News Archive - 7 November 2009

Opposition supporters were chased by security forces in riot gear More than 100 people were detained for public order offences after Wednesday's protests in Tehran, officials say.The protests coincided with an official rally to mark 30 years since the storming of the US embassy during the 1979 Islamic...

> Russia's ties with Iran, which include oil and arms, give it rare influence with the Islamic Republic, making the Kremlin a major player in international efforts to force Tehran to be more transparent in its nuclear plans and to stop enriching uranium. "If an agreement is reached on programs...

A chronology of key events:1953 - US President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" speech to the United Nations. The president foresees the creation of an organisation to control and develop the use of atomic energy. Focus of concern: North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility 1957 - The International Atomic Energy Agency...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations - promotes the peaceful use of atomic energy while trying to make sure that the technology is not used for military purposes. It has a high-profile role in monitoring compliance with international safeguards, including the...

Washington, 7 November (WashingtonTV)—Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released on Saturday that sanctions against Iran cannot be ruled out if there is no progress made in the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program.

> Security forces clashed with supporters of Iran's opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi in Tehran Wednesday when an annual state-organized rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy turned violent. "Police arrested 109 people who created disorder and disturbed public order and security on the sideline...

08 November 2009 UAE Oil Minister Mohammed Al Hamli said yesterday that raising oil production was not currently on the agenda for OPEC. OPEC meets on December 22 to decide on production policy. Both Venezuela and Iran have said the producer group did not need to increase output then.

VIETNAM – The Philippines finished in a three-way tie for fifth to seventh places at the end of the chess team rapid competition in the third Asian Indoor Games here.

08 November 2009 TEHRAN - Iran plans to connect its national power grid with Russia and the Persian Gulf states, energy ministry caretaker said here on Saturday.

08 November 2009 TEHRAN - Iran and Cuba inked a memorandum of understanding at the end of their 14th Joint Economic Commission in Havana on Friday to expand bilateral economic cooperation.

08 November 2009 TEHRAN - Iran and Iraq signed $200 million worth of contracts during the Iraqi delegation's visit to Tehran, the head of Tehran Province Commercial Organization said here on Saturday.

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) - AFP confirmed on Saturday the release of its Tehran reporter Farhad Pouladi, who had been arrested earlier in the week, saying he had returned to his home.

HUNTINGTON -- Tulsa, Houston and UTEP might be the Conference USA men's basketball teams to unseat Memphis at the top.

Charleston Southern Coach: Barclay Radebaugh (40-78, fifth sea

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday left for Europe and Asia largely to consult with US partners on curbing North Korea's and Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as on stabilizing Afghanistan.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed an Iran sanctions bill by a unanimous vote.

The Veterans Day ceremony was sponsored by Sen. Edler Vogel, whose father is a Coast Guard veteran. Veterans of World War II and Korea were honored.

After months of negotiations with Russia, Obama administration officials are hopeful about a breakthrough -- possibly this week -- that would enable the two sides to sign a successor to their most extensive nuclear weapons treaty before it expires Dec. 5.

The map will replace this text. If any users do not have Flash Player 8 (or above), they'll see this message. The Sudanese government and rebel groups in Darfur refuse to abandon the military option and are increasingly violating a UN arms embargo with the help of dual-use vehicles and...

Obama wraps up Afghan review, eyes final options

A funny thing happened on the way to Iran’s annual celebration — this year was the 30th anniversary of its takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. As usual, a pro-government crowd trooped to the site of the old embassy and dutifully chanted,”Death to America” and burned a few...

Home>>World >> Europe...

John Allen Muhammad may not die this week. Last minute appeals can be filed, stays can be granted, the death chamber can wait. So can Bob Meyers.

Convicted Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad is filing last-minute appeals, trying to avoid a Tuesday appointment in Virginia's death chamber.

Defendant Alex W. is brought to the courtroom of the district court in Dresden, Germany November 3, 2009. The trial of a man accused of killing a pregnant Egyptian woman in a German courtroom entered a second week on Monday amid tight security, in a case that has incensed many...

