Archive for December 22nd, 2012

TEHRAN—Iran is engaged in a “smart economic war” with Western powers whose sanctions against its nuclear programme are hurting some Iranians, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday.

“Targeted sanctions, which the enemies say are supposed to be crippling, have led to a drop in our oil” sales, Ahmadinejad said in a live interview on state television, referring to an oil embargo imposed by the European Union.

“They do not even let us transfer the oil money,” he said. “They thought Iran’s economy would break down, but it did not.”

“Iran is engaged in a smart economic war with the enemy,” he said.

The EU measure, which came int…Keep on reading: Iran fighting ‘smart economic war’—Ahmadinejad
Source: Inquirer.net

LUCENA CITY, Philippines—Three suspected New People’s Army rebels, including a minor, were captured by combined Army soldiers and local police in Mulanay, Quezon, shortly before midnight Friday, a regional military spokesman said.

Colonel Generoso Bolina from the Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command based here in Camp Nakar, said the alleged rebels—Dennis Quidor alias Ka Anghel/Jabar and NPA unit leader; Eliseo Lopez; and Rodrigo Guevarra, 17 years old—were nabbed while riding in tandem aboard two motorcycles.

Bolina said the government forces were alerted when the rebels and their two hired drivers evaded Army checkpoint in the nearby town of San Francisco…Keep on reading: 3 suspected NPA nabbed in Quezon
Source: Inquirer.net

SANTA ANA, California — Coroner’s officials say Lee Dorman, bass guitarist for the 1960s psychedelic rock band Iron Butterfly, died of natural causes in Southern California and there won’t be an autopsy.

A statement from the Orange County coroner’s office says Dorman was under the care of a physician when the 70-year-old was found dead in his car Friday at his home in the coastal town of Laguna Niguel.

Authorities have said Dorman may have been on his way to a doctor’s appointment when he died.

Iron Butterfly rose to prominence in the late 1960s. According to the band’s website, its second album, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” sold more than 30 million…Keep on reading: Iron Butterfly bassist died of natural causes
Source: Inquirer.net

MONTREAL—More than 100,000 homes and businesses were without power Saturday in Quebec after a powerful winter storm battered the French-speaking Canadian province, the local utility company said.

Heavy snow weighed down branches, causing some to fall and damage power lines, Etat Hydro-Quebec said in a statement on their web site.

In other cases, heavy winds brought down power lines and damaged equipment, and made it difficult for repair crews to get out to restore power.

The company said “more than 100,000 clients are without power” after Friday’s storm as of 9:15 am local time (1415 GMT), adding that most of the outages were in the regions of Lau…Keep on reading: Blizzard leaves 100,000 without power in Canada
Source: Inquirer.net