News Archive - 14 November 2012

>* Netanyahu signals readiness to fight on; Egypt incensedBy Nidal al-MughrabiGAZA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Israel exchanged the fiercest fire with Hamas in years after assassinating its military mastermind and threatening a wider offensive in the Gaza Strip to stem Palestinian rocket salvoes.Launched on Wednesday during a deceptive lull...

>* President sees window of time for diplomacy* Syria umbrella group is legitimate, but not an exile governmentBy Paul EckertWASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he will renew efforts for a diplomatic resolution to Iran's suspected attempt to build a nuclear weapon, but denied...

>The forward darted ahead of his marker to poke home Server Djeparov's brilliant free kick in the 71st minute to silence the passionate crowd in Tehran and dent the hosts' chances of a place in Brazil.The Uzbeks went top of Group A of Asian qualifying with eight points from...

>* May be waiting to step up output of 20 percent uranium* Some sensitive nuclear material used for reactor fuel* But Western diplomat says this is "beside the point"By Fredrik DahlVIENNA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Iran is believed to have increased the number of centrifuges in an underground nuclear plant...

The European Union on Wednesday denounced Iran 's "deliberate jamming" of television and radio satellite broadcasts that deprive its citizens of access to free information, and called on Tehran to abide by global telecommunications laws.

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States declined to follow France in fully recognizing a fledgling Syrian opposition coalition on Wednesday, saying the body must prove its worth, after its predecessor was dogged by feuding and accusations of Islamist domination. Syria decried the new grouping, which it said had closed the...

With the election now over, President Barack Obama will be forced to turn his attention back to the prickly and unpredictable foreign policy challenge posed by the Middle East. Mr Obama's election victory in November 2008 was viewed optimistically by some as a watershed moment for U.S. ties...

Russia's representative in international talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, Sergei Ryabkov, met Tehran 's top negotiator on a surprise visit on Wednesday, news agencies reported.

Iran 's war games are an often entertaining look at repackaged military technology presented like it's the latest gear. Now in the latest round of Iranian exercises being carried out this week, the Mullahs are showing off a new attack hovercraft that can launch drones and missiles, or so Tehran...

Everyone's got a drone, or so it seems. It wasn't long ago that the U.S. had a monopoly on drones, but that is no longer the case. In fact, Israel -- not the U.S. -- is reportedly the world's largest exporter of drones, selling Unmanned Aerial Vehicles...

Obama says there is still time to resolve nuclear impasse with Iran diplomatically

Iran stressed on Monday that any decision to hold direct talks with the United States on Tehran 's disputed nuclear programme would have to be taken by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei .

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Iran said it would set up an embassy in Mogadishu and Turkey promised to rebuild Somalia's parliament building, as the two neighbors, at odds over Syria, vied for influence in the Horn of Africa country. Somalia has been mired in violence, Islamist militancy and grinding poverty since...

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday the age of nuclear deterrence was long gone and any country still stockpiling nuclear weapons was "mentally retarded". He again denied Iran was trying to develop nuclear weapons, a day after the re-election victory of U.S. President...

TEHRAN - Amid growing and increasingly harsh criticism of his handling of the economy, talk of the removal of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has regained momentum in the country in recent weeks.

>"I will try to make a push in the coming months to see if we can open up a dialogue between Iran and - not just us but the international community - to see if we can get this thing resolved," he said."We're not going let Iran get a...

A stunning 30-metre strike by Qatar striker Sebastian Soria lit up a game of poor quality as the hosts edged past Lebanon 1-0 in World Cup qualifying.

(Reuters) - A stunning 30-metre strike by Qatar striker Sebastian Soria lit up a game of poor quality as the hosts edged past Lebanon 1-0 in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday. The Urugu...

Iran's envoy to the United Nations says the US unilateral trade sanctions against various countries including Cuba violate international law, urging Washington to commit to the UN resolutions for ending the embargo against Havana.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian authorities have arrested seven people suspected of involvement in the death of a blogger in police custody, a lawmaker said on Wednesday. In a case that sparked international outrage, 35-year-old Sattar Beheshti who wrote a blog critical of the government was arrested on October 30 after...

U.S. Stocks Fall on Geopolitical Concerns

TEHRAN, Iran - A senior Russian diplomat is urging convening of new talks over Iran's nuclear program to break...

Dear Editor, When cartoonist Paul Conrad dedicated the “Chain Reaction” sculpture to the city of Santa Monica in 1990, the Berlin Wall had just fallen, the Soviet Union was dissolving, but we still had thousands of nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert – despite the fact that scientists had concluded...

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vvbfrf/2q12_iran_mobile) has announced the addition of IE Market Research Corp's new report "2Q12 Iran Mobile Operator Forecast, 2012 - 2016" to their offering. Mobile Operator Forecast on Iran provides key operational and financial metrics for Iran's wireless market and is one of the best...

