. The move is likely to hurt Iran‘s all-important oil industry and make it difficult for citizens to receive money from relatives living abroad.T

Five construction workers who claimed a colleague cheated them out of their share of a multimillion-dollar lottery jackpot have been awarded $4 million each by a New Jersey jury, their lawyer said.A unanimous verdict was reached Wednesday morning by the jury, which heard the lawsuit in state Superio

JERUSALEM (AFP) ― The Israeli air force and Gaza militants traded sporadic fire on Wednesday night but a fragile truce between the sides that ended four days of violence appeared to be largely holding.Late Wednesday night aircraft struck at farmland near Gaza City and an uninhabited area near the southern town of Khan Yunis, causing no injuries in either case, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said that the raids were in reponse to the firing from the Gaza Strip several h

LONDON (AFP) ― A British newspaper on Wednesday published emails it claims were sent by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his wife, allegedly revealing the regime sought advice from Iran on suppressing protests.The Guardian newspaper admits it “is impossible rule out the possibility of fakes” in the cache of over 3,000 emails, which appear also to reveal the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the leader and his wife, Asma. The newspaper stressed it had made “extensive” efforts to authenticate the em

Morocco's internet activists mobilized on Wednesday in outrage over the suicide of a 16-year-old rape victim who killed herself after she was forced to marry her rapist.An online petition, a facebook page and countless tweets expressed horror of the case of Amina Filali, who swallowed rat poison on

BEIJING (AFP) - Bo Xilai, the charismatic but controversial Communist Party leader of China's Chongqing metropolis, has been removed from his post, the state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday.The move, which comes ahead of a major leadership transition in China's ruling party later this year, foll

Suspects linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards;  other alleged targets include Israeli envoyBAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) ― Azerbaijan arrested 22 people on suspicion of plotting attacks on the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Baku on behalf of neighboring Iran, the national security ministry said Wednesday.“Twenty-two citizens of Azerbaijan have been arrested by the national security ministry for cooperating with the Iranian Sepah,” its statement said, referring to the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards.“

A 14-year-old girl filed a claim against San Diego Unified School District, saying a teacher told her to urinate in a bucket instead of visiting the bathroom.The teen, whose name was not reported, said in the $25,000 claim Gonja Wolf refused to let the student leave the classroom and ordered her to

TOKYO, March 14, 2012 (AFP) - A minor tsunami hit Japan's northeastern coastline Wednesday, NHK television reported, after a strong earthquake rocked the region nearly a year on from Japan's worst post-war natural disaster.The 10-centimetre (four inch) wave and 6.8 magnitude quake, which struck some

Gingrich appears to have placed second in both contests with narrow leads over RomneyWASHINGTON (AP) ― Rick Santorum won the Alabama and Mississippi primaries Tuesday, helping him lock up his position as the chief conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican nomination to challenge President Barack Obama.The victories were a blow to Romney, who was running third in both states and had hoped to show he could muster the support of evangelical Christian voters

Rick Santorum won the Alabama and Mississippi primaries Tuesday, helping him lock up his position as the chief conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican nomination to challenge President Barack Obama.The victories were a blow to Romney, who was running third