National Security

By JAMEY KEATENAssociated PressPARISInternational sanctions targeting Syria’s repressive regime have depleted its financial reserves by half _ and Damascus is actively trying to evade them, the French foreign minister said Tuesday. Alain Juppe called for a solid international response to

Iran will respond with force to any threats to its territorial integrity, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday, adding that it would prefer to cooperate with its Arab neighbours to maintain security in the Gulf. Iran “is ready to protect

The United States on Monday ruled out Iran’s call for a lifting of sanctions, saying that the Islamic republic must first address concerns over its nuclear program in “concrete” ways. Iran held talks with major powers on Sunday for the

Saudi Arabia’s conservative religious faction is instructing schools and universities not to admit tomboys and gays, unless their behavior is addressed and supposedly corrected. The report does not name the newspaper cited as a source, nor are there any names

Is the story of the downfall of once influential Chinese politician Bo Xilai and his wife Gu Kailai the elimination of a threat to the mainstream but corrupt Communist Party leadership, a financial scandal and murder mystery, or some combination of the

This past February, Thailand was added to a high-risk blacklist by an international organization many people have never heard of. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established by the Group of Seven (G7) in 1989 to combat money laundering

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com. South African president will marry again and have four wives Taliban in Afghanistan begin their ‘spring offensive’ U.N. observers arrive in Syria as ‘cease-fire’ shows signs of collapse N. Korea’s Kim Jong-un places ‘national

By CIARAN GILESAssociated PressMADRIDSpain’s cost of borrowing on the international debt markets rose sharply again Monday, increasing concern that the country may become the latest member of the eurozone to seek a financial bailout. The yield _ the interest rate

TEHRAN, IranA semiofficial Iranian news agency is quoting the country’s foreign minister as saying that Tehran is ready to resolve all of its nuclear disputes in talks with world powers scheduled for late May in Baghdad. Isna on Monday quoted

By ZEINA KARAMAssociated PressBEIRUTU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday the Syrian government is responsible for guaranteeing U.N. observers full freedom of movement to monitor the country’s tenuous cease-fire, which appeared to be unraveling as regime forces pounded the opposition stronghold

By ZEINA KARAMAssociated PressBEIRUTAn advance team of U.N. observers was negotiating the ground rules with Syrian authorities Monday for monitoring the country’s 5-day-old cease-fire, which appeared to be rapidly unraveling as regime forces pounded the opposition stronghold of Homs with

Britain will mount its biggest peacetime security operation for the London Olympics, with “lone wolf” attacks causing most concern but a range of other threats also under surveillance. A security force of more than 40,000, backed by a huge intelligence

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are at odds over last week’s multi-nation talks with Iran in Istanbul, with Netanyahu suggesting that the rest of the world had merely given Iran a “freebie.” The talks–attended by the

Beijing , April 15 (QNA) – China’s tourism revenues for the first quarter of 2012 were $102 billion, Chinese officials said Sunday. The figure represents a 23% increase compared to 2011. ‘China Daily’ newspaper has quoted thet Head of the

WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) —International developments will have a major influence on the ongoing recovery of the U.S. economy this year, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday. Geithner said the overall global economy and the direction of oil prices will

(AP) Israeli leader says nuclear talks gave Iran ‘gift’JERUSALEMIsrael’s prime minister says Iran got a “gift” from the world’s big powers at nuclear talks this weekend. Officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany met with Iran

(AP) Split over Cuba could sink hemispheric summitsBy FRANK BAJAK and VIVIAN SEQUERAAssociated PressCARTAGENA, ColombiaCould this weekend’s gathering of about 30 Western Hemisphere leaders be the last Summit of the Americas? The question hung in the air as the leaders

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department said on Sunday that a wider yuan trading band could help reduce global trade imbalances if it allows more play for market forces.

Lord Nazir Ahmed, the first Muslim life peer of the British House of Lords, has offered a bounty of £10 million (about $16 million) for the capture of President Barack Obama, as well as that of former President George W.

The deadly and coordinated attack by Taliban forces on Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, is but the latest in a string of deadly assaults on U.S. forces, Afghan soldiers, and above all civilians. President Barack Obama’s clear intention to withdraw before the

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 15 (UPI) —Israeli police blocked activists who attempted to fly into the country to protest Israel’s policies in the West Bank, officials said. Some 650 policemen were deployed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday to

HAMBURG, Germany, April 15 (UPI) —A German freighter allegedly loaded with Iranian weapons and ammunition for Syria was prevented from docking at a Syrian port, an official said. Luddkee told the German Web site the ship had been charted by

MADRID (Reuters) – Support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy fell sharply in April after his government announced deep spending cuts and health and education reforms to fight the sovereign debt crisis, an opinion poll showed on Sunday.

(AP) New North Korean leader makes first public speechBy JEAN H. LEEAssociated PressPYONGYANG, North KoreaNorth Korea’s new leader addressed his nation and the world for the first time Sunday, vowing before cheering troops and bouquet-waving citizens to place top priority