News Archive - 8 July 2012

>* China inflation cools, paves way for more monetary easing* Coming Up: US employment trends; 1400 GMTBy Florence TanSINGAPORE, July 9 (Reuters) - Brent crude climbed toward $99 a barrel on Monday as failed labour talks in Norway stoked worries of a total output shutdown, while hopes China would ease...

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kofi Annan arrived in Damascus on Sunday evening for talks with President Bashar al-Assad, his spokesman said, a day after the international peace envoy admitted that his peace plan had so far failed to end 16 months of bloodshed. UN and government sources said Annan and Assad...

Commodities started the week on a positive note with COMEX gold moving above the psychological level of $1,600 an ounce and economically sensitive commodities registering decent gains after a fall in the previous quarter.

A new book claims Israel's spy agency sent assassins into Iran to sabotage the country's nuclear program.

The British prime minister did not want to meet with Hollande during his election-campaign visit. -AFP

Nation

>Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).ECONOMYItaly's economy will shrink about 2 percent in 2012 though signs of recovery could start to appear at the end of the year, Bank of Italy governor Ignazio Visco said in...

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to commence the press conference with Minister Gemba and Secretary Clinton. First of all Minister Gemba will speak, and then Secretary Clinton will follow.

A controversial travel advisory warning Australians to exercise ''a high degree of caution'' when visiting Christchurch is being reviewed.

The large-scale exercises are meant to present scenarios of the response to outside ‘aggression.’

From Jim Quinn of The Burning Platform Economic Report Card - Fail We are now three and one half years into Barack Obama’s presidency. I thought a few pertinent charts would help us assess the success of his economic policies. Upon his election he demanded an $800 billion stimulus package...

Iran international Javad Nekounam could remain at La Liga outfit Osasuna if he accepts a salary reduction according to a Spanish report.

Iran Football Federation (FFIRI) president Ali Kafashian says UAE clubs have been ordered to no longer contract Iranian footballers for political reasons.

The Obama administration has gone down on its well-worn knees and said “it was sorry for the loss” of 24 Pakistani soldiers accidentally killed in a Predator drone strike last November. This, after seven months of saying it wasn’t going to happen — because both US and Afghan military officials...

> Financials...

Bradley Wiggins and his Tour de France team "ticked off" a successful first day in the yellow jersey. Then he got ticked off when asked about doping in cycling.

The Facebook generation isn't bothered about the data e-readers are collecting – just another victory for market forces So some big companies are using technology to improve their services – big deal. Or at least that seems to be the balance of opinion around these parts on the news that...

President Hugo Chavez and his allies accused opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles on Sunday of trying to provoke violence by campaigning in areas that have been bastions of support for the incumbent leader.

Since logging on in January, Rupert Murdoch has used his captivating Twitter feed mostly to blurt genial disapproval of the not-small number of things he finds irksome. A collection of his short-form grousing grouped by target.

The Ottawa Fury are enjoying their view this morning from atop the Northeast Division standings of the Premiere Development League, and the feeling that goes along with it.

Philip H. Gordon Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Daniel Benjamin and Special Advisor to the Secretary on Camp Ashraf Ambassador Daniel Fried on the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) Designation and the Current Situation at Camp Ashraf

Greece's new three-party coalition government won a vote of confidence in parliament early Monday, ending a period of uncertainty that led to two elections in less than two months, though the country has a long way to go...

Efforts to contain a large wildfire in southern Idaho by Sunday evening were dashed as winds picked up and the region's grass and sagebrush provided readily available fuel for a blaze estimated at 117 square miles.

Beijing (dpa) - EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton arrived in China Monday with the eurozone debt crisis, trade, the Syrian conflict, and the nuclear disagreements with Iran and North Korea on the agenda.She is to meet Prime Minister Wen Jiabao; State Councillor Dai Bingguo, who is in charge...

Yes, the former president of Syria and father of the president regime incumbent is roasting away there, and has been since he died of a heart attack while chatting on the phone to the Lebanese president in 2000.

A U.S. official says that two U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents shot and killed the pilot of a suspected drug flight that crashed earlier in the week while being chased by government aircraft.

The Obama administration will ask Congress to sustain U.S. assistance for Afghanistan near the average amount it has been over the last decade through 2017 as part of the international effort to stabilize the country even as...

Canada and other major donors sought to assure Afghanistan that development aid will not dry up when foreign troops leave the country by pledging billions of dollars through 2015, on the condition the money is not squandered through corruption or mismanagement.

Economic sanctions are again proving to be as lethal a weapon as are bombs.

TERMING THE United Nations human rights council “flawed and biased”, Israel says it will prevent a fact-finding mission from entering Israel and the West Bank to examine the impact of Jewish settlements on the population.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon. Today the international community sent a clear and unified message: The violence in Syria must stop, a democratic transition must start, and Assad must go. Last week in Geneva, all five permanent members of the ...

The United States welcomes the decision made by the Italian energy company, Edison International S.p.A. (“Edison International”), to withdraw from Iran’s energy sector, specifically its contract to explore Iran’s Dayyer natural gas field. Edison ...

A woman celebrating the weekend before her 25th birthday was fatally shot Sunday when she hugged an off-duty police officer while dancing at a party, causing the officer's service weapon to fire, according to police and...

>FUNDAMENTALS* NYMEX crude for August delivery was down 6 cents at $84.39 a barrel by 2317 GMT, after settling down $2.77 at $84.45 on Friday.* London Brent crude for August delivery was up 10 cents at $98.29 a barrel, after settling down $2.51. U.

Allies of Hugo Chavez said Sunday that opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles is trying to provoke violence by campaigning in areas that have been bastions of support for Venezuela's leader.

Officials say rioting prisoners in Malawi briefly stalled the release of convicts who had been granted presidential pardons.

They lost Dwyane Wade but gained Kevin Durant. Dwight Howard's size has given way to Russell Westbrook's speed.

An island offering a secluded beach, promises of great fishing and stunning views of the San Francisco skyline is up for sale - and at a discounted price.

WASHINGTON - A new book claims Israel's spy agency dispatched assassins into Iran, as part of a campaign to sabotage the country's disputed nuclear program.

The economic misfortunes of Europe and America have inspired glee among some Asian leaders and commentators, especially those who champion “Asian values.” Exhorting Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi to learn from resurgent Asia rather than decrepit Europe, Kishore Mahbubani, the Singaporean diplomat-turned-pundit, pointed out recently how “quiet Asian pragmatism...

LACEY — A 77-year-old Lanoka Harbor man nearly drowned Sunday in his pool, police said. James G.

Book: Spy agency sent Israelis into Iran to kill nuclear scientists, targeted from motorcycles

Secretary of State Clinton has again stated that it is only a matter of time before the regime of…

Saudi authorities say they have arrested a radical Shiite cleric following a gunfight and car chase in an area of increasing tensions between the government and the country's Shiite minority.

Kofi Annan arrived in Damascus Sunday evening for talks with President Bashar Assad, his spokesman said...

Ernest Borgnine, the beefy screen star known for blustery, often villainous roles, but who won the best-actor Oscar for playing against type as a lovesick butcher in "Marty" in 1955, died Sunday. He was 95.

AJ Allmendinger was silent Sunday, a day after NASCAR suspended him for failing a random drug test.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is raising millions of dollars from New York's elite Sunday, as Democrats push for him to explain offshore bank accounts and release several years of tax returns.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday pledged to ensure the safe operation of Osprey military aircraft to be deployed at a base in Japan later this year, suggesting there is no change in Washington's schedule for the transfer, despite strong local opposition. Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said...

Members of two Reno casino families died within days of one another.

NATO says an explosion has killed six service members in eastern Afghanistan.

Once the Centre Court roof was closed, nothing could stop Roger Federer from winning his record-tying seventh Wimbledon title.

Pakistan's only Nobel laureate helped develop the theoretical framework that led to the apparent discovery of the subatomic "God particle" last week, yet his legacy has been largely scorned in his homeland...

ISLAMABAD - The pioneering work of Abdus Salam, Pakistan's only Nobel laureate, helped lead to the apparent discovery of the subatomic "God particle" last week. But the late physicist is no hero at home, where his name has been stricken from school textbooks.

Pakistan's only Nobel laureate helped develop the theoretical framework that led to the apparent discovery of the subatomic "God particle" last week, yet his legacy has been largely scorned in his homeland...

Between Clinton's 'prices to be paid' and Obama's new trade-war , is it any wonder the Chinese have decided to escalate their 'more-than-rhetoric' from bartering away from the USD . After ignoring the sanctions and then receiving their exemption, PressTV reports tonight that China is to invest in developing north and...

Today's theme for Camp was identity and community-campers essentially went through various activities trying to tie back the day's events to these vital themes. The day started with a team building activity where campers worked toward a shared goal together but couldn't communicate with words. -Arian Jadbabaie, IAAB

AMMAN, Jordan - The Palestinian president has accepted an invitation to visit Iran, a patron of his political rival, the Islamic militant Hamas, a top Palestinian official said Sunday.

Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi says China has agreed to invest USD20 billion in developing north and south Azadegan and Yadavaran oil fields which will finally produce 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.

Iranian actress Leila Hatami has won the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival's Best Actress Award for "Last Step" movie directed by Ali Mosaffa. The festival was held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic from June 29 to July 7, 2012.

SHE was Saudi Arabia's ''Barbie'' princess; the pampered granddaughter of the kingdom's founder and daughter of one of his most powerful and favoured sons. Use of these RSS feeds and headlines is governed by our terms of use . Enquire about licensing these feeds here .

Veterans from Britain's first Gay Pride march in 1972 led London's scaled-back Pride at the weekend.

