News Archive - 4 April 2012

[Video] Al Gharafa – Perspolis Tehran Al Gharafa 0 – 3 Perspolis Tehran (ACL, Group D) 03′ [0-1] Gholamreza Rezaei Get the Flash Player to see this content. Download 06′ [0-2] Eamon Zayed Get the Flash Player to see this content. Download 73′ [0-3] Javad Kazemian Get the Flash...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned Western and Arab nations against arming foreign-backed opposition groups in Syria, saying this will lead to “slaughter for many years”. “It’s clear as daylight that even if you arm the opposition to the teeth, it won’t defeat the Syrian army, but there will...

Iran’s Navy has rescued a cargo ship, attacked in the Indian Ocean while en route to Iran, and arrested 12 pirates following a 48-hour fight. Speaking at a news conference in the capital Tehran on Tuesday, Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the bulk carrier came under attack...

Iran’s football club Persepolis Wednesday evening beat Qatari home team al-Gharafa three to nil at al-Gharafa Stadium, ensuring its top position at Group 4 of Asian Clubs Champions League quite firmly. In this match of Group 4 in Doha the red clad players of the Turkish Head Coach of Persepolis...

New data shows Washington has given more than 115 billion dollars in financial aid to Israel over the years, indicating Tel Aviv’s great dependence on the US. Israel has received more assistance from the US than 15 European countries did to recover from the devastation caused during World War II,...

IRI Economy and Finance Minister Sayyed Shamseddin Hosseini on Wednesday slammed the international financial institutes for adopting monopolistic rules, saying fairness and independence of such institutes were imperative for other countries’ growth and economic development. Addressing the 37th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank in Khartoum, he said that...

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran's military power is a thorny issue for the enemies. Ayatollah Khamenei said that the enemies are well aware of eight-year glorious defense by Iranian armed forces in an imposed war on Iran in which the...

IRI’s Minister of Commerce and Finance Shamseddin Hosseini and Sudan’s President Omer Hassan al-Bashir stressed expansion of economic and trade ties between the two countries. In a meeting in Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum, the minister pointed to Iran’s export of technical and engineering services and said making use of...

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari says Baghdad welcomes the idea of hosting a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (the P5+1). Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday that Zebari welcomed a proposal put...

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that Special Envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League for Syrian Affairs Kofi Annan is to visit Iran next week. He told reporters after the cabinet’s Wednesday morning session that the visit which was initially slated for last week was postponed due...

The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in the US has reportedly shipped nearly 200 kilograms of highly enriched, weapons grade uranium to France, claiming that it will be used as fuel for a high-performance research reactor. Reports say the super-potent consignment, weighing more than 180 kilograms, was recently delivered by sea...

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says supporting national production is an urgent need because the enemies of Iran have focused on economic issues. In a meeting with Iran's high-ranking officials on Tuesday, the Islamic Revolution Leader noted that the cooperation between Iranian Majlis and government...

>"Many ship owners want to join our club and want our club to cover this risk, but considering all these regulations from the United States and the EU I know the China P&I club will not do that," a Hong Kong-based club official said."We have asked our members not...

>MANAMA (Reuters) - Bahrain's Sunni Muslim minority, fearful of Shi'ite political assertiveness, is spawning factions that rail against compromise with the island's sectarian majority, while nursing their own grudges against its Sunni ruling family. The emergence of hardline Sunni groups is further evidence of sectarian polarization in Bahrain, where a...

>"Europe is still facing a very difficult, very challenging period. They are likely to have weak growth," Geithner said in an interview with Fox Business TV."You have, obviously, the fear of Iran and oil prices, even though that is not hurting the economy today, people can still feel that...

>Prices were supported by ongoing concerns over supply disruptions from the North Sea and the Middle East and fresh signs of a recovery in the U.S. economy.The market will be eyeing a key jobs report out of the United States on Friday for further evidence of the recovery...

>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran has approached Baghdad to host forthcoming talks with six world powers over its disputed nuclear program, Iraq said on Wednesday, apparently departing from plans for an Istanbul meeting following Iranian frictions with Turkey. Iranian media quoted Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi as saying the talks...

>BERLIN (Reuters) - Nobel Prize-winning German writer Guenter Grass has attacked Israel as a threat to world peace and said it must not be allowed to launch military strikes against Iran, in a poem that one German newspaper branded "anti-Semitic". Grass, 84, a seasoned campaigner for left-wing causes and a...

