Monday, February 20, 2012

UN nuclear inspectors to press Iran on weapons (AP)

UN nuclear inspectors to press Iran on weapons (AP)

UN nuclear inspectors to press Iran on weapons (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 10:15 AM PST

In this frame made from TV Herman Nackaerts, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to reporters at the airport in Vienna, Sunday, Feb. 19 2012. A senior U.N. nuclear official said Sunday he hoped for progress in upcoming talks with Iran about suspected secret work on atomic arms, but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation that the meeting will be successful. The comments by Herman Nackaerts as his International Atomic Energy Agency team prepared to leave for Tehran for the second time in less than a month appeared to reflect IAEA reluctance to raise hopes that Iran will engage on an issue that it claims has no substance. (AP Photo / APTN) TV OUTAP - U.N. nuclear inspectors starting a two-day visit to Tehran on Monday sought to meet Iranian nuclear scientists and visit a key military facility as they try to gauge allegations that Iran is pushing toward making an atomic weapon.

Syrian forces mass outside rebel stronghold (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:31 AM PST

One of three Syrian injured men who were wounded by shelling at Baba Amr neighborhood in the Syrian province of Homs, lies on his hospital bed as he receives treatment, in the eastern town of Chtoura, in Bekaa valley, Lebanon, on Monday Feb. 20, 2012. Lebanese security officials said at least three wounded Syrians were brought for treatment in the eastern town of Chtoura. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the wounded came from the Baba Amr attacks. Syria's military sent tanks and other reinforcements toward the restive central city of Homs on Monday in what appears to be preparations by President Bashar Assad's regime for an offensive aimed at retaking rebel-held neighborhoods, activists said. (AP Photo/Samer Husseini)AP - Syrian tanks and troops massed Monday outside the resistance stronghold of Homs for a possible ground assault that one activist warned could unleash a new round of fierce and bloody urban combat even as the Red Cross tried to broker a cease-fire to allow emergency aid in.

Seoul holds military drills despite NKorea threat (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:42 AM PST

South Korean navy sailors in a speed boat patrol around South Korea's western Yeonpyong Island after finishing their exercise, near the disputed sea border with North Korea, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. South Korea on Monday conducted live-fire military drills from five islands near its disputed sea boundary with North Korea, despite Pyongyang's threat to attack. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Bae Jung-hyun) KOREA OUTAP - South Korea conducted live-fire military drills near its disputed sea boundary with North Korea on Monday despite Pyongyang's threat to respond with a "merciless" attack.

Glenn chats with space station to mark anniversary (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:17 PM PST

Sen. John Glenn talks, via satellite, with the astronauts on the International Space Station, before the start of a roundtable discussion titled 'Learning from the Past to Innovate for the Future' Monday, Feb. 20, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio. Glenn was the first American to orbit Earth, piloting Friendship 7 around it three times in 1962, and also became the oldest person in space, at age 77, by orbiting Earth with six astronauts aboard shuttle Discovery in 1998. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)AP - NASA surprised John Glenn with the kind of anniversary gift only a space agency can give, enabling him to speak live with the International Space Station on Monday as he marked 50 years since his historic spaceflight.

Greece awaits bailout decision but issues remain (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:11 PM PST

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, left, speaks with French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, center, and Luxembourg's Finance Minister Luc Frieden during a round table meeting of eurozone finance ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, Feb. 20, 2012. Eurozone governments will likely approve on Monday a long-elusive rescue package for Greece, saving it from a potentially calamitous bankruptcy next month, senior officials said. But finance ministers meeting in Brussels will have a few last issues to wrangle over, such as tighter controls over Greece's spending and further cuts to the country's debt load. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)AP - Eurozone governments hoped to sign off on Monday a long-awaited rescue package for Greece, saving it from a potentially calamitous bankruptcy next month, but several key points of division remained, senior officials said.

Oil jumps to 9-month high after Iran cuts supply (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:21 PM PST

Graphic shows the daily price of crude oil over the past two yearsAP - Oil prices jumped to a nine-month high above $105 a barrel on Monday after Iran said it halted crude exports to Britain and France in an escalation of a dispute over the Middle Eastern country's nuclear program.

NYPD monitored Muslim students all over Northeast (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:35 AM PST

In this Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 photo, people walk on the University at Buffalo campus in Buffalo, N.Y. The New York Police Department monitored Muslim college students far more broadly than previously known, at schools far beyond the city limits, including the University at Buffalo, the Ivy League colleges of Yale and the University of Pennsylvania, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/David Duprey)AP - One autumn morning in Buffalo, N.Y., a college student named Adeela Khan logged into her email and found a message announcing an upcoming Islamic conference in Toronto.

