Tuesday
06 Apr 10
Russia 'could opt out of nuclear disarmament deal'
Russia's foreign minister has said his country could opt out of a new nuclear disarmament treaty if it feels threatened by US missile defence plans. But Sergey Lavrov said current, short-term US plans, which could include ground-based interceptor missiles in Romania, seemed acceptable to Russia. Russia and the US are due to sign a deal to reduce their nuclear stockpiles in Prague on Thursday.
Envoy Terms Latin America "Battlefield for Iran-US Confrontation"
Tehran has widened its presence in Latin America to reduce the influence of the US in the region, Iranian Ambassador to Brazil Mohsen Shaterzadeh Yazdi said on Tuesday, describing South America as a battlefield of Iran-US confrontation. "Iran's powerful presence in Latin America is aimed at diminishing the US's influence in this region and we witness that the countries of this region welcome Iran's presence (in Latin America) since they are also in pursuit of the same goal," Shaterzadeh Yazdi said, addressing Iranian students at the Ferdowsi University in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Iranian Navy to Dispatch 8th Fleet of Warships to Gulf of Aden
"Iranian fleets of warships are sent on three-month-long missions and while mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran's 7th fleet of warships in the Gulf of Aden will end two months later, the 8th fleet is already ready to leave for the mission," Iranian Army's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told FNA. Sayyari reiterated that the 7th fleet of Iranian warships, which consists of 'Sabalan' and 'Khark' destroyers, is still in charge of securing the area and the safe passage of Iranian vessels passing through the Gulf of Aden, and said the flotilla would continue its mission for the next two months. The Iranian Navy's 7th fleet, including two destroyers named Sabalan and Khark, was dispatched from the first naval zone on an extraterritorial mission to the Gulf of Aden a month ago.
Iran vows to strike Israel immediately if attacked
A senior cleric within Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday reiterated warnings that Tehran would strike Tel Aviv immediately if Israel and its Western allies attacked Iran. "The enemies know if they fire a missile toward Iran, the dust from explosions by Iranian missiles will rise in Tel Aviv even as their missile is still in the air," a report by the semiofficial Fars news agency on Tuesday quoted cleric Mojtaba Zolnour as saying. The cleric issued a similar warning in October, when he said Iran would blow up the heart of Israel if the United States or the Jewish state attacked it first.
Chinese Hunters Capture 'Yeti'
A bizarre hairless creature dubbed a "yeti" and captured by hunters in China's Sichuan province is being studied by scientists. "It looks a bit like a bear but it doesn't have any fur and it has a tail like a kangaroo," said one of the hunters. "There are legends of a bear that used to be a man and some people think that's what we caught." The animal, which "calls like a cat," will be sent to Beijing for DNA tests
Palestinians see U.S. Mideast push at "dead end"
The United States has reached a dead end in its attempts to revive Middle East peace talks, a senior Palestinian official said on Tuesday, citing Israeli building on occupied land.
Jordan's king: Future of Israel in jeopardy
Israel's long-term future is in danger if Mideast peace cannot be achieved, Jordan's King Abdullah warned in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that appeared online.
'Third Temple' bus ads removed
About a week and a half ago, the "Eretz Israel Shelanu" (our Land of Israel) movement initiated a wide-scale campaign calling for a speedy construction of the Third Temple. As some of the buses passed through east Jerusalem neighborhoods, the campaign sparked a great deal of objection among left-wing activists and Arab residents.
IRS chief: Buy health insurance or lose your tax refund
Individuals who don’t purchase health insurance may lose their tax refunds according to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. After acknowledging the recently passed health-care bill limits the agency’s options for enforcing the individual mandate, Shulman told reporters that the most likely way to penalize individuals that don’t comply is by reducing or confiscating their tax refunds.
Israel: Turkey aligning with Muslim world at our expense
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is attempting to integrate with the Muslim world at the expense of his country's ties with Israel, hours after Erdogan criticized Israel over actions in Jerusalem and Gaza. "Israel is not interested in confrontation with any country, including Turkey," said the Foreign Ministry in a statement. "The impression that is being created is that the Turkish prime minister is seeking to integrate with the Muslim world at Israel's expense."
Politicians join Mimouna celebrations across Israel
The Mimouna celebrations, a traditional North African Jewish holiday held a day after Passover has long become a chance for politicians to promote themselves amidst traditional cakes and sweets. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took part in the celebrations at the Fahima Family in Or Akiva, said, "We'll continue to build in the north, south and Jerusalem."
Obama to announce new nuclear defence strategy
Barack Obama is set to announce a new defence strategy that would reduce the circumstances in which the US would be prepared to use nuclear weapons. It would rule out a nuclear response to attacks on the US involving biological, chemical or conventional weapons. Nor would the US use nuclear arms on non-nuclear states that comply with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
It is inevitable that Iran will produce nuclear weapons, as things stand, US President Barack Obama said on Monday, in an interview with The New York
Twenty-five miners are now known to have died and four are missing after an accident at a West Virginia coal mine. The accident was caused by an underground explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine some 30 miles (50 km) south of Charleston in the eastern US. The blast happened around 1500 (1900 GMT), said the mine's owner Massey Energy Company.
Obama: A nuclear Iran inevitable
It is inevitable that Iran will produce nuclear weapons, as things stand, US President Barack Obama said on Monday, in an interview with The New York Times. Seeming to indicate his administration was now resigned to a future including a nuclear-armed Iran. President Obama stated he was now convinced that “the current course they’re on would provide them with nuclear weapons capabilities,” though he gave no timeline.
'Jordan-Israel ties at all-time low'
Jordan's relationship with Israel is at an all-time low since peace was established 15 years ago, Jordanian King Abdullah says in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Monday night. When he met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a year ago, Abdullah told the paper, "I was extremely optimistic by the vision he had for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and the Israelis and the Arabs. However, I have to say that over the past 12 months, everything I've seen on the ground has made me extremely skeptical."
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