News Archive - 11 December 2012

Dejagah helps Fulham beating Newcastle PFDC – LONDON, Fulham returned to winning ways in English Premier League on Monday, defeating Newcastle United 2-1. Sidwell brought Fulham in front early in the match, but Ben Arfa levelled the scoreline after 54 minutes. Fulham coach Martin Jol reacted and brought on Ashkan...

>* Rebels close in on Damascus* Obama announces U.S. will recognise Syrian opposition coalitionBy Samia Nakhoul and Khaled Yacoub OweisMARRAKECH, Morocco, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Major powers are set to give Syria's opposition full political recognition on Wednesday but not the weapons that rebel fighters need to counter President...

>* Largest U.S. penalty ever imposed on a bank* HSBC CEO apologizes, admits to breakdown of controls* $881 mln in drug traffic proceeds laundered through HSBC* HSBC shares close slightly higher in LondonBy Carrick MollenkampDec 11 (Reuters) - In February 2008, Mexican authorities told the CEO of HSBC Holdings...

>CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's cancer operation in Cuba on Tuesday was a success, his vice president said, adding that the complex surgery had lasted more than six hours and he would be recuperating for several days. The 58-year-old socialist leader's third bout with cancer in the past...

>In addition to blacklisting the Jabhat al-Nusra group, the United States moved against two militia groups linked to the embattled government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.By classifying al-Nusra as a terrorist organization, the U.S. State Department order essentially classifies the group, which has advocated for an Islamic state...

>* U.S. oil output rising at fastest rate in history - EIA* U.S. dollar under pressure from more Fed stimulus* Coming up: U.S. weekly oil inventories at 1530 GMTBy Florence TanSINGAPORE, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Brent crude held above $108 a barrel on Wednesday as OPEC reduced...

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>* HSBC CEO apologises, admits to breakdown of controls* Follows scathing U.S. report on lax controls in Mexico, elsewhere* HSBC shares dip 0.3 pct, fine in line with expectationsBy Carrick Mollenkamp and Brett WolfDec 11 (Reuters) - HSBC has agreed to pay a record $1.92 billion fine...

>Japan's Kyodo News agency this month reported, citing a Western diplomatic source, that Iran had stationed defence staff in North Korea since late October, apparently to strengthen cooperation in missile and nuclear development."What has been said about missile and nuclear cooperation between Iran and North Korea is completely baseless,"...

NEW YORK (AP) — American authorities on Tuesday cited "astonishing" dysfunction at the British bank HSBC and said that it had helped Mexican drug traffickers, Iran, Libya and others under U.S. suspicion or sanction to move money around the world.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- Natural rubber exports in October rose by 10.5 per cent to 66,681 tonnes than in September, the Statistics Department said Wednesday.

TEHRAN, Dec. 12 (MNA) - The Cuban deputy foreign minister, Marcelino Medina, has said that Havana welcomes further cooperation with Tehran in diplomatic, economic, and cultural areas.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Daniel Inouye is under observation at a Washington-area hospital so that doctors can monitor his oxygen intake.

OPEC holds a meeting here Wednesday to decide on the cartel's oil output levels and to choose a new secretary-general, ahead of a predicted slowing of world energy demand growth that may dent high crude ...

It’s an old story, but all hell is breaking loose in the Middle East. Nowhere is that more so than in Syria, where U.S. intelligence suggests that an increasingly desperate Bashal al-Assad is preparing to turn chemical weapons on his own people, whom he’s already butchered by the tens...

>* Would help give allies leverage in contract talks with Russia* US should advocate for "Southern Corridor," Nabucco West route* Sanctions exemption for Shah Deniz project could face scrutinyBy Roberta RamptonWASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress should give European allies access to burgeoning supplies of U.S.

For the past few months, Iran’s rulers have shown growing signs of panic. Transformed into pulpits, the state-owned media showcase one mullah after another in a campaign of “stiffening Islamic resistance.” The regime’s various military arms are organizing rival exercises with the claim that the Islamic Republic is...

North Korea's long-range rocket launch appears to have been a success, a South Korean news agency says.

The UN Security Council will meet Wednesday to discuss North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket in defiance of threats of sanctions.

Aussie stocks trim gains after an earlier jump above 4600, following surging German investor confidence that pushed European stocks higher.

He was 92. When Pandit Ravi Shankar was beckoned to the West thanks mainly to The Beatles in the 1960s, many purists in India thought he had betrayed his musical heritage. But the sitarist and composer proved them wrong as his reputation grew steadily.

From schoolbooks to popular culture, Americans have been fed a steady diet of propaganda that has led them to support reactionary policies around the globe even while fancying themselves advocates of human progress, as historian William Blum explains.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Tuesday he would consider additional cuts to the defense budget only if Congress also agrees to control future spending on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Three men arrested in connection with an investigation into the manipulation of Libor, the interbank lending rate, were an ex-trader who worked for UBS and two interdealer brokers, according to a report.

A day after the “UN Human Rights Day” cross party parliamentarians gathered in the House of Commons to condemn human rights abuses inside Iran. Amongst the speakers were a former Home Secretary and a former senior UN human rights official. They demanded ...