Christchurch still 'safe haven' for quake survivor (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 07:47 AM PST

FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2011 file photo 15-year-old Kent Manning, left, and his sister Lizzie, 18, react with their father, who asked not to identified, after they were told by police that there was no hope of finding Kent and Lizzie's mother, Donna, alive in a collapsed building following a 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. In many ways, the city remains a mess, a testament of the fury unleashed by the temblor. The business district is a giant construction site. Thousands of homeowners have been told to leave their land after the government deemed entire neighborhoods too unstable to repopulate. And significant aftershocks continue to jolt people's confidence. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File)AP - Jane Taylor was managing a women's clothing store in downtown Christchurch a year ago when the earthquake struck. She was dug from the rubble within minutes with horrific injuries — her vertebrae were crushed, her skull was fractured and her pelvis smashed.

Obama takes tougher stance on higher education (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 09:37 AM PST

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Va. Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money? (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)AP - Access to college has been the driving force in federal higher education policy for decades. But the Obama administration is pushing a fundamental agenda shift that aggressively brings a new question into the debate: What are people getting for their money?

Chisora apologizes 'wholeheartedly' for brawl (AP)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 10:03 AM PST

British boxer Dereck Chisora, left, arrives back at Heathrow Airport in London Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012 following his WBC heavyweight title fight with Vitali Klitschko in Munich, Germany, Saturday night. Chisora was released Sunday after nearly seven hours of questioning by police following his brawl with former WBA champion David Haye at a post-fight news conference. (AP Photo/PA, Steve Parsons) UNITED KINGDOM OUT: NO SALES: NO ARCHIVEAP - Dereck Chisora apologized "wholeheartedly" Monday for the brawl with David Haye that followed his loss to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

Second Greek bailout in reach despite funding gaps (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:50 AM PST

Reuters - Euro zone finance ministers inched towards approving a second bailout for debt-laden Greece on Monday that would resolve Athens' immediate repayment needs but seems unlikely to revive the nation's shattered economy.

Top U.N. inspectors in Iran talks on atom bomb accusations (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 09:44 AM PST

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran. Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi talks to journalist during a news conference in Tehran February 4, 2012. REUTERS/Raheb HomavandiReuters - Senior U.N. inspectors arrived in Iran on Monday to push for transparency about its disputed nuclear program and several European states halted purchases of Iranian oil as part of Western moves to pile pressure on a defiant Tehran.

U.S. Senators in Cairo want swift end to NGO case (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:12 PM PST

Reuters - U.S. Senators said in Cairo on Monday they hoped for a swift end to a row over U.S. pro-democracy activists accused of working illegally in Egypt and said they were committed to help Egypt nurture its democratic institutions and rebuild its economy.

Iranian ships reach Syria, Assad allies show support (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 12:04 PM PST

Demonstrators shout during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Kafranbel near Idlib February 19, 2012. REUTERS/HandoutReuters - Russia, China and Iran showed support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, days before an international meeting likely to pile more pressure on him to step down in the face of an increasingly bloody uprising.

Putin to win Russian election in first round: poll (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:40 AM PST

A man holds a badge with a portrait of Vladimir Putin during a rally in support his presidential candidacy in St.Petersburg, February 18, 2012. REUTERS/Alexander DemianchukReuters - Vladimir Putin will be elected president in the first round of March's election with more than half the vote, avoiding a runoff that would dent his authority on the eve of his planned return to the Kremlin's top job, a state pollster predicted Monday.

U.S. official "optimistic" on global accounting move (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:53 AM PST

Reuters - A senior U.S. regulator was "optimistic" on Monday about finding a framework for the world's top economy to use global book keeping rules for investors to compare cross-border companies.

North Korea raises alert for live-fire drill (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:58 AM PST

Kim Jong-Un (C), supreme commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA) and supreme leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, state and army, waves as he inspects KPA Unit 169 in this picture released by the North's KCNA in Pyongyang January 19, 2012. Secretive North Korea's ruling Workers' Party will hold a special conference in April, state media said on February 20, 2012, during which it is expected to formalise a third generation of Kim dynastic rule. KCNA news agency reported the meeting would Reuters - Secretive North Korea raised its military alert ahead of a live-fire artillery drill by rival South Korea Monday amid heightened tension on the peninsula during a delicate transition of power in the impoverished North.

China rebukes Iran for France, UK oil ban (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 01:20 AM PST

Reuters - China rebuked Iran on Monday for stopping oil sales to British and French companies at the weekend, calling for renewed efforts at dialogue over an escalating stand-off over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

US military officials urge caution on attacking Iran (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:27 AM PST

The Christian Science Monitor - Senior Pentagon officials are making no secret of the fact that despite the apparent stepped-up drumbeat to war with Iran, they believe a strike on the country is “not prudent” right now.
Posted by Harshad at 1:24 PM

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