News Archive - 6 January 2013

Iran beats Kazakhstan 2-1 in Granatkin match The National Iranian junior football team has beaten Kazakhstan 2-1 in the 25th edition of the international youth football tournament in memory of the first FIFA Vice President Valentin Granatkin. Iranians started stronger and looked the better team in the first few minutes...

>* Hagel often clashed with Republicans on foreign policy* Sought easing of Cuba sanctions, opposed sanctions on Iran, Libya.* Nomination expected to be announced on MondayBy Paul EckertWASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - From his lonely position as an early Republican critic of the Iraq war, former Nebraska Senator Chuck...

>* Influential Republicans have stated opposition to Hagel* President and former senator bonded over opposition to Iraq warBy Thomas FerraroWASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will nominate former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be his defense secretary and an announcement could come on Monday, a Democratic congressional aide...

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad rejected peace talks with his enemies on Sunday in a defiant speech that his opponents described as a renewed declaration of war. Although the speech was billed as the unveiling of a new peace plan, Assad offered no concessions and even appeared to...

>In a case that provoked international outrage, Sattar Beheshti was arrested in his home on October 30 after receiving death threats, and died some days later, having complained of being tortured."It is necessary that the responsible agencies ... exercise more supervision and seriousness with regard to these bitter events and...

>* LNG plant could help supply region* Turkish energy demand rising rapidly* Ankara seeking to diversify energy suppliesBy Orhan CoskunALGIERS, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Turkey will discuss building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal with Qatar on its Aegean coast to help meet rising domestic needs and as Turkey's role...

President Obama's presumptive nominee for Secretary of Defense, Chuck Nagel, is coming under heavy criticism from his fellow Republicans. But are they critical of him for the right reasons?

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and stories that will be talked about Monday:

The Iranian foreign minister has expressed Tehran’s support for the plan proposed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resolve the crisis in the Arab country.

Jan. 7, 2013, 2:42 p.m. Manus Island camp. There are 87 SriLankans, 42 Iranians, 4 Afghans 4 Iraqis plus approx 30 children in the family camp. There are also 25 single men transferred last week. They live in the dongas. No doors or windows. Extremely hot.

Congressional leaders on Sunday showed no signs of emerging from their corners to resolve the next step in the financial crisis, with Democrats still talking about higher taxes on the wealthy and the Senate’s top Republican suggesting that a crippling default on U.S. loans was possible unless there were...

AN Iranian health official has revealed air pollution in Tehran has left more than 4000 people dead in a year.

When militant radicals seized the U.S. Embassy in Iran in November 1979, they intended to take all its employees hostage. But five were elsewhere in the embassy compound and escaped capture. After six tense days of furtively moving around Tehran, one of them, Robert Anders, placed a call to...

The cost of energy fell over the last month but remains higher than at this time last year due to the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa

Beijing's pending prosecution of deposed Politburo member Bo Xilai and the recent murder conviction of his wife, Gu Kailai , have again brought China's criminal justice system to world attention.

President Barack Obama plans to announce former Sen. Chuck Hagel as his nominee to become the next defense secretary on Monday, administration officials told CNN on Sunday.

President Barack Obama plans to announce former Sen. Chuck Hagel as his nominee to become the next defense secretary on Monday, administration officials told CNN on Sunday. Two sources close to Hagel have also been told to expect the defense secretary...

By CNN Political Unit WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Barack Obama plans to announce former Sen. Chuck Hagel as his nominee...

The Palestinian self-rule government is in "extreme jeopardy" because of an unprecedented financial crisis, largely because Arab countries have failed to send hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, the Palestinian prime minister said Sunday.

Jan. 4, 2013: A child uses a megaphone to lead others in chanting Free Syrian Army slogans during a demonstration in the neighborhood of Bustan Al-Qasr, Aleppo, Syria.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has tried to establish relations with clan leaders in Mosul, Anbar, Nineveh and Kirkuk, in order to confront the Kurds who are demanding the annexation of “disputed territories” with a unified Arab stance, paying no heed to the Kurdish-Shiite alliance that has existed since before...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki will not run out of maneuvers to elude the movement protesting his government’s performance, as well as the movement demanding that the imbalance in the country be corrected.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel is a contrarian Republican moderate and decorated Vietnam combat veteran who is likely to support a more rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

It is not yet clear how President Barack Obama intends to direct U.S. foreign policy during his second term, especially as the discovery of massive reserves of oil in the United States provides the country with a strategic boost that will characterize its international relations and global influence.

