Tehran Times
U.S. mourns victims of school massacre
Residents of a small town in the U.S. state of Connecticut have gathered for a vigil after the massacre of 20 small children and seven adults at a school, in one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
Egyptians vote on divisive constitution
Egyptians queued to vote on Saturday on a constitution promoted by the Muslim Brotherhood as the way out of a prolonged political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world’s biggest nation.
The resistance’s conditional support for UN resolution on Palestine
The United Nations General Assembly’s recent recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state should be regarded as a positive step for Palestine in its quest to attain its legitimate rights at the international level. The move gives the Palestinians the right to take legal action against Israel and also facilitates Palestine’s bid to become a full member of the UN.
Syria and chemical weapons: Fabricating an excuse for invasion
In the last few days, the media in every nook and cranny of the planet has been abuzz with “news” about the Syrian military loading “precursor chemicals for the deadly sarin nerve gas into aerial bombs” and “awaiting final orders from President Bashar al-Assad” before using these “chemical weapons.” NBC and CNN in the United States, among thousands of media networks all over the world, have been spreading this “information” attributed mainly to U.S. officials.
Japan’s LDP leads as candidates make last appeals for votes
Japanese candidates made final appeals on Saturday ahead of an election expected to restore the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to power and give hawkish former premier Shinzo Abe a second shot at running the world’s third biggest economy.
Mandela undergoes successful gallstone surgery
South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela underwent a successful surgery to remove gallstones Saturday, the nation’s presidency said, as the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon is still recovering from a lung infection.
Iran’s Sharif University placed among world’s 350 best universities
Iran’s Sharif University of Technology has been placed among the world’s 350 best universities in 2012, according to the rankings recently published by the Times Higher Education magazine.
Insecure Mideast would be detrimental to U.S., Israel: Iran
An advisor to the Supreme Leader, Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, has said that the United States and Israel are seeking to create insecurity in the region, but it would be detrimental to them.
Iranian deputy FM to attend Caspian Sea meeting in Ashgabat
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh will travel to Turkmenistan on Sunday to attend a working meeting of deputy foreign ministers and special envoys of the Caspian Sea littoral states on the formulation of the legal regime of the sea.
Iran-Daily
27 dead in fresh US tragedy
Another shooting in US killed 27 people, including 20 children on Friday at a Connecticut elementary school.
Connecticut State Police spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vance said 18 children were shot dead inside Sandy Hook Elementary School and that two more died of their wounds in hospital, Reuters reported.
IAEA to help monitor Fukushima clean-up
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed an agreement with Japan’s Fukushima prefecture on Saturday to work together on the clean-up and monitoring at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
$1b carpet exports projected
About $556 million worth of hand-woven carpets have been exported in the current Iranian year (started March 20), adding that given the status of Iranian carpet, the figure could double.
Minister: Health network unique
Iranian Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid-Dastjerdi praised the country’s astonishing progress in various medical and scientific fields, saying Iran enjoys the most credited health network in the world.
Nation on track to foil sanctions
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi reiterated that Tehran has successfully managed to overcome the US-led sanctions, saying the embargos have failed to affect the country’s economy.
President will attend Turkish cultural event
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is to visit the Turkish province of Konya to attend the annual celebrations for Persian mystic poet Mowlavi.
Envoys discuss Syria unrest
Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi and his counterparts from Russia, China and Syria have held talks on ways to end the unrest in Syria.
Azeri parties rapped for separatist claim
Tehran’s Ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pakaeen lashed out at the separatist claims recently raised by some Azeri parties against Iran, and stated that such remarks are ‘problematic’ and raised by few grouplets.
Tehran to host tripartite anti-drug meeting
Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan will hold seventh ministerial meeting on anti-drug campaign in Tehran on December 18. Secretary general of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as well as interior ministers from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are to participate in the counternarcotics meeting, IRNA reported.
Iran News Daily
Iran still vies for OPEC chief post
Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi has rejected reports that the Islamic Republic has withdrawn its candidacy for the position of secretary general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Talking to reporters on Thursday, Ghasemi rejected reports that Iran had withdrawn its candidacy in favor of Iraq and added, “Iran still vies with Iraq and Saudi Arabia” to obtain the post.
France wants more “two-speed” Europe from 2014
French President Francois Hollande called for like-minded EU countries to push ahead with further, deeper integration, even if it means leaving behind more Eurosceptic states which insist on protecting sovereignty.
Tajik reads out statement after house arrest relief
The Iranian national, Nosratollah Tajik, who is residing in Britain and whose house arrest was removed by Westminster court here in London read out his statement outside the court building right after the court’s ruling.