News Archive - 22 January 2017

Syrian peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, a sequel to the liberation of Aleppo and the consequent ceasefire brokered by Iran and Russia, will kick off on Monday. Iranian officials view the talks in Astana as a potential prelude to the final resolution of the Syria file, one that provides...

Sunday, 3rd of Bahman – January 22nd, 2017 HEADLINES OF IRAN’S MORNING PAPERS   KAYHAN   -Turkey-Qatar-Israel triangle behind Sinai terrorist attacks A representative of the Egyptian parliament has stated that Doha, Ankara and Tel Aviv are behind all the terrorist attacks that happen in the Sinai Desert.  ...

(Friday prayers’ congregation in Tehran. Source: Arash Mirsepasi/YJC)   This week across Iran, Friday prayers were overshadowed by the sorry incident of the collapse of Plasco Building, Tehran’s first high-rise commercial office, which succumbed to fire and crushed down on Thursday noon. Sermonizers across the country expressed condolences over...

>Safe Harbor Marinas has acquired peer Brewer Yacht Yard Group, roughly doubling its size and making itself the world's largest owner and operator of marinas, as it considers an initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.The deal comes less than two years after investment firm...

>A group including former White House ethics attorneys will file a lawsuit on Monday accusing President Donald Trump of allowing his businesses to accept payments from foreign governments, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.The lawsuit, brought by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, will allege that...

>ASTANA Syria's warring sides meet in Kazakhstan's capital on Monday with Russia, Turkey and Iran, sponsors of the talks, trying to make progress towards a goal others have repeatedly failed to reach: an end to the six-year-old conflict.The talks are the first time the opposition and representatives of Syrian...

>SINGAPORE Oil ticked lower on Monday, falling for the first time in three sessions as prospects of rising U.S. production weighed on the market.U.S. energy companies last week added the most rigs drilling for new production in almost four years. Drillers added 29 rigs in the week...

>The euro firmed 0.4 percent on the day to $1.07400 after earlier rising to $1.07460, its highest since Dec. 8.That helped push down the dollar against a currency basket, with the dollar index down 0.4 percent on the day to 100.37."The dollar is...

>TOKYO Nearly two-thirds of Japanese companies do not plan to hike their workers' wages this year, a Reuters poll showed, a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's campaign for higher pay to spur a recovery and a way to end two decades of deflation.The Reuters Corporate Survey, conducted Jan.

>TOKYO The dollar slid broadly on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a protectionist tone in his inauguration speech, undermining optimism over the U.S. economy spurred by his promises of tax cuts and other stimulus.Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.1 percent while shares in Australia dropped 0.

>WASHINGTON President Donald Trump invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Washington in early February during a phone call in which they discussed the importance of strengthening the U.S.-Israeli relationship, the White House said on Sunday.In his first call with Netanyahu since taking office on Friday,...

>Samsung mobile chief Koh Dong-jin said the phone would not get a launch event at the MWC event in Barcelona, which begins on Feb. 27, unlike the previous Galaxy S smartphones.Koh did not comment on when the company planned to launch the new handset, the first premium model Samsung...

>WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he plans talks soon with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement."We will be starting negotiations having to do with NAFTA," Trump said at a swearing-in ceremony for his top White House...

>The two leaders had a phone conversation which the statement described as "very warm". In Washington, Trump, who took office on Friday, said his phone call with Netanyahu had been "very nice." He was asked about the call by reporters after delivering remarks at a ceremony swearing in his...

>Speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said President Donald Trump "may stop enforcing the individual mandate."Separately, on CBS' "Face the Nation" show, she reiterated Republican promises that no one would lose their health insurance under Obamacare while a replacement is being developed."For...

>WASHINGTON The White House vowed on Sunday to fight the news media "tooth and nail" over what it sees as unfair attacks, with a top adviser saying the Trump administration had presented "alternative facts" to counter low inauguration crowd estimates. On his first full day as president, Trump said he...

>"After careful consideration, and much discussion with Mr. Tillerson, we have decided to support his nomination to be secretary of state," Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a statement. "Though we still have concerns about his past dealings with the Russian government and...

>MOSUL Residents of east Mosul held up their children and took selfies with Iraqi counter-terrorism commander Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi after his men cleared Islamic State fighters from their neighbourhoods.But his tour on Saturday of homes once occupied by the militants was a reminder of the dangers ahead as...

>JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told senior ministers he is lifting restrictions on settlement building in East Jerusalem, a statement said on Sunday, immediately after the city's municipal government approved permits for the building of hundreds of new homes in the area."There is no longer a need...

>The White House later said the conversation would take place at 13:30 ET. "A telephone conversation will be held this evening between President Trump and me. Many matters face us, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the situation in Syria, the Iranian threat," Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks at the start of an...

>May has made rebalancing the heavily services-based economy one of her top priorities since coming to office last July, as a way to deal with the economic impact of Britain's exit from the European Union and re-engage with disillusioned working class voters.On Monday ,she is due to publish an...

>The rusty red containers were hauled into the Alcacuz prison yard in northeastern Brazil, with officials aiming to finish the temporary wall, stacking one container atop another, by sundown Sunday. It is a desperate move for security officials struggling to keep control of Alcacuz, where the latest in a string...

>"It is obvious that all this will last for a long time. Do not rely on someone else's election, on incoming new foreign leaders," Medvedev told a meeting of the United Russia party, while speaking about the agriculture sector. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Mark...

>TAIPEI Thousands of military personnel, teachers, police and civil servants protested a plan to reform Taiwan's pension system outside of the Presidential Office in Taipei on Sunday, as a national conference to discuss reform was held in the Office.Vice President Chen Chien-jen announced a pension reform plan this week...

>VIENNA OPEC and non-OPEC countries have made a strong start to lowering their oil output under the first such pact in more than a decade, energy ministers said on Sunday as producers look to reduce oversupply and support prices."The deal is a success ...All the countries are sticking to...

>TAIPEI Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, is considering setting up a display-making plant in the United States in an investment that would exceed $7 billion, company chairman and chief executive Terry Gou said on Sunday.The plans come after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to put "America...

>BEIJING China has set up a 100 billion yuan ($14.55 billion) fund to support investment in the internet sector, said official news agency Xinhua on Sunday.The fund, backed by China's cabinet, is designed to help turn China into a major player in internet technology, said the report. An...

>On Friday, as Trump was taking office, Francis had urged him to be guided by ethical values, saying he must take care of the poor and the outcast during his time in office."I think that we must wait and see. I don't like to get ahead of myself nor...

>IXMIQUILPAN, MEXICO Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet at the end of this month to discuss trade, immigration and security issues, as the Latin American leader faces increased populist pressure at home.Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer told a news conference on Saturday that...