Iran Says US Should Be Willing to Talk Without Conditions
Iran says the United States should make it clear that it is ready to hold talks without conditions, and urged other countries in the Middle East to not put themselves in a “dangerous position.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi made the comments Thursday during a visit to Turkey.
They come a day after the United States said it is open to resuming negotiations with Iran about its controversial nuclear program if Tehran is “serious” about discussing it openly.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Wednesday it is up to Iran to rejoin talks with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, a group known as the P5+1. The parties last met a year ago.
An Iranian politician said Wednesday that U.S. President Barack Obama had sent a letter to Iran calling for direct talks.
But the Obama administration did not confirm such contact.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that any communications that have or may have taken place are “the same in private as they have been in public,” and that the path forward is through multi-party talks.
He said increasing pressure on Iran from the United States and “many international allies” is a direct result of Tehran's refusal to engage in “serious discussions” about its nuclear program.
Iran's Salehi said Wednesday any new negotiations likely would be held in Istanbul.
The U.S. State Department responded later that there have been no discussions about holding a new round of talks.
Meanwhile, U.S. Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey is visiting Israel Thursday for talks with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, including U.S. and Israeli concerns that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
The meeting comes a day after Barak said any decision about a preemptive Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear program is “very far off.”
Israel and its key ally the United States have not ruled out using military force to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb. But U.S. officials publicly have been urging Israel to avoid unilateral action and give more time for diplomatic pressure and sanctions on Iran to work.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday a military strike on Iran would be a “catastrophe” and would inflame tensions between Sunnis and Shi'ites in the region.
Lavrov also said sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and European Union appear designed to hurt the Iranian economy rather than achieve the goal of nuclear non-proliferation. Russia has supported several rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran in recent years but says it will not approve any more.
EU foreign ministers are set to finalize a proposed crude oil embargo on Iran to begin July 1 when they meet Monday in Brussels.
The EU also is likely to ban imports of Iranian petrochemical products and exports of key technology intended for Iran's petrochemical industry. An EU oil embargo would deprive Iran of vital foreign currency income.
Maritime Monitor Says Somali Pirates Remain Biggest Threat
International piracy monitors say the number of overall attacks dropped slightly last year, and that Somali pirates remain the greatest threat.
The International Maritime Bureau said Thursday it recorded 439 pirate attacks in 2011, down from 445 a year before, breaking a four-year trend of increasing attacks worldwide.
It said Somali pirates were responsible for more than half the attacks. The report said that while there was an increase in incidents involving Somali pirates last year, the number of successful hijackings dropped by 43 percent.
The IMB credits the efforts of international naval forces patrolling the waters off Somalia, saying they are “critical” to combating piracy.
The report also identified the waters off Nigeria and neighboring Benin as particularly active spots for pirates. It said there is continued concern about the number of attacks off Nigeria that go unreported.
Golden Globes: Ricky Gervais 'subdued', say critics
A "respectful and restrained" Ricky Gervais lacked the bite of last year as the host of a lacklustre Golden Globes ceremony, reviewers have concluded.
The Los Angeles Times said he was "surprisingly subdued". The Hollywood Reporter said it was "such a let down".
Variety said the show was "virtually lifeless" with acceptance speeches that "droned on without a hint of spontaneity or magic".
In 2011, Gervais shocked with quips about stars including Robert Downey Jr.
It led the Hollywood A-lister to comment on the jokes being "mean-spirited and mildly sinister".
Black and white silent movie The Artist won three gongs at the Los Angeles awards while The Descendants was named best film drama and its star George Clooney won a best actor prize.
Best actress prizes went to Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn, and Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady.
The announcement in November that Gervais would present the Globes for a third year running was greeted with surprise after a series of caustic put-downs at the expense of gathered stars and organisers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) in 2011.
In the run-up to this year's event, the HFPA ran an advertising campaign suggesting the British comedian may go further this year.
Variety said that, "he reserved his harshest barbs for NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association".
He "danced up to the line with jokes about Justin Bieber and the Jodie Foster-directed The Beaver" but "there was little to make the room or censors blanch".
