News Archive - 16 August 2014

Iran has welcomed the transition of power in Iraq as a good opportunity for its western neighbor, saying Tehran supports unity and territorial integrity in the Arab country.

>BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Tribal leaders and clerics from Iraq's Sunni heartland offered their conditional backing on Friday for a new government that hopes to contain sectarian bloodshed and an offensive by Islamic State militants that threatens to tear the country apart. One of the most influential tribal leaders said he...

Matthew 10:14 has Jesus saying, "And if anyone would not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that town.

To hear President Obama tell it, one might think that recent bombing raids by the US against jihadist positions between Mosul and Erbil in northern Iraq have already removed the...

The world has been horrified by recent atrocities committed by Islamic extremists in northern Iraq. The events taking place there hit especially close to home for me because I met many of the terrorists' victims in person four years ago.

A senior Iranian military commander has warned against the escalation of hostile policies of enemies against the Islamic resistance movement.

When liberal Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and the conservative former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich agree on something, attention should be paid. Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last Friday the U.S.

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- Iran's leadership has been influenced by the deteriorating economy, a report said. The Alliance Center for Iranian Studies asserted that the Iranian leadership approved a nuclear pact with P5+1 in November 2013 because of mounting concern of an economic collapse.

UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief to Visit Iran

Aug. 17, 2014, 11:44 a.m. One-third of places in Australia's Humanitarian Program for refugees will be reserved for Iraqis and Syrians who have fled the violence of terrorist group Islamic State in the Middle East.

“Great nations need organizing principles, and ‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle.” Leave it to Barack Obama’s former secretary of state to acknowledge the fatal flaw of his foreign policy: a total absence of strategic thinking.

Battle over allowances and bonuses between super Eagles players and officials have become the hallmark of Nigeria at major tournaments. Idris Adesinatakes a look at the issue While it is no longer news that Nigeria exited the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in the second round, it would be worthwhile...

The road towards Mosul from Erbil is strewn with refugee families.

Servicemen from the First World War are laying in unmarked graves thanks to the successive conflicts in Iraq.

What does the future hold for the children of Gaza?

LONDON, United Kingdom – Islamic State fighters sweeping across Syria and Iraq are a direct threat to Britain and the country must use all of its "military prowess" to halt their advance, Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday, August 17. But the Conservative Party leader said he did not think ...

British PM David Cameron has warned that the West faces a "generational struggle" to combat the jihadist threat.

Initial calls for American-led sanctions against Russia over Crimea and Ukraine met with less than universal enthusiasm. Now that the costs of trade sanctions imply ...

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to be playing all his option to avoid an inevitable 30th defeat for the UNP under his tottering leadership at next month's Uva Provincial Council (UPC) elections.

Hamas has rejected an Egyptian proposal for a long-term Gaza truce with Israel, as both sides prepared to resume talks in Cairo in the middle of a temporary cease-fire set to expire at midnight on Aug 18.

by Palo Alto Online Sports/USA Water Polo/USA volleyball National teams Stanford grad Foluke Akinradewo scored 25 points on 14 kills, nine blocks and a pair of service aces to help rally the U.S. women's senior national volleyball team past host Thailand, 25-19, 19-25, 20-25, 25-12, 15-10, in the second...

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, David Cameron warns of terrorist caliphate on the shores of the Mediterranean if Islamic State succeeds

There are a number of areas where mutually beneficial cooperation can be promoted between Islamabad and Moscow. Afghanistan: Over the past year, quiet talks between Pakistan, China and Russia have been under way to consider ways to stabilise Afghanistan.

David Cameron says a "firm security response" is needed against the Islamic State or it will bring terror to Britain's streets.

The poisonous extremism on the march in Iraq and Syria affects us all - and we have no choice but to rise to the challenge, says David Cameron

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano has arrived in Tehran to hold talks with Iranian officials.

The advance of Islamic State extremists poses a "clear danger" to the future safety of Britain's streets, David Cameron said as he explained his decision to arm Kurdish fighters.

[Video] Esteghlal Tehran – Sepahan Esteghlal Tehran 4 – 3 Sepahan (W7) 18′ [1-0] Milad Meydavoudi Get the Flash Player to see this content. Download 23′ [2-0] Farhad Majidi Get the Flash Player to see this content. Download 43′ [3-0] Milad Meydavoudi Get the Flash Player to see this...

A group of Kurdish people gather in Portsmouth to raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in northern Iraq.

Iran's foreign minister said on Friday August 15 that it is ";unrealistic"; to think that the nuclear dispute between Iran and the 5+1 will be resolved before the end of the four-month extension allotted for the talks.

Iranian Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Majead Ansari announced that impeachment session against Reza Farajidana, the Science Minister, is scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

Director of Iranian Oil Terminal Company has said the country has been constructing oil terminal in Jask (Hormozgan Province) with capacity of 2.5 billion barrels per day.

Iran's volleyball team defeated USA's team 3-2 (24-26, 26-24, 25-27, 25-20, 15-9) at Viejas Arena at San Diego State in the third friendly match in the USA Volleyball Cup. The four-match exhibition series concludes Saturday night at UC Irvine.

Eli has a new blog post on The Nation's website today that provides additional details about the curious - one is tempted to say incestuous - relationship between the staff of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and the corporate interests of billionaire gold and silver investor, Thomas Kaplan. -Jim Lobe

";No hair, no ears, no neck."; That's how one journalist described a front-page portrait of Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani that an Iranian newspaper digitally doctored to obscure her hair and skin to placate censors in the Islamic republic. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan is trying to secure the release of five of their staff members who were abducted in the western Herat province, a spokesman said Saturday.

It is the most popular historical drama on TV but Downton Abbey suffered a very modern mishap this week after a plastic water bottle turned up on one of the stately home’s mantelpieces.

“Great nations need organizing principles, and ‘Don’t do stupid stuff’ is not an organizing principle.” – Hillary Clinton, The Atlantic, Aug. 10

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano is scheduled to arrive in Tehran Sunday for nuclear talks.

FLOODING and landslides in Nepal have killed at least 58 people, according to local media.

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Seventy communities in the United States will receive a total of $2.9 million in federal funds to support breastfeeding. Also this week, India's federal cabinet voted to bar same-sex couples from adopting children.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hailed the 2006 victory of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement against Israel as a moment of glory for the Muslim world.