News Archive - 23 December 2012

>* Asian shares steady, U.S. budget concerns weigh* Iran putting worst impact of sanctions behind it -oil minister* Brent to revisit low of $107.58 - technicals (Adds comments, updates prices)By Manash GoswamiSINGAPORE, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Brent crude fell for a third day, staying below $109 a barrel,...

>* Asian buyers to further slash Iranian imports as sanctions tighten* Reduction likely from 10 to 20 percent from this year's level* Cuts may result in a further loss of $5 bln for the year for IranBy Chen Aizhu and Manash GoswamiBEIJING/SINGAPORE, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Asian buyers of Iranian...

>The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the charter after two rounds of voting that ended with a final ballot on Saturday.Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast congratulated the Egyptians...

>* Businessman named as sanction breaker denies the claim* Iran under increasing Western pressure over nuclear workBy Humeyra PamukDUBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - An Iranian businessman named by the European Union for breaching sanctions against Iran denied any wrongdoing on Sunday, saying his bank and other companies did not work...

>* Hydrocarbon output to fall less than originally thought* Inflation now seen at 3.5 pct instead of 2.5 pct* Infrastructure projects to boost housing costs* But Qatar says can use regulation, liquidity to curb CPIBy Andrew TorchiaDUBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Qatar raised its forecast for economic growth...

>* Bankers say central bank reduces sales of dollars* Syrian pound has fallen less than Iranian rialBy Suleiman Al-KhalidiAMMAN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - In Syria's eastern town of Deir al-Zor, a rebel commander flush with cash was swapping his dollars for Syrian pounds to pay fighters battling President Bashar al-Assad's...

Tehran, Dec 24 (IANS/EFE) Iran has enough petroleum to last for 150 years, allowing it to be one of the world's main exporters of crude, Petroleum Minister Rostam Ghasemi told the Fars news agency Sunday.

The rocket launched earlier this month by North Korea had the capability to travel more than 6,000 miles, meaning this type of rocket could strike the United States, South Korean defense officials said.

Tehran, Dec 24 (ANI): Iranian authorities have claimed that the country has successfully circumvented sanctions on the sale of its oil.

The rocket launched earlier this month by North Korea had the capability to travel more than 6,000 miles...

Iran will unveil an indigenously built satellite in February next year, Xinhua reported Sunday. The satellite, named Nahid, will be unveiled Feb 2 on the occasion of Iran's National Space Technology Day, Iran Space Agency (ISA) director Hamid Fazeli said.

Tehran (AFP) Dec 22, 2012 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. "Targeted sanctions, which the enemies say are supposed to be crippling, have led to a drop in our...

Good morning, Quartz readers! What to watch for today Fallout after protests over the treatment of women in India.  After Dec. 22 protests demanding justice for a gang-rape victim turned violent, with ...

Today is Monday, Dec. 24, the 359th day of 2012. There are seven days left in the year. This is Christmas Eve.

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...

Iraq’s ailing President Jalal Talabani is to be airlifted to Germany for specialist treatment after suffering a reported stroke, his office said on Wednesday.

John Kerry gave up his presidential dreams after a narrow loss to Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 US election, but forged a new identity as a congressional leader on foreign policy and dutiful supporter of President Barack Obama. Related Posts: Kerry picked Obama’s team Rice folds Obama-Romney II...

Pyongyang, December 23 (KCNA) -- Remembrance meetings and film shows were held by the Genuine Democratic Movement of Brazil, the Juche Philosophy Study Committee of India and the Iran-Korea Friendship Magsal Agro-Stock Farm between Dec. 13 and 15 on the occasion of the first anniversary of demise of General Secretary...

Pyongyang, December 23 (KCNA) -- Political parties, ministries and institutions of governments and personages of various circles in different countries sent floral baskets to DPRK missions in the respective countries from December 14 to 17 on the occasion of the first anniversary of demise of General Secretary Kim Jong Il.

Pyongyang, December 23 (KCNA) -- Media of various countries reported the news that the dear respected Kim Jong Un was present at the national memorial service marking the first anniversary of demise of General Secretary Kim Jong Il and an opening ceremony of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and...

DHARAMSHALA, December 24: The urban Chinese population has greater trust in anonymous online microblogs than state run newspapers and television news, a new study has revealed.

More pieces of debris from North Korea’s long-range rocket launched Dec. 12 have been retrieved, an official of the South Korean Defense Ministry announced Sunday.

FRAUD: Could the scandals within the banking sector have a lot to do with declining ethics among bankers themselves?

MIRI: Berikutan kejadian serangan buaya membabit murid Tahun Lima di Suai Niah kelmarin, ibu bapa yang tinggal tebing-tebing [...]

Eden Hazard celebrates scoring Chelsea's seventh goal with his team-mates. Photo: Sean Dempsey/PA Chelsea fans will be having a gr-eight Christmas after they watched the Blues humiliate a young Aston Villa side 8-0 at Stamford Bridge to return to third place in the Premier League.

Troubled Iranian families, time-travelling criminals, and sociopathic teenagers were just some of the characters who featured in the year's most memorable films. Matthew Littlewood picks his favourites for 2012.

War has been the defining challenge for artists, as for society, for virtually all of history. And for most of the last century and a half the painting and sculpture have vied with photography as the means of best expressing its reality and its consequences. Nowhere more so than in...

BACKGROUND:It’s a costly business promoting Ireland’s image abroad, as DFA costs show

Bahrain’s State Minister for Media Affairs Samira Ibrahim Rajab opens the media center for the GCC summit in Manama in the presence of GCC information officials.

The Biz: Christiane Amanpour Goes Back to the Beginning Seattle Post-Intelligencer Copyright 2012 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 8:28 am, Thursday, December 20, 2012 The sight of Christiane Amanpour reporting from conflict zones in the Middle East is one of...

Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Iraq's western Sunni heartland today following the arrest of bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al Issawi.

Speaking at a conference at the Washington-based think tank German Marshall Fund, Union of Chamber and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu said that peace and stability in the Middle East was essential for the world and thus there was no need to raise tensions with Iran.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Kosovar counterpart Enver Hoxhaj in the Ankara on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded strongly to Iranian officials’ repeated condemnations of NATO’s planned deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received his Portuguese counterpart Pedro Passos Coelho in an official ceremony at the central building of Prime Ministry in Ankara.

The possibility of President Barack Obama nominating former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel as defense secretary seemed to suffer some deflation Sunday when in an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y., passed up the chance to support Hagel.

The media ban on Press TV and Hispan TV violates the people’s right to choose and amounts to intellectual sabotage, says an Iranian academic.

This Sunday morning it's been nine days since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. And the debate over gun control has been revived.

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel's name has yet to be officially sent to the Senate for confirmation as President Barack Obama's next secretary of defense, yet he faced a wave of skepticism from lawmakers Sunday.

Lieberman joined the growing chorus of lawmakers expressing doubts over Hagel's possible nomination as Defense secretary. Read more...

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (C) leaves a hotel after the Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Minister's meeting in Manama on Sunday. (Reuters)

National Security Agency's Perfect Citizen program hunts for vulnerabilities in "large-scale" utilities, including power grid and gas pipeline controllers, newly released documents show. Originally posted at News - Internet & Media

In an exclusive interview with rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, who heads the biggest Russian monastery in Kalmykia and is the president of Buddhist Union of Kalmykia, says while in New Delhi, they want to attract Putin's attention to an urgent need of visa to the Dalai Lama,...

TEHRAN,Iran – Iran's oil minister claims his country has successfully circumvented sanctions on the sale of its oil.

Today is Sunday, Dec. 23, the 358th day of 2012. There are eight days left in the year.

An Iranian lawmaker says Tehran expects friendly countries not to comply with the US-engineered sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s energy sector.

DUBAI: Western sanctions on Iran's shipping and energy sectors caused serious problems for its oil industry earlier this year but Iran has mostly overcome those challenges, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi was quoted as saying on Sunday.

An earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale hit Iran’s county of Tasuj in East Azarbaijan province on Dec 23.

In the city where a protest over tax policy sparked a revolution, modern day tea party activists are cheering the recent Republican revolt in Washington that embarrassed House Speaker John Boehner and pushed the country...

An Egyptian activist is taking an unusual step - visiting Israel on a peace mission.

When the Justice Department announced its record $1.9 billion settlement against British bank HSBC this month, prosecutors called it a powerful blow to a dysfunctional institution accused of laundering money for Iran, Libya and Mexico's murderous drug cartels.

LAHORE: Dr Asim Hussain, Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources, has said that textile industry in Punjab would be provided with six hours a day gas supply during peak hours to mitigate the impact of electricity loadshedding throughout the month of January.

By United Press International UPI Almanac for Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012.

South Korea is asserting, based on debris it recovered from North Korea's rocket launch this month, that the reclusive state has significantly advanced its ballistic missile technology. As the U.N. Security Council prepares to decide on further sanctions against Pyongyang, military officials in Seoul are releasing details about the...

In his book "The Myth of the Muslim Tide," Doug Saunders puts theories from critics of immigration under the microscope. He talked to DW about extremism, xenophobia and successful integration.

LONDON -- British Prime Minister David Cameron hinted that more U.K. troops could be stationed in the Gulf as he welcomed news Friday that BAE Systems has won a 2.5 billion pound ($4.1 billion) deal with Oman for 20 aircraft.

As the year draws to a close, I want to pay tribute to a few brave men and women who have been fighting in 2012 for dignity, justice, and peace in some of the world's most troubled countries.

A crazy man named Adam Lanza was loose in the school. Shooting the children. Teachers tried to intervene. He shot the teachers. Where could such a monster come from? He had already shot his mother. The nation stood aghast at the horror of a young man shooting little children.

The Lebanese Muslim Association says it organised a 'Merry Christmas' message to be written in the sky above Sydney's Lakemba Mosque in response to reports it had allegedly banned ...