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Assad Regime Could Crumble Soon: UN Official
July 28, 2012
OSLO, Norway — Norwegian media are quoting the outgoing U.N. chief observer in Syria as saying it's just a matter of time before Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime crumbles.
But Maj. Gen. Robert Mood also told a news conference in Oslo on Friday that Syria's government still has great military muscle left to apply in ...
Russia Accuses US of ‘Justifying Terror’ in Syria
July 26, 2012
MOSCOW - Russia on Wednesday lashed out at the United States for backing the armed opposition to the Syrian regime, saying Washington's failure to condemn the July 18 blast that killed top security officials ...
Syria will use Chemical Weapons If Attacked: FM
July 24, 2012
BEIRUT — The Syrian regime threatened Monday to use its chemical and biological weapons in case of a foreign attack, in its first ever acknowledgement that it possesses weapons of mass destruction.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi stressed, however, that ...
Mukherjee Wins Indian Presidential Election
July 23, 2012
NEW DELHI - Pranab Mukherjee, a former finance minister of India and senior leader of the ruling Congress party, has been elected as the new president, a government official said on Sunday.
On Thursday, India's 4,896 lawmakers in state assemblies and parliament ...
Morsi Urges Egyptians to Work during Ramadan
July 19, 2012
CAIRO - President Mohamed Morsi on Friday urged Egyptians to overcome the usual lethargy associated with the fasting month of Ramadan and keep up "work and production."
Morsi, who was sworn in last month as Egypt's first elected civilian president, attended Friday prayer at a mosque in his hometown of ...
Iran Top Leader One to Decide on Strait of Hormuz
July 16, 2012
TEHRAN, Iran — The chairman of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the decision over whether Tehran would block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the passageway through which a fifth of the world's oil flows, rests in the hands of the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali ...
Clinton, Morsi Hold Key Talks in Cairo
July 15, 2012
CAIRO - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday held talks with new President Mohamed Morsi soon after arriving in Cairo at the start of a visit aimed at lending US support to Egypt's transition to democracy.
"We are very, very keen to meet you and happy you are ...
Egypt Won’t Stay Silent in Next Gaza War: Hamas Chief
July 14, 2012
GAZA - Egypt will not stand by in a future conflict with Israel and is exploring options for lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-controlled enclave's Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Friday, according to Army Radio. "The new Egypt will not be silent if war
Iran Much Stronger Today Despite Sanctions: Khamenei
July 12, 2012
TEHRAN - Iran is "100 times stronger" today than 30 years ago despite the multitude of Western sanctions imposed since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday.
"Westerners are making much hype about sanctions against Iran ...
Morsi Decree Creates ‘Political Earthquake’ in Egypt
July 11, 2012
CAIRO — A decision by Egypt's new president to reinstate parliament was a bold challenge to the military that dissolved the house, but some politicians slammed it as a constitutional coup that shows no regard for the judiciary or democracy. President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday issued a decree ordering the Islamist-led lower house ...
Khar, Clinton Meet in Tokyo
July 10, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had a detailed bilateral meeting with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, on Monday at the sidelines of the Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan. Khar said that Pakistan wants to have a cooperative relationship with the United States, based on mutual respect and mutual interests ...
Agreement Reached with Assad: Annan
July 10, 2012
DAMASCUS, Syria — International envoy Kofi Annan tried to breathe new life Monday into his moribund peace efforts in Syria, saying he has reached a new framework with President Bashar Assad and would discuss it soon with rebel leaders. Opposition activists raised the death toll in the conflict to more than 17,000. Annan, the architect ...
Syrian State Risks Collapse, Clinton Warns
July 09, 2012
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says time's running out on Syrian peace hopes and warns that the Syrian state could collapse. Speaking in Japan, Clinton said Sunday that U.N. mediator Kofi Annan's acknowledgement that his peace plan is failing "should be a wake-up call for everyone." She says last month was the ...
Assad Should Leave Power: France, Germany
July 04, 2012
PARIS — The top diplomats of France and Germany say Syrian President Bashar Assad should leave power, even though a U.N.-brokered political transition plan leaves his future role open. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tuesday, "Bashar Assad is a slaughterer and the ...
800 Killed in Past Week: Syrian Opposition
July 02, 2012
BEIRUT — Syria's main opposition group says nearly 800 people have been killed in escalating violence across the country in the past week.
The Syrian National Council says in a statement released Sunday that ...
Morsi Vows to Be ‘Servant of the People’
July 01, 2012
CAIRO - Mohamed Morsi took the oath of office on Saturday to become Egypt's first Islamist president and its first elected head of state since the revolt that overthrew Hosni Mubarak overthrow last year.The ceremony took place in the constitutional court rather than parliament, the result of an ongoing tussle with the military that took charge ...
Europe Summit Surprises with Bold Moves
June 30, 2012
BRUSSELS — After 18 disappointing summits since the start of the debt crisis, Europe's leaders appeared Friday to have finally come up with quick fixes and long-term plans that show they are serious about restoring confidence in their currency union.Global markets sighed with ...
No Quick Solution to Crisis: Merkel
June 28, 2012
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday brushed aside the latest push to pool European debt, arguing that it would be "economically wrong and counterproductive" to make such a move before governments have shown they can comply with budget ...
