News Archive - 12 March 2011

Hillary Clinton leaves for an overseas tour to find ways to help Libya maintain revolutionary momentum.

TEHRAN - Iran plans to expand its maritime operational area in the new Iranian calendar year (which begins on March 21), Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari said on Saturday.

Iran has started manufacturing the first domestically built telecommunications satellite to be launched to space in 2017.

First I did a double take. He said what? I read it again and the shock waves followed. A beleaguered Presi dent Obama has told aides it would be so much easier to be the president of China, The New York Times reports. There are two ways to read the...

China will participate in developing Iran's giant north and south Azadegan oil fields, work that is too expensive for an Iran firm to carry out, deputy oil minister said.

Five percent of Saderat Bank stocks equal to 840 million shares have been offered in Tehran Stock Exchange by the Iran Privatization Organization on Saturday.

London, Mar 13 (ANI): Iran has indicated that its athletes would compete in the 2012 Olympics in London despite complaining that the Games logo resembles the word "Zion".

Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini has arrived in Afghanistan to attend the summit of ministers of culture of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states.

Bill was out of work for more than a year before he and his wife turned to the Women and Family Life Center in Guilford for help in 2010.

By United Press International UPI Almanac for Sunday, March 13, 2011.

NAJAF, Mar 13, 2011 (AFP) - The holy Shiite city of Najaf in central Iraq, home to the shrine of a revered cleric, is in the midst of a hotel building boom in a bid to dramatically ramp up the number of visiting pilgrims.

Red Shirt protesters during a rally at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand. Thousands of the demonstrators took up the street to mark the first anniversary of their last year's ...

He's baaaack! But James Clapper should be long gone. Mr. Clapper is the U.S. director of national intelligence. He's charged with making sure that all of America's intelligence services are on the same page. But Clapper has an unsettling habit of either speaking before thinking, speaking to things of...

Najmieh Batmanglij remains a low-key sensation, making what she says is the world's most influential, least understood cuisine.

Classroom discussions got pretty heated at Winters Mill High School on Saturday, despite school being out of session for the weekend.

Tehran, March 12 : Yemeni police opened fire at anti-government protesters Saturday in Sana'a, killing at least one person and injuring many, a media report here said.

MANAMA, Bahrain -- In the wake of a violent clash between protesters and Bahrain's security forces and pro-government vigilantes, Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned this tiny kingdom's ruling family on Saturday that "baby steps" toward reform would not be enough to meet the political and economic grievances sweeping the region.

Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi said Friday the trilateral meeting between Iran, Syria and Iraq for the Islamic gas pipeline will be held early next year (starts March 21).

Tokyo/Berlin - Engineers at Tokyo's damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant were in the process of releasing another dose of radioactive steam into the atmosphere Sunday, Kyodo news agency ...

The Oak Mountain High School boys’ track and field team finished second in team standings in its Icebreaker Invitational meet March 12 at Heardmont Park.

>It did not mean an immediate threat to human health, the company said.The company said earlier that it had started releasing steam from a reactor at the plant. A similar rise in radiation levels occurred after the company released radioactive steam from another reactor to let go of pressure.

A Thai anti-government 'Red Shirt' protester carries a cut-out of exiled ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra (C) during a rally at Democracy Monument in downtown Bangkok on March 12, ...

Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami focuses on art and romance in 'Certified Copy.' He says shooting it outside of Iran was a form of protest. Widely hailed as one of the world's most exciting filmmakers during the 1990s, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has spent most of the last decade seeming...

Teraktorsazi of Tabriz has defeated Mes of Kerman in the 26th week of the Iran Premier League (IPL) to take sole possession of fourth place in the standings.

The United States Census Bureau has announced that the volume of trade transactions between Iran and the United States stood at $16 million in January 2011.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves Sunday for an overseas tour to find ways to help the Libyan opposition oust a third Arab leader and maintain the momentum of democracy revolutions.

By John Doe The World is coming to an End !! Borrow ALL the money you can. Spend lavishly, and live a Luxurious life fully knowing that you never have to repay the Bank, FInance Companies or Ah Loong's !! In fact, the World "ended" many times before. It ended on Y2k,...

Monks chanted and sprinkled water over the three adult females and two calves during the blessing ceremony, which also marks eight years since the Trail of Elephants opened at Melbourne Zoo.Thai ...

>NORTHAMPTON, Mass (Reuters) - A U.S.-led research team may have finally located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago in mud flats in southern Spain. "This is the power of tsunamis," head researcher Richard Freund told Reuters."It...

>SENDAI, Japan (Reuters) - Thousands of people fled the vicinity of an earthquake-crippled Japanese nuclear plant after a radiation leak and authorities faced a fresh threat on Sunday with the failure of the cooling system in a second reactor. Operator TEPCO said it was preparing to vent some steam to...

Survivors caught up in Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami share harrowing stories and their fears.

Germany has sent aid workers Japan, where they hope to rescue people trapped beneath rubble. The workers face various obstacles, including potential radiation, but volunteers have worked in similar danger zones before.

Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency has asked the IAEA for a full guarantee that would ensure all member states have access to nuclear fuel.

