News Archive - 2 June 2011

>KUWAIT/RIYADH (Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is using its political clout and financial power to draw regional allies into a united front against perceived threats from Iran and popular discontent with Arab autocrats. Saudi rulers, alarmed by shifts in U.S. policy in response to the toppling of...

>LONDON (Reuters) - From the satellite pictures on Google Earth, Jinan looks like any other Chinese city -- sprawling construction sites, massive factory blocks, apartment buildings, a university, dozens of railway lines and wide-open plazas. But according to the Internet giant, somewhere in the city -- the capital of China's...

SINGAPORE (Simon Webb) - OPEC is considering raising crude supply next week for the first time since 2007 in a move that could weaken $100 oil prices and lessen the drag of high energy costs on global economic growth. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps more...

June 2, 2011 - The Republic of China (Taiwan) Ambassador to Solomon Islands H.E. Roy Wu has formally released the first payment of SB$13.8 million for the 2011 Funding Support to Solomon Islands.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iranian security forces are responsible for the death of the daughter of a veteran opposition figure at her father's funeral, the United States has said in condemning the regime's repression.

JULIETTE KAYYEM misses the point in her insistence that Boston College turn over to the Police Service of Northern Ireland the oral history records of interviews with two nationalists who were activists during the Troubles in the 1970s. What business is it of the US government to issue subpoenas to...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is condemning the death of an Iranian activist during her father's funeral, saying the death was the result of "reprehensible actions" by Iranian security forces.

Alofi, Niue, 1st June 2011 - The Niue Chamber of Commerce appreciates its inclusion as the representative of the private sector in the peer review consultations into the Government of Niue budget and planning processes, and development coordination underway in the country this week.

The State Department is condemning the death of an Iranian activist during her father's funeral, saying the death was the result of "reprehensible actions" by Iranian security forces.

source: Joaquin Henson | philstar.com UPDATE: Gilas eye semis berth vs Al Jala'a-Syria (click here) Al Jala’a Aleppo is the road block that Smart Gilas must hurdle to advance to the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup semifinals and coach Rajko Toroman’s unbeaten charges aren’t taking the team lightly particularly as they...

source: gmanews.tv Pilipinas-Smart Gilas tries to clinch a semifinals berth in the 2011 FIBA-Asia Champions Cup when it faces Al Jala'a-Syria on Friday in the quarterfinal phase of the annual Asian club tournament. The Nationals are on a high after sweeping the preliminaries for a 4-0 card. They defeated...

June 2, 2011 - The Minister for Finance and Treasury, Hon Gordon Darcy Lilo has welcomed a European Investment Bank (EIB) debt write-off in respect of the Development Bank of Solomon Islands (DBSI) outstanding debts to the EIB.

JERUSALEM -- The newly retired head of Israel's fabled Mossad spy agency has turned his sights toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, repeatedly criticizing the Israeli leader's approach to Iran and the Palestinians. After earning a reputation as a fearless operator against Israel's enemies, now Meir Dagan is showing public...

> Officials from major shareholders Korea Asset Management Corp and Woori Bank said earlier this week that they planned to tap reserve bidder Swedish electronics firm Electrolux AB (ELUXb.ST) to revive the $513 million stake sale after rejecting a request by Entekhab to cut the acquisition price by about...

>MANAMA (Reuters) - Bahrain, eager for Formula One organisers to reinstate a motor race postponed after popular protests erupted in February, acted to prevent any unrest on Thursday after lifting martial law earlier in the week. Police patrolled the streets of Manama and villages around the capital to snuff out...

> "Aliabadi has been appointed as oil ministry's caretaker," state television reported. Last month Ahmadinejad sacked Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi as part of a plan to merge several ministries to cut their number to 17 from 21, alarming his rivals within the conservative ruling elite. [ID:nHAF431903] (Editing by Keiron Henderson)...

Israel’s recently retired spymaster said the country’s military does not plan to attack Iran within the next two years, and that Israel should accept a Saudi proposal for Mideast peace.

George Kalu Photo by: Lora Schraft As friends, family and staff root on the seniors of Ann Sobrato, Central and Live Oak, so will the Times. These students were recommended as leaders of the pack. They set good examples, raised the bar for future classes and were a joy to...

Some years ago, John Podhoretz, a right-of-center writer, now the editor of Commentary, admonished his colleagues on the left: "We speak liberal as well as our own tongue. Why don't you speak conservative?"

Removing Assad has implications for peace across the Middle East.

SINGAPORE: The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is considering raising crude supply next week for the first time since 2007 in a move that could weaken US$100 oil prices and lessen the drag of high energy costs on global economic growth.

SINGAPORE: The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is considering raising crude supply next week for the first time since 2007 in a move that could weaken US$100 oil prices and lessen the drag of high energy costs on global econom...

Australia came under fire from human rights advocates Friday over its plan to send child asylum seekers to Malaysia without their parents under a refugee swap deal being negotiated with the Malaysian government.

The video tour, named simply What An Astronaut Sees, takes you from Africa to India, to Italy, to Russia, to China, to Iran, to Australia, and to North and South America.

>Turtles of varying sizes worth around 2,000 baht apiece in Thai markets, and seven false gavials, a type of freshwater crocodile worth 10,000 baht each, were found on Thursday in small bags packed into cases after authorities received a tip off that a known trafficker was on his way to...

The 2012 guessing game about the future of the so-called tandem of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin is beginning to dominate the political debate in Russia.

As we head toward the end of May, I am steadily closing in on my final trimester with my third pregnancy. My oldest child is out of school and we’ve all had to adjust to the change in routine. Rainy days, like what forecasters are predicting for the next few...

A senior Iranian lawmaker has rapped Israel for making “ineffective” threats about joint international action against Iran's nuclear program, warning Tel Aviv of Tehran's firm response.

Anti-Israeli sentiment could threaten our close co-operation in fighting Islamic extremism, says Ron Prosor.

The former head of Israel's intelligence agency has slammed talk of an Israeli air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

An inquest has been told different police and rescue boats may have been chosen for Christmas Island had a government official known of an objection.

JERUSALEM - Israel's recently retired spymaster says there are no plans to attack Iran within the next two years.

BEIJING: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will start negotiations with Pakistan, India and Iran for their full membership after a memorandum is expected to be passed at its summit in June, SCO Secretary-General Muratbek Sansyzbayevich Imanaliev has said in Beijing.

World powers should offer to ease sanctions to gain Iran’s cooperation in resolving the dispute over the country’s nuclear program, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.