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Iran preparing package for talks with West |
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Written by Reetu Sharma
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Saturday, 11 July 2009 13:47 |
 Washington, July 11 : Iran is preparing its stands on political, security and international issues so that they can become a basis for talks with the West and calm down the mounting international pressure.
"The package can be a good basis for talks with the West. The package will contain Iran''s stances on political, security and international issues," a foreign news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, as saying.
On Friday, US President Barack Obama said the international community is "not going to just wait indefinitely" for Iran to renounce an interest in developing nuclear weapons.
Speaking as the G-8 summit concluded in Italy, Obama stressed that he and others were not looking for their summit partners to embrace sanctions at this week''s meeting.
Obama said G-8 leaders voiced their concern about what he calls the "appalling" events surrounding the recent elections and the violence that followed, FOX News reported.
The leaders assembled at L''Aquila also addressed the threat of nuclear proliferation in Iran, he said, with a strong statement calling on Iran to fulfill its responsibilities without delay.
"If Iran chooses not to walk through that door, then you have on record the G-8 to begin with and, I think, potentially a lot of other countries ... ," Obama said.
Obama said his hope is that the Iranian leadership will recognize that world opinion is clear.
Mottaki said on Saturday that Iran had not received "any new message" from the summit.
"We have not received any new message from the G-8. But based on the news we have received, they had different views on different issues which did not lead to a unanimous agreement in some areas," Mottaki said. (ANI) |
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US lawyer named registrar for Lebanon's Hariri tribunal |
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Written by Heman Kothari
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Thursday, 09 July 2009 21:13 |
 New York - David Tolbert, a lawyer with extensive experience in international criminal law, was Thursday appointed a registrar for the special tribunal prosecuting the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Tolbert will begin work at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on August 26, the United Nations said in announcing his appointment by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Hariri was killed in a bomb explosion in Beirut in February 2005. He had spoken against Syria's military occupation of Lebanon. Since his death, more than 20 other Lebanese politicians and journalists have been killed and those murders are also being prosecuted by the special tribunal.
Tolbert has worked in the international criminal tribunal for crimes in the ethnic conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and as an expert in the UN programme to establish the tribunal for the Khmer Rouge's killing fields in Cambodia. He has also written extensively on international criminal law.(dpa) |
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Military historian uncovers ‘Band of Brothers’ falsehood |
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Written by Reetu Sharma
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Sunday, 05 July 2009 07:31 |
Washington, July 5 : A military historian has denied that Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division was the first to enter Adolf Hitler's Berchtesgaden mountain retreat near the end of World War II.
Dr. John C. McManus insists that in 1992 book "Band of Brothers", Stephen E. Ambrose incorrectly attributed Berchtesgaden's capture to another Army unit: Easy Company of the 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
He said that it was actually 7th Infantry Regiment that first took Berchtesgaden.
"Ambrose just made the mistake of taking the Easy Company guys at face value and not corroborating their stories with actual unit records," writes McManus in his new book "American Courage, American Carnage: 7th Infantry Chronicles: The 7th Infantry Regiment's Combat Experience, 1812 Through World War II."
McManus said that his intent was not to impugn Ambrose's reputation as a historian.
"I have great respect for Stephen Ambrose's work and was definitely influenced by him," he said.
"We all make mistakes, and I just wanted to help set the record straight," he added.
The 7th Infantry has been involved in some of the America's most pivotal and memorable battles.
McManus's new book is a prequel to the first instalment in the 7th Infantry Chronicles series, published in June 2008 under the title "The 7th Infantry Regiment: Combat in an Age of Terror, the Korean War through the Present."
It covered the regiment's involvement in battles from the Korean War through Iraq. (ANI) |
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Why people use mobile devices during meetings |
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Written by Reetu Sharma
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Sunday, 05 July 2009 07:22 |
 Washington, July 5 : It''''s not communication overload but peer behaviour that determines whether people use their laptops or smart phones during a meeting, say researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.
It was believed that the more people experienced communication overload, the more they would engage in electronic multitasking during meetings.
But the study on individuals from a diverse range of organizations-including engineering, finance, software, energy, marketing and health care-debunked that view.
It was found that the perceived opinions of peers and supervisors and observation of others using their mobile devices in a meeting was what influenced an individual''''s tendency to multi-task.
"There''''s no doubt the ubiquity of mobile devices is changing the nature of workplace meetings. What we''''ve found is that simply feeling overloaded with messages coming from channels such as e-mail, texts and instant messages is not the primary driver for multitasking in meetings," said Keri Stephens, assistant professor of communication studies in the College of Communication.
The study is particularly informative as organizational norms overshadowed individual-level predictors, which might be due to the unique nature of portable technology.
For decades, people have been using non-technology communication-pens and paper-to multitask in meetings.
The research suggests that employee behaviour is likely to change if organizations ban mobile technologies, and set new norms for how they can be used during meetings.
The research comes in line with the news that organizations are banning mobile devices or going lap "topless" in meetings to get participants'''' undivided attention.
While banning mobile devices will likely eliminate unproductive behaviour, the researchers have warned that it can stifle legitimately productive behaviour that can enhance the meeting process.
One of the key findings of the study is that prior to a meeting, facilitators need to communicate clearly about whether using mobile devices is acceptable or not.
Meetings also need to include the right content for the right people, as well as engaging material.
The report, titled ''''The Social Influences on Electronic Multitasking in Organizational Meetings'''', has been published in the August issue of Management Communication Quarterly. (ANI) |
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Strong explosion at tax office in Athens |
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Written by Neena Sareen
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Tuesday, 07 July 2009 03:05 |
 Athens - A powerful home-made bomb exploded outside a tax office in central Athens early Friday, damaging nearby buildings but causing no injuries, reports said.
The explosion also damaged a MacDonald's restaurant located in the same building, as well as nearby buildings and parked cars.
Bomb experts were notified of the attack after an anonymous call was made to the Eleftherotypia and Ta Nea daily newspapers half an hour earlier.
The caller did not claim responsibility on behalf of a specific group or organization.
In a separate incident early on Friday, attackers threw gas cannisters at the entrance of the Institute of Migration Policy, located in central Athens. No injuries were reported.
Greece has been plagued by daily bombings and arson attacks since the police shooting of a teenager in December 2008, which sparked the worst riots the country has seen in decades.
The violence has embarrassed Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' government, which has been criticized for its inability to protect citizens.
Officials believe the latest attack could be the work of left-wing militants which have carried out other attacks targeting police, banks, government buildings and a private television station.
The government has vowed to crack down on the increasing violence and sought advice from British police. (dpa) |
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Page 6 of 9 |
Washington - US President Barack Obama's plans for a massive overhaul of the country's health care system came one st...
United States