News Archive - 29 August 2013

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice is facing her first key test as President Barack Obama's national security adviser as she helps lead a White House effort to convince a skeptical Congress that the United States must respond to Syria's apparent use of chemical weapons. Rice has made an abrupt transition...

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Obama administration officials have contacted energy experts in recent days to discuss oil market conditions as the president weighs a military strike against Syria, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. There are no signs the government is preparing to tap emergency oil reserves soon in a...

>KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia Aug 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have shelved their project to develop the Dorra offshore gas field after disagreeing over how to share the gas back on land, a senior Kuwaiti energy source said. Dorra has long been a bone of contention between Kuwait and...

>Shi'ite Muslim Iran, an arch-enemy of Israel, is supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against mainly Sunni Muslim rebels trying to oust him in a two-and-a-half-year-old revolt.Iran has blamed the rebels for a suspected chemical weapons on Aug. 21 that killed hundreds of civilians. Opposition activists blame Assad's forces, Washington...

>President Barack Obama has made a case for a limited military strike against Syria in response to last week's alleged chemical weapons attack, but any action could be slowed by the presence of U.N. weapons inspectors near Damascus and the need to ease divisions in Britain and among U.

>* Unlikely any Syria attack would cut Middle East oil output -analysts* Libya oil output drops to 250,000 bpd from 1.6 mln bpd pre-war* Coming up: U.S. GDP estimate, jobless claims; 1230 GMT (Updates throughout, changes dateline, previous SINGAPORE)By Christopher JohnsonLONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil...

>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 in the past...

The U.S. government has concluded that nearly half of Iran's monthly earnings from crude oil exports are accumulating in accounts outside the country because of sanctions that restrict Tehran's access to the money.The estimates,...

Not content to slowly exterminate his opposition and continue the massive depopulation of his country, Syrian President Bashar Assad apparently felt compelled to launch a blatant chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds, if not thousands.

NORTH — Second District Congressman Joe Wilson says President Barack Obama and his administration have already “made mistakes” handling Syria and other crises in the Middle East.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the United States will continue to seek an international coalition in response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons, despite opposition to any military action by British lawmakers. "Our approach is to continue to find an international coalition that will act together," Hagel...

Having leaked to the world, and thus to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a detailed briefing of the coming U.S. air attack on Syria — (1) the source (offshore warships and perhaps a bomber or two), (2) the weapon (cruise missiles), (3) the duration (two or three days), (4) the...

TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Japan's crude oil imports from Iran in July rose 38.3 percent from a month earlier to 847,951 kilolitres, or 172,047 barrels per day, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) data showed on Friday. Japan imported no Iranian oil in July 2012 for the...

The government intends to develop the local gem and jewellery industry along with the tourist industry make them billion dollar industries, Minister of International Monetary Cooperation and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Sarath Amunugama said.

Experts said they are worried that cyber attacks will get worse if the U.S. attacks Syria.

The Assad dynasty significantly militarized Syria over the past few decades, thus providing the Obama administration a rich list of targets should it order punitive airstrikes against the regime. It could get personal, with as many as five Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean aiming cruise missiles at President Bashar ...

President Barack Obama may proceed with military action against Syria even without allied support, US officials have said.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.(WHNT)-A local international relations expert says the debate over whether or not the U.S. military should intervene in Syria...

U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats, according to the government's top secret budget.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The summary of the secret U.S. intelligence budget leaked by former contract analyst Edward Snowden shows Israel is a top U.S. target.

MEDIA reports say the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the American federal authority on energy statistics and analysis, has estimated fresh recoverable shale gas reserves of 105 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and more than nine billion barrels of oil in Pakistan.

A cyber attack on an American company has been blamed on the Syrian Electronic Army; the organization's capability to do harm may be getting more significant.

WASHINGTON – Concern appeared to be growing Thursday in Congress about the possibility of retaliating against Syria for its use of chemical weapons – and no one was more concerned than the two House members who represent the Buffalo metro area.

Rarely, if ever, has so much been on the line at a single Olympic meeting. When International Olympic Committee members gather next week in Buenos Aires, Argentina, they will be faced with three decisions that will shape the direction of the Olympic movement for the next decade.

