News Archive - 28 August 2013

>(Reuters) - After Secretary of State John Kerry's speech about Syria's chemical warfare on Monday, it's clear that the U.S. is going to attack Syria. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says U.S. forces are "ready to go." Envoys are telling rebels that Western forces "could attack Syria within...

>* Tax reduction aimed at narrowing current account deficit* India iron ore exports seen at 20 mln T with tax cut* Volume may spike if mining bans in Goa, Karnataka scrappedBy Manolo Serapio Jr and Krishna N DasSINGAPORE/NEW DELHI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - India's potential tax cut on iron ore...

>By Anthony Deutsch and Khaled Yacoub OweisAMSTERDAM/AMMAN Aug 28 (Reuters) - Syria, defeated by Israel in three wars and afraid its arch enemy had gained a nuclear arsenal, began in earnest to build a covert chemical weapons programme three decades ago, aided by its neighbours, allies and European chemical wholesalers.

>VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has installed about 1,000 advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges and is set to test them, a U.N. nuclear report showed, a development likely to worry Western powers hoping for a change of course under the country's new president. The International Atomic Energy Agency's quarterly report -...

Tehran, Aug 28 (AP) Iran's parliament has given preliminary approval to a bill requiring the government to sue the US for its involvement in the 1953 coup that overthrew the country's democratically elected prime minister.

>After supporting Arab uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 as examples of what Khamenei called an "Islamic awakening", Tehran has steadfastly supported the secular President Bashar al-Assad, its main strategic ally in the Middle East, against a two-and-a-half-year-long rebellion."The intervention of supra-regional and foreign powers...

>BEIJING (Reuters) - The worsening Syria conflict has exposed an uncomfortable truth behind China's cherished policy of non-interference: Beijing cannot do much to influence events even if it wanted to. With weak and untested military forces unable to project power in the Middle East, China can only play a low-key...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It's a truism often repeated in the Pentagon and across the U.S. security establishment: In war, the enemy gets a vote.        

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Obama administration termed Syria's call for extended nerve-gas inspections a delaying ploy and said more U.N. talk about a military strike was pointless.

The rupee opened sharply higher by 190 paise at 66.90 per dollar on fresh selling of US dollar by exporters and fresh measures announced by RBI to check the rupee's free fall. The domest...

SYDNEY, August 29, 2013 (AFP) - Five men from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been arrested and accused of facilitating the passage of up to 132 asylum-seekers boats in Australia's largest-ever people-smuggling sting, police said Thursday.

Iran-born, metro Detroit-raised Sam Logan Khaleghi, 29, began working on the Michigan-made'Approaching Midnight' in 2006 just as his first feature, 'Love Is a Thieves' Game,' was wrapping production.

WA capital may be the ninth most liveable city, but one thing is holding us back...

Barack Obama's foreign policy dream — cordial relations with a Middle East tranquilized by "smart diplomacy" — is...

By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If the United States attacks Syria, it will be the first time it strikes a country that is capable of waging retaliatory cyberspace attacks on American targets. The risk is heightened by Syria's alliance with Iran, which has built up its cyber capability...

While everyone else was distracted by Miley doing the dirty at the VMAs, Syrian civilians suffered a totally different kind of dirty — chemical weapons.

By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude slipped below $116 a barrel on Thursday, taking a breather after clocking its strongest 2-day gain since January 2012 over fears of oil-supply disruptions in the Middle East as western nations prepared to get involved in the Syrian conflict. The West is...

David Cole Having warned Syria’s Bashar al-Assad in August 2012 that the use of chemical weapons on his own people was a “red line” that would compel the United States to respond with force, President Barack Obama now apparently feels the need to follow through on his threat. In preparation,...

Chalk one up for Twitter Inc.

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made the case on Wednesday for a limited military strike against Syria in response to last week's chemical weapons attack even as he faced new obstacles with British allies and U.S. lawmakers that could delay any imminent action. Casting the need for intervention...