>* Iran identified as risk to security of supply* Iran accounts for quarter of crude supplied to Africa's biggest economy (Adds quote and background)JOHANNESBURG, April 4 (Reuters) - Petronas' South African unit Engen said on Wednesday it had halted all imports of crude from Iran after deciding the sanctions placed...

WASHINGTON — A US activist group on Wednesday urged French automaker Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan to pull their business out of Iran because of its suspected program to develop nuclear weapons.

There is something quite egalitarian about a sunrise service. You might be an unemployed carpenter sitting right next to the CEO of a major bank.

HOLLIDAYSBURG - Emily Patterson and her daughter, Lori, both of Hollidaysburg, wore Rick Santorum badges and big smiles that wouldn't go away as the former Pennsylvania senator and Republican presidential candidate posed with them outside the Blair...

Dump the president and drill, baby, drill Why does President Obama proclaim unequivocally that increasing the oil supply will not affect pump price. He says 20 percent of the world's oil supply... read more

When the Supreme Court releases it's decision on whether or not the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is constitutional in June, U.S. Rep. Steve King believes the ruling will validate his...

From Mughal emperor Akbar who came praying for a son to a relentless stream of around 12,000 people who throng every day to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari who will visit it Sunday, the pull of the 12th century Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer remains undiminished.

>* China March services PMI at 53.3, down from 53.9 -HSBC* Coming up: U.S. weekly jobless claims; 1230 GMTBy Francis KanSINGAPORE, April 5 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose towards $123 a barrel on Thursday after falling sharply in the previous session on a big jump in U.

With gas fuelling violence, panic and frustration worldwide, is this normal volatility or is something larger at play?

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2012 (AFP) - The United States said Wednesday it will ease restrictions on investment to Myanmar and quickly appoint an ambassador as it seeks to boost reformers who allowed landmark elections in the long-closed nation.

An Israeli guest speaker told University student senators life in his country goes beyond the violent depictions in the media and that Israel is a safe place to travel and study at yesterday’s full-Senate meeting. Shahar Arieli, the Israeli Consulate of Academic Affairs in the Midwest, said because Israel is...

Financial speculators are gambling on oil the same way they gambled on the housing market a few years ago — a frightening prospect for the fragile economy, a Democratic congressional committee was told Wednesday.

IF, to read this article, you have enough light from your back-up source — either a UPS, a generator, a solar panel, or even a torch — you belong to the new elite in Pakistan. Others less privileged must wait until the sun rises.

York, PA - During a Wednesday afternoon debate, Ken Lee and Harry Perkinson both referred to the challenges they face as Democrats trying to replace retiring U.

The governor said he believes now more than ever that only under Israeli control can people of all faiths worship together at the holy sites of Jerusalem

Sexual violence will be at the forefront of Wellingtonians’ minds this month with the Wellington Rape Crisis Annual Street Appeal on the 13th of April, and theatre makers Isobel MacKinnon, Ally Garrett and Fiona McNamara have a busy few weeks ahead of them.

Little Kayden Williams from Wainuiomata became New Zealand’s 105,000th five month old to receive a free bath mat – a reminder for his parents about the importance of water safety – today.

The persecution of artists has been an ugly feature of Iran’s crackdown on dissent in the wake of its last, fraudulent national elections. Scoop has written and campaigned before about one of the repression’s most prominent victims, the Iranian film director Jafar Panahi.

THE daily returns for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) in the benchmark Saudi Arabia-to-Asia route soared to a 13-month high of US$41,093 which was spurred by strong demands from China.

America recently released figures showing there had been a dramatic fall in the number of death sentences.

Also: Ryan Gosling saves woman s life; Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are distant cousins; Mary J. Blige s Burger King ad pulled.

I must beg the indulgence of readers who don’t see the point to following the arguments of the founder of the Occupy movement, but his concepts are quite as important in their own way as that of the Iran mullahs. Anarchism, being essentially non-violent until non-anarchists get involved, is not...

Students and faculty gathered in the University Center on April 3 to hear Republican congressman Charlie Dent of the 15th District of Pennsylvania speak about American-Israeli relations. The event was planned by Michael Lefkoe, '15, and Gideon Drucker, '14, co-presidents...

