News Archive - 19 August 2011

Tens of thousands of American troops could stay in Afghanistan for thirteen more years under a strategic pact which the two countries are close to signing, according to a report by the UK`s Daily Telegraph on Saturday. A strategic pact is close to being finalized, according to the media outlet`s...

>AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces killed dozens of protesters on Friday despite assurances by President Bashar al-Assad that a crackdown was over, and thousands of people rallied across the Arab nation with renewed vigor demanding political freedoms. Activists said at least 34 people, including four children, were shot dead by...

Everything we're being told about the Middle East is wrong or misleading.

>AMMAN, Aug 19 - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's pledge to the world that he has halted his crackdown on a five-month uprising will be tested on Friday when protesters are expected to call for his downfall, backed for the first time by the United States and Europe. The main midday...

>The speed of any recovery in oil and gas output from Libya, which has been disrupted by six months of civil war, would depend on the extent of damage to infrastructure.Analysts have also warned of the risk of the nation descending into chaos because of divisions among the rebels...

For their new book, 'The Eleventh Day', Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan pieced together a definitive account of the attacks.

(MENAFN) The National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) said that in September, Iranian fuel oil exports to East Asia would remain below 300,000 tons, reported Arab News. The company added that the decline ...

Iran has resumed pumping natural gas to Turkey after a blast in the pipeline led to a week-long stoppage, said an official.

With the completion of new phases, production from South Pars (SP) gas field will triple, oil minister said Friday, adding neighboring Arab countries are extensively exploiting joint oil and gas fields.

Dubai export markets by value are highly concentrated in India & Switzerland, comprising 40% & 20%, respectively

(MENAFN) Turkish Parliament's Energy Committee Chairman, Mahmut Mucahit Findikli, said that gas exports from Iran to Turkey recorded about a 7 percent increase in the first half of the current year ...

While NATO struggles even to dislodge Moammar Gadhafi, Syria's bloody regime poses larger challenges.

Syrian forces have killed dozens of protesters despite assurances by President Bashar al-Assad to Ban Ki-moon that a crackdown was over.

CAIRO - A cross-border terrorist attack and an Israeli retaliation that left three Egyptian officers dead are threatening to undermine a decades-old cold peace between the two countries that had already begun to fray since the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has strongly condemned Israel's new round of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that killed and injured several Palestinians.

LAHORE, Aug 19: A 17-member delegation of parliamentarians is reaching here on Saturday (today) after attending second round of the two-day India-Pakistan Parliamentarians Dialogue in New Delhi, and signing a joint declaration that calls for peace between the two countries for their security and stability The delegation held the Pildat-initiated...

Egypt said early Saturday it will withdraw its ambassador from Israel to protest the deaths of five Egyptian security forces in what it called a breach of a peace treaty, sharply escalating tensions between the two countries after a cross-border ambush that killed eight Israelis.

Tensions boil after deadly clash on Egypt-Israel border

The pentagon is once again testing high tech weapons aircraft. Critics say they the fighter jets aren't worth the price tag and are they’re hoping to scrap them.

Editor's Note: In 1961, the United Way of Indian River County, known then as the United Fund, began its first year as a centralized charity dedicated to helping social service organizations. Each week, the Press Journal looks at a year in the organization's history.

Terrorists launched the worst attack on Israel from Egypt in decades this week -- killing six Israeli civilians and two soldiers. Jerusalem struck back quickly, and justifiably, with airstrikes in Gaza -- reportedly taking out several militants, including a leader. Let’s hope this isn’t what President Obama had...

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi says the Islamic Republic will triple production at the South Pars gas field in the near future.

As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq surge on, the United States' sputtering economy is heading towards a second recession while it keeps dumping its precious resources into futile efforts of telling Middle . . .

The Iranian women's and men's taekwondo poomsae teams have finished in second and third place respectively at the 26th world Universiade in China.

Tehran, August 18 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Iran in a press conference on August 16 bitterly rejected the West's false report against his country.