>* Brent jumps more than 5 pct in two sessions* Cushing oil stocks continue to fall -U.S. EIA* Lybian output drops, supporting Brent priceBy Jeanine PreziosoNEW YORK, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose on Wednesday to hit a six-month high in the biggest two-day rally since January 2012...

Oman and Marshall Islands ink deal on seafarers' certificates

Municipality faces shortfall of workers

(menafn – ecpulse) United Kingdom`s economy unexpectedly picked up in the three months through June, accelerating the pace of growth seen a quarter before, preliminary data from the Office for ...

(menafn – ecpulse) The U.S local stock market closed in green territories and watched the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rebounding from an eight-week low, as energy shares rallied and ...

The impending attack on Syria could put paid to India’s hopes of containing its current account deficit anytime soon, particularly at a time when the rupee is in free fall against the dollar.

(MENAFN - AFP) New York's financial regulator is investigating insurer Lloyds of London for suspected violations of US sanctions forbidding dealings with Iran, a source told AFP Wednesday.The ...

Sydney, Aug. 28 : The city of Melbourne has stood still at its global top position for being the 'most liveable city' for the third time in a row pushing down Austrian capital Vienna to number two position.

(MENAFN - AFP) Australian flag carrier Qantas bounced back into the black Thursday, posting an annual net profit of Aus$5 million (US4.5 million), up from an historic Aus$245 million loss the ...

The US is planning for a possible wave of cyber attacks against companies by hackers connected to Syria or Iran.        

Investors fearing the impact of an attack on Syria ought to start worrying instead about things they can predict and control.

On the 25th anniversary of the 1988 “prison massacre” in Iran, Jafar Behkish -- who had seven relatives killed -- talks to Amnesty International about his fight for justice. August 28, 2013 International The last time Jafar Behkish saw his brothers, Mahmud and Mohammad Ali, both political activists imprisoned in...

A series of raids nationwide by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has netted several key people suspected of involvement in people smuggling in Australia and overseas.

United States intelligence services overheard a Syrian official in ''panicked phone calls with the leader of a chemical weapons unit'' after last week's alleged chemical attack, Foreign Policy magazine has reported.        

Each day brings with it the increasing likelihood that the US is prepared to launch an attack on Syria.        

It’s the coolest summer in a century, or at least the government is reporting the fewest number of 100 degree days at U.S. HCN (Historical Climatology Network) stations. Yet I’m sure that somewhere someone is arguing that this is a result of man-made global warming–or, er, climate change.

How do markets (US equities, Gold, Crude Oil, and the USD) react around US military conflicts...? Citi shows what happened before-and-after the Gulf War, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya... and why Syria is arguably more complex than these previous conflicts ... (click image for large legible version)   Via Citi, S&P:...

WASHINGTON, August 29, 2013 (AFP) - President Barack Obama said Wednesday he had not yet decided whether to strike Syria, but expectations of US military action hardened when Washington said a bid for a last-minute UN mandate was futile.

Submitted by Michael Snyder of The Economic Collapse blog , While most of the country is obsessing over Miley Cyrus , the Obama administration is preparing a military attack against Syria which has the potential of starting World War 3.  In fact, it is being reported that cruise missile...

There is a very big difference between punishing and changing the regime in official and legal parlance.

People in Damascus stocked up on supplies last night and some left homes close to potential targets as US officials sketched out plans for multi-national air strikes on Syria that could last for days.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is defending the Justice Department's lawsuit over Texas' voter ID law and says his administration will use tools available through the Voting Rights Act to keep jurisdictions from enacting laws that have the effect of preventing people from voting.

Tehran, Aug 29 (IANS) Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Wednesday warned of "disastrous" consequences of a possible US attack on Syria, saying that it will be a "catastrophe" for the region, media reported.

The Obama administration?s preparations on Syria this week raise many thorny questions about the risks associated with launching a punitive strike against Bashar Assad?s regime over the alleged use of… Click to Continue »

By Amy Hubbard Los Angeles Times It’s official. Colonel Meow has been awarded the Guinness World Record for cat with the longest fur — it averages 9 inches long. It’s a story that combines good genes with a lot of …

WASHINGTON (AP) The United States is repeating its call for Tehran to help three Americans Robert Levinson, Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini return to their families after lengthy detentions in Iran.The State Department said in...

