News Archive - 21 October 2012

>The New York Times reported, citing Obama administration officials, that the United States and Iran had agreed in principle to one-on-one negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, though the White House quickly denied the report."We don't have any discussions or negotiations with America," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said...

1st Half – Highlights   2nd Half – Highlights

>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he didn't know about any U.S. plans to talk bilaterally with Iran, saying tougher sanctions and a "credible military option" were the best ways to peacefully halt Tehran's nuclear program. The White House had earlier denied a New York...

>* Two candidates on 47 pct each in poll* Final debate loomsBy Steve Holland and Sam YoungmanDELRAY BEACH, Fla., Oct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were tied in a dead heat on Sunday with 16 days to go until the election,...

>* But says earthquake drill also useful for war readiness* Drill includes simulations of 5.4- and 7.1- scale tremorsBy Dan WilliamsJERUSALEM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Israel dropped its annual simulation of a missile attack and held its first major earthquake drill on Sunday instead, but officials insisted the...

>ABU DHABI Oct 21 (Reuters) - Seven people in Bahrain have been detained over the killing of a policeman last week, the Gulf Arab kingdom's government said on Sunday, as activists tried to break through police checkpoints around the village where he lost his life.Bahrain, which hosts the U.

>OPEC member Iraq ships most of its oil through the south, where it has recently opened new export outlets. A rise in Iraqi exports has helped offset the impact on global oil prices from Western sanctions on Iran's crude exports."Because of bad weather oil exports have been completely stopped...

>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel held its first major earthquake drill on Sunday, stepping away from simulated Iranian missile salvoes though officials insisted the country remained ready for any war with its arch-foe. Schoolchildren, civil servants and others participating in the annual "Turning Point 6" exercise were urged to flee outdoors...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney face off on Monday in their third and final debate, it will be the Republican challenger's last best chance to recover from his botched "Libya moment" and exploit vulnerabilities in his opponent's foreign policy record. But Romney has an uphill...

DELRAY Beach, Florida - Republican Mitt Romney ducked out of his debate prep huddle Sunday and hit the beach for an American football game between members of his staff and reporters on the campaign trail.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney says he hears this a lot: “When are you guys going to knock it off and start working together?”

Today is Monday, Oct. 22, the 296th day of 2012. There are 70 days left in the year.

Today is Monday, Oct. 22, the 296th day of 2012. There are 70 days left in the year.

Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras said a deputy from his centre-right party who has expressed opposition to new austerity measures is no longer part of the parliamentary group and asks that he be stripped of his party membership as well. Related Stories Reports of nuclear talks between Iran and the...

The assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya promises to play a big role in Monday's debate between President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney. But don't cringe: for all the silly gotcha moments about who cried "terror" and when, the Benghazi attack provides a chance for...

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - A car bomb killed 13 people in central Damascus on Sunday as President Bashar al-Assad told an international mediator seeking a truce in Syria's civil war that the key to any political solution was to stop arming rebels. Related Stories Protesters break into grounds of Libya's parliament...

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talked about Monday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- The US and Iran have for the first time agreed in principle to one-on-one negotiations over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme.

Smiling shyly, Wassan Saleh admitted to being the face of a vast problem across Iraq's bureaucracy that officials are now trying to remedy: she had never used a computer.

The still-birth of a baby on a French motorway has started a political row over cuts in medical care in a country often said to have one of the best health systems in the world. Related Stories Three killed in US spa shooting Gunman sought after spa shooting Spa shooting...

Shimmering on the horizon of the otherwise dark landscape of Iran's stand-off with the West over its uranium enrichment programme were reports yesterday that Tehran and Washington had secretly agreed to hold direct negotiations after the US elections. Related Stories Three killed in US spa shooting Gunman sought after spa...

GAZA (Reuters) - The emir of pro-Western Qatar will become the first head of state to enter the blockaded Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in a high-profile visit breaking the isolation of the Iranian-backed Islamist movement Hamas that seized power in 2007.

