News Archive - 14 March 2014

UN-Arab League Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is scheduled to visit Iran to discuss the Syria crisis with senior Iranian officials in Tehran.

>GENEVA (Reuters) - President Hassan Rouhani has made only "baby steps" to improve human rights in Iran where forces loyal to the supreme leader are "working to suppress the rights of people," a United Nations investigator said on Friday. Ahmed Shaheed, U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Iran,...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States hopes the escalating crisis in Ukraine will not undermine cooperation with Russia to curb Iran's nuclear program, a senior U.S. administration official said on Friday. Senior officials from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are due to meet Iranian officials...

>* Billions of dollars of loans on hold* Vimpelcom, Uralkali, Sibur among companies affected* Bankers already reviewing loan terms and conditionsBy Sandrine BradleyLONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - The Russian syndicated loan market has ground to a halt, putting billions of dollars of loans in the pipeline on hold, as banks...

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in London to press his Russian counterpart to halt a takeover of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula after clashes killed one person and injured dozens in the country’s east.

THE City of Baguio will once again host the finish line and awarding ceremony of the Le tour de Filipinas 2014 fifth edition this coming April 24.

www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/east-timor-four-corners-tv-probe-lifts-lid-oil-industrial-espionage-8512 Four Corners investigation into the Timor-Leste allegations against Australia ... the oil stakes are high. Image: ABC

Middle East analysts say the erosion of relations between the U.S. and Russia over the Ukraine crisis is likely to have an impact on the Middle East, especially the conflict in Syria, which is now entering its fourth year. It had all the trappings of a campaign rally. Hundreds...

Deepening rifts among the rebels put the Syrian president in a stronger position to quash them.

Sat, 15 Mar 2014 04:32:44 GMT By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Monitor staff U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte drummed up state Republicans’ energy yesterday by denouncing President Obama’s domestic and foreign policies, criticizing U.S. Senate Democrats and taking a jab at a potential Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy. “How many of yo...

After countless false leads and nearly a week of searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, all we know of its fate is that we don't know much at all. That gap has been filled with rumors and theories, but what's actually possible?

While Netanyahu paints the Iranian president as a secret extremist, Rohani is trying to convince Iranians that he is a real moderate.

The new documentary by Qatar’s state-run Al Jazeera about Iran’s involvement in the 1988 attack on a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie in Scotland, is a move to plot against Tehran, a prominent Iranian journalist says.

Five years before 9/11, top officials at the White House mulled how terrorist attacks could be prevented and how the president should respond to attacks if they occur, newly released documents from the Clinton Library show.

A couple months ago I reread George Orwell’s 1984. In the book, the main character, Winston Smith, works at The Party’s “Ministry of Truth.” His job simply entails rewriting newspaper articles to make whatever projections or statistics The Party made accurate.

The mission of the Imam Hussein is recounted in a spectacular religious epic from Iran read more        

George Sexton's March 13 letter to the editor, "Let's tax everyone for their bad habits," is really on to something. George simply argues that people who engage in unhealthy activity should directly pay the cost. Sure seems fair.

The struggle comes when we sense a gap between the clock and the compass - when what we do doesn't contribute to what is most important in our lives.

On March 7 and 8, expert witnesses, attorneys and family members of the Cuban Five, gave powerful testimony before an audience of 250 people at the prestigious Law Society in central London, to argue for the immediate freedom of the three Cuban Five members ...

MANILA, Philippines – From protecting the country against invaders to supporting non-violent protests against oppressive regimes, numerous graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) have played major roles in our country's history. Some were even entrusted by Presidents to head civilian posts in government and carry out national policies. Since...

In two politically charged matches, Russia will face Ukraine, followed by the U.S. against Iran at the World Cup. The matches will feature some of wrestling's biggest names. The Russian coach did not want to talk about troops on the Crimean peninsula or any other aspect of his country’s...

Watch Video | Listen to the Audio JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight: He’s a wanted man in the U.S., but this week, National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden spoke, via video from Russia, to the annual gathering called South By Southwest. He argued to the crowd gathered in Austin,...

The New Zealand Herald (14 March) published two stories of violence over Gaza with the headlines 'Israeli warplanes strike back in Gaza' and 'Rockets strike Israel, jeopardising truce talk'.

Spaniard Ingacio Ignacio Dean Moulia is realising his dream of seeing the world and inspiring others at the same time, writes Aneeta Sundararaj

The president of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council challenges critics of President Obama's Ukraine policy by saying "What are you going to do, send the 101st Airborne into Crimea?" Not exactly subtle. And rather silly, considering that no one has proposed such a thing.

Witness accounts from inside Australia's detention centres are rare.

Asia-Pacific countries adopt roadmap to push toward goal of zero hunger and improvements in food security

OPEC crude production rose above its target for the first time in five months as Iraq pumped the most in 35 years, according to the International Energy Agency.

Yesterday (13th March 2014) one of the leading Killinochchi activists and her daughter who have been in the frontline protesting and demanding for the whereabouts of the missing have been arrested by the CID.

Funded by the Dubai Sports Council, the facility would be located close to Dubai Sports City        

Israel’s legislators voted last week to streamline the country’s electoral and governing systems – and no one was more gratified by the news than Los Angeles entrepreneur Izak Parviz Nazarian.

