News Archive - 11 April 2014

WASHINGTON — In a rare diplomatic rebuke, the U.S. has blocked Iran’s controversial pick for envoy to the U.N., a move that could stir animosity at a time when Washington and Tehran have been seeking a thaw in relations.

>Siluanov would not say whether a deal had been sealed with Iran.U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Siluanov on Thursday on the sidelines of a International Monetary Fund-World Bank meeting in Washington that any oil-for-goods deal Moscow might strike with Iran could run afoul of U.S. sanctions.

WASHINGTON -- In the spring of 2012, some of America's largest banks were coming under attack, with hackers commandeering servers around the world to direct a barrage of Internet traffic toward the banks' websites.

A Phoenix woman accused of throwing a shoe some 60 feet toward Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared aware during questioning by U.S. Secret Service agents of the allegation against her, authorities said Friday.

The second-highest ranking U.S. diplomat will step down after a 32-year career.

WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has discussed with the International Finance Corporation a programme that could help offset Walt Disney's decision to discontinue outsourcing to Pakistan, says a statement issued on Friday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a rare diplomatic rebuke, the United States has blocked Iran's controversial pick for envoy to the United Nations, a move that could stir fresh animosity at a time when Washington and Tehran have been seeking a thaw in relations.

Sign up for our new free weekly email featuring the latest news, intrigue, analysis and blunders from the 32 competing nations BLUE SKIES, ORANJE GLOOM In much the same way that seismologists consider the sudden scarpering of wildlife to be a precursor to a mighty earthquake, seasoned World Cup forecasters...

Police link 12 highway shootings KANSAS CITY, Mo. Police have connected 12 shootings targeting

>TOKYO/SINGAPORE, April 11 (Reuters) - Iran has set the official selling price (OSP) of its light crude oil loading in May to Asian buyers at $2.11 a barrel above the average of Oman/Dubai quotes, a trader said on Friday, up 30 cents from the month before.The table below...

>"We expect, we still expect, and anticipate that this will average over a six-month period ... to meeting the bar that was set" in the interim agreement, spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.The Paris-based International Energy Agency on Friday revised Iran's exports in February up 240,000 bpd to 1.65 million...

>The global news and information provider met with representatives from the Tehran Stock Exchange in London earlier this week."Thomson Reuters complies with all sanction rules and regulations," said a Thomson Reuters spokeswoman."Consistent with these rules, the meeting was used to express mutual interest in exploring potential business opportunities...

>* West seeks to limit exports to 1 mln bpd under recent deal* US: over 6 months exports to average the target in deal (Recasts to add quotes from State Department spokeswoman and research group analyst)By Ron Bousso and Timothy GardnerLONDON/WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) - Iran's crude oil exports have...

>The newspaper quoted lawyer Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei as saying Hekmati, held since 2011, was not told by Iranian officials about the retrial, conviction or prison sentence. The Times quoted Tabatabaei as saying Hekmati was retried by a revolutionary court in December and convicted of "practical collaboration with the American government.

Lebanese Shiite movement’s fighters say it is 'duty' to help Assad regime in battle against ‘takfiris’. BINT JBEIL - As he pushes a cart full of tomatoes and cucumbers in the market at Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, nothing marks out Mahmud as an experienced Hezbollah fighter.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Embassy in Turkey's capital Ankara hosted representatives of the Developing Eight (D-8) countries on Thursday.

Natural rubber exports in February rose 12,945 tonnes or 21% to 74,452 tonnes versus the same period last year, the Statistics Department said today. On a month-on-month basis, the total natural rubber export increased by 4,034 tonnes (+5.7%) from January 2014. Standard Malaysian Rubber contributed 94.9% to total...

The College of Coastal Georgia is a place of learning for the students who go there, but today it will be a place full of educational opportunities for everyone.

Iran is, literally, being blown away. Stifling dust storms frequently now envelop both big cities and rural towns across much of Iran, the world’s 17th largest country.

BINT JBEIL, Lebanon - As he pushes a cart full of tomatoes and cucumbers in the market at Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, nothing marks out Mahmud as an experienced Hezbollah fighter. The stocky vegetable vendor in his fifties, who sports a red beard, fought Israel here in 2006, but...

LONDON (Reuters) - NATO says tens of thousands of Russian troops are massed on the border with Ukraine for a potential invasion, yet Western states still lack a strategy to stop Moscow from intervening in its former Soviet neighbours.