NAHARIYA, Israel - In northern Israel, wounded Syrians are finding a strange sanctuary. Just a few miles from the Golan Heights, doctors have treated more than 70 patients from Israel’s arch-enemy Syria so far this summer.

Think the United States is faring badly in the Middle East? Convinced that our policy is chaotic, confused and contradictory, from North Africa to the Persian Gulf?

Traders close the books Friday on the worst month for the Dow and S&P 500 in more than a year, and are likely to be cautious ahead of the long Labor Day weekend.

The president has previously said there would be consequences if Syria crosses the “red line” of chemical warfare. His reputation – and U.S. standing in the world – will suffer if that turns out to be an empty threat.

Congressional leaders Thursday night appeared ready to back at least a limited U.S. military strike on the Syrian government following a private telephone briefing with White House officials. Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and National Security Advisor Susan Rice as well as Director of...

LET US all be frank. Global geopolitics is in tatters. The world has rarely seen such bloodshed, inhumanity, violence and slaughter since the American civil war, first world war, second world war, Chinese civil war, partition of India and Pakistan, Vietnam War, Korean War, Iran-Iraq War, Balkan wars, global war...

After the fest was nixed for the second year in a row, Caijing printed a tongue-in-cheek obit for indie cinema. read more        

The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq led to nearly 10 years of occupation, nearly 5,000 deaths among the U.S. military and the few allies that joined "Operation Iraqi Freedom," a visceral sectarian-based insurgency and the meddling of neighbors all seeking to influence post-Saddam Iraq. What was intended...

Rep. Chris Van Hollen says U.S. experience in Iraq provides three lessons that should guide response to Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons

The United States may have to take unilateral action against Syria, a senior U.S. official said. FULL STORY

Lawmakers from both parties on Thursday evening said President Barack Obama had more work to do to sell a skeptical Congress and war-weary American public on the wisdom of U.S. military intervention in Syria. Following a 90-minute briefing for lawmakers featuring top administrat …

UNANTICIPATED: Malaysia's diplomatic machinery had to expand quickly in the face of Konfrontasi

CHESTERFIELD, MO (KTVI)– In the event of a U.S. attack on Syria, both Iran and Syria have threatened to retaliate...

Secret budget documents show that a U.S. military laboratory in Afghanistan analyzed DNA from Osama bin Laden's corpse and confirmed his identify shortly after he was killed by a Navy commando team.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest producer, will probably keep crude production steady in September at similar levels to this month and July, a person with knowledge of the kingdom’s oil policy said.

Governmetn defeated on Commons vote on Syria. Cameron says he will act accordingly. Latest updates.        

WASHINGTON — U.S. spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats, according to the government's top secret budget.        

A North Korean firing squad last week executed a former girlfriend of leader Kim Jong Un and 11 other entertainers for allegedly violating laws banning pornography, a South Korean newspaper reported Thursday.        

If WA capital is to remain on list of world's most liveable locations, we need to get this right...

Will strikes push oil prices to record highs?

Congressman Gregg Harper shares his concerns on a possible military strike against Syria.

>In an extraordinary series of disclosures this week, Obama administration officials said that the United States will launch only cruise missile strikes in Syria. The attacks will last roughly two or three days. And the administration's goal will be to punish President Bashar al-Assad, not remove him from power. But...

Latest VideoAugust 29th, 2013     Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani tell the story of falling on women while traveling with buses! Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani teach students of Marvi school .

Latest VideoAugust 29th, 2013     Tehran show its muscles and threat with its fleet of UAV Drone In a video published by an Iranian news agency , known as close to Islamic Republic military and well informed , without mentioning the name of US , it is claimed that Iran...

Here are five things to know about the situation in Syria.  

Consumer confidence fell for a third straight week to the lowest level in more than four months as Americans’ views on the economy, finances and spending soured.

It seems imminent that President Obama will authorize a strike against Syria in response to the regime's alleged use of chemical weapons on its own citizens outside Damascus. Approaching Congress for a vote on such authorization, however, does not seem to be in the cards. This stands in stark contrast...

