News Archive - 30 June 2013

>* Edward Snowden's decision to go to Russia is looking riskier than it first appeared, and may have left him in a worse situation than if he had stayed in Hong Kong. ()* Even as gay-rights advocates in California spent the weekend celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing...

>Citing a copy of the letter, the newspaper said Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, had written to the reinsurance firms asking for details about their business with people or entities linked to Iran after finding evidence that at least three firms insured shipments to Iran.

>* Fed may scale back bond-buying programme in Sept policy meeting* Coming up: Euro zone Markit Mfg PMI for June; 0758 GMT (Updates prices)By Florence TanSINGAPORE, July 1 (Reuters) - Brent crude slipped below $102 a barrel on Monday as weak data from China reinforced concerns of slower growth in...

Moderate president-elect Hassan Rowhani said Saturday his victory opened a new path for Iran to engage constructively with the international community and ease tensions raised by Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Latest VideoJune 30th, 2013     Islamic Republic war ships in Russian waters A group of Iranian navy visited the Russian port of Astrakhan and its fleet which is in charge of Caspian Sea .

>AMMAN (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's forces pounded Sunni Muslim rebels in the city of Homs with artillery and from the air on Sunday, the second day of their offensive in central Syria, activists said. They said rebels defending the old center of Homs and five adjacent Sunni districts had...

>A further 24 people were wounded in the blast in the town of Nahrawan, south of the capital Baghdad.The violence is part of a trend of increasing militant attacks since the start of the year, which claimed more than 1,000 lives in May alone, making it the deadliest month...

Latest VideoJune 30th, 2013     Five Slovaks arrested and charged with spying in Iran The head of commission for national security and foreign relation confirm that 5 to 6 Slovaks are arrested and charged with spying in Iran .

>VIENNA (Reuters) - The top U.S. energy official said he believed the oil market could cope with any further reduction of Iran's oil exports from the tightening of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program. U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz also said on Sunday he expected a "fair...

Latest VideoJune 30th, 2013     Impressive motocycle competition in Germany Impressive motorcycle competition in Germany .

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - An Iranian semi-official news agency is reporting the country has confirmed it is detaining an unspecified number of Slovak nationals, saying they have broken the law.

Latest VideoJune 30th, 2013     Sarcasm and denial of increase of revenue of oil export in Ahmadinejad speech in Zanjan ! During inaugural of several projects in the town of Zanjan on Saturday 8 June  , Ahmadinejad compared with ceremonies held for building  100 flats project  in past government with inauguration...

By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Five days from Iran's presidential election, these are nervy times for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who as only the second Supreme Leader in the Islamic Republic's 34-year history answers to God and not voters. The Shi'ite cleric was bruised by the protests that exploded after...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's president-elect believes it's possible to strike a deal that would allow the Islamic Republic to keep enriching uranium while assuring the West it will not produce a nuclear weapon.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has met his newly elected successor Hasan Rowhani.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's official news agency says a criminal court has summoned outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over a lawsuit filed by the country's parliament speaker and others.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Traders in Iran say the country's currency has briefly reached its strongest level in nearly 10 months, reflecting hopes that Iran's newly elected president might ease tensions with the West.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's supreme leader said a solution to the nuclear impasse with the West would be "easy" if the United States and its allies are serious about seeking a deal, Iranian media reported Thursday.

TEHRAN, Iran : Iran burned at least 100 tons of illicit drugs Wednesday, some in a Tehran ceremony attended by officials and foreign dignitaries, to highlight what it says are its unsupported efforts to stem the flow of narcotics across its territory to Europe.

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a major offensive on Saturday against rebels in Homs, a centre of the two-year-old uprising, in their latest drive to secure an axis connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean. Activists said jets and mortars had pounded rebel-held areas of the city that...