GHNS -- So General David Petraeus pulled a President Clinton, of sorts, and now he’s paying for it, though the victims here may go beyond the principle players.

>* Legal suits in event of spill seen taking yearsBy Jonathan Saul and Myles NeliganLONDON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - A ban on European Union insurers covering Iranian oil exports has forced shipowners to fall back on new, untested insurance providers, raising fears that governments may have to pay in the...

>DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran plans to ration diesel sales, mix gasoline with methanol to make it go further and accept only cash from domestic airlines for jet fuel, its oil minister said, as it seeks to manage stretched fuel supplies. The value of the Iranian rial has dropped against the...

>DUBAI (Reuters) - Before Somayeh can have the second child she and her husband have been talking about, they must first consider the expense. "Baby food, clothes, doctors, the hospital - it all costs a lot of money. Which we can't afford at the moment," she said, speaking to Reuters...

JERUSALEM - Israeli and US troops have wrapped up a major missile defence exercise hailed as their largest-ever joint aerial military operation, the Israeli military said on Wednesday.

Pakistani business tycoon Malik Riaz has reiterated that Arsalan Iftikhar, son of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is a "don", who gets his way according to his whims.

Australia clawed their way back from a goal down to defeat South Korea 2-1 in an international friendly in Hwaseong on Wednesday.

(Adds details, background) BAGHDAD, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Oil exports from Iraq's Basraoffshore terminals were back to 2.04 million barrels per day onWednesday after bad weather completely halted loading onTuesday, a shipping source said. "Loading operations at Basra ports were stopped on Tuesdaydue to high winds. Rough weather eased...

AUSMIN 2012 Joint Communique Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC November 14, 2012 We met today in the city of Perth – Australia’s Indian Ocean capital – to reaffirm the value of the Australia-US Alliance in helping to shape the security and prosperity of the Asia Pacific, while...

KUWAIT (Reuters) - What started as a dispute over voting rules in Kuwait has mushroomed into a debate about the balance of power between the emir and parliament, with implications for other Gulf dynasties facing reform pressure since the Arab Spring.

A UN report on Iran's nuclear program is also likely to show this week that it continues to use some of its most sensitive material for reactor fuel, at least temporarily making it unavailable for any quick atom bomb bid.

Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached almost 428 million units in the third quarter of 2012, a 3.1 percent decline from the third quarter of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc.

>Government-issued smart cards have controlled private Iranian motorists' use of heavily subsidised gasoline since December 2010 in a programme that has successfully dampened demand for fuel in a country where supplies are scarce.Owners of heavy goods vehicles will also soon have their diesel rationed as well, Oil Minister Rostam...

Iran appears to be locked in a fierce internal debate over whether to hold bilateral nuclear talks with the United States, with key political leaders calling for dialogue with Washington and hard-liners pressing ahead with expansion of the country's nuclear facilities. Related Stories Saudi Arabia struggles to employ its most-educated...

John Allen, the four-star Marine general who commands US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, intended to spend a low-key week in Washington working on plans to end the war and start a prestigious new assignment. Related Stories Obama begins negotiations to avoid the 'fiscal cliff' Did tech mogul John McAfee...

Indians celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights, with fervour and zeal in Dubai on Tuesday.

Ten people were killed on Wednesday when a rescue helicopter ferrying wounded people from a vehicle accident to hospital hit power lines and crashed to the ground in northeastern Iran, media reported.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has turned down an invitation to a summit to be held in Pakistan next week, officials have said. "The prime minister is not going to attend the summit," said Syed Masud Khundoker, a director-general in Bangladesh's foreign ministry.

Kaminski Auctions announces their Annual Thanksgiving Auction, a holiday tradition and their largest sale of the year to be held Saturday and Sunday, November 24th, and 25th starting at 10AM ET at their auction gallery at 117 Elliot Street, Beverly, Massachusetts. This year’s sale features an eclectic mix of European...

A senior Iranian commander says the country’s electronic interception systems are capable of detecting any type of auditory or visual signals transmitted via the ground or airborne systems of the foreign forces in the region.

Najla Habibi says she is hopeful about the future of her country.

>(Reuters) - Astenbeck Capital's Andrew Hall and Clive Capital's Chris Levett -- two of the biggest fund managers in oil -- are in for a second year of losses unless they can steer a turn around the next six weeks in a market bogged down by U.S. fiscal worries.

>* New opposition chief seeks European backing, arms* Violence fuels border tension with Turkey, Iraq, Israel* Humanitarian crisis worsens, 2.5 million uprootedBy Yasmine Saleh and John IrishCAIRO/PARIS, Nov 13 (Reuters) - France became the first European power to recognise Syria's new opposition coalition as the sole representative of its...