A wife who suspected her husband was cheating said she had a 'surprise' - and plunged a knife into his chest

(MENAFN) The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) stated that it has terminated a USD107 million deal with Italy's Edison, reported Tehran Times. The NIOC said that the decision was taken as the ...

(MENAFN) Iran's Customs Administration's director, Abbas Memarnejad, stated that during the first 3 months of the current year, the value of the country's exports of non-oil products reached around ...

An Iranian official has warned of a "catastrophe" in the Middle East if no political solution is found to the 16-month crisis in Syria.

The Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the sidelines of the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan today.

GIR SANCTUARY, India (AP) — A peacock shrieks. A monkey scrambles higher into the fire-colored canopy of a kesudo tree. And an Asiatic lion — one of the last few hundred in the wild — pads across the dusty earth of a west Indian sanctuary that is its only refuge...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Sunday said one of its diplomats was confronted by German police and is the target of a smear campaign orchestrated by an Iranian opposition group and German newspaper Bild.

TEHRAN, July 8 (MNA) – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has instructed the relevant officials and organizations to take the measures necessary to transfer water from the Aras Dam to Urmia Lake to help revive the body of water, MP Nader Qazipourannounced on Sunday.

Meeting with Embassy Staff and Their Families in Tokyo Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Ambassador's Residence Tokyo, Japan July 8, 2012 It’s great to see all of you. I just saw some beautiful children in the room next door. And I wanted to start by telling you how...

The Iranian ambassador to Beirut has reaffirmed Iran's determination to pursue the fate of the four kidnapped Iranian diplomats, who have been reportedly held captive in Israeli jails for the past 30 years, Press TV reports.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef cancels yeshiva students' summer vacation and adds extra prayer to help 'nullify the decree.'

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran will block the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the passageway through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, if its interests are seriously threatened, a senior Iranian military commander said

TEHRAN, July 8 (MNA) – A number of the country’s political and military officials have been invited to attend a session of the Majlis to discuss the proposal that calls for the Strait of Hormuz to be blocked in response to the sanctions imposed on the country, MP Mehdi Mousavinejad...

TEHRAN, July 8 (MNA) – The war games conducted by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and other Iranian armed forces will bring the enemies to their senses so that they will not make miscalculations in dealing with the Islamic Republic, an IRGC general has said.

The airline, which already has a base in Hyderabad and Chennai, is now extending its base to Delhi. The carrier is planning to use its new fleet of Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft to expand network in the north of India.

July 8, 2012: Russia has a serious problem with Afghanistan, and it has nothing to do with Islamic terrorism or the Taliban. For the last four years, Russia has been publicly demanding that the U.S. do more to stem the flow of heroin out of Afghanistan.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will block the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the passageway through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, if its interests are seriously threatened, a senior Iranian military commander said Saturday.

A new article has revealed that there is an assassination unit inside the Israeli spy agency tasked with killing Iranian scientists.

Sufi singer Kavita Seth returns to her old roots by experimenting with old tunes

Iran is capable of providing further insurance cover for the oil tankers shipping the country’s crude, the managing director of Iran's Kish Mutual Protection and Indemnity Club says.

Iran's Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar will pay a two-day official visit to Armenia to discuss avenues for bolstering Tehran-Yerevan cooperation, an Iranian official says.

In an extended interview with Bloomberg TV , Nouriel Roubini lives up to his doom-saying reputation and goes where few have as he opines on Lieborgate that: "bankers are greedy and have been for 1000 years" and "nothing is going to change" unless there are criminal sanctions; to which he...

(MENAFN) The Diplomatic Center for Strategic Studies (DCSS) announced in its latest report that during the first decades of the current century, the share of Arab Gulf countries of global oil ...

HONG KONG (CNN) -- In the third case in the last two weeks, more than 100 passengers aboard a troubled boat required rescue in the waters between Australia and Indonesia.

(RAMALLAH ) - European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso called on Sunday for a return to Israeli-Palestinian talks, warning the peace process must not become "an orphan of the Arab Spring."

If you are viewing this on the web and would prefer to get it as an email every morning, please click here Top stories on MediaGuardian.co.uk Patten says Entwistle needs to make BBC better BBC Trust chairman says new director general is a great creative leader who will...

A man walks from a gasoline tanker truck at a North Little Rock, Ark., fuel distribution terminal June 29. The prie of oil fell this week even though Iran staged missile tests and sent out new threats to block oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf.

Newly-elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will head to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, on his first official foreign visit after taking charge.

BEIRUT (AP) -- Special U.N. envoy Kofi Annan acknowledged in an interview published Saturday that the international community's efforts to find a political solution to the escalating violence in Syria have failed.

Iran's Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi has stressed the importance of bolstering amicable ties with neighboring countries, saying the Islamic Republic has made its utmost efforts to establish regional peace and security.

An association of Iranian oil-products exporters will help the government bypass European Union sanctions on Iran’s crude and ship as much as 500,000 barrels a day, state-run Mehr news agency reported.