News Archive - 5 October 2012

تمرینات کروش برای شکست دادن کره جنوبی فوتبال ملی – کارلوس کروش سرمربی تیم ملی فوتبال ایران شاگردانش را تمرین می‌دهد تا آن‌ها را آماده بازی با کره جنوبی کند. به گزارش خبرآنلاین؛ بازی تیم های ملی ایران و کره جنوبی سه شنبه 25 مهر در ورزشگاه آزادی تهران برگزار...

>ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT Oct 5 (Reuters) - Progress in Afghanistan has cost thousands of military lives and it would be helpful if Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed gratitude for that sacrifice, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday, bluntly rejecting the Afghan leader's recent criticism...

>* UN's Ban says sanctions boost unemployment, inflation* Western envoys: Iran not serious about negotiationsBy Michelle Nichols and Louis CharbonneauUNITED NATIONS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - International sanctions on Iran are having "significant" effects on the Iranian people and also appear to be harming humanitarian operations in the country, U.N.

>* Governments weigh costs and benefits of trade embargo* New steps expected by Oct. 15By Justyna PawlakBRUSSELS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The European Union has begun discussing the possibility of a broad trade embargo against Iran, moving beyond the web of energy, business and financial restrictions imposed so far, in...

>* Currency has collapsed in past week* More price rises feared when Tehran bazaar reopensBy Marcus GeorgeDUBAI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Iran will defeat a "conspiracy" against its foreign currency and gold markets, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday, as pressure mounts on authorities to...

>Riot police fought demonstrators and arrested money changers in and around the bazaar on Wednesday during demonstrations triggered by the collapse of the rial, which has lost around a third of its value against the dollar over the last week.Protesters called President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a traitor because of what...

>* Aimed at pressuring Iran to rein in nuclear programBy Roberta RamptonWASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Lawmakers in the U.S. Congress are looking at ways to expand economic sanctions on Iran, measures that have helped push the country's currency into free fall but have not yet pressured Tehran to...

1. What happened 100 years ago?

Mainers are paying more – 18 cents more than the average price at this time last year – despite a sharp drop in demand and a relatively stable supply.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Friday said Russia supports Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and Indian lobbying cannot succeed in impeding the rapidly improving Pak-Russia relations.

For the last nine months, India and Iran have been exchanging official delegations for export of Indian wheat, while not a single gram has been shipped out.

Heating oil prices are up this year, but oil use in Maine is going down.

JAKARTA, Oct 6 — While the world watches China’s economy stabilise and her government taking necassary measures to ensure her growth, Malaysia seems to be neither nor there. This could be a judgment call on the part of the average Malaysian businessman and professional, as they sieve through Malaysian politics...

Commentary | Christened Benjamin Géza Affleck-Bold, but more commonly known by his other moniker, Ben Affleck is the name on most film critics’ lips right now. After a rapturous reception for the Affleck directed (and acted in) Argo at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Oscar talk is rife,...

There's a disconnect between Syria's thriving capital and other parts of the country where fighting, death and destruction are a part of daily life, says CNN's Nic Robertson.

The Post is taking a comprehensive look at the positions of President Obama and Mitt Romney on several key issues. For an interactive experience including polling, quotes and the ability to choose which candidate better represents your views, visit the Post’s Issue Engine . Read full article >>

The fall in the Iranian rial over the past year is the result of Tehran's economic mismanagement and sanctions imposed over its disputed nuclear programme, the US Treasury's David Cohen said.

Economists in India have a strange fascination for dyads. In the post-Independence period and well into the nineties, the two major constraints seen as yoking the economy into a permanent ‘Hindu’ rate of growth were foreign exchange and food.

Mitt Romney will give what's billed as a major foreign policy speech Monday at the Virginia Military Institute. In the words of his campaign, Romney plans to offer a stark contrast between his vision for a strong foreign policy and the failed record of President Obama. Romney will pay special...

