News Archive - 23 January 2013

>DUBAI Jan 23 (Reuters) - For the Iranian government, the Bushehr nuclear power plant is proof to a world worried about Tehran's intentions that its atomic programme is aimed only at securing a modern, clean energy source for its people. But for villagers living next to the facility, as well...

>BRUSSELS/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran is stalling on fixing a date and location for a new round of talks on its nuclear program, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Wednesday, but there is still hope that talks between Tehran and six world powers can begin soon. EU officials have...

>The three employees of Tokyo-based shipping agent Ben Line Agencies Japan deny the charges, the reports said.Kyodo News Agency said the arrests were the country's first related to Iranian sanctions, quoting investigative sources.An official at Ben Line Agencies Japan said the company had no comment on the reports.

By Jack Markowitz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review When a letter begins like this — “I don’t want to alarm you, but” — it‘s a cinch it wants to alarm you. Max Richtman’s ...

24 January, 2013 - The Marshall Islands are starting 2013 by growing seedlings of hope in a mangrove rehabilitation and replanting project.

* Senate aides do not foresee late objections to Obama pick * Syria, Iran among concerns for senators * If confirmed he will divest about 100 investments WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - At least one of PresidentBarack Obama's national security picks is likely to win approvaleasily from the U.S.

Jerusalem - Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel’s parliamentary election, shrugging off surprise losses to centre-left challengers and vowing yesterday to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

After 22 months of violence, there's evidence that some of the frontlines in Syria’s civil war have barely moved.

If Obama's second inaugural address goes the same path as the first, expect nothing new from our foreign policy.

TEL AVIV, Israel - They pitched tents along Rothschild Boulevard and took to the streets in unprecedented numbers, hundreds of thousands demonstrating against the rising costs of gas, apartments, even cottage cheese. Back on the genteel boulevard today, many of those middle-class protesters from 2011 said they had taken their...

Congressional testimony from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday provided no new information about the CIA's covert operation in Benghazi involving weapons shipments. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a hearing on the deadly Sept. 11 Benghazi terrorist attack, she sidestepped questions about a CIA operation ...

Even at the World Economic Forum in Davos, an exclusive gathering of 2,500 of the globe’s financial and corporate elite, top banking executives found themselves on the defensive.

Even as Israeli officials finished counting votes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had begun making phone calls to secure his next coalition.

LONDON - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hit out on Wednesday at a Hollywood film about his secret-spilling website, calling the movie "a massive propaganda attack".

Internet activist Julian Assange says a film about his controversial website is a "mass propaganda attack against WikiLeaks" and slanders Iran.

START WITH PALESTINE: America's secretary of state should make a public offer to President Mahmoud Abbas

Benjamin Netanyahu set about forging a new ruling coalition Wednesday after Israeli voters fed up with state coddling of ultra-Orthodox Jews chastised him by propelling an upstart centrist party to prominence.

OPENING THIS WEEK HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS: Having developed a taste for retribution at a young age and grown up as witch-hunting vigilantes, siblings Hansel and Gretel must reckon with their dark past.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber disguised as a mourner killed at least 22 people inside an Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim mosque on Wednesday when he set off his explosives in the middle of a crowded funeral.

DAVOS, Switzerland - If there is one place bankers should be able to let down their guard a little, you would think it would be at the World Economic Forum in Davos, an exclusive gathering of 2,500 of the globe's financial and corporate elite. Yet even here top banking executives...

TEL AVIV, Jan 24 – Benjamin Netanyahu set about forging a new ruling coalition yesterday after Israeli voters fed up with state coddling of ultra-Orthodox Jews chastised him by propelling an upstart centrist party to prominence. Tuesday’s vote crystallised demands for attention to bread-and-butter issues over the ambitions of religiously...

SYRIANS are spending hours every day queuing for fuel and bread as severe shortages and below-freezing winter temperatures add to the difficulties facing president Bashar al-Assad’s regime as it struggles to provide basic services.

Syria's bombardment of its citizens should be declared a war crime, Turkey's foreign minister told the World Economic Forum. Related Stories Under-age rape law change welcomed 787 battery 'was not overcharged' Briton dies on France ski break Goat escapes fine for flowers snack NY sugary drinks ban faces battle

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says a film about the controversial website is a "propaganda attack against WikiLeaks" and slanders Iran.

Yair Lapid's centrist party won twice as many parliamentary seats as polls had predicted, and Netanyahu already appears to be adjusting his hard-line message. JERUSALEM — Just a few days ago, Yair Lapid was a political rookie making his first foray into Israeli elections with a newly formed centrist party.

>Novartis, based in Switzerland, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that Alcon had received a grand jury subpoena requesting documents for a period beginning in 2005.The filing said Alcon, which was fully acquired by Novartis in 2011, is cooperating with the investigation.In a 2011 filing, Novartis...

Associated Press (AP) Syria's bombardment of its citizens should be declared a war crime and aid groups must be given greater access to the millions suffering there, Turkey's …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Get ready for The Barack and Bibi Show, Part Two. With crunch-time looming in the Iranian nuclear standoff and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict still smoldering, the fractious relationship between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be tested in coming months like never before, as...

The Prime Minister has given his long-awaited speech on Britain's membership of the EU. Here is the speech in full.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel's electoral nudge to the centre may limit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's freedom to set policy toward Iran and the Palestinians, but few in the Middle East expect a marked retreat from the premier's hawkish approach. Related Stories Japan envoy says new PM wants to...

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo on Wednesday named its first envoy to Serbia since the 1998-99 war which split the two countries, part of a fresh push by the European Union to resolve relations between the Balkan neighbours and cement stability in the volatile region. Related Stories Japan envoy says new...

3 Financial Headlines You Can't Ignore

Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) executive committe member Hanan Ashrawi speaks during a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on Wednesday, a day after Israelis went to the polss to elect a new leader.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A former television news anchor whose new centrist party stormed to second place in Israel's election may well be the kingmaker holding the keys to the next coalition government. The Yesh Atid (There's a Future) party led by Yair Lapid, 49, landed 19 seats in parliament in...

A surprisingly strong showing by centrists in Israel's national election tempered a narrow majority won by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain's government said on Wednesday talks aimed at breaking nearly two years of political deadlock would proceed after opposition groups seeking a parliamentary democracy accepted an invitation from the king. Bahrain is a key ally of Washington in a stand-off with Iran since it provides a base...

Netanyahu makes coalition overture to centrists who gained with campaign on economic issues and opposition to privileges of the ultra-Orthodox

You know what happens when Obama went behind the screen?...

A surprisingly strong showing by centrists in Israel's national election tempered a narrow majority won by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party. Netanyahu's right-wing Likud Beitenu won between 31 and 33 Knesset seats in the Israel election, TV exit polls reported, the most, as expected. Jewish Home, an extreme right party...

Even before the World Conference on International Telecommunications took place last month in Dubai, Internet activists anticipated trouble. So did Congress, which issued a resolution calling it “essential” that the Internet remain “stable, secure and free from governmental control.”

Iran may consider buying water from Tajikistan and other neighbors to address shortages, the Iranian Students News Agency said today, citing an official in parliament.

>* Israel elections reduce risk of Iran strike, analysts say* US to extend debt limit by 4 months, defusing default fear* Coming Up: API weekly oil inventories; 2130 GMT (Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)By Ron Bousso and Simon FalushLONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil held steady above...

>Speaking at his annual news conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mixed words of caution over isolating Iran or attacking it with a gentle nudge to Tehran over the inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency."Attempts to prepare and implement strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and on its infrastructure...

>"When I was in Egypt ... it was suggested that the next meeting be held in Cairo," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by ISNA on Wednesday. "This issue was welcomed by our dear friends in Egypt and Egypt will consult with the P5+1 for hosting this...