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| December 30, 2013 |
 Iran hopes to implement nuclear deal within month Tehran (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - A top Iranian nuclear negotiator expressed hope Sunday a deal with world powers could be implemented within a month, but said technical talks on the matter are proceeding slowly, Mehr news agency reported. The deal, signed in November, saw Iran suspend parts of its contested nuclear programme for six months in return for limited sanctions relief while a longer term agreement is hammered out. ... more |  |
 Wanted leader of Qaeda-linked group had been held in Iraq Baghdad (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - One of the most wanted leaders of an Al-Qaeda-linked group operating in Iraq and Syria had been held in detention for five years but was released in 2010, an Iraqi official revealed Sunday. Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group, was detained by international forces in Iraq in May 2005, the senior intelligence official told AFP. ... more |  |
 Three senior army officers among 16 killed in Iraq Baghdad (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Attacks in Iraq mainly targeting members of the security forces killed at least 16 people on Sunday, among them three senior army officers, security and medical officials said. The attacks come as Iraq suffers its worst violence since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal period of sectarian tit-for-tat killings. In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber detonated ... more |  |
 Lebanon in $3 billion Saudi military aid pledge Beirut (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Lebanon announced a Saudi pledge of $3 billion on Sunday to buy military equipment from France, as it buried leading Sunni politician Mohammad Chatah, killed in a Beirut car bombing. Friday's killing of Chatah, a prominent critic of the Syrian regime, revived painful memories of political assassinations and came as the conflict in Lebanon's larger neighbour stoked sectarian tensions. Sau ... more |  |
 China eases one-child policy, abolishes labour camps Beijing (AFP) Dec 28, 2013 - China's top legislative committee formally approved a loosening of the country's hugely controversial one-child policy on Saturday and abolished "re-education through labour" camps, state media reported. The decisions were taken by the standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, at the conclusion of a six-day meeting, according to Xinhua news agency ... more |  |
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Chinese president queues for pork buns at Beijing eatery Beijing (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Chinese President Xi Jinping caused a stir with a weekend visit to a local Beijing restaurant, where he queued and bought his own steamed buns. In a move apparently aimed at burnishing his everyman credentials, Xi dropped by the popular Qingfeng steamed bun shop on Saturday and paid out of his own pocket for a traditional meal of pork-and-onion buns, green vegetables and fried liver, state m ... more |  |
 Missiles fired from Lebanon trigger Israel shelling: army Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Two missiles fired from southern Lebanon exploded Sunday in northern Israel, prompting the Israeli military to hit back with three artillery shells, an army spokesman said. "The Israeli artillery responded to rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from," an army spokesman told AFP. The Katyusha-style rockets ... more |  |
Israel hits back after rockets fired from Lebanon Marjeyoun, Lebanon (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - The Israeli military fired a barrage of shells into southern Lebanon in retaliation after five Katyusha-style rockets were launched against the Jewish state on Sunday, officials said. The attacks struck uninhabited areas of both Israel and Lebanon without causing any casualties or damage, officials on both sides said. "About 20 shells from Israeli territory have struck the border region ... more |  |
Israel set for new prisoner release as Kerry heads back to region Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Israel prepared Sunday to free 26 Palestinian prisoners under peace talks brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is returning to the region to boost the faltering negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to the phased release of 104 Palestinian prisoners in line with commitments to the US-backed talks, which resumed in July, and previous batches were free ... more |  |
Saudi pledges $3 bn to Lebanese army: Sleiman Beirut (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Saudi Arabia has pledged $3 billion for the Lebanese army to buy equipment from France, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman announced on Sunday. The kingdom "decided to provide generous assistance to Lebanon in the form of $3 billion for the Lebanese army to strengthen its capabilities," Sleiman said, adding that it was the largest assistance provided in Lebanon's history. French President ... more |  |
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517 dead in fortnight of regime strikes in Syria's Aleppo: NGO Beirut (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Regime air strikes on the northern Syrian province of Aleppo have killed at least 517 people since December 15, including 151 children, a monitor said on Sunday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a string of regime aerial attacks on the province, including second city Aleppo, with raids using explosives-packed barrels, had also killed 46 women. At least 46 opposition fighters, ... more |  |
Syria committed to Iran attending peace talks: minister Damascus (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - Syria is committed to its key regional ally Iran attending a planned peace conference next month to which it has yet to be invited, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Sunday. "Syria is committed to Iran joining the peace conference," the official SANA news agency quoted Muallem as saying at a media forum. "It is illogical that the United States or the so-called opposition exclude this c ... more |  |
NATO chief condemns terrorist attack in Russia Brussels (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - NATO's secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the suicide attack Saturday at Russia's Volgograd railway station that left 14 people dead and vowed to continue working with Russia to combat terrorism. "I strongly condemn the terrorist attack," Rasmussen said in a statement. "There can be no justification for such barbarous attacks." "NATO and Russia stand together in the fight ... more |  |
UN completes first Iraq-Syria aid airlift Baghdad (AFP) Dec 29, 2013 - The United Nations said Sunday that it has completed the first aid airlift from Iraq to Syria, providing much-needed supplies to a difficult-to-access region of the war-torn country. "The last UNHCR (UN refugee agency) cargo flight landed today at Qamishli airport carrying assistance urgently needed by displaced persons," the UNHCR said in a statement, referring to the location in northeast ... more |  |
Libya briefly holds four US military personnel Washington (AFP) Dec 28, 2013 - Four US military personnel have been freed after a brief detention by the Libyan government, the US State Department said Saturday. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who hours earlier announced that the Americans had been detained, did not say why they were held. "All four US military personnel being held in Libyan government custody have been released," Psaki said in a brief state ... more |  |
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US welcomes deal on relocating air base in Japan Washington (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel on Friday praised a decision by Japanese officials to allow the relocation of a US air base in Okinawa, calling it a "milestone" for relations with Tokyo. Hagel welcomed the approval of the long-delayed move of the US Marine Corps base, which he said would permit a redeployment of American forces in the area and bolster Washington's strategic "rebalance" to the Asi ... more |  |
Iraq forces arrest Sunni MP, kill brother and 5 guards Ramadi, Iraq (AFP) Dec 28, 2013 - Iraqi security forces on Saturday raided the home of a Sunni MP who backed anti-government protesters, sparking clashes that killed his brother and five guards, and arresting him, police said. "Security forces attacked the residence of MP Ahmed al-Alwani in central Ramadi to arrest him this morning, sparking a battle with his guards with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades," a po ... more |  |
Raytheon awarded $80.5 million from US Navy for Joint Standoff Weapon Tucson, AZ (SPX) Dec 28, 2013 - Raytheon has received an $80.5 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 200 full rate production Lot 10 AGM-154C-1 Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOWs). The contract also includes associated support equipment and one performance characterization test. JSOW provides growth and threat adaptation opportunities for current and future custome ... more |  |
Israel plans new settler homes while freeing Palestinians Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 27, 2013 - Israel will reveal plans to build 1,400 settler homes in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem to coincide with the weekend release of Palestinian prisoners, military radio said Friday. A third batch of Palestinian prisoners is due to be released on Sunday as part of commitments made when US-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians were relaunched in July. Palestinians have warned repeat ... more |  |
War shrine shows limit in US support to Japan Washington (AFP) Dec 26, 2013 - The United States on Thursday criticized Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a war shrine visit that infuriated Japan's neighbors, in a rare break to usually unstinting US support to its ally. US advocacy of a stronger Japan - including a more active security role by the officially pacifist country - has been a core principle for Washington in a region marked by the rise of China and an increasi ... more |  |
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