News Archive - 27 October 2009

> The guards were arrested in the Mashkhel area on the border with Iran eight days after a suicide bomber killed 42 people, including six Revolutionary Guard commanders, in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. A Sunni Muslim group, Jundollah (God's soldiers), claimed responsibility for that blast and Iran said the group...

> TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran wants major amendments within the framework of a U.N. nuclear fuel deal which it broadly accepts, state media said, a move that could unravel the plan and expose Tehran to the threat of harsher sanctions. The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday...

BBC NEWS : Iran will accept a UN deal on its nuclear programme, but only if "very important changes" are made, Iranian state media have reported. Read the whole story: BBC NEWS...

> TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran wants major amendments within the framework of a U.N. nuclear fuel deal which it broadly accepts, state media said, a move that could unravel the plan and expose Tehran to the threat of harsher sanctions. The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday...

> TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran wants major amendments within the framework of a U.N. nuclear fuel deal which it broadly accepts, state media said, a move that could unravel the plan and expose Tehran to the threat of harsher sanctions. The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday...

Sunday's co-ordinated attacks were the bloodiest in Baghdad since April 2007 By Frank Gardner BBC Security Correspondent US and Iraqi investigators in Baghdad are focusing their attention on two possible culprits for Sunday's bombings, which left more than 155 people dead.They believe the attacks bear the hallmarks of...

Russia and France would process uranium for Iran under the deal Iran will accept a UN deal on its nuclear programme, but only if "very important changes" are made, Iranian state media have reported.Al Alam TV quoted "informed" sources as saying Tehran would respond to the International Atomic...

The army have been fighting northern rebels since 2004 A boat carrying Iranian weapons destined for Yemeni rebels has been intercepted in the Red Sea, local Yemeni officials have said.The Iranian crew and a cargo of mostly anti-tank shells were seized near Midi an official told the AFP...

BERKELEY, Calif. — The families of three Americans being held in Iran plan to release video footage that they say proves the three were simply on vacation and had no underhand intentions when they strayed across the border. Shane Bauer, 27, Sarah Shourd, 31, and Josh Fattal, 27, have...

> LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers expressed frustration on Tuesday at Iran's failure to respond clearly to a United Nations deal on nuclear fuel processing and said they hoped to hear from Tehran this week. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Monday Iran could endorse the deal,...

Iran has exported $3.1 billion of petrochemical products this year. Managing director of National Petrochemical Company of Iran told Moj News Agency that the country plans to export $5.8 billion of petrochemicals this year, and exports have reached $3.1 billion over the past seven months.

WASHINGTON - The United States is prepared to respond if Iran does not abide by its commitments over its controversial nuclear program, a top aide to US President Barack Obama has said.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - State television says Iran will agree to the "general framework" of a U.N.-drafted plan to ship enriched uranium out of the country for processing, but will seek "important changes" in the deal.

Celebrating Armenian Independence Day is a little tricky.

WASHINGTON - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for deeper military ties with Beijing, telling a top Chinese general it was time to end a pattern of "on-again, off-again" relations.

U.S. secretary of state arrives for a three-day visit aimed at quelling rising anti-Americanism.

The Syrian Ministry of Tourism invited journalists from Tehran to Tunis to check out its top attractions during a trip to the normally reclusive country. Fox News hopped a caravan and went along for the ride.

The U.S. does not have the Afghan partners, the allies, the domestic support or the financial resources to justify a nation-building effort in Afghanistan.

Most Americans don’t have too much interest in foreign policy, but if you do it has been an amazing couple weeks watching President Obama wiggle and squirm trying to redefine winning the war in Afghanistan.

GCC urged to support Yemen

Published: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 4:01 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 12:00 a.m. Today is Wednesday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2009. There are 64 days left in the year.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez reaffirmed his support for Israel and made it clear anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment would not be tolerated, in his remarks to the United Jewish Federal of Princeton Mercer Bucks on Sunday night.

Source: Reuters (For main story, click on [ID:nPEK130303]) By Lucy Hornby HANGZHOU, China, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Hangzhou this week at the annual Joint Commission ...

October 26, 2009 It is all almost over. Candidates can say goodbye to meetings in living rooms and at homeowners' association clubhouses, the debates, addressing envelopes, writing endless e-mails and wearing out their shoe leather. The campaign season is winding down.

Tehran, Iran -- Iran accepted the general framework of a U.N.-draft nuclear deal Tuesday, but said it would seek "important changes."

