Iran’s president-elect hopes all will seize chance of friendly ties

Posted on June 17, 2013 by

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani held out the prospect on Monday of better relations between Iran and the world, including the United States, and progress on resolving the nuclear dispute. But the moderate cleric who scored a surprise election victory on Friday insisted Washington and the West must recognize what he said was Tehran’s right to enrich uranium, not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs and end their hostility. Rohani said his new government, to be formed after his inauguration in August, would “revive ethics and constructive interaction with the world through moderation”. “I hope that all countries use this opportunity,” he told his first news conference since his election win. Asked … Continue reading →

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US state department officials in ‘sex and drugs scandal’

Posted on June 12, 2013 by

The US state department failed to fully investigate allegations against its officials involving prostitution, a drug ring and assault, media report. A leaked internal document obtained by CBS News said staff protecting ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regularly solicited sex workers. The report also alleges a drug ring may have provided narcotics to state department contractors in Iraq. But it is suggested the department may have tried to cover up the misconduct. According to CBS, a draft copy of a state department inspector general’s report alleges eight specific examples of improper behaviour by US officials. Some allegations were suppressed, according to CBS, such as an investigation into an unnamed ambassador … Continue reading →

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Venezuela arrests Colombians over Maduro assassination plot

Posted on June 12, 2013 by

T he Venezuelan government says it has arrested nine Colombian right-wing paramilitaries who were plotting to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro. Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez said the nine had been instructed to go to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and carry out the plot. More arrests are expected, he added. President Maduro was elected in April to succeed late president Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer after 14 years in office. In May, Mr Maduro accused Colombian politicians, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, of plotting to kill him. “Uribe is a killer,” he said at the time, adding that the “Venezuelan right” was also involved. Mr Uribe, a critic of Hugo … Continue reading →

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New British Visa requirements ‘tearing British families apart’

Posted on June 10, 2013 by

New migration rules for people from outside the European Union are “tearing British families apart”, a group of MPs and peers have claimed in a report. It said thousands of Britons have been unable to bring a non-EU spouse to the UK since July 2012, when minimum earnings requirements were introduced. Children have also been separated from a parent, the committee said. The Home Office said the rules are designed to ease the burden of migration on the taxpayer. Rules that came into force a year ago require any British citizen who wants to sponsor their non-European spouse’s visa to be able to show they earn at least £18,600 a … Continue reading →

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US army suspends general over sexual-assault case

Posted on June 8, 2013 by

The United States Army announced Friday it had suspended a two-star general in Japan for failing to properly investigate a sexual-assault case, the latest U.S. military commander to get in trouble over the issue. Maj. Gen. Michael T. Harrison, the commander of U.S. Army forces in Japan, was suspended by Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, in response to allegations that he “failed in his duties as a commander to report or properly investigate” a reported sexual assault, the Army said in a statement. The Army did not disclose when the assault occurred or how it came to the Army leadership’s attention. … Continue reading →

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US offers $7million reward for capture of Boko Haram leader

Posted on June 5, 2013 by

The US is offering rewards for the first time for information on Islamist militants in North and West Africa. The highest reward of up to $7m (£4.6m) is for information leading to the location of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, the state department said. Smaller rewards are offered for leading figures in Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao). A reward of up to $5m was on offer for veteran militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar. His Signed in Blood Battalion was held responsible for an attack on a gas plant in south-east Algeria in January in which at least 37 hostages, including … Continue reading →

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Russian, Iranian technology boosts Assad’s assault on rebels

Posted on June 3, 2013 by

Sophisticated technology from Russia and Iran has given Syrian government troops new advantages in tracking and destroying their foes, helping them solidify battlefield gains against rebels, according to Middle Eastern intelligence officials and analysts. The technology includes increased numbers of Iranian-made surveillance drones and, in some areas, anti-mortar systems similar to those used by U.S. forces to trace the source of mortar fire, the officials and experts said. Syrian military units also are making greater use of monitoring equipment to gather intelligence about rebel positions and jamming devices to block rebel communications, they said. At the same time, Syrian military leaders are adopting new tactics that some experts also attribute … Continue reading →

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Senior Pakistan Taliban leader ‘killed in US drone strike’

Posted on May 30, 2013 by

The second-in-command of the Pakistani Taliban has been killed in a suspected US drone strike, a senior Taliban source told the BBC. The Pakistani Taliban leadership has not officially confirmed the death of Waliur Rehman so far. Earlier, Pakistani security officials said a local Taliban commander was among casualties in the raid. Missiles hit a house close to the town of Miranshah, in north-west Pakistan, early on Wednesday. The strike is the first for almost six weeks. It comes a week after President Barack Obama issued new guidelines for tighter scrutiny of the US drone programme and stricter targeting rules. A senior Taliban source in Miranshah told the BBC that … Continue reading →

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Pakistan PM to take on foreign, defence portfolios himself

Posted on May 29, 2013 by

Pakistan Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif will oversee the sensitive foreign and defence portfolios as he seeks to forge a working partnership with the all-powerful military in the early days of his tenure, sources close to him said on Tuesday. Sharif, ousted in a bloodless military coup in 1999, has decided not to appoint defence and foreign ministers in the cabinet he is putting together. He led his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), back to power in May 11 elections. Instead, he will select a retired civil servant as an adviser on foreign affairs – Tariq Fatemi, a former ambassador to the United States and the European Union, the sources said. … Continue reading →

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Chinese hackers ‘compromise’ US weapon systems designs

Posted on May 29, 2013 by

Chinese hackers have accessed designs for more than two dozen US weapons systems, a US newspaper has reported. Designs for combat aircraft, ships and missile defences were among those compromised, a Pentagon paper found, the Washington Post reported. A public version of the same Defence Science Board report said in January that the US was unprepared for a full-scale cyber attack. A Pentagon spokesman said “intrusions” had not eroded its technological edge. The Defense Science Board did not return requests for comment from the BBC. The Washington Post report comes as Australia discloses Chinese hackers stole floor plans for the new headquarters of its domestic intelligence agency. The compromised US … Continue reading →

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