News Archive - 7 January 2012

The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant will go on stream formally with all capacities during the Ten Day Dawn (commemoration of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979), Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Saturday. Fereidoon Abbasi said the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant will add some 1,000 MW...

IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon departure for a Latin American tour described the Iranian relations with the LA states as very favorable and progressive, adding the LA nations are similar to the Iranian nation in culture and historical demands. The president made the remarks upon departing Tehran Sunday morning. He...

Thousands of people have gathered at a mosque in the Syrian capital to perform funerary prayers for the victims of the bombing attacks that left 26 people dead, according to Press TV. The mass funeral ceremony was held at the al-Hassan mosque on Saturday. Friday's explosion that targeted a police...

The Islamic Republic is capable of exporting services related to nuclear energy to other countries, Head of Iran Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) said. Fereydoun Abbasi made the remarks on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of an exhibition of the country's nuclear achievements in the southern port city of Bandar...

IRI Navy Commander said regional countries must join Iran in military excercises and stressed that regional security should be protected by the regional countries. Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told IRIB that abilities of the countries in the region are not the same as Iran's and we have proved that we...

IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran on Sunday for a Latin American tour that will took him to four LA states. The president will visit Venezuela in the first leg of the trip. Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador are the other countries to host the Iranian president.

IRI's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi in a meeting with visiting Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat on Saturday reviewed ways of expanding mutual economic ties. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 7th session of Iran-Vietnam Joint Economic and Technical Commission in...

Iran's Vice-President for Science and Technology Nasrin Soltankhah announced that Iran ranked second in the world region by producing 21,000 scientific articles in the year 2011. Soltankhah said that Iran had 3,000 more scientific articles in 2011 in comparison to last year. She also noted Iran ranked 12 in the...

>GOFFSTOWN, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney fended off a few attacks on his business record on Saturday and sailed through a high-stakes debate that his rivals used to jockey for position as his conservative alternative in the race for the White House. Expected to be a punching bag,...

>* Governor, Ahmadinejad thought to differ on monetary policyTEHRAN Jan 7 (Reuters) - A senior Central Bank of Iran official has denied rumours that the bank's governor has resigned, the ISNA news agency reported on Saturday, in a week when the currency hit a record low amid rising inflation and...

>TEHRAN/CARACAS (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will seek support from Latin America's leftist leaders on a tour starting on Sunday after tough new Western sanctions targeted Iran's oil industry. With one eye on his standing at home ahead of March's parliamentary election, Ahmadinejad will meet other anti-American presidents on...

Iran on Saturday welcomed the rescue of 13 Iranian sailors by a U.S. Navy ship, calling it a "humanitarian act." The sailors were on a fishing boat that had been hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea, near the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Navy, a helicopter...

>* Iran plays down U.S. rescue of Iranian sailorsTEHRAN Jan 7 (Reuters) - Iran launched a military manoeuvre near its border with Afghanistan on Saturday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported, days after naval exercises in the Gulf increased tensions with the West and pushed up oil prices.Mohammad...

>CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab foreign ministers meet on Sunday to discuss whether to ask the United Nations to help their mission in Syria which has failed to end a 10-month crackdown on anti-government protests in which thousands have died. The proposal by Qatar is to invite U.N. technicians and...

Gold will outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average this quarter, after trailing the equity index in late 2011, as Iranian tensions and European debt woes mount, said Jeffrey Sica, the president of SICA Wealth Management.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Sunday for a five-day Latin American tour taking in countries that share his deep antipathy to the United States, which is leading sanctions against Tehran

This insightful article spells out the reality behind the candidates and why it's 'anyone' but Ron Paul means another win for BHO. RedState.com, a committed group of neoconservatives. ************** . . .

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's underground uranium enrichment facility will go on stream soon, a senior official was quoted by Iranian media on Sunday as saying, a move likely to increase tension between the Islamic state and the West over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Mitt Romney has ripped President Barack Obama's plans for a leaner military in a last push for support.

One of the key things that Ron Paul has contributed to our discourse is the notion that we should try and look at conflict from the point of view of our foe. You'd think this would be obvious if we . . .

A pipeline that would allow oil from the United Arab Emirates to bypass the Strait of Hormuz separating it from Iran has been delayed because of construction difficulties, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Sen. Rick Santorum said during Saturday night's Republican candidates' debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, that President Barack Obama "tacitly supported" the results of the disputed Iranian elections.

