News Archive - 20 June 2014

>Following are key facts about the system, which has failed to intercept a dummy missile in the three last tests and has not demonstrated a successful missile intercept since 2008.CURRENT SYSTEMThe Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has 30 ground-based interceptors at military bases in California and Alaska. Twenty of...

(AP Photo/File). FILE - In this June 21, 1970 file photo, Brazil's Pele, centre is hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates after Brazil won the World Cup soccer final against Italy, 4-1, in Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, Mexico.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is urgently deploying several hundred armed troops in and around Iraq and considering sending an additional contingent of special forces soldiers as Baghdad struggles to repel a rampant insurgency, even as the White House insists anew that America will not be dragged into another...

>BELO HORIZONTE Brazil (Reuters) - Iran coach Carlos Queiroz praised opponents Argentina as a team of "geniuses" ahead of their World Cup Group F match on Saturday but said the smart money was on the overwhelming Asian underdogs. Argentina, one of the leading title contenders in Brazil, are the clear...

WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, the U.S. has been clear about its intent to step back from Iraq. The restrained American military aid now being offered to defend Baghdad against a ferocious Sunni insurgency reaffirms the Obama administration's mantra that Iraq is still largely on its own.

Sunni militants captured a strategic northern Iraqi city along the highway to Syria on Monday, sending thousands of residents from an ethnic minority fleeing for safety and moving closer to their goal of linking areas under their control on both sides of the border.

Nigeria can make a strong case for recognition as the most soccer-crazed country in the world. In recent surveys, the most populous nation in Africa, with the continent’s largest economy, shows an unparalleled interest and participation in the sport.

By Mary Milliken CUIABA Brazil (Reuters) - World Cup newcomers Bosnia must prove coach Safet Susic's belief that they are good enough to reach the knockout stages by beating Nigeria on ...

June 21, 2014, 12:58 p.m. Washington: Was it ironic, or simply macabre, that former US vice-president Dick Cheney put his head above the parapet this week, to observe of Barack Obama’s handling of Iraq: “Rarely has a US President been so wrong about so much at the expense of...

Belo Horizonte (Brazil), June 21 (IANS) Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella has played down rumours of a rift with Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday's World Cup Group F clash against Iran. The forward told media during the week that he preferred a 4-3-3 formation to the 5-3-2 system used by Sabella...

Governor Christie backed a primary candidate during a visit to a crucial early presidential state Friday afternoon, hours after first pitching his policies to a group of conservative Christians meeting in Washington, D.C.

• Rochester at Buffalo(2), 5:35 p.m., Coca-Cola Field. • Buffalo Raceway, 6:40 p.m.

Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another upset World Cup victory on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 in Recife to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process.

>SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Another European soccer heavyweight fell to Latin American opposition on Friday as Costa Rica shocked Italy 1-0, putting the four-times champions' qualification in doubt, but France thumped Switzerland 5-2 in an imperious World Cup display. After yet another upset in Brazil, Costa Rica's win put them...

NEW DELHI: India is expanding a covert uranium enrichment plant that could potentially support the development of thermonuclear weapons, a defence research group said on Friday, raising the stakes in an arms race with China and Pakistan.

RIO DE JANEIRO — The World Cup of surprises is turning into a sweet samba party for teams from the Americas. Having already stunned one former world champion, little Costa Rica shocked another on Friday and sent a third one home.

Argentina's Lionel Messi laughs during a training session in Vespasiano, near Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Friday, June 20, 2014. Argentina plays in group F of the 2014 soccer World Cup.

Pyongyang, June 20 (KCNA) -- Foreign newspapers carried special write-ups illustrated with portraits of smiling leader Kim Jong Il to mark the 50th anniversary of his start of work at the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Argentina is not just facing Iran's national football team, but its culture and war-torn history, too, when the two teams go head to head at the Mineirao Stadium on Saturday.

Lyricist Gerry Goffin, Carole King's ex-husband and prolific writing... Column: With World Cup debut, Bosnia shows itself as a nation of football,...

>He suggested that meeting, to take place just ahead of a July 20 deadline for a comprehensive deal on the issue, would be held at a political, not technical, level."The next round will start from July 2," Wang Qun told reporters. He also said the two sides agreed on...

>COLOMBO (Reuters) - The United States denied on Friday that it had any agreement with Sri Lanka to allow Colombo to import Iranian crude oil through third parties, avoiding Western sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program. "We categorically deny there was any agreement," a spokesman at the U.S.

>VIENNA (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official said on Friday it is unclear whether Iran is ready to take the steps necessary to assure the world its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful as a July 20 deadline in negotiations between Tehran and six powers looms. After the week-long round...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has acted to eliminate virtually all of its most sensitive stockpile of enriched uranium gas under a landmark nuclear deal with six world powers last year, an IAEA report assessing compliance with the interim accord showed on Friday. The monthly update by the U.N. International...

>VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran told six big powers on Friday it would not accept their "excessive demands" after the latest talks on lifting sanctions against Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear work yielded no breakthrough, with a deadline for a deal just a month away. U.S. Under...

Germany turns up heat on Portugal 4-0; US beats Ghana; Nigeria and Iran fail to score

(Reuters Update 1: Wed 18/06/14 20:02:57)LONDON (June 18): British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that Sunni Islamist insurgents...

NEW YORK (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday that any possible airstrikes against Sunni extremists in Iraq could be ineffective and backfire. He urged Iraq's feuding communities to unite against the terrorists who have captured a vast swath of territory.

During the past 30 years, Iraq has arguably been the scene of more warfare than any nation on Earth and suffered the most deaths.

Terrorism in the region has spread fear among people, undermined the economy and threatened the infrastructure of the Arab world, Abdullah Ghobash, Minister of State, said on Thursday. Mr Ghobash told the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah that the UAE was concerned about...

Argentina and Iran were not allowed to practice at the Mineirao Stadium on the eve of their Group F match because of concerns over the state of the pitch. After inspecting the pitch Friday, Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said it was OK but not as good as the pitch at...

VIENNA (AP) - Diplomats familiar with the progress of Iran nuclear talks say some differences have been narrowed between Tehran and six world powers.

Argentina are set for a return to their habitual 4-3-3 formation in their Group F clash against Iran on Saturday.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's Shiite prime minister, embattled by the militant offensive sweeping his country's north, faces a growing campaign to force him out of office as insurgents press on with their campaign.

Marcel Bruehwiler, chief executive of UBS AG’s Belgium unit, was charged in Brussels as part of a probe into a multibillion-euro tax fraud, accelerating the latest tax-evasion inquiry facing the Swiss bank.

A Syrian television report said the victims of the attack in the restive city of Homs included women and children. The blast targeted an Alawite neighborhood in the Akrameh district. The residents of the district are reportedly the supporters of the Syrian government.

GENEVA - For the first time since the World War II era, the number of people forced from their homes worldwide has surged past 50 million, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday. Syrians fleeing the bloodletting at home and a fast-growing web of other crises across the world accounted...

By Isra' al-Rubei'i BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces were massing north of Baghdad on Friday, aiming to strike back at Sunni Islamists whose drive toward the capital prompted the United States to send military advisers to stiffen government resistance. President Barack Obama offered up to 300 Americans to help coordinate...

"Jup raha hai aaj maala ek Hindu ki, Arab Barhaman zaade mein shaan e dilbari, aisi tau ho Hikmat e Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ki, kasam Mar mitey Islam jispey kafiri aisi to ho." (Arabs are chanting the name of a Hindu, Just look at the heart winning prince among...