Commander gives al-Assad regime 48 hours to withdraw forces from embattled Eastern Ghuta area

Signs are growing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will call parliamentary elections as early as February, months ahead of schedule in a bid to capitalize on a wave of popularity and a fragmented opposition to guarantee his hold on...

News items from around the world

Message of the day: “We were listening about EI.” Questions not answered... Will the

A former Manitoba First Nations chief is heading to Iran on a human rights mission, just as the federal government asks Canadians to avoid travel to the nation.

On Thursday, the Iranian Minister of Defense and his Iraqi counterparts, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and Saadoun al-Dulaimi, respectively, signed a document of bilateral cooperation in the defense field.

Venezuelans are heading to the polls in what is considered one of Latin America’s most important elections in years. After 14 years in power, the polarizing and controversial socialist President Hugo Chávez faces his toughest challenger yet -- the center-right candidate Henrique Capriles.

U.S. Coast Guard officials in Hawaii say fishermen have found a 16-foot Japanese skiff swept out to sea by last year's tsunami and brought it to Honolulu.

Crude-oil futures fell 2% Friday, ending a week of big price swings, as the threat of gasoline-supply problems and refinery shutdowns raised new concerns about oil demand.

Brazil's finance minister Guido Mantega coined the term "currency wars", referring to the situation where various countries make efforts to weaken their currency, thus supporting local exports but also shifting the pain to others, a "beggar thy neighbor" policy.

Five examples of global flashpoints that make more sense when seen through the prism of geography

Costa Rican women are appealing to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to overturn a national law banning in-vitro fertilization.

Iran will defeat a “conspiracy” against its foreign currency and gold markets, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said yesterday, as pressure mounts on authorities to deal with the rapid collapse of the rial.

The plunge of the rial, Iran's currency, has been breathtaking. In 2010, it traded for about 10,000 for one U.S. dollar. Now, the Iranian government, its dollar earnings halved by the economic sanctions the United States and its allies imposed (supplementing those adopted in the United Nations) to...

* Brent premium to U.S. crude hits highest since Oct 2011 * U.S. jobless rate falls to near four-year low * Supportive U.S. data offset by weak China, Europe reports * Coming up: API oil stocks data 4:30 ...

"American capitalism must open up ways for itself through the length and breadth of our entire planet... A high coefficient of productivity denotes also a high coefficient of destruction" -- Leon Trotsky

President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi has accused Iran of backing a faction of Yemen’s southern separatist movement seeking to secede by force, a newspaper reported Friday.

Presidential adviser Seif Abdel-Fattah, quoted this week as saying Egypt is considering military intervention in Syria, insists his words were taken out of context.

In Cairo last week, a senior security officer issued an Egyptian entry visa to an Iranian for three weeks in order to allow him to marry the Egyptian woman who had accepted his proposal of marriage.

Early this week the Shura Council asked the government to issue new regulations to protect more Egypt's archaeological heritage from illicit theft, smuggling and encroachment. The request came during a periodical meeting between the council and the Committee of Culture, Tourism and Media (CCTM).

What do ordinary Arabs think? Let’s ask them On Wednesday, I went to hear Ayman Mohyeldin, the Cairo correspondent for Al Jazeera English, speak at the office of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Samas, Syria • Majed al-Muhammad, the commander of a Syrian anti-government fighting group, slammed his hand on his desk. "Doesn’t America have satellites?" he asked, almost shouting. "Can’t it see what is happening?"

Key officials of some Islamic countries in the Middle East have been visiting each other a lot recently. Most of these visits are enveloped in an air of caution; they invariably are billed as "unofficial" and media coverage is restricted.

Editors representing many Asian newspapers stood in a perfect line. They were nervous and giddy at the prospect of meeting Li Changchun, China's powerful member of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee.

As the violent anti-American protests in the Muslim world subside, those in the region and in the U.S. are wondering whether the upheaval will have a permanent effect.