At the end of January, Yeshiva World News reported Assemblyman Dov Hikind's son Yoni might run for the new, heavily Orthodox Jewish State Senate seat created in Brooklyn, but, at least according to Assemblyman Hikind's account today, there's been no advancement of his campaign from the rumor stage. "Nothing is...

Jeonbuk Motors recorded their first victory of the AFC Champions League campaign on Wednesday, while Brisbane Roar remain winless.

New details were made public Wednesday on hotelier Sam Nazarian’s plan to redevelop and reopen the closed Sahara hotel-casino on the lonely northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. Debt rating agency Moody’s Investors Service in New York issued a report that confirmed the redeveloped property would be called ''SLS...

Remarks With Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci After Their Meeting Remarks Treaty Room Washington, DC April 4, 2012 SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, good afternoon, everyone. It’s a great pleasure for me to welcome Prime Minister Thaci back to Washington and here to the State Department. The prime minister has shown great...

Backgrounder - Heritage Backgrounders give researchers the in-depth information they need on a wide variety of key issues. Abstract: President Obama will participate in the Sixth Summit of the Americas in Colombia on April 14 and 15. This summit, the Obama Administration believes, offers an opportunity to showcase a policy...

PARIS (Reuters) - French presidential front-runner Francois Hollande promised on Wednesday to freeze fuel prices, slash government ministers' salaries and boost welfare payouts to families in a rush of legislation in his first eight weeks in office. Related Stories Brazil lets one Chevron accused leave, seeks bond With £6 million...

Iran secretly ordered its agents in Afghanistan to exploit public outrage over the burning of Korans, though it has failed to provoke widespread or lasting unrest.

>* UN plans aid appeal for relocating Iran dissidentsBy Louis CharbonneauUNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Reuters) - Iraq should impose a moratorium on executions in the country, which has seen a sharp rise in the number of people put to death in recent months, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in...

WASHINGTON, April 4 -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that the time for diplomacy with Iran over its disputed nuclear program is not "infinite," reiterating that all options are on the table.

An Indian security guard, cradling a Kalashnikov assault rifle, shadowed two Indian engineers as they inspected the concrete shell of the parliament building they are constructing -- in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell for a second straight day Wednesday, ending about 2 percent lower after testing key technical support levels as government data showed crude stockpiles in the world's top consumer jumped last week to a nine-month high. A surge in imports following fog-related delays in key...

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s fugitive vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, flew to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as the goodwill generated between Iraq and its Arab neighbors by an extravagant summit in Baghdad last week began unraveling at speed. Read full article >>

A journalist named Laurie Penny was crossing Sixth Avenue in Manhattan wearing a bright pink wig when she was saved from a speeding cab by none other than buzz-worthy Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Gosling. She took to popular gossip and opinion website Gawker to try and put an end to the...

Justin Bieber, world class real estate agent? Maybe. A blurb like this can only mean it's time for Wednesday's P.M. Entertainment links.

Supreme Court takes up key health care law issue: Can the gov't force you to carry insurance? More>>

Signs of weak US demand weigh heavily on prices. 4 Apr 2012 1:58 PM

Sky Gazers If you’ve fallen for the enchantment of a night out watching the stars, you’ll relate to and revere in this new timelapse video. “This timelapse production is a tribute to all skygazers around the world who enjoy exploring the night sky with their telescopes,” said Babak Tafreshi, an...

Washington (dpa) - The International Monetary Fund Wednesday approved a 6.79-billion-dollar loan disbursement to cash-strapped Portugal, after a review found the country had made "good progress" on economic reforms."Good progress has been made on implementing policies under the program and early signs indicate that the required economic adjustment...

Copyright show:  No On matters of energy security, Turkey is finding itself caught between Iran and the United States, two countries Ankara describes as allies. read more

Bombing in northern Faryab province leaves at least 13 people dead, including NATO troops

THR staff The Material Mom, promoting new album "MDNA," will answer fan tweets Wednesday evening. read more

Wow, President Obama didn’t exactly mince his words in extending Iranian sanctions to financial institutions wanting access to the US banking sector. The President made things ‘clear’ for those in any doubt last week; “There is a sufficient supply of petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than Iran to...

The oil market was hit with a one -two punch that has sent prices toward the lower end of the trading range. First the latest minutes from the last US Fed FOMC meeting suggested that the Fed may be backing away from additional stimulus or a QE3 which is a...

Welcome to the discussion.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's Culture Ministry has sharply criticized a conservative news website that offered Iranians a chance to pose questions to a Farsi-speaking spokesman for the U.S. State Department, who would then respond.