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's advisers are coalescing around a strategy for Afghanistan aimed at protecting about 10 top population centers, administration officials said Tuesday, describing an approach that would stop short of an all-out assault on the Taliban while still seeking to nurture long-term stability.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A high-ranking Iranian official said Tuesday that even if the country agreed to a United Nations-sponsored plan to ship its enriched uranium abroad for further processing, it would not ship it all at once, Iranian news media reported.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's advisers are coalescing around a strategy for Afghanistan aimed at protecting about 10 top population centers, administration officials said yesterday, describing an approach that would stop short of an all-out assault on the Taliban while still seeking to nurture long-term stability.

Afghanistan President Harmid Karzai has been much in the news lately as the result of charges of corruption in the Aug. 20 presidential election in Afghanistan as well the escalating violence in his country throughout the year.

BEIRUT -- Iran will seek to amend a proposed deal it reached with the United States and other major powers to ship the bulk of its nuclear material overseas, state television reported yesterday.

BAGHDAD -- A long-sought political consensus in Iraq over how to conduct crucial upcoming elections fell apart yesteerday over the thorny issue of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, an Iraqi lawmaker said.

Richmond Kickers coach Leigh Cowlishaw will be inducted into United Soccer Leagues Hall of Fame at the league’s general meeting in November. A former Kickers player and University of Richmond standout, Cowlishaw became the Kickers’ coach in 2000 and has guided the team to postseason play in five of six...

Three United Nations staff members have been killed in an attack at a UN guest house in Kabul, a spokesman for the organization says.

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2009. There are 64 days left in the year.

The RCMP have won the latest round in a 10-year battle over a cadet's complaint of discrimination based on ethnic background.

Rage, grief, despair – flimsy words to describe America’s horror during the events of 9/11. But while Americans endured the unspeakable, they found solace in an unlikely source, the healing words of Islam’s beloved 13th century religious thinker, Rumi, who is the bestselling poet in America today.

Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates cannot host the America's Cup based on the 19th-century document that governs sailing's marquee regatta, a New York judge ruled on Wednesday.

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran accepted the general framework of a U.N.-draft nuclear deal Tuesday, but said it would seek "important changes" that could test the willingness of world powers to make concessions in exchange for a pact to rein in Tehran's...

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

Walking into the contemporary home perched atop a hill on 162 acres outside of Bolivar, visitors are immediately greeted by a strong sense of history.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, October 19, 2009. Solana said on Tuesday he saw no need for fundamental changes to a U.N.-drafted nuclear fuel deal with Iran, despite suggestions Tehran wants changes.

DAYTON, OH.- A fledging museum devoted to the pursuit of peace is hoping its mission is just what President Barack Obama is looking for when he decides what to do with the $1.4 million cash award that comes with his Nobel Peace Prize.

Trade Minister Tim Groser today signed an Arrangement to enhance cooperation in wine-related business with Hong Kong. Mr Groser says the new Arrangement will help New Zealand wine exporters access the growing Asian market. “Hong Kong is fast ...

New Zealand has held on to fifth place in the Global Gender Gap Report 2009, with Iceland the big winner overall. “For New Zealand to hang on to its high ranking out of 134 countries – behind the Nordic countries, who jockey for top positions ...

NEW YORK — Women remain far behind men in economic and political power, but the Nordic countries come closest to...

Libyan leader Colonel Mu’ammar Al-Qadhafi has written the screenplay for a new Syrian television drama set to air next Ramadan. The series, which is said to provide a response to “media attacks on the Arab and Muslim worlds” was written by the ostentatious leader and adapted by a Syrian writer.

BAGHDAD - A long-sought political consensus in Iraq over how to conduct crucial upcoming elections fell apart Tuesday over the thorny issue of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, an Iraqi lawmaker said.

Washington, Oct 28 (PTI) US Defence Secretary Robert Gates today held a meeting with visiting Chinese General Xu Caiho during which they discussed smoother military cooperation and a combined strategy to create a more stable and secure environment in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

FAYETTEVILLE — Israel faces two main concerns, a former prime minister from that country told a crowd at the University of Arkansas on Tuesday.

Baghdad approached the International Atomic Energy Agency for approval to rebuild facility destroyed by U.S. and U.K. planes.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for deeper military ties with Beijing, telling a top Chinese general it was time to end a pattern of "on-again, off-again" relations.In a meeting with General Xu Caihou, China's second-ranking officer, Gates stressed the need to preserve a lasting...

WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Robert Gates called for deeper military ties with Beijing on Tuesday, telling a top Chinese general it was time to end a pattern of "on-again, off-again" relations.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, October 19, 2009. Solana said on Tuesday he saw no need for fundamental changes to a U.N.-drafted nuclear fuel deal with Iran, despite suggestions Tehran wants changes.

The top lot of the sale was Remembrance and Gratitude, a large and spectacular diptych by Ahmed Moustafa (b.1943), which sold for $662,500 / AED 2,431,375 / €445,200 - a world auction record for a modern work of art by an Arab artist.

The Swiss sailing syndicate has gone to the United Arab Emirates to prepare for the America’s Cup, but a court ruling has apparently sunk those plans.

The families of three Americans being held in Iran plan to release video footage that they say proves the three were simply on vacation and had no underhand intentions when they strayed across the border.

Melbourne-based biotech Acrux was today recognised for its excellence within the Australian biotechnology sector, with CEO Richard Treagus accepting the AusBiotech –Roche 2009 Excellence Award for outstanding contribution to the biotechnology industry by a company at the AusBiotech 2009 conference this morning.

20/20Provocative, unflinching, Thursday 9:30pm

A long-sought political consensus in Iraq over how to conduct crucial upcoming elections fell apart Tuesday over the thorny issue of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, an Iraqi lawmaker said.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called for deeper military ties with Beijing, telling a top Chinese general it was time to end a pattern of "on-again, off-again" relations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is quietly laying the groundwork for a long-range strategy that could be used to contain a nuclear-equipped Iran and deter its leaders from using atomic weapons.

Despite ASIO's endlessly increasing budget, its latest annual report shows an organisation doing less work and being less accountable -- even the report itself is lazily cobbled together.

At a New York court hearing Tuesday in the America's Cup dispute between billionaire sailors Larry Ellison and Ernesto Bertarelli, arguments over the race's location at times sounded like a debate at the U.N. General Assembly. When the debate ended, the judge ruled that Ras al-Khaimah, an emirate of...

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thirty years ago, Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile to found a totalitarian theocracy -- the likes of which we have not seen for hundreds of years, perhaps even since medieval Europe. Thirty years ago, Iranian...

> TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised visiting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday for his "clear stance against" Israel, Iran's state media reported. Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly predicted Israel's imminent demise, blamed foreign states for regional problems and called for an expansion of Tehran-Ankara ties. His...

> Mohammad Ali Khatibi cited signs of global economic recovery, a weaker U.S. dollar and the beginning of the cold season in Europe and the United States as factors behind a recent rise in the oil price, IRNA reported. "Under current conditions, requesting OPEC to increase its crude output...

> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will be ready to respond if Iran fails to take tangible steps soon to meet its commitments over its nuclear program, President Barack Obama's national security adviser warned on Tuesday. "Nothing is off the table," General James Jones said, referring to Washington's options...

> Iran's Arabic-language al Alam state television channel cited an unnamed official as saying Tehran would present its response to the proposed agreement within 48 hours, but would also demand some "important changes." "The deal was a good deal," Solana, who was headed Western negotiating efforts with Tehran, told...

> On Monday, Yemen said it had impounded a vessel carrying weapons destined for the rebels of the Zaidi Shi'ite sect and detained its Iranian crew at the Red Sea port of Medi, in Haja province bordering the area of conflict. Iran's Arabic language television channel Al-Alam reported "informed Iranian...

NEW YORK - WOMEN remain far behind men in economic and political power, but the Nordic countries come closest to closing the gender gap, according to a survey of 134 nations released on Tuesday. The four Nordic countries - Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - have topped the Global Gender...

The reputation of Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai does not stand high in the court of international public opinion at present. Whether that is fair is another matter but the fact is that the presidential

IRAN will seek "important changes" in a UN-drafted plan to ship enriched uranium out of the country for processing, state television reported yesterday, raising alarm

The swirl of violence in and around Pakistan in recent days has grown more intense and more focused on Pakistan territory. Under US pressure to deliver after taking millions in anti-terror financing, Pakistani forces went after militant groups with new vigour.

(JTA) — Iran will continue to progress in its nuclear program as long as Israel continues to have nuclear weapons, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.

President Obama’s advisers are coalescing around a strategy for Afghanistan aimed at protecting about 10 top population centers, administration officials said Tuesday, describing an approach that would stop short of an all-out assault on the Taliban while still seeking to nurture long-term stability.

Women remain far behind men in economic and political power, but the Nordic countries come closest to closing the gender gap, according to a survey of 134 nations released Tuesday.

MUSCAT: Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed on Tuesday called upon GCC countries to provide all-out support to Yemen — which is facing an armed insurgency from Houtians in the north — in order to strengthen the Arab country’s security and create stability.

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is quietly laying the groundwork for long-range strategy that could be used to contain a nuclear-equipped Iran and deter its leaders from using atomic weapons.

St. Petersburg State University has ordered professors to have their work reviewed for intellectual property violations or national security threats before publishing them abroad.