Firefighters extinguish burning NATO supply oil tankers and goods trucks at a terminal following an overnight attack by gunmen in Quetta on December 9, 2011. Taliban militants have attacked 12 NATO tankers carrying fuel for US-led forces in eastern Afghanistan, Press TV reports. Afghan officials said that one driver was killed and four security guards were injured late on Sunday when the militants... 

USS John C. Stennis The US Navy has unexpectedly dispatched a fourth aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, along with a fleet of underwater drones in what is being considered just the latest move in a series of escalations leading towards a potential war with Iran. The deployment of dozens of small, unmanned submarine-like watercraft was confirmed by the Los Angeles Times this week, which cites military... 

Iran is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years. On Monday Iran accused the United States and the West of using technology to wage a “soft war” against the Islamic country. “I am suspicious about the drought in the southern part of the country,” said the head of Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism organization, Hassan Mousavi. In 2011, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the West... 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the West has been trying to blackmail Moscow into accepting a military intervention in Syria. On Monday, Lavrov said the Western threats to discontinue the UN unarmed observer mission to Syria if Russia does not agree to allow the West to use force in the country amounts to blackmail. “We will not be able... 

USNS Rappahannock. Fleet tankers or replenishment oilers are naval auxiliary ships with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds, which can replenish other ships while underway on the high seas. Rising tension in the Gulf has claimed a victim as a civilian boat came under fire from a US Navy ship after getting too close to an American tanker. One person was killed and three others wounded in the incident, say... 

The White House has finally responded to criticism over US President Barack Obama’s hushed signing last week of an Executive Order that allows the government to command privately-owned communication systems and acknowledges its implications. When President Obama inked his name to the Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions Executive Order on July 6, he... 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets supporters during an election rally in Anzoategui, Venezuela on July 12, 2012. President Hugo Chavez has said that Venezuela poses no threat to anyone, including the United States, which considers the Bolivarian Republic a hostile state. In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Republican US presidential candidate Mitt Romney said President Barack Obama is... 

When the US House of Representatives, with the coercion of the Obama administration, passed the HR 4133 United States – Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 (USIESC), the US-Israeli relationship took a new turn. In one fail swoop, Obama tied America to the agendas of Israel and brought to light what was once only implied in secret meetings. The US has become the strong-arm, military... 

Russia and Cuba are strengthening ties again, after a break which followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union supplied Cuba with oil – up to 13 mn tons each year – and quantities of arms. In return, it received Cuban tobacco, coffee, fruit and sugar and enjoyed the right to build and operate military facilities on Cuban territory. After the Soviet collapse, however, these exchanges... 

Republican candidate Mitt Romney (L) and US President Barack Obama Iran’s amicable relations with Latin American states, in particular Venezuela, has become a sticking point in the US presidential campaign, with both leading contenders trading accusations on policies towards South American states allied with the Islamic Republic. The tit-for-tat began when Republican candidate Mitt Romney and his... 

Less than a week has passed since ACTA was defeated by a comprehensive vote in the European parliament. But some copyright activists believe its provisions may get in through the backdoor via the CETA treaty. ­The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a wide-ranging set of agreements between the EU and Canada. Only a small part of it concerns intellectual property, but this part appears... 

Germany’s Bundestag passed its new registration law in just 57 seconds – as deputies rushed off to watch the national side play football against Italy. But it could undermine Germans’ right to privacy for years to come. ­Now, every single time a German moves to a new home, and gives the local authorities his address (as he is legally obliged to) as long as he does not explicitly forbid them... 

A Russian Buk-M2 air defense system Russia says it has no plans to impose an arms embargo on Syria and intends to fulfill a contract for delivering air defense systems to the country. A senior Russian arms export official said on Wednesday that since the contract to deliver Syria the air defense systems were signed before the outbreak of unrest in the country, Moscow is obliged to fulfill its commitments. ”Russia... 

Circle of friends: The Salmans said that what they’re doing is no different than inviting people over for a weekly game of poker or a Super Bowl party The war on home Bible studies and house churches is heating up again. Down in Phoenix, Arizona a man has been sentenced to 60 days in prison and has been fined $12,180 for hosting a Bible study in his home. Since 2005, Michael Salman and his wife... 

The majority of Americans say Obama has made things worse. A majority of Americans have become highly critical of US President Barack Obama’s campaign promise to change America as they believe his changes have left the country worse off, a new survey says. According to a survey carried out by the American poll institute Pulse Opinion Research for The Hill, a Washington, D.C. newspaper, 56 percent...