TEHRAN, April 4 (MNA) – The Iranian deputy foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs commented on the effect of the “Friends of Syria” conference in Istanbul on Tehran-Ankara relationship, saying ties between the two countries are stable, strategic, strong, and exemplary, although Iran and Turkey may have differing views...

Winner, along with Showtime’s "Homeland," HBO’s "Game of Thrones" and "Treme," NBC’s "Parks and Recreation" and IFC’s "Portlandia," in the 71st annual George Foster Peabody Awards. What is "Jeopardy!"? Yes, Alex, it’s April, when the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication honors achievements in television...

German writer Guenter Grass, a critic of Western military interventions, said Israel mustn’t be allowed to launch strikes against Iran.

>LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's oil futures market and its physical crude markets paint widely devigent views on oil. Brent oil futures have remained stubbornly high around $122 to $126 per barrel, even while Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, has repeatedly assured the market there are ample supplies.Price differentials...

Landmines and unexploded ordinance are inhibiting development in Iraq, one of countries worst-affected by such explosives worldwide.

When Vladimir Putin arrives in Camp David for the G8 summit in May, President Obama must be ready to lay out the framework for a new reset. With Russian membership in the WTO, the US and Europe could create incentives for greater rule of law in the economy and elsewhere...

The Iranian Defense Minister says the country respects the content of all international treaties and conventions on demining and is planning to join them, Press TV reports.

Exclusive: President George W. Bush not only botched the Afghan and Iraq wars but he bungled his “dead or alive” pursuit of Osama bin Laden, assuring al-Qaeda’s leader nine more years of life and the opportunity to father four more children with his 20-something third wife, Robert Parry writes.

Brussels (dpa) - European Union finance ministers are to hold a special meeting on May 2 to discuss ways to apply the Basel III bank capital rules, diplomats said in Brussels Wednesday.The Basel III rules were agreed internationally in 2010 and should be applied gradually over 2013-2019. By strengthening...

Moscow (dpa) - A new law came into force Wednesday in Russia that makes it easier to register a political party.The law, which reduces the required number of party members from 40,000 to 500, will cause an avalanche of new and scurrilous parties, critics said, adding that the situation...

>* JX to cut Iran crude imports by 12.5 percent from April* Showa Shell's contract renewal held up; will import in AprilBy Florence Tan and Osamu TsukimoriSINGAPORE/TOKYO April 4 (Reuters) - Japanese refiners will cut Iranian crude imports yet again in April as they shy away from renewing annual...

* Indonesian mill buys Indian soymeal at record price * Indian soymeal at $20-$25 premium to Argentine meal * Strong demand in domestic market in India * Thai feed mills seek soymeal for Oct-Dec shipment (Recasts with details, quotes) SINGAPORE, April 4 (Reuters) - Traders sold Indian soymealat a record...

Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs George Little provided the following readout: ...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "A lot of streamlining can be made without affecting service to the public."

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian lawmakers have approved a petition to impeach the country's labor minister over his controversial appointment of an official implicated in the deaths of prisoners in custody.

As U.S. sanctions on Iran tighten and gas prices reach record levels, it is becoming more likely that a release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is in the works. Yet analysts aren't convinced tapping the SPR is a good idea.

>* At least 7 North Sea Forties cargoes delayed* Coming up: U.S. EIA weekly crude stocks; 1430 GMT (Adds Engen Iranian imports)By Francis KanSINGAPORE, April 4 (Reuters) - Brent crude extended losses toward $124 a barrel on Wednesday after the U.S. central bank dashed hopes of further economic...

>The United States has exempted 11 Iranian crude buyers, including Japan, from economic sanctions linked to Iran's nuclear programme, as they have significantly cut purchases.The refiner has not renewed a contract to buy 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude, which expired in March, effectively cutting imports by...

>SINGAPORE/TOKYO April 4 (Reuters) - Showa Shell Sekiyu KK , Japan's largest buyer of Iranian crude, will import oil from the Islamic Republic in April even though differences over terms have held up an annual contract renewal, three sources said on Wednesday. Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer, is cutting...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Barack Obama faces an unforgiving foe in his bid to marshal global support for releasing strategic oil reserves: time. For maximum effect, the Obama administration needs to tap into U.S. government reserves no later than the end of this month to avert a spike...