Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship
Critics are accusing the British publisher of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books of censorship after it removed colorful language from works such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda” to make them more acceptable to modern readers.
Iran deal tantalizingly close but US faces new hurdles
Last week’s attack on author Salman Rushdie and the indictment of an Iranian national for plotting to murder former national security adviser John Bolton have given the Biden administration new headaches as it attempts to negotiate a return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Religious leaders worldwide, across faiths who died in 2020
They were among many religious leaders — some admired worldwide, others beloved only locally — who died in 2020. It occurred in April, during a period in which numerous Church of God in Christ bishops and pastors died of COVID-19. 2 leader, Bishop Amfilohije -- who also died after COVID-19 complications -- both downplayed the dangers of the pandemic and avoided wearing masks in public. Edward Kmiec, 84, who between 1992 and 2012 served as the Roman Catholic bishop of Nashville, Tennessee, and Buffalo, New York. John Yambasu, 63, a bishop of the United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone who died in a traffic accident in August.
Iran doctor freed in swap for Navy veteran returns to Tehran
White, a Navy veteran who's been detained in Iran for nearly two years has been released and is making his way home, with the first leg on a Swiss government aircraft. (U.S. State Department via AP)TEHRAN TEHRAN, IranAn Iranian doctor based in Florida returned to his homeland Monday after being part of a swap that saw a U.S. Navy veteran held by Iran return to America. He was also accused of structuring a series of bank deposits below $10,000 to evade reporting requirements under federal law. Iran allowed Michael White, of Imperial Beach, California, to leave the country Thursday. Earlier last week, an Iranian scientist named Sirous Asgari separately returned to Tehran after being acquitted in a federal trade secrets case and deported.
Iran remembers 1979 Islamic Revolution amid high US tension
(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)TEHRAN – Hundreds of thousands across Iran marked the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution on Tuesday amid some of the highest tensions ever between Tehran and the U.S. in the past four decades. The shoot down also marred funeral processions that drew millions of mourners for Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. In November, protesters angered by Iran raising government-set gasoline prices by 50% blocked traffic in major cities and occasionally clashed with police. A series of attacks across the Mideast culminated with the U.S. launching the drone strike that killed Soleimani in January. "You are too desperate to bring Iran to its knees.”Iran’s Islamic Revolution began with widespread unrest over the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.