The 28 member nations of the International Energy Agency say they will release millions of barrels of oil from emergency stocks over the next month to make up for production curtailed by fighting in Libya. IEA officials say disruptions in Libya have kept 132 million barrels of high grade crude oil off the market, contributing […]
Oil Importers Release Emergency Supplies To Ease Prices
Iran Insists Nuclear Bomb Not on Agenda
Iran’s president says Tehran is not interested in building a nuclear bomb, but will not be stopped by the West if it desires to create one. State television quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday as saying his government would tell the world if it was working on a nuclear weapon. Mr. Ahmadinejad’s comments are the latest […]
Iran Arrests Former Deputy Foreign Minister
Iranian media report the arrest of the former deputy foreign minister who resigned this week in a political spat. The Fars news agency says Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh, an ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was taken into custody on Thursday. The report did not detail the charges. The ex-deputy foreign minister quit Tuesday as his boss […]
Iran Insists Nuclear Bomb Not on Agenda
Iran’s president says Tehran is not interested in building a nuclear bomb, but will will not be stopped by the West if it desires to create one. State television quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday as saying his government would tell the world if it was working on a nuclear weapon. Mr. Ahmadinejad’s comments are the […]
Karzai: US Troop Drawdown Puts Afghanistan on Path to Defending Itself
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed his U.S. counterpart’s announcement of the start of a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, calling it a “good” step that puts the Afghan people on the path to defending their homeland. Mr. Karzai said Thursday it is time for the “youth” of Afghanistan to take responsibility for […]
Britain, Germany, France All Plan Afghan Troop Withdrawals
Britain, Germany and France all say they plan to follow the U.S. lead and withdraw their troops from the Afghan warfront. The three European allies on Thursday quickly announced the eventual end of their involvement in fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan after U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday night spelled out his plan to withdraw […]
Somalia Names New Prime Minister
Somalia’s president has named former economics professor Abdiweli Mohamed Ali as the country’s new prime minister. Mr. Ali has been serving as acting prime minister following the resignation Sunday of his popular predecessor, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. Previously, the U.S.-educated appointee had served as Somalia’s minister for planning and international cooperation. President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed […]
Russia To Retire Tupolev Planes After Crash
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday recommended the permanent grounding of all Soviet-built Tupolev passenger airplanes like the one that crashed this week. The plane crashed on a road in heavy fog moments before its scheduled landing at Petrozavodsk airport in northwest Russia, killing 44 people. A young boy later died of his injuries, increasing […]
US Jobless Claims Rise
A key measure of the U.S. job market got a bit worse last week. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department shows the number of Americans signing up for unemployment compensation rose by 9,000 to a nationwide total of 429,000. The report is the latest in a series showing continued weakness in U.S. employment. The head […]
India, Pakistan Hold First Peace Talks Since 2008 Mumbai Attack
Two of the top diplomats from India and Pakistan have restarted peace talks that stalled after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants. India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, met Thursday in Islamabad and plan to get together again on Friday to discuss a wide range of […]