Moscow, Aug 30 (IANS) Russia has dismantled and disposed the S-300 air defence missile systems originally intended to be delivered to Iran, the missile producer has said.

تهران – ایرنا – شمار کشته ها و زخمی های حملات تروریستی گروه های تکفیری به مناطق مختلف حلب در شمال غرب سوریه، به شش کشته و ۶۰ زخمی افزایش یافت.

Excluding Iran from the global oil market increased the shortfall between worldwide supply and demand, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

The country's top long jumpers stood out on an impressive night for the SA contingent competing at the Zurich Diamond League event.        

To start with, unlike Moammar Gadhafi's regime when the U.S. intervened in Libya in 2011, the Syrian government still has international allies. As the U.S. considers a strike on Syria, here's a look at some of the key differences between the two situations.

>As President Barack Obama weighs the U.S. response to chemical weapons attacks against Syrian civilians, one soft power option should still be at top of his to-do list: cutting off access to the U.S. financial system to those doing business with Syria's Bashar al-Assad. Russian banks and others...

Latest VideoAugust 29th, 2013     Self service bakery invented by Bousheheri man ! A self service  bakery invented by Boushehri man is able to prepare and deliver  2 kind of cooked Iranian bread without human assistance !      ...

The White House tried to fend off a mini press rebellion Thursday by decrying any comparisons between the rush to strike Syria with the lead-up to the Iraq war, which President Obama vigorously opposed and was especially critical of the intelligence claims used to justify the invasion.

The Israeli Cabinet on Aug. 28 authorized the Israel Defense Forces to call up a limited number of reserve soldiers ahead of a possible U.S.-led attack on Syria feared to occur as soon as the following day.

Self-proclaimed leader tells ABC News future attacks "may be more destructive."        

The CIA has mushroomed into the largest US spy agency with a nearly $15 billion budget as it expands intelligence, cyber sabotage and overseas covert operations, secret leaked documents showed Thursday.

August 12, 2013 -- On the heels of its 10th anniversary, The Pirate Bay launched a new browser on Monday to fight censorship and help users access blocked sites. Keep on reading: The Pirate Bay Helps Users Circumvent Censorship with New PirateBrowser

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - For more than a generation, Iranian papers have regularly posted the announcements: Another veteran from the 1980s war with Iraq has died of complications blamed on exposure to chemical weapons from Saddam Hussein's arsenal. Each one is buried with a hero's honors.

Melbourne made it three years in a row as the world's most livable city, according to the 2013 Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Global Livability Survey.

Daniela Hayoum arrived at a Tel Aviv post office at 7 a.m. and took a number. The line of people waiting for gas masks was long and Hayoum stepped away to run errands.

The Israel Postal Service, which is distributing the masks, announced on its website that the centers would extend their hours until evening “due to extraordinary demand.”

The United States asked Iran’s new president to free a Jewish American who has been detained there for six years.

The markets have reacted to the potential conflict in Syria, sending wholesale gasoline prices to a six-week high on August 27. "I would expect gasoline prices to go up this weekend from current levels," said Brian Youngberg, a senior energy analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

The “47 percent” of Americans that Mitt Romney famously said paid no income tax and wouldn’t vote for him no matter what during the 2012 election are now the 43 percent.

Today’s AM fix was USD 1,406.25, EUR 1,059.96 and GBP 906.79 per ounce. Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,425.50, EUR 1,066.03 and GBP 919.91 per ounce. Gold rose $0.20 or 0.014% yesterday, closing at $1,415.70/oz. Silver ceded some its previous gains...

Oil ETFs Jump on Syria Turmoil - ETF News And Commentary

By Robert D. Kaplan, Chief Geopolitical Analyst at Stratfor

The video, posted four days after an alleged chemical weapons attack, shows a father reuniting with his son who was presumed killed. 

"Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary of Mr. Hekmati'ss detention in Iran on false espionage charges," Kerry said in a statement.

A U.S. strike against Syria could have a ripple effect, according to U.S. foreign policy experts, who say Syria and other groups could try and retaliate for what they see as the attack on Assad's regime. Here are the five most likely repercussions of a U.S. military...

