News Archive - 4 January 2012

Hundreds of Iranian thinkers joined a large-scale intellectual panel discussion Wednesday night in the presence of Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei to broach the issue of woman and family in Islam. The 4-hour panel discussion was the third of a series of intellectual sessions, staged under the banner...

The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood looks set for a majority in Egypt’s first free parliament in decades as western-backed military generals face growing pressure to hand power to civilians. Egyptians voted for a second day on Wednesday in the final stage of the lower-house election, the first free legislative vote since...

Spain's new ambassador to I.R.Iran has submitted his credentials to the Iranian foreign minister as the Islamic Republic and the EU member state eye closer cooperation in the energy sector. On Wednesday, new Spanish Ambassador Pedro Antonio Villena Pérez met with the Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi,...

A Bahraini woman has been killed in a tear gas attack by the Saudi-backed regime forces on an anti-government demonstration in an area near the capital, Manama. On Tuesday, 55-year-old Fakhria Jassim died after inhaling poisonous tear gas fired by regime forces to disperse the protesters in the area. Bahrainis...

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Zionist regime efforts for Judaization of Qods is the continuation of colonial policies to save the regime and hegemony on the region adding that such acts will only accelerate destruction of the Zionist regime. In a meeting with head of Turky-Palestine parliamentary friendship group Murat...

Nekounam has been named the best player of the 2011 for the Spanish football club Osasuna. Fans picked the 30-year-old Iranian national through an online poll as Nekounam was voted Osasuna's best player of the 2011, taking 32% of the votes. He was followed by Francisco Punal with 21%, Javier...

China has voiced strong opposition to the US-led push for unilateral sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, reiterating that Tehran's nuclear issue must be resolved diplomatically. "China has consistently believed that sanctions are not the correct way to ease tensions or resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear program," Chinese...

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the Intelligence Ministry is the most important pillar of the Intelligence body of the country. Addressing the Intelligence Ministry staff on Wednesday, he said that the Ministry should reach high and great peaks in intelligence affairs. The Head of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)...

Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi on Wednesday said Iran has always been after preserving the security of Hormuz Strait. He told reporters after a cabinet meeting said presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf is destructive. On Tueday, Army Commander Brigadier General Ataollah Salehi speaking on the sidelines...

>SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude fell toward $113 a barrel on Thursday as renewed jitters over the euro zone crisis overshadowed fears of Iranian supply disruption after the European Union agreed to cut off oil imports from the No. 2 OPEC producer. Oil prices are capped by worries that the...

Indian shares are likely to open slightly lower on Thursday as concerns over Europe's debt crisis persist. Worries over sovereign debt problems intensified after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned at a meeting with union leaders that deeper cuts in incomes and making convincing progress on long-promised economic reforms are...

>SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold traded steady on Thursday, near a 2-1/2-week high hit in the previous session, as investors awaited a French bond auction later in the day to gauge the scope of the euro zone debt crisis and watched developments on Iran. Gold rose with oil in the previous...

>* Handles payments by refiner Tupras to Iran, sources say* Turkey to seek waiver from U.S. for TuprasBy Simon Cameron-MooreISTANBUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Turkish lender Halkbank , little known outside Turkey, has gained a reputation in the oil market over the past 18 months for handling transactions that...

>* Says term contracts for oil unchanged, above 2.3 mln bpd* Says two of three Chinese 2012 term deals already clinchedBy Peg MackeyLONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Iran has alternatives in place to let it cope with a threatened European Union embargo on its oil and increased U.S.

>* Euro down 0.1 pct vs dollar, stays below 100 yenBy Chikako MogiTOKYO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro eased on Thursday as concerns about the ability of euro zone countries to refinance their huge public debt dampened investor risk appetite ahead of a French bond...

NEW YORK (NewsCore) — Gold futures on Wednesday rose to their highest in two weeks, drawing strength from safe haven buying as investors remained concerned about Iran and the eurozone.

Rick Santorum's strong showing in Iowa confirmed him as the new star of America's conservative movement and the main Right-wing challenger to Mitt Romney, but his highly controversial views, a so-called 'Google problem' and a threadbare campaign will present serious challenges to his bid for the nomination.

Iran is not our enemy. The regime that enriches itself while murdering, oppressing and impoverishing ordinary Iranians, the...

The State Department on Wednesday elevated its counterterrorism efforts, putting them in the same class as its divisions that oversee regional international diplomacy and intelligence gathering. ...

Campaign to air first TV ad in state Jon Huntsman's campaign is gearing up to get out the vote for Tuesday's primary, and yesterday continued to jab rivals Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, who have led the former Utah governor in state polls. "We all have different titles, I understand...

The global debt crisis is the “greatest strategic threat” to the future security of Western nations, Philip Hammond will say today.

United States combat troops have only just exited Iraq, bringing to an end eight years of costly war, and we are already...

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Jordanians in Iraqi jails started a hunger strike on Wednesday protesting against harsh prison conditions and demanding fair trials, a human rights activist ...

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Israeli and Palestinian officials met for the first time in more than a year and agreed to hold further preliminary talks in Jordan as part of an effort to renew formal peace negotiations.

Iran's parliament said Wednesday that it was preparing a bill that would prohibit all foreign warships from entering the Persian Gulf unless they received permission from the Iranian navy. The bill, disclosed by the semiofficial Fars News Agency, surfaced a day after Iran's armed forces commander warned a U.S.

Turkey has warned against a sectarian Cold War in the Middle East, saying that rising Sunni-Shia tensions will be "suicide" for the whole region.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is rewriting its defense strategy to absorb hundreds of billions of dollars in defense budget cuts while scaling back the longstanding Pentagon goal of being ready to fight two wars simultaneously.Underscoring t ...

The U.S. rebuffed Iran’s demand not to return an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, a “warning” from Tehran that helped send oil prices to the highest in almost eight months.

OTTAWA - There are fewer swinging bachelors in Ottawa these days as two of the country's more high-profile cabinet ministers have tied the knot with their girlfriends in separate, low-key ceremonies. Defence Minister Peter MacKay quietly married his girlfriend Nazanin Afshin-Jam at a private, civil ceremony in Mexico on Wednesday,...

(01-04) 21:41 PST SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices hovered near $103 a barrel Thursday in Asia after a report showed mixed signs about U.S. crude demand. Benchmark crude for February delivery fell 18 cents to $103.04 a...

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The past two weeks have seen a dramatic escalation in Iran’s war of words with the West.

The U.S. Department of Defense recently opened a fifth domain for war, after land, air, sea, and space: cyberspace.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is to disclose the strategy guiding hundreds of billions of dollars in Pentagon budget cuts during an unusual news conference on Thursday.

If Iran's warning on Tuesday to this American aircraft carrier was intended to disrupt the ship's routine or provoke a high-seas reaction, nothing of the sort was evident on Wednesday.

Call for ‘ambitious sanctions package'. Don't have a login yet? Discover your benefits and register for free now! It only takes a minute. © 2012 European Voice. All rights reserved.

By Chikako Mogi

Concerns over Europe's debt crisis returned to the forefront on Thursday, leaving Asian markets mixed while the euro continued to be pressured by the dollar and yen.

by Lena Groeger, ProPublica Rick Santorum's strong showing in the Iowa caucuses has vaulted him from obscurity to presidential contender. Just a few months ago, Santorum barely merited a mention as Republican voters fell in and out of love with Rick Perry, Herman Cain and New Gingrich.So who is...

Pyongyang, January 4 (KCNA) -- News of a ceremony of bidding last farewell to leader Kim Jong Il and a solemn national memorial service for him was reported by many foreign media from Dec. 28 to 30.

Texas, January 2- Average retail gasoline prices in Texas have risen 4.7 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.08/g yesterday.

Tehran, January 3 (KCNA) -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday underlined Iran's resolve to boost relations with all countries except the U.S. and Zionist regime.

