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Egypt\'s military-backed government has delayed a referendum on the constitution without giving a reason for it. Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi says he expects the referendum to be held in the second half of January, not next month as previously expected. The new constitution, now being drafted, is expected to curb the influence of Islamic laws and ease a ban on Mubarak-era officials to run for office. The interim government was installed after the army ousted the country\'s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in July. Since then, Egypt has been the scene of rowdy protests, mostly against the military. Security forces have frequently clashed with Morsi supporters.

Tension between Kabul and Washington continues to build as Afghan President Hamid Karzai delays signing a security pact with the United States. Washington issues a new warning, while Karzai sets new conditions for the deal. The US says it will pull all troops out of Afghanistan if Karzai does not promptly sign the agreement. The warning came during a meeting between Karzai and U-S National Security Advisor Susan Rice. Washington has repeatedly said that it cannot wait until after the April election, with Rice now calling it quote-not viable. However, Karzai has said that he will not back down from his refusal to sign the pact and will leave the decision to his successor. He has asked the US for a guarantee that it will halt all military operations targeting civilian homes. Karzai\'s spokesman says he has also called for a clear commitment to starting the peace process before the crucial security pact is signed.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Tighe Barry, activist with CODEPINK, about the increasing tension between Kabul and Washington as Afghan President Hamid Karzai delays signing a security pact with the United States, setting new conditions.

Officials from Egypt\'s influential al-Azhar University have decided to adjourn the resumption of the educational year, yet again. The upcoming report by our correspondent takes a look at the motives behind the move as well as reactions and potential repercussions.

Egypt\'s military backed government has decided to further postpone the beginning of the second half of the school year from 22 February till 8 March. According to the interim government, the postponement will continue until security is restored and university campuses refurbished following damages from recurrent clashes that rocked several universities across the country. Many here have expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision blaming authorities for failing to restore order and security in universities across the country.

The US administration is stepping up criticism of the Syrian government over the removal of its chemical weapons. Secretary of State John Kerry says all options are still on the table and that Syria could face consequences for failing to get rid of its stockpile of chemical weapons. Over the past two days, the US administration has repeatedly accused Damascus of deliberately stalling the international disarmament deal to remove its chemical weapons. But Russia has rejected Washington\'s charges that the Syrian government is dragging its feet in the effort to eliminate its chemical weapons stockpile. Moscow says a June 30 deadline to destroy Syria\'s arsenal of toxic agents remains viable, despite delays. The Kremlin says the delays are due to security problems on the road to the port of Latakia and insufficient technical support from the outside world.

Contributed by Herald. February 8th, 2010, 6:01 pm Eleven people were arrested Monday evening during a raucous lecture at UC Irvine where Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren came to talk about U.S.-Israel relations. (UCI earlier said that 12 were arrested.) Oren was interrupted 10 times Monday while trying to give his speech before 500 people at the UCI Student Center, where there was heavy security. Oren took a 20 minute break after the fourth protest, asked for hospitality and resumed his speech, only to be interrupted again by young men yelling at him every few minutes. Many members of the audience also applauded Oren. After the 10th interruption, several dozens students who opposed Oren’s talk got up and walked out and staged a protest outside. It is not clear whether they were members of the UCI Muslim Student Union, which issued an email earlier in the day condemning Oren’s appearance on campus. Oren continued talking, completing his speech at 6:42 p.m. Originally, he planned to take question from the audience. But that was canceled after the repeated delays. The second person yelled about “Zionism.” The third yelled, “Israel.” The fourth could not be clearly heard. UCI Police Chief Paul Henisey said it is not clear whether any of the protesters are UCI students. Mark Petracca, a UCI political science professor, lost his temper and yelled, “This is embarrassing … Shame on all of you.” UCI Chancellor Michael Drake also told the audience that he was embarrassed by the outburst. Drake and Petracca were booed by many people, and applauded by others. Hours earlier, UCI’s Muslim Student Union said in an email today that its members “condemn and oppose the presence of Michael Oren, the ambassador of Israel to the United States, on our campus today. We resent that the Law School and the Political Science Department on our campus have agreed to cosponsor a public figure who represents a state that continues to break international and humanitarian law and is condemned by more UN Human Rights Council resolutions than all other countries in the world combined.” The Jewish Federation Orange County said earlier in the day that it had been informed that Oren’s speech at UC Irvine late today might be disrupted by protestors. Shalom C. Elcott, president of JFOC, said in a statement today that, “We have been informed that some students may attempt to disrupt the event. We want to assure the community that our goal is to create a positive environment — indeed, a sacred space – for open dialogue, intellectual debate and civil discourse that befits a university setting.” This was not the first time that there has been confrontation at a political lecture at UCI. In January 2007, Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum was interrupted by protesters at UCI while giving a speech titled, “The Threat to Israel’s Existence.” The protesters ended up getting into a brief shouting match with some members of the audience.

Iran to build system similar to S-300 Iran says the construction of a missile defense system similar to the sophisticated Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system is still on the country's agenda. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi told reporters on Wednesday that Iran still plans to construct the system. His remarks come after Moscow decided to suspend a much-delayed deal to deliver the system to Iran. "A decision has been taken not to supply the S-300 to Iran, they undoubtedly fall under sanctions," chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov said on Wednesday. "The authorities decided to suspend the process of supplies," ITAR-TASS News Agency quoted Makarov as saying. Under a contract signed in 2005, Russia was required to provide Iran with at least five S-300 air-defense systems. However, Moscow's continuous delays in delivering the defense system drew criticism from Tehran on several occasions. Following the adoption of Resolution 1929 by UN Security Council (UNSC) against Iran, Russian authorities began making conflicting statements about how the new sanctions would affect the contract. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in June that Moscow would "freeze the delivery of the S-300 missiles" to Iran as it runs counter to the new round of UN Security Council sanctions on the country. Putin's remarks came as Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had earlier said UN sanctions would not affect the S-300 contract with Iran, as these missiles are "defensive weapons" and do not fall under the terms of the sanctions. Iran has been trying to obtain the sophisticated defense system to improve its deterrence power in reaction to Israeli war rhetoric. Experts believe the S-300 missile defense system can shield Iranian nuclear sites from any Israeli airstrike. Article Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/143576.html

[18 Dec 2012] Bosnia and Serbia to sign protocol on war crimes cooperation - English

Over half a million people are going hungry in Britain. That\\\'s according to the charities Church Action On Poverty and Oxfam. In their joint report: \\\'Walking the Breadline - the Scandal of Food Poverty in 21St Century Britain\\\', the scale of destitution, hardship and hunger are even worse than thought. One of the biggest worries for anti-poverty campaigners is that food banks are now becoming a \\\'normalized\\\' part of the welfare system. Families and individuals in dire need are forced to accept emergency handouts instead of having the underlying reason for their predicament addressed. There are also growing concerns that more families in work are unable to make ends meet at the end of the month alongside benefit delays and sanctions adding to their woes. So what would the authors of the report like to see happen to stop more people from sinking into food poverty? Amina Taylor, Press TV, London

The extraordinary revelation this week that the Internal Revenue Service targeted tea party groups for more aggressive enforcement highlights exactly why caution is needed in any response to the much-vilified Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. Responding to a flurry of complaints from conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, the Internal Revenue Service admitted Friday it made \"mistakes\" in the last few years while trying to process those requests. Multiple tea party groups reported significant delays and excessive questioning from IRS officials while trying to obtain 501(c) (4) status. It also shows how all Americans, from the most