News Archive - 24 November 2012

Iran national football team (Team Melli) 1984 Asian Cup

>* Hamas threatens to go on smuggling in weapons from IranBy Nidal al-MughrabiGAZA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Israel eased restrictions on Gaza fishermen and farmers on Saturday, Palestinian officials said, advancing a three-day-old truce brokered by Egypt after a week of fierce fighting.Gaza's children also headed back to school...

>* Her behavior at U.N. seen as blunt, rude by some diplomats* Supporters say has the credentials to be top U.S. diplomat* Has had some impressive successes for U.S. at the U.N.By Louis Charbonneau and Susan CornwellUNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Susan Rice has...

>The Iranian-backed Hamas has basked in what it called a victory against Israel after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire on Thursday ended the conflict in which 163 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed.IRNA said Ahmadinejad, in the rare telephone call with Ismail Haniyeh, praised the Palestinian "resistance and perseverance"."Zionists have...

>"The Arab Gulf is being targeted by attacks seeking to discredit religion and eliminate the material interests and wealth it holds," Al-Watan newspaper quoted Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh as saying in his Friday sermon in Riyadh.Al-Sheikh warned people not to follow "enemies" who called on them to...

>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and the United Nations said on Saturday they hoped a conference aimed at trying to ban nuclear weapons in the Middle East could take place soon after the United States said it would not happen next month as originally planned. If and when it happens, the...

>* Office of U.N. rights chief says "deeply concerned"* Bahrain is staunch U.S. ally, bulwark against IranDUBAI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay is sending a team of experts to Bahrain next week to discuss how the Gulf state can improve its rights...

KABUL — On an ordinary weekday, the streets of Kabul are choked with traffic, fetid with clogged drains and crammed with carts displaying potatoes or used sweaters.

A New Zealand Air Force plane heading to the central Pacific to search for three missing Kiribati fisherman has found a damaged British yacht in a remote area of the ocean.

The courtship of Hamas between rivals Iran and Qatar has been one of the Middle East's intriguing subplots of the Arab Spring. The Hamas-Israel fighting has now sharpened their competition for influence with the Palestinian militant group and the direction it takes in the future.

Why was there an Israel-Gaza war in the first place? Resistance to the occupation, say Hamas and many in the international media. What occupation?

Iran accuses US Navy of 'illegal' acts in Gulf... Police recover items stolen from Salvation Army... Natural gas explosion damaged 42 buildings... Fire breaks out at State Dept., 3 seriously hurt... Dad charged in son's death once thought accident... Looting in aftermath of 'Sandy'... Circus camel takes detour through...

A woman has been killed by a falling tree in southwest England, police said as severe flood warnings were introduced in parts of the country already soaked by rain and battered by strong winds.

Kareem Serageldin, a former senior trader at Credit Suisse, faces the first court hearing this week in what is likely to be many months of legal cases to decide whether he is to be extradited to the US to face multi-million dollar fraud charges.

The civil war in Syria may well be the last act in the story of the disintegration of the Middle East as we know it. The opportunity to hold the region together and to rebuild it on a firmer foundation of tolerance, freedom and, eventually, democratic stability is slipping from...

Authorities have found buried underground more than $500 000 allegedly belonging to traffickers who ship drugs from Colombia to Central America.

Economies in the Middle East and North Africa are coping with the aftermath ofthe Arab Spring uprisings and an unstable global environment. Many have boostedfiscal spending to sustain growth and head off popular discontent, putting thegovernment finances of some under pressure, although the budgets of most Gulfoil exporters are still...

At least 120 people have died after a fire swept through a garment factory on the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital, the chief of the fire brigade has said.

According to a report in The Sunday Times, cargo may include Fajr-5 rockets and Shahab-3 ballistic missiles; Israeli source: Regardless of the cease-fire agreement, we will attack and destroy any shipment of arms to Gaza.