Militants in Pakistan claim to have killed 15 security force members they kidnapped last month.

Worried that U.S. troops could stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014, Iran is mounting an aggressive campaign to fuel anti-American sentiment here and convince Afghan leaders that a robust, long-term security partnership with Washington would be counterproductive, Afghan officials and analysts say.

After Iowa, it appears that, barring a surprise come-from-behind from another candidate (a possibility not entirely possible to rule out), the Republican primary is a three-man race. Many are hesitant to predict that Mitt Romney has the nomination under his belt, and with good reason-- because so much of the...

What is wrong with this headline: 'U.S. warns Iran not to disrupt oil traffic.' As an American, I would rather see it read, 'U.S. warns Iran not to consider death penalty for American citizen detained and charged as a CIA spy.'

The Toronto stock market looked set for a slightly lower open Wednesday as commodity prices backed off following strong gains that kicked off 2012 trading.

The fuel tank of a car is filled at a gas station in Milan, Italy, yesterday.

Republican race in disarray after Mitt Romney's hopes of decisive victory were shattered after beating Rick Santorum by only eight votes Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's hopes of a decisive victory in the Iowa caucuses were shattered early on Wednesday, when Christian fundamentalist Rick Santorum ran him a close second...

People in Saskatchewan are enjoying unusually mild weather, Steve Pasqualotto reports.

Australian Stock Market Report - Midday 1/5/2012

Gold futures rose to the highest in two weeks on demand for a haven as the European Union moved closer to halting oil purchases from Iran, stepping up the confrontation over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.

One of Ottawa's most eligible bachelors is now officially off the market.

Asian Markets See Cautious Trades

European countries have taken their boldest step so far in the increasingly tense standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, agreeing in principle to impose an embargo on Iranian oil, French and European diplomats said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama will unveil a revised US military strategy on Thursday designed to reflect fiscal constraints and a greater focus on the potential threat posed by a rising China, officials said.

“THE Dog returns to its Vomit, and the Sow returns to her Mire/ And the burnt Fool`s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire.” Kipling was right.

AMERICA doesn`t seem to view the Pakistan-Iran gas deal as an economic issue linked to Islamabad`s desperate attempt to tackle the acute energy crisis.

>* Refiners lead as EU plans support oil pricesBy Joonhee YuSEOUL, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Seoul shares edged slightly higher by late morning on Thursday amid rangebound trading that saw the index drift in and out of the red, as new year optimism was dimmed by persistent euro zone debt...

Crude oil prices will continue to be volatile in the months ahead as uncertainties still cloud the global economic outlook and therefore demand despite the recent rise in prices. The price of crude o .....

The Indonesia stock market has finished higher now in back-to-back sessions, jumping almost 100 points or 2.6 percent in the process. The Jakarta Composite Index finished just below the 3,910-point plateau, although now investors are expecting to see the market to hand back those gains when it opens on...

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in conjunction with the Pitcairn Islands Government is delighted to announce that the ground-breaking operation to restore Henderson Island has now taken place.

The Japanese authorities have tested a 'virus' cyberweapon capable of tracing and disabling computers being used in cyberattacks against the country, a newspaper in the country has reported.

Jayapura. The Papua office of the National Commission on Human Rights looked into 58 alleged violations of human rights in 2011, and was anticipating investigating at least that many cases in 2012.

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Oil prices jumped 8% last week after Iranian Vice-President Mohamad Reza Rahimi threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if the rest of the world slapped an embargo on his country’s oil exports.

The latest warning by Iran, that a U.S. aircraft carrier that recently transited through the Strait of Hormuz should not do so again, is a sign to the West that should be well-observed. It tells us the regime in Tehran is ready for a fight.

Newt Gingrich raised a few eyebrows Wednesday when he said he?s not the man to turn the country around as the next President of the United States.

Voters in New Hampshire can choose between a

The ASX has fallen after doubt about the health of Europe's economy took the wind out its new year rally.

Oil prices inched lower toward $102 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors eyed signs of an improving U.S. economy.

