News Archive - 26 December 2012

>Authorities believe a Japanese man who died after being hit by a car from behind on the Kola Peninsula some 300 km (185 miles) south of Murmansk was Haruhisa Watanabe, said Sergei Klyushev, a Russian Foreign Ministry official in Murmansk."He died at the scene after sustaining multiple injuries," Klyushev...

>KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three people in an attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the same base that is believed to be used by the CIA and which a suicide bomber attacked three years ago killing seven CIA employees. The Afghan Taliban...

>"According to the new directive, airplanes are banned from flying during Azan, especially during the call to morning prayers," Mehr quoted the spokesman for parliament's cultural committee Ali Taheri as saying.The head of the Aviation Organization, Hamid Reza Pahlevani, said aircraft will be allowed to take off 30 minutes...

>* Death draws criticism from conservatives as well as opposition* Letter from other inmates says he was tortured in jail* Political waves ahead of 2013 presidential electionBy Babak DehghanpishehBEIRUT, Dec 26 (Reuters) - There was little about Sattar Beheshti that made him stand out in a working-class suburb south of...

TEHRAN, Dec. 27 (MNA) – NATO recently decided to increase its military presence in the Middle East with its plan to station Patriot missiles in member state Turkey on its border with Syria.

GMA News: BY KARL R. DE MESA A great scene is nothing without context, so we picked only the plum foreign movies of the year worthy of your attention. Of course, it’s easy to choose industrial... Proud To Be Kapuso! Visit Us! http://gmaseven.blogspot.com | Spread and Vote -...

A hefty increase of Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion) in farm credit target to Rs 5.75 lakh crore (Rs 5.75 trillion) was a major highlight for the sector in 2012, while the continuing farmers suicide and the reports of a Parliamentary panel and a Supreme Court...

SHAH ALAM, 27 Dis – Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam hari ini menjatuhi hukuman gantung sampai mati ke atas seorang peniaga lelaki warga Iran kerana mengedar syabu seberat 2.4 kg yang dicampur bahan lain dan dibentuk seperti kepala harimau. Mohammaderfan Estiyagi Ahmad, 27, didapati bersalah melakukan kesalahan di bawah Seksyen...

MARK NAGLAZAS picks his favourites from the big screen this year.

Seven people including a staff member were injured in a Christmas eve scuffle between asylum seekers on the Australian immigration detention centre on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.

President Barack Obama is demonstrating that he knows where to pick his battles. By choosing to nominate U.S. Sen. John Kerry as secretary of state, Obama has made a choice popular with both Senate... read more

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Kuwait's crude oil exports to China jumped 18.9 percent in November from a year earlier to 864,000 tons, equivalent to around 211,000 barrels per day (bpd), the ...

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...

This holiday season we should ask ourselves ...

KUALA LUMPUR : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) offers huge potential for Malaysian tea and coffee exporters venturing into the West Asia region, says the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade).

As 2012 draws to a close, rediff.com takes a look at the international personalities who hit headlines around the world.

(BRUSSELS ) - The European Union's rotating six-month presidency has lost much of its authority in recent years as the eurozone crisis and increased powers for Brussels have undercut its role and importance.

Random thoughts on the passing scene: When I was growing up, an older member of the family used to say, "What you don't know would make a big book.

Speakers: Anabella Ruiz de Freeman, Coordinator of Small and Medium Supplier Development, Walmart (Mexico y Centroamerica), Elizabeth Vazquez, President, CEO, and Founder, WEConnect International, and Astrid Pregel, Special Adviser, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada, and Founder, Feminomics Inc.

Hollywood star Ben Affleck has ended rumours he is planning to run for the US Senate, saying he will not stand for John Kerry's seat. Speculation rose when the actor and director testified before Congress last week about atrocities in Congo.

STEWART PATRICK: Hi, ladies and gentlemen. If you could grab some food if you haven't done so yet, we'd like to get started and take advantage of the presence of our illustrious guests here.

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Japan's customs-cleared crude oilimports from Iran fell 18.8 percent in November from a yearearlier, data from the Ministry of Finance showed on Thursday,as Western sanctions squeezed shipments from the Middle Easterncountry. Japan, the world's third-biggest user of oil, imported 1,246,176 kilolitres (261,273 barrels per...