Teheran, August 18 (KCNA) -- Iran will respond "decisively" if the United States or Israel attempt to attack the Islamic Republic, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Russia Today.

In the week following Congressman Ron Paul’s second-place showing at the Ames Straw Poll, where he finished just 152 votes behind Michele Bachmann, Paul’s fellow Republican presidential candidates are echoing his decades-old message on monetary policy -- even if the o …

July 23, 2011, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with participants of V Pan-Armenian Olympiad in Armenian language, literature and Armenian Studies, in response to question students about what the boundaries will be the future of Armenia, will be refunded if Western Armenia and Mount Ararat, Serzh Sargsyan said, “It all...

State official says Liking and other Facebook activities allow for illegal profiling by a foreign company.

WASHINGTON: While drawing a list of states sponsoring terrorism, the US State Department has resisted calls to place Pakistan on the list and instead depicted it as “a critical front” in the war against terror.

DAMASCUS, Aug 20, 2011 (AFP) - Syrian forces killed at least 23 protesters as tens of thousands flooded the streets after Friday prayers, activists said, despite President Bashar al-Assad's assurances that assaults on anti-regime protesters had ended.

U.K.-based hacker calls leaders hypocritical, says he was proud to support some operations, others not so much.

LIKE monsoon flurries, recent events in the Indian subcontinent have sent conflicting signals. Has Indian diplomacy finally awakened after its long summer siesta, or is this just an illusion?

Editor’s note: During a recent conversation with a Hezbollah source...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Now that he has called for Syria's leader to leave, U.S. President Barack Obama faces the daunting challenge of smoothing the way to a post-Assad era -- just as another Arab strongman looks increasingly beleaguered in Libya.

Developed in London, the "wonder drug" Abiraterone has not yet been approved for use in the UK on the NHS.

In spy talk, a “sleeper” is somebody who lives his life in the target country, keeping his nose clean and climbing up the ranks of the local hierarchy, until he reaches a position in which he can be of great service to his true employers abroad.

LinuxBSDos.com: "Parsix is a Linux distribution based on Debian Testing. It is a community distribution with roots in Iran."

Authoritarian regimes often dream through propaganda. To see what they're fantasizing about, we regularly check in on what state-controlled media outlets have been churning out. Iran celebrates the Arab Spring everywhere except Syria Behind the scenes of the Arab Spring, Shiite-led Iran and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia have been jockeying for...

THEY'VE written thousands of letters in support of those held captive in prison cells because of their beliefs.

Paperback books of particular interest.

Europeans may face choice of using U.S. technology or doing without.

HIV isn't openly discussed in Middle Eastern societies. New data give a much clearer picture of its prevalence and how governments do and don't respond. We speak with one researcher who explains the challenges of studying a topic taboo in the region. read more

By Raymond Smith

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt registered an official complaint with Israel Friday over the deaths of five of its soldiers in fighting after an ambush targeting Israelis near the border between the two countries as tensions spiked between the two formerly staunch allies. Retaliatory violence between Israel and the Islamic militant...

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela condemned a U.S. State Department report Friday for saying the South American country’s government is not fully cooperating in anti-terrorism efforts. Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. report is plagued with false information and “veiled threats.” The report, which...

The Syrian opposition is becoming "more cohesive" and "more broadly representative" of the country as a whole, a US official said Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday he thinks progress has been made in talks with Baghdad on maintaining some U.S. military presence in Iraq after the end-of-year deadline for withdrawing American forces.

The recent riots in England may not have been race riots in the strict sense of the word ... read more

The recent riots in England may not have been race riots in the strict sense of the word ... read more

Foreign Minister John Baird said Friday Canada will return to UN disarmament talks following the end of North Korea's presidency of the Conference on Disarmament.

The stage is set for a showdown this weekend between two prevailing forces in Israeli society: one which advocates national security above all else, and one which believes a country that prides itself on being a prosperous democracy must meet its obligations to its weakest citizens.

