News Archive - 25 February 2011

>White House spokesman Jay Carney said the measures, which would accompany multilateral steps, were aimed at pressuring Gaddafi's regime "to stop killing its own people."Following are some questions and answers on how the United States imposes and enforces sanctions, and what legal authorities would be required.DOES THE UNITED...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has announced it would have to unload fuel from its Russian-built Bushehr nuclear reactor, a U.N. report said, a month after Russia warned a computer virus attack could have triggered a Chernobyl-style disaster there. The confidential report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog has received new information regarding allegations that Iran may be seeking to develop a nuclear-armed missile, the agency said in a report voicing deepening concern about the issue. The confidential document from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signaled growing frustration at...

> * Discreet Saudi increase because of OPEC sensitivities * Libyan oil ports, terminals mostly halted-sources By Barbara Lewis and Muriel Boselli DUBAI/PARIS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has raised oil output about 8 percent to above 9 million barrels per day (bpd) to make up for a near...

> Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had earlier said the government would expedite clearance of payments. [ID:nDEB000085] Choudhury also told reporters that the company planned to raise capacity at its Vizag refinery by 9 million tonnes by fiscal year 2016/17. HPCL runs a 166,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery at Vizag...

The Web doesn't spark revolts but it helps in mobilising protesters It is not immediately obvious, but nearly all street protests involve only a minuscule proportion of a country's population. None o .....

Chattanooga motorists had plenty of reason to cringe as they pulled into area gas stations Friday morning: Gas prices spiked 10 cents or higher from the day before.

According to some estimates, the Caspian Sea region could produce up to 150 billion barrels of oil, as well as trillions of cubic meters of gas.

Vienna, Feb 26 : A solution for the Iranian nuclear standoff moved further into the distance Friday, as international nuclear inspectors reported on new information pointing to recent nuclear weapons work and on Tehran's plans to start a new nuclear facility by summer.

Moammar Gadhafi, the despot of Libya, has begun murdering his own people, using troops hired from other nations as his own military, political and economic support melts around him. Tunisia's Zina el Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt 's Hosni Mubarak had heeded the handwriting on the wall; the maniacal Gadhafi...

Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company says China will invest $2.5 billion in developing projects of the South Azadegan oilfield in the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

The federal government has been urging Canadians in Libya to leave without delay amid escalating violence, but a string of problems has impeded its evacuation efforts.

As tensions rose in Libya, so did concerns over oil production. But all three major indexes closed higher.

Vienna, Feb 25 (AP) The UN nuclear monitoring agency said today that "recently received" information is adding to concerns Iran may have worked on developing nuclear arms.

If Gaddafi goes, who will bankroll enormous gigs of the kind played by Lionel Richie and Beyoncé? Like everyone, Lost in Showbiz has spent this week looking aghast at events in Libya: the violence, the bloodshed – and Gaddafi's insistence that everyone taking part in the demonstrations is on "hallucination...

What is it about dictators that they don’t have a sense the end is near until it’s staring them in the face? So it was with Ferdinand Marcos, Hosni Mubarak and the Duvaliers.

New Delhi, Feb 25 : India is working out an arrangement through Deutsche Bundesbank (the German Central Bank) to pay Iran for crude oil purchases, an official statement said Friday.

A Muslim from Sarajevo hid a Jewish friend from the Nazis and was later shielded from the Balkans' violence in the 1990s by a Jewish aid group. It's just one of the many tales from a recent talk in Los Angeles about Sephardic Jewry. This spring marks 70 years since...

Stockholm - The investigation, interest and conspiracies that the murder of Sweden's prime minister Olof Palme on February 28, 1986 spawned are sometimes compared to events surrounding the John F Kennedy assassination.

India on Thursday assured Iran that it would make all payments due to it on account of oil imports as expeditiously as possible.

Why this mean-spirited furore over a few Tamils? Perhaps it's because they aren't white

Tehran, Feb 25 : The youngest son of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi joined the anti-government protesters amid continued demonstrations against the embattled leader, IRNA news agency reported Friday.