Home>>World >> Middle East...

HA NOI — Chinese athletes dominated the swimming races yesterday winning five gold medal of eight events organised on the last day of the swimming at the Ha Noi’s Aquatic Sports Palace.

HCM CITY — Defending champions Japan successfully defended their gold medal in the women’s futsal at the third Asian Indoor Games after easily beating Jordan 5-0 in the final yesterday in Tan Binh Gymnasium.

Viet Nam's two golds shuttlecock confirms top status in world. HA NOI — Despite injury, Nguyen Thi Be Sau paired with Nguyen Thi Thuy Tien brought home a gold in the women’s doubles shuttlecock event at the Asian Indoor Games yesterday in Ha Noi.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Muslim world is watching how the United States will act on the stalled process for Palestinian-Israeli peace and wondering how one of the main sticking points, Israeli settlements, will be resolved, the world's top diplomat for Islam said on Saturday.

The pilot who flew his Soviet-made jet close to the pier has lost his license, but the use of military jets by civilian pilots is a broader issue. Racing at speeds of up to 350 mph, the Soviet-made military jet made several low-altitude passes at the Santa Monica Pier, seemingly...

MOSCOW -- Russia could back sanctions against Iran if it fails to take a constructive stance in international talks over its nuclear program, President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Saturday.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Senior Iranian lawmakers rejected on Saturday any possibility of Tehran shipping uranium abroad for further enrichment, intensifying pressures on the government to reject the U.N.-backed plan altogether.

I'd probably feel slightly smug, if I didn't feel so sick. Smug that after two weeks of me suggesting that social media might not be an unequivocally Good Thing in terms of privacy and human decency , the news has delivered the perfect example to support my view. Unfortunately it's...

Tehran, Iran (CNN) -- A senior Iranian politician said Saturday the country would not ship low-enriched uranium out of the country, which is a major part of a pending nuclear deal between Iran and int...

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics,...

WASHINGTON- SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton leaves on Sunday for Europe and Asia largely to consult with US partners on curbing North Korea?s and Iran's nuclear ambitions as well as on stabilising Afghanistan. The chief US diplomat was to give a speech about democracy in Berlin on Sunday before...

It's incredulous. Members of Parliament and State Assemblymen of Malaysia's Islamic party, PAS, have been compelled to take an oath to divorce their wives if they quit or jump to another party.

US President Barack Obama will seek to reinforce the US desire for more balanced global growth during his trip to Asia this month, administration officials said on Friday.

Melvin Henriksen, professor of mathematics emeritus at Harvey Mudd College, died on Oct. 14 at the age of 82. Henriksen came to HMC in 1969 as the chair of the mathematics department and continued working there until 1997, when he retired from teaching. Even after he retired, however, he remained...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian authorities have released three journalists who were among more than 100 people arrested during pro-government and opposition street demonstrations this week, the country's official news agency reported. One of the reporters, Farhad Pouladi, is an Iranian who works for Agence France-Presse. The other two are...

International negotiators will meet this week in Qatar in an attempt to finalise the world's first and only international corruption convention, in the face of ongoing acrimony over the roles pressure...

Barack Obama this week heads to Asia for the first time as president, seeking to show the region and a rising China the United States is not in decline nor distracted by multiple crises elsewhere.In a flurry of summits and snatched sightseeing, Obama will leverage his personal popularity...

A senior member of Iranian parliament said Saturday that Iran will not exchange its own enriched uranium for fuel to supply a research reactor in Tehran, local ISNA news agency reported.

Updated Nov. 7

Obama’s speechifying once gripped the nation. Not so much now. He may need his salesman’s tools more than ever.

Magic Millions, the dynamic Gold Coast headquartered bloodstock sales organisation, stamped itself as the equine bread basket of Asia, when they conducted another strong Ready to Run sale at home last week.

Replacing the 1991 treaty is a critical first step in Obama's ambitious global arms-control agenda.

MOSCOW - Russia’s Russia could back sanctions against Iran if it fails to take a constructive stance in international talks over its nuclear program, President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Saturday. The statement echoed earlier comments by Medvedev, but contrasted sharply with the words of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,...

Developing countries including China, India and Brazil will cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2020 according to new research.

South Korea and India have agreed to a trade deal that will give them much greater access to each other's markets.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for serious consideration of a levy on financial activity.

UK sugar firm Tate & Lyle has decided to close its final-salary pension scheme.

We thought it meant the end of international contention. We thought it meant the nuclear menace was no more. We thought it meant Russia and America, the two powers of the future envisioned by de Tocqueville, could be friends. We thought it meant the end of espionage. We thought it...

75 percent of engineering students in India are unemployable according to education experts in the country.

When Foreign Secretary David Miliband went to trace his family roots in Moscow last week, he might have been expecting a few surprises.

Hezbollah is rapidly rearming in preparation for a new conflict with Israel, fearing that Benjamin Netanyahu's government will attack Lebanon again prior to any assault on Iran's nuclear facilities.

A senior Iranian officialhas ruled out a proposal that would see it ship uranium abroad for enrichment, intensifying pressure on Tehran to reject the UN-backed plan altogether.

The G-20 rich and developing countries have pledged to keep propping up their economies.

Definitely, one debate that has been going back and forth in the last 24 or so years is on the so-called “fuel subsidy”. The debate always generates passion and pain. It has led to paralysing strikes by labour unions. It has led to riots. Lives and property have been lost.

German media has reported that the European chief of General Motors, Carl-Peter Forster, may join Indian car manufacturer Tata.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has spoken about the fall of the Berlin Wall, saying while it was a positive event, not all hopes from the wall’s demise had been realized.

Soccer great David Beckham has made 10.7 million pounds over the last year in sponsorship deals.

Europe is feeling more comfortable with the news that Ukraine has said it has settled an outstanding gas bill with Russia.

TEHRAN: Senior Iranian lawmakers rejected on Saturday any possibility of Tehran shipping uranium abroad for further enrichment, intensifying pressures on the government to reject the UN-backed plan altogether.

The liberal lifestyle enjoyed by Malaysians is at stake if they support PAS leaders who, with their flowing robes and turbans, cut deals for power and position just like any other politician.

I have entered mosques in Britain and India, and even listened to the preachings in those mosques. I learned one or two good teachings of Islam. Why is it such a big issue in M’sia?

It began as a flickering optical illusion of a horse running around a ring; transformed into ink splotches resembling a cat or a mouse; and is now a multi-billion pound industry noted for its breathtaking realism.

WHEN Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul visits India early next year he will be representing a nation that has reinvented its geostrategic role through an independent foreign policy in barely eight years.

You've got to ask yourself, 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, you should – the vigilantes are back...

The opening night of a new restaurant, and the place is buzzing. The music is a mixture of rock and pop and there is no shortage of alcohol. A normal city scene, except the city is Kabul, and some of those at the party at the Martini are UN staff...

Hezbollah is rapidly rearming in preparation for a new conflict with Israel , fearing that Benjamin Netanyahu's government will attack Lebanon again prior to any assault on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The president of Yemen has ruled out a truce in the escalating conflict with Houthi fighters in the north. Ali Abdullah Saleh, said on Saturday that the military would not relax their attacks on the Houthis "until we bring this tyrannical, traitorous and mercenary group to an end.

Jane McDay I am constantly surprised at the frequency with which I encounter people who have never heard of the Baha’i Faith. This in spite of regular news clips about the persecutions of the Baha’is in Iran by the Iranian government and the seven members of the faith held in...

END: Module - M24 Article Headline with landscape image (d) --> BEGIN: Module - Main Article --> It had been an uneventful night for the Russian sailor steering the cargo ship Arctic S...

Qatar is a land of contrasts, as a visit to two of its popular attractions proves.

Iranian police say they have arrested 109 people during opposition protests on the sidelines of an official rally marking three decades since the seizure of the US embassy.

Beijing, Nov 8 (IANS) An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit Xigaze prefecture of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region early Sunday morning, a report said.

By John Verghese Doha: Polish team PGE Skra Belchatow rallied brilliantly to overcome a stiff challenge from Russia’s Zenit Kazan 15-25, 25-23, 25-21, 26-24 and seal their place in the final of the FIVB Men’s Club Volleyball World Championship at the Aspire Zone indoor hall yesterday.

By Richard Burton Correspondent As the early signing period for baseball approaches, a trio of former Buchholz High School and current Santa Fe College standouts are scoping out their futures.

Two teachers and a student were injured yesterday when suspected militants hurled a hand grenade at a girls’ school in insurgency-hit southwestern Pakistan, police said.

THE Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (Lofsa) said it will ensure that financial businesses in Labuan continue to comply fully with international rules and will take forceful action against any breach and non-compliance.

It had been an uneventful night for the Russian sailor steering the cargo ship Arctic Sea across the Baltic when, at 2.10am, he was confronted by eight masked men. Armed with AK-47 assault rifles and handguns, they forced him into the vessel’s living quarters.

Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri was preparing to announce a new government yesterday after granting concessions to his rivals in the Hezbollah-led opposition on key cabinet posts.

Iran ’s former crown prince backed a campaign of “civil disobedience and non-violence” yesterday to oust the government in Tehran and urged Western support, but warned against any armed intervention.

Iran has decided to reject proposals from major powers for the supply of nuclear fuel, a leading member of parliament said yesterday, in a serious setback for UN-brokered efforts to allay Western concerns about its atomic ambitions.

Islamic banking assets have posted double-digit growth this year even as conventional banking growth stagnate, according to The Banker’s “Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions” survey, published in association with HSBC Amanah.

Iranian police detained more than 100 people for “disturbing public order” during a rally this week to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy, the official Irna news agency reported yesterday.

LONDON [MENL] -- Iran has demanded the return of nuclear material from Syria in what has sparked a decline in relations between the two allies. Western intelligence sources said Iran has demanded the return of tons of uranium relayed to Syria for its plutonium production program.

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- The Iranian-backed Shi'ite rebellion in Yemen has sought to drag neighboring Saudi Arabia into a war. Gulf sources and analysts said Yemeni rebels want to widen the war against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Gordon Brown has joined other world leaders in taking up running as part of a new exercise regime with early morning jogs through Westminster.

After many years of what seemed an intractable situation in Burma, the events of recent weeks have given some reason for hope, thanks mostly to the United State's new policy of engagement with the isolated regime.

The White House announced today that on Tuesday, President and First Lady Obama will travel to Fort Hood, Texas, for a memorial service.

He may be the bravest student in Iran or an unwitting stooge of the Islamic regime - or both. Either way, Mahmoud Vahidnia has gained instant fame after breaking a taboo by criticizing the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to his face.

A carriage house at 49 Liberty Corner Road in Bernards Township, once the weekend retreat for former Secretary of State Cryrus R. Vance, would be razed under a proposal now before the Planning Board.

MADISON – In an ever-changing world where challenges and problems spread more quickly and affect more populations, there is still optimism for the future, said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the second Drew Forum lecture of the season.

Developments in both stalemates are expected in the coming days with international patience running out over Iran's refusal to come clean about its suspected nuclear program and North Korea's refusal to return to stalled disarmament talks.

A memorial to honor a Sept. 11 victim from a Connecticut town has been halted by the unexpected conflict arising from his father's insistence it say his son was murdered by "Muslim terrorists."

MOSCOW: Russia and the United States have a good chance of reaching a new nuclear arms reduction deal before year's end, but other nuclear powers must join disarmament efforts, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in remarks released Saturday.