AUSTRALIA will chair a UN committee responsible for applying global sanctions on al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Iran.

Barack Obama has decided he wants former Republican senator Chuck Hagel to be the next defence secretary.

Facebook, iPhone, Twitter and Wii. Technology evolves at the speed of light. NBCNews.com's tech reporters look at the gadgets, games and innovations changing our ...

Once again, Democrats and Republicans are preparing for a nomination fight even before there's a nomination. In this case, Chuck Hagel for defense secretary.

The Palestinian president has ordered his government to officially change the name of the Palestinian Authority to "State of Palestine."

The tea companies need to change their mindset about those working in tea gardens, even if for nothing else, only to fight the problem of increasing absenteeism among the workers and the tendency of the younger people among them to opt for jobs in cities.

Here's the Facebook news that you may have missed this week including how to get a slice of the Sponsored Stories lawsuit's $20 million pie, Facebook's global domination, and why we post status updates so frequently.

Senators on Sunday indicated a tough confirmation fight for former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's reported pick to be the next Secretary of Defense. On NBC's "Meet the Press," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Republicans in the upper chambe …

Italian Premier Mario Monti, who is being backed by the Vatican in his bid for re-election, says gay rights issues - including gay marriage -should be decided by Parliament, not his government if he wins.

The Senate's Republican leader said Sunday he is reserving judgment on whether to support former Sen. Chuck Hagel, the front-runner to be the next defense secretary, and predicted that his former colleague would face serious question about his stands on Iran and Israel.

David Cameron says he wants to stay on as British prime minister until 2020, calling his agenda of reforms enough to keep him busy through another term.

>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scrambled on Sunday to hold back an opinion-poll surge by a far-right party, appealing in rare radio interviews for his supporters to stand by him in the January 22 election. There is little doubt in Israel that Netanyahu's conservative Likud, running jointly...

Tehran, Jan 6 (AFP) Iran is designing "intelligent software" that would give citizens restricted and controlled access to banned social networking sites, local media today quoted police chief Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghadam as saying.

Honduran officials say the coutry's ambassador to Colombia has been fired after two computers were stolen from the Honduran embassy in Bogota during a party that involved at least two presumed prostitutes. Related Stories Spitfire dig team arrives in Burma Pakistan accused over border 'raid' Pakistan anger over border 'raid'...

Behind the Scenes (PSIFF): A behind the scenes look at the red carpet and some of the people we missed from earlier in the show. Mary Hart and David O. Russell, right, sing 'Happy Birthday' to Bradley Cooper.

BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad was on Sunday delivering a rare speech about the uprising against his rule, which has killed an estimated 60,000 people and brought civil war to the edge of his capital.

Raipur, Jan 6 (PTI) Young table tennis sensation Soumyajit Ghosh and seasoned Poulomi Ghatak start favourites in the men's and women's competition respectively of the 74th National Table tennis championship starting here tomorrow.

The history and relations between Iran and the United States are complex and multi-faceted, with today’s ideological and political conflicts having their roots in actions during the 1950s and U.S. involvement in Iranian affairs.

Organisers of the demonstrations in February 2003 estimated that over two million people took part, with many not even making it to the start of the main march in central London because of the huge numbers involved.

>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Street protests in Iraq's Sunni Muslim heartland pose a new challenge to Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as shock waves from the Sunni-led insurgency in nearby Syria strain his country's fragile political balance. Over the past two weeks, tens of thousands of Sunnis have staged demonstrations, and...

>Between March 21 and Dec. 20, Iran's pistachio exports doubled to $587 million, making the nuts Iran's biggest agricultural export by value. Exports of saffron rose 87 percent to $213 million, Fars reported."Export of farming products has increased 15 percent compared to the previous year, while the agricultural exports...