News Archive - 6 November 2011

>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - There is little chance that the U.N. Security Council will impose tough new sanctions on Iran anytime soon, despite a new U.N. report expected this week to contain evidence suggesting Iran wants atomic weapons. The reason for this, Western diplomats say, is the reluctance...

Intelligence provided to U.N. nuclear officials shows Iran’s government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon, receiving assistance from foreign scientists to overcome key technical hurdles, according to Western diplomats and nuclear experts briefed on the findings. Documents and other records provide new details on...

>Responding to a toughening stance from the United States and Israel against Tehran, Ahmadinejad accused Washington of inventing conspiracies to discredit Iran and sowing discord with its near neighbor Saudi Arabia."Yes, we have military capabilities that are different from any other country in the region," Egyptian daily al-Akhbar cited...

Texas Congressman Ron Paul said today he would use âfriendshipâ to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

>AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces shot dead at least 13 civilians Sunday in a continued military assault on the restive city of Homs and in attacks on pro-democracy demonstrations that erupted after prayers marking the main Muslim feast, activists said. Qatar's prime minister called for Arab states to meet next...

>TEHRAN (Reuters) - A senior Iranian cleric Sunday dismissed talk of a military strike by Israel as empty propaganda, taunting the Jewish state for screaming "like a cornered cat" rather than roaring like a lion. Israeli media have speculated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet consensus to attack...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog is set this week to issue a detailed report with new evidence pointing to suspected research activity in Iran to develop an atomic arms capability, diplomats say. Western officials and experts believe Iran is making efforts in the three main areas needed...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog is expected this week to issue its most detailed report yet on research in Iran seen as geared to developing atomic bombs, heightening international suspicions of Iranian intentions and fuelling Middle East tension. Western powers are likely to seize on the International...

The distress call comes in – urgent help is needed! The officer in charge immediately mobilises a team. They rush to their operations centre and put on their gear – a search and rescue operation is underway. These volunteers are members of the Malaysian Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association (MVFRA).

Kevin Roderick: He's not toast, maybe, but the odds are getting longer.

"The U.S. fears any friendship between us and Saudi Arabia and therefore incites disagreements," Iranian President said.

MANDALI, Iraq (AP) - Iran's presence is already visible in Iraq, from the droves of pilgrims at Shiite holy sites to the brands of yoghurt and jams on grocery shelves. But now Iraqis are bracing for a potential escalation of Persian influence as the U.S. military leaves at the...

WASHINGTON -- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that President Obama deserves credit for advancing the war on terror, although she disagreed with the US decision to withdraw all American troops from Iraq by the end of the year.“Obviously, I think Barack Obama has done a number...

Syria and the nations deficit were among the topics discussed during U.S. Sen. Mark Udalls visit to The Durango Herald on Sunday to speak with the newspapers editorial board.

The Iranian national youth team has thrashed Pakistan at the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers and booked a place in the tournament.

Tehran maintains that its nuclear energy program is simply to provide energy and has ignored UN demands to halt its uranium enrichment, which could produce fuel for nuclear power plants or weapons.

Rich LowryKing Features Syndicate When President Barack Obama took the podium last Friday to abruptly announce the imminent end of the Iraq War, he ended on a ringing McGovernite note: “After a decade of war, the nation that we need to build — and the nation that we will build...

TODAY - "Be Aware Everywhere," Woman' s Civic League luncheon featuring Pasadena Police Department.

Women risk being shortchanged by uprising if they don’t speak up, warns Shirin Ebadi

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt was peppered with a wide range of questions from economic issues to education to congressional redistricting by a standing-room-only crowd at a town hall-style forum at the Lawrence Township Municipal Building Monday night.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says no obstacle can prevent the expansion of relations with Burundi as the two countries have common viewpoints on international issues.

Evrofinance Mosnarbank SA managed $3.6 billion in bond deals from the Venezuelan government this year, while Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup followed with $3 billion, $2.1 billion and $1.5 billion respectively including securities sold by state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, according to data compiled...

Intelligence provided to U.N. nuclear officials shows that Iran's government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon, receiving assistance from foreign scientists to overcome key technical hurdles, according to Western diplomats and nuclear experts briefed on the findings.

ATLANTA -- Occupy Atlanta organizers said Sunday that they plan to again try to camp at a city park, setting up yet another showdown with police a night after 20 people were arrested during a rally that spilled into the streets.

WASHINGTON -- Details leaking out about an imminent report by United Nations weapons inspectors suggest they have the strongest evidence yet that Iran has worked in recent years on a kind of sophisticated explosives technology that is primarily used to trigger a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials who have...

Daniel Ortega's closet is filled with skeletons that would terrify the bravest of campaign handlers. The 65-year-old Nicaraguan President — once the mustachioed Marxist in olive fatigues who bedeviled the Reagan Administration in the 1980s — has admitted to murdering a National Guardsman in 1967, been convicted of bank robbery,...

WASHINGTON -- Under orders to cut the Pentagon budget by more than $450 billion over the next decade, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is considering reductions in spending categories once thought sacrosanct, especially in medical and retirement benefits, as well as further shrinking the number of troops and reducing new...

Copyright show:  No Despite great expectations following talks in Tashkent last month between the Uzbek government and the US and German special envoys to Afghanistan , Uzbekistan did not show up at a meeting November 2 in Istanbul of foreign ministers from Afghanistan and its neighbors to discuss plans for...

Tehran, Nov 6 : As India U-19 football Team gears up for their last Group League match in the AFC U-19 Qualifiers against Pakistan scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, discussed how the recent prisoner swap for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit strengthened Israeli society among other topics at a breakfast for reporters sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor.

The evolving political future of the Muslim world as a result of the Arab Spring has begun to take some shape. It has three aspects, all of great significance for the world at large. The first is the form of political structures that have begun to evolve in this part...

Contact: CONTACT: Amber Allen, Press@AmericanSecurityProject.org, +1-202-347-3115

A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today

It's true that our politicians are providing a lot of great material for Jon Stewart, Steve Colbert, and our stable of late-night talk show hosts, but isn't it time we cut the comedy and usher these clowns off the national stage?

IAEA set to issue most detailed report yet on research in Iran amid talk of military option by Israeli officials.

China's Huawei has firmly dismissed reports claiming the vendor supplied equipment to aid in internet monitoring and web censorship in Iran.

With Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki and Moammar Khadafy swept into the dustbin of history and the full US withdrawal from Iraq in the works, there’s a prevailing sense that, for us, all’s reasonably right with the world. Pity, but that couldn’t be further from the truth...

Huawei Technologies Co., China’s largest maker of phone network equipment, confirmed that it sold telecom equipment and a “mobile news delivery platform” to MTN Irancell Telecommunications Services Co., Iran’s second-largest mobile provider, while denying the equipment is used in censorship.

Think you're a patriot? Well think again, because regardless of which brand of gasoline you buy, every time you do so you give scumbags like the two pictured above the ability to shoot their mouths off and work towards the destruction of democracy.*

To bomb or not to bomb? In the entourage of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (with echoes in Washington), this is the question. The target would be Iran, which is once again all but accused by the International Atomic Agency of developing an illicit nuclear arsenal. But why should Israel...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Iranian government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon after receiving assistance from foreign scientists, The Washington Post reported late Sunday.

Intelligence provided to U. N. nuclear officials shows Iran's government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon...

If OWS protesters are sincere in opposing crony capitalism, they should be in Lafayette Park protesting in front of the White House and marching on the Capitol.

People in the city of Malatya in eastern Turkey have formed a group to collect signatures for a petition condemning Ankara's decision to host an early warning radar as part of NATO's missile defense system, Press TV reports.

MINA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - Muslims around the world marked the Aidiladha feast as haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia were warned of dangers and urged to rally around their rulers.

President Assad waves to supporters as gunfire and explosions are heard throughout restive cities Rice: Bring Down Iran's Government VIDEO: Rice Talks War on Terror Arab States Fear Nuke Program

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says pressures to reduce the federal budget could affect the military in ways once thought out of bounds.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is a symbol of the cooperation between Iran and Russia.

Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, already serving a life term, is expected to challenge judges as he goes on trial in Paris for bombings in the early 1980s

A member of Iran's Assembly of Expert says that the United States and Israel will have to pay a heavy price for any military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The government plans to build new power plants in Batam, Riau Islands, with total capacity of 4,000 megawatts (MW). Most of the electricity would be exported to Singapore, a senior official said. The .....

Iran is back as a big geopolitical risk for the oil market. In reality it never left. The market just decided to pay, rightly, greater attention to more immediate concerns, such as Libya.

A DIVERSE group of musicians will gather for an evening of world music in Glen Eira this Friday.

MIAMI — Federal authorities are concerned about new research showing U.S. prisons are vulnerable to computer hackers, who could remotely open cell doors to aid jailbreaks. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is "aware of this research and taking it very seriously," spokesman Chris Burke told The Washington Times. Mr.

Photos by Tom Walker A new memorial wall will be dedicated on Nov. 11 at Veterans Memorial Park and resident Paul Tuliano is hoping to contact everyone in this photo from the original memorial wall. If you are someone in this photo, or know who someone is, call Tuliano at...

TOKYO (Nov 7): U.S. crude futures were headed for their fourth day of gains on Monday, as news that Greek...

Do you agree with the ban on Seksualiti Merdeka festival? AMMAN: Syrian forces shot dead at least 13 civilians on Sunday in a continued military assault on the restive city of Homs and in attacks on pro-democracy demonstrations that erupted after prayers marking the main Muslim feast, activists said.

Ankara (AFP) Nov 5, 2011 Iraqi Kurd leader Massud Barzani said Saturday he opposes Turkey's military campaign against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as it will fail to permanently end the conflict. Barzani arrived in Ankara Thursday for talks focused on Turkey's ongoing operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party...

Hacking operation moves after Indian raid.

Greg Prince Examiner Staff Writer First-person military shooters are a very divisive genre. While the "Modern Warfare" series seems to be the reigning champ, the latest "Battlefield" entry could easily swipe plenty of fans. The single-player campaign draws you in from the first breath. Experienced as a series of flashbacks,...

Commentary identifies each police agency one by one as they appear

There's been so much hype about the National Gallery's Leonardo da Vinci exhibition opening this week that one approaches it with a certain caution.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Nicaragua’s Constitution bars re-election for politicians, but that’s proved no obstacle to President Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista leader, who’s widely expected to win another term in office in voting today. Ortega beat that particular problem in 2009, when friendly appointees on the country’s Supreme Court essentially declared...

Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, refused to rule out military action against Iran yesterday, heightening expectations that his government is preparing to authorise an attack on Tehran's nuclear facilities.

A Turkish human rights group is investigating claims by Kurdish activists that Ankara used chemical weapons in an attack on militants in the east of the country last month.

Greece responds to bailout; Israel threatens to attack Iran; Cain says Rick Perry responsible for sexual allegations; kidney organ donor needed; woman fined for being involved with worship on public grounds; pastor responds to fellow pastor's suicide; new running shoes; Tim Tebow thanks God, is mocked

Although critics stopped short of singling out Islam as the reason democracy has failed to take root in both of these countries, the religion has had such a profound influence on both that its culpability for the seemingly intractable standoff between the forces of democracy and extremism should at least...

Good morning. It’s great to be back at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The Washington Institute is a place that will always be near and dear to my heart. They did after all give me my first job in Washington.

The Istanbul conference on Afghanistan may not have set the Bosporus on fire, but gave India a fair degree of satisfaction, high level sources in the government said.

Microsoft on Thursday confirmed that the Windows kernel vulnerability exploited by the Duqu Trojan is within the TrueType parsing engine, the same component it last patched just last month.

Antonio Cassano, the Italy and AC Milan striker, is on the mend after undergoing “minor” heart surgery in the wake of what Milan doctors are calling a “cerebral event” — what most non-medical people would call a stroke.

Western contact may well have led to the Libyan nuclear plans being shelved. Let us not forget: better jaw-jaw than war-war With Muammar Gaddafi's death a line has been drawn under his regime, though the fog of war is far from cleared. In the meantime, it has become politically expedient...

New Delhi, Nov. 6: India is finally waking up to the huge benefits it can derive from trade in its immediate neighbourhood.

Israel warns of possible attack on Iran over its nuclear programme, ahead of UN atomic agency report.

New York, Nov 3 2011 7:10PM The United Nations committee tasked with reviewing compliance with international human rights treaties today voiced concern over Iran’s record on upholding the rights of religious and ethnic minorities, and the increasing number of executions in the country.

Protest and repression reportedly continues in Syria despite Arab League-brokered peace plan Security forces have killed at least six people in central Syria on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, claim local activists. Five of the deaths on Sunday occurred in the restive central province of Homs...

Uzbekistan: New Law Forbids Alcohol Consumption in Streets and Parks The president of Uzbekistan has approved a law regarding "the distribution and consumption of alcohol and tobacco products" which will come into force in April 2012. The ...