Turkey Threatens Syria with Retaliation over Jet
June 27, 2012
ANKARA - Turkey warned Tuesday that any Syrian military unit approaching its border will be treated as a direct threat, a serious escalation in tensions days after Syria shot a Turkish military plane ...
OSCE Security Days Tackles Challenges of Security Community
June 26, 2012
VIENNA, 25 June 2012 – New approaches to arms control, resolving protracted conflicts and promoting reconciliation as foundations for strengthening security in the OSCE area are the focus of OSCE Security Days 2012 in Vienna ...
Islamist Morsi Wins Egypt Presidential Vote
June 25, 2012
CAIRO — Mohammed Morsi was declared Egypt's first Islamist president on Sunday after the freest elections in the country's history, narrowly defeating Hosni Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq in a race that raised political tensions in Egypt to a fever pitch.
The country's last four presidents over the past six decades have all ...
Syrian Govt. Accuses Rebels of Mass Killing
June 24, 2012
BEIRUT — An online video showed more than a dozen bloodied corpses, some of them piled atop each other and in military uniforms, dumped beside a road in northern Syria in what the government Friday called a mass killing by rebel forces.
The circumstances of the deaths were not immediately clear, with the ...
European Leaders Push for $163 Bln in Measures
June 23, 2012
ROME - The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Spain have agreed to push for a growth package worth up to €130 billion ($163 billion) at a European Union summit next week that's intended to kick-start the economy and safeguard the currency bloc. President Francois Hollande of France, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish ...
Mubarak Health Drama Adds to Egypt Uncertainty
June 21, 2012
CAIRO - Hosni Mubarak's move out of jail to a Cairo military hospital where officials said he was slipping in and out of a coma on Wednesday has created a fresh sense of uncertainty for Egyptians as the wait for results of a presidential election drags ...
EU to Limit Impact of Bank Rescue on Spain’s Deficit
June 20, 2012
LOS CABOS, Mexico - The European Union is working on a formula to limit the impact on Spain's public deficit of a bank rescue worth up to 100 billion euros by issuing very long loans at very low rates, a senior EU official said on Tuesday.
With the results of an independent audit of Spanish lenders expected ...
Pakistan Supreme Court Disqualifies Gilani
June 20, 2012
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's increasingly assertive Supreme Court declared Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ineligible for office on Tuesday.
However, there seems to be no immediate threat to the stability of the government since the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has a ...
Russia to Send Marines to Syria
June 19, 2012
MOSCOW — Two Russian navy ships are completing preparations to sail to Syria with a unit of marines on a mission to protect Russian citizens and the nation's base there, a news report said Monday. The deployment appears to reflect Moscow's growing concern about Syrian ...
UN urged to send armed peacekeepers to Syria
June 18, 2012
Syria's opposition has urged the United Nations to send armed peacekeepers into the country after UN monitors suspended their operations because of raging violence.The exiled Syrian National Council, the country's main opposition group, in a statement issued ...
Egypt Votes to Choose Successor to Hosni Mubarak
June 17, 2012
CAIRO — Egyptians on Saturday voted to choose between a conservative Islamist and Hosni Mubarak's ex-prime minister in a presidential runoff once billed as the country's long-awaited shift to democracy but now clouded by pessimism over the ...
Germany Won’t Be Pressed Into Quick Fixes: Merkel
June 16, 2012
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed Friday to resist pressure for quick fixes to the European crisis when she meets world leaders at the Group of 20 summit next week, saying Europe must tackle its problems "at the roots" by lowering debt and increasing ...
King of Ghazal Mehdi Hassan Passes Away
June 14, 2012
KARACHI - Legendary Pakistani Ghazal singer, Mehdi Hassan, passed away after a protracted illness in a private hospital in Karachi, Pakistan on Wednesday.
Only last month, king of ghazal Mehdi Hassan, was discharged from hospital. However, just a day later, he was admitted back due to health problems. This time round though, he hasn't been put on ...
Food Supply Tenuous for 16 Million N. Koreans: UN
June 13, 2012
PYONGYANG, North Korea — Millions of North Korean children are not getting the food, medicine or health care they need to develop physically or mentally, leaving an entire generation stunted and malnourished, the United Nations said Tuesday.
Nearly a third of North Korean children under age 5 show signs of ...
Syria Conflict Becomes ‘More Alarming’: Russian FM
June 10, 2012
MOSCOW — Russia has growing concerns about the conflict in Syria, but it will continue to oppose the outside use of force, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday.
"The situation in Syria is becoming more alarming," Lavrov told a news conference, during which he pushed Russia's proposal for an international conference on the crisis. "An impression is being ...
6 Powers, Iran, Remain Split on Nuclear Issues
June 09, 2012
VIENNA — Iran and six world powers seeking to coax Tehran into curbing its nuclear activities appear to be coming to talks later this month without resolving the differences that scuttled previous rounds, according to recent letters exchanged between the two ...
Iran Sanctions Counterproductive: Lavrov
June 07, 2012
MOSCOW - Further sanctions on Iran would be "counter-productive", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during an official visit to China on Wednesday.
"Additional sanctions are completely counter-productive, they are already adopted not only by ...