North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Wednesday, in defiance of UN sanctions threats over what Pyongyang's critics insist is a disguised ballistic missile test.

>* Tehran says unfair to target its shipping sectorBy Jonathan SaulLONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Western sanctions imposed over the past months against Iran's shipping industry will seriously affect international maritime and environmental safety, a senior Iranian official said.Companies are cutting ties with Iran's vital shipping sector, which transports...

>* France, Britain, Turkey, Gulf states recognized group last month* Washington designates one opposition group a terrorist bodyBy Matt SpetalnickWASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama granted U.S. recognition on Tuesday to a Syrian opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, a move aimed at...

>"Lincoln", starring Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln and Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, was nominated for best picture and best director, while actors Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field got individual nods as well as one for best acting ensemble.It is the first time a film has...

Egypt is as divided as it has ever been. On December 15, a historic referendum is set to be held on a draft consitution that has further polarized the country, pinning supporters of President Morsi, backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, against a galvanized opposition made up of liberals, socialists...

As U.S. officials wrestle with the development of a cyberwar doctrine, there is a bit of wrestling in the security community about whether any doctrine will be worth much if other nation states don't sign on to it as well.

Moldovan students were awarded silver and two bronze medals at the 9th edition of the International Junior Science Olympiad. The event was held from 1st to 10th December in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The students proved their theoretical knowledge and practical skills simultaneously in three school subjects: physics, chemistry...

Britain's financial regulator says it is taking steps to force HSBC to improve its legal compliance after the bank agreed to pay $1.9 billon to settle a U.S. money laundering probe.

HSBC bosses will have bonuses restricted under the terms of a record 1.9 billion US dollar (£1.2 billion) settlement with US regulators after the bank allowed rogue states and drug cartels to launder billions of pounds through its US arm.

>The demonstrators were protesting against the alleged killing of Afghan migrants by Iranian police. The official made a formal complaint to the Afghan government over the incident, the agency said, without naming the official."The Islamic Republic of Iran is asking Afghan officials to be vigilant in preventing similar incidents...

>* UN watchdog seeks access to Parchin military site* West accuses Tehran of stonewalling inquiry, Parchin clean-up* Iran rejects allegations of nuclear weapons researchBy Yeganeh TorbatiDUBAI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Iran voiced readiness on Tuesday to address concerns of U.N. nuclear inspectors about its atomic activities in talks this...

WASHINGTON — The United States could see its standing as a superpower eroded and Asian economies will outstrip those of North America and Europe combined by 2030, according to the best guess of the U.S. intelligence community in its latest forecast.

The Iranian, country-influenced singer, Jadd Ryan, has found himself in the top spot of the BEAT100 Music Video Chart for the second time, despite the obstacles he faces when using the internet in his home country.(PRWEB) December 11, 2012 The Iranian, country-influenced singer, Jadd Ryan, has found himself in...

Dozens of Iranians have held a gathering in the German capital, Berlin, in a show of protest against an assault on the Iranian Embassy premises last month.

The United States Tuesday blacklisted the Al-Nusra Front, a rebel group in Syria linked to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, accusing it of being a terror group trying to "hijack" the legitimate struggle of the Syrian rebels.

>* Iran's crude loading may fall to 834,000 bpd in December* Down about a quarter from December* China, India main reason for fall* China's lifting likely lowest this year at 242,000 bpdBy Osamu TsukimoriTOKYO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Iran's crude exports are set to drop by about a quarter in...

Their journalists risked jail terms to report inside Myanmar under years of brutal junta rule, but once-exiled media now operate openly -- and face flak for being too cosy with the new leaders.

In a historic fine, HSBC will pay out a record $1.92 billion to U.S. authorities to settle money laundering accusations -- activities which have allegedly occurred with drug cartels in Mexico.

The inside story of the underdog gay-marriage activists who rewrote the political playbook, reversed decades of defeat, and finally won over voters for the first time.

As Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez secretly battles cancer the world has watched from afar to witness the changing faces of the sick leader.

After bouts of haggling over the rent, Russia has abandoned a Soviet-era, early-warning radar in Azerbaijan that essentially served as the Kremlin’s security camera for the Caucasus, Middle East and South Asia. The official cause is cost: Baku had asked for $300 million per year for a renewal on Russia's...

December 11, 2012 8:08 PM KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - The US military will retain a "strong presence" in the Middle East despite a strategic shift to Asia, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday during a visit to Kuwait.

>MUMBAI/NEW DELHI Dec 11 (Reuters) - India's state oil companies intend to press ahead with plans to buy stakes in Canada's oil sands and believe they will not run afoul of tougher Canadian rules on foreign ownership of the sector. A consortium of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Oil India...

>* Price hawks Venezuela, Iran not calling for a supply cut* Cartel pumping 30.8 mbpd, Saudi trims to 9.5 mbpd in Nov* OPEC experts see H1 2013 demand for OPEC crude at 29.25 mbpd (updates throughout)By Alex Lawler and Reem ShamseddineVIENNA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - OPEC oil...

>* Crude oil down, rial devalued -Institute for International Finance* Economic conditions ups pressure on governmentBEIRUT, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme have pushed the country into recession, a global association of financial services said on Monday.Crude oil exports have dropped sharply, the...