News Archive - 2 July 2014

>As talks to resolve the long-running nuclear standoff resumed in Vienna, Zarif's remarks, delivered in English in a slick five-minute video, appeared to be a response to a U.S. warning that Tehran has yet to prove that its atomic ambitions are peaceful.The statements highlighted how much work the...

NEW YORK, United States - After French giant BNP Paribas, other big European banks like Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, and UniCredit may be in the cross-hairs of US authorities for sanctions-busting. US authorities on June 30 slammed BNP, France's largest bank, with a record $8.9 billion in penalties for...

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>By John KempLONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - "Geopolitical risk" turns out to have surprisingly little impact on the valuation of oil and most financial assets.Since the beginning of 2011, revolutions and counter-revolutions have rocked the Arab world, sanctions have slashed oil exports from Iran, and unrest has cut production...

As the July 20 deadline looms for an agreement on Iran's nuclear program, the United States says Tehran has a clear choice when it comes to demonstrating its peaceful intentions. Delegates from Iran and the world's major powers are now gathering in Vienna for a sixth round of negotiations. Even...

In an effort to dissuade Hezbollah from again attacking Israel with rockets like it did in 2006, the commander of the Israeli Air Force recently pointed out that because of new technology and weapons the air force can now hit more Hezbollah targets in 24 hours than it did in...

BRISTOL — Bristol residents got their first look at Professor Tooth Wednesday as he waved in cars for a cookout at Columbia Dental’s opening.

Haft Seng is a scene for scene match with a hit US TV show, except for one thing.

(Adds details) By Narae Kim SEOUL, July 3 (Reuters) - Hong Myung-bo will continue as coach of South Korea's national soccer team despite their early exit from the World Cup, the Korean Football Association (KFA) said on Thursday. Hong's position came under scrutiny after South Korea, who reached the semi-finals...

Don't have a login yet? Register for free to read this article. It only takes a minute. French bank, which last night pleaded guilty to circumventing US embargoes on Iran, Sudan and Cuba, said it would pay the fine out of its quarterly profits.

It's been almost three years since Amir Hekmati, of Genesee County, was arrested and placed in an Iranian prison.

Pictured above: Melanie Zelaya, a 12-year-old who managed to escape from Honduras and make her way to the United States, is the mother a 3 year-old-child as the result of being raped. She was part of a press conference July...

President Obama came nearly full circle on Iraq . sending military advisers back to cope with that country's disintegration as U.S. officials lobbied for replacement of the prime minister that the United States helped install.

Television is a ruthless business: if you can't buy the rights to a show then the business plan generally goes that you simply copy it anyway.

Tehran takes a hard line as a July 20 nuclear deadline nears

Riding a dominant run of form and sitting atop the league table, Seattle Sounders FC continues Cascadia Cup play against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT at BC Place.

It’s crunch time for the high-stakes international talks that aim to put a verifiable cap on Iran’s nuclear program and ensure that Tehran can’t make a rush to get a nuclear weapon. The parties to the talks – Iran in one corner, six world powers including the United States in...

BRIDGEPORT -- An Iranian, working here as an engineer at Pratt & Whitney , is accused of giving sensitive information about the U.S.'s fighter plane program to his native country.

A federal magistrate judge today denied a former Pratt & Whitney engineer’s motion to be released on bond while awaiting trial on charges that he illegally tried to ship propriety documents on sensitive U.S. military technology to his native Iran.

Fresh from success in Iraq, a Sunni extremist group tried to tighten its hold Wednesday on territory in Syria and crush pockets of resistance on land straddling the border where it has declared the foundation of an Islamic state. Embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that the entire region...

Iran's health ministry has reported the country's fourth Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, a 44-year-old male healthcare worker, and Saudi Arabia has had another death from the disease, according to official reports today.

Brussels, July 3 (IANS) The European Union (EU) is "determined" to achieve a final and comprehensive agreement in the new round of Iran's nuclear talks that started Wednesday in Vienna, EU's foreign policy spokesperson Michael Mann said. We hope Iran comes with a positive and realistic attitude," Xinhua quoted the...

>"A state of weakness occurred but God willing in the next session (planned for next Tuesday) we will overcome it with cooperation and agreement and openness ...in choosing the individuals and the mechanisms that will result in a political process based on...democratic mechanisms," said Maliki in his weekly televised...

>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Sunnis and Kurds walked out of the first session of Iraq's new parliament on Tuesday after Shi'ites failed to name a prime minister to replace Nuri al-Maliki, dimming any prospect of an early national unity government to save Iraq from collapse. The United States, United Nations, Iran...

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — FIFA's number two official has said he's "amazed" by the levels of drunkenness in Brazil's World Cup stadiums, reviving a debate over whether alcohol sales should have been allowed at matches in the first place.

FILE - In this June 12, 2014 file photo taken with a fisheye lens, a Brazil supporter attends the World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia at Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - A former defence contractor engineer charged with trying to ship sensitive military documents to Iran last year had already provided people in the country with information about a U.S. Air Force fighter jet program, federal prosecutors say. Prosecutors made the assertion in

FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE Catholics mark today the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle (Santo Tomas Apostol), one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Venerated as the patron of architects, St. Thomas was a great preacher and missionary worker who traveled as far as India and Iran, where...

An extremist group's declaration of an Islamic state in territory it has seized in Iraq and Syria poses a threat to the entire region, Iraq's prime minister warned Wednesday, saying that "no one in Iraq or any neighboring country will be safe from these plans."

Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click here if you are interested in contributing. The advance of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants in northern Iraq is fueling serious concern in the international community.

While the world panics over the conquests of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Saudi Arabia, oddly enough, has reason to be thankful. Even though ISIS advocates the Al Saud family’s overthrow and has pushed Baghdad toward closer relations with Iran, the crisis in Iraq has reinforced Saudi...

WASHINGTON - With only a few weeks remaining before the July 20 deadline, the Barack Obama administration issued a warning to Iran that it must accept deep cuts in the number of its centrifuges in order to demonstrate that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

The worldwide attention to the growing strength of the forces led by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has spawned an enormous debate about what ought to be done by all non-ISIS actors to contain what is widely perceived as a very dangerous movement.

COMMENT: Casillas, Higuain and Balotelli are among the other stars who have damaged their reputations with poor performances in Brazil

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the commander of the insurgent group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has vowed war against many countries including India which he says have been violating Muslims' rights.

WASHINGTON, July 2 — BNP Paribas' guilty plea and agreement to pay nearly US$9 billion (RM28.84b) for violating US sanctions is part of a larger US Justice Department shift in strategy that is expected to snare more major banks and other firms across the financial food chain.

Foreign ministers from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France meet in Berlin this afternoon after President Petro Poroshenko ended a cease-fire and vowed to retake territory from separatists in the violence-torn east. The talks, which are scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. in the German capital, will "try and reduce...

When Marcus Douthit said that he’ll do anything to help Philippine basketball, he truly meant it. The naturalized Filipino citizen who helped Gilas Pilipinas qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain could be giving up his spot to NBA players Andray Blatche soon. However, he’ll get one more...