News Archive - 23 July 2012

TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian news agency reports people have poured into the streets of a northeastern city to protest a steep hike in the price of chicken.

PART 1 PART 2 MORE TO BE UPLOADED SOON…

>"The enemies constantly state that the Islamic Republic of Iran intends to close the Strait of Hormuz but we say that common sense does not dictate that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz as long as it makes use of it," said Alireza Tangsiri, deputy naval commander in Iran's...

>* Spain's debt problems weigh on oil; investors eye Europe data* Coming Up: API oil stocks data; 2030 GMTBy Jessica JaganathanSINGAPORE, July 24 (Reuters) - Brent crude remained steady above $103 per barrel on Tuesday as China, the world's top energy consumer, showed signs of improvement in its economy though...

>The $1.9 trillion Russian economy, the world's ninth largest, was the biggest still outside the WTO.Countries joining the body have to agree terms with all existing members and bring their laws into line with WTO rules. Once they have received the green light for membership, they must ratify...

>The 24-year-old suspect, whose name has not been disclosed, was arrested in the Cypriot port city of Limassol on July 7, on suspicion of tracking the movements of Israeli tourists. He is a Swedish national of Lebanese origin.Israel said he was planning an attack similar to a suicide bus...

>DUBAI (Reuters) - Banished from Iran's political mainstream after disputing the results of the 2009 presidential election, reformists are seizing on economic crisis and the threat of war as opportunities to mount a fresh bid for power. But in gearing up to do so, they face immense challenges, including hardline...

>* Disputes over Himalayan rivers make South Asia a flashpoint* India's hydropower plans in Kashmir upset downstream PakistanBy Nita BhallaKANZALWAN, India-Pakistan Line of Control, July 23 (AlertNet) - A s the silver waters of the Kishanganga rush through this north Kashmir valley, Indian labourers are hard at work on a...

>* Dollar strengthens as traders dump the euro* Coming up: API oil data 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday (Adds Brent settlement, inventory forecast)By Robert GibbonsNEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell sharply on Monday, down a second straight day, a s worries that Spain is headed for a...

US sanctions against Iran have sounded the death knell for a 37-year-old India-Iran shipping company, started by ex-prime minister Indira Gandhi and the Shah of Iran as a mark of friendship between the two nations.

Deputies to the top negotiators of Iran and the six major world powers of the P5+1 are set to hold talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Britain's 86-year-old monarch Queen Elizabeth II will officially open the Games at the ceremony. -AFP

For the last three years, the consensus has been that a robust and self-sustaining recovery for the U.S. economy is on the cards, but economist Nouriel Roubini, dubbed "Dr. Doom," thinks that it's not likely to happen, rather he expects below trend growth for many years to come.

China's oil imports from Iran have increased by 17 percent to 2.6 million tons in June despite the Western sanctions on crude shipments from the Islamic Republic.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude climbed above $104 per barrel on Tuesday as China, the world's top energy consumer, showed signs of improvement in its economy though fears of a Spanish bailout curbed gains. China's manufacturing output in July grew at its fastest pace in nine months, helping lift an...

Iranian commanders and political leaders — facing an increasing squeeze from international sanctions — have...

THE days of cheap Brazilian beef being widely available in the world market appear to be over and that’s good news for Australia’s cattle industry, according to a new report by agri finance specialist Rabobank.

Washington, July 24 (IANS) The US has said that Iraq has moved to prevent its territory from being used for transiting weapons to Syria.

Loading Photo Galleries ... President Barack Obama arrives at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport Monday. / Danny Damiani/RGJ Today: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney plans to speak to the veterans about 11 a.m. The speech at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center is closed to the public.

Newly-appointed Persepolis boss Manuel Jose says he's not a "magician" and cannot not instantly reverse the club's fortunes. The Tehran giants finished a lowly 12th in the Iranian Pro League last term but since the Portuguese's arrival there's been a new sense of optimism at the club.

In today's Media Briefs: inside media HQ for London Games ... Kyle & Jackie O producer fired for Batman massacre gags ... Harman family to not fund Daily Beast and Newsweek and more ... Read more on the blog...

Asserting that Al Qaeda is on the road to defeat, US President Barack Obama has reminded Americans that before his election in 2008 he had pledged to kill Osama bin Laden and he achieved that.

Iranian athletes will compete against Israelis at the London Olympics, according to the country's chef de mission.

The sharia has recently been adopted in Libya after the death of Gaddafi, and the Muslim Brotherhood have won in Egypt. What will be the fate of the Arab world if recent revolutions take the same path as Iran and Saudi Arabia?

One reason for Russia recently halting shipments of weapons to Syria is the recent announcement that Iran has begun production of an ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile) that appears to be a copy of the Russian Kornet E missile. This is a Russian laser guided ATGM with a range of 5,000...

Recommended The Movie: Directed by, written by and starring Iranian born filmmaker Rafi Potts, 2010's The Hunter follows the exploits of a man named Ali Alavi (Potts) who makes a living as a night watchman at an automobile manufacturing plant. His job isn't particularly exciting but he has a bit...

U.S. satellite-makers like Raytheon Corp. and Lockheed Martin have reportedly succeeded in convincing the U.S. administration to ease export rules so they can compete with European firms to sell spy satellites to the United Arab Emirates.

What would you do to save your son? Sam Capra experienced betrayal and loss in Jeff Abbott’s “Adrenaline.” In Abbott’s new thriller, “The Last Minute,” Capra’s wife is in a coma and he is desperate to find his infant son. An ex-CIA agent, Capra has the skills and resources...

Expert on the region, Sergei Šakarânc. Illustration: panorama.am A few days before the stormy debate in the UN Security Council to “Syrian crisis” Russia and Saudi Arabia have exchanged diplomatic “courtesies” about human rights in the Arab East. For example, an occasion for public and, to some extent, demonstrative...

Before WWII, Churchill quipped 'Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor; now they will have war.' Netanyahu would do well to contemplate his words.

>FUNDAMENTALS* NYMEX crude for September delivery had dropped 11 cents to $88.03 a barrel by 2354 GMT, after settling down $3.69 at $88.14 on Monday.Crude prices hit eight-week highs on Thursday before concerns about Spain heightened.* London Brent crude for September delivery was untraded so...

Times wires Monday, July 23, 2012 LONDON — Iranian athletes will compete against Israelis at the London Olympics, according to the country's chef de mission. Iran was criticized because some of its athletes withdrew from events against Israelis at the 2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing Games. "We will be...

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former top political partner put him on notice yesterday he would not back Israeli military “adventures”, comments that appeared to caution against possible action against Iran.

Exclusive: For 10 days, right-wing talkers and Mitt Romney have circulated a deceptively edited quote tricking Americans into thinking that President Obama believes businessmen didn’t build their businesses. Belatedly, one of the “independent fact-checkers” has spoken up, reports Robert Parry.

The embattled government says the weapons are secure and that it will not utilize them against domestic rebels, but only in the case of 'external aggression.' Western nations condemn the threat. BEIRUT — With mounting international alarm about Syria's cache of chemical and biological weapons, the embattled government in...

Siemens has patched bugs in software used to control critical factory equipment.

The Democratic leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Monday that the White House appears to be responsible for some highly criticized leaks of classified information in recent months. "I think the White House has to understand that some of this is coming from their ranks," Sen. Dianne Feinstein told ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and China began their annual human rights dialogue Monday that gives Washington a chance to broach thorny issues but also demonstrates its limited leverage with Beijing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds his weekly cabinet meeting Sunday in Jerusalem. He says, "The real thing — the real question — is not stated policy (from the U.S.) but actual results on the ground."

In Iraq, 60 percent of the population follows Shiite Islam. Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani, born in Iran in 1930, is the supreme Shiite religious authority or marja for Iraq. Iraqi and Iranian Shiites represent contrasting cultural legacies -- Arabic in Iraq and Persian in Iran -- but adherence...

[Video] Gahar Zargos – Malavan Gahar Zargos 0 – 1 Malavan (W1) 52′ [0-1] Jalal Rafkhaei (P.K.) Match Highlights...

[Video] Saba Battery – Paykan Tehran Saba Battery 4 – 0 Paykan Tehran (W1) 04′ [1-0] Milad Nouri 42′ [2-0] Mohsen Bayat 67′ [3-0] Milad Nouri 83′ [4-0] Ramin Rezaian Match Highlights...

[Video] Damash Gilan – Foolad Khuzestan Damash Gilan 1 – 1 Foolad Khuzestan (W1) 20′ [0-1] Abdollah Karami 43′ [1-1] Afshin Chavoshi Match Highlights...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic leader of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Monday that the White House appears to be responsible for some leaks of classified information.

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VFW Convention Hall Reno, Nevada  12:35 P.M. PDT      THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  Please, please, everybody have a seat.       Commander DeNoyer, thank you for your introduction, and your service in Vietnam and on behalf of America's veterans.  I want to thank your executive...

By The Associated Press All Times EDT East Division ...

Justin Verlander performed like an ace is supposed to and the rest of the Detroit Tigers followed suit.

The Texas Rangers have placed right-hander Colby Lewis on the disabled list for the second time because of forearm tendinitis and recalled rookie left-hander Martin (mar-TEEN') Perez.

President Obama’s chief of staff, Jack Lew, met with leaders of the Reform and Reconstructionist movements. Lew’s meeting last week follows on similar meetings he has had in recent months with leaders of the Conservative and Orthodox movements.

All month we've been investigating the worst eyesores in the Bluegrass. The place a viewer recommended us to check out even took us by surprise.

It is a wonder that last week's suicide bombing in Bulgaria only killed six people, the coroner with the gruesome task of examining what little remains of the bomber told AFP on Monday.

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the Department of Defense (DoD) to drop an anti-Islam lecturer at the Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy (JCITA) in Elkridge, Md., who wrote on an...

When: Today, Monday, July 23rd Where: CNBC's "The Kudlow Report" Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney today, Monday, July 23rd. The full interview will air tonight on CNBC's "The Kudlow Report" at 7PM ET. All references must be sourced to...

Robert Siegel talks with Nicholas Kulish, Berlin bureau chief of the New York Times , about the investigation into a deadly attack on Israeli tourists at a Bulgarian tourist destination. The Israelis believe that the Islamist militant group Hezbollah is behind the attack, with help from Iran, but Bulgarian officials...

Iran chef de mission Bahram Afsharzadeh says his country's athletes will compete against Israelis at the London Olympics.

Israeli Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov traveled to Bulgaria to shore up the relationship between the two countries in the wake of the deadly attack on a bus full of Israeli tourists.

KANZALWAN, India-Pakistan Line of Control (AlertNet) - As the silver waters of the Kishanganga rush through this north Kashmir valley, labourers are hard at work on a hydropower project that will dam the river just before it flows across one of the world's most heavily militarised borders into Pakistan.

The recent serial triumphs of the Muslim Brotherhood in the region led people to believe that it would also prevail in Libya. Things, however, did not quite turn out as expected.

KANZALWAN, India-Pakistan Line of Control (AlertNet) - As the silver waters of the Kishanganga rush through this north Kashmir valley, labourers are hard at work on a hydropower project that will dam the river just before it flows across one of the world's most heavily militarised borders into Pakistan.

Israel's tourism minister says Bulgarian security prevented a terrorist attack against Israel tourists in the country several months ago.

BAGHDAD: A wave of attacks across Iraq on Monday killed 111 people in the country's deadliest day in two and a half years after Al-Qaeda warned it would mount new attacks and sought to retake territory.

KANZALWAN, India-Pakistan Line of Control (AlertNet) - As the silver waters of the Kishanganga rush through this north Kashmir valley, labourers are hard at work on a hydropower project that will dam the river just before it flows across one of the world's most heavily militarised borders into Pakistan.

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Monday:___MADRID — Spain's borrowing rates hit a record high, increasing the risk it might need a sovereign bailout, ...

>* OVERVIEW- Shi'ites in the Sunni Muslim-dominated kingdom say they have struggled to get government jobs or university places, their neighbourhoods suffer under-investment, and their places of worship are often closed down. The government denies the accusations, pointing to King Abdullah's move in 2003 to include them in a "national...

Israeli leaders have discussed with visiting American envoys how to manage a Syrian government collapse, an Israeli official said Monday, as Syria made an unprecedented admission of possessing weapons of mass destruction.

When Turkish journalist Serdar Akinan awoke last December to find his Twitter feed abuzz with rumors of a "massacre" in the country’s southeast, he naturally switched on the television. When he flicked through the channels and found nothing but the usual grind of daily news, he called his friends at...

Lost in the Shuffle: South Korea Quietly Progresses

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Iran is in an "open war" with Israel, President Shimon Peres said Monday, as he pointed the finger at Iran and Hezbollah for last week's bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis.

Which trailers got big cheers, and which fell flat?

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 file photo, fishing boats are seen in front of oil tankers on the Persian Gulf waters, south of the Strait of Hormuz, off the shores of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates.

>At least 32 people have been killed in a series of attacks in the capital, the port city of Mombasa, and the northern town of Garissa since Kenyan troops invaded Somalia last October to crush al Shabaab insurgents blamed for a surge in violence and kidnappings.Ahmad Mohammed and Sayed...

(Adds detail from paragraph five) HAMBURG, July 23 (Reuters) - About 40,000 tonnes ofPakistani wheat has been sold in the last two weeks to buyers incountries including Indonesia, Malaysia and East Africa, ...

Iran’s Majlis (parliament) representative for the Iranian Jews says rampant domestic injustices in Israel have rendered the recent self-immolations inevitable and the regime’s implosion imminent.

Investigators are struggling to identify the Bulgaria suicide bomber who killed seven people (including himself) on Wednesday and witness reports contrast autopsy results.

Oil prices fell over concerns that Spain may not be able to avoid a costly bailout. 

Oil prices slipped below $103 a barrel on Monday as investors sold off riskier assets and fled for the perceived safety of the dollar on fears that Spain will not be able to avoid a costly sovereign bailout. ...

Average retail gasoline prices in Georgia have risen 9.1¢ per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.36 per gallon Sunday.

>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former top political partner put him on notice on Monday he would not back Israeli military "adventures", comments that appeared to caution against possible action against Iran. Shaul Mofaz, now opposition leader, made the remarks less than a week after pulling his centrist...

MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) – Iran will start enriching uranium to 56-percent level if Israel and Western world keep on pressurizing the Islamic Republic with sanctions, Kabir News reported on Monday citing Iranian religious leader Seyed Reza Taghavi.

If there were one startling and apt image of today's Olympics it wouldn't be the five rings, let alone the uninspired logo for 2012.

More than 2,000 people die from armed violence each day. A UN treaty aims to stop it.

TEHERAN (AP) — Un alto funcionario naval iraní dijo el lunes que las fuerzas de Teherán van a tener control pleno del estratégico Estrecho de Hormuz, pero no tienen planes para tratar de cerrar la rut

Arab League tells the Syrian president to renounce power in return for a safe exit.

You probably don't give a great deal of thought to Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party presidential candidate. Maybe you should. Mitt Romney certainly is.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 107 people were killed in bomb and gun attacks in Iraq on Monday, a day after 20 died in explosions, in a coordinated surge of violence against mostly Shi'ite Muslim targets.

(AP) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a botched attempt to fragment Israel's main opposition party on Monday by wooing some of its lawmakers to rejoin his governing coalition just days …

backs up several centuries to the creation of the Magna Carta or Charter of Liberties and a second allied document, the Charter of the Forest, to explain just how American liberties have been turned in for 'safety' and how the global commons is being destroyed.

>DUBAI (Reuters) - In April this year, a queue of thousands of trucks built up at the Al Ghuwaifat border crossing between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Weary drivers ate and slept in their cabs, some for as long as several days, because of a slow customs clearance...

>Following are a few of the regions where competition for water from major rivers systems is fuelling tension.SOUTH ASIAIndia is home to three major river systems -- the Ganges, Brahmaputra and the Indus -- which support 700 million people. As an upstream nation, it controls water flows to Bangladesh...