News Archive - 18 August 2012

>In some case, Iraqi government officials are turning a blind eye to trade with Iran, while other officials in Baghdad are directly profiting from the activities -- with several of them having close ties to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the Times said.U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged...

>The U.S. Justice Department and the Manhattan District Attorney's office are investigating the banks for allegedly using U.S. branches to move billions of dollars in Iran-linked transactions, according to the report, citing unnamed law enforcement officials.The investigation into Deutsche Bank is at an early stage and so...

>* Comes as U.S. says worried about jailing of activist* Shi'ite Muslim majority says marginalised, govt deniesDUBAI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - A 16-year-old protester was killed after what opposition activists in Bahrain said was a "brutal attack" by security forces, but which the Bahrain government described as a defensive...

Syria may now have become the main arena in a Middle East proxy war, but the threat posed to the Lebanese is no less real Of all Arab states, little Lebanon has always been the most exposed to the influences of larger ones. Once the playground of the Arabs, it...

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says the Islamic Republic will send humanitarian aid to the Rohingya Muslims, who have been subjected to violence in Myanmar.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has urged Muslims of the world to remain vigilant against the ever-complicating conspiracies of the enemies of the Islamic Ummah.

(MENAFN - Arab News) US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is right when he says that Israel has not yet made up its mind about whether or not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. The question is: What ...

(MENAFN - Arab News) A two-month-old news report has resurfaced again making headlines. Iraq has overtaken Iran as OPEC's second top oil producer, according to the International Energy Agency ...

Time for a Shock Doctrine Crisis Courtesy of  Russ Winter of Winter Watch at Wall Street Examiner "Only a crisis, real or perceived produces real change." -- Milton Friedman The global elite plutocrats may seek a "crisis" to push the presidential election toward the challenger. There are numerous ways to...

An internal Army survey of nearly 17,000 officers and enlisted soldiers found that three-quarters of them do not agree that the nation’s largest military branch is headed in the right direction, citing ineffective leadership and an inability to retain the best and the brightest after a decade of war. The...

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard defended her decision to send asylum-seekers arriving by boat to Pacific islands, saying it was a "tough" policy but could save lives.

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Common supervision of European banks, possibly by the European Central Bank, would help restore confidence and protect the financial system, ECB Governing Council member Panicos Demetriades was quoted on Sunday as saying. Related Stories Deutsche Bank investigated in U.S. over Iran - New York Times French...

Iraq has been helping Iran get round the economic sanctions imposed internationally over its controversial nuclear programme, a report by The New York Times claims.

The United Nations top official in Iraq Saturday hailed the announcement of a further transfer of Iranian exiles currently located in a camp outside of the capital, Baghdad.

Iraq has been helping Iran skirt economic sanctions imposed because of its nuclear program, using a network of financial institutions and oil-smuggling operations that are providing Tehran with a crucial flow of dollars, the New York Times said on Saturday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Insurer Prudential Financial Inc. has emerged as the top bidder for the individual life insurance business of rival The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc, a sale that could be worth roughly $1 billion, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. Related Stories UK raised EADS offshore payments concern in 2008...

The EU foreign policy chief said yesterday that comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called Israel a “cancerous tumour” with no place in a future Middle East, were “outrageous and hateful”.

The Iranians have always marked their version of Jerusalem Day, which fell on Friday, with warlike declarations, but this time they, and Hezbollah, raised the volume in response to Netanyahu's threats to strike Iran.

The Iranian president was addressing worshippers at Tehran University after nationwide pro-Palestinian rallies, an annual event marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

From RUEBEN DUDLEY, Petaling Jaya.

Peace broke out in Toronto Saturday afternoon when competing ideas and raised voices were the only exchanges in an ongoing annual meeting of ideologies.

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi is to visit Iran to attend meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement at the end of August, state media report.

BEIRUT (AP) — Not long ago, Arabs everywhere listened when the leader of Hezbollah spoke. Sheik Hassan Nasrallah's prominence, bolstered by his Lebanese guerrilla force's battles against Israel, was a sign of the rising regional influence of Shiite Muslims and overwhelmingly Shiite Iran. Now, his speeches don't necessarily make front...

ADEN (Reuters) - A Yemeni southern secessionist leader who was arrested upon arrival in Aden from Britain on Wednesday said on Saturday he had been released by the security forces. Related Stories Russia's Pussy Riot protesters jailed for two years Bahraini teenager killed in clash with police Tropical Storm Helene...

MARIO Bonleon and Jay Alejandro fueled a huge fourth-quarter run as the Energen Pilipinas under-18 team blasted Kazakhstan, 83-69, for its second straight win in the 22nd Fiba Asia U18 Championship yesterday in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives at the Birmingham Shuttlesworth International airport in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday.

An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would unleash a crisis that would quickly escalate beyond the two countries.

Surprisingly playing cohesively despite being together for just over two weeks, Smart Gilas-Pilipinas got off to a solid 34th Jones Cup start Saturday night with an 88-78 decision of Jordan at Taipei PE College gym here.

Presenting an eclectic mix of "David Citations" for the interesting, inspiring, weird and just plain zany in sports: OLYMPIC ATHLETE YOU DIDN'T HEAR MUCH ABOUT AND DON'T BOTHER WITH SPELL CHECK: Iran's Saeid Mohommadpourkarkaragh.

