Iran is ready to complete and inaugurate the proposed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project ahead of the due date, the vice president for international affairs said in Islamabad today. In a meeting with Pakistani finance officials, Ali Saeedlou said that Iran is prepared to help Pakistan establish the pipeline ahead of the date the two sides have agreed upon, IRNA news... 

Indian business delegation will visit Tehran in the end of February to boost oil imports from the Islamic Republic. India plans to send a business delegation to Iran to hold talks aimed at increasing the volume of Tehran’s oil exports to New Delhi, a report says. “We will need to lead a business delegation there, taking potential exporters across a range of... 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Despite Beijing’s outright refusal to join the EU and US-sponsored unilateral sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arranged a visit to China to convince the country to reduce Iranian oil import. A German government source told a news briefing on Tuesday that “It is in German interests that... 

Water leaks from 14 points at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant’s facilities have been found, leading the operator to suspend the cooling of the spent fuel pool at its No. 4 reactor for two hours, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) was quoted by local media as reporting on Monday. The leakage is believed to have been caused by the freezing cold weather,... 

A senior political analyst says Moscow and Beijing should not just sit by and watch the current anti-Iran threats and moves by the West as they are bound to be the next targets, Press TV reports. “People like Russia and China had better figure out that if they just sit there and let these things happen, eventually they’ll be next,” Webster Griffin Tarpley,... 

Avian Influenza, or A H5N1, has a mortality rate among humans of twenty to thirty times that of Spanish Flu which killed up to fifth million people in 1918/1919 and would be far, far worse than even the Black Death which assailed Europe in the fourteenth century. The spread of new cases is alarming, constant and deadly. Humankind must watch bird flu like a hawk…and... 

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has warned that the Sumatran elephant could be extinct in less than 30 years as half of the species’ population has been lost in one generation. According to a statement issued by WWF, an estimated number of 2,400 to 2,800 Sumatran elephants are alive that is down about 50 percent from a 1985 estimate. “The Sumatran elephant... 

New Western sanctions seek to prevent other countries from importing Iran's crude oil. India has agreed to pay the price of crude oil it imports from Iran in gold, which makes it the first country to drop the US dollar for purchasing the Iranian oil. According to a report published by DEBKAfile news website, unnamed sources have stressed that China is also expected... 

Samsung unveiled its transparent 46-inch LCD Smart Window panels at CES 2012 show, Vesti.Ru reports. The lighting, which is an inseparable part of any LCD display is only used during the dark time of the day. During the daytime, the panel uses the light that comes from the sun or from the room illumination. The South Korean electronic giant promised to establish the... 

India's Ambassador to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri The permanent representatives of China and India to the United Nations say the US-led sanctions on Iranian oil sector are neither logical nor economically viable. Chinese Ambassador to the UN, Li Baodong said that US officials should reconsider their move on sanctioning Iran’s oil sector since these requests are... 

Russia’s Transaero and Aeroflot airlines took the 15th and the 35th positions respectively on the list of world’s 60 safest airlines, Ayda.ru website said. The research to analyze the security level took account of all incidents that took place to jetliners during the recent decade. At the same time, Russia became the most dangerous state for those who like... 

Hong Kong The country with the freest economy on the planet is Hong Kong. Such a statement was made by Heritage Foundation, a US-based NGO. The “Index of Economic Freedom” made by the organization is based on the degree of openness of markets, the effectiveness of the legal framework for business activities and the apparatus of government officials and regulatory... 

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak (L) igreets Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Both countries have expressed their intentions to disregard US-led sanctions on Iranian oil. Japan has become the latest country to hint at its intention to ignore US-led oil sanctions on Iran, after South Korea’s recent dismissal of Washington’s bid to boycott the Iranian... 

Energy experts believe the new US sanctions on Iran could lead to a major hike in crude oil prices. South Korea has announced that it will buy around 10 percent of its needed crude from Iran in 2012, which will be slightly higher than last year. Seoul’s demand for more Iranian oil follows the approval of a new act by the US Senate for imposing tougher sanctions... 

On Wednesday, December 28, North Korea holds the funeral service for its leader Kim Jong-il, who died on December 17. The first stage of the funeral will be held in Kymsusan memorial complex in Pyongyang – the official residence of Kim Jong-Il’s father, Kim Il Sung. According to North Korean media, Kim Jong-Il died from a heart attack as he was traveling...