News Archive - 21 February 2014

>On Syria, the leaders spoke about talks to find a political solution to the war, and the need for the Syrian government "to adhere to its commitment to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons program," the White House said.They also discussed "concerns over the humanitarian crisis and the necessity of a...

>GENEVA (Reuters) - At least 80 people and perhaps as many as 95 have been executed in Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has dampened hopes for human rights reforms under President Hassan Rouhani, the United Nations said on Friday. Rouhani, who...

>LONDON/ANKARA (Reuters) - As Syria's war nears the start of its fourth year, Iran has stepped up support on the ground for President Bashar al-Assad, providing elite teams to gather intelligence and train troops, sources with knowledge of military movements say. This further backing from Tehran, along with deliveries of...

When the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi officially wrap up Sunday, Bogdana Matsotska isn’t expected at the closing ceremonies. The Ukrainian skier pulled out of the competition this week to...

Ningbo, China, 22 Feb 2014 - The curtain has risen on APEC China 2014 in the eastern port city of Ningbo where member economies are gathered to strengthen regional integration and trade flows needed to capture greater consumption-based growth.

Pyongyang, February 21 (KCNA) -- Celebrations took place in different countries from Feb. 9 to 11 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il (Day of the Shining Star). They included film shows in Peru, Indonesia and Romania and meeting, photo exhibition and film show in...

SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela - The battle for Venezuela is being fought as vigorously online as in the streets, with Internet service cut off to a strife-torn university city and the government blocking selected ...

Politicians and union leaders have demanded answers amid fears Royal Bank of Scotland is preparing to cut tens of thousands of jobs.

VISION: FAM believes the bold move will boost development

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The battle for Venezuela is being fought as vigorously online as in the streets, with authorities cutting off the Internet to a clash-torn university city and blocking selected websites and a "walkie-talkie" service widely used by protesters.

Body's human rights office says at least 80 people executed so far in 2014, including two activists from Arab minority.

At least 80 people and perhaps as many as 95 have been executed in Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has dampened hopes for human rights reforms under President Hassan Rouhani, the United Nations said yesterday. Rouhani, who won a surprise election...

One week after their mother was killed by kidnappers, Honduras lawyer Mauricio Osorto and his two brothers fled to seek refuge in Canada, fearful they would be targeted next. They arrived in Vancouver with nothing in June, 2011. Osorto, 33, did not speak English and struggled to start his life...

Defense Department officials acknowledged to Fox News that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, while speaking to a Jewish congregation at a Maryland synagogue on Tuesday, appeared to have misstated the administration's policy on Iran -- by saying the country should not be allowed the "capacity" to develop a nuclear weapon.

The best images from the week's news, Feb. 14- Feb. 21, 2014

Pakistan is under pressure not only from an upper riparian India, in sustaining its water resources under a World Bank brokered Indus Water Treaty, but is also engaged in an ongoing inter-provincial tussle that has undermined efforts to fully exploit available water resources through construction of dams to control floods,...

Oil prices fell on Friday, slightly eroding their sixth straight week of gains, as the fierce U.S. winter weather that has supported heating fuel demand gave way to milder temperatures, triggering a selloff in heating oil.

Iran has come under scrutiny recently after its construction of a clandestine uranium enrichment facility outside Tehran was revealed. President Barack Obama spoke in Pittsburgh last Friday, flanked by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

TORONTO — As more countries compete for the world’s top talent, some worry that planned changes to the Citizenship Act could hamper Canada’s efforts to woo international students, a group that contributes billions of dollars to the Canadian economy.

A man carries a photo of an anti-government protester killed in clashes with the police, during a...

GENEVA (21 February 2014) – Representatives of the largest body of independent experts* in the United Nations human rights system today called for an immediate end to renewed clashes in Kiev and other parts of Ukraine that have seen numerous deadly casualties and scores of injuries among the protestors and...

>(Reuters) - U.S. aerospace companies are seeking permission to sell airliner parts to Iran for the first time in three decades, in a key test of the temporary relief on sanctions given under talks to curtail Iran's nuclear activities. At least two leading manufacturers, Boeing (BA.N) and engine...

regular February price run ups are a lot less this year

German Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli has hailed Iran’s latest nuclear negotiations with the Sextet of powers as useful and constructive.

VIENNA (Reuters) - The size of Iran's most contested uranium stockpile has declined significantly for the first time in four years following a landmark nuclear deal with world powers in November, the U.N. atomic watchdog reported on Thursday.

There are lots ways to die. There are also lots of people on Planet Earth tracking when and how people die. Two of those people -- Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle -- have compiled much of that data to show us where folks are most prone to die on the...

WASHINGTON - One hundred years ago this coming Aug. 4, the day Britain declared war on Germany, socialists in the German Reichstag voted for credits to finance the war. Marxists - including Lenin, who that day was in what now is Poland - were scandalized. Marx had preached that the...

Johannesburg, Feb. 21 : A former assistant coach of Manchester United feels that manager David Moyes must be given more time to settle into the job despite the club having almost no chance to win the Premier League title this season.

The US and Iran have attacked each other in public to sell nuclear talks to skeptical audiences at home. But harsh words have eroded trust.

>GAZA (Reuters) - Voices of construction workers and the noise from their tools used to ring out in Gaza's streets. Now hulks of unfinished buildings stand in eerie silence, and the idle builders are left to worry how to make ends meet. An Egyptian-Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, run...

>* China and India boost imports of Iranian crude (Updates prices; paragraphs 3-4)By David SheppardLONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil slipped towards $110 a barrel on Friday but remained on course for its highest weekly close this year, as supply disruptions in Africa have tightened the market.Domestic...

>RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, perhaps the most powerful younger prince in the ruling al-Saud family, is shaping Riyadh's new emphasis on protecting the kingdom from a fresh wave of Islamist militancy inspired by the war in Syria. The United States pulled out the stops for...

>BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces said on Friday they had detained a Sunni Muslim militant suspected of recruiting suicide bombers and assembling car bombs for a radical group behind attacks on Iranian interests in Beirut. Hassan Abu Afleh, they said, was suspected of being a leading figure in the...

>* China import surge partly due to distortions ahead of holiday* India Jan shipments highest since Feb 2012 at 412,000 bpd* Asian Iran oil buys top 1 mln bpd (Recasts, adds comments)By Nidhi Verma and Judy HuaBEIJING/NEW DELHI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Iran's top two oil customers China and India...

>State news agency MTI cited Mohammad Reza Morshedzadeh as saying late on Thursday that significant maize shipments from Ukraine, Hungary's eastern neighbour, have been put on hold due to deadly clashes between police and protesters.He said Ukrainian exports of farming machinery and components had also been halted, adding that...

>* State refiner IOC takes 3 mln bbls from Iran in Jan* India's April-Jan Iran imports down 26 pct yr/yr* India's total Jan oil imports down 9.3 pct yr/yrBy Nidhi VermaNEW DELHI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - India's oil imports from Iran more than doubled in January from a month...