News Archive - 28 July 2012

>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign left a troubled visit to London behind him on Saturday and looked to rebound in Israel, whose ties with the United States have been a familiar theme during his election bid. Romney arrived late on Saturday on the second...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signed a bill on Friday to strengthen U.S.-Israeli military ties as he sought to reassure American Jewish voters of his commitment to the two countries' close alliance on the eve of a visit to Israel by his Republican rival, Mitt Romney. Obama...

>Results Table1. Alexandr Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) 5 hours 45 minutes 57 seconds2. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia) 5:45:573. Alexander Kristoff (Norway) 5:46:054. Taylor Phinney (U.S.) 5:46:055. Sergey Lagutin (Uzbekistan) 5:46:056. Stuart O'Grady (Australia) 5:46:057. Juergen Roelandts (Belgium) 5:46:058. Gregory Rast (Switzerland) 5:46:059. Jack Bauer (New Zealand) 5:46:0510. Lars Boom (Netherlands) 5:46:0511.

>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Delegations from around the world failed on Friday to agree a landmark U.N. arms-trade treaty to regulate the more than $60 billion industry, opting for further talks and a possible U.N. General Assembly vote by the end of the year, diplomats said. More than...

>HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Italy and Spain are scaling back the money allotted for development projects in Afghanistan this year as their debt crises widen at home, military officials said. Italy, which spends almost half its Afghan aid money on education, has wiped 400,000 euros off this year's pledge, leaving...

>A Syrian economic delegation has been touring Iran this week, and signed deals with Iranian officials on electricity exports from Iran to Syria, Fars news agency said on Friday.Iran is a rare ally for Syria, which faces international condemnation over the government's crackdown on a sixteen-month rebellion that has...

>Meshref won at ExCeL in London to reach the next round.Results TableDina Meshref (Egypt) beat Offiong Edem (Nigeria) 11-5 2-11 11-7 10-12 11-6 11-3Caroline Kumahara (Brazil) beat Yasmin Farah Hassan (Djibouti) 11-0 11-2 11-2 11-4Funke Oshonaike (Nigeria) beat Neda Shahsavari (Iran) 11-13 11-8 11-8 9-11 11-4 5-11 11-3Sarah Mathilde...

Book tackles poor Western diplomacy In 1998 at a Q&A session at a university in Tehran, a student stood up and addressed Mohammad Khatami, the reformist cleric who had recently been elected president in a landslide. We are your army, she told him; just say the word and we will...

FILE - In this March 5, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.

(MENAFN - Arab News) Top businessman cancels deals with 20 Russian firms A Saudi businessman has suspended his present and future business deals with 20 Russian companies protesting the country's ...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's national security adviser has briefed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a U.S. contingency plan to attack Iran should diplomacy fail to curb its nuclear program, an Israeli newspaper reported on Sunday. The Haaretz newspaper said that the U.S. adviser - Thomas...

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will confront some of the world's most difficult peace and security challenges on Sunday as he looks to demonstrate to Jewish and evangelical voters back home that he's a better friend to Israel than Democratic President Barack Obama.

This Real News Network video highlights how the efforts to portray Iran as a moving force behind terrorist killings around the world have squat in the way of evidence behind them.

Orlando announced the hiring of Muir High graduate Jacque Vaughn, 37, as its next head coach on Saturday, bringing the latest 30-something member to a basketball operations department following the hiring of 30-year-old general manager Rob Hennigan last month.

Mitt Romney's support for Israel will likely earn the presumptive Republican presidential nominee a warm welcome from Israeli leaders when he meets with them on Sunday.

A generation ago, it was the three I's. A presidential challenger's obligatory foreign trip meant Ireland, Italy and Israel. Mitt Romney's itinerary is slightly different Britain, Poland and Israel.

Zionist-affiliated arms dealers, oil consortiums, and bankers are seeking to overthrow the Syrian government in order to pave the way for a US-Israeli aggression against Iran, according to political analyst Mark Dankof.

WASHINGTON - A generation ago, it was the three I's. A presidential challenger's obligatory foreign ...

As Syria's regime teeters on the brink of collapse, Israeli soldiers and civilians prepare for possible military action to prevent chemical weapons from falling into the hands of terror groups. VIDEO: Fear of Another Massacre Helicopters Pound Aleppo, Activists Say Syria Olympic Official Says Army Protects People Jordan: Syrian Army...

One of every five Navy ships in Hampton Roads is slated to be relocated or decommissioned in the next five years, changes that will leave the region with 5,400 fewer sailors, a Virginian-Pilot analysis has found.

Life and weighty times of teacher who won Iran's first Olympic medal

At ExCeL Centre, seven Olympic sports play out before crowds without much of clue what they're witnessing 7 sports at ExCeL Centre.

Grandstand brought you all the action as it happened on day one of the London Olympics.9:45am: That's it for our coverage of day one of the 2012 Games. Catch us again this afternoon when we'll bring you all the day two action live.9:15am: Melanie Schlanger is busy admiring...

JERUSALEM — Mitt Romney’s support for Israel will likely earn the presumptive Republican presidential nominee a warm welcome from Israeli leaders when he meets with them today — and a frosty reception from Palestinians, who fear he would do little to advance their stalled statehood dreams.

Art cafe is a rare socialising haven in conservative Iraqi Kurdistan

For more than a decade, US fighter pilots have become accustomed to "owning the sky" in wars against insurgents who have no warplanes or air defenses. But in the desert outside Las Vegas, the ...

The authors of ‘Spies Against Armageddon’ report that the supposed discord between the U.S. and Israel may be an insignificant blip.

The U.S. national security adviser has shared with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the United States’ contingency plans for a possible attack on Iran. Click here for the rest of the article...

With local and foreign forces aimed against Syria’s government, it cannot claim victory — but neither can anyone else.

"Romantic dialogue is often changed. For example, it isn't proper for a woman to say to her partner, 'I love you.' It isn't considered decent. It's clear how dialogue about sexual proposals is dealt with -- they are changed to marriage proposals. Also, we see that beer becomes lemonade...

The Shiraz Friday Mass leader has blamed the sudden countrywide spike in the price of chicken on "the psychological war waged by Iran's enemies," as he emphasized that there are no food shortages.

Iranian police forces have announced strict measures against people eating and smoking in public during the fasting month of Ramadan. During the Holy month of Ramadan, which began last week, Muslims do not eat, drink or smoke during daylight.

1415 - Los franceses derrotan a los ingleses en la batalla de Azincourt. 1440 - Gil de Retz es quemado vivo en Francia. 1547 - En Huarina, Perú, el conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro derrota a las tropas enviadas por Carlos I de España y V de Alemania.

Australia's William Henzell began his table tennis men's singles event in style, overcoming Hungary's Adam Pattantyus 4-1 at the ExCeL.

MITT Romney is hoping to put his gaffe-strewn visit to London behind him when he arrives in Israel today on the second leg of his foreign tour.

The Obama administration has greatly increased cyber-attacks. It is war without bloodshed, but war nonetheless.

US-led sanctions against Tehran have claimed their latest casualty, with state-run companies in India and Iran deciding to scrap a 37-year-old shipping joint venture because the unrelenting pressure was making operations untenable.

Tel Aviv, Israel (CNN) - In the latest leg of what’s become a high stakes overseas tour, Mitt Romney arrived in Israel late Saturday night to address the issue of Iran – or, as one of his aides described it, “the biggest foreign policy challenge the world faces.” “I...

United States (Jacob Wukie, Oak Harbor, Ohio.; Brady Ellison , Globe, Ariz.; Jake Kaminski , Elma, N.Y.), def. South Korea ( Oh Jin Hyek ; Im Dong Hyun ; Kim Bubmin), 224-219.

The Memphis Grizzlies re-signed center Hamed Haddadi, Grizzlies General Manger and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. The first Iranian ever to play in the NBA, Haddadi (7-2, 265) averaged 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and a career-high 0.74 blocks in 5.9 minutes in...

Will Oil Break the $100 Mark?

Tunisia has requested the upcoming Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit to condemn the violence in Myanmar that killed some Muslims, the official TAP press agency reported on Saturday.

LONDON -- The U.S. freestyle men’s wrestling team used to be the squad everyone was worried about. After winning one medal in the Beijing Olympics, the Americans don’t seem nearly as scary as they used to be.

Parts of Syria's largest city saw the fiercest clashes yet in the country's 16-month crisis on Saturday, opposition activists said.

Zionist-affiliated arms dealers, oil consortiums and bankers seek to overthrow the Syrian government in order to pave the way for an American and Israeli military attack against Iran, says an analyst.

House Minotiry Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told Bloomberg's Al Hunt in an interview published on Friday that she believes Jewish Republicans are “smart people” but are “being exploited” by Republican leadership.

WASHINGTON - The CIA station chief opened the locked box containing the sensitive equipment he used from his home in Tel Aviv, Israel, to communicate with CIA headquarters in Virginia, only to find that someone had tampered with it. He sent word to his superiors about the break-in. The incident,...

Tehran, July 28 (IANS) The Iranian police have seized over two tonnes of opium in the country's Hormuzgan province on the rim of the Persian Gulf, Fars news agency reported Saturday.

Turkey this week cranked up its already-heated rhetoric against Kurdish militants in northern Syria, saying it would not hesitate to go after PKK fighters, just as it has in northern Iraq.

"Mr. Assange's only crime is that he cared enough about people to respect their right to truth, and had the courage and bravery to print the truth. In the process, he embarrassed powerful governments." -- Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire "As a mother, of course I wish he had...

Parts of Syria's largest city saw the fiercest clashes yet in the country's 16-month crisis on Saturday, opposition activists said.

Dave Bidini: Hey, America. Howz it going? Good. Sure you’re not just saying that because you think it’s what people wanna hear?

Iranian carmakers have manufactured over 36,000 bi-fuel automobiles in the first quarter of the current Persian calendar year (started from March 20, 2012), an official report said.

If you want to root for your hometown athletes (or hometown-ish, as the case may be), here's a handy and lighthearted list. Above, Kevin Love of the Timberwolves.

Current victory followed Davtyan’s win over Tobias Englmaier and Ildar Mushkiyev in the 1st and 2nd qualification rounds resp.

Australian table tennis debutant Justin Han has qualified for the first round of official Olympic competition after winning his preliminary match.

Parts of Syria's largest city saw the fiercest clashes yet in the country's 16-month crisis on Saturday, opposition activists said.

China's Yi Siling, right, and Poland's Sylwia Bogacka concentrate during shooting in the women's 10-meter air rifle finals at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London. Yi took gold in the event and Bogacka secured the silver medal.

Follow Grandstand's live coverage of the London Olympics, as competition begins on day one.

Combat consumed parts of the sprawling Syrian city of Aleppo Saturday, a disturbing sign for world powers who fear an all-out government assault. Government forces shelled Aleppo neighborhoods, and Free Syrian Army rebels clashed with government soldiers in and around the city on Saturday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of...

(MENAFN - Arab News) THREE scenarios can be taken into account vis-a-vis the bomb blast that killed top Syrian military officials. The first one has to do with American-Israeli regional intelligence ...

JERUSALEM - Mitt Romney's support for Israel will likely earn the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee a warm welcome from Israeli leaders when he meets with them Sunday — and a frosty reception from Palestinians, who fear he would do little to advance their stalled statehood dreams.

TEHRAN, July 28 (MNA) – European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has said a new round of talks will be held over Iran’s nuclear program soon, a Lebanese newspaper reported on Saturday.

A senior Iranian lawmaker has lauded Tehran’s achievements in the field of cyber defense, saying the country enjoys the scientific know-how to immediately defuse any threat against its cyber assets.

Tehran, July 28 (Xinhua-ANI): A senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader has said that the negotiations between Iran and the world major powers (P5+1) over Tehran's nuclear program will continue until they produce positive and constructive results, Tehran Times daily reported on Saturday.

TEHRAN: Iran is expanding its insurance on its fleet of 47 oil tankers through a multi-billion-dollar line of credit as it seeks to get around EU sanctions crimping its crude exports, reports said on Saturday.

RAMALLAH, July 28, 2012 (WAFA) – United States President Barack Obama signing a new law to strengthen Israel militarily was the main news story in two of the Saturday issue of the three Palestinian Arabic dailies.

* Roadshows to be held in Singapore, New York and London * Afghanistan's instability clouds TAPI's economic benefits * Turkmenistan's mammoth Galkynysh field ready to feed TAPI ASHGABAT, July 28 (Reuters) - Turkmenistan, holder of theworld's fourth-largest natural gas reserves, said on Saturday itwould hold roadshows in September-October for investors...