AS last plane leaves Tripoli for UK Cameron vows to do all he can to get oil workers home

Cathedral in the Pines Church is hosting a program featuring Evangelist Perry Stone this weekend. Perry Stone says a lot of what we are seeing in the Middle East is people seeking the truth.

THE ISSUE:The Obama administration's weak and slow response to the situation in Libya. * By the time the present administration made up its mind on how to react to developments in the Mideast, the train had already left the station ("Khadafy Clan on the Lam," Feb. 24). The initial...

Aerial acrobatics, live jazz, and an artisan walking tour

President Obama has asked his aides to formulate a Mideast foreign policy that emphasizes democratic reforms without alienating longtime allies. President Obama is challenging his administration to formulate a new Middle East policy that emphasizes political and economic reforms to bolster U.S. allies now threatened by the protest movements...

An American journalist who was sentenced to eight years in an Iranian prison said there is still hope for democracy in the country.

Additional information received recently by a United Nations watchdog group raises new concerns about the intent of Iran's nuclear program.

Despite international pressure and claims that a computer virus has slowed its program, the country continues to produce low-enriched material, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency reports. Iran increased its stockpile of low-enriched uranium in recent months despite intense international pressure and claims that a computer virus had slowed its...

COLUMBIA – "Gadhafi must go" were the words shouted by nearly 60 men, women and children standing in solidarity for Libya. The rioting and insurrection in Libya hit home in Columbia Friday afternoon as a group of people held a vocal demonstration at the intersection of Providence Road and Broadway...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has once again confirmed the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear energy program.

Religious freedom advocates in America are being urged to rally to their U.S. representative behind a bill that would create a way for the government to better monitor and defend the religious freedom of minorities in countries in South Central Asia and the Middle East.

ALRIGHT, the Lahoris can keep their Charing Crosses and Mayo Gardens, the Bharat Nagars and the Ram Galis, because they belong to the city`s memory, they argue.

A court filing in the case of a former CIA officer accused of spilling secrets about Iran’s nuclear program provides new details about the extraordinary measures Justice Department prosecutors are using to identify government leakers.

Ireland's opposition braced for historic victory

Ruling with an iron fist, Gadafy channelled Libyan wealth into projects such as the attempted unification of the Arab world, writes MICHAEL JANSEN

Stocks rose as oil prices stabilised following a recent jump but the escalating turmoil in Libya still left major indexes down for the week.

For longer, even, than the war has raged in Afghanistan, the peace protesters at Parliament Square have fought their own campaign against an establishment determined to evict them.

The Globe and Mail asked five writers whose recent books are nominated for this year's Gelber Prize two big geopolitical questions

Help, Lord, for loyalty is no more; good faith between man and man is over.

Clutching a grainy photocopy of a passport photo, the toll of days of agonising waiting is etched on Leila Garcia's face.

Has the advent of social media doomed dictatorships to short lives?

As the turmoil spreads in the Middle East, crude prices are on a steady upswing and endangering the global economy. Here is The Globe’s assessment of the threats to the major suppliers

Associated Press - February 25, 2011 7:14 PM ET GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A former University of Florida nuclear engineering professor and his wife have been convicted of defrauding more than $3...

LAST weekend, my parents came over to visit and my mother went straight to the kitchen to get herself a drink from the refrigerator. She rushed out immediately, almost teary eyed, and asked me about the dozen beer bottles, champagne and wines in the fridge.

ROME, FEB. 25, 2011 ( Zenit.org ).- Though the so-called Jasmine Revolution has unsettled the future of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and perhaps the whole Arab world, there's a feeling that it's all the beginning of a springtime.

WE are living in momentous days. I had never thought I would live to see ordinary people across the Arab world rise up to throw their dictators out. While it is too early to predict the direction the ongoing revolution will take, the region — and the world — will...

TEHRAN: China is to invest $2.5 billion in developing Iran's South Azadegan oilfield that straddles the border with Iraq, Iranian news agency Mehr reported Friday. "According to the final agreement, China will invest $2.5 billion in the field," Mehr quoted Naji Saadouni, president of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and...

