News Archive - 3 September 2014

>INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares hit 7-year high on Ukraine, ECB hopes* Oil gains more than $2, Brent rebounds from 16-month low* Gold retains modest gains, but stays near 2-1/2 mth low* MIDEAST STOCKS-UAE markets lead gains as Dubai's Emaar rebounds* Pakistan insurance market set for takaful boost -official* NATO shakes...

>By Aki PeritzSept 3 (Reuters) - One of the most troubling aspects of the slaying of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff is that a well-spoken man with a British accent appears to have been the killer. The fact that an educated Westerner slaughtered other educated Westerners and then...

>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Having hosted late night television's satirical "The Daily Show" for 15 years, comedian Jon Stewart grew accustomed to a daily churn that he says "forgives sloppiness." Now, he has crafted his first feature film in a more meticulous fashion, and hopes it will not be...

>Negotiators hope for a comprehensive agreement by Nov. 24 under which Iran, which denies seeking nuclear weaponry, would curb its disputed activities in exchange for an easing of economic sanctions crippling its economy. The next round of talks between six world powers and Iran is expected to be held later...

Moscow has called on the West to refrain from the temptation to bargain in the final stage of resolving Iran’s nuclear issue by trying to get more from Iran than is needed for a balanced package, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

Lady who collected curious crisps, and other notable departed

By JULIUS KAIREY In the United States, to be termed a racist is to be shunned from the arena of respectable debate, and for good reason. History has repeatedly shown the dangers of racist argumentation, and few of us wish to entertain the types of arguments that have proven so...

Two Christian converts are arrested when Iranian officials raid house church in Tehran.

First it was quiet – and then a lone voice from the Gulf. After we’d all been watching horrified for weeks or longer, Yasmine Bahrani stuck her head above the parapet and asked the bleeding obvious – where are the marches against Islamic State?

Representatives from Iran and the United States are set to begin bilateral negotiations over the Islamic Republic‘s nuclear energy program in Geneva on Thursday.

David Cameron and Barack Obama say they are determined to "confront" militant group Islamic State (IS), as they prepare for a Nato summit in Wales.

Sixty-year career of fashion photographer Horst P Horst

Singapore's 'other' national team of cerebral palsy footballers went from learning how to play the sport to representing the country at Asian level -- in just five years.

The Islamic State is a nasty problem that can be remedied if its neighbors, assisted by the United States, decide to do so. Vladimir Putin's fascist revival is a crisis that tests the West's capacity to decide.

Putin could try to annex the Baltics next.

Washington Health care spending to grow slower

U.S. Delegation Travel to Geneva for Talks With Iran on Its Nuclear Program Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC September 3, 2014 Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy R. Sherman, and Senior Advisor Jacob J. Sullivan will meet with Iranian...

Many State-owned and private businesses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are hiring more local people as they are pursuing a larger foothold in a lucrative market with more access to Chinese companies on the Silk Road economic belt. Meng Fengchao, chairman of China Railway Construction Co, said on the...

Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett, and Ministry of Social Development Chief Executive Brendan Boyle met with press at 11:30 today outside the MSD National Office to Announce details of the MSD Security Review.

Seville (Spain) (AFP) - Nine of the knockout stage teams of the World Basketball Championships have secured their berths in the Round of 16 with reigning champions United States, Spain, Greece and Slovenia all retaining their perfect records with wins on Wednesday.

MADRID, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Hosts Spain continued their successful progress in the FIBA Basketball World Cup with an 88-64 win over France on Wednesday.

Exclusive: Given the very high stakes of a nuclear confrontation with Russia, some analysts wonder what’s the real motive for taking this extraordinary risk over Ukraine. Is it about natural gas, protection of the U.S. dollar’s dominance, or an outgrowth of neocon extremism, asks Robert Parry.

American officials acknowledge that these commitments are bound to upend Mr Obama’s plans for shrinking the Pentagon’s budget before he leaves office in 2017.

After a fairly lackluster summer brightened mostly by a talking tree-and-raccoon duo, Hollywood hopes to find better success with its fall movies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called for the expansion of ties with the European Union following the appointment of Federica Mogherini as the EU foreign policy chief.