Driving an hour east or west of Orlando this week will open a whole new world of art for you. A couple of important exhibitions are on view in Tampa this week (with related follow-up programs through November). And, we have an annual holiday tradition opening next week in Daytona...

United Nations experts are investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria as the United States and allies prepare for the possibility of a punitive strike against President Bashar Assad's regime, blamed by the Syrian opposition for the attack. The international aid group Doctors Without Borders says at least...

A teenager has been arrested for the cold-blooded murder of a Clearwater man who was riding his bike near Crest Lake Park.

Iran's foreign ministry has appointed its first-ever spokeswoman, with President Hassan Rowhani appearing to welcome the move as part of a campaign to empower women, reports said Thursday.

Official Washington’s neocons are in full-throated war cry over Syria, creating what many of them surely hope is a momentum toward a U.S. intervention that cooler heads won’t be able to stop.

August 29, 2013 8:49 PM MOSCOW (AFP) - A top Russian weapons maker said on Thursday that the S-300 air defence missile systems made for Iran had been dismantled and disposed of following Western pressure to shelf the contract.        

The Panamanian government has said a cargo of weapons they seized aboard a ship from Cuba "without a doubt" violated a UN arms embargo against North Korea.        

The Washington-Moscow Hotline is not just a Cold War relic, but a system for top-level crisis communications that remains a useful tool for U.S. and Russian leaders at odds over their relations with Syria and Iran, a former director of the Soviet space exploration program says.

>* But geopolitical risk is not underlying reason* Region in many ways well prepared for Syria escalation* Might actually benefit from higher oil prices* Saudi CDS do not show big rise in geopolitical fearsBy Andrew TorchiaDUBAI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Wealthy Gulf Arab economies are probably not as vulnerable to...

Latest VideoAugust 29th, 2013     Persepolis satellite TV began to air funny films with no restriction on Hijab and Islamic dress code Persepolis FC lead by Revolutionary Guard officie Sardar Rouyanian began to air funny films without restriction on Hijab and consideration of Islamic dress code !...

America's aims in Syria are not what the government wants you to think. You can see the evidence in what action is being suggested. Jay Carney, the White House chief spokesman, yesterday categorically ruled out regime change as an objective.

President Barack Obama said that the US govt has concluded Bashar Assad's regime in Syria used chemical weapons against its own population, but he (Obama) had not made a decision on ordering a military strike.        

The former defense secretary, who led the Pentagon when the U.S. went to war with Iraq, is critical of how the current administration is handling the run-up to what are expected to be military strikes on targets in Syria.

Former defence secretaries have backed the decision to wait for a report from UN weapons inspectors before taking action against Syria. Tory Liam Fox said...

Expected Western strikes on Syria will target the military, intelligence services and possibly sites with symbolic regime links, but will not alter the balance of power in the country, experts say.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian Federal court charged two Nigerians with providing support for acts of terrorism by an Iranian militant cell.

IDG News Service - The website of a Syrian telecommunications provider redirected to AT&T's website and then T-Mobile's on Wednesday, an apparent prank by a hacker who has been probing the country's Internet infrastructure for several days.

>Hollande sounded a more cautious note than earlier in the week, when he said France stood ready to punish those behind the apparent poison gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians in Damascus.He indicated that France was looking to Gulf Arab countries to step up their military support to...

Britain launches bid for UN resolution on Syria as military prepares for strike against Assad regime - follow latest updates.        

Islamabad, Aug. 29 (ANI): Pakistan-Iran gas project would be completed within the stipulated time, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said.

Smoke rises from buildings due to heavy shelling in Daraa, Syria on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ugarit...

Following is an interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski for The National Interest Zbigniew Brzezinski is former White House national-security adviser under Jimmy Carter and now a counselor and trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a senior research professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns...

The rupee trimmed its initial gains but was still quoting up by 100 paise at 67.80 at 2.20 p.m. local time on fresh selling of dollar by banks and exporters and fresh measures announced by RBI to...