Gervais' most memorable moments included a reference to actor Colin Firth as "very racist", joking he had "seen him punch a little blind kitten".
He also said the Globes were to the more serious Oscars what US reality TV star Kim Kardashian was to Kate Middleton - "a bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker and more easily bought, allegedly".
The Hollywood Reporter said that, because Gervais had "pulled no punches last year and ruffled a lot of egos", there was an expectation this year's ceremony would be "a bloodbath of scorching wit and meanness, with no sainted star deemed untouchable".
Because the predicted "apocalypse" did not appear, "it seemed like such a letdown," it added.
"And yet, if the ceremony itself had any kind of sparkle or snap to it - which it did not - a tame Gervais wouldn't be such a big story."
That was partly because the list of winners, "did not give us the drama we've seen in previous years," blogger Perez Hilton said.
In the UK press, The Guardian noted "it was left to the winners to provide some of the night's more risque moments", including Meryl Streep, who swore in her acceptance speech.
Empire Online, meanwhile, said "at least Ricky seems like he's trying once in a while".
"The rest of the show was largely a rote run-through of awkward banter, long thank you lists, expected wins and one or two ridiculous snubs/surprise victories - much like any other year."
As the Los Angeles Times noted, Britons fared best in the night's television awards.
The paper reported on success for Downton Abbey as best TV mini-series and Kate Winslet for lead actress in a TV mini-series or movie, for Mildred Pierce.
It then added: "When Idris Elba took to the stage to accept the award for lead actor in a miniseries for Luther, one did begin to wonder how many Brits it takes to screw in a Golden Globe."
The same was not true in film categories when compared with last year when Colin Firth won best actor in a drama for The King's Speech - a precursor to his Oscar success.
Fisher's late 3 pushes Lakers past Mavericks 73-70
Derek Fisher spent the last year wearing more suits than sweats while negotiating the union's labor deal, and he realizes his peak playing days are probably past.
But Kobe Bryant borrows a term from former coach Phil Jackson to describe anybody who doubts what the Lakers' veteran point guard can do in the clutch.
"That's inherently idiotic," he said.
Fisher hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds to play and Los Angeles emerged from a dismal offensive game by both teams with a 73-70 victory over the Mavericks on Monday night, snapping Dallas' five-game winning streak.
Vince Carter missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the defending champion Mavericks, who swept Los Angeles out of the second round of the postseason last spring, ending the Lakers' bid for a three-peat.
Neither team looked much like a championship contender in their first meeting since, with 3 1/2 miserable offensive quarters before the exciting finish keyed by Fisher, who added another line to an overflowing list of late-game heroics.
"This is what I do," Fisher said. "When opportunities like that present themselves, I'm confident in my ability to step up and make the right play. I've been fortunate in my career to come up with some of those big plays."
Fisher scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, leading a 10-0 run midway through the period before the Mavericks rallied to tie it on Jason Terry's running jumper at the top of the key with 9.9 seconds left.
Bryant, whose streak of four straight 40-point games ended with just 14 against the Mavs, drew the Dallas defense before passing to Fisher. The veteran point guard calmly drilled a long 3-pointer from the wing.
"We made the decision to get the ball out of Bryant's hands, and we just didn't get to (Fisher) in time," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our full intention was to rotate to him, but he got the shot off quick and he shot it high, so we couldn't get to it. But he made a great shot. In that situation, you've got to live with that decision. And it's tough."
Carter's desperation try was far off, and the Lakers celebrated their ninth consecutive home victory since Christmas.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points for the Mavericks, but committed a crucial traveling violation with 38 seconds left in their first loss since Jan. 5. Lamar Odom scored 10 points in his return to Staples Center, where he won two championships before the Lakers abruptly traded him to Dallas last month.
Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won six of seven overall despite barely scoring 70 points - the franchise low in the shot-clock era, set in November 2002.
Bryant had scored at least 40 points in each of his past four games, but the NBA's leading scorer didn't even score until midway through the second quarter.
"I like the fact that if we don't score, we can still win games," said Mike Brown, the Lakers' defense-minded new coach. "Hopefully our guys understand that we can win ugly games, we can win pretty games, we can win high-tempo games. However you want to bring it, we can get down that way."
