News Archive - 26 May 2011

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, tapped to be the next U.S. envoy to China, vowed on Thursday to win more access to Chinese markets, press for a flexible yuan currency and push for more action against counterfeiting of American products. Locke told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...

>BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - For the hip and trendy in Iraq's southern oil city of Basra, a warm spring evening spent puffing a water pipe or drinking tea on a boat that was once used to smuggle oil is just the ticket. Ferries used to smuggle crude, weapons and people...

> Both fierce anti-U.S. ideologues, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Chavez have become close political and commercial allies in recent years, to the irritation of Washington. Following are some facts about Venezuela-Iran ties. * GEOPOLITICS: Ahmadinejad and Chavez aim to weaken U.S. "imperialism" and favor a world divided...

>The bipartisan group said they want to step up pressure on Tehran to stop its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons, highlighted by data this week from the U.N. nuclear watchdog.The International Atomic Energy Agency revealed in a report fresh evidence that Iran has tried to weaponize its nuclear...

>Obama, who met Medvedev on the sidelines of the G8 summit in France, told reporters Russia's entry would be good for the world economy and expressed confidence it could be accomplished.Medvedev said the process needed a new impetus and called for negotiations to be stepped up."We think that...

>MOSCOW (Reuters) - NATO's plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and transfer security to Afghan forces by the end of 2014 are premature, a Russian envoy said on Thursday. Still haunted by its own decade-long war in Afghanistan, Russia is tiptoeing back into Afghan affairs before the gradual withdrawal...

Robert Gates is stepping down as de fense secretary after 4½ years of hon orable service -- notching up remarkable successes even as he's presided over a perilous decline in America's military capabilities. With the Middle East coming apart, we also face a surging China, a truculent and...

May 25, 2011 - Last week IFEX members celebrated the release of two women journalists in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hamilton Mountain MP Chris Charlton has been handed the task by NDP Leader Jack Layton of keeping his new and expanded caucus of 103 MPs in line.

New York, May 26 2011 - The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) reported today that post-election violence that began last December had killed more than 1,000 people in the western part of the country before it came to an end last month.

New York, May 26 2011 - Ahead of the annual International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, a new photo exhibit opened today in New York showcasing the vital of work of blue helmets in strengthening the rule of law in post-conflict countries.

Mark LeVine looks at Chuck Schumer's call for Israel to 'economically strangle' Gaza.

NEW YORK — Iran was reelected to a seat on a UN commission on population and development Thursday, drawing an angry reaction from the United States, which cited Tehran’s opposition to women’s rights.

Tens of thousands of followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr stage a huge rally to send a message to Iraq's leaders: Don't delay the U.S. troop withdrawal. Wave after wave of Iraqi men stamped their feet and their hands swung high as they marched in time, dressed in the...

Israel's government, which has long attempted to isolate Iran, declines to defend an Israeli conglomerate accused of selling an oil tanker to an Iranian firm in violation of U.S. sanctions. The Israeli government moved Thursday to distance itself from one of the country's largest private conglomerates after embarrassing allegations...