Turkcell is Charles Sizemore’s recommendation for InvestorPlace’s “10 Stocks for 2012.”  For more details and to view the other picks for the year, follow this link: 10 Stocks for 2012

Oil prices jumped to near $101 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid concerns that rising tensions between Western powers and Iran could lead to crude supply disruptions.

Stock markets retreated slightly Wednesday after a surprisingly buoyant start to the new year triggered by a run of encouraging U.S. economic data.

Like many Kiwis my age, I grew up hearing Connie Lawn’s reports from Washington on Radio New Zealand. She has covered every US Administration since Lyndon Johnson’s time, and is the longest-serving correspondent in the White House Press Corps.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival will feature foreign-language Oscar contenders, the 15-hour 'The Story of Film' and Brad Pitt and George Clooney. The Palm Springs International Film Festival will feature foreign-language Oscar contenders, the 15-hour 'The Story of Film' and Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

The energy scene in a number of countries is far more unstable than it was a year ago.

Washington — The Obama administration is rewriting its defense strategy to absorb hundreds of billions of dollars in defense budget cuts while scaling back the longstanding Pentagon goal of being ready to fight two wars simultaneously.

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>Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).FONDIARIA-SAI,PREMAFIN, UNIPOLPremafin, the company that controls Italy's largest motor insurer, Fondiaria-SAI, has had contacts with third parties about strengthening its capital, as speculation mounts of a possible merger between Fondiaria and...

>HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd said on Wednesday that calls by six U.S. lawmakers to investigate whether the giant Chinese telecommunications equipment maker has violated a sanctions law by supplying sensitive technology to Iran were based on inaccurate media reports. "Unfortunately, a few Members of Congress...

Paris/Lisbon (dpa) - Amid the controversy over Iran‘s nuclear program, the European Union appeared to move closer to imposing sanctions on Iranian oil on Wednesday."On January 30 the Europeans will hopefully decide on an oil embargo," said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe to the French newspaper Le Figaro on...

WASHINGTON -- The Defense Department promises today to deliver on pledges to create a "balanced" new U.S. military strategy that puts more emphasis on Asia even as defense budgets are cut. Critics say it can't all be done. A "balanced approach essentially means they are not doing anything bold...

JAN 5 — Let 18-year-olds vote.

At the 19th Ogoni Day anniversary today, Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at Ken Saro-Wiwa Peace and Freedom Center, Bori, Nigeria.

TEHERAN (AFP) - The European Union and the United States on Wednesday tightened the sanctions noose around Iran, with diplomats in Brussels saying a preliminary agreement had been reached on an EU embargo of Iranian oil.

The Taiwan stock market has ended higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than 130 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange finished just above the 7,080-point plateau, although now investors are expected to lock in gains at the opening of trade on Thursday.

A Separation (PG-13) Three and a half stars The title, "A Separation," is an apt encapsulation of the film as a whole: It may sound simple, but its results are devastating. Writer-director Asghar Farhadis tale begins life...

Crude prices move higher again, this time thanks to the European Union. Thomas Mucha There was another roil for oil today. And, once again, you can blame rising tensions with Iran. The European Union announced a preliminary agreement to ban Iranian oil imports , though EU diplomats did not say...

BRUSSELS/TEHRAN, Jan 5 (Reuters) - European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Tehran that crowns new Western sanctions months before an Iranian election.

>The rial dropped to a record low after U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill on imposing fresh restrictions on the country's central bank on Saturday.The sanctions, if fully implemented, could hamper the major oil producer's ability to sell oil on international markets.Iranian authorities have played down...

>ANKARA Jan 4 (Reuters) - Turkey will seek a waiver from the United States to exempt its biggest refiner Tupras from new U.S. sanctions on institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, a Turkish energy ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday.U.S. President Barack Obama signed the new...

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>VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's latest claim of a breakthrough in its nuclear program seems unlikely to bring it any closer to having atomic bombs soon, but serves rather as another defiant message to the West. This week's announcement that Iran has successfully made and tested fuel rods for use in...