News Archive - 7 May 2012

Syrians have begun voting in the first parliamentary elections under a new constitution approved by an overwhelming support of the people in a February referendum. Voting has started in polling stations across Syria as about 7,195 candidates, including independent and opposition figures, are running for 250 parliamentary seats. The Syrian...

Close cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Egypt can boost the Islamic Ummah in the world, IRI Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said Monday. He made the remarks in a meeting with some Egyptian youths who study Farsi in Iran. “Iran-Egypt ties have roots in ancient times," Salehi said,...

Prime Minister of Republic of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki said Monday his country is, as it has always been interested in expansion of relations with Iran, and with entire world countries. “Iraq is interested in comprehensive expansion of relations with its good neighbor, Iran, in line with preserving the two neighboring...

Permanent IRI Ambassador to IAEA Ali-Asqar Soltaniyeh renewed IRI's call for an international nuclear disarmament under the NPT treaty. Soltaniyeh was speaking at a meeting of the preliminary session of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Revision Conference Wednesday. “If the NPT would be fully implemented it can affect the international peace...

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Vladimir putin was sworn in Monday as Russian president, starting his third term in the Kremlin following the two consecutive terms from 2000 to 2008. The 59-year-old political veteran, who served as prime minister from 2008 to 2012, won in the country's presidential election in March. He noted that Russia...

Fresh US-led bombings across Afghanistan claimed the lives of at least 11 civilians, leaving many more injured. Earlier, in Afghanistan’s northwestern province of Badghis, at least five people were killed and 15 others injured. Also, in the country’s southern Helmand Province, another six civilians lost their lives in US-led air...

Asian markets and the euro slumped on Monday after voters in France and Greece voted out their ruling parties in a backlash against austerity measures aimed at battling the eurozone crisis. Adding to the bearish atmosphere was weak jobs data out of the United States last week, which fuelled concerns...

>LONDON (Reuters) - Shipping magnate John "Big Wolf" Fredriksen has quietly bought a dozen new, fuel efficient tanker vessels in recent months and said he may spend billions of dollars more as the global shipping crisis has created opportunities too good to pass up. Norwegian-born Fredriksen, 67, predicted the crisis...

>KABUL (Reuters) - The strategic pact sealed by President Barack Obama last week in Afghanistan is at risk of becoming "meaningless" if Afghans do not feel safe, President Hamid Karzai said on Monday, referring to recent civilian casualties inflicted by NATO. Karzai summoned U.S. General John Allen, commander of...

>Iran and the six powers resumed discussions in mid-April in Istanbul after a gap of more than a year - a chance to ease escalating tension and help to avert the threat of a new Middle East war.The major powers - the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and...

>By Andrew QuinnKOLKATA, India May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that Pakistan had not taken enough action against Hafiz Saeed, the Islamist blamed for masterminding the 2008 attack by Pakistan-based gunmen on Mumbai, India's financial capital.India has repeatedly called on Pakistan...

>KOLKATA (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped up pressure on ally India on Monday to further reduce its Iranian oil imports, making clear Washington wanted to see further action before granting New Delhi a waiver from U.S. financial sanctions. Iran is the second-largest supplier of crude to...

>DUBAI May 7 (Reuters) - Iran's government denied on Monday it would treble the price of gasoline as part of subsidy reforms that have been commended by the IMF but caused anger at home among a population struggling under Western trade sanctions. In a statement carried by the Fars news...

(MENAFN - Arab News) Key regional developments in the Arab world including strained relations between the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Iran will top the agenda of the consultative ...

(MENAFN - Arab News) Water shortage, oil depletion, and rapidly increasing population are among the major challenges facing Saudi Arabia, according to Ahmed Al-Saied, CEO of Herfy Food Services ...

Whooping Cough Kills 2-Month-Old    A 2-month-old infant in San Miguel County died la ...

Hillary Clinton and S M Krishna on Tuesday discussed terrorism emanating from the region, the Afghan situation and other global issues.

She sees signs of progress in working through problems with emerging powers China and India. -AFP

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This announcement is for our U.S.$5,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme authorised by UKLA. [Based on accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP")] Tokyo, May 7, 2012 - Mitsui & Co., Ltd. announced its consolidated financial results for the year...

>* Hedgers, bargain hunters buy on price slump* U.S. crude inventory to rise for 7th week - pollBy Florence TanSINGAPORE, May 8 (Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $113 a barrel on Tuesday, recovering slightly after four straight sessions of losses caused by fears that the slowing economies...

>* U.S. crude inventory to rise for 7th week - poll (Adds Saudi oil minister comments, updates prices)By Florence TanSINGAPORE, May 8 (Reuters) - Brent crude held steady above $113 a barrel on Tuesday, recovering slightly from steep losses in the previous four sessions caused by fears that the...

JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli president's office is confirming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled early elections.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an agreement with the Kadima opposition party for a unity government, cancelling an early election, it has been reported.

Remarks With Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Philippines Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, and Philippines Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin After Their Meeting

Gasoline prices have defied prediction that they'd be at record highs by now, and in fact have dropped marginally in recent weeks, as the CBC's Belle Puri reports.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney appeared Monday afternoon in Euclid to discuss topics such as the economy, jobs and health care.

I want to thank Brian Siegel and the American Jewish Committee of Greater Miami and Broward for hosting me and opening your doors again for me to discuss multilateral cooperation between the United States and Israel.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Pakistan yesterday of not doing enough to bring key terror suspects to justice and hinted that Al Qaeda fugitive Ayman al Zawahiri could be hiding in Paki .....

> Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News...

>"In general, Saudi Arabia has provided the greatest cooperation over many years in regards to a stable crude oil supply. I want to thank him for that and ask for continued cooperation," Edano told a news conference.Japan has cut its crude imports from Iran amid tighter Western sanctions aimed...

The Department of Homeland Security wants the gas sector to monitor malware planted via cyberattacks as part of an investigation.

JERUSALEM -- In a dramatic turn of events that could influence a possible Israeli strike on Iran, Israeli media reports early Tuesday indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an agreement with the Kadima opposition party for a unity government, canceling an early election.

A three-party dialogue involving India, China and the United States will be essential in the future, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said, in a sign that ties between the world's two largest democracies are still going strong.

WASHINGTON - Heand#8217;s a smug, Harvard-trained elitist who doesnand#8217;t get how regular Americans are struggling these days. More extreme than he lets on, heand#8217;s keeping his true agenda hidden until after Election Day. Heand#8217;s clueless about fixing the economy, over his head on foreign policy. Who is he?

Police on Monday released some of the 911 calls in the case of a former neo-Nazi who allegedly fatally shot four people before turning a gun on himself in a Phoenix suburb.

JERUSALEM - In a dramatic turn of events that could influence a possible Israeli strike on Iran, Israeli media reports early Tuesday indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement with the Kadima opposition party for a unity government, cancelling an early election.

A suspected Israeli crime lord pleaded guilty Monday to being part of a racketeering enterprise that distributed Ecstasy and whose members killed a man for stealing a large drug shipment, a defense attorney said.

Keeping the world’s most vital oil-exporting waterway named “Persian” is a national touchstone and highly emotive issue for Iranians.

>The newspaper cited unidentified industry executives in Beijing as saying most of the oil that goes from Iran to China is handled by the Unipec trading arm of Sinopec, China's second-largest oil company, and through another trading company called Zhuhai Zhenrong.The trade between the two countries is worth as...

>WONGA TO OFFER LOANS TO SMALL BUSINESSESWonga, the online lender that charges annual interest rates of 4,000 per cent on short-term loans, has launched a service for cash-strapped small businesses that offers to make credit available in as little as 15 minutes.TERRA PLANS TO LAUNCH IN EUROPETerra Networks, the...

Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, the Americans imprisoned in Iran after they took a wrong turn while hiking, were married at the weekend – a happy ending to a romance that blossomed in the jails of Tehran.

Ayman al Zawahiri, the al-Qaida chief, is in Pakistan, said Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state.

We truly live in an Orwellian world. [“Violence casts a shadow over Putin’s inauguration,” News, May 7.] On May 6, opposition candidates and protesters were arrested in Moscow. The KGB still controls Russia.

Israeli President Shimon Peres discussed the Jewish state's security concerns with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday as his four-day state visit got underway with Iran the likely focus.

The calm and cautious François Hollande, who dramatically wrested the French presidency from Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday, faces immediate foreign policy challenges, analysts say. Hollande strides onto the world stage with major events over upcoming days...

KAZAKHSTAN is cutting its grain export program because there aren't enough rail wagons to move the national crop.

Drawing a distinction between Iran, which has violated provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and Israel, which hasn't signed it, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said h...

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants India to stop buying oil from Iran, given concerns over Iran's nuclear program. But can Delhi stop?

President Barack Obama was among the first to congragulate Francois Hollande, but what will Washington and America at large make of the man they call…

Prime Minister Benjamin has called for parliamentary elections more than a year ahead of Israel's next scheduled vote. Netanyahu and his Likud Party are running strong in the polls, but issues such as Iran, the Israeli economy and the role of the ultra-Orthodox could still sway voters.

The PM is understood to have said that India shared concerns over proliferation but needed to work out its responses at a time when fuel prices are high.

Consistent with a staunch resistance to further cuts in defense spending, the House Armed Services Committee has added $2.8 billion to the Pentagon’s fiscal 2013 budget request for ships, aircraft and weapons.

OTTAWA - Shimon Peres thanked Stephen Harper for his staunch support of Israel, and Canada for its 60 years of friendship as the Israeli president began a full state visit Monday.

Two Congress members from Michigan at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs annual plenum stressed the importance of stopping a nuclear Iran and passing a bipartisan farm bill.

Bahraini security forces have arrested a human rights activist in the country Nabeel Rajab with the interior ministry giving no particular reason for the act.

The United States and Europe urged Iran on Monday to use upcoming talks with world powers to ease international worry that it may be aiming to develop nuclear arms, but Tehran said such concerns were based ...

The United States on Monday calling on the Iranians to take “urgent, practical steps” to prove their sincerity in complying with obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.

Morning prayers had just ended. Worshippers streamed out, squinting into the rising sun and paying no attention to the knot of men wearing the traditional white robes of the Gulf standing nearby.

Athens (dpa) - Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras said Monday he was unable to form a coalition government with other parties.Despite winning the most votes in parliamentary elections on Sunday he said that efforts to form a coalition government had failed, raising the possibility of a new election next...

Governor-General welcomes Shimon Peres, hailing ‘diplomacy of knowledge’ during formal ceremony at Rideau Hall

Bucharest (dpa) - The Romanian parliament agreed on a new government under the leadership of the Socialist leader Victor Ponta in Bucharest late Monday.The new governing coalition of Socialists (PSD), Liberals (PNL) and independents is to rule until parliamentary elections in November.The conservative predecessor government of Mihai Razvan...

An Iraqi court has ordered the release of the last detainee handed over to Iraqi custody by the departing United States military, citing insufficient evidence to prosecute him.

>NEW DELHI May 7 (Reuters) - A large trade delegation from sanctions-hit Iran, in India largely to buy farm commodities, has reached only a few small deals for animal feed due to problems using a new mechanism meant to allow payment of suppliers using the Indian rupee. The 56-member team,...

Letters to the Editor for the weekly print issue of May 7, 2012: John Bolton is wrong. Obama is protecting the US and world economy from a disastrous attack on Iran. It's Israel that has the nukes. And the best way to foment regime change in Iran is to support...

The Republican Party of Armenia, a political party loyal to President Serge Sargsyan, won the most votes in its parliamentary election over the weekend.

Nicolas Sarkozy's meticulously built political career all but collapsed Sunday, as he became the first French one-term president since Valery Giscard d'Estaing lost his re-election bid in 1981.

Security and trade on agenda as Shimon Peres meets Harper later Monday

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's parliament convened on Monday to dissolve itself and set a September 4 election that opinion polls predict will renew Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership mandate as Israel confronts Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Mr A. R. Ramakrishnan, Managing Director of Essar Shipping. The global shipping market may have shown some sparks of recovery, especially in the tanker segment, in the last few weeks.

TEHRAN, May 7 (MNA) – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that a recently passed law which authorizes the Majlis to oversee the conduct of lawmakers is “discriminatory” and “unconstitutional”.

> Bonds News Bonds Markets Financials...

>KOLKATA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaned harder on India on Monday to deepen cuts of Iranian oil imports, saying Washington may not make a decision on whether to exempt New Delhi from financial sanctions for another two months. Clinton, on a three-day visit to India,...

SAN FRANCISCO — Two Americans who were detained and accused of spying after hiking near the Iraq-Iran border three years ago have been married in Northern California.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Sunday for early elections. Speaking at a convention of his Likud faction in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu suggested September as his preferred date for Israelis to vote. "It is preferable to hold a short election campaign for four months that would enable us to quickly...

The U.S. economy is currently on autopilot: A sharply polarized Congress and a tapped out Federal Reserve can't do much more to stimulate it this year.

Petron Corp. on Monday announced a reduction in its prices following a rollback implemented by smaller oil companies over the weekend.

The U.S. economy is currently on autopilot: A sharply polarized Congress and a tapped out Federal Reserve can't do much more to stimulate it this year.

In a statement last week, Russia's Atomstroyexport said that Bushehr nuclear power plant will reach its full capacity on May 23.

>ABU DHABI May 7 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have promised to fill any gap in South Korea's oil imports if supplies from Iran are disrupted, South Korean Minister of Strategy and Finance Bahk Jae-wan said on Monday."So far the UAE and Saudi Arabia have...

>* Euro zone woes come after weak U.S. jobs data; China eyed* Gold slips as dollar rallies but losses limitedBy Manolo Serapio JrSINGAPORE, May 7 (Reuters) - Oil hit multi-month lows and other commodities slid on Monday as French and Greek elections led to more uncertainty for an economically...

>SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude fell below $113 a barrel on Monday, hitting its lowest since January, as political uncertainty in Europe that threatened to derail efforts to rein in the region's debt crisis and weak jobs data dented the outlook for energy demand. Oil prices, which have fallen for...

>* Move comes as EU's ban on insurance kicks off in full from July* Govt officials decline to comment on report (Adds details, links, comments)TOKYO, May 7 (Reuters) - Japan is considering a new law to provide sovereign guarantees for its ships to allow them to continue importing Iranian crude...

Shares on the top German stock market fell sharply at the open on Monday as investors digested the results of elections in France and Greece that appeared to show voters rejecting eurozone austerity. The DAX index of leading German shares was down 2.2 percent shortly after the opening bell,...

Greece's two-party coalition, which imposed a harsh austerity program in return for an international bail-out, has been routed, near-complete official figures showed early Monday. The Socialist Pasok party and the conservatives of New Democracy (ND) scored just 32.4 percent between them, plummeting from 77.4 percent in the 2009...

Iran's oil output has climbed by 16,000 barrels per day following the launch of the country’s Yadavaran oilfield, an Iranian official says. Naji Saadouni, the managing director of the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), also said the production of crude from the oilfield is scheduled to top 20,000 barrels...