TEHRAN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would not step back “an iota” from its nuclear path, following the release of a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the previous day saying that Iran has engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear weapons.

Addressing a crowd in the central city of Shahr-e-Kord, Ahmadinejad said that “They (Westerners and IAEA) accuse us of building a nuclear bomb.” Continue Reading

BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) — China on Wednesday again voiced its opposition to the development of nuclear weapons in any Middle East country.

“China opposes nuclear proliferation and doesn’t approve of any Middle East country developing nuclear weapons,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at the daily press briefing.

Hong’s comments came one day after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest report that credible evidence showed Iran has engaged in projects and experiments relevant to the development of nuclear weapons.
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VIENNA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) — Iran has engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear weapons, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report obtained by media Tuesday.

In the latest report on Iran’s nuclear program, the UN nuclear watchdog listed a series of “credible” evidence that Iran was carrying out projects and experiments suspected of linking with a nuclear warhead design at least until 2010. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — The White House said on Monday that the Iran nuclear report soon to be released by the UN nuclear watch dog will echo the U.S. concerns on the nuclear program of the Islamist state, while it reiterated its effort now is focused on diplomacy.

“What I can tell you is that we certainly expect it to echo and reinforce what we’ve been saying about Iran’s behavior and its failure to live up to its international obligations,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. Continue Reading

DAMASCUS, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — Syria announced earlier it had agreed on a “final plan” initiated by the Arab League (AL) ministerial committee to help defuse tension in Syria, and had already executed some of the terms.

However, as anti-government protests have not stopped and violence has caused the death toll to rise, Syria still faces various tests. Continue Reading

MONROVIA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — Official campaign for the 2011 run- off presidential election in Liberia scheduled for Tuesday ends mid-night Sunday, according to the National Election Commission guideline.

The election takes place despite boycott by main opposition party Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) leaded Winston Tubman. Continue Reading

CAIRO/AMMAN, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — All the passengers aboard an Egyptian ferry which caught fire on Thursday morning near the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea have been rescued, Egyptian Transport Minister Ali Zain el-Abdin said.

The ferry, carrying 1,230 passengers who are mostly Egyptian expatriate workers returning home for Muslim Eid al-Adha festival, caught fire about 15 nautical miles from the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba and was headed for the Egyptian port of Nuweiba, according to the report. Continue Reading

JERUSALEM, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called on a new wave of settlement building in the West Bank and Jeruslam, after the Palestinians have been granted full membership of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Prime Minister’s Office ordered speeding up construction of 2,000 housing units in East Jerusalem, Ma’aleh Adumim, and Gush Etaion, local sources told Xinhua.

Netanyahu convened a meeting with eight senior ministers on Tuesday to discuss possible sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in response to its UNESCO Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — The U.S. government announced on Monday it has halted making financial contributions to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after the latter admitted the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as a full member.

“We were to have made a 60-million-dollar payment to UNESCO in November and we will not be making that payment,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at the daily news briefing.

Nuland made the remarks in response to the vote at the 193- member UNESCO’s general conference in Paris, France, which accepts the PNA as a full member. The PNA gained 107 votes for its membership bid to join the UNESCO, while 14 countries voted against and 52 others abstained, the UNESCO said after the vote. Continue Reading

TRIPOLI, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — Abdel Rahman el-Keb, a professor of Tripoli University, was elected Monday as Libya’s new interim prime minister.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — Iraqi defense chief said that his country would not be fully able to defend itself from external threats until at least 2020, a U.S. inspector’s report said Monday.

“It will take several more years before Iraq can provide for its external defense without assistance from international partners,” the report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) quoted Iraqi Army’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari, as saying. Continue Reading

HARARE, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has threatened to take unspecified measures against Swiss businesses in retaliation for denial of visas to part of his delegation that was scheduled to visit the European country.

Mugabe, his wife Grace and several government officials were expected to attend the International Telecommunications Union Summit on Information Communication Technology in Geneva last week but Mugabe cancelled the trip after some members of his delegation were denied visas. Continue Reading