Release Time:  For Immediate Release Location:  James S. Brady Press Briefing Room **Note addition to the transcript below.   2:33 P.M. EST      MR. CARNEY:  Good afternoon, everybody.  Scott, is this your first appearance?  Okay.  First of all, I want to apologize.  I know it’s...

Despite lavish spending, Libyan leader has few friends and even fewer likely to risk harbouring a megalomaniac fugitive

President Obama has asked his aides to formulate a Mideast foreign policy that emphasizes democratic reforms without alienating longtime allies. President Obama is challenging his administration to formulate a new Middle East policy that emphasizes political and economic reforms to bolster U.S. allies now threatened by the protest movements...

LONDON: European gas prices have surged in February as violence in Libya has stoked concerns over rising unrest across the key gas and oil producing countries of the Middle East and North Africa.Below are country profiles of gas exporting countries in the region. Major oil exporters Saudi Arabia and...

Bud Hennebaul and Pete Fritts know their wrestling. After all, they’ve been been involved with the sport since their childhoods. Hennebaul was a five-year-old beginner in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. where his father was running the local youth wrestling program at the YMCA. read more

After witnessing a vacuum of leadership and an apparent fecklessness in dealing with crises abroad during Jimmy Carter's administration, some concluded the presidency was too big for one man.

Click here to download TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format TV listings for the week of Feb. 27 - March 5 in PDF format (from latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv) Weekly TV Listings and more can...

Stocks rose Friday as oil prices stabilized following a recent jump. The escalating turmoil in Libya still left major indexes down about 2 percent for the week.

Because any significant violence or upheaval in that region inevitably sets off WWIII scenarios in our minds, leading to more frequent end-of-days discussions, which are hard to stomach for very long.

The late U.S. president achieved a remarkable number of his loathsome goals

US stocks rose as oil prices stabilised following a recent jump.

Oil prices for the most active Brent and WTI crude contracts are still up over 10 percent since last Friday — and there's no sign that Mideast turmoil will cease over the weekend. So oil traders are bracing for more — perhaps much more — upside risk.

Stocks rose Friday as oil prices stabilized following a recent jump. The escalating turmoil in Libya still left major indexes down about 2 percent for the week. Oil prices have been rising, sending stocks lower, as concerns mounted that violence would spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East, affecting...

Social media sites have played a huge role in the prodemocracy surge—but states have also been very good at using technology to suppress their people. First in Tunisia, then in Egypt, now in Libya: technologically savvy protestors are making extraordinary use of the Internet and digital media to support mass...

Journalism (n) – the collection, preparation and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such media as pamphlets, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, radio, motion pictures, television and books.

As protests--and crackdowns--ripple throughout the Arab world, a look at the various U.S. reactions to each country

MANAMA — The fervor for change that inspired revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt is now rocking Bahrain. But the uprising in Manama differs from the mass protests that turned out longtime rulers in North Africa. Indeed, sectarian fault lines, together with the security forces' complete fealty to the monarchy, seriously...

AFP/Tehran A key figure of Iran’s reformist opposition, Mehdi Karoubi, vowed to continue his struggle with “determination” in a video recorded before his complete isolation and posted on Sahamnews.org “I hope that we will overcome the current problems,” said the former parliamentary speaker in a video address recorded before...

Tehran - Iran on Friday rejected the notion that the release of two German journalists last week was tied to political conditions, insisting that German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's trip to Tehran on the same day was diplomatically motivated.

The UN nuclear watchdog has said it new information that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon capable of being carried by its ballistic missiles.

French revolutionary Georges Danton once said, “The revolution devours its children.” As the protesters clear Tahrir Square and the camera crews head home, Egyptians will face the harrowing task of turning a leaderless and politically diverse opposition movement into a functioning government. State-building is a task for the Egyptians,...

VIENNA - The U.N. nuclear monitoring agency said Friday that "recently received" information is adding to concerns Iran may have worked on developing nuclear arms.

The uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have caused prices surges in global commodity markets. Now the revolt in oil-rich Libya has brought oil prices to a level unseen since 2008.

Federal investigators obtained a New York Times reporter's private credit reports, personal bank account information, and phone and travel records in an effort to uncover the source of a CIA leak, according to Politico.

