News Archive - 5 June 2012

Syrian Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday in a statement that ambassadors of several Western countries were personae non gratae. "Some states recently informed heads of our diplomatic missions and embassy staff that they are unwelcome," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding Syria was now designating the ambassadors of the...

Iranian lawmakers have elected Ali Larijani as the speaker of IRI's ninth Majlis in the forth public session of the new parliament. A total of 177 legislators voted in favor of Larijani while his rival Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel gained 89 votes out of the 266 ballots, IRNA reported on Tuesday. Larijani,...

Sky gazers delight amid the hustle to catch a rare glimpse of the planet Venus passing across the face of our closest star on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. Observers around the world will set their telescopes sunward on Tuesday to view the rare celestial event as Venus gets to move...

IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran for Beijing on Tuesday to attend the 12th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held on June 6-7. The President was seen off by first Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Sayyed din Hosseini,...

The member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) have expressed support for Iran’s nuclear energy program. NAM representatives at the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying that they are concerned that the UN nuclear agency has failed to provide Iran with documents...

Zionist regime's aircraft have struck two targets in the besieged Gaza Strip, injuring at least two Palestinian men. Medical sources say one of the victims was seriously injured in the strike on an area in the north of the Gaza Strip. A poultry farm in Rafah in the south of...

German opposition parties have questioned the country’s selling nuclear-armed submarines to the Zionist regime. On Monday, opposition parties called for an explanation from the German government and demanded more transparency on the weapons deals. "The German government needs to reveal the facts and make a report to the relevant parliamentary...

Fathollahzadeh back in Esteghlal from PFDC TV on Vimeo.

The current Islamic Awakening movement in the Middle Eastern and North African countries is a return to Islamic values after Muslim nations got frustrate with western social or political doctrines, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior aide to Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said Tuesday. He told a meeting on...

The Pakistani police have arrested three US diplomats in the city of Peshawar for illegal possession of arms. Police officials told Dawn TV that the diplomats, along with three Pakistani nationals, were stopped at a routine checkpoint at the entrance to the Peshawar Motorway on Monday but they refused to...

The current Islamic Awakening movement in the Middle Eastern and North African countries is not a small flame to die away rather it is a strong storm formed by public demands of Arab nations, IRI Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said. He made the note in a message read to...

>* US services sector data also supports* Two US Fed officials cool to more monetary easing* COMING UP: ECB rate decision 1145 GMT, EIA oil data 1430By Randy FabiSINGAPORE, June 6 (Reuters) - Brent crude prices rose above $99 a barrel on Wednesday, as supportive economic and crude stocks data...

Anyone who believes that Mitt Romney and the Republicans are willing to do anything to prevent a nuclear Iran should think again. Sure, they will start a war (to be fought by other peoples' children of course), but they will not do anything to prevent a nuclear Iran if...

>Smith will hold an inaugural defence ministers' dialogue with his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie, where the two are expected to discuss China's concerns about U.S. marines being stationed in northern Australia.The United States has accused "Chinese actors" of being the world's biggest perpetrators of economic espionage and U.

>* Iran says recognise its "nuclear rights" and deal possible* US, EU demand access to suspect military siteBy Fredrik Dahl and Marcus GeorgeVIENNA/DUBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - If the world recognises Iran's "nuclear rights", negotiations aimed at easing a standoff with the West later this month could have a positive...

BEIJING (Reuters) - A regional bloc bringing together China, Russia and central Asian states wants to play a bigger role in Afghanistan, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in an interview published on Wednesday, as regional leaders gathered for their annual summit. Related Stories Syria bars diplomats, gunships in action Australian...

>* Mobile giant accused of corruption in Iran (Adds background)By Helen Nyambura-MwauraJOHANNESBURG, June 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's elite Hawks police unit has opened an investigation into allegations of corruption at mobile phone giant MTN relating to its purchase of a cellular licence in Iran, a police spokesman said on...

>* Powers reluctant, citing past Iranian nuclear secrecy* Iran, 6 powers to resume talks in Moscow on June 18 (Adds quotes, Israeli, U.S. background)By Marcus GeorgeDUBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - An adviser to Iran's supreme leader has urged world powers to formally recognise its nuclear rights to bring about...