The US has ruled out a bid for UN Security Council action over chemical weapons attacks in Syria.        

An intervention by the United States in Syria would test Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, who condemned the use of chemical weapons but stopped short of blaming either side.

A different red line President Obama could draw.        

Gulf stock markets stabilized by the close Wednesday after plunging in early trade on the prospect of an escalation of Syria’s civil war, as the U.S. threatened a military strike on Damascus over the use of chemical weapons.

A brake hass been put on British involvement in an immediate military strike against Syria after Labour broke ranks with David Cameron ahead of tomorrow night’s crucial Commons vote.        

Fears of a possible U.S. strike against Syria's regime over an alleged chemical weapons attack rippled across the region Wednesday, as about 6,000 Syrians fled to neighboring Lebanon in a 24-hour period and Israelis scrambled for gas masks in case Damascus retaliates against them.

It’s become clear that the United States is preparing to launch a military strike on Syria, and it’s evident that President Obama feels he has little choice but to do so. The president drew a “red line” last August in warning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to use chemical weapons...

Syrians hunkered down Wednesday in anticipation of multi-national airstrikes, but signs emerged of a possible delay in the move to strike, over the issue of a U.N. report on chemical arms use in the country.

* U.S. officials say strikes could last days * UN team on second sampling visit after poison gas attack * UN's Ban says inspectors must be given time to work * Russia, China, Iran warn of risks of wider war (Adds Merkel and Cameron call, Boehner comment) By Oliver...

LONDON: New York oil hit the highest level for more than two years on Wednesday, with concerns about Middle East supplies intensifying as Western powers prepare for possible military action against Syria.

Latest VideoAugust 28th, 2013     Funny kids of children program of Tabriz TV Funny kids of children program of Tabriz TV .  ...

Hugh Eakin While the dramatic images of refugees pouring into Northern Iraq are new, Northern Iraq’s troubled relations with Syria—and Syria’s Kurds—are not. As I discovered during a trip to Northern Iraq earlier this month, the war in Syria has lately been anything but a boon to the region. The...

US officials have revealed plans for multi-national strikes on Syria that could last for days.        

By Ayman Samir and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab League ministers will pass a resolution blaming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for last week's chemical weapons attack in Damascus when they meet in Cairo next week, League officials said on Wednesday. The states' permanent representatives at the League had already...

The Mideast carrier's agreement with JetBlue permits the two to sell seats on each other's flights

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and signalled their shared opposition to military intervention in Syria war, the Kremlin said after the leaders spoke by phone.

With Syria apparently having apparently crossed President Obama's red line, U.S. military action in the country has become more likely. One effect is a hike in crude prices and the increased desirability of Foolish attention to exploration and production companies.        

The Middle East has reached the point where it’s about to boil over yet again. If America is drawn into the crisis, the concern is that the crisis could spread further, which would wreak havoc on our own economy.        

There are a handful of key players and opposing forces on the international stage carefully crafting their next move as world leaders play their hand in Syria’s crisis.

>The secret service (SSS) arrested Abdullahi Mustapha Berende and Saheed Oluremi Adewumi, plus one other Nigerian, in February. It accused them of being members of a "high profile terrorist network" that was planning attacks on home soil.The alleged cell was not named in the charge sheet. Iran has never...

Latest VideoAugust 28th, 2013     FM Zarif talk about his friendship with Joe Biden and negotiation with Sultan of Oman in Tehran During a talk show on Iranian TV , the new foreign minister Javad Zarif talk about his relation with American personnalities and specially US vice president Joe Biden .

When it comes to reports of civilian deaths from chemical weapons in opposition-occupied Syrian towns, the Obama White House suddenly claims to be as certain of its own intelligence as the Bush White House was about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction in October 2002. But it is much easier to...

By Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council was set for a showdown over Syria on Wednesday as Britain sought authorisation for Western military action that Russia called premature and seemed certain to block. U.N. chemical weapons experts investigating a gas attack that...

3 Big Beneficiaries of the Flight to Quality

Political cogs are set in motion to prepare governments for possible military action in Syria, ahead of what is set to be a confrontational UN Security Council meeting.

The FTSE 100 is down for the second day running as the prospect of military strikes against Syria rattles investors.

Oil is hitting a 2 1/2-year high. Yet Exxon Mobil is down this month. The price of oil has skyrocketed to nearly $110 per barrel in the past two months. That’s an increase of 14%. But investors may be surprised … Continue reading →

A co-ordinated wave of bombings tore through Shiite Muslim areas in and around the Iraqi capital early Wednesday, killing at least 58 and wounding many more.

Islamabad, Aug.28 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Special Advisor on Foreign and Security Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Wednesday said that Islamabad has been successful in removing many of the misconceptions that existed in the mind of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai with regard to the former's role in extending...

>The International Atomic Energy Agency's quarterly report - the first since relative moderate Hassan Rouhani won Iran's June presidential election - said Iran has installed about 1,000 advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges and is set to test them."This IAEA report makes clear that Iran continues to rapidly expand its nuclear...

August 28, 2013 9:51 PM VIENNA (AFP) - Iran has installed hundreds more centrifuges that could enable it to enrich uranium faster since May, a UN atomic watchdog report showed on Wednesday, as long-stalled talks were due to resume.        

Russia, China and Iran are Syrian President Bashar Assad's closest allies. The reasons for their support of his government vary, ranging from trade and strategy to a fear of instability if Assad is toppled.

U.S. government officials concede that a barrage of cruise missiles against Syria could result in collateral civilian deaths, possibly exceeding the numbers allegedly killed by chemical weapons.

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Few things about life in the streets of Damascus give away the sense that a countdown has begun for a NATO-led strike against Syria. Shops are open late into the evening hours and young couples stroll the streets. At the supermarket, there are no signs of people...

Britain, the US and France helped "terrorists" use chemical weapons in Damascus, says Syria's deputy foreign minister.

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese state media warned the West against strikes on Syria Thursday as momentum mounted for President Bashar al-Assad's regime to be punished over an alleged chemical weapons attack.

Alfonso Cuaron's 'Gravity' (Sandra Bullock, George Clooney), Jason Reitman's 'Labor Day' (Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin) will screen. A man adrift at sea. A woman adrift in space. And a young girl all by herself in the desert.

>The meeting will be held in Vienna, a spokeswoman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. It would be the 11th round of discussions between the two sides since early 2012, so far without any result.The talks will be scrutinized by the West for any sign of increased...

>Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said the reports were "ridiculous," Press TV said.Some financial market participants on Wednesday were citing reports in Middle East outlets that Assad had left Syria for Iran.(Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Janet Lawrence/Jeremy Gaunt) World Tweet this Link this Share this...

Latest VideoAugust 28th, 2013     Ali Larijani and FM Zarif : War with Syria , will be not limited to Syrian borders During an open cession of Majlis on Wednesday 28 August , the speaker of Ali Larijani warned West  to worry about Israel if a military action is realized...

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — U.N. chemical weapons experts who are investigating an alleged poison gas attack near Damascus left their hotel Wednesday, and two anti-regime activists said the team was expected to visit an eastern suburb of the capital affected by the strike.

Any military intervention by the US in Syria will spell disaster'' for the region, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned. The US in...

David Cameron will hold war talks at Downing Street today as military commanders draw up plans for missile strikes against Syria.

Questions still remain in the minds of both citizens and public officials as the U.S and its allies are supposedly only days away from launching cruise missiles at Syria. Those aware and close to the issue on Purdue's campus are taking different positions.

One black-owned business said it was experiencing economic hardship in part because it had...

The growing likelihood of Western military action against Syria pummeled global stock markets Wednesday and sent the price of oil soaring. India's rupee, already under pressure from the country's deteriorating ...