News Archive - 13 August 2014

>"I hope the designation of the new prime minister in Iraq will untie the knot and lead to the establishment of a new government and teach a good lesson to those who aim for sedition in Iraq," Khamenei said during a meeting, according to a statement on his website.Abadi...

>* Copper falls more than 1 pct after Chinese data* Sterling hits 4-month low vs U.S. dollar (Updates prices, comment; changes dateline; previous LONDON)By Rodrigo CamposNEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - A global gauge of stock markets rose on Wednesday as investors were cautiously optimistic about de-escalation of conflicts...

>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nuri al-Maliki stuck to his guns and refused to accept his removal as Iraq's prime minister on Wednesday, but his hold on power was tenuous as Iran's supreme leader, a long-time Maliki ally, publicly backed his replacement. Taking to state television as acting premier, Maliki said the...

A Stanford University professor has become the first woman to win the world's top prize for mathematics. Maryam Mirzakhani was awarded the Fields Medal , known as the "Nobel Prize of math ," during a meeting Wednesday at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Seoul, South Korea.

>* Brent crude oil prices fall below $103 on ample supplies* Sterling noses up before Bank of England inflation reportBy Mike DolanLONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - World stock markets ticked higher on Wednesday as brighter corporate results offset gloomy economic news from Asia and as oil prices plumbed 13-month lows...

US troops assessed the situation Wednesday of thousands of civilian refugees trapped by jihadists on a northern Iraqi mountain, after the United States carried out air strikes against Islamic State militants. A US military official said the small party of special forces soldiers returned safely to base. "They had contacts...

WASHINGTON — The American military has concluded that too few Yazidi refugees remain trapped in the mountains of northern Iraq to warrant mounting a potentially ...

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Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines is planning to launch their airline, named Vistara, by October, according to reports.

President Obama must really be teed off. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his once-loyal secretary of state and his likeliest successor, has gone rogue, criticizing his foreign policy as too timid.

Washington — Hillary Clinton isn’t running for president yet, but she’s already learning that it’s not easy running away from her former boss, even if he’s unpopular.

>INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares up as investors bank on more stimulus* Brent rises on supply risks, U.S. crude down as stockpiles build* Gold retains gains on soft U.S. data, safe-haven demand* MIDEAST STOCKS-Kuwait Food hits record high after Savola starts takeover talks* Renewed Israel, Palestinian truce off to...

James Bond is a man particular in his tastes. He doesn’t just have his martinis ‘shaken not stirred’. He has them made with three measures of gin, one of vodka and half...

Two journalists were arrested in Ferguson, Missouri Wednesday while covering growing unrest sparked by the shooting death of unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown. Huffington Post reporter Ryan Reilly and Wesley Lowery of the Washington Post were inside a McDonald's working on their stories, when police asked them to leave, according to the journalists’ Twitter...

President Barack Obama must really be teed off.

Between 1955 and 1977, her exceptionally discreet establishment in Paris was awash with the rich, famous, infamous and well-connected, writes JANE FRYER.

As the artist strives to shape the world around him or her, and sometimes simply survive the times, the matter of posterity can become naggingly elusive.

My personal interest in the field of mathematics was pretty much non-existent until this week when Iranian-born Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman ever to win the prestigious Fields Medal, considered to be the equivalent of mathematics' Nobel Prize. That fact is also something I had no idea about until...

Obama administration forced to defend itself against accusations of mission creep

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HONOLULU (AP) - Despite tensions and a clear but officially unacknowledged rivalry, improving U.S. cooperation with China is critical to maintaining stability and security in the Asia-Pacific as well as combating the effects climate change, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is striking a foreign-policy position that is harder and more interventionist across the board than the one President Obama has taken. Washington Bureau Chief Jerry Seib explains the three areas where there are real differences in their views.

Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s effort to remain in office was repudiated by his own political bloc, leaving him isolated after a similar rejection by the U.S., Iran and Iraq’s top Shiite cleric.

The Iraqi dinar is a hot investment--but is it a wise one?

BAGHDAD (AP) - The United Nations on Wednesday called its highest level of emergency for the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, where hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes and tens of thousands have been trapped in a desert mountain by the advance of Islamic militants across the north...

Nouri al-Maliki remains defiant in the face of increasing isolation and international pressure to step down.

The key divide on America’s role in the world is no longer between Democrats and Republicans. It’s between elites and everyone else.

The carnage in the Gaza Strip has been horrendous: more than 1,900 dead, mainly civilians; its sole power plant destroyed (and so electricity and water denied and a sewage disaster looming); 30,000 to 40,000 homes and buildings damaged or destroyed; hundreds of thousands of residents put to flight with nowhere...

Susan Mercandetti is leaving ABC News to start her own media consulting company. Disney/ABC and Univision are among her first clients — as is Fusion , the digital TV network that's a joint venture between Disney/ABC and Univision; Mercandetti was instrumental in creating Fusion. When she rejoined ABC News in...

Fighting across Iraq, Libya, Ukraine and Gaza, and an accelerating economy, should mean higher oil prices. Six years ago, oil soared to a record $147 a barrel as tension mounted over Iran's nuclear program and the world economy had just seen the strongest period of sustained growth since the 1970s.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal received unusually complimentary coverage on two successive days, in the New York Times , which rarely, if ever, is complimentary of India’s relations with its South Asian neighbours.

Iraq's caretaker premier Nuri al-Maliki said Wednesday it will take a court ruling for him to leave power, defying the president's decision to task a rival with forming a government. "I confirm that the government will continue and there will not be a replacement for it without a decision from...

>In a statement, Switzerland's cabinet said it was following the lead of the European Union, which agreed on July 21 to maintain a suspension of sanctions until Nov. 24.The Swiss originally lifted a ban on precious metal trade with Iranian public bodies in January. It has also eased restrictions...

US sends more military personnel to Iraq to to assess situation of trapped Yazidi

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Wednesday he will not relinquish power until a federal court rules on what he called a "constitutional violation" by the president to replace him with a member of his own party.

The Journal's morning rundown of the biggest news stories and exclusive features from Washington on politics, policy, financial regulation, defense and more.

If Hamas emerges as the true winners of the 2014 invasion, Israel and the U.S. will have only themselves to blame

France says it will deliver weapons to Iraq's Kurds "in the coming hours," moving quickly after the European Union voted to allow such operations.

The US has sent 130 more military advisers to northern Iraq to assess the scope of the humanitarian mission, as the plight of families displaced by Islamist extremists deepens. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the soldiers had been sent to northern Iraq to develop additional humanitarian assistance options beyond the...

Cairo's proposal calls on Israel to ease its siege of the Gaza Strip but stops short of including Hamas' demand for a full lifting of the blockade. Nouri al-Maliki has lost the support of Iraqi politicians, the international community and Shiite powerhouse Iran.

>In a televised speech, Maliki said everyone should accept a pending federal court ruling on an objection he filed against Abadi's appointment, and said his government would continue until a final decision was made. Abadi won swift endorsements from the United States and Iran on Tuesday as he called on...