Iran's parliament re-elects conservative Ahmadinejad critic as its speaker

>KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Oil prices will weaken further in the second half of this year as demand reacts to a slowing global economy, while international political tensions ease, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) CEO Peter Voser said on Tuesday. Brent crude this week dropped to a 16-month low below...

A senior former U.S. official told The Daily Caller on Tuesday that he did not think last week’s revelation of U.S. cyberwarfare program “Olympic Games” would damage the their argument against U.N. regulation of the Internet, even though some countries have called for this regulation to protect themselves...

MOSCOW -- When Eugene Kaspersky, the founder of Europe's largest antivirus company, discovered the Flame virus that is afflicting computers

Rod Nickel QMI Agency WINNIPEG - Canada’s wheat exports have bounced back strongly with bigger and better 2011/12 supplies from a year earlier...

Beijing (dpa) - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday urged the leaders of Russia and four Central Asian nations to forge greater unity against security threats.Regional governments should "intensify communication and coordination on key global and regional issues to safeguard common security," Hu said in remarks ahead of a...

Woodrow Wilson suffered from a notion of national arrogance A recent magazine article described Wilson’s younger days in Georgia during the War for Southern Independence and how those experiences influenced him to try hard to keep America out of...

Ministers to meet at an anti-terror forum overshadowed by Syria's crisis and Iran's nuclear threat. -AFP

The huge fire in the Gila calls to question what kind of job the Forest Service has been doing in managing our national forests. Don t they have people in watch towers anymore who can spot a lighting strike and locate it for quick response teams and contain it? Have...

With a Shiite-Sunni sectarian war brewing along the Syrian border, few Lebanese might want to remember the Israeli invasion of 1982, which started 30 years ago today. Yet that war and its sequels not only changed the balance of power in Lebanon but also set the stage for the regional...

President Obama defended his record on Israel and on religious freedoms in a conversation with Orthodox Jewish leaders.

Krishna is scheduled to meet Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang to review the bilateral ties between the two countries on Wednesday.

China and Russia are leading a six-country summit in Beijing, expected to focus on security in central Asia, with several bilateral meetings planned.

Syria President Bashar Assad retaliates for diplomatic expulsions but consents to demands for greater access for humanitarian aid. BEIRUT — Syria retaliated Tuesday for last week's expulsion of its diplomats from Washington and other capitals, barring or expelling foreign envoys from 11 nations, including the United States.

Iran's national volleyball team has lost to Australia at the FIVB Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan.

Google began warning users today of its Gmail online email services when it suspects they may be targets of "state-sponsored" attacks.

The West assumes the supreme leader makes every decision himself, and since he's guided by ideology and religion, internal politics is of little relevance. That assumption is wrong.

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexican police have found seven dismembered bodies in a Pacific coast state where the country's most-wanted man is battling its most aggressive drug cartel. Related Stories Tripoli international airport operational: Libya official Palestinians hold low-key Six Day War commemorations US not optimistic on Iran-IAEA deal this...

This year there's a Summer Olympics, a European football contest, and a US presidential election.

Barbara Walters, the grande dame of American television news, was forced to apologise on Tuesday night after it emerged that she had tried to use her influence to further the career of a former leading aide of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Olympic movement, which likes to sell itself as a politics-free zone where athletes can teach the grown-ups how to get along, is slinking toward another avoidable controversy with its head stuck firmly in the sand of North Africa.

She was a tryant's beautiful aide, she's a world famous TV host. One day they met for lunch - and now there's trouble.

’Strategic paternship’ between Moscow and Beijing seeks to end U.S. diplomatic dominance

China and Russia pledged yesterday to increase their cooperation in the United Nations, as the giant neighbours try to resist mounting pressure for international action to stop bloodshed in Syria.

Thank goodness for that, Russia and China have got the obvious 'deliverables' from President Putin's three day visit to Beijing out the way. Syria can act with impunity; Iran will get a free ride against Western inspired sanctions. Worn out lines about 'sovereign rights of independent states' will be trotted...

It's the story of the most sophisticated state-sponsored cyber attack in history and now the FBI wants to know how it leaked. The trouble is: It appears the Obama administration permitted the leak in the first place. This afternoon,  The Wall Street Journal  reported  that the FBI is investigating into...