MADRID: Spain gave the final green light Friday for the US navy to deploy four ships equipped with missile interceptors in its territory as part of NATO's ballistic defence shield.

CFR's " Crisis Guide: Iran " won an Emmy Award in the category of "New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming: Current News Coverage." CFR was selected above five top media organizations in that category: ABCNews.com, NYTimes.com, NBC, Al Jazeera English, and Globeandmail.com.

Kaká has earned a recall to the Brazil squad, cracking the team for the first time since the World Cup. Paulo Henrique Ganso isn't playing, and apparently Hernanes and Bruno Cesar aren't on Mano Manezes' radar screen. He should back up Oscar over Brazil's next two games, which take place...

Should we abandon our rights? To the Editor, There have been letters on this page and in other periodicals comparing an anti-Islam video to — in Justice Holmes’ famous dictum — “shouting fire in a crowded theater.” In essence, these letter writers are saying we should abandon our First...

WASHINGTON — Fifty-two years ago, during the first televised U.S. presidential debate, an ailing Richard Nixon perspired so profusely that it was thought to have played a role in his defeat to John F. Kennedy.

Not just in terms of structure, but more importantly in terms of brains. Bees are the next-gen weapons, for delivery of military payloads, reconnaissance and surveillance.

The action comedy, produced by Windy City native Tom Rosenberg, will open the fest on Oct. 11. read more

LIMA: US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Friday voiced frustration at Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the latter’s preference to “criticize” American troops, instead of acknowledging the sacrifices they made.

While most media attention focused on the cartoon bomb presented by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, something even more newsworthy passed almost without notice: Netanyahu made it clear that he has endorsed U.S. President Barack Obama's policy on Iran.

New York - The collapse of the Iranian currency by one-third of its value over a week will leave an impact on Iran's nuclear and strategic ambitions - especially through the gateway of Syria. Russia may thus find itself in need of salvaging its Iranian ally for numerous reasons,...

Energy markets remain on high alert over a rumored White House plan to tap the country?s 695-million-barrel emergency oil stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Spot oil prices have fallen sharply since mid-September (down 6%), taking the edge off the market somewhat. But that price slide does...

Iran's claim that its domestic Internet system suffered a slowdown from a heavy cyberattack is possible, but knowing for sure would require a lot more details, experts say.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Dozens of asylum seekers have defied an order restricting their freedom of movement and marched 500 km through Germany to protest against what they say is inhumane treatment by the authorities. The marchers, from Africa, Asia and Latin America, danced across Berlin's city limits on Friday carrying...

Turkey can show its power but must remain on the path of reason when it comes to Syria, says DW's Baha Güngör. Assad's end is inevitable, while Russia and Iran represent wild cards, he adds.

By The Associated Press A selection of issues at stake in the presidential election and their impact on Americans, in brief:

Search our Archives! Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will decide before parliament reconvenes on October 15 on whether to seek a snap election, a government official said on Friday.

Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami says the global arrogance will fail in its ‘all-out economic war’ against Iran as the Islamic Republic has proven that it will not yield to pressure.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A young American shot and killed a chef at a hotel in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat Friday, before forces from an anti-terror unit shot the gunman dead, police said. The incident appeared to be based on a personal dispute.

World oil prices continued to slide on Friday, despite upbeat non-farm payrolls data in the United States, as the market was dogged by worries over weak global demand, dealers said. Brent North Sea crude ...

Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Co. (IOEC) built the platform in the Khoramshahr yard south of Tehran. It weighs 3,260 tons (2,957 metric tons) and is 4,410 sq m (47,469 sq ft). The structure includes a tripod jacket, a middle deck, and a flare.

An African mosquito species with a deadly capacity to transmit malaria has a perplexing evolutionary history, according to discovery by researchers at the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech.

Search our Archives! Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will decide before parliament reconvenes on October 15 on whether to seek a snap election, a government official said on Friday.

Oct. 5, 2012, 6 p.m. | Op-ed — by Michael Hammerschlag Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama shake hands on Oct. 3 after the first presidential debate at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado.

Several weeks ago, the platinum producing company that started it all (after police killed 34 of its striking workers at its Marikana South African mine) Lonmin, conceded and agreed to a 22% wage hike . In doing so it once again proved that in game theory he who defects first, defects...

>Iranian politicians and officials have often said Iran could block the strait - the neck of the Gulf through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports passes - in response to sanctions or military action by the United States and its allies intended to stop Tehran developing a...

Read full story for latest details.

U.S. stocks were set to open higher Friday as investors anxiously await the monthly U.S. jobs report.

Read full story for latest details.

In the run-up to this year’s Venezuelan election, one thing is clear. The incumbent, Hugo Chavez, may lose this time. Indeed he probably lost in 1998, 2000, 2005 and every election contested. At least that’s what we can judge from British news media coverage.

Oil Futures Pare Losses on Jobs Report

John Moore: A guy barely in his forties with four scant years in parliament thinks he can be PM? Is he serious? I'm speaking, of course, about Stephen Harper, circa 2002

At this time of year, when the wintersport season starts on these pages, some distant resorts can usually be relied upon to herald the event with a light dusting of snow on high ground. Several in the western states of the US have obliged, one of them with a display...

The state's two major-party candidates for the U.S. Senate tussled Thursday over whose policies would be better for the middle class in the first of three scheduled debates before their Nov. 6 election.

London, Oct. 5 (ANI): The US government-appointed body, which oversees the Voice of America and other US-sponsored broadcasts, has accused Iran of jamming radio and television programming in the Middle East and eastern Europe amid protests in Iran over the Iranian currency crisis.

WASHINGTON, Oct 4 ( Reuters ) - The head of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Thursday that significant new cyber threats to U.S. financial networks appeared to be emerging from an "unusual" source.

Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi has won grudging respect from detractors in his first 100 days by sending the army back to barracks faster than anyone expected and raising Egypt's international profile in several newsmaking visits abroad.

Iranian officials reportedly offered a nine-step plan to defuse the nuclear crisis with the West that was rejected by U.S. officials.

Crude Ticks Lower as Volatility Eases

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) - For Misrata shopkeeper Akram Abdesalam Sider, there is only one way Libya's leaders should deal with the former Muammar Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid - attack it. Related Stories Iraq provincial elections planned for April South Africa strikes deepen, Shell declares force majeure Two suspects held...

The French diplomatic genius Charles Maurice de Talleyrand once said: "It was worse than a crime; it was a mistake." This is perhaps the best way to describe the US State Department's recent decision to take the Mujahadeen-e-Khalq (MEK) off its notorious list of 52 foreign terrorist organizations.

Oct 5 (Reuters) - OPEC's reference crude oil basket pricefell to further to $106.99 a barrel on Thursday, down from$107.08, OPEC said on Friday. http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/923.htm The reference basket comprises 12 crudes: Algeria's SaharanBlend, Angola's Girassol, Iran Heavy, Iraq's Basra Light, KuwaitExport, Es Sider from Libya,...

Afghanistan's world-famous carpet industry in decline

The freefall of Iran's currency, the rial, has triggered fears of hyperinflation in the Islamic Republic.

Recent border violence between Turkey and Syria endangers the lives of the nine Lebanese pilgrims still being held captive in Syria, a Shiite preacher following up on their case says.

JERUSALEM - Waving blue and white Israeli flags, thousands of evangelical Christians from around the world filled streets of downtown Jerusalem on Thursday in a show of support for the Jewish state.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi says the convergence between the Islamic Republic and Turkey in the international arena has always been influential and served the two countries’ interests.

PETALING JAYA -- Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said allegations of a civil servant having received bribes from Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) in return for national secrets will be investigated.

The cargoes are being transported under Iranian insurance cover to avoid sanctions, refining and government sources said.