News Archive - 16 August 2012

Translation: http://www.persianfootball.com/forums/showthread.php?103745-Shojaei-quot-I-feel-great-in-Osasuna-quot  

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies are discussing a worst-case scenario that could require tens of thousands of ground troops to go into Syria to secure chemical and biological weapons sites following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's government, according to U.S. and diplomatic officials. These...

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Tit-for-tat kidnappings by Syrian rebels and Lebanese Shi'ite gunmen have escalated tensions in Lebanon, where the specter of contagion from Syria's conflict is alarming the fractured and war-scarred Mediterranean nation. Despite government efforts to insulate it from turmoil in its once dominating neighbor, Lebanon has seen armed...

>BEIRUT/ALEPPO (Reuters) - Syria's government and rebels have "chosen the path of war", a U.N. peacekeeping chief said as the world body ended its doomed monitoring mission to Damascus and deadlock persists among world powers over how to contain the spreading conflict. Two weeks after former U.N. secretary-general...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is "dusting off old plans" for a potential release of oil reserves to dampen rising gasoline prices and prevent high energy costs from undermining the success of Iran sanctions, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday. U.S. officials will monitor...

>LONDON/QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador granted political asylum to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange on Thursday, a day after it said Britain had threatened to raid the Ecuadorean embassy in London to arrest the former hacker. Britain has said it is determined to extradite him to Sweden, where he is accused of...

>UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations' four-month-old observer mission in Syria will withdraw from the country next week, diplomats and U.N. officials said on Thursday, yet another blow to the world body's efforts to broker an end to the conflict. "The mandate of UNSMIS is over on the...

>"I am convinced this is an American interest. I am convinced (Obama) recognises the American interest and he isn't saying this just to keep us happy. I have no doubt about it, after having had talks with him," Peres told Israel's Channel Two television."Now, it's clear to us that...

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge funds are quietly laying new bets on a potential spike in oil prices tied to the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran, skewing the options market to a bullish bias for the first time in six months. Signs that Israel is losing patience with...

>* Retaliatory kidnappings raise sectarian spectre over region* Syria air strike kills 30, UN probe finds "war crimes"* U.N. says 2.5 million Syrians need aidBy Dominic Evans and Hadeel Al ShalchiBEIRUT/ALEPPO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab states began evacuating their citizens from Lebanon on Thursday after kidnappings...

>Aug 16 (Reuters) - Benjamin Lawsky played hardball with Standard Chartered Plc and a gauntlet of federal and New York regulators and prosecutors right up until the last hours of the $340 million settlement on Tuesday with the British bank over improper and concealed transactions tied to Iran. Based on...

>By Asma AlsharifMECCA Aug 16 (Reuters) - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation suspended Syria's membership at a summit of Muslim leaders in Mecca on Thursday, citing President Bashar al-Assad's violent suppression of the Syrian revolt.Saudi Arabia, the summit's host, has led Arab efforts to isolate Syria diplomatically and has...

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard Chartered is pursuing a collective settlement with other U.S. authorities after agreeing to pay $340 million (217 million pounds) to New York's financial regulator under mounting pressure from shareholders. The bank said it made a "pragmatic decision" to settle after having seen its share...

The Barack Obama administration has publicly expressed its displeasure over world leaders attending the summit meeting of the Non Aligned Movement in Tehran. "This is an organisation that we are not a member of. Our point is simply that Tehran, given its number of grave violations of international law and...

Gunmen killed 10 Iraqi soldiers on Thursday during a wave of strikes across Iraq killing 35 people, police said.

New York — Facing an escalating civil war in Syria, the Security Council decided Thursday to end the U.N. military observer mission that was sent to monitor a cease-fire that never happened and back a small new liaison office that will support any future peace efforts.

Australian shares extend gains, placing them on course to cap the longest run of weekly advances since August 2010.

* Futures gain on export recovery and Europe optimism * Prices on course for 2.4 percent weekly gain * Traders cautious ahead of long weekend for Eid al-Fitr (Updates prices, adds details) By Chew Yee ...

Shares firmed on Friday as German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced support for the European Central Bank's efforts to contain the debt crisis in the euro zone, soothing investor nerves and prompting them ...

The following editorial appeared in the Miami Herald on Aug. 10: President Obama came to office vowing to improve transparency and advocate openness. He hasn't.

This is in response to a July 26 editorial regarding gun control. I doubt I have read an editorial in my life that was as devoid of reason. Yes, gun control is a matter of life and death, but not for the article's stated issues.

Wondering which film to go see this weekend? Check out what THR's critics say about those movies and others -- including "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" and "ParaNorman" -- that are opening this week. read more

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official says Iran and Libya have set up a joint coordinating committee to pursue the fate of seven Iranian aid workers abducted in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

Three recent news items exemplified the danger Americans face if Congress doesn’t act before Jan. 1 to prevent a financial disaster. Yet, our lawmakers decided to take the month off and campaign for re-election.

LIMA, Peru — Rafael Correa is a committed leftist and former lay missionary whose first run at elected office was his successful 2006 election as Ecuador’s president.

A sensual title and a lovely score playing over enchanting black-and-white scenery promise much from “Chicken With Plums.” The film, set primarily in 1950s Tehran, stars Mathieu Amalric (“Quantum of Solace”) as Nasser-Ali Khan, a world-famous violinist who’s in a world-class funk over his irreparably broken violin. He buys...

High-level participation of OIC countries in the Islamic Solidarity Summit in Makkah contributed to the success of the two-day conference, said Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Seven of the 16 asylum seekers charged over a riot at Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre have pleaded not guilty.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has sent a message of condolences to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran over the wide scale devastation and deaths caused by a recent series of earthquakes.

Record-high corn prices should be sending a clear message to policy makers in Washington: Requiring people to put corn-based fuel in their gas tanks is a bad idea.

ISRAEL has been training in the Iraq desert for a blitz against Iran’s nuclear plants

Australia's parliament has passed a law allowing it to transfer asylum-seekers arriving by boat to other countries, despite objections that refugees could be held indefinitely in remote camps.

Cellcom’s stock rose nearly 11% on Thursday.

BEIRUT — Clashes between government troops and rebels raged Thursday in opposition bastions of besieged Aleppo as President Bashar Assad’s key state backer Iran hosted a gathering of countries for talks on how to end the conflict....

White House hopeful says he paid more than 13% in past decade. 17 Aug 2012 9:56 AM

(Reuters) - The White House is "dusting off old plans" for a potential release of oil reserves to dampen rising gasoline prices and prevent high energy costs from undermining the

The growing number of politicians in this country who think that hudud is a good idea for Malaysia should see the video that is circulating online of the execution of an Afghan woman by her husband for alleged adultery.

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as lobster. Or so you might think from reading this summer’s news in Maine, which speaks volumes, or crates, about the farcical nature of North American trade policy.

Israeli officials are warning they might have to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, perhaps even before the U.S. presidential election in November. Israel’s concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran are well-founded, but this speeding up the timeline on a potential strike is ill- judged.

This documentary by Ali Samadi Ahadi bears witness to the exhilaration that preceded the presidential election of June 2009 and to the violence that followed.

Mitt Romney’s critics have had a lot of fun with the recent report from the Tax Policy Center proclaiming the Republican presidential candidate’s tax proposal “mathematically impossible.” Romney’s supporters, meanwhile, have struck back, insisting that the report relies on assumptions that Romney’s plan doesn’t make.

GREER, S.C. — Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney declared Thursday he has paid at least 13 percent of his income in federal taxes every year for the past decade, offering that new detail while still decrying a “small-minded” fascination over returns he will not release. President Barack Obama’s campaign...

GREER, S.C. - Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney declared Thursday he has paid at least 13 percent of his income in federal taxes every year for the past decade, offering that new detail while still decrying a "small-minded" fascination over returns he will not release.

* Syria turmoil, row over Iran nuclear program support oil * Brent September crude expires on Thursday * Coming up: CFTC positions data, 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday (Recasts, updates prices to settlement) By ...

Presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Thursday he " paid taxes every single year " for the past decade. Romney, on the campaign trail in Greer, S.C., told reporters he has examined his tax returns over 10 years and found he paid at least 13...

It was only a matter of time, but a new Swiftboat-style group has put out an ad that seeks to turn President Obama's successful leadership in the turning of Osama bin Laden into fish food against him. Despite a torrent of reporting discrediting the ad, which accuses the President of...

The citizens of India sure have an odd way of punishing a man who wreaked havoc with their economy: they promoted Pranab Mukherjee from finance minister to president.

The creators of Persepolis return with a live-action fable about an Iranian violinist who wills himself to die — and the heartbreaks that drive him to it. (Recommended)

Facing an escalating civil war in Syria, the Security Council decided Thursday to end the U.N. military observer mission that was sent to monitor a cease-fire that never happened and back a small new liaison office that will support any future peace efforts.

On Thursday, United Against Nuclear Iran launched its Luxury Goods campaign, and called on Swiss watchmaker Omega SA to end its presence in Iran. Omega, the “Officia

Each night for the past three weeks, families in Kuwait have been transfixed by a drama in which they already know the ending.

Perhaps the worst thing about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's crusade to scare the world into believing that Israel is about to attack Iran is that he has no scruples about panicking the Israeli people as well. (The government has even sent out notices to the public urging that...

New York crude oil prices have hit a fresh three-month peak after encouraging economic figures in the US.

Oil prices rose for the third day in a row on Thursday as hopeful signs for U.S. housing suggested that oil demand could rise, too.Applications for building permits rose to their highest level in four ...

Israeli President Shimon Peres' comments appeared to challenge PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who have both raised the prospect of a unilateral Israeli strike

This image of McDonald's famous Golden Arches — the ne plus ultra of a Western brand — looks jarring in Arabic script. But in the Middle East and parts of Asia, that's McDonald's all-American brand.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Veteran fighters of last year's civil war in Libya have come to the front-line in Syria, helping to train and organize rebels under conditions far more dire than those in the battle against Muammar Gaddafi, a Libyan-Irish fighter has told Reuters. Hussam Najjar hails from Dublin, has...

Delegates from countries having "realistic and principled positions" on the Syrian crisis were supposed to gather in Tehran on 9 August for a "consultative conference" sponsored by the Iranian government, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus, but despite the presence of delegations from Russia and China only 28 countries showed up,...

The attack on Egyptian soldiers in Rafah two weeks ago has thrown into relief a subject that has largely been unmentioned and unmentionable since the revolution: Egypt's foreign policy towards Israel.

WASHINGTON, Aug 17 — Seeking to put an end to questions about his personal finances, Republican US presidential candidate Mitt Romney said yesterday he paid at least a 13-per cent tax rate every year over the last 10 years. Democrats have criticized Romney for not releasing more than two years...

Bernard Lewis, Notes on a Century. Reflections of a Middle East Historian, New York: Viking, 2012, pp388 The Anglo-American historian Bernard Lewis, born in London in 1916 and now well into his nineties, became a best-selling author late in life when his book What Went Wrong?

Hamas is walking on a tightrope now, caught in suspended animation between its credentials as a resistance movement and its pedigree as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the wake of Kofi Annan's resignation as special United Nations' envoy for Syria, hawks are circling and war-drums are beating.

Japan needs to play a greater role in addressing regional crises in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region and secure a position as a "tier-one nation," according to a new report released Wednesday by a group of U.S. defense experts. "Japan should expand the scope of her responsibilities to include the...

Mitt Romney has paid no less than 13 percent in personal income taxes over the past 10 years, he said Thursday.

Lynn Jackenheimer's family is speaking out following the arrest of Nate Summerfield.

As the Assad regime loses ground in the Syrian civil war, ethnic Kurds are gaining more and more leverage. Kurdish leaders have not been able to unify, but neighboring countries are already alarmed.

BEIRUT: President Bashar Assad’s feared brother Maher lost a leg in a bomb attack on the Syrian leader’s security cabinet a month ago, sources said on Thursday, in a severe blow to one of the main military commanders fighting an 17-month-old insurgency.

Nakatakdang magtu­ngo ang Smart Gilas Pilipinas II ngayon patungong Taipei para sumabak sa 2012 Jones Cup na naka­takda sa Agosto 18 hanggang 26.

Haharapin ng Energen Pilipinas ang Saudi Arabia ngayong alas-6 ng gabi para sa pagsisimula ng 22nd FIBA-Asia Under-18 sa Buyant-Ukhaa Arena sa Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

Beirut — Syrian government airstrikes on a residential neighborhood in a rebel-held town killed more than 40 people and wounded at least 100 others including many women and children, international watchdog Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

>* Already gold, oil links between two neighbours* Exports rebounding despite sanctions* Turkey exporting its own, foreign steel to Iran* Rival direct steel exports to Iran near zeroBy Silvia AntonioliLONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Turkey's importance as a trade conduit to Iran has widened to include supplying most of its...

Watch Video | Listen to the Audio HARI SREENIVASAN: Nearly a week of labor violence in South Africa turned even deadlier today, as police fired on striking platinum miners. There were unconfirmed accounts of as many as 18 people killed. We have a report narrated by Saima Mohsin of Independent...

Power struggle at top of Iranian politics pushes for 'government of all talents' to reduce president's strength.

Chalk up another victory for the social-media prowess of the Syrian rebels. The opposition to Bashar Assad says it’s captured spy drones made by Assad’s patron, Iran. And it’s put the evidence on YouTube. In the video above, Syrian rebels show off three smallish, unarmed surveillance drones they say they...

Israel's deputy Foreign Minister this week insisted Iran should be given just a "few weeks" to cease its nuclear programme as speculation intensified over whether Israel would launch a strike against Tehran.

Standard Chartered has said it will "vigorously" defend a US lawsuit filed by relatives of bombing victims, relating to the bank's recent fine for concealment of Iran-linked transactions.The ...

There's power in numbers. That physical fact is being utilized by dozens of small restaurants that have signed up with a buying group to control their food and equipment costs.

Euro-Zone Inflation Steady But Outlook Threatened

If killing Osama bin Laden, untangling U.S. forces from Iraq and fighting a bare-knuckle drone war against al Qaeda are the Obama administration's foreign policy triumphs, its biggest stumble may be its failure to produce an international solution to what has become an all-out civil war in Syria. Many...

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah walks with other heads of states at the end of the OIC emergency summit in Makkah on Wednesday. (SPA)

>* Saudi, Iran, Iraq, Ecuador compete for the job* Four candidates nominated, panel may convene in Oct* Group has struggled to agree in the pastBy Alex Lawler and Amena BakrLONDON/DUBAI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - OPEC has delayed a meeting of officials to help select its new secretary general, delegates from...

>"There is a forum of nine (ministers), there is a (security) cabinet, and a decision, when it is required, will be taken by the Israeli government," Barak said in parliament in response to accusations by opposition lawmakers that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were rushing towards war with Tehran.

BEIRUT: Syrian government airstrikes on a residential neighborhood in a rebel-held town killed over 40 people and wounded at least 100 others including many women and children, international watchdog Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

TEHRAN, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Around 70 percent of the goods imported into Iran were paid for with revenue earned through non-oil exports from the country, a minister said.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- There are no adverse effects on oil production following a cyberattack on the computer network at the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., the company said.

For more than a year, military operations are continuing in Syria, which Turkey plays an important role. Ankara took a “tough” stance towards the regime in Damascus, called for the “immediate withdrawal” of Bashar Al-Assad, as well as assisting the Syrian opposition.

FOUR Japanese-controlled VLCCs have loaded crude in Iran, with two of them nearing their destinations, according to AISLive data obtained from IHS’s Maritime Intelligence Network program. ...

China's foreign minister repeated Beijing's call for the Syrian government to talk with the opposition and take steps to meet the people's demand for ...

Early this morning, police responded to a call of a child wandering outside.

Israel’s latest saber-rattling over Iran’s nuclear program may be a pre-election strategy to coerce President Obama into a firm commitment that, if he’s re-elected and if Iran doesn’t destroy its own nuclear “capability,” he will authorize a U.S. military strike next year, writes Gareth Porter for Inter Press Service.

> Stocks Markets...

>* Move seems to press S.Korea to resume imports of Iranian oil -analyst* Disagreement could cause payment delays for Korean exportersBy Meeyoung ChoSEOUL, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Iran has asked South Korea to increase the interest rate on billions of dollars of its cash trapped in two government-owned banks,...

A police chase that started and Akron and ended in Tallmadge, spanned through four cities early Thursday morning.

Each night for the past three weeks, families in Kuwait have been transfixed by a drama in which they already know the ending: Iraq forces will be driven out and the shattered Gulf nation will rebuild. But a 30-part television serial on Iraq's 1990 invasion has become more than just...