Hardline Mayor Wins Iran Presidential Race: “The hardline Tehran mayor steamrolled over one of

Iran’s best-known statesman to win the presidency Saturday in a landslide election victory that cements conservative control over the nation’s political leadership.

The outcome capped a stunning upset by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who many reformers fear will take Iran back to the restrictions imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.” (Yahoo! News)

“An Italian judge on Friday ordered the arrests of 13 CIA officers for secretly transporting a Muslim preacher from Italy to Egypt as part of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts – a rare public objection to the practice by a close American ally.

The Egyptian was spirited away in 2003, purportedly as part of the CIA’s ‘extraordinary rendition’ program in which terror suspects are transferred to third countries without court approval, subjecting them to possible torture.

The arrest warrants were announced Friday by the Milan prosecutor’s office, which has called the disappearance a kidnapping and a blow to a terrorism investigation in Italy.” (associated Press)