Phosphine gas is notoriously lethal (enough so that it was featured recently in a murderous episode of Breaking Bad). The pure gas is colorless and odorless so it carries no warning sign. It's a fast, systematic, and corrosive killer; it "denatures" and breaks down a range of enzymes and proteins...

THE DAMAGE: Palestinians inspect the damage following Israeli airstrikes on smuggling tunnels in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. (AFP)

With evidence showing a missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Boeing 777-200ER could still be intact, US officials have not ruled out that flight MH370 was flown to a secret site so that it could be used at a later date.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will visit Syria's close ally Iran this weekend to try to break a deadlock in political talks aimed at ending Syria's three-year war, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Friday.

DEARBORN — Thirteen years ago and 450 miles east of Dearborn, Brian Yasipour carried out a callous crime that caught the quiet town of Williamsport, Pa., by surprise.

Get a concise summary of news and events from inside CFR and around the world. This clear and authoritative book presents a sweeping account of China's global resource quest and the unrivaled expansion of its economy.

DAMASCUS: Syria's exiled opposition will be barred from a presidential vote to be held before July, virtually ensuring Bashar al-Assad's re-election three years into an uprising against his family's four-decade rule.

Exclusive: Official Washington’s bipartisan hysteria over Ukraine and Crimea is evidence that the neocons not only weathered the public fury over the Iraq War but are now back shaping U.S. geopolitical strategies, reports Robert Parry.

ORGY OF KILLINGS: Pakistani paramilitary soldiers move a blast victim from the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta on Friday. (AFP)

A Russian-owned arms and technology company claims that an American surveillance drone was disabled and captured while flying over Crimea. Reports are a little sketchy so-far, but this is what we know. Rostec, a state-owned Russian arms company, says a U.S. surveillance drone was essentially hacked electronically, on Friday using...

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said Russia and Iran should pressure their ally in Damascus to re-start peace talks aimed at ending the three-year Syrian civil war.

THERE’S ONE THING I’ve noticed about Obama: he’s an extremely talented talker and a very poor doer.

After guesting on Showtime’s Homeland this season, Nazanin Boniadi has been upped to regular for Season 4 of the Emmy-winning terrorism drama. Boniadi plays Fara Sherazi, the strong-willed Muslim CIA analyst who Saul (Mandy Patinkin) recruited for her expertise in international banking. Like Carrie (Claire Danes), Fara shares a passion...

>* Banks wary of falling foul of U.S. regulations* Iran keen to speed up humanitarian trade planBy Jonathan Saul and Parisa HafeziLONDON/ANKARA, March 13 (Reuters) - Despite a diplomatic thaw, Western banks are steering clear of attempts by Iran to get them involved in financing humanitarian transactions, fearing they...

Two separate bomb attacks targeting security forces in Pakistan killed 19 people on Friday, officials said, the latest violence to hit peace talks between the government and Taliban militants.

India's first professional kabaddi league, in which some well-known entrepreneurs have evinced interest as team owners, was today launched with much fanfare at NSCI Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium in Worli here.

With daily battles between rebel groups and regime forces, the situation in Syria is fluid. Here we map current territorial possession in the country        

The United States and Ukraine's interim government are prepared to offer concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to solve the political crisis in Crimea, sources close to the talks said Friday.        

Yet another Indian American, Puneet Talwar, a longtime White House national security staffer, has been confirmed by the US Senate as the State Department's new assistant secretary for political-military affairs.

[Video] Esteghlal Tehran – Esteghlal Ahvaz Esteghlal Tehran 6 – 0 Esteghlal Ahvaz (Week 7) 20′ [1-0] Arash Borhani Get the Flash Player to see this content. Download (with replays) 35′ [2-0] Pirouz Ghorbani Get the Flash Player to see this content. Download (with replays) 50′ [3-0] Hashem Beikzadeh...

Over the past three decades, Minaskanian has continued to teach and perform, making solo, chamber and orchestral appearances.

The lively debate signals that Republicans are healthier and hungrier than the Democrats, who are slouching towards Hillary Clinton.

The Commission on Tuesday set out a new vision for EU justice policy, aiming to boost progress towards a common European area of justice based on trust, mobility and growth by 2020.

Global imports of Iranian oil hit a one-year high in January and February, the International Energy Agency said, a trend industry sources say suggests an easing of sanctions pressure on Tehran is helping its exports to recover. Imports of Iranian crude, including condensate, reached 1.41 million barrels per day...

Major European and Saudi banks have stopped dealing with Sudan, diplomatic and other sources say, adding to the sanctions-hit country’s isolation and further straining its indebted, cash-starved economy. While Khartoum blames increased “pressure” from a US trade embargo first imposed 17 years ago, a US official said there had been...

Malaysia is expanding the search for a missing passenger jet further east into the South China Sea and farther west into the Indian Ocean after a multination week-long search turned up few clues on the fate of Flight 370. "A normal investigation becomes narrower with time, as new information focuses...

Steven Pifer, 60, has served as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and as a senior official in the State Department and the White House National Security Council, specializing in Russia and Ukraine. He is now director of the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative at the Brookings Institution.

QUETTA, Pakistan: A bomb blast on Friday killed 10 people and wounded 31 others in Pakistan’s restive southwestern city of Quetta, officials said.

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>* JX cuts to help Japan reduce 2014 Iran imports by 11 pct* Cuts come as JX cuts contract volumes from other suppliersBy Osamu TsukimoriTOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Japan's biggest refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy has cut its annual crude contract with Iran by 27 percent, an industry...