Ramadi, Iraq (AFP) Dec 26, 2012 Fresh protests against Iraq's premier in mostly Sunni cities on Wednesday closed off the main road to Syria and Jordan, with one speaker raising the prospect of taking up arms against the government. Thousands of demonstrators attended rallies in Ramadi and Samarra, capitals of...

FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2012 file photo, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., leads a hearing on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where the ambassador three other Americans were killed Sept. 11, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 25, 2012 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday put Iran at the top of on his re-election campaign, pledging that halting Tehran's nuclear programme would be his first priority as premier. "Who do (Israeli voters) think is the most suitable candidate to deal with the Iranian...

As video game images become increasingly more realistic and graphic, policy makers are debating if there is a link between the violence depicted in those games and violence in real life. A 20-year-old gunman's shooting spree at a school in the northeastern United States this month has reinvigorated discussions about...

Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor who was sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of apostasy and spent more than three years in prison, has been allegedly detained on Christmas Day in his home city of Rasht. The former prisoner of conscience whose case garnered international attention throughout 2012...

Thought of the Day: "There is so much we can do to render service, to make a difference in the world - no matter how large or small our circle of Influence."

Leon Morgenstern, MD, who led Cedars-Sinai's Department of Surgery into international prominence and founded its Center for Healthcare Ethics, died Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 93. A surgeon, scholar, humanist, medical researcher and prolific author, he remained active after his retirement and worked in his office up...

It seems like only yesterday that Bashar al-Assad was being courted by progressive Western politicians even as he conspired with Iranian jihadists and Kremlin strongmen.

The advent of nuclear weapons in the 1940s created an environmental Frankenstein, the repercussions of which no nuclear-armed nation on earth has been able to deal with effectively. As the search for nuclear weapons begat the harnessing of the atom’s power for the “peaceful” purposes of energy production, the two...

KABUL, Afghanistan — A vehicle driven by a suicide bomber exploded at the gate of a major U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing the attacker and three Afghans, Afghan police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. According to AFP, Police Gen. Abdul Qayum Baqizai...

PETALING JAYA: Mohd Syafiq Kamal is all fired up to make an impression in the prestigious British Junior Open squash championships in Sheffield from Jan 2-6.

News 4's Anthony Congi takes a deeper look into the current gas prices around the nation, and what could happen in the near future; will they rise or fall?

COMING on the heels of a successful domestic tournament, private football club Frenz United have launched the Frenz International Cup for the Under-15s on Dec 28-Jan 6.

Lying in a Beijing military hospital in 1990, General Wang Zhen told a visitor he felt betrayed. Decades after he risked his life fighting for an egalitarian utopia, the ideals he held as one of Communist China’s founding fathers were being undermined by the capitalist ways of his children --...

IRAN has reported a spree of new cyber attacks, saying foreign enemy hackers have tried in recent months to disrupt computer systems at a power plant and other industries in a strategically important southern coastal province, as well as a Culture Ministry information centre.

The Iranian government reportedly rebuffed an Internet virus aimed at attacking the southern location of Hormuzgan Province.

Exclusive: A number Americans – on the Right and Left – embrace fantasies about fighting some glorious revolution in the future, requiring them to maintain arsenals of weapons today, even if the cost of their violent illusions is the brutal murder of children at school, at play or in the...

Aerospace & Defense Stock Overview - Dec 2012 - Industry Outlook

Crude futures ended Wednesday 2.7% higher after concerns about Middle Eastern stability returned to the forefront, along with a solid report on U.S. housing prices.

TEHRAN, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Iran says it has successfully countered a cyberattack by the Stuxnet computer worm on a power plant and other industries in the south of the country.

KABUL (Reuters) - The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a U.S. contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday.

International security experts are watching Nigeria 's radical Islamist movement Boko Haram with concern.

Iran’s Navy has developed a missile launching system which aims to increase the precision and range of anti-ship missiles.

IDG News Service - A power station in the south of Iran has been hit by a cyberattack, an Iranian news agency reported Tuesday, citing a local civil defense official. But now agency and official are in dispute over whether he really made the remarks.