Average retail gasoline prices in Kansas have risen 5 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.11 a gallon Sunday. This compares with the national average that has increased 2.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.25 a gallon, according to gasoline price website...

Manchester, N.H. — Ron Paul fought to protect his top tier status in the Republican presidential race during Saturday night's debate, ripping into the records of his closest rivals and putting up a feisty defense of his limited government philosophy. By the time the night was over, the ...

It didn't take long for fireworks to erupt at Saturday night's Republican presidential debate. ...

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s government yesterday welcomed the US Navy’s rescue of 13 Iranian fishermen held by pirates — at the same time it stepped up saber-rattling military exercises. “The rescue of Iranian sailors by American forces is considered a humanitarian gesture, and we welcome this behavior,” Foreign Ministry spokesman...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, under increasing pressure from debilitating Western economic sanctions, begins a tour of Latin America Sunday aimed at shoring up ties with his few remaining allies.

Fearing that fresh US sanctions may block a six-month-old conduit used for paying for Iranian crude, India wants to pay its second largest oil supplier in rupees.

Note: All-State teams as voted by newspaper sports editors and reporters with area players bolded

If I had to make a list of the top three men in America, it would be as follows: 1. Jimmy Carter. Many of our so-called leaders are making fun of the death of former North Korean President Kim Jong Il .

The U.S. and Israel are conducting their largest-ever joint warfare exercises near Iran. And see this . England is sending its most advanced ship – the HMS Daring – to the region. Only days after finishing its last wargames in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has announced another set of...

Co-sponsored by the New Hampshire Union Leader, the 90-minute debate will be held at the Chubb Theatre at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord. It will begin at 9 a.m. and air locally and regionally on NBC affiliate WHDH (Channel 7 in Boston), WCSH (Channel 6 Portland)...

There's little controversy over the need for the U.S. government to rein in a shadow industry that's made the idea of paying for the latest "Batman" movie or Justin Bieber album laughable to a large segment of the world.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has emphasized that Iran-Turkey ties are at the highest level in the past 400 years.

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TEHRAN, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called the U.S. Navy's rescue of 13 Iranian fishermen from Somalia pirates a humanitarian gesture.

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. -- Hoping to stop his march to the nomination, Mitt Romney's rivals sharply challenged his record running a Boston investment firm, accusing him last night of slashing jobs in pursuit of profits, but Romney strongly defended his business experience, saying his critics do not understand how jobs...

ISLAMABAD : The Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to undertake the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project on fast track basis, and reduce unaccounted for gas (UFG) losses from 12 percent to 6 percent, official sources told Business Recorder.

WASHINGTON — After months of getting a pass on the subject from his rivals, Mitt Romney was challenged in the Republican presidential debate Saturday night on his frequent claims that he created great numbers of jobs in the private sector. Newt Gingrich, for one, said Romney's record as a venture...

Six rivals for the Republican nomination debate in New Hampshire.

As president, Rick Perry “would send troops back into Iraq,” the Texas governor declared during Saturday's ABC/Yahoo GOP presidential debate.

TB, which kills a thousand people everyday in India, has mutated yet again, this time to an incurable form.

So much is said and written about Islamophobia. It’s a tendency found in some non-Muslims, especially in the West, who question and discriminate against ‘Muslim attire’ and beliefs.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - Mitt Romney says he wants to pull troops out of Afghanistan as soon as possible but would consult commanders there before setting a date to do so.

Ready to ruin your Saturday night? Then please join us, as we liveblog the New Hampshire ABC News secret-handjob 2012 debate. Let’s hurt together, the way Santorum would want Jesus to hurt us, should we accidentally have the buttsex. Mitt Romney, known as “the guy who is really spending a...

Mitt Romney says he wants to pull troops out of Afghanistan as soon as possible but would consult commanders there before setting a date to do so.

Article 2 (3) of the United Nations Charter requires the pacific settlement of the international dispute between the United States and Iran. To the same effect is article 33 and the entirety of Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter that mandate and set up numerous procedures for the pacific...

It may come as a surprise to Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum but the U.S. is obligated under international law to the peaceful resolution of its grievance against Iran.

