Man held for broadcasting Hezbollah TV in New York

A man has been arrested in New York for broadcasting the Hezbollah TV station, al-Manar, across the city. Javed (aka John) Iqbal was detained because his Brooklyn-based company, HDTV Ltd., was providing New York-area customers with the Hezbollah-operated channel, which the US Treasury Department has designated as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity." It is therefore a crime to conduct business with al-Manar. Friends of Iqbal, a Pakistani with family in England, regard the charges as ridiculous. One said: "It's like the government of Iran saying we're going to ban the New York Times because we think of it as a terrorist outfit." ( Via New York Times )