News Archive - 16 February 2013

Ali Shirazi, representative of Iran's supreme leader to the Revolutionary Guards, said Saturday that Israel will soon pay the price for the death in Syria of Gen. Hassan Shateri, a senior IRGC officer, for which Tehran holds Israel responsible.

>The violence has clouded the atmosphere around talks begun on February 10 between the mostly Shi'ite Muslim opposition and the Sunni Muslim-dominated government to find a way out of the impasse over Shi'ite demands for more democracy.Witnesses said the confrontation, in which some of the hundreds of opposition demonstrators...

>Nasrallah's comments, during a speech from an undisclosed location, are the closest thing yet to a response to allegations that Israeli jets were targeting a Syrian weapons convoy destined for Hezbollah during a strike near Damascus on Jan 30.World powers fear that as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad loses control...

>Iran said on Thursday that an Iranian military commander named Hessam Khoshnevis, also called Hassan Shateri in some news accounts, had been killed in Syria by rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Tehran.Syrian rebels accuse Iran's Revolutionary Guard of sending forces to help Assad crush their 22-month-old...

>The United States and some of its Western allies suspect Iran may be trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability under the guise of a civilian atomic energy programme, a charge Iran rejects.Iranian officials have said in the past that a religious decree by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...

>MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed a senior Iraqi army intelligence officer and two bodyguards in a northern town on Saturday after storming his well-guarded home. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. But suicide bombings are the hallmark of al Qaeda's local wing, Islamic State of Iraq,...

>ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Tighter U.S. sanctions are killing off Turkey's gold-for-gas trade with Iran and have stopped state-owned lender Halkbank from processing other nations' energy payments to the OPEC oil producer, bankers said on Friday. U.S. officials have sought to prevent Turkish gold exports, which indirectly pay Iran...

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...

President Obama's approach to so-called "climate change" appears to include recycling old ideas.In ...

Smoke rises after a bomb attack in a Shi'ite Muslim area of the Pakistani city of Quetta February 16, 2013. Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which intelligence officials say has become a major security threat, claimed responsibility for the sectarian attack on Shi'ites which killed 47 people in the city of Quetta on...

On Tuesday, the sports world was blindsided by the news that the International Olympic Committee had recommended removing wrestling from the Summer Olympics beginning with the 2020 games.

Inhofe outlined several key issues he is pursuing in the nation’s capital.

Nowadays, the ruins of the bridge are open for tourists who want to get a close-up of North Korean soil without actually having to set foot on it. / Nina Trentmann

Fighting breaks out in Liberia. Gunfire and explosions erupt on city streets, and marauders soon turn their fury on Westerners. An SOS goes out that civilians are in peril. But the Navy has scaled back its deployments off the African coast. It has no amphibious assault ship, carrying helicopters, landing...

Even foes of Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, admit he has changed the face of the country.

LOS ANGELES, USA - Ben Affleck will join the presenting cast for next week's Oscars, organizers said Thursday, February 13, despite the perceived snub that saw him miss the best director nominees' shortlist. "Hunger Games" star Jennifer Lawrence, nominated for best actress for romcom "Silver Linings Playbook," and Jessica Chastain,...

Australian's case sparks debate about censorship in Israel

At least 63 people have been killed and more than 180 wounded in a bomb attack in a Shia-dominated part of the south-western Pakistani city of Quetta.

It is baffling why so many stoke the idea of a genuine friendship between the Manchester United and Real Madrid managers when common sense points to something much less trite Is there a more hilariously unconvincing friendship in public life than that fabled one between Sir Alex Ferguson and José...

LOS ANGELES - Steven Spielberg goes into next weekend's Oscars with the most nominations for his presidential "Lincoln" but the momentum is all with Ben Affleck's thriller "Argo" in the Academy Awards home straight.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: US President Barack Obama on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) nominated controversial former Republican senator Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon and hard-nosed counter-terrorism czar John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The outcome of the first conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Economic Co-operation Organisation (ECO) was a resolve to play a "monitoring role" in promoting regional trade and investment with the overarching objective of ensuring sustainable socio-economic development.

BERLIN -- The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival handed out its awards Saturday, with the top prize, the Golden Bear for best film, going to the Romanian family drama and corruption tale “Child’s Pose,” directed by Calin Peter Netzer.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Barack Obama will, on Sunday (Monday in Manila), be sworn in to shoulder the power and burden of the US presidency for a second term, launching two days of inaugural rituals darkened by domestic discord and crises abroad.

The president of wrestling's international federation has resigned after the Olympics recommended dropping the sport from the 2020 Summer Games, the group said Saturday. Raphael Martinetti's departure was announced in Phuket, Thailand, at a meeting of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. The official stepped down to give another...

