Archives for January, 2014

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks to the media during a news conference following the E3/EU+3-Iran talks in Geneva November 24, 2013. Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough deal on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief, in what could be the first sign of an emerging rapprochement between the Islamic state and the West. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY MEDIA) - RTX15QOE

Iran's absence at Geneva II hurts hopes for peace

Even without Iran, the Geneva II talks must work toward a cease-fire and a solution to the Syrian crisis.

A young Iranian veiled woman stands in front of a mosque at the 18th Tehran International Book Fair May 8, 2005. Aspirants vying to replace outgoing reformist cleric Mohammad Khatami in the June 17 election must first be vetted by a constitutional watchdog known as the Guardian Council which comprises of six clerics and Islamic jurists who have in the past always rejected women hopefuls. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl MN/YH - RTRAIQA

Iranian women warned about wearing chador

Former Iranian Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi says, “All hell breaks loose when it comes to women’s hijab.”

Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi (L) and Tero Varjoranta, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, attend a news conference at the headquarters of the IAEA in Vienna December 11, 2013. The U.N. nuclear agency and Iran aim to reach agreement next month on future steps to be taken by Tehran to help clarify concerns about its atomic activities, the two sides said after holding productive talks on Wednesday. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger (A

Nuclear deal cracks open Iran economy and helps students

IAEA confirmation that Iran has stopped enriching uranium to 20% starts the clock on six months of economic relief and on negotiations for a more-lasting agreement.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan wave before their departure for Brussels at Esenboga Airport in Ankara January 20, 2014. Rocked by a corruption scandal, Turkey looks further than ever from its goal of European Union membership as Erdogan visits Brussels this week in the midst of a crackdown on the judiciary and police. Erdogan has purged hundreds of police and sought tighter control of the courts since a corruption inquiry burst into the open last month, a scandal he has cas

Erdogan travels to Brussels

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Belgium in the face of setbacks to Turkey's application for EU membership and the cloud of corruption his government is under.

Palestinians are pictured through the damaged windscreen of a bus as they gather at the scene of an Israeli air strike, which hit a motorcycle, in the northern Gaza Strip January 19, 2014. Israel carried out an air strike on Sunday against a Gaza militant whom it blamed for cross-border rocket attacks last week. Palestinian medics said two people, including a 12-year-old boy, were wounded. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX17KW7

Israel must limit targeted killings to avoid further violence

The elimination by airstrike of Islamic Jihad operative Ahmad Saad on Jan. 19 raises again the discussion on the long-term effectiveness of Israel's targeted killings policy.

Turkish intelligence service trucks reveal secrets

Did trucks linked to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization facilitate the smuggling of weapons to rebel forces in Syria?

(L-R) Israel's military chief Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon attend a graduation ceremony of Israeli naval officers in the northern city of Haifa September 11, 2013. Netanyahu said on Wednesday Syria must be stripped of its chemical weapons and that the international community must make sure those who use weapons of mass destruction pay a price. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX13HVO

Bibi knows where Ya'alon stands on peace talks

In view of Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's recent statements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that his top minister might jeopardize the possibility of talks with the Palestinians as he did before.

Israeli's Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Dan Shechtman speaks at the Nobel banquet in the Town Hall of Stockholm December 10, 2011. Shechtman currently works at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. REUTERS/Jonas Ekstromer/Scanpix (SWEDEN - Tags: POLITICS) NO COMMERCIAL SALES. SWEDEN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWEDEN. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR2V3P2

Could Nobel laureate Shechtman be Israel's next president?

The Knesset is preparing to elect the 10th president of the State of Israel in May 2014, and unlike previous times, candidates include a growing list of names from outside the political sphere.

Palestinians walk near an opening in Israel's controversial barrier in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of A-tur January 3, 2014. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a gloomy assessment of peace prospects with the Palestinians on Thursday as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began his 10th visit to the region in pursuit of a deal. Leaders from both sides have to address core issues of the decades-old conflict, such as the question of borders, security, refugees and the status of Jerusalem. RE

Status of Jerusalem may again scuttle peace talks

There is as yet no sign that the US-led Israeli-Palestinian talks have made any progress on Jerusalem.

An Iraqi Marsh Arab stands as British soldiers patrol in Iraq's southern marshlands near Basra December 16, 2005, a day after [elections for the country's first full-term parliament since Saddam Hussein's overthrow. Millions of ballot papers were being counted and recounted on Friday as Iraqis celebrated a peaceful election that saw rebellious Sunni Arabs join in for the first time, pushing turnout close to 70 percent.] - RTXO2IL

Iraqi women mostly absent from political scene

Despite some gains made in recent decades, Iraqi women remain largely absent from the country’s political scene.

A Russian supertanker is anchored by Neka oil terminal, 300 km north-east of [Tehran], during an inauguration ceremony of the first phase of an oil swap project with Iran's Caspian neighbours, April 29, 2004. [ Under the project Iran will take crude from Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and transfer them through pipelines to refineries in the cities of Tehran and Tabriz.] - RTXMLA4

Russia can't lose in oil deal with Iran

Russia is seeking to expand trade ties with Iran and is angling to benefit from any lifting of international sanctions on Iran.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius (R) and Ahmad Jarba, leader of Syria's opposition National Coalition, attend a news conference at the French foreign ministry during a "Friends of Syria" meeting ahead of Geneva II peace talks, in Paris, January 12, 2014. The "Friends of Syria", an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, urged opposition groups on Sunday to attend this month's peace talks, saying there was no alternative for a political so

Will Geneva II go the way of Vietnam peace talks?

The Geneva negotiations have yet to resolve many differences in form or substance between the government and opposition delegations.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

An exchange currency dealer sits at his shop as he waits for customer in Tehran's business district October 24, 2011. Iranian media reported last week that monetary authorities had reversed a six-month-old decision to cut interest on bank deposits, aiming to mop up excess cash in the economy and halt a dangerous rise of inflation. The news made sense to econom

Iran addresses legacy of rents in economy

The role of foreign exchange, fuel smuggling and commercial rents are all under scrutiny.

A general view shows a news conference, held by Supreme Election Committee head Nabil Salib (C) to announce a new constitution, in Cairo January 18, 2014. More than 98 percent of voters backed the new Egyptian constitution in a referendum this week, authorities said on Saturday, though the turnout was lower than some officials had indicated, with under 40 percent of the electorate taking part. REUTERS/ Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17JWD

The meanings of Egypt’s referendum

Egypt's new constitution is more progressive than its predecessors.

A Palestinian vendor prepares water pipes at his shop on the beach of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip May 31, 2009. Sunday marks World No Tobacco Day. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA ANNIVERSARY HEALTH) - RTR2443D

Source: Hamas resorts to tobacco taxes to pay state employees

In light of a religious debate concerning the permissibility of cigarettes in Islam, the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip had restricted the use of money from tobacco taxes to infrastructure projects, but a source says it's now using those funds to pay salaries.

Palestinian children hold bread as they take part in a rally to show solidarity with Palestinian refugees in Syria's main refugee camp Yarmouk, in Gaza City January 16, 2014. The Arabic words on the bread read: "No to starving Yarmouk" REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX17G3P

Gaza expresses solidarity with Syria’s Yarmouk camp

Palestinians in Gaza have organized rallies and donation campaigns for the Palestinians in Syria's Yarmouk refugee camp, which has suffered a months-long siege.