MNA- Persepolis football team moved one place up in the Iran Professional League (IPL) table by beating Foolad on Friday. In the match held at the Azadi Stadium, Persepolis defeated Foolad 3-1 in front of approximately 15,000 spectators.

British PM backs presence of arms companies accompanying him on tour of Middle East, during interview with Al Jazeera.

Vienna - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday pinned its hopes on Syrian promises to cooperate, in a new report that also noted the Middle Eastern country's lack of effort so far to shed light on its alleged secret nuclear programme.

By James Slater: As fans know, the legendary 5th Street Gym in Miami reopened its doors a couple of months back and the place where so many great fighters of yesteryear trained set out to recapture the old magic.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR), which includes Switzerland, has sharply condemned Libya and unanimously recommended its suspension.

Strange days! A few days ago, Congressman Poe (T-Texas) introduced House Resolution 60 calling for the Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) to be removed from the terrorist list by the State Department. At the same time, an unknown group calling itself the "Association of Iranian University Professors in Britain" took a...

ExxonMobil ( XOM ) is the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world and competes with other major oil companies like BP ( BP

The UN's nuclear watchdog says it has new information on "possible military dimensions" to Iran nuclear development programme.

North African leaders have worked with the West against Islamists and migrants - becoming more repressive as a result.

 MANILA, Philippines – The government should make available a lower-priced coconut oil for local banana chip processors as the high price of coconut oil, breaching the $2,000 per metric ton (MT) level is sending Philippine banana chips less competitive in the world market.  

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Army must train and structure itself for future conflicts that are more varied and complex than the wars of the past.

CAIRO - Hundreds of thousands poured out of mosques and staged protests across the Arab world yesterday, some trying to shake off autocratic rulers and others pressuring embattled leaders to carry out sweeping reforms.In the Libyan...

As the anti-government demonstrations built into massive protests, hundreds of thousands of middle class men and women swarmed into the squares and long avenues of the capital's major business district. They were at times angry and joyful, hopeful but with little experience.

LEXINGTON, Va., Feb. 25, 2011 – A talk by American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Michael Rubin on current events in Iran that was to have taken place at Virginia Military Institute March 2 has been cancelled.

Apple is giving Mac OS X 10.7 Lion to security experts for review...

TEHRAN -- Oil production in the Lavan region of southern Iran has risen by 11% over the past three years to a current 98,000 b/d, according to National Iranian Offshore Oil Co. (NIOC).

The U.N. nuclear monitoring agency says it has received recent information adding to concerns that Iran may have worked on developing nuclear arms.

How would an Iranian acquisition of a nuclear weapons capability affect U.S. policy in the Middle East? In this discussion paper, sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Mitchell B. Reiss enumerates several strategic choices that would face U.S. regional allies and the adverse implications for U.

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday said the rail budget for 2011-2012 was disappointing for his state.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh termed the railway budget for fiscal year 2011-12 presented Friday by Mamata Banerjee as 'highly disappointing'.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Dr. Farooq Abdullah signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Uruguayan counterpart Roberto Kreimerman here on Friday for cooperation in renewable energy.

As another authoritarian regime crumbles in the Middle East Terry Ascott has high hopes for the church in the region regardless of what replaces the old orders

Firooz Zahedi's life was changed by an unofficial photo assignment for a Hollywood legend. In 1976, Zahedi, a scion of an Iranian political family, had passed up a diplomatic career to try to break into the world of freelance photography....

A local court here Friday framed charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy against Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) former zonal director Saji Mohan, who allegedly embezzled Rs.13.81 lakh.

Two Pakistani intruders trying to enter the country illegally through the Punjab border were shot dead by Border Security Force (BSF) troopers Friday, an official said.

New Delhi, Feb 25 : Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has assured Iran that India would like to make the payment due to Iran as expeditiously as possible especially on account of oil and oil products.

MNA- Iran’s two-time Olympic gold medalist Hossein Rezazadeh has been elected as president of Iran Weightlifting Federation. “I’ve come to fight doping in weightlifting. We have not had any cases in the past 14 months since I have been working as the federation’s caretaker,” Rezazadeh said.