With the only Christian in Pakistan’s government murdered outside his mother’s home, Coptic Christian churches being burnt in Egypt , and Iraq ’s Christian population reduced by about half of its 1.4 million total of 25 years ago, the future for many Christians in the Muslim world looks at...

Jerusalem has many identities — some real, some imagined. It's known as "the city of peace," but author James Carroll identifies it as the "home base of religious violence." In his new book Jerusalem, Jerusalem , Carroll traces the history of this holy city and how it has shaped...

Farah Ghanei, Goli Naghibi, Nassreen Filsoof and Mahshid Seifi decorate that Haft Sin table in preparation for their Norouz celebrations. A Norouz Spring Festival takes place Sunday at the Mickey McDougall recreation centre.

Artists for Kids Gallery: 810 West 21st St., North Vancouver. Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., weekends from noon to 4 p.m. Info: 604-903-3798 or www.artists4kidscom.

>The International Atomic Energy Agency -- an inter-governmental organization for scientific co-operation in the nuclear field -- said it uses the scale to communicate to the public in a consistent way the safety significance of nuclear and radiological events.The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, or INES, ranges from...

As guests drank his champagne, Vincent Tchenguiz remained in London, otherwise engaged with the fallout from his arrest in Britain’s biggest-ever fraud inquiry.

THE mosque at the heart of this ancient city, once a bombed-out epitaph for Iraq's spiral into civil war, is now heralded as a symbol of its painstaking recovery.

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Japanese nuclear safety agency rated the damage at a nuclear power plant at Fukushima at a four on a scale of one to seven, which is not quite as bad as the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979, which registered a...

Iran has defeated Bahrain to advance to the next round of the qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympics Women's Football Tournament.

>The TEPCO spokesman said preparation work for the release began at 7:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. EST).An official from Japan's nuclear safety watchdog said earlier on Sunday that it had received a report from Japan's largest power producer at 5:10 a.m. that the facility's No. 3 reactor...

Betfair, the FTSE-250 gambling group which has found life as a public company heavy going, announced last week that it will be operating offshore – a move that would have saved the group £18.5m in tax on their gross profits last year.

Cash strapped Pakistan would seek assistance from China to carry out Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project to import 750mn metre cubic feet per day (mmcfd) to 1bn cubic feet gas per day (bcfd) from Iran, it was learnt yesterday.

> * Nuclear accident not as bad as Three Mile Island or Chernobyl - Japan nuclear agency * Japan says radiation levels lessening - IAEA * More than 1,800 seen dead, missing after quake and tsunami * Huge trail of devastation along Japan's northeast coast By Chris Meyers and Kim...

GASPARILLA ISLAND — On this barrier island, where millionaires wedge mansions between

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he was convinced that Bahrain’s royal family was serious about starting a dialogue with protesters demanding more democracy.

JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Iran has deemed Bahrain a primary target in plans to dominate the Gulf, a report said. The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs asserted that Iran, in wake of the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, has identified Bahrain as a prime target for takeover.

Let's not beat around the bush here: Battlefield 3 looks freaking amazing. At their GDC preview event, the folks at DICE showed off a PC version of the title and did their best to blow the collective minds of everyone present.

> The emergency cooling system is no longer functioning at the No.3 reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility, requiring the facility to urgently secure a means to supply water to the reactor, an official of the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told a...

>KORIYAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Thousands of people evacuated from areas around a crippled nuclear power plant were scanned for radiation exposure as Japanese authorities struggled to cope with the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami. Although the government insisted radiation levels were low following an explosion in the main...

An Iranian official indicates the country will put aside a complaint about the London 2012 Olympics logo and attend the games.

A number of Bahais who were "promoting their faith in kindergartens" have been arrested, a prosecutor in the southern city of Bam was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying on Saturday.

The scramble to control the Fukushima nuclear reactor serves as a sharp reminder of the risks in one alternative source of energy, even as Libya fighting has raised concerns about world oil supplies. Obama and Boehner step into the policy fray.

US secretary of state urges region leaders to respond to protests with more than 'baby steps'

U.S. contractor Alan P. Gross has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against the Cuban state.

New archeological findings suggest that the village of Masouleh in Iran's northern province of Gilan is much older than previously thought.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry has arrested a number of the followers of the banned Baha'i cult on charges of promoting their perverse beliefs in kindergartens.

Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency calls on the IAEA fuel guarantee committee to draw up a legally binding document which would ensure fuel supplies for all member states without discrimination.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahayan has said Tehran and Abu Dhabi will peacefully resolve the issue of the three Persian Gulf Islands.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged United States ally Bahrain to take "far-reaching steps" toward reform, and quickly, in order to prevent Iran from exploiting the rift between the Sunni monarchy and the largely Shiite protesters. "I expressed the view that...

>FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Survivors of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami huddled over heaters in emergency shelters on Saturday as rescue workers searched a mangled coastline of submerged homes, wrecked cars and stranded boats. Aerial footage showed buildings and trains strewn like children's toys after powerful walls of seawater swamped...

Middle Eastern and North African countries that are in turmoil have seen their ratings downgraded, stock markets plunge and foreign investors turn cautious.