Two elite NBA franchises might have showed the strain of the NBA's compacted schedule, or the excitement of the playoff rematch - or maybe they both just stunk.
Airballs, turnovers and missed assignments dominated play, which included a seven-point third quarter by the Lakers and 35 percent shooting by the Mavericks, who extended their string of exceptional defensive performances.
Pau Gasol, whose struggles in last year's playoff series played a huge role in the Lakers' losses, had just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, while Dallas' Jason Kidd went 0 for 8 on 3-pointers and Terry was 2 for 9 from the field until his tying basket.
"Man, we're setting records - both ways, probably," Kidd said. "I thought we were competing at both ends, but sometimes you've got to make shots in this league, and we just couldn't do it tonight. It was one of those NFC kind of games - just hand off the ball and run. It was just an ugly game."
At least the Lakers have their first chance to recover from the lockout-compacted NBA schedule: After matching the league high with 15 games in 23 days, Los Angeles has consecutive days off for the first time this season before Thursday's game at Miami.
Odom said it was "surreal" to be in the visitors' locker room at Staples Center, his home for the past seven seasons. He got a lengthy standing ovation when he entered the game midway through the first quarter, and the Lakers played a video tribute on the scoreboard.
"Actually, it gave me energy," Odom said. "I'm still trying to get my rhythm back. I'm still getting in shape, and once I get there, then I'll be able to help this team. In order for me to succeed, you have to move on, no matter what, and I plan on succeeding in this next chapter of my life."
SI
Djokovic, Kvitova advance; Stosur out in first round at Australian
U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur crashed out in the first round of the Australian Open in straight sets Tuesday in a crushing blow for local fans desperate to end a long drought at the national championship.
Sixth-seeded Stosur lost 7-6 (2), 6-3 to No. 59-ranked Sorana Cirstea of Romania to continue her terrible run on home soil since beating Serena Williams to capture her first Grand Slam title in New York last September.
Stosur has had one win in three tournaments on home soil in 2012.
She saved three match points while serving to stay in the match, but finally lost it when her looping forehand drifted over the baseline to hush the Rod Laver Arena crowd on the second day of the tournament.
No Australian has won the national title since Chris O'Neil in 1978.
Stosur's first-round loss mirrors that of Petra Kvitova, who went out in the first round of last year's U.S. Open after winning Wimbledon.
"I'm not sure if it's one of my biggest matches, but it feels like that now,'' said Cirstea, who had lost both her previous matches against Stosur.
"Probably the whole country hates me now.''
Novak Djokovic won the men's U.S. Open, one of his three Grand Slam titles in 2011. Anyone who didn't know it only had to look at his shoes on Tuesday -- if his emphatic first-round win wasn't evidence enough.
Djokovic started his Australian Open defense with a 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 win over Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, wearing a pair of red-white-and-blue shoes with images of his three major trophies on the sides and a Serbian flag on the heels.
He gave up an early break but immediately broke back at love as he won the next 17 games, saving a break point in the opening game of the second set.
"It was a great performance for (my) first official match of the 2012 season,'' said the top-ranked Djokovic, whose only lost at a Grand Slam tournament last year was in the French Open semifinals.
He changed his buildup for the Australian Open this year, deciding not to play any warmup tournaments. He was confident it wouldn't harm his chances.
"I'm nowadays a more complete player. I feel physically I'm stronger, I move better. I serve better,'' he said. "Especially having 2011 the way I had, this gives me more confidence.''
The 24-year-old Serb has won two Australian titles - including his first major in 2008 - and his game is well suited to the pace of the hard court. But he struggled at times with the heat at Melbourne Park before his breakthrough season last year and didn't always look comfortable against Lorenzi as the temperature hit 90 degrees in the first set.
It didn't stop him from entertaining his fans, though. He played a shot between his legs, with his back to the net, to set up a break point chance in the fourth game of the third set which brought the crowd to its feet.
In other men's action crowd favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame a couple of stutters in his first-round match before beating Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday.
The sixth-seeded Tsonga dropped the second set and then seemed to have regained control of an entertaining match on Margaret Court Arena.