David Cameron and Barack Obama will insist today that Britain and America will not waver in the battle against Islamic State (IS) as they attempt to galvanise the international response to the barbaric terror group.

PESHAWAR: A group belonging to the militant Islamic State group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Al Sham (ISIS), has distributed a booklet in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas, particularly in Afghan refugee camps.

>Citi Penang, the bank's Malaysian trade service unit, processed four export bill collection applications totaling $638,074.15 between April and November in 2009, on behalf of Citibank, Hong Kong that involved the shipment of goods to Iran, the Treasury Department said. (1.usa.gov/Wdn68z)Although the bank had documentation in its...

>HOUSTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - An oil tanker off the coast of Texas loaded with $100 million of disputed Iraqi Kurdish crude has pulled its anchor from the water and set sail for the first time since entering the Gulf of Mexico in July, satellite tracking showed on Wednesday.As...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - German lender Commerzbank AG (CBKG.DE) is nearing agreement with U.S. authorities over its dealings with Iran and other countries under U.S. sanctions, sources familiar with the matter said. The bank is expected to pay about $650 million to resolve the U.S. probes,...

Accompanied by two of his political rivals, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird slipped quietly Wednesday into one of the world's most dangerous countries, where he declared Canada would stand by the people of Iraq. Baird, whose travel plans had been a closely guarded secret, is there to provide both moral...

In this handout image made available by the photographer, American journalist Steven Sotloff, center with black helmet, talks to Libyan rebels on the Al Dafniya front line, 25 km west of Misrata, on June 02, 2011 in Libya.

The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gotama, in north India around 563 B.C.E., a prince of the Sakya clan. When he was twenty-nine years old he cast aside his life of wealth and comfort to become an ascetic.

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: ___ Sept. 2 Anniston (Alabama) Star on the aura was broken for journalists: Twelve years ago, the beheading of the Wall Street Journal's Daniel Pearl by al-Qaida jihadis in Pakistan reaffirmed the dangers ...

All set for the commencement of the 10th Asian Youth Boys’ Volleyball Championship (AYBVC) 2014, where the cream of young spikers in Asia will vie for honours at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, from tomorrow.

@ the Market. Fall seems to be in the air. You’ve probably heard this sentence before. Scott Wolper repeats it at the...

MIDLAND – Every now and then, National Hockey League Commissioner Gary... NORTH SIMCOE – The Martyrs’ Shrine will host an all-day celebration...

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IRAN: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says violence and extremism are threats to the entire world, urging close cooperation and dialog among countries to fight these threats.

>SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnian police detained 16 people on Wednesday on charges of financing terrorist activities, recruiting and fighting for radical groups in Syria and Iraq, authorities said. The arrests were made in 17 raids by a combined 200 police across the Balkan country, the State Investigation and Protection Agency...

>On Friday, the United States imposed a fresh round of curbs on a number of Iranian and foreign companies, banks and airlines. The new measures came just over two weeks before talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear programme resume in New York.Washington said the firms...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The United Nations nuclear watchdog is expected to issue a report this week showing little progress is being made in its long-running investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Iran, diplomats said on Wednesday. They said the quarterly International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran was...

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a radio interview that he would lead the delegation to Washington to lobby against a deal between Iran and the P5+1 over Tehran’s nuclear energy work.

US Prez Barack Obama has been excoriated for declaring that "we don't have a strategy yet" for effectively confronting the IS group.

Speaking in Tallinn, Estonia, Mr Obama vowed that 'justice will be served' after the authenticity of the footage of Steven Sotloff's killing was verified.

In 1979, the White House Chief of Staff and Press Secretary faced what could have been a serious problem

An Israeli delegation is to travel to Washington next week to lobby US officials for a tough line in renewed talks between major powers and Iran on its nuclear programme. "I will travel to Washington next week at the head of an important delegation, in light of what could be...

If you simply assume the United States is going to win the 2014 FIBA World Cup without a fight, you may want to tune in to watch Wednesday’s showdown between Spain and France. Spain is ranked No. 2 in the FIBA world rankings and widely considered the biggest threat to...