A large gas explosion has caused widespread damage in Springfield in the US, flattening over 40 buildings.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — A year ago, Richard Parnas had never heard of brown grease: sticky, stinky, remnants of sludge sucked from grease traps at restaurants, bars and commercial kitchens. The glop for years has been considered useless, a common clog-inducer at sewage treatment plants, often burned as costly waste.

Commentary | California’s United States Senator, Diane Feinstein, has outraged Second Amendment advocates with the news of her plans to introduce a new law to ban all assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and pistol grips. Unlike the ban on assault weapons enacted under Bill Clinton, the bill would eliminate grandfathering,...

WASHINGTON - Why was there an Israel-Gaza war in the first place? Resistance to the occupation, say ...

A senior Iranian commander says the victory of Palestinian resistance fighters in the eight-day war with Israel marks the second wave of Islamic awaking in the region.

Now that I know Eva Longoria is Mayan, the end of the world doesn’t seem so bad.

Director Brillante Mendoza urges Filipinos to watch Thy Womb "at malaman natin kung bakit siya nire-recognize."

25 NOV — Telah timbul isu PAS dikatakan tergelincir dari dasar Islamnya dan kepimpinan ulama gara-gara dikatakan setelah ditembusi oleh para parasit. Justeru itu PAS telah ditohmah mulai leka mengtamakan untuk berkuasa dari memajukan politik  dakwahnya sambil meningkatkan dakwah politiknya. Tetapi menjelang muktamarnya dari 15 hingga 18 November  ...

The country hosting the 2012 World Climate Conference is Qatar: the world's leading carbon dioxide producer and a major exporter of crude oil and natural gas.

NOV 25 — While the world watched the closely contested Presidential elections in the United States in much anticipation, most observers and policy wonks in South Asia were bracing for change or continuity in the foreign policy that the new administration in Washington would herald. Although India received scant mention...

QABTAN AL-JABAL: Rebels who have besieged Sheikh Suleiman army base for nearly two months are confident it will fall in days, giving them full control of a swathe of northwest Syria from Aleppo to the Turkish border.

KAMPALA (CNN) — Lawmakers in Uganda are preparing to vote on a new anti-homosexuality bill that proposes tough jail sentences...

Posted by Paul Evans.

All sides involved in this month's Gaza crisis face an array of choices.

JUST when I thought priorities were sorted for that day’s worry list, from the war by any other name in Gaza to the probable weather for a walk, with a dozen or so other international and personal worries in between, I read an article about pilotless planes.

SANAA (Reuters) - At least three Shi'ite Muslims were killed on Saturday in a bomb attack targeting the first public commemoration of the anniversary of the death of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad in the Yemeni capital in half a century.

A Chinese company thinks they've simplified the construction process so much that they can build the world's tallest skyscraper in 90 days. 

The industry’s “dirty little secret,” they write, is that “organic crops and livestock are not tested in Canada ... making organic certification essentially meaningless.”

President Barack Obama’s conclusion that a second Israeli invasion of Gaza was not in the American interest showed Israeli and U.S. interests aren’t always the same.

TEHRAN, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday the cease-fire in Gaza shows Israel has reached "the end of the road."

The United States says a conference on banning nuclear weapons in the Middle East will not be held because of current conditions in the region. The announcement comes amid a flare up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, civil war in Syria and an unsettled political situation in Egypt.

The head of Iran's northern tea factories union has announced that more than 65 tea production units have been shut down, and the "uncalculated policies" of the Ahmadinejad administration have put a heavy strain on tea production in Iran.

Akhlamad Waterfall is located in the province of Razavi Khorasan in northeastern Iran and is a popular tourist excursion. During the cold winters, Akhlamad Waterfall manifests a spectacular sight as it freezes completely over. Other than the magnificent natural view that it provides theonlookers, it also produces a much stiffer...

During the month of Muharram, various mourning ceremonies are held across Iran where region has developed their own traditions and rituals, many of them carnival style. These photos show one of these rituals held in the city of Kashan in central Iran. -Mohammadreza Abbasi

According to the Baha’i faith, music is spiritual food for the heart and soul. We hear some of the new wave of Australian Baha’i musicians, with Shidan Toloui-Wallace whose new album Phoenix of Love features spiritual songs and chant in English, Arabic and Farsi, and MANA, a Baha’i-inspired music and...