He had two match points at 5-2 in the fourth set, but Istomin saved both and broke back in the next game.
Tsonga finally closed out the win on his third match point.
The Frenchman lost the 2008 Australian Open final to Djokovic for his best Grand Slam result.
Also on the women's side, second-ranked Kvitova and No. 4 Maria Sharapova advanced with lopsided wins.
After surrendering her opening service game with a double-fault, Kvitova won 12 consecutive games in a 6-2, 6-0 win over Russia's Vera Dushevina.
Kvitova reached the quarterfinals here last year at the start of a season in which she surged up the rankings.
Last week, she missed a chance to overhaul Caroline Wozniacki's No. 1 ranking when she lost in the Sydney International semifinals. She needed to win the Sydney tournament to take the top ranking.
But she gets another chance at Melbourne Park, where she's one of six women who can finish No. 1.
Sharapova, a former Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, won the first eight games of a 6-0, 6-1 win over Gisela Dulko of Argentina in her first match since returning from an left ankle injury.
The 2008 champion needed just 58 minutes for the win and the only game she lost was on her own serve. She then saved three break points in the last game before serving out the match.
"I've been here for 14 days getting used to the conditions,'' Sharapova said. "Back in the heat now, but it was like winter before. Different preparation, but sometimes it's just the way it goes.''
Other women advancing included No. 14 Sabine Lisicki, No. 17 Dominika Cibulkova, No. 27 Maria Kirilenko, Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak, Shahar Peer of Israel and 2000 Wimbledon semifinalist Jelena Dokic.
Men's No. 5 seed David Ferrer advanced in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, over Rui Machado of Portugal. No. 17 Richard Gasquet, No. 23 Milos Raonic of Canada, No. 24 Kei Nishikori of Japan and No. 32 Alex Bogomolov Jr., now representing Russia, also advanced. Germany's Philipp Petzschner routed Czech Republic's Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-0, 6-2 to advance.
Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam winner, will play a night match on Tuesday against Tamira Paszek. She didn't get to defend her title last year because of injury and comes into the season's first major with concern over her left ankle, which she twisted at a tuneup tournament in Brisbane earlier this month.
Rafael Nadal, who lost his No. 1 ranking and six finals to Djokovic last year, wondered if he'd even be able to play his first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday after his right knee cracked and cramped and caused him "unbelievable pain'' on the eve of the tournament.
He already had plenty on his mind going into the year's first Grand Slam tournament. There was his ailing shoulder and his rift with Roger Federer over player conditions on the tour, a rare clash between these respectful rivals that has since been smoothed over.
After hours of medical tests and treatment, Nadal decided to play but was "scared'' when he took the court against American qualifier Alex Kuznetsov. Judging by the scoreline, the outcome looked very matter of fact: Nadal won 6-4, 6-1, 6-1.
Third-seeded Federer started his bid for a 17th major title with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win over Alexander Kudryavtsev of Russia, showing no signs of a back problem which forced him out of a Doha tournament earlier this month.
SI
FIFA "dishonest" over deals and can prove it: Warner
Ousted former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner said on Friday he had documented evidence to back his claim that he was gifted World Cup television rights in return for FIFA votes and accused the organisation of being "disingenuous and dishonest".
The Trinidadian, who had promised to unleash a "tsunami" against FIFA following his suspension from soccer's world governing body, said last month he was awarded the TV rights for seven World Cups at a minimal fee as a reward for securing votes for FIFA president Sepp Blatter in his election campaigns.
For the 1998 tournament, Warner said FIFA sold the rights to him, through a Mexican company, for just $1.
FIFA hit back last week saying Warner had been awarded TV rights for Trinidad since 1986 and that it was normal practice at the time for them to be provided for only a symbolic fee.
FIFA added that Warner's claims included "several inaccuracies and falsehoods" and that the television rights issue "had nothing to do with the 1998 or 2002 election campaigns, or with any other election campaign.
"To imply the contrary is completely false," it said in a statement.
Warner, who was CONCACAF president for 21 years, resigned from all his soccer positions in June last year after he was suspended by FIFA following allegations in a cash-for-votes scandal in the run-up to the presidential election.
Favorable deals
The former powerbroker in the Caribbean on Friday stood by his claims and said FIFA had ignored his comments about other favourable deals.
"To choose to respond only to the allegation that FIFA sold to me the FIFA World Cup Rights for Trinidad and Tobago for one dollar ($1.00) in 1998 and refuse to even comment on the other accusations that the FIFA World Cup Rights for 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 were also sold to me at a nominal fee is nothing more than deception," he said in a statement on Friday.
"All of these were given to me based on the critical roles I played in guaranteeing the FIFA Presidency to Sepp Blatter," Warner added.
"FIFA must be aware of the fact that I still have in my possession the contracts which were given to me, as well as personal notes which were handwritten and signed that will corroborate my accusations, and as such should be honest in its reporting to the international community".
Warner cited one handwritten note from FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke but the context of the note was not clear.
"The FIFA's decision, therefore, to selectively respond to the accusations I have made against it and its President is both disingenuous and dishonest," added Warner.
He said he had also been promised the rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in return for his support for Blatter in the 2011 election but this was later revoked.
FIFA declined to comment immediately on Warner's latest statement when contacted by Reuters on Friday.
Warner has been heavily critical of Blatter since resigning from CONCACAF after being accused of having organised a meeting where Mohammed Bin Hammam, the former Asian Football Confederation president from Qatar who was running against Blatter for the presidency, was alleged to have distributed $40,000 in brown envelopes to Caribbean soccer officials.
Bin Hammam, who like Warner has denied the allegations against him, was banned for life from all football-related activity.
Li Na gets ready for Australian Open
The first grand slam of the season is ready to begin in Melbourne. China’s superstar Li Na was among the top players from around the world making an early appearance on the court at the Melbourne Park Saturday, ahead of the start of the Australian Open.
The French Open champion took part in a traning session, accompanied by her husband and coach Jiang Shan, and physio coach Alex Stober. Li Na was also on the court with last year’s Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic.
Li is seeded fifth in the women’s draw, after losing in the final to Belgium’s Kim Cjlisters last year. The world number five says her winter training in Germany and China helped her save enough energy for the new season.
Li said, "At least there was a whole month for me to have proper winter training. It was a long season last year. And if I could not have proper winter training, there would not be enough energy for me to compete this year."
Michael Phelps swims to win at Austin Swimming Grand Prix
The road to London’s begun for one of swimming’s most dominant athletes. Michael Phelps started is journey toward London 2012 at the Austin Swimming Grand Prix Saturday.
Phelps took an early lead in the 400-metre individual medley final and never looked back, cruising to a win with a time of 4 minutes, 16.95 seconds, well off his world record time of 4:03.84 he set at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Conor Dwyer finished 2nd in 4:21.16, and Andrew Ford 3rd in 4:21.99.
16-year-old rising star Missy Franklin was outdueled by Allison Schmitt in the women’s 200-metre freestyle final. She passed Franklin over the final 50 metres to claim a win in 1:55.83.
Franklin finished second in 1:57.86 and Katie Hoff grabbed third place in 1:59.34.
Olympic star Ryan Lochte was well off his usual pace, only manging a fifth place in the 200-metre freestyle final and third in the 200-metre backstroke final.
Fears grow for Concordia missing
Rescue crews have blasted holes in a stricken cruise ship in order to gain easier access as hopes fade of finding survivors among the 29 people missing.
Six people are known to have died after the Costa Concordia crashed into rocks off Italy's west coast on Friday night.
The ship's owners have blamed the captain for Friday's crash, saying he changed course towards an island.
Capt Francesco Schettino has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter and is due to appear shortly in court.
Capt Schettino, 52, has also been accused of abandoning his vessel before all the passengers had been evacuated.
He is to answer questions from a magistrate who will decide if he is to remain in custody.
Italian Environment Minister Corrado Clini said liquid was leaking from the ship, but it was unclear if it was fuel.
He said the government would declare a state of emergency to release extra funding to help avoid a fuel spill causing an environmental disaster.