By José Luis Sierra New America Media They command an army of thousands: men, women, even children north and south of the US-Mexico border. They build tunnels, and dispatch submarines and customized armored vehicles. They load planes, trucks, and railroad containers with drugs and other illicit cargo. In bulk, they...

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) on the directive of Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando yesterday raided several supermarkets in Colombo and suburbs and nabbed 19 for violating the Consumer service Act.

TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- A political battle by Israel's military to beef up the defense budget in the face of unprecedented demands for greater social spending looks to be intensifying. Presented By: Reuters Unleashes Game-changing Products    Improving products to stay ahead of competition is the norm.

The problem is not money. The problem is that the Pentagon, as it exists under its current leadership, is incapable of surviving with less money.

Head of EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, this month, will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories. She hopes at the last moment to click on both sides, bending them to resume the negotiations of a possible UN vote on the issue of Palestinian statehood, the diplomatic sources.

There’s a hubbub brewing over privacy and Facebook in Germany — and, not for the first time, there’s misinformation involved. So I got on the phone to Facebook to get technical facts.

DUBAI — Scoring 92 per cent, Libyan contestant Khalid Mohamed Algardouz has bagged the top position and the Dh250,000 prize money in the 15th edition of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award, pushing Qatari Abdulla Hamad Abu-Sharida and Turkish Ahmet Sarikaya to second and third spots, respectively.

Making the film “Circumstance” in an authentic Middle Eastern setting required an element of subterfuge.

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief says he sees "momentum" for his plan to host rare talks between Israel and Arab states about his efforts to rid the world of atomic arms.

It's only far away in geographic terms.

As the US Department of State is contemplating whether to remove the Iranian Islamic Mujahedin-e Khalq group (MEK) from its terrorist list, a debate is taking place among pundits with some arguing for the removal and some for the status quo. -Hooshang Amirahmadi

Israel is still reeling from Thursday's series of terrorist attack that killed eight Israeli citizens and wounded 30 more near the Jewish state's southern border with Egypt. And beyond the immediate shock of the attacks, Israeli leaders are concerned that the Thursday attacks could escalate into broader violence in the...

The men in the village of Ghandab are sitting in the shadow of the tall walls of their houses and grappling with unemployment. And the women feed bites of poverty to their children. So is life at the point of zero! -Fahimeh Sadat Tabatabei

It hardly looked like the embodiment of a quiet-neighborhood policy. First Iran's top military commander warned Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, in language that brooked no diplomacy that he faced a "grim fate" for betraying "Islamic principles." - Robert Tait, RFE

It appears that water fighting and water guns are becoming sensitive issues in Iran. And as usual, Iranians are using humor to cope with the sometimes absurd situations they find themselves in. Here is a joke that is circulating about the recent incidents:...

Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh told FNA that the IRIAF will hold a joint aerial drill with a regional country in September, marking its first international war game. -FNA

MANILA, Aug. 20 (PNA) -- Filipino International Masters (IMs) Oliver Barbosa and Oliver Dimakiling overwhelmed their foes to share the early lead along with 13 others in the ongoing 8th Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess 2011 at the 5th Floor, Cititel Midvalley Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Egypt hopes to address this dilemma by bringing Hamas under its direct influence. The Egyptian military-intelligence elite sees such a move — which could be facilitated by the crisis in Syria — as increasingly necessary, but it still carries substantial risk.

Havana, Cuba - The United States has resorted to “old, unprovable arguments” to keep Cuba on a US blacklist of countries that allegedly support terrorism, an official Cuban website charged Friday.

TEHRAN: Managing Director of Iranian Central Oil Fields Company Mehdi Fakour said that Iran is prepared to sign an agreement with Iraq to develop joint oil fields in the border areas.

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Turkey targeted Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq for a second day, broadening the reach of its fight against the rebels, officials said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Amid a welter of international intrigue and big-stick diplomacy, Iran has been dodging international sanctions again.

Pressure by the international community can have a moral, supportive role but external factors cannot bring about change to the Syrian crisis, says a Swiss expert.

TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) -- The Turkish military’s recent massive attacks on Kurdish separatists have raised the question of why Turkey is criticizing the Syrian government for its crackdown on armed terrorists.

COMMENTARY | Only 90 miles off the coasts of the Florida Keys is a lively country that the majority of American citizens alive today haven't had the opportunity to visit.

At the Israel Cancer Research Fund luncheon, held August 10 at The Yale Club of New York City, ICRF-funded scientist Haim Werner gave a presentation on his research specialty: the connection among hormones, obesity and cancer. At the heart of his address was a discussion of what is now known...

I can assure ABC that former Pan Am'ers will be watching their new television series en masse in hopes that the writers will be able to capture even a little bit of the spirit of glamour and adventure that our company represented.

As the White House condemned Thursday’s deadly attacks on southern Israel, local leaders stepped up their efforts to invite more people to attend a Stand with Israel event already scheduled for this weekend.

The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas did not reverse its ruling that found former regional director and two security guards of the Bureau of Immigration in Central Visayas guilty of grave misconduct for allowing two Iranian Nationals to enter and exit the country using fake passports.

A new report from the Department of Energy calls for the creation of a shale gas production organization -- a private sector agency that would set safety standards and address environmental concerns

( University of Alberta - Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation ) "Lifelong Engagement in Sport and Physical Activity" is a collection of scholarly articles on physical activity and sport participation that traverses the lifespan from childhood to adulthood, with contributions from across the globe.

TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) -- Russia should pressure the United States to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran, Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The Kurdistan Workers' Party is a "common enemy" in the region and Washington is working with Turkey in the fight, a U.S. State Department official said.

Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has appealed to Muslims nations to help the people of Somalia, who are suffering from famine and on the brink of starvation.

Head of the Center for Military Forecasting, retired colonel Anatoly Tsyganok said in an interview with “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” several options for delivery vehicles to the Russian military base in Armenia – after Georgia denunciation of Russian-Georgian Treaty of 2006 transit of military cargoes of the Russian Federation territory.

The trial of senior members of the banned Islamic Party of Azerbaijan on charges of terrorism and plotting a government coup again has centered attention on the hyper-conservative Baku suburb of Nardaran, where the party got its start.

The situation in Syria cannot continue. The besieged government in Damascus is escalating the war against its citizens, and they do not appear to be intimidated. Significantly, many of the regime's former friends have broken ranks and recognize it for the pariah state that it deserves to be called. A...

Iran has called for exhausting all regional and international capacities and the formation of a special UN committee to help Somalia out of its deepening famine crisis.

Syrian security forces arrested more than three-hundred people (Bloomberg) and reportedly killed several more August 19, only a day after the United States, Canada, and European allies called for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Today is Friday, Aug. 19, the 231st day of 2011. There are 134 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Aug. 19, 1991, Soviet hard-liners made the stunning announcement that President Mikhail S. Gorbachev had been removed from power. (The coup attempt collapsed two days later with...

TEHRAN, Aug. 19 (MNA) -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said that economic jihad can serve as a powerful weapon against the sanctions imposed on Iran by its enemies.

A decade after fleeing Afghanistan for Australia, most of the Tampa asylum seekers are still running.

A senior Iranian commander says the annual aerial drill to be conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) will not be held in collaboration with any other country.

Israel launched strikes on Gaza, and militants fired rockets into Israel on Friday. Egypt said two of its officers were mistakenly killed by Israelis firing at suspected militants.

Sarwar had been home a week when they came for him. After more than two years away from Afghanistan - on leaky boats and in refugee camps, seeking a new country to call home - he returned to his village in Ghazni province.

LESS than 24 hours after a deadly series of co-ordinated attacks rocked southern Israel, analysts were looking beyond Gaza and its Hamas leadership to the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, for answers.

LESS than 24 hours after the deadly series of co-ordinated attacks rocked southern Israel, killing eight, analysts are looking beyond Gaza and its Hamas leadership to the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon - which is backed by Iran and Syria - for answers.