News Archive - 21 November 2012

قرارداد رسمی رضا حقیقی با حضور محمد رویانیان در باشگاه پرسپولیس به امضاء رسید مراسم انعقاد قرارداد رضا حقیقی دقایقی پیش در سالن کنفرانس باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی پرسپولیس با حضور محمد رویانیان برگزار شد. به گزارش سایت رسمی باشگاه پرسپولیس، رضا حقیقی بعدازظهر امروز در محل باشگاه پرسپولیس حضور یافت...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has supplied Hamas in Gaza with the technology to quickly produce longer-range missiles on their own without needing direct shipments, said a report Wednesday that quoted the head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard.

>* Tougher Israeli approach possible in future - Netanyahu* Both sides differ on interpreting deal* Egyptian diplomacy takes centre-stageBy Yasmine Saleh and Nidal al-MughrabiCAIRO/GAZA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both...

>* New approach needed given impasse, Israeli threat to hit Iran* Iran stockpiling potential bomb material as deadlock goes on* New diplomatic opportunity seen after Obama re-electedBy Justyna PawlakBRUSSELS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Six world powers agreed on Wednesday to seek renewed talks with Iran as fast as possible, reflecting...

>* Economic resources being directed to govt supporters* Syria relying on aid from Iran, Russia - economists* Govt may have to print money to finance economyBy Suleiman Al-KhalidiAMMAN, Nov 21 (Reuters) - At a rebel-controlled border crossing in northern Syria, camps housing thousands of refugees trying to flee the country...

A bombing attack on a bus in cenral Tel Aviv Wednesday, Nov. 21, left at least 25 people injured, five seriously. A missile siren earlier alerted t he towns and kibbutzim just west of Jerusalem – up to Beit Shemesh – Wednesday morning, Day 8 of the Gaza operation –...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The road to reform in Saudi Arabia is long and winding. In the rigidly restricted field of religion, the path is so circuitous that part of it even runs through traditionally Catholic countries like Austria and Spain. Next Monday, a pioneering Saudi-backed centre for worldwide interfaith dialogue...

>DUBAI Nov 21 (Reuters) - Iran's Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani urged Arab states on Wednesday to follow Iran's example of providing military assistance to the Palestinians.Israel continued air strikes on the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday with the goal of deterring Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs...

President Obama, right, and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on a joint trip to Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Monday. / Paula Bronstein, Getty Images

Salvatore Perrone is shown in this 2001 photo. / Franconia Township Police Department via AP NEW YORK (AP) â?? A balding garment salesman was arrested Wednesday in the killings of three Middle Eastern shopkeepers, police said.

(MENAFN - Arab News) HAMAS leader Khaled Meshaal looked like a man at home in Cairo this week as he used the Egyptian capital to declare terms for a cease-fire with Israel, his confidence reflecting ...

(MENAFN - Arab News) WHILE the death toll from the Israel-Gaza conflict has mounted, Hezbollah has offered quiet words of encouragement to the Palestinians, pledging support and calling on Arab ...

(MENAFN - Arab News) After Libya last year, 2012 has again been notable for geopolitical disruptions to oil supply. These have affected Iran, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen and have led to an estimated 1.2 ...

(memasukkan perkataan "Kumpulan" dan "Islam" pada intro kepada ''SidangKemuncak Kumpulan Lapan Negara Islam Membangun'')ISLAMABAD, 22 Nov (Bernama) -- Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri MuhyiddinYassin tiba di sini untuk mewakili Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak keSidang Kemuncak Kumpulan Lapan Negara Islam Membangun (D-8) ke-8.Muhyiddin tiba di Pangkalan Tentera...

ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin arrived here to represent the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, at the 8th Developing-8 (D-8) Summit 2012.

Let’s be fair: there does seem to be some sort of pattern here, but it is not very consistent.

A ceasefire is holding in Gaza after Israel and Hamas agreed to a truce, ending a week of bloodshed that saw 160 people killed, most of them Palestinians.

Israel and the United States have agreed to work together to prevent the smuggling of weapons from Iran to militant groups in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin arrived here to represent the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, at the 8th Developing-8 (D-8) Summit 2012.

>Khaled Meshaal said the Palestinians had emerged from the eight-day war victorious, arguing that Israel had lost and the conflict was proof that armed "resistance" was the way forward for the Palestinians.Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Barack Obama he was ready to give the...

A full-blown U.S. invasion, occupation and disarmament of Iran would cost the global economy almost $2 trillion in the first three months alone, according to a special report released by the DC-based Federation of American Scientists (FAS). The decision to invade and disarm Iran means Washington would impose...

French President Francois Hollande called Wednesday on the rival Lebanese factions to cooperate to overcome the current political crisis and maintain stability in Lebanon.

Senate bill, quietly rewritten, allows feds to read e-mail without warrants 20 Nov 2012 A Senate proposal touted as protecting Americans' e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - A suicide bomber attacked a Shiite Muslim procession in Pakistan Wednesday, killing 16 people in the most deadly incident on a day of violence that left at least 28 dead on the eve of a major international summit.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers took effect Wednesday night, bringing an end to eight days of the fiercest fighting in years and possibly signaling a new era of relations between the bitter enemies.

The Navy said Wednesday it will temporarily shrink its aircraft carrier presence in the Persian Gulf area from two to one because of a mechanical problem with the USS Nimitz, a carrier based in Everett, Wash.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday. / Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images UNITED NATIONS (AP) â?? U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Wednesday that her early account of the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans...

When Secretary of State Clinton, accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr, jointly announced a few minutes ago at a Cairo press conference the elusive agreement to end the current round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the accord represented the first example of cooperation between the U.S.

Filmmakers love to make movies about making movies. Yes, it is a navel-gazing business, but crafting films about this craft is one more means of self-expression. We've seen several emerge this…

Opposition activists say rebel fighters are holding their ground.

A poll showed a majority of Americans backing Israel’s launch of a retaliatory attack on the Gaza Strip.

While Thanksgiving gas prices in the United States are higher than a year ago and at a record level, oil experts say plentiful global supplies will help prevent a jump in prices.

The Israel-Hamas cease-fire brokered by the Obama administration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, and announced today is fragile, White House officials acknowledged. “The way we view this is that it’s an important step,” a senior White House official said, “but...

The United States denies it was involved in any attack on the French government, calling it a top ally.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) applauded the China Classification Society (CCS) for ending its certification of Iranian vessels, a development covered today by Reuters. CCS is the 13th and final major international classification society to stop certifying vessels from Iran. On October 3, UANI publicly called on...

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 13 people at Shi'ite processions in the city where Pakistan's army is headquartered on Wednesday night, highlighting the country's security challenges a day before it hosts leaders from Egypt, Iran and other developing nations. Local television stations said 13 people were killed...

The US "spied" on Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency by hacking into ministerial computers during his last weeks in office, it has been claimed.

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his speech at Yangon University’s Convocation Hall in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. In a historic trip to a long shunned land, Obama on Monday showered praise and promises of more U.S. help to Myanmar if the Asian nation keeps building its...

An Afghan deminer working with a dog on the outskirts of Kabul in this Sept.13, 2012 picture. (AFP)

Just hours before a Middle East ceasefire was declared Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman said he still had optimism that the fighting could end because of the devastating consequences for both sides.

Did MFC Industrial Just Pull a Rabbit Out of Its Hat?

The brief but bloody Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas marks a clear wake-up call to both sides, and their supporters, on the indispensable need to start serious talks beyond the new cease-fire.

>* IAEA believes Iran held nuclear-relevant tests at Parchin* Iran says it is a conventional military facility* Western diplomats suspect Iran is cleaning up siteBy Fredrik DahlVIENNA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Iran has been hauling dirt to a military site U.N. nuclear inspectors want to visit, Western diplomats said...

>* Certification vital for insurance and ports accessBy Jonathan SaulLONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A Chinese firm has stopped verifying safety and environmental standards for Iranian ships, becoming the last top certification provider to end marine work there as the trade noose on Tehran tightens.The China Classification Society (CCS)...

Iranian Composer and conductor Nader Mashayekhi will return to the stage with a Shahnameh musical five years after he was dismissed from of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra.

Iran's National Development Fund (NDF) has allocated $1.5 billion for developing the country's oilfields in the Persian Gulf, Iranian Offshore Oil Company Managing Director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh said on Tuesday.

Head of the Iran Football Federation Ali Kaffashian said on Tuesday that he has not decided to axe Carlos Queiroz. Iran lost to Uzbekistan last week in the 2012 World Cup qualifier and has a difficult task to advance directly to the competitions.

Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says Iran continues to enrich uranium at a steady rate and international sanctions have not had any evident effect on Iran's nuclear activities.

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has called on Parliament to end its motion to summon Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the assembly for questioning.

The Iranian director Zahra Sabri has adapted Omar Khayyam's poetry and thoughts for an anti-war play. The play entitled "Count to One" was staged at Tehran's Play Workshop on November 18.

Iranian MPs along with Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, held a rally here on Wednesday to condemn Israel's aggression on Gaza. Israel has conducted more than 1,350 aerial and sea attacks against the Gaza Strip since November 10, which have left more than 126 Palestinians, including 27 children and a pregnant...

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari says Iran has provided the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, with only the technology to produce Fajr 5 (Dawn) missiles.

Iranian lawmakers have opened discussions on whether to reform the country's election laws. The changes which are being considered by Iran's 290-seat parliament, or Majlis, aim to introduce tougher prerequisites for those looking to contest the country's presidential election next year.

>DUBAI (Reuters) - Gulf investors are far less nervous about the possibility of a U.S. or Israeli strike against Iran after the re-election of U.S. President Barack Obama, paving the way for further stock market gains in the world's top oil producing region. A year ago, investors -...

"Who the hell are you?" "Why Barack, I'm the Ghost of Presidential Legacies Past." "What are you doing here? It's not even Thanksgiving. I thought you guys visited on Christmas Eve, anyway. It starts earlier every year, doesn't it?" "You're confusing me with other spirits, Barack.

An art exhibition opening in Detroit aims to help build support for the release of a former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges.

A ceasefire between the Israelis and the Palestinians in Gaza has been delayed – but a diplomatic push is under way to try to stop the fighting.

Since the Arab spring reached Syria, Tehran’s soft power in the Sunni Arab world has been in sharp decline

The former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab who defected from the regime of President Bashar al-Assad earlier this year says Russia - and particularly Iran - are now deciding policy in Syria.

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaitis should use the ballot box to express their demands in a parliamentary election on December 1 and not take to the streets "screaming and wailing" in protest, the Gulf Arab country's ruling emir said on Wednesday.

PARIS—The U.S. Embassy in Paris on Wednesday "categorically" denied claims in a French magazine report that the U.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UPI) Nov 20, 2012 Amid worsening turmoil in the Middle East, the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf are planning another surge of major arms deals with the United States and Europe. This is setting off intense competition between Western defense companies, heavily backed by...

AS MIDDLE EAST leaders work with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to broker a ceasefire agreement acceptable to Israel and Hamas, United Nations ambassadors in New York announced the Security Council would hold an open debate on the crisis on Wednesday afternoon if a ceasefire is not called...

U.S. President Barack Obama is underscoring the administration's "strategic pivot" to Asia with a trip to the Pacific. This column has criticized this pivot and the botched public diplomacy campaign that managed to irritate friends, allies and, of course, China.

File image. A plant in Trivandrum, Kerala, has launched India's second line to assemble BraMos cruise missiles. The first line of this kind, built in Hyderabad, already turns out up to 40 such missiles each year.

Reach tens of thousands of people instantly by advertising with Ekklesia. Find out more The Israeli seizure and occupation of Palestinian land, and the denial of a Palestinian state, is the root cause of the on-going conflict and the current flare up in Gaza.

As if the Middle East didn't have enough problems, Iran is fast developing a nuclear weapon. But with Tehran increasingly isolated in the region, there are signs that a new deal over uranium enrichment is possible.

>* Khamenei says risked playing into hands of Iran's enemies* Once backed by hardliners, Ahmadinejad now ostracisedDUBAI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Iran's parliament called off plans to grill President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said they must not act in the interests of Iran's enemies.

Crude Up as Middle East News Still Dominates

France's cyberwar agency reportedly made the discovery after a major security breach in May , which, l'Express says, was caused by a "very powerful worm" developed jointly by the American and Israeli governments, called "Flame."

The presidential pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey has become an annual event, but the peace between the fowl and the White House is a relatively thing. And in fact, a few presidents actually ate their guests!

TOP STORIES ----------- GAZA/JERUSALEM - Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to aceasefire brokered by Egypt on the eighth day of intensiveIsraeli fire on the Gaza Strip and militant rocket attacks outof the enclave, Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said. - - - - BERLIN/ATHENS - International lenders failed for...

• (http://twitter.com/share) Muddled thinking: the hard road ahead

Recognition of Syrian Opposition by France & Arab League culminating to nuclear war Prof. Bhim Singh, Chief Patron of National Panthers Party and Chairman of Indo-Arab Solidarity Council has condemned EU and Arab League decision to recognize terrorist groups in Syria as its representative which can not be accepted by...

>"We are honoured that our help has material and military aspects and these Arab countries that sit and hold meetings should know that the nation of Palestine does not need words or meetings," Fars news agency reported Larijani as saying."Our message is that if Arab countries want to help...

>Nov 21 - In its first quarterly "GCC Sovereign Credit Overview" published today Fitch Ratings forecasts that economic growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will slow in 2013 owing to a moderation in oil production growth, but that high oil prices and production will provide a supportive backdrop for...

OIL DATA: China Confirms October Crude-Oil Imports up 13.8% on Year

WARNING- GRAPHIC CONTENT: Six men accused of being 'Israeli spies' were dragged through the streets of Gaza City and executed in front of a chanting mob.

AHVAZ, Khuzestan Prov., Nov. 21 (MNA) -- Tazieh -- Iranian passion play, telling Shias’ epic tales particularly in memory of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and his 72 loyal companions – was performed in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province,...

New York City police detectives Wednesday recovered a sawed-off rifle believed to have been used in the mysterious shooting deaths of three businessmen of Middle Eastern descent, and a person was in custody, a law enforcement official said.

The celebration and grieving for both the Democrats and Republicans have begun to subside. However, the Monday morning quarterbacking continues as political pundits drone on about lessons learned. Some will observe that after months of political battling, we look to be pretty much right where we wer... By Terry Simonson.

The New Hampshire Republican also championed ethics and led a commission that predicted the danger of terrorist attacks. Former Sen. Warren B. Rudman, who co-authored a ground-breaking budget-balancing law, championed ethics and led a commission that predicted the danger of terrorist attacks years before 9/11, died Monday at a Washington,...

Australia Wednesday said it had begun sending boatpeople to impoverished Papua New Guinea, as it admitted so many had arrived in recent weeks that not all could fit in its offshore Pacific camps.