A man involved in the operation to remove fuel from the Costa Concordia told the BBC's Matthew Price that the ship was stable, and that some movement was normal.
He said there was no sign of fuel leaking and that they hoped to begin pumping oil from the ship by Thursday or Friday.
Meanwhile, Italian officials have denied a newspaper report that a seventh body had been found overnight on the vessel.
Captain 'in difficult position'
Shortly after daybreak on Tuesday rescue crews blasted several holes in the ship, now lying on its side metres from Giglio island, off the Tuscan coast, in order to gain access to areas they have not been able to search.
Italian coastguard officials said the number of people believed to be missing had jumped to 29 from the previous estimate of 16, but gave no reason for the change.
The missing are thought to include four crew members, as well as passengers from the US, Germany, France and Italy.
On Monday, the Costa Concordia's owners, Costa Cruises, said Capt Schettino hit the rocks because he deliberately steered the ship towards Giglio Island.
Prosecutors also claim that he was responsible for the disaster. They say the captain wanted to make a close pass of Giglio in order to "salute" a crew member's family who live there.
"The captain is in a very difficult position because we are sure enough that he abandoned the ship when many passengers were still waiting to be evacuated," said prosecutor Francesco Verusio.
A transcript purportedly of conversations between the captain and the coastguard has emerged in the Italian media - apparently drawn from one of the ship's black box recorders - which appears to corroborate the claims that the captain left the ship before all the passengers escaped.
Capt Schettino has denied wrongdoing and says the rocks were not on his charts. He has insisted that he and his crew were the last people to leave the vessel.
His lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, said his client was "overcome and wants to express his greatest condolences to the victims", adding that the captain had carried out a dangerous manoeuvre that had actually saved lives.
Conditions 'disastrous'
The ship, carrying 4,200 passengers and crew, had its hull ripped through when it hit rocks late on Friday.
Wikipedia joins web blackout in Sopa Act protest
Wikipedia plans to take its English-language site offline on Wednesday as part of protests against proposed anti-piracy laws in the US.
The user-generated news site Reddit and the blog Boing Boing have also said they will take part in the "blackout".
The sites' webmasters are opposed to the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) being debated by Congress.
However, Twitter has declined to take part in the shutdown.
Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, told the BBC: "Proponents of Sopa have characterised the opposition as being people who want to enable piracy or defend piracy.
"But that's not really the point. The point is the bill is so over broad and so badly written that it's going to impact all kinds of things that, you know, don't have anything to do with stopping piracy."
Veto hint
Sopa's supporters in the House of Representatives say the legislation is designed to stop revenue flowing to "rogue websites".
It would give content owners and the US government the power to request court orders to shut down sites associated with piracy.
It could also force US-based internet service providers, search engines, payment processors and advertising networks to stop doing business or offering links to foreign sites suspected of involvement with the illegal activity.
A similar law, Pipa, is making its way through the US Senate.
On Saturday the White House issued a statement that appeared to side with critics of the Acts.
It said: "While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet."
'Broader problem'
Despite the hint of a presidential veto, Wikipedia said that the English site's administrators had decided to stage its first ever public protest because the bills "would be devastating to the free and open web".
It added: "We don't think Sopa is going away, and Pipa is still quite active. Moreover, Sopa and Pipa are just indicators of a much broader problem. All around the world, we're seeing the development of legislation intended to fight online piracy, and regulate the internet in other ways, that hurt online freedoms."
However, when asked whether Twitter would join the blackout, its chief executive, Dick Costolo, tweeted: "Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish."
In a Twitter conversation with Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales, Mr Costolo later clarified that his comment was not meant to be read as a "value judgement" about other organisations involvement in the action.
The anti-piracy legislation still has high profile supporters including News Corporation's chairman, Rupert Murdoch.
Over the weekend he tweeted: "So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery."
He later added: "Seems like universal anger with POTUS [President of the United States] from all sorts of normal supporters... Whole entertainment industry employs 2.2 million [on] average salary $65,000. Good jobs and expanding foreign earnings. Made in America, too!"
Sites taking part in the shutdown plan to go offline for 24 hours from midnight Eastern Standard Time (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday.