News Archive - 17 February 2013

>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. film and television writers gave their top two movie awards on Sunday to "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Argo" in the final Hollywood guild awards show before next week's Oscars. Writer Mark Boal won the Writers Guild of America award for Best Original Screenplay for...

>* Saudi oil exports fall for third month in December* Major powers offer to ease gold sanctions on Iran* N. Korea prepares for more nuclear testsBy Florence TanSINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose slightly to hold close to $118 a barrel on Monday after slipping at the end...

SINGAPORE, Feb 18 – Gold rebounded from a six-month low on Monday as bargain hunters resurfaced, and dealers expected buying from jewellers in Asia to pick up as markets reopen in China after the Lunar New Year holiday. Gold rose US$6.05 (RM18.71) an ounce to US$1,615.11 by...

>PARIS (Reuters) - Four U.S. congressmen met an Iranian dissident leader on Sunday and urged President Barack Obama to treat her group as an alternative to Tehran's government, four months after its removal from a list of terrorist organizations. The bipartisan group pressed Obama to talk to the Paris-based...

>A congressional delegation led by Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the Republican-controlled House subcommittee on Europe, said that the Obama administration should not have backed the movement of members of Iranian dissident group Mujahadin-e-Khalq, or MEK, to a place where they would not be safe.At least five people were killed...

>"We will have a vote when we get back, and I am confident that Senator Hagel will probably have the votes necessary to be confirmed as the secretary of defense," Arizona Senator John McCain, who has led the opposition against his former Republican colleague, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

>DUBAI (Reuters) - Days before his overthrow, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak received a senior visitor from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of several Gulf monarchies long supportive of the most Arab populous country and its veteran strongman. What transpired between Mubarak and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan...

>The official Bahrain News Agency reported the minister, Shaikh Rashed bin Abdullah al Khalifa, as saying the eight had received training in weapons and explosives and also obtained funding from outside Bahrain.News of the arrests came after two people were killed on Thursday on the second anniversary of an...

>* Latest in long list of critical hits for Romania* Movies from Chile, Bosnia, Iran, U.S. also win in BerlinBy Mike Collett-WhiteBERLIN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Romania claimed another major scalp on the European film festival circuit this weekend when "Child's Pose" won the Golden Bear in Berlin, underlining...

>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Several car bombs exploded in Shi'ite Muslim neighborhoods across Iraq's capital Baghdad on Sunday morning, killing at least 26 people in blasts that tore into shops, restaurants and busy commercial streets. No-one claimed responsibility for the attacks but Sunni Muslim insurgents have stepped up their operations since...

>The Islamic republic, which insists its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, started building the plant inside a mountain in secret as early as 2006, to protect it from air strikes.Last week, Reuters reported world powers were planning to offer to ease sanctions barring trade in gold and other precious...

The latest DreamWorks movie, 'The Croods' was well-received at the Berlin Film Fest this month. LOS ANGELES: She landed the part by lying about her age: Quvenzhane Wallis was five, and the filmmakers were only auditioning girls at least six years old.

Suspected Mossad agent Ben Zygier was arrested by his own spymasters after they believed he told Australia's domestic intelligence agency about every aspect of his work with the Israelis, sources say.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has condemned as “meddlesome and baseless” the recent allegations by the French defense minister about Iran’s nuclear energy activities.

The France-based National Council of Resistance of Iran welcomed the four-person delegation to the talks, which focused on the February 9 attack on Camp Liberty , which houses many members of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq , or MEK, the armed wing of the group.

The scale of money laundering in Nepal is unknown. But given the porous border with India and widespread corruption, extortion and smuggling, Nepal is understandably a fertile ground for money laundering.

West Texas crude falls for 2nd straight day Houston Chronicle Copyright 2013 Houston Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 9:23 pm, Sunday, February 17, 2013 Data from the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production unexpectedly shrank in January. "Even with Iran...

The killing of a senior Iranian commander west of Damascus highlights Tehran’s military involvement in the Syrian civil war. Gen. Hassan Shateri was gunned down last Monday while driving south to Lebanon after a week of “consultations” with Syria’s military leaders. But official confirmation of his death only...

Quetta (Dawn/ANN) - A suicide-bomb targeting Shia Hazaras in a busy market in Pakistan's restive southwest killed 84 people including women and children and wounded 200 others, officials said Sunday.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Al-Qaeda's front group in Iraq has claimed a wave of bombings targeting Shiite areas of Baghdad that killed at least 21 people, in the latest violence to hit Iraq as it struggles with protests and a political crisis.

OU's International Advisory Committee held the first Mr. and Miss International OU Pageant on Saturday in Oklahoma Memorial Union's Meacham Auditorium.

Iran's Supreme Leader says Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, and backs the elimination of them.

Romanian director Calin Peter Netzer has won the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear for best motion picture.

A bomb targeting Shiite Muslims in a busy market in Pakistan's insurgency-hit southwest killed 79 people.

They don't call him Chief for nothing: Eric Church is the top nominee at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards.

Major oil industry executives gather in Nigeria's capital for an annual conference this week with Africa's largest crude producer under pressure over reports alleging large-scale corruption and mismanagement.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -- Republican opponents of former Sen. Chuck Hagel's stalled bid to become defense secretary said Sunday that they'll probably allow his Senate confirmation vote to proceed unless material more damaging to the nominee - and, by extension, the Obama administration - surfaces in the coming...

"The US is steadily climbing up the ladder in terms of consumption of high-value speciality tea. There is evidence that they like to drink hot tea as is the case in most mature tea drinking nations. We will explore retail chains and boutiques there," he said.

"We will have a vote when we get back" from this week’s break for the Presidents Day holiday, the Arizona Republican said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" program. "I’m confident Senator Hagel will probably have the votes necessary."

Buddha statues have joined Barbie dolls and characters from "The Simpsons" TV cartoon as banned items in the conservative Muslim nation.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Feb. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Turkey's number one jewellery show organised by UBM Rotaforte( http://www.ubmrotaforte.com ), Istanbul Jewelry Show( http://www.istanbuljewelryshow.com ), ...

A team of US Congressmen met with the Iranian dissident group MEK in Paris on Sunday and threatened to declare Iraq's prime minister a sponsor of terrorism after a deadly attack on an Iranian exile camp there.

Chilean actress Paulina Garcia for Gloria receives the Silver Bear for Best Actress for the film "Gloria" after the awards ceremony of the 63rd Berlinale Film Festival, in Berlin on Saturday.

Manama, Feb 18 (IANS/WAM) Bahraini security forces, in cooperation with a neighbouring country, has managed to bust a terrorist cell and arrest its eight members.

"Ahmadinejad's personal representative in Lebanon."

Britain is selling millions of pounds worth of small arms and ammunition to Sri Lanka despite the country’s dire human rights record, The Independent can disclose. Related Stories Paul Mason interview: on Europe's recession, Golden Dawn, and what follows the Arab Spring

Investing.com - New York-traded crude oil futures came under heavy selling pressure on Friday, as concerns over the global economic outlook and some profit-taking ahead of the long holiday

>By Jack Kim and Louis CharbonneauSEOUL/UNITED NATIONS Feb 16 (Reuters) - Kim Kwang-jin says that when he worked for North Korea's state insurance company in Singapore in 2003, he stuffed $20 million into two suitcases one day and sent it to Pyongyang as a special gift for then leader Kim...

Astronaut's from NASA and its international affiliate programs took awe-inspiring photos of Earth from outer space.

Their billboards tower over the streets of Hollywood, their broadcast spots clog the commercial breaks between primetime TV shows, and their print advertisements fill the pages of almost every Los Angeles-based publication.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has welcomed Kuwait’s proposal for setting up a USD2-billion fund to fight poverty in Asia.

A key U.S. lawmaker is predicting eventual Senate confirmation of President Barack Obama’s pick for defense secretary, Chuck Hagel. Last week, Senate Republicans successfully blocked a confirmation vote on a former colleague, one-time Republican senator Hagel. With Congress in recess this week, Hagel’s nomination remains in limbo. But Republican...

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obamaand#8217;s pick to be defense secretary is unsuited to head the Pentagon, but Republican senators should stop stalling the nomination and allow a vote on Chuck Hagel, a leading opponent said Sunday.

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least two Hezbollah guerrillas and five Syrian rebels have been killed in fighting in Syria on the border with Lebanon, Lebanese residents and Syrian opposition sources said on Sunday.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — President Rafael Correa, a dynamic leftist who has championed Ecuador's lower classes with generous social spending but faced wide rebuke as intolerant of dissent, coasted to a second re-election on Sunday. Correa won 56.7 percent of the vote against 24 percent for his closest challenger,...

Angry Pakistani Shiites considered launching protests against the government after a bombing killed at least 81 people.

Iran's supreme leader is supposed to be many things in the eyes of his followers: Spiritual mentor, protector of the Islamic Revolution, a moral compass above the regular fray. Political referee is not among them.

Can Wrestling Fight for Its Olympic Survival?

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office is asking the public to choose an official logo for next month's state visit of US President Barack Obama by voting for one of three proposed designs on Facebook.

White House has stressed issues with bill in its current form.

Talks already on ties in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear areas

Senior Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi spurned world powers’ latest offer to shut down the Fordo plant which refines uranium to 20 percent purity in return for easing the sanctions barring gold and precious metals trade with Iran. “The suggestion is meant to help the Zionist regime,” he said.

North Sea oil sees production constraints. Supply issues elsewhere seen supportive for higher oil (and gasoline) prices in the weeks ahead.

Students at Gilmer High School recently competed at Model United Nations.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Car bombs tore through shopping areas within minutes of each other in mainly Shiite neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital on Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding more than 10...

A high-ranking delegation from Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, is to pay an official visit to Iran to explore the expansion of Moscow-Tehran ties.

A trainee hairdresser has won £20,500 compensation after claiming her manager offered her £10,000 to sleep with him and deliberately dropped his comb to watch her pick it up.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reprimanded the nation’s president and his political rival for starting a battle in the public eye, stating again the need to preserve a united front to fight western sanctions.

 America claims to be dedicated to stopping the spread of nuclear weaponry and Senators McCain, Lieberman and Graham have something to say about Iran’s alleged program almost every day. Interestingly however, nobody ever says anything about Israel, who we know has more than 200 nuclear warheads. Now why is that?...

ABU DHABI , Feb 17 (Reuters) - France's senior defenceindustry lobbyist said on Sunday he was confident the UnitedArab Emirates would buy Rafale fighter jets by 2015-2016, as thedefence minister in Paris said talks on a deal had resumed. In January, a diplomatic source told Reuters that France washopeful of...

Pat Whitcomb wrestled against the Russians several times.

The governor of Pakistan's Balochistan province denounces intelligence failures as the death toll in a sectarian bombing in Quetta rises to 81.

Many of those wounded in a bombing in Pakistan's south are dying from their injuries.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — President Rafael Correa, a dynamic but polemical leftist who has spent heavily on the poor, confidently celebrated his second re-election Sunday even before the first official results were announced.

Movies Opening This Week Dark Skies See Steven Rea's preview on H2. 56 Up See Steven Rea's preview on H2.

PULLMAN – E.J. Singler, long known as a winner on the basketball court, took it upon himself to make certain he officially became the biggest winner in Oregon Ducks history.

Iran's official news agency says the country's navy plans to establish a new base near Pakistan's border in the Sea of Oman.

ISRAEL has defended its actions in the case of the Australian citizen who died in its custody, rejecting allegations that he was tortured and committing to releasing a judge's report into his death in the coming days.

Marvin Schlenker, 85, an Emmy Award-winning TV news and sports director, has died. Mr. Schlenker, a resident of Chestertown, Md., died Jan. 16 while on vacation in Florida.