Lawmakers in Uganda are preparing to vote on a new anti-homosexuality bill that proposes tough jail sentences for consensual same-sex behavior.

Reuters/London Britain and the UN said yesterday they hoped a conference aimed at trying to ban nuclear weapons in the Middle East could take place soon after the US said it would not happen next month as originally planned.

Cinema is a sacred medium and a filmmaker must take it to the highest level of communication, said well-known poet and filmmaker Muzaffar Ali.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel eased restrictions on Gaza fishermen on Saturday, further implementing a three-day-old truce brokered by Egypt after a week of fierce fighting, Palestinian officials said.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey expects NATO to make a decision about deploying surface-to-air Patriot missiles along its southern border with Syria within the next week, Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz said on Saturday.

Eiran and Michele Gazit’s son, Adam, is an Israeli Army tank gunner stationed on the Lebanese border. (Eagle file photo)

Tens of thousands of children are returning to school in the Gaza Strip after eight days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which rules the coastal enclave.

The latest ceasefire between Gaza and Israel portends to positive developments - if it lasts.

WASHINGTON - Israel's ability to shoot down hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas militants this past week has been hailed as a breakthrough in missile defense. But, military analysts warn, the real challenge is only beginning.

(Reuters) - The road to reform in Saudi Arabia is long and winding. In the rigidly restricted field of religion, the path is so circuitous that part of it even runs through traditionally Catholic countries like Austria and Spain.

TEHRAN, November 24 (RIA Novosti) – Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad phoned Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Saturday to congratulate him on a “great victory” over Israel.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has hailed the great victory of the Palestinian resistance movement against Israel, saying Zionists have reached the end of the line.

Turkey is on everyone’s lips these days in Egypt. There is growing sentiment by both government officials and ordinary citizens for forging stronger links and fostering broader economic ties with the country.

The escalating violence between Israel and Gaza should remind us of old lessons that still need to be learned and new realities to which attention must now be paid.

Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani says hard days lie ahead of Israel following the regime’s military aggression against the blockaded Gaza Strip, Press TV reports.

Many key phrases have been presented to explain Israel’s latest military onslaught against Gaza, which left scores dead and wounded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flexing his muscles in preparation for the Israeli general elections in January, suggested some.

Six new cardinals are joining the elite club of churchmen who will elect the next pope, bringing a more geographically diverse mix into the European-dominated College of Cardinals.

StoryCorps' National Day of Listening encourages people to take advantage of the days following Thanksgiving to talk to a family member or friend and have a conversation. This year, host Scott Simon speaks with Marine Corps veteran Kevin Hermening about his time as a captive in the U.S. Embassy...

NEW YORK: Hewlett Packard Co said it does not sell products to Syria, but acknowledged in a letter made public on Friday that its products could have been delivered there through resellers or distributors.

Britain's women and equalities minister Maria Miller said the Church of England needs to reform itself and act swiftly to introduce women bishops, in an interview published Saturday.

By The Associated Press "Morsi's decision means dictatorship. He creates the law, passes the law, and oversees the law. He is the state and the state is him." - Manal Tibe, an activist who was a member...

What happens after the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas will tell us what has happened after the Arab Spring.

Eisa is a rather friendly and interesting man who comes from a family of wrestlers in his native Mazandaran.

A member of Iran’s Majlis says the Islamic Republic will set preconditions for negotiations with the United States, saying Tehran will hold talks with Washington only on an equal footing.

Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Saturday.

The first thing I was told on checking in at my hotel close to the beachfront in Tel Aviv was where the underground shelter was. “Your room is on the sixth floor,” the handsome young manager said. “If you hear the sirens you have one and a half minutes to...

Protesters calling for Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down rallied in the heart of Bangkok on Saturday, clashing with police in the first major demonstration against the government since it came to power...