News Archive - 2 February 2014

>Clinton, who leads the pack among potential Democratic presidential contenders for 2016, according to Reuters polling, said in a January 26 letter to Democratic Senator Carl Levin, "Now that serious negotiations are finally under way, we should do everything we can to test whether they can advance a permanent solution.

>Moscovici was speaking on LCI television as a French business delegation travelled to the Iranian capital for meetings with officials and business leaders.The three-day visit is intended to "convey the message that, if the situation improves, there will be significant commercial opportunities for France in Iran", Moscovici said."But...

>Last month a provincial official said local people had found the body of the diplomat in an area north of oil fields in Maarib province.At the time Iran's Student News Agency quoted an Iranian embassy official as denying that the headless body belonged to the missing employee.On Sunday...

>* Kerry, Zarif meet privately in Germany* IAEA chief says need clarity on some issues* Senator McCain accuses Iran of cheating, urges cautionBy Adrian Croft and Alexandra HudsonMUNICH, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister held rare private talks with his U.S. counterpart on Sunday and said it would...

>* Kerry, Zarif meet privately in Germany* Zarif says final deal will "take some time"* Senator McCain accuses Iran of cheating, urges cautionBy Adrian Croft and Alexandra HudsonMUNICH, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of the United States and Iran held rare private talks in Germany on Sunday to...

>Karroubi, a defeated candidate in disputed presidential elections in 2009, was moved from detention at a location in Tehran to his home in the capital's northern Jamaran area, his son, Mohammad Hussein Karroubi, said on his Facebook page.Opposition sources have said Karroubi had been held at a apartment in...

>No further details were immediately available.Iran reached a landmark preliminary agreement with six world powers in November to halt its most sensitive nuclear operations, winning some relief from sanctions in return.Iran is to begin talks with the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany in Vienna on...

MoM teams visit oil and gas installations

Second stage of environmental expedition begins in Dhofar

"The Senate Act enhances President Obama's ability to pursue the diplomatic path and to prevent war" WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued by the OIAC: One hundred Iranian-American academics, scholars, scientists and professionals...

A Pakistani delegation is in Tehran to discuss with Iranian officials a new timeframe for the completion of the multi-billion-dollar pipeline projected to carry natural gas from Iran to Pakistan.

Sunday was World Wetlands Day, an annual international event marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands.

Proponents of new sanctions against Iran in the US Senate have for now abandoned their search for a highly symbolic 60th vote which would make their legislation filibuster-proof, according to a report.

MUMBAI: India's tea production in 2013 rose by 6.5 percent from a year earlier to a record 1,200 million kg, the Indian Tea Association said in a statement, as small growers in the northern-eastern part of the country plucked more leaves.

Items marked ** denote new or amended listings MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10 (until February 11) BAHRAIN - 10th Anniversary of the Middle East Insurance Forum Details: http://middleeastinsurance.megaevents.net/ ...

Can the world's most popular microblog turn its popularity into profitability? This week, investors will get their best chance yet to find out.For the first time as a public ...

Khartoum / Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has suspended its activities in Sudan, in compliance with an official request to that effect from the Sudanese government's Humanitarian Aid Commission. The suspension began on 1 February 2014.

THE foreign ministers of the US and Iran have held rare private talks to discuss the next stage in efforts to reach a definitive agreement to end a decade-old dispute over Iran's nuclear programme.

>INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks slip, euro stuck near 10-wk lows* Oil falls on Fed, emerging market concerns, spread narrows* Gold little changed in China absence and stronger dollar* MIDEAST STOCKS-Giant construction deal lifts Abu Dhabi, Saudi banks rally on* Hillary Clinton argues against additional sanctions on Iran* Three explosions rock...

The Iranian national handball team has made its way to the world cup for the first time after a draw against Bahrain in the 16th Asian Senior Men's Handball Championship.

Binyamin Netanyahu's negotiations with John Kerry take place against a background of divided public and political opinion Speaking at the World Economic Forum at Davos last month, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, spoke of the need to solve the "intractable" problem of brokering peace between the Israeli and...

MUNICH, Germany - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif said in Munich on Sunday that Iran was ready for a long term deal on its nuclear program, and trust between Iran and western countries must be rebuilt.

Mr Zarif also held out an olive branch to Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival, saying he was ready for talks at any time.

MOST foreign companies in Pakistan aspire to deepen their footprint by reinvesting a part of their earnings in expansion of their businesses. But their performance and the conduct seem unlikely to motivate new investors to enter a troubled country with a promise of high returns.

FLORIDA-BASED Aslina Chua will lead Malaysia's Fed Cup team in the five-day Asia-Oceania Group II competition which starts tomorrow in Astana, Kazakhstan.

LONGWOOD — For more than six months, nobody saw Patty Novak or her 87-year-old mother, Phyllis Jackson.        

Here’s a rundown of our “elite eight” — from puppies to puppets, and from Danica to Dannon.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz is taking an aggressive stance to promote tourism during Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

U.S. crude futures fell in early Asian trade on Monday on concerns over oil demand after factory growth in China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, eased in January to a six-month low. * Crude exports from Iraq declined in January to an average of 2.228 million barrels...

Iran national soccer teamˈs jersey with Asiatic Cheetah, known as Iranian Cheetah, logo was unveiled at a ceremony on Saturday. Officials from Department of Environment and Sports Ministry were present in the unveiling ceremony. The logo depicts the image of cheetah on the Iranian teamˈs jersey in the 2014 World...

Responding to India’s sentiment, the moderate Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, will soon be sending the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, to Delhi for talks on the issue.        

The Editorial Board of the US-based New York Times has come out with a number of tough criticisms against the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On February 1st around 2230JST until about 0830JST February 2 the Antarctic whale research (JARPAII) vessels Yushin Maru (YS1), Yushin Maru No. 2 (YS2) and Yushin Maru No. 3 (YS3) were subject to sabotage by the Sea Shepherd ships Steve Irwin (SI) ...

The United Arab Emirates' national airline suggested on Sunday it is nearing a decision on taking a stake in struggling Italian carrier Alitalia as a high-level Italian delegation promoted investment opportunities during a visit to the Mideast country.

Corinthians fans attacked Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero after invading the team's training centre in Sao Paulo in protest at the Brazilian team's recent struggles

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian state TV says a magnitude 5.5 earthquake has jolted a sparsely populated area in the country's south. The quake affected cellular phone coverage in the region with a population of 15,000 in nearly 80 villages. Iran sits on a series of seismic fault lines and...

A Yemeni security official says the Iranian Embassy official, Nour Ahmad Nikbakht, who was kidnapped in the capital, Sana’a, last July is “still alive.”

Exclusive: The Washington Post’s neocon editors are pushing for another U.S. military ultimatum against a Muslim country in the Mideast.

Country's tea production increased by 6.5 per cent to 1,200 million kg in 2013, against 1,126.33 million kg a year ago, a report by the Indian Tea Association (ITA) has said. Total production of tea in the northern part of the country (Assam and ...

TEHRAN: Iran has arrested several anti-corruption officials on fraud charges, the justice minister announced on Sunday.

Safari World, the country's biggest animal park, has released a conservative sales-growth projection of 10 per cent to Bt900 million, lower than last year because of a decline of visitors from some foreign markets, hit by the political tension in Thailand.

Recent years have seen a dramatic decline in the number of children being born, according to a new report from the United Nations. The “World Fertility Report 2012" was published earlier this year by the population division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

The United Arab Emirates' national airline suggested Sunday it is nearing a decision on taking a stake in struggling Italian carrier Alitalia as a high-level Italian delegation promoted investment opportunities ...

The head of a trail-blazing City law firm found that aiming high works        

>NATO member Turkey's decision last September to choose a $3.4 billion offer from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) irked Ankara's Western allies as the Chinese company is under U.S. sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.U.S. and...

Mohammad Kasim. When he was an eight-year-old boy, Mohammad Karim used to wear a wistful look: hundreds, nay thousands, of skiers would arrive at his village near Naltar in Gilgit-Baltistan, with the sole purpose of living and breathing skiing on the snow-capped mountains nearby.

The partial lifting of sanctions against Iran as part of the Geneva agreement last month could mark the beginning of a period of economic growth in…        

Despite hundreds of attacks and the deaths of thousands of Pakistanis, there is still a great deal of confusion about the number, nature and end goals of the militant organisations operating in Pakistan. For some, they remain figments of a fevered imagination.

>They met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference."Secretary Kerry reiterated the importance of both sides negotiating in good faith and Iran abiding by its commitments under the Joint Plan of Action. He also made clear that the United States will continue to enforce existing sanctions," a U.