News Archive - 4 June 2013

>SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil is closer to choosing Boeing Co.'s (BA.N) F-18 for one of the developing world's most sought-after defense contracts after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden addressed the government's main misgivings during a visit to Brasilia, officials told Reuters. Biden met with President Dilma...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is likely to renew waivers on Iran oil sanctions for India, China and several other countries as soon as Wednesday, in exchange for their reducing purchases of crude from the Islamic Republic, two government sources said. The 180-day exceptions to...

>The move targets 37 companies spread across the world, from Iran to Croatia, Germany and South Africa, and is the fourth action the United States has taken in the past week to sanction Iran's government over its atomic program.The sanctions prohibit U.S. citizens and companies from dealing with...

>Iran's Intelligence Ministry said on Sunday 12 people had been arrested for planning "sabotage" and "terrorist activities" on the day of the Islamic state's June 14 presidential election."Following the statement by the Intelligence Ministry about uncovering a terrorist network linked to a regional Arab country, the Qatari charge d'affaires...

>AMSTERDAM/AMMAN, June 4 (Reuters) - Syria, defeated by Israel in three wars and afraid its arch enemy had gained a nuclear arsenal, began in earnest to build a covert chemical weapons programme three decades ago, aided by its neighbours, allies and European chemical wholesalers. Damascus lacked the technology and scientific...

>* France says nerve agent sarin has been used* U.S. could leave missiles, F-16s in Jordan beyond exercise* Residents of Qusair face renewed attack* Calls for humanitarian access to besieged cityBy Suleiman Al-KhalidiAMMAN, June 4 (Reuters) - France said on Tuesday it had performed tests that proved President Bashar...

ASHGABAT (Turkmenistan), June 5 (Bernama) -- Turkmenistan will launch the foundation of the "Atamirat-Imamnazar-Akina Railway", which is part of the planned Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan Railway, Azerbaijan's Trend news agency reported, citing the Turkmen government's statement Tuesday.

SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. It’s my pleasure today to welcome Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian from Armenia. And for me, it is a particular pleasure to welcome him because I think everybody knows Massachusetts is home to one of the ...

HARLAN ULLMAN || UPI Outside View Commentator WASHINGTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Series of complex issues around the world leave the United States with few good options to help bring any of the problem to a positive outcome.

The recent disputes involving the IRS, last year's deadly Benghazi attack and the Justice Department's media probes have raised doubts about the Obama administration’s honesty and integrity among majorities of Americans, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds.President Barack Obama’s support among independents has been eroded by the...

June 5, 2013, 1:01 p.m. How full is your green and gold glass? If it's half-full, Australia were good value for their draw with Japan . Half-empty? The Socceroos blew a golden chance on the path to Brazil.

Vienna, June 4 : Iran has not provided the International Atomic Energy Agency with sufficient information to substantiate its claim that its nuclear programme is peaceful, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said.

North Dakota higher ed board says money will come from $1B general fund BISMARCK - Monday's vote by the North Dakota Board of Higher Education to buy out Chancellor Hamid Shirvani's contract will cost the state more than $925,000.

President Putin's statement to EU leaders seems to put an end to often contradictory Russian and Syrian stories about whether the Assad regime would get the weapons.

For illustration purposes only KUALA LUMPUR: The Internet laws imposed in countries like China, Iran and Singapore are too harsh and should not be implemented in Malaysia, say bloggers and media analysts.

TOKYO, June 5 — Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals after a last-gasp home draw against Australia yesterday, while arch-rivals South Korea also conjured up a late equaliser in Beirut to inch closer to a spot in Brazil. The 62,000-plus crowd at Saitama...

Nation & World briefing OKLAHOMA CITY -- The deadly tornado that plowed through an area near Oklahoma City last week was even larger and more

Vice President Joe Biden says only Turks can solve the problem of anti-government protests sowing unrest in Turkey. But he says the U.S. is concerned and isn't indifferent to the outcome.

A New Mexico city commission has agreed to allow a Canadian studio to search an old landfill where old, terrible Atari games are rumoured to be buried. The Alamogordo Daily News reports that Alamogordo commissioners will allow Fuel Industries to...

By The Washington Post The Washington Post TEHRAN — Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused foreign and domestic critics on Tuesday of attempting to undermine the country’s presidential ...

The inmate roster for May 31-June 4, 2013 at the Natrona County Detention Center.

Two diplomats say Iran's only nuclear power plant, which already has raised safety concerns, has been damaged by recent earthquakes. The unidentified diplomats told the Associated Press that international monitors believe large cracks have developed in one part of the Bushehr plant. Iran has refused to join a global treaty...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., June 4 (UPI) -- Archaeological evidence of grape wine and winemaking point to the beginnings of a vinicultural industry in France dating to 500-400 B.C., scientists say.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - A government watchdog says senior IRS officials enjoyed luxury hotel rooms, free drinks and free food at a $4.1 million training conference in 2010.

Bloc warns Lebanon’s security crisis will persist as long as resistance fights beside Assad forces

Latest VideoJune 4th, 2013     Reza Ghoochannejhad selected as best player after Iran beat Qatar 1- 0 With a goal scored by Reza Ghoocani Nejad , Iran beat Qatar in a world cup qualifying game in Doha’s Al Sadd stadium on Tuesday 4 June 2013.

Latest VideoJune 4th, 2013     Controversial video of Hasan Rohani praise Hashemi Rafsanjani and present Khamenei hard stand in nuclear issue softer ! In promotional video of  presidential candidate  Hasan Rohani which was aired on Iranian TV , Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohamad Khatami were praised , while it draw a softer...

My worries about where America is leading us were increased by a recent visit to Tunisia, which I found fascinating. I also found it extremely sad, because tourism has suffered tremendously, since the Arab Spring, which it will be remembered began in Tunisia just 2 ½ years back.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration will extend six-month sanctions exemptions to China, India and seven other countries for significantly reducing oil imports from Iran, officials said Tuesday, as the U.S. imposed new measures against companies believed to be acting as a front network to help the Iranian government...

June 4 (Reuters) - Iran put their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track after Reza Ghoochannejhad's 66th-minute strike powered them to a 1-0 away win over Qatar on Tuesday. Carlos Quiroz's team pocketed three points from the match at Doha's Al Sadd Stadium to sit third in Group A...

Several countries monitoring Iran’s nuclear program have picked up information that the country’s only power-producing nuclear reactor was damaged by one or more of several recent earthquakes, with long cracks appearing in at least one section of the structure, two diplomats said Tuesday.

Loading... Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil thanks to a last second equalizer against Australia . Oman put pressure on the Socceroos with their win over Iraq while in Group A, South Korea's 96th minute goal saved a point against Lebanon and kept...

Syrian rebels say they respect all holy sites but damage to Sayyida Zeinab shrine has spurred 10,000 Shias to volunteer Not long after a friend called from Damascus to tell him one of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam had been damaged by Syrian rebels , Baghdad student Ammar Sadiq...

The US secretary of defence has faithfully implemented the war policies of the "war president" who chose him.

BEIRUT — Space is running low in the hall in south Beirut where Hezbollah buries its war dead, a testament to the heavy price the Lebanese Shiite militant movement is paying as it pins its fate ever closer to Syrian President Bashar Assad in a high-stakes game that it cannot...

Six world powers engaged in stalled talks with Iran over its nuclear programme will show a united front with a joint statement at a meeting of the UN atomic agency, diplomats said Tuesday.

>(Reuters) - With 10 days until Iran's presidential election, voters have been able watch the candidates in debate, but many remain unenthused, believing the result will depend not on those on the platform but on powerful men in the background. The Revolutionary Guards, a military force over 100,000 strong which...

Latest VideoJune 4th, 2013     Ali Akbar Velayati cry in his promotional election video Part of promotional video of presidential candidate and former minister of foreign affair  Ali Akbar Velayati aired on Iranian TV .

FIBA Asia secretary general Hagop Khajirian was expected to arrive in Manila yesterday afternoon to oversee the draw that would determine the groupings in the 27th Fiba Asia Championship that will be played here from Aug. l to 11.

Just when Turkey should be receiving accolades for its recent peace agreement with separatist militants, that progress is being overshadowed by the government's heavy-handed response to protesters.

Here are the Top 15 soccer stories we’re following today. The group stages are set for the 2013-14 CONCACAF Champions League with MLS representatives Sporting KC, the San Jose Earthquakes, Montreal Impact, LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo primed for action.

Global warming and nuclear arms conflicts threaten the planet, thanks in no small part to U.S. policy failures        

If you think “Saudi feminist” is an oxymoron, come with me behind the walls of the female side of the campus of Prince Mohammad University (PMU), a new, private, co-ed center of higher education in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, just across the Arab (Don't say Persian!) Gulf from Iran.

LONDON [MENL] -- After two years of tension, relations between Iran and Hamas remain poor. Palestinian sources said Iran remains angry over Hamas' refusal to support the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against Sunni rebels.

A collection of links from the reporters and editors of the Dining section.

Tehran, June 4 (IANS) Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday the country's next president should focus on the Iranian economy which is targeted by the West.