Moscow, Dec 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian women working at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant are not properly adhering to the Islamic republic's strict dress code, despite receiving extra pay for compliance, an Iranian lawmaker has said.

The Upper House of the Russian Parliament approved a bill Wednesday that will ban American citizens from adopting Russian Children. The bill is the latest salvo in a tit for tat war of nerves between the United States and Russia that began when Congress passed a law imposing sanctions on...

The November tea production data of Malawi and Indonesia have just come out.

(Photos from Warner Bros. | The Weinstein Company | Summit Entertainment | Universal Pictures | Court 13 Pictures) Combining critical favorites with unrivaled box office successes, our Movies of the Year list celebrates the 25 most memorable films of 2012. 1 to 10 | 11 to 25 1. Silver Linings...

December is "prediction season" in the cybersecurity industry.

TEHRAN, Dec. 26 (MNA) –Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that recent visit by Lakhdar Barahimi to Syria in a way involved in Iran’s 6-point plan for Syrian crisis, since we had given him the plan as proposal.

Turkey will keep buying natural gas from neighboring Iran as Western allies raise pressure over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz says.

BEIJING, Dec. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Beijing Chuangxing Plastic Products Co., Ltd (formerly Tian Yuan Hong Xing Decoration Material Co., Ltd) is specialized in the development and production of the PVC Edge Banding series. As a professional manufacturer and supplier from China with 10...

Actor-director Ben Affleck hasdenied the possibility of being Senator John Kerry's potential successor, insisting he is not running for office. There were reports that he appears on the list to become a US Senator if Kerry is appointed as the Secretary of State, reported Ace

Iran is planning naval maneuvers in international waters near strategic Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of world oil supply passes.

Dec 26 (Reuters) - TOP STORIES ----------- TOKYO - New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled acabinet stacked with close allies on Wednesday, kicking off asecond administration committed to battling deflation and copingwith the challenge of a rising China. - - - - CAIRO - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has...

Shashank Joshi on talking to Iran,  Molly Redden  on a female Pentagon chief,  Mark Bittman  on obesity,  Susan Crawford on Comcast's power, and  Ruth Marcus on inflation inside the fiscal cliff.  Related Stories Syrian Rebels Say Assad's Troops Just Attacked Them with Poisonous Gas Police in Swaziland Say Miniskirts and...

Venezuela's real-life telenovela has taken a dramatic and dangerous turn for the worse with the hospitalization and new round...

Despite international sanctions, Iran has exported 1.578 million tons of goods worth USD1.3 billion from South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) during the month ending December 20, 2012.

> Stocks Markets Africa...

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The head of Syria's military police has defected from the army and declared allegiance to the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, according to a video and a Syrian security source. Related Stories Spring Wish denied as suicide bomber brings down Afghan juice empire Blogger's death stirs political...

TEHRAN, Dec. 26 (MNA) – IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) Marine Forces has launched a military exercise ‘Fajr 91’ in Asaluyeh and South Pars oil regions yesterday evening.

December 26, 2012: For the last few years the Turkish media has been full of stories about how Turkey is well on its way to being nearly self-sufficient in building the weapons it needs, particularly a lot of the most cutting edge stuff.

Andrew Mentzer's around-the-world journey, following the path his father took in the 1970s, continues in Singapore in January. by Andrew Mentzer The year 1977 was an interesting one in southeast Asia. The World of Soccer Cup was hosted by Singapore; Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 was hijacked and crashed in a...

SEPANG: Customs foiled four drug smuggling attempts with the arrest of four Indian nationals at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and seized 28.45kg of drugs worth RM1.73mil last week.

A Bahraini appeals court commutes to life imprisonment the death sentences of two Shiites convicted of killing two policemen during last year's unrest, lawyers say.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian news agency says four children of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani are suing a radical lawmaker for describing the influential ex-president's family as a corrupt "octopus." Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, who is a lawyer for Rafsanjani's family, was quoted by the semiofficial ISNA news agency Wednesday...

An official US report has warned that future terrorists could come from many different religions, including Christianity and Hinduism. The reports added that right-wing and left-wing ideological groups will also pose threats.