News Archive - 28 May 2014

Video created by PFDC member “Kiarash”:

>AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's economy, rocked by four years of civil war, is shrinking fast as industrial and agricultural output falls, leaving almost two thirds of the population in extreme poverty, according to a U.N. sponsored report released on Wednesday. The study, conducted by the Damascus based-Syrian Centre for...

>France 4-0 Norway (Paris) France winger Mathieu Valbuena was in a class of his own as he set up three goals in a 4-0 victory at home to Norway to help his side start their World Cup warm-up games in style. Valbuena excelled in a one-sided encounter, providing perfect crosses...

>WEST POINT, N.Y., Reuters) - President Barack Obama fought back against critics of his foreign policy on Wednesday by insisting U.S. reliance on diplomacy over military intervention was working to resolve global crises like Ukraine and Iran, and he pledged to ramp up support for Syria's opposition.

>DUBAI May 27 (Reuters) - A conservative Iranian court opened a case against instant messaging services WhatsApp and Instagram while also summoning Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over complaints of privacy violation, state news agency ISNA reported on Tuesday.The case underscores the growing struggle between moderate Iranian president Hassan Rouhani's...

LONDON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s speech emphasizing soft power and alliances over military might crystallized into a single speech what many experts said Wednesday was an inevitable — and welcome — evolution of U.S. foreign policy.

“Security and safety is the biggest deterrent for foreign climbers. Deaths of climbers at Nanga Parbat base camp, last year, are one of the major reasons why foreign mountaineers are staying away from Pakistan,” said President Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) Colonel Manzoor Hussain.

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Seeking to redefine America's foreign policy for a post-war era, President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared that the United States remains the only nation with the capacity to lead on the world stage but argued it would be a mistake to channel that power...

Abilene's siren system was designed to warn of an nuclear attack, not tornadoes, but was disconnected more than 20 years ago.

Why do some political scandals stick while others fade? The level of media obsession seems to rise and fall as mysteriously as the stock market. On Benghazi, sell. Hold on the IRS audits. On the Veterans Affairs scandal, buy, buy, buy.

PRESIDENT Barack Obama fought back against critics of his foreign policy by insisting that US reliance on diplomacy over military intervention was working to resolve global crises like Ukraine and Iran.

>LONDON (Reuters) - An experimental Nigeria side featuring mainly fringe players and hopefuls began their World Cup warm-ups with a 2-2 draw with Scotland on Wednesday in a hugely entertaining game at Craven Cottage. Although the African champions only rescued a draw with a 90th minute strike from substitute Uche...

Washington (CNN) - Last month, it was excerpts honoring her mother in Vogue. Last week, it was the dates and locations of her book tour events. Tuesday, it was the release of her careful four-page author's note. And on Wednesday, publishers for Hillary Clinton's upcoming memoir "Hard Choices" rolled out...

An Iranian court has sentenced eight people to a combined 123 years in prison for various charges including insulting the country's supreme leader on Facebook. The sentencing is the latest in a recent crackdown on Internet freedom in the country. The eight, who were reportedly all Facebook users, were arrested...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday outlined his vision for American foreign policy in the 21st century, an era he expects will be rife with challenges that demand U.S. leadership.

President Barack Obama's commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as prepared for delivery.

President Obama says the U.S. is emerging from a long period of war, but he says isolationism isn't an option in the 21st Century. The president also told graduates Wednesday he plans to work with Congress to increase support for the Syrian opposition.

>RIYADH (Reuters) - A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced to death a Shi'ite Muslim convicted of sedition, rioting, protesting and robbery in the district of Qatif, home to many of the Sunni kingdom's minority sect who say they face entrenched discrimination. The sentence, issued on Tuesday and reported by state...

>The embassy statement gave scant details of the attack but an Afghan official in Herat said a rocket-propelled grenade had been fired at the vehicle."Two men attacked a foreign vehicle with a RPG and then ran away," provincial district chief Haji Bashir Ahmad told Reuters by telephone. The U.

>Iranian state news agency ISNA reported on Tuesday that a conservative court had opened a case against instant messaging services WhatsApp and Instagram while also summoning Zuckerberg over the complaints."Reports regarding the summoning of Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, by a court in Fars are completely false," the attorney...

>* Risks of doing business with Iran seen as still too greatBy Jonathan Saul and Parisa HafeziLONDON/ANKARA, May 28 (Reuters) - Global shipping lines are increasingly shying away from handling cargoes to Iran as restrictions on banking and insurance continue unabated, despite an interim agreement between Tehran and the West...

A live export trade between Australia and Iran will open soon, according to Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, now that the two countries have agreed on health protocols.

Saudi Arabia is working with international scientific organisations to improve its response to a deadly new virus that has killed 186 people in the kingdom, its acting health minister Adel Fakieh told Reuters on Wednesday. Fakieh's comments, in a written statement, were in response to a Reuters Special Report last...

Damascus, May 28 (IANS): Syrians living overseas started to cast ballots Wednesday in the presidential election, media reported.

THE LIVE export of Australian sheep to Iran could soon be back on, after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce secured new health protocols for the trade with the Middle Eastern nation.

Representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Aleksei Dmitrashkovsky, said that the military operation in Donetsk would continue until all military units of the self- proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk are destroyed.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is seeking to recast U.S. foreign policy as an endeavor aimed at building international consensus and avoiding unilateral overreach as the nation emerges from more than a decade of war.

Ivory Coast can lay down a marker ahead of the World Cup when they tackle tournament debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday. The sides will go head-to-head in St Louis, Missouri as their preparations for Brazil kick up a gear in the United States.