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian presidential official says President Mohammed Morsi will attend a summit of non-aligned nations in Iran end of the month, in first such visit in decades.

ReportsnReports.com adds “Emerging Nuclear Power Countries - Market Analysis, Policy Analysis and Forecasts to 2030” to its store. (PRWeb August 18, 2012) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/emerging-nuclear-power/countries-market/prweb9811022.htm

>MENA quoted sources at the Egyptian presidency saying on Saturday that Mursi "will participate in the summit" on his way back from China.A spokesman for Mursi was not immediately available for comment. Egyptian media reports have suggested Mursi might send his newly appointed deputy, Mahmoud Mekki, instead.Since Egypt's...

ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) - Syria denied opposition claims Saturday that top regime official Vice President Faruq al-Shara had defected as its armed forces pounded rebels in several key flashpoints across the country.

Tehran (dpa) - An Israeli strike would offer Iran a golden opportunity to eliminate its sworn enemy, a commander of Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said Saturday."If the leaders of the Zionist regime realized their threats against Iran, then it would be the best occasion to once and for all...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Gunmen killed six people in Iraq on Saturday, raiding two homes in a northern city in yet another bout of violence to strike the country in what has become a particularly bloody month.

Assad's regime is under extreme economic pressure, while a second UN envoy is appointed. This does not mean, however, that the sides are ready for a solution.

CAIRO - An Egyptian presidential official says President Mohammed Morsi will attend a summit of non-aligned nations in Iran end of the month, in the first such visit in decades. The visit could mark a thaw in relations between Egypt and Iran after years of enmity, especially since Egypt signed

George Jonas: Freedom of speech isn’t my guarantee of being heard. I can’t make my freedom your obligation

Now, the Palestinians are on their own; each Arab country is busy with its own crisis and has put the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on hold. I have been exposed to Palestinians since I was in first grade in Al- Hassa, Saudi Arabia.

Chennai, Aug 18 (IANS) Hosts India 'A' came up with an inspired show to defeat Kazakhastan 3-1 in the eighth round of the Tata 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind here Saturday.

The newspaper reported that in Turkey the Syrian refugees continue to arrive. Cross the border every day from five hundred to a thousand people. Many sick and wounded. On the border are on duty ambulances.

“English has gained importance next to one’s own regional language as it is considered as an effective communication tool in today’s globalised world. So learn English for employability reasons and...

A senior Iranian commander says a possible Israeli airstrike against his country's nuclear facilities is "welcome" because it would give Iran a reason to retaliate and "get rid of" the Jewish state "forever."

An Iranian opposition organisation said on Saturday it is ready to move another group of its Iraq-based members to a new site near Baghdad after a delay which has dragged on for several months.

The conspiratorial and hostile policy of the Turkish state against the neighboring countries reached its peak

Mumbai, Aug 18 (ANI): The Parsis celebrated Navroze that marks the Zoroastrian New Year, with customary fervour and enthusiasm here on Saturday.

A senior Iranian commander has warned that if Israel translates his threats into action for attacking Iran, it will be the end of the fake Israeli regime.

The United Nations  has confirmed that veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi will become the new international mediator on Syria, as the 17-month-old conflict slides deeper into civil war and refugees flee to Turkey in increasing numbers.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sharply rebuked Iran's supreme leader and president Friday, describing their latest anti-Israel rhetoric as "offensive and inflammatory." At a rally Friday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad told thousands of screaming worshipers at Tehran University that a new Middle East would have no trace of Americans...

A former deputy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a military attack against Iran over its nuclear energy program will drag Tel Aviv into the vortex of a disastrous war.

CRISES are normally short, sharp and intense affairs. Israel’s predicament has developed on a different time frame, is more diffuse than most crises, and has not reached a decisive and intense moment. But it is still a crisis. It is not a crisis solely about Iran, although the Israeli government...

Shiite militant group Hezbollah has threatened to transform the lives of Israelis to "hell" if Israel attacks Lebanon. "Hezbollah cannot destroy Israel but we can transform the lives of millions of Zionists in occupied Palestine into a real hell,"Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has declared, as cited by The Washington...

TREE huggers, animal lovers and conservationists from many parts of the world mourned the passing of Rodrigo U. Fuentes, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), on August 13. Even the skies shed buckets of tears when the conservation advocate passed away after a bout with cancer. “The...

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the Islamic Republic has no plan to reinstate its ambassador to Manama following Bahrain’s move to send back its envoy to Tehran.

Controversial model Gehna Vasisth was arrested today morning by the Pune Police from her residence at Oshiwara near Lokhandwala in suburban Mumbai and taken to the Deccan Gymkhana Police Station where an FIR has been registered against her for insulting the national flag under the National Flag Act.

A 16-year-old Bahrain protester has died after what opposition activists said was a "brutal attack" by security forces, but the Bahrain government described as a defensive response to a petrol bomb attack on police.

August 18, 2012: Iran is taking some advice from its ally North Korea and cutting government agencies off from the Internet. This will be done by establishing an intranet. This is an Internet that is used only within Iranian government offices and the homes of some senior officials.