On Sunday, Sept. 2, 1945, aboard the battleship USS Missouri at the end of ceremonies marking the unconditional surrender of Japan and the formal end of World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur spoke for a world weary of war and hoping for peace: “Let us pray that peace be now...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the FBI opened a probe into alleged leaks about U.S. cyber attacks on Iran, two prominent Republican senators on Tuesday called for a special counsel to investigate what they called a "pattern" of disclosures of classified information by the Obama administration. The FBI probe, according...

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed closer cooperation with China after meeting his counterpart Hu Jintao as the two countries push against western calls for stronger action in Syria and Iran.

President Barack Obama's 2008 Republican rival on Tuesday accused senior administration officials of leaking classified information to news organizations to boost the Democrat's national security reputation and re-election chances.

Canada will be one of the largest producers in the world if development continues as predicted.

ISTANBUL Kofi Annan is tinkering with a radical idea for reviving his moribund peace plan for Syria — a road map for political transition there that would be negotiated through a “contact group” that could include, among other nations, Russia and Iran. Read full article >>

Beijing (China Daily/ANN) - With the signing of key commercial deals and the promise of greater political cooperation, China and Russia cemented their partnership on yesterday against an uncertain world and regional scenario highlighted by the fluctuating Middle East crisis and shifting Asia-Pacific landscape.

Officials in northern Iraq caused a stir in Baghdad in May when they brought Turkey's oil minister to endorse a pipeline deal that would bring Kurdish-produced oil directly to Turkey and markets beyond. Outraged Baghdad officials said Ankara was playing a dangerous game, insisting on central government approval rights of...

Here are some commonly requested forms. Many IRS forms are available by searching on this site by the form # followed by the word "form". Example: 1040 form

David Sanger’s account of President Obama’s foreign policy contains some stunning revelations about the American role in using computer warfare to attack Iran’s nuclear program.

Russian and China pledged yesterday to increase their co-operation in the UN, as the giant neighbours try to resist mounting pressure for international action to stop the bloodshed in Syria.

Have you taken advantage of the market pullback we have experienced over the last six trading weeks? At one point, from the early-April high, the S&P 500 retrenched nearly 9 percent. Our outlook on the fundamentals in the United States has not changed as the market has fallen. We continue...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to punish Russian officials for alleged human rights abuses would badly damage U.S.-Russian ties and hurt U.S. exports, business groups said on Tuesday, two days before a key congressional panel will vote on the measure. The bill would require the United States...

Last weeks New York Times bombshell article by David Sanger claimed that President Obama secretly ordered the cyber-attacks on the computer systems that run Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities. The story tells of a significantly expanding American involvement in the sustained use of  so called cyber-weapons against other nations using the "Stuxnet" software. The story...

The Pentagon has traditionally presented cyber war as “their hackers” against “our defenders.” Out there, especially in China, a faceless horde of anonymous computer users are arrayed against the United States in an updated version of the “yellow peril.” In 2010, the Pentagon complained publicly for the...

The Obama administration has the politics of Iran wrong. It is right in understanding that another Mideast war before the presidential election would have dire electoral consequences. That is obvious. An Israeli attack on Iran or, less likely, a U.S. attack would not only threaten vital U.S.

A U.S. envoy challenged Iran on Tuesday to disprove suspicions it had worked to develop nuclear arms by throwing open a military site to U.N. inspection. He also urged Tehran to curb uranium enrichment, ...

Canada could emerge as the top three or four oil producer in the world by 2030 thanks to rising oil sands supply, according to an industry forecast which focuses more on the possibilities that lay before the Canadian oil industry rather than its substantial challenges

BEIRUT: Syria's government banned 17 Western diplomats and its helicopter gunships pounded rebels in a coastal province on Tuesday as President Bashar al-Assad defied international pressure to halt his campaign to crush the uprising against his rule.

LAGOS/ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's government has suspended the air licence of Dana Air, two days after 153 people died in the country's worst airline disaster for 20 years, the aviation ministry said on Tuesday. Related Stories Spain says markets closing, G7 takes no action Tripoli airport re-opens after Libya clashes...

Russia and China strengthen their geopolitical partnership ahead of a major meeting of Eurasia leaders. But rather than love, it may be just a marriage of convenience

Barbara Walters, the grande dame of American television news, has been forced to apologise after it emerged that she had tried to use her influence to further the career of a former leading aide of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

There are concerns in the international community that diplomatic efforts to stop the violence in Syria are failing and that the situation could spiral into all-out civil war, with consequences throughout the region. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s peace plan to end the 15-months of bloodshed, which calls for...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement Tuesday following reports that MTN evaded U.S. sanctions and engaged in corruption in Iran.