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans' confidence in the way the country is going has slumped to a two-year low in the last month, and one pollster blamed soaring gas prices. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday the proportion of people who believe the United States is on the wrong track rose...

>FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Radiation leaked from an earthquake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan on Saturday after a blast blew off the roof, and authorities prepared to distribute iodine to local people to protect them from exposure. The government insisted radiation levels were low because although the explosion severely damaged the...

>ITAMAR, West Bank (Reuters) - A Jewish couple and three of their children were stabbed to death in a West Bank settlement in what Israeli officials said was an attack by a Palestinian who broke into their home in the early hours of Saturday. Israeli troops set up roadblocks and...

Fertiliser prices have climbed sharply in recent months, in line with global grain markets, but they are unlikely to reach 2008 highs, with producers better prepared to respond to rising demand.

>President Barack Obama's Justice Department filed its notice of appeal and the case will go to the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta. The fight over the law is expected to reach the Supreme Court.Healthcare reform is the signature of Obama's domestic policy and the...

>TOKYO, March 13 (Reuters) - Following are main developments after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck northeast Japan on Friday and set off a tsunami. - More than 1,700 people likely dead or missing from the quake and tsunami, Kyodo news agency says. * Kyodo says 9,500 people in...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japanese officials may only have hours to cool reactors that have been disabled by Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami or face a nuclear meltdown. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) (9501.T) is racing to cool down the reactor core after a highly unusual "station blackout" --...

>MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dismissed as "ridiculous" a request on Monday from the leader of absent Senate Democrats to meet and negotiate a compromise in their standoff over Republican plans to limit public sector union powers. At a news conference in Madison, the new Republican governor...

In December last year, a senior dignitary in the region described the objectives of Gulf diplomacy as ‘mutual understanding, coexistence, good relations with our neighbours and the establishment of strong relations based on the principles of reciprocal advantage and the realisation of the good of all.’ These principles by...

>MIAMI (Reuters) - The NFL officially announced a lockout of players by team owners following the move by the players' union to dissolve themselves and pursue court action against the league, the NFL said in a statement Saturday. A lockout effectively closes down the league's activities and will halt any...

>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Japan should not expect a repeat of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster after an explosion blew the roof off one of its nuclear power plants that had been shaken in a huge earthquake, experts said on Saturday. Japan's Daiichi 1 reactor north of the capital Tokyo began leaking...

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake and coastline-devouring tsunami that hit Japan has led 49 countries, the European Union and even the International Atomic Emergency Agency to band together and offer relief to the devastated island nation.

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Assistant Senate Democratic leader Dick Durbin drew a line in the sand on Sunday in his party's budget battle with Republicans, who are pushing deep spending cuts to trim the federal deficit. Durbin, one of President Barack Obama's top allies in Congress, said he opposed going beyond...

>Iodine can be used to help protect against thyroid cancer in the case of radioactive exposure in a nuclear accident.After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, thousands of cases of thyroid cancer were reported in children and adolescents who were exposed at the time of the accident. More cases are expected.

Dictators have the darnedest luck. The Russian government would have likely gotten in a fair bit of trouble for invading neighboring Georgia in 2008 if everyone, including President George W. Bush , wasn't too busy slappin' booties at the Beijing Olympics. In 2009, the deaths of protesters in Iran over...

>MADISON (Reuters) - The Wisconsin state Assembly on Thursday approved sweeping restrictions on public sector unions in a stinging rebuke of the labor movement that critics fear will encourage other states to follow. After a short debate, the Republican-dominated Assembly voted 53-42 to limit government union bargaining rights to wages...

WASHINGTON - Rarely, if ever, has a post-World War II U.S. president been beset by so many foreign policy challenges and uncertainties in one key geo-strategic region at the same time. While the civil war in Libya - and increasing pressures on Washington to intervene - is currently the...

ABOARD MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) - The Gulf kingdom of Bahrain must take more than "baby steps" to enact political reforms, the top U.S. defence official said on Saturday after a visit to the tiny but important U.S. ally.

China will invest more than USD 6 billion for the development of Iran's “giant” north and south Azadegan oilfields, Iranian deputy oil minister has said.

The Associated Press The Associated Press MANAMA, Bahrain Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters encircled one of the royal family's palaces Saturday, shouting calls for political freedom and the king's ouster a day after a similar march triggered a violent response from security forces. There was no repeat of the...

MADISON, Wis. #8212; Wisconsin Democratic and union leaders are expecting a huge crowd at a rally in the capital against a new Republican-sponsored law that drastically weakens the state's public employee unions.

When the Gulf War began in 1990, many were worried about "another Vietnam," but few of those were in the military.

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Saturday he believes leaders in Persian Gulf ally Bahrain are serious about addressing grievances that have spawned a growing protest movement, but swift action is needed to deny rival Iran the chance to exploit the current...

MANAMA, Bahrain - Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters encircled one of the royal family's palaces Saturday, shouting calls for political freedom and the king's ouster a day after a similar march triggered a violent response from security forces.

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Mar 12, 2011 (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday that Bahrain's leaders needed to move quickly to adopt major reforms or else risk interference from Iran.