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran has provided details of its latest indigenous air defense system. Copyrights 2008, Middle East Newsline. All rights reserved.

Latest VideoJune 4th, 2013     Iran warned Qatar for sending spies to Iran – English subtitled The head of commission for foreign relation and national security in Majlis , Alaeldin Boroujerdi claimed that Qatar was involved in sending members of a spy network which was dismantled [ on May 4th...

As the Syrian civil war drags on into its third summer, the conflict only grows larger and more vicious, with Hezbollah, Israel, Turkey, and even the North Koreans joining in the fight. Both the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have released new reports on the carnage created by the...

He's a buffoon who even some in his own party attack. But make no mistake: He is a symbol of today's GOP        

The Obama administration’s “New START” arms treaty agreement with Russia is off to a bad start with every appearance of getting a lot worse. In addition to having already decimated our nuclear missile defense programs, it appears that Obama, without congressional approval, will next cut our nuclear arsenal by fully...

The violence in Turkey has been real, but photos that were taken between Saturday and Monday show more of the protest than just the police clashes.

With less than two weeks until Iranians head to the polls, access to news and opinion has become an issue for voters, especially those hoping to go online. Four years ago when the election results were announced in Iran, the world of social media was abuzz, with cell phone video...

After hundreds of thousands of deaths and a decade of US military presence, could China be the ultimate winner of the Iraq War? The Asian giant is expanding its share of the Iraqi oil market at the expense of US firms.

VIENNA (Reuters) - China and Russia are set to join four Western powers in voicing deep concern about Iran's atomic activities this week and pressing it to cooperate with a stalled inquiry by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, diplomats said on Tuesday. Related Stories Fukushima plant operator reverses claim groundwater...

NEW YORK (Nations unies) : Une soixantaine de pays ont signé, hier, le premier traité sur le commerce international des armes conventionnelles, adopté en avril dernier mais qui n'entrera en vigueur qu'après avoir été ratifié par 50 Etats.

Islamic scholars paid tribute to the late Iranian spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on his 24th death anniversary at a seminar here.

(Source: Government of the Republic of the Philippines) Undersecretary Garcia Urges Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology Tuesday, 04 June 2013 15:44 Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Evan P Garcia (middle) poses with Head 5th ARF lnter-Sessional Meeting on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in Makati peaceful uses of nuclear technology.

Researchers studying Italian pottery vessels found in France from 500 BC establish that they contained wine - and the beginnings of France's wine culture.

If there is one lesson Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should have drawn from the popular revolts that toppled four Arab leaders and sparked civil war in Syria in the last two years, it is that police brutality strengthens protesters’ resolve and particularly that of militant, street battle-hardened soccer...

A leading candidate in Iran's June 14 presidential election has sought to reassure world powers that Tehran's controversial nuclear programme is peaceful, in an exclusive interview with AFP.

TEHRAN: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday that the country's next president should avoid making "concessions" to the west, saying this would not diffuse tensions over Tehran's nuclear drive.

On June 3, 1963, Pope John XXIII died at age 81, ending a relatively brief but highly influential 4 1/2-year papacy; he was succeeded by Pope Paul VI.

AUSTRALIA has signed a landmark global arms control treaty to crack down on illegal trade in weapons such as assault rifles.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged presidential candidates on Tuesday not to make concessions to appease the West, an implied rebuke to several of the candidates running in June 14 elections who said that they would focus on improving the Islamic Republic's relations with other countries.

BAGHDAD: Baghdad has warned Israel that it would respond to any attempts by the Jewish state to use Iraqi airspace for a strike against Iran’s controversial nuclear program, a top Iraqi minister told AFP.

TEHRAN: Ali Akbar Velayati, a conservative presidential contender, reiterated that the Islamic republic is not seeking nuclear weapons that he said are banned by the Islamic religion, in an exclusive interview with AFP.

Washington, June 4 (ANI): The Obama administration has imposed new sanctions on Iran's currency and auto industry, turning the screw on its nuclear programme.

Iranian independent presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei says Iran’s youths are the most important asset of the country and that he will seek their help in resolving the country’s problems if elected.

The Obama administration imposed new sanctions on Monday on Iran and its nuclear programme, targeting the country’s currency and auto industry and seeking to render Iranian money useless outside the country.

Finance officials suspect Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon will seek to reopen negotiations about size of defense budget.

More than 60 countries have signed a landmark treaty on trade in conventional weapons.        

Washington: The US has slapped new sanctions on Iran for the third time in a week, targetting the country’s already-devalued currency and automobile industry, as it pressured Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme. This is the first time the US has directly targeted the Iranian currency as the sanctions include...