Barack Obama was a principled opponent of the Iraq War from its beginning. But when he became president in January 2009, he was handed a war that was won. The surge had succeeded. Al-Qaida in Iraq had been routed, driven to humiliating defeat by an Anbar Awakening of Sunnis fighting ...

CASEY GROVE Anchorage Daily News ANCHORAGE, Alaska The gray hair of Kevin Fryslie stood out last week in a class of Anchorage Police Department recruits — mostly young men with dark crew cuts and short, gelled hair. Fryslie, a 57-year-old retired FBI agent, is among 29 recruits training to be...

THE Istanbul Regional Conference last week aimed at improving regional security and cooperation prospects by bringing together representatives from those nations that comprise the ‘Heart of Asia’. During the session, participants seemed to beat as one, but beneath the surface the arteries continued to thicken.

Moscow (AFP) Nov 6, 2011 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao will meet Monday to discuss expanding their loose Central Asian security alliance to include Pakistan and Iran. Putin will host host Wen in his native city of Saint Petersburg almost exactly 10 years after...

ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: Times are austere indeed and people hit by it find themselves torn between the social pressures and what Islam really demands.

HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani yesterday exchanged Eid al-Adha ( Greater Bairam) felicitations with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Chairman of Egypt’s Armed Forces Supreme Council Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

American trainer fears drug-free future; injured jockey written out of the news; your chance to buy a piece of racing history for just £5k; good news for would-be punters in Iran US trainers face cold turkey The American racing authorities are coming under increasing pressure to bring their medication rules...

Texas Rep. Ron Paul issued a trademark blunt response Sunday when asked if he might launch a third-party presidential bid in the event he fails to win the Republican presidential nomination.

COMMENTARY | For someone extremely skeptical of Iran, I tend to agree with the new approach Rep. Ron Paul announced today. The Texas congressman said offering friendship to Iran might be a better approach than decades of sanctions and diplomatic confrontation.

Nothing I wrote above is anti-Israel. On the contrary, it is precisely because I want Israel to exist in peace and security that I oppose the occupation.

Vienna (AFP) Nov 6, 2011 A new report from the UN atomic watchdog this week will provide fresh evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons drive, diplomats said Sunday, as Israel stoked speculation about a possible pre-emptive strike. Previous International Atomic Energy Agency assessments have centred on Iran's efforts to produce fissile...

MUSCAT - Rescue teams have recovered four bodies from the sea and rescued six Asian nationals, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) said.

An Iranian lawmaker says Iran has nothing to hide regarding its nuclear program and Tehran will only participate in negotiations if the UN atomic agency is “honest” in its reports.

WASHINGTON — On Nov. 6, 2003, then President George W. Bush gave a major foreign policy address in which he called for the spread of democracy across the Middle East, an appeal that seems to be resonating in this year of Arab Spring revolts.

Special Report: For more than four decades, Democrats have tolerated Republican abuses, claiming accountability wouldn’t be “good for the country.” But this softness has only encouraged the kind of hardball behavior that has now taken the U.S. economy “hostage,” writes Robert Parry.

US: The Obama Administration’s strategy for re-election is to start wars, but if the US were to “attack Iran,” it would “end up in a World War III,” a political analyst has told Press TV. Edward Spannaus, editor of the weekly US-based news magazine Executive Intelligence Review (EIR), told our...

SHARJAH - Surging requirements from the trillion-dollar infrastructure projects in the region brought the thermal industry into limelight during the recently concluded Thermal Industry Middle East (TIME) at Expo Centre Sharjah.

Turkmenistan-Afghan-Pakistan-India transnational gas pipeline, or TAPI, took a good step forward as Ashkabad and Islamabad have agreed on the illusive pricing formula and have vowed to complete it in the shortest possible time.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, fresh off a win in the Illinois Republicans presidential candidate straw poll, is ruling out an independent bid for the White House, saying he doesn't want to go that route.

Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of detained Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, says her husband has no spokesperson abroad. The Jaras opposition website quoted unidentified sources in Tehran saying: "Since October 22, Mehdi Karroubi has no spokesperson outside the country and his position on issues will be announced solely through members...

The head of the United Front of Principlists' election campaign headquarters announced on Saturday that front will officially start its activities for the March parliamentary elections this week.

Sundaram Tagore Gallery is honored to bring the work of these important artists to the attention of New York. In addition, this exhibit will travel to our galleries in Beverly Hills and Hong Kong in 2012, creating a truly national and international audience for these artists.