IS THERE no limit to the villainy of Hamas? Seems there isn’t. This week, they did something quite unforgivable. They stole a war.

It appears, from interviews and discussions with a wide range of Libyans including students, lawyers, judges at the Ministry of Justice, shopkeepers and casual acquaintances that the Muslim Brotherhood currently has very little popular support among this pious conservative, Sunni Muslim society.

GOFFSTOWN - Mitt Romney and his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday prepared to clash in a pair of debates just 12 hours apart, days before New Hampshire's bellwether primary.

In the Granite State, the electorate skips the niceties and gets right to the point, grilling Santorum on gay marriage and 'just wars,' and questioning Romney on his opposition to Obama's healthcare law. Consider the cranky New Hampshire voter.

Beef from Brazil is on Iranian dinner tables. An Iranian-built hospital treats patients near Bolivia's capital. Iranian-funded factories dot the Venezuelan countryside.

BUFFALO, NY-- A local connection to a story that's the talk of the world. A U.S. ship ended up rescuing 13 Iranian fishermen after their boat was attacked by pirates, and two local seamen were aboard that U.S. ship.

SCOTTS VALLEY - Ask Mario Gullo about gas prices and he'll give you an earful. Gullo was filling up late this week at Union 76, where the price spiked to $3.

Oil prices fall after unexpected supply increase Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 08:36 a.m., Thursday, January 5, 2012 Oil prices fall after unexpected supply increase NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are sliding after...

Ex-President Pervez Musharraf will be arrested in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto if he returns to the country, a government prosecutor said.

As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan continues, my thoughts do not centre on fasting, renewal and self-restraint—the latter two I like, fasting not so much—but on burkas, flooding in Pakistan, Omar Khadr and Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

(MCT) McClatchy-Tribune News Service

The President Of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov dismissed the Chairman of the State concern "Turkmengaz" Amanaly Hanalyeva , correspondent BakuToday . As the press service of the head of the Turkmen State, Hanalyev, holding this post exactly one year, was dismissed "for shortcomings in the work", which were identified during the verification...

Breaking: 2 injured in Lafayette package bomb explosion 07 Jan 2012 (CO) A man and a woman were injured after a package they had in their car exploded. Police say the man and woman took a package into their car. It is unclear where the package came from.

Iran and Turkey are partners in the region and does not have a hidden war among themselves, said Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmed Davudoglu, Haberturk TV broadcasts. "The Turkish-Iranian relations constitute a partnership, and some kind of competition.

The Republican presidential candidates are girding for two debates – one tonight and one tomorrow morning – that could reshape a race that has been dominated by Mitt Romney and a series of would-be challengers who have risen and fallen in quick succession.

When you ask Obama administration officials to explain their foreign policy agenda for 2012, they point first to the defense budget.

Ceremony remembers Texas shooting victims LANCASTER, Texas (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered again to remember six people killed in Texas by a family member who then turned the gun on himself. Authorities say Yazdanpanah, who had marital and financial problems, killed his estranged wife, their two teenage children, his...

laoda what happened? 1/7/2012 7:08:27 PM i remembered in 1940s,50s 60s........until the Iranian islamic revolution, usa was a strong supporter for the then iranian king,which is not democratic , oppresive,feudualistic not to mention freedom.

If anyone is going to take it to Mitt Romney, it might as well be now.

Iranians have lost the right to surf the Web anonymously at Internet cafes as the government reportedly moves closer to its ultimate goal of replacing the global network with a censored national intranet.

MY daughter paid me the most wonderful compliment the other day when we were discussing life. She said, “Mum, you’ll know what to do no matter what. You’ll know just how to handle things.”

THE Mayan calendar aside, what can we foresee for the world? Foreseeability may turn out to be a trope for, as these last years have shown, we have been riding on a wave of unforeseeability.

The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, the highest economic decision-making body in the country, has approved in principle the appointment of a consortium led by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as financial advisor of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project.

After a strong finish in Iowa, Paul returns to New Hampshire to campaign against new party favourite Rick Santourum Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul opened the battle for second place in the New Hampshire primary with an attack on his main rival, the rising star of the party right, Rick...

Iran on Saturday welcomed the rescue of 13 Iranian sailors by a U.S. Navy ship, calling it a "humanitarian act." The sailors were on a fishing boat that had been hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea, near the Strait of Hormuz.

China’s state media stepped up its criticism yesterday of the United States’ planned strategic shift into Asia, accusing Washington of being a “troublemaker” responsible for mounting tensions in the region.

An explosive military confrontation is in the making in the Arabian Gulf, threatening closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a development with potential to throw out of hinge the recession-ridden global economy and to further weaken regional peace and security.

(CNN) -- Call it good timing, divine intervention or just dumb luck. What started out as a wee-hours traffic stop wound up catapulting a 30-year-old California real estate attorney and reserve sheriff's deputy into an unfamiliar -- and uncomfortable -- role: that of hero.

Hawk in a clown-car field. Before there was the tea party to define the phrase "far-right fringe," there was Rick Santorum. He's a nice-guy zealot who should never be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office.. It's understandable that progressives would be tempted to cheer Santorum's sudden

Clash of the nice guys. Iowa front-runners Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have a little problem. Both are too nice to be mean to each other.. Who can throw the first punch in a tight race growing tighter?. This is why God made Newt Gingrich. The formerly self-anointed

The Obama administration gave away some of its leverage when it announced multibillion-dollar arms sales deals with Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

ABOARD THE FISHING VESSEL AL MULAHI, in the Gulf of Oman -- Late Thursday afternoon, as the U.S. destroyer Kidd loomed alongside this hijacked Iranian dhow, the warship's loudspeaker issued a command in Urdu to the dhow's frightened Urdu-speaking crew.

President Obama could cut the arsenal by two-thirds without diminishing its power. It would also save billions of dollars.

Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant is just weeks from operating at full capacity, the country's top nuclear official said Saturday.

U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd greet a crew member of the Iranian fishing vessel Al Molai Friday, Jan. 6, 2012 in the Arabian Sea after being rescued from suspected Somali pirates. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

Twenty-one civilians were killed in violence in Syria on Saturday, with the security forces shooting dead 17

The 10-day Doha Trade Fair 2012, which opened on January 1 at Doha Exhibition Centre, has attracted over 120,000 visitors in its first six days, organisers said yesterday.

The key people who are aiming to pull the eurozone back from the brink.

India will ask for waivers on new U.S. sanctions on Iran as it seeks to minimize the impact of curbs on oil imports from Tehran, the Times Of India reported on Saturday, without identifying a source for its report.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Crowds waving Syrian flags and pictures of President Bashar al-Assad gathered on Saturday to bury 26 people who the authorities said were killed by a suicide bomber at a busy Damascus crossroads.

India will ask for waivers on new U.S. sanctions on Iran as it seeks to minimize the impact of curbs on oil imports from Tehran, the Times Of India reported on Saturday, without identifying a source for its report.

India will ask for waivers on new U.S. sanctions on Iran as it seeks to minimize the impact of curbs on oil imports from Tehran, the Times Of India reported on Saturday, without identifying a source for its report.

Britain is sending its newest and most-advanced warship to the Arabian Gulf, the Press Association reported, amid increasing tensions with Iran over its threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

CARACAS, Venezuela — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is courting Latin America on a four-nation tour starting Sunday that will let him tout some of Iran’s few friendships while tensions grow over the country’s threats to block oil shipments in retaliation for tighter U.S. sanctions. His government finds itself largely...

Unemployment is higher than it’s been going into any election year since World War II. But history shows that won’t necessarily stop President Barack Obama from reclaiming the White House.

The war in Iraq will soon belong to history. Your service belongs to the ages.

During the first national conference on the export of knowledge-based goods and services, Iranian officials say the record rise in exports proves the ineffectiveness of US-led sanctions, Press TV reports.

Dilmah Conservation will host eminent British marine biologist Dr. Nicolas Pilcher for an evening of discussions on January 12 at the Wimalasurendra Auditorium of the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 120/15, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7, from 6.00 p.m. .

WASHINGTON - The political tensions between the U.S. and Iran over transit in and around the Persian Gulf gave way Friday to photos of rescued Iranian fisherman happily wearing American Navy ball caps.

Friday's jobs report, after weeks of other good data, makes it reasonable to wonder whether the economy may turn out to be less of a drag on President Barack Obama's re-election campaign than has long been expected.

"Whatever happens won't be strange." Thus the weekly Shukan Gendai sums up the prospects for the year now dawning.