News Archive - 22 December 2012

>Netanyahu has set out a mid-2013 "red line" for tackling Iran's uranium enrichment project. The West says this programme is aimed at developing the means to build atomic bombs. Tehran denies this, saying it is enriching uranium for civilian energy."Preventing Iran becoming a nuclear (threat) is, I would say,...

>MUSCAT (Reuters) - Hoping for jobs and democratic change, voters in Oman cast ballots in their first municipal election on Saturday, a sign of modest reform in response to protests inspired by the Arab Spring. The small Gulf oil producer, ruled since 1970 by Sultan Qaboos, sits opposite Iran on...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani health worker Bushra Bibi spent eight years trekking to remote villages, carefully dripping polio vaccine into toddlers' pursed mouths to protect them from the crippling disease. Related Stories Ecuador's Correa hikes minimum wage in run-up to vote Iran a central issue for my next term...

THOUSANDS of protesters have demanded the removal of Bahrain Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa.

One day after Senate Republicans held a press conference to question this week's State Department's report on the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Libya that left four Americans dead, Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe said the scandal is bigger than Watergate and Iran-Contra. "I have made a study of different cover-ups ...

SCOTLAND's faith leaders have issued an open letter to the UK Government calling for an end to destitution in the asylum process, saying it has "no place" in modern society.

Malaysia My Second Home and similar schemes in Thailand and the Philippines have traditionally targeted western retirees in the hope they will settle down and boost the economy.

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — Here’s how area House members voted on major issues in the week ending Dec. 21. The Senate was in session but conducted no votes.

By Hannah Allam WASHINGTON -- The bloodshed in Syria has continued for so long that extremist forces have taken charge, with U.S. officials saying they now face two familiar enemies in...

With the commencement of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) just around the corner, an exclusive exhibit, showcasing over 170,000 hand-made carpet pieces will begin on December 27, a week before the main event.

DUBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Here are factors that may affectMiddle East stock markets on Sunday. Reuters has not verifiedthe press reports and does not vouch for their accuracy. INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL * GLOBAL MARKETS- Setback in U.S. ...

>KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Haji Khairullah Barakzai is the ultimate Afghan success story: illiterate village boy makes a fortune thanks to a lifetime of hard work, unerring street smarts and God's favor. But to the U.S. Treasury Department, he is one of the biggest bankers to the Taliban, the...

By The Washington Post WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has scrapped anti-leaks legislation that would have imposed sweeping new restrictions on government officials’ and spy agencies’ ability to ...

PETALING JAYA: National junior squash player Teh Min Jie (pic) has been struggling for consistency this year and hopes that competing in the prestigious British Junior Open at Sheffield from Jan 2-6 will represent a fresh start.

Makhmalbaf and his family met his mother after eight years

Predictions for the 2013 Academuy Awards

Iran is engaged in a "smart economic war" with Western powers whose sanctions against its nuclear programme are hurting some Iranians, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday.

U.S. Dean Heller tours the Veterans Guest House in Reno in April and shakes hands with Lyle Boyer of Fallon, who was there recovering from eye surgery.

>By Patricia ZengerleWASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Kerry gave up his presidential dreams after a narrow loss to Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 U.S. election, but forged a new identity as a congressional leader on foreign policy - and dutiful supporter of President Barack Obama.Obama rewarded the...

A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said.The rally in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern...

President Barack Obama's consideration of Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary has set off an outcry of criticism that could force a second damaging White House retreat over a Cabinet pick.

Editor: Vicki Allen + 1 202 898 8457 Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775 Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595 (All times GMT/ET) TOP STORIES Vice president quits as Egypt votes on constitution CAIRO - Egypt's vice-president resigns as Egyptians vote ina referendum that is expected to approve a...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday welcomed the appointment of his personal friend John Kerry as U.S. secretary of state and described him as "a known supporter of Israel's security". President Barack Obama nominated Kerry on Friday, calling the veteran U.S. senator the "perfect...

If you saw one of three giant flags draped across Illinois 157 or Illinois 15 Saturday, it was for M

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Saturday announced a 9 percent increase in the minimum wage for private-sector workers for 2013, a move that may help consolidate his February re-election bid that polls broadly show him favoured to win. Related Stories Syrian civil war at stalemate, Assad won't...

Peshawar, Pakistan — A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said.

Correction: Bahrain-Security Summit story

• return to east of Suez • significant move pushed by Cameron • army brigades deployable to Africa, Asia,too British troops and strike aircraft are to be based in the Gulf as part of the most significant new deployment of UK armed forces since Afghanistan. The return to "east of...

Also included in the list are Egypt’s new leader Morsi, Syria’s President Assad, Iranian hardline general Suleimani.

BEIJING/ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters) - China will open the world's longest high-speed rail line next week when a link between Beijing and the southern metropolis of Guangzhou is inaugurated, officials said on Saturday, underscoring its commitment to a trouble-plagued transport scheme. Related Stories Tougher EU sanctions against Iran come into force...

ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - In Syria's once-affluent merchant city of Aleppo, a 60-year-old man wrapped in several layers of clothes queues alongside his shivering grandchildren for bread - a daily and often fruitless ritual that consumes most of his day. Related Stories Tougher EU sanctions against Iran come into force...

The chemical warfare threat looming over Syria’s civil war and its neighbors has taken an epic turn with the announcement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Saturday, Dec. 22, that “the Syrian government has “consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught and they are...

The civil war in Syria, targeted shootings in Somalia and continued violence in Pakistan made 2012 a particularly dangerous year for journalists, with at least 67 killed worldwide in direct relation to their work, according to an organization that defends press freedom.

Canada is not an “even-handed referee” in the world and will be no more of an honest broker with those who support terrorism than it was with fascism and communism, says Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.

Shooting by guns with live ammunition is among the most exciting funs of people in US, where people bring their children to the scene and train them how to use guns and to target others, heedless of its deleterious effects on children.

Isfahan, Dec. 22 (MNA) – ‘Misri Desert’ is a small village located in Isfahan Province, Iran. It is an important tourist magnet.

>"Next year we're planning production close to 3.7 (million b/d)," he added in remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).Iraq, rebuilding its energy industry after decades of war and sanctions, has emerged as the second biggest producer...

>NATO approved Turkey's request for the air defense system earlier this month, in a move meant to calm Ankara's fears of being hit by Syrian missiles.Iran has strongly supported its Arab ally President Bashar al-Assad of Syria as he attempts to suppress a 21-month-old uprising against his rule. Tehran...

>Iran has been a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of Syria who has been battling to put down a 21-month uprising against his rule, and Tehran has also long cast itself as a champion of the Palestinian people.The aid would be dispatched to Yarmouk, a Palestinian district...

>* Sanctions agreed in October, implemented Saturday* New entities listed, plus UAE-based businessmanBy Barbara LewisBRUSSELS, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Rigorous new sanctions against Iran's banking, shipping and industrial sectors took effect on Saturday, as part of the European Union's effort to force Tehran to scale back its nuclear programme.The...