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama wave during the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball in Washington, D.C. AFP PHOTO WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Barack Obama inaugurated his second term with an ardent call for unity, but warned his foes their “absolutism” must not thwart action on climate, immigration...

IRAN’S leading nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh- Mahabadi, travelled to North Korea to observe its third nuclear test last week, according to western intelligence sources.

LAST year Hollywood’s Oscar contenders were barred from throwing lavish parties to win over the Academy’s voters. This year the big studios are getting round the ban by recruiting politicians to endorse their films.

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A bomb hidden in a water tank ripped through a crowded vegetable market in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in a southwestern Pakistani city Saturday, killing at least 65 people and wounding nearly 200, officials said. Police said many of those wounded in the explosion in Quetta...

BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Hezbollah said Saturday that he would not comment on a recent report from Bulgaria that said members of the Lebanese militant group carried out an attack that killed five Israeli tourists last summer, saying only that the "issue is being followed calmly and closely.

Editor: David Brunnstrom + 1 202 789 8013 Picture Desk: Singapore + 65 6870 3775 Graphics queries: + 65 6870 3595 (All times GMT) TOP STORIES G20 promises no currency wars MOSCOW - Group of 20 nations says it will not launchcurrency war and defers plans to set new debt-cutting...

He will travel to Jordan and Israel for the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee.

63 killed, 180 injured in Quetta blast Islamabad, Feb 17 : At least 63 people were killed and over 180 injured in a sectarian attack which targetted the minority Shia Muslims in the Quetta city of Pakistan's Balochistan province Saturday, Xinhua reported.

The strike occurred the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta. At least 180 people also were injured when water tanker parked in the marketplace along the Karana Road section of the city was remotely detonated. said Mir Zubair Mehmood, a Quetta senior police official.

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Rebels pressed an offensive in northern Syria on Saturday, attacking Aleppo airport and two airbases, as a rights watchdog and residents reported hundreds of people held in a string of sectarian kidnappings.

In 43’s case, it’s self-portraits in oil and acrylic

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) – A blast targeting Shiites in a busy Pakistani marketplace killed at least 25 people on Saturday, police...

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez's supporters joyfully brandished first photographs of him since cancer surgery two months ago while opposition activists said the images were worrying evidence of Venezuela's political vacuum. Related Stories Conclave electing new pope could start before March 15 - Vatican Iran to avenge killing of...

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of supporters of Tunisia's Islamist-led government marched in the capital on Saturday, one of the biggest in a series of pro-government and opposition rallies sparked by the assassination of a secular politician. Related Stories Conclave electing new pope could start before March 15 -...

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday expressed disappointment at intense public infighting between senior officials, calling for "calm" amid Western economic sanctions.

TEHRAN, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Iran's supreme ayatollah said Saturday his nation was not developing nuclear weapons and was in favor of banning the bomb worldwide.

International sanctions imposed against Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program have actually helped the Islamic Republic to become self-sufficient in producing required materials, a recent article says.

Israel denied making secret compensation payments to the Melbourne family of Ben Zygier.

ABU DHABI - French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Saturday called for urgent action to bring about a power transfer in Syria that excludes President Bashar al-Assad.

Tehran, Feb 16 (AINS) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Saturday said the Islamic republic does not intend to build nuclear weapons, reported Xinhua, citing Press TV.

QUETTA, Pakistan - A bomb targeting Shiite Muslims in a busy market in Pakistan's insurgency-hit southwest killed 79 people including women and children and wounded 180 others, officials said Sunday.

Rally in response to the announcement of joint investigation of the AMIA center bombing of 1994.

Mystery continues to surround the life and death of Prisoner X, who was held in an Israeli jail for unknown reasons and found dead in his cell in 2010, in what Israeli officials have called a suicide. For more, Robert Siegel speaks with NPR's Larry Abramson.

Average people, untutored in global security issues, might think it a bad idea to let two of the nation's top national security posts remain vacant.

(CNN)- The president of wrestling’s international federation has resigned after the Olympics recommended dropping the sport from the 2020 Summer Games, the group said Saturday. Raphael Martinetti’s departure was announced in Phuket, Thailand, at a meeting of the International Federation …

The price of mutual aid arrangements for fire and emergency services might be going up.

Great Britain's Olympic star Mo Farah has said that he wants to win more gold medals, in a manner similar to his friend and Olympic star Usain Bolt's phenomenal success at the London ...

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict was cheered by conservatives for trying to reaffirm traditional Catholic identity but liberals accused him of turning back the clock on reforms and hurting dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other Christians.

(Rome) - Pope Benedict surprised the world on Monday by saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to cope with the demands of his ministry, becoming the first pontiff to step down since the Middle Ages and leaving his aides "incredulous".