BAGHDAD, June 5 (UPI) -- Iran appears to be getting concerned about an effort to unseat Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki by rivals who say he's becoming a dictator.

Brussels (dpa) - Belgian right-wing extremist politician Filip Dewinter has offered a reward of 250 euros (310 dollars) to anybody who reports a veiled woman to the police, Belga news agency reported Tuesday.Dewinter, who was once a leading politician in the xenophobic Vlaams Belgang party, described his offer as...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's state TV reports that the European Union has ignored a request by Tehran for preparatory talks ahead of key nuclear negotiations later this month.

A simple banana smoothie gains complexity from almonds, a trio of seeds and a little spice.

The average price of Michigan gasoline fell 10 cents to $3.62 a gallon Monday from a week ago, according to AAA Michigan, following a drop in the international price of oil.

Louisiana imprisons more people per capita than any other state or country in the world. One out of every 86 adults in the state is behind bars. Times-Picayune reporter Cindy Chang says the state's correctional system has created financial incentives for local sheriffs to keep prisons full.

>Robert Wood, acting head of the U.S. mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency, also told the IAEA's 35-nation board that Iran had produced enough low-enriched uranium for several nuclear weapons if refined further to high levels."Iran has actually accelerated its production of low-enriched uranium," Wood said, according...

Russian officials have announced that there will be further delays in the full launch of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.

Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the Supreme Leader's top advisor, said on Sunday that the life sentence pronounced on former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is indicative of the fact that the United States and the Zionist regime still have influence in Egypt.

The case of second Iranian geo-park is to be put on vote to be enlisted in UNESCO World Heritage in September, said the Deputy Head of Iranian Aras Free Zone Organization for Cultural, Social and Tourism Affairs Adel Najafzadeh.

Every year in late spring, chamomile flowers blanket an area of about five thousand acres in Fandoghlou recreational area close to the city of Namin in Iran's Ardabil province. This nature's carpet of white and yellow creates the most beautiful scenery for the visitors to enjoy.

Dyax Corp. (NASDAQ: DYAX) of Burlington said today that it has given exclusive distribution rights to taiba ME to use Dyax’s Kalbitor to treat hereditary angioedema in the Middle East.

Jailed Iranian human rights activist Mohmmad Seddigh Kaboodvand is in critical condition following more than a week on a hunger strike.

Iranian police announced that people who use satellite programs to transmit their wedding films are in breach of the law and will face prosecution.

Washington, DC - On May 31st, the House of Representatives approved by voice vote an amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act by Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Barbara Lee (D-CA) aimed at highlighting the potential consequences of a war with Iran.

Oil hovered below $84 a barrel Tuesday, wavering near an eight-month low as doubts remain whether European leaders can contain the continent's debt and economic crisis.

"Flame" has incredible abilities to monitor in-boxes, take screen grabs, even record audio of conversations happening near the computer.

Authorities say they have made an arrest after a student from Iran was struck and killed by a hit-and-run vehicle while walking his bicycle across a Denver street.

LONDON (Reuters) - Kofi Annan hints his peace plan for Syria is going nowhere, but divided world powers have yet to agree on other ideas for halting the carnage or coaxing President Bashar al-Assad into talks on his political demise. Syrian rebels have abandoned any commitment to a ceasefire the...

TEHRAN, June 5 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi issued a message on Tuesday offering his condolences to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari over the killing of innocent people in Baghdad on Monday.

TEHRAN, June 5 (MNA) – Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili will visit Russia on Wednesday to participate in the third annual international conference of high-ranking security officials.

China and Russia pledged Tuesday to increase their cooperation in the United Nations, as the giant neighbours try to resist mounting pressure for international action to stop the bloodshed in Syria. China's ...

Exclusive: The hot new thing in U.S. journalism is to trace the failures of Barack Obama’s presidency to his supposed personality flaws, thus explaining why the unemployment problem has not been solved and why the Democrats are in such a political fix.

The Hawks have opened an investigation into allegations of corruption at cellphone giant MTN relating to its purchase of a mobile licence in Iran.

Several readers are aghast at my criticism of President Obama for covertly deploying the…