Diplomacy » Obama backer says sanctions starting to bite; Romney supporter calls it “ploy by the Iranians” to buy time for nuke program.

While foreign policy became an unexpected pivotal point in last week's town-hall style presidential debate, Monday's final showdown will focus entirely on international affairs.

Before the third presidential debate takes place Monday night, candidates Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney will be sharpening their knowledge on foreign policy. This will be the only topic of the last debate this election year. The main foreign focus of last Tuesday’s debate was the attack in Libya,...

>* Israel deputy PM says believes U.S. denialBy Ori LewisJERUSALEM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he didn't know about any U.S. plans to talk bilaterally with Iran, saying tougher sanctions and a "credible military option" were the best ways to peacefully halt...

(CNN) - While foreign policy became an unexpected pivotal point in last week's town-hall style presidential debate, Monday's final showdown will focus entirely on international affairs. And with the U.S. government knee-deep in an investigation of its handling of the Benghazi consulate attacks and as reports emerge of planned...

In 2006, almost 250 years after it first opened in London, Christie’s opened its first Middle Eastern office, in Dubai.

# election2012 Proving once again that close access to politicians doesn't result in favoritism or any other blurring of professional responsibility, members of the media covering the Romney campaign played a fun little game of flag football with Romney's staff on Sunday. Such fun! Many hilarious jokes were made. More »

PARIS: When Canada’s ambassador to China posted photos of his car on the embassy’s Twitter-like weibo page, the instant, mass response boosted his country’s image in a way that surely stunned many diplomats.

The celebrities have performed their red-carpet pirouettes, the reels unwound and rewound and the filmmakers gestured thankfully.

(CNN) - Monday's debate focuses on foreign policy and national security. The debate commission announced that the main topics will be: Afghanistan and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, "The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism," and "The Rise of China and Tomorrow's World. Ahead of the debate, here's...

The unrepentant neo-cons and backbenchers on Mitt Romney's foreign policy team, such as Dan Senor and Cofer Black, always advise their candidate to attack signs of "weakness" coming from President Obama. The Administration's announcement of direct talks between the U.S. and Iran should be welcomed as good news...

Nuclear Talks with Iran were denied by the Obama administration after the New York Times published a story saying that White House officials were preparing for a "last-ditch diplomatic effort" to "avert . . .

Unlike the second debate in New York wherein the questions were asked by a select group of audience, at Boca Raton in Florida, the moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS news would be asking questions in a structured format.

With the election just over two weeks away, and a crucial debate just a day away, a new poll shows Republican challenger Mitt Romney has erased President Obama’s lead nationally and is running dead-even with him.

Republican Mitt Romney is refusing to say if he would be open to one-on-one talks with Iran if elected president.

In the Lebanese village of Mleeta, Hezbollah displays war booty captured from Israeli soldiers at a shrine to showcase the group’s rise from obscurity in 1982 to the country’s most influential force.

Iran and the United States have denied any deal has been reached for one-on-one nuclear talks

CBS News' sage journalist Bob Schieffer will be moderating Monday night's foreign policy debate, where Middle East issues will surely grab their share of headlines. From my current vantage point, traveling in the Middle East this week, I hope his no-nonsense, get-to-the-point reputation will compel both candidates to shed...

A Syrian man looks at a damaged cars at the site after a car bomb attack in Bab Touma neighborhood, a popular shopping district largely inhabited by Syria's Christian minority in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. A taxi rigged with explosives blew up outside a police station in the...

WASHINGTON — One day out from their last debate, Republican Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are cramming foreign policy and taking a rare break from swing-state campaigning.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The fourth "Paranormal Activity" fright flick crept into the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office with $30.2 million (18.8 million pounds) in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales. Iran hostage thriller "Argo" earned $16.6 million and took second place, studio estimates...

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney face off in their third and final prime time debate on Monday in the critical swing state of Florida as each man looks for the knockout punch that could break their dead heat in the polls with just two weeks until election...

ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has reported an infiltration attempt by Iran. In the first such statement in decades, the Saudi Coast Guard said it captured an Iranian boat that brought infiltrators to the kingdom.

Neighbors of a pregnant woman found stabbed to death in her New York City apartment the day before her wedding say she had only moved in a few weeks ago.

Multiple people were wounded in a shooting near a suburban Milwaukee shopping mall on Sunday, and deputies were still looking for the gunman.

Jordan says authorities have arrested 11 suspected al-Qaida-linked militants for allegedly planning to attack shopping malls and Western diplomatic missions in the country.

Anyone who drove along Salaheddin main street connecting North and South Gaza Strip this week had to be very patient after making several stops to allow ambulances to ferry the dead and injured quickly.

What does sending a spy drone over Israeli airspace mean in terms of regional politics and the possible confrontation with Israel?

Russia is expected to take steps over the next few weeks that some Syrian opposition figures and western diplomats see as signs of a shift in the country's position on the crisis in Syria.

(Reuters) - Here is a look back at events in Lebanon after the country buried slain intelligence officer Wissam al-Hassan amid violent clashes between protesters who want Prime Minister Najib Mikati to quit and security forces. Hassan led the investigation into the 2005 bombing which killed former Prime Minister Rafik...

French FM: Iran appears on track to reach nuclear weapons capability by mid-2013

The demise of the secular autocratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa as a result of the Arab Spring has heralded a renaissance for the Islamist parties in the region, igniting a rivalry for the hearts and minds of the Sunni world between the Gulf powers of Saudi...

Some six million patients in Iran are affected by Western economic sanctions as import of medicine is becoming increasingly difficult, a governmental paper reported Sunday quoting a health official.

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Sunday appealed to both sides in Syria's conflict to cease fire for a Muslim holiday this week after meeting President Bashar al-Assad, even as a deadly blast rocked Damascus.

A powerful explosion hit Damascus on Sunday, killing 10 people on a day when the U.N. peace envoy was visiting the Syrian capital for talks with President Bashar Assad on the crisis. An...

Two US sailors are expected to receive administrative punishments, but not be criminally charged, in connection with the prostitution scandal involving US Secret Service in Colombia earlier this year.

An explosion has hit the Old City of Damascus, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens of other civilians, Syrian activists said. Related Stories Roads closed around Lebanon in protest against bombing Bus crash in Iran kills 26 schoolgirls Israel intercepts Gaza-bound boat Beirut boosts security ahead of funeral...

>* Israeli Vice PM says any talks must halt Iranian bombBy Ori LewisJERUSALEM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Israel's vice prime minister said on Sunday he would welcome direct talks between the United States and Iran if they were aimed at halting what Israel sees as plans by the Islamic Republic...

Paris, Oct 21 (AFP) Middle Eastern oil and gas companies have been targeted in massive attacks on their computer networks in an increasingly open cyber war where a new virus was discovered just this past week.

A non-partisan coalition of the NAACP, the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, the Ten Point Coalition and other local faith-based organizations has launched an Early Voting Faith-Based Campaign. The goal

Beijing — In the narrative of U.S. presidential politics, China is a Hollywood villain, a monetary cheat that is stealing American jobs.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, who is pressing for a temporary ceasefire in Syria's civil war, met President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Sunday, state television said. Related Stories Argentine leader orders evacuation of ship seized in Ghana With Romney closing in, Obama to launch swing state blitz...

The United States released a rebuttal appeared previously in media reports about the beginning of bilateral talks with Iran on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. The White House Press Office stressed that the dialogue with Iran will continue within the group “5 +1″.

A moderate earthquake has rattled a coastal area of central California with hundreds of residents reporting feeling the temblor.

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Suddenly, Republican Mitt Romney has a viable path to victory in the tight battle for the White House. Democratic President Barack Obama still appears to have the upper hand in the state-by-state fight to cobble together the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency in the...