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Iran urges elimination of all nukes ahead of talks

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran’s U.N. ambassador called nuclear weapons the greatest threat to present and future generations on Monday, just days before Tehran resumes talks with six world powers aimed at reining in its suspect nuclear program. Mohammad Khazaee told a meeting of the General Assembly’s disarmament committee that “the total elimination of these inhuman weapons is the only absolute guarantee against their threat or use.” The election of President Hassan Rouhani, viewed as a moderate, has led to a revival of talks in Geneva aimed at allaying Western fears that the real aim of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program is producing nuclear weapons, not nuclear energy and medical isotopes as it claims. For years, Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is purely peaceful, and that it opposes nuclear weapons, but Khazaee’s comments were especially strong. “Before they consume us all together, we must consume them all together,” […]

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Shootings, bombings kill 12 in Iraq

President Barack Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stay in their seats, Friday, Nov. 1, 2013, following a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. The prime minister arrived at the White House Friday to personally appeal to President Barack Obama for more U.S. assistance in beating back the bloody insurgency consuming his country. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) BAGHDAD (AP) — A double suicide bombing and other attacks killed 12 people in Iraq on Monday, said officials, while Iraqi legislators passed a law laying the groundwork for next year’s parliamentary elections. Violence has spiked in Iraq since April, with the pace of killing reaching levels unseen since 2008. U.N. figures released last week showed that at least 979 people, mostly civilians, were killed last month alone. The latest attacks came two days after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returned from a trip to Washington in […]

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UN aid chief says 40% of Syrians in need of assistance

Displaced Syrian women and children near Kafer Rouma, ancient ruins used as temporary shelter by those families who have fled from the heavy fighting and shelling in the Idlib province countryside of Syria 5 November 2013 Last updated at 01:46 The number of those needing help has risen by more than 30% since September Some 9.3 million people in Syria – or about 40% of the population – now need outside assistance, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has said. This figure has risen by 2.5m from the 6.8m total the UN gave in September. The Syria crisis “continues to deteriorate rapidly and inexorably”, Ms Amos told the UN Security Council. Meanwhile, UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is due to hold talks with US and Russian diplomats aimed at paving the way for a Syria peace conference. In Geneva, Mr Brahimi will also meet representatives from the rest of the […]

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Heavy gunfire heard in Libya's capital Tripoli

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Heavy shooting from guns and anti-aircraft weapons erupted early on Tuesday in the Libyan capital Tripoli, Reuters witnesses said. The fighting occurred between militias in the eastern Suq al-Juma area, said a militia source with government ties, adding that he had no further information. Reuters reporters in Tripoli could hear intermittent gunfire for three hours. A Facebook website showed what it said were two burned-out cars from the scene of the fighting, though Reuters could not verify its authenticity. An interior ministry official told Reuters he had no information about the shooting. A defense ministry official declined to comment, while no other officials were immediately available. OPEC producer Libya faces chaos and anarchy as the government struggles to rein in militias, gangs and Islamist radicals in a country awash with arms two years after the ouster of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Suq al-Juma was a center […]

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Heavy gunfire heard in Libya’s capital Tripoli

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Heavy shooting from guns and anti-aircraft weapons erupted early on Tuesday in the Libyan capital Tripoli, Reuters witnesses said. The fighting occurred between militias in the eastern Suq al-Juma area, said a militia source with government ties, adding that he had no further information. Reuters reporters in Tripoli could hear intermittent gunfire for three hours. A Facebook website showed what it said were two burned-out cars from the scene of the fighting, though Reuters could not verify its authenticity. An interior ministry official told Reuters he had no information about the shooting. A defense ministry official declined to comment, while no other officials were immediately available. OPEC producer Libya faces chaos and anarchy as the government struggles to rein in militias, gangs and Islamist radicals in a country awash with arms two years after the ouster of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Suq al-Juma was a center […]

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Deposed Egypt president Mohamed Morsi defiant as trial adjourned

Morsi supporters gather outside Cairo Police Academy on November 4, 2013. Mohamed Morsi and other defendants arrived to the Police Academy, for their trial in the east of Cairo on November 4,2013. Protesters, raised Egypt’s ousted Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi , on Monday defiantly insisted he was the country’s legitimate leader as his trial for inciting violence got off to a raucous start at a heavily-guarded police academy on the outskirts of Cairo. Rejecting the proceedings against him as “cover for a coup”, the former president repeatedly interrupted the presiding judge, who adjourned the hearing when Mr Morsi tried to demand a special trial in accordance with procedures for the impeachment of a president set out in the suspended 2012 constitution. “I am Dr Mohamed Morsi, the president of the republic, and I am present here by force and against my will. The coup is criminal and treasonable,” he […]

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Iraq’s pipeline bombings halt oil pumping

Iraq’s pipeline bombings halt oil pumping Page added on November 3, 2013 A major oil pipeline has been bombed in northern Iraq, forcing pumping to be suspended, security officials said. Three blasts went off on Saturday in Nineveh province along the pipeline, which runs to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, but the incident did not cause any casualties. An official with the state-owned North Oil Co in the city of Kirkuk said repair works had already started on the pipeline and oil pumping was expected to resume on Sunday. Rebels frequently attack the pipeline, which carries a significant portion of Iraq’s oil exports to international markets. Growing pressure The Iraqi authorities are under growing pressure after the autonomous Kurdish region in the north of the country said it would build a second oil pipeline to Turkey, a route to Western markets that would bypass national infrastructure. However, Turkish Energy […]

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Iraq Leader's Visit Shows Strain With U.S.

WASHINGTON—Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki headed back to Baghdad after a strained visit to Washington that fell short of securing more U.S. military aid and exposed divisions about the causes and cures for rising violence in his country. Mr. Maliki wrapped up his three-day visit Friday with a White House meeting at which President Barack Obama praised the Iraqi leader and said the two countries would step up their efforts to uproot al Qaeda militants expanding their operations across the region. But while Mr. Maliki worked to persuade American leaders to free up more U.S. military aid, leading lawmakers expressed dismay over the Iraqi leader’s repeated insistence that he bore little responsibility for the sectarian violence sweeping his country. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was “extremely disappointed” by his meeting with Mr. Maliki and said the prime minister hurt his case […]

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Iraq Leader’s Visit Shows Strain With U.S.

WASHINGTON—Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki headed back to Baghdad after a strained visit to Washington that fell short of securing more U.S. military aid and exposed divisions about the causes and cures for rising violence in his country. Mr. Maliki wrapped up his three-day visit Friday with a White House meeting at which President Barack Obama praised the Iraqi leader and said the two countries would step up their efforts to uproot al Qaeda militants expanding their operations across the region. But while Mr. Maliki worked to persuade American leaders to free up more U.S. military aid, leading lawmakers expressed dismay over the Iraqi leader’s repeated insistence that he bore little responsibility for the sectarian violence sweeping his country. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was “extremely disappointed” by his meeting with Mr. Maliki and said the prime minister hurt his case […]

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Surge in Iraqi Violence Reunites Maliki and Obama

WASHINGTON — With violence spiking again in Iraq , fomenting fears of widening instability in the region, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki pressed President Obama on Friday for American help in fighting Qaeda terrorists in his country’s lawless west. Mr. Maliki said the Iraqi government was “mobilizing our people in order to fight Al Qaeda because it’s good for Iraq and the Middle East.” Speaking after a meeting with the president in the Oval Office, Mr. Maliki said he and Mr. Obama had “similar ideas” on counterterrorism priorities, though he did not offer details on any requests for military equipment or other aid. Other Iraqi officials said the government was appealing for a range of aid, including Apache helicopter gunships and Hellfire missiles , as well as more American intelligence and other forms of counterterrorism support, like reconnaissance drones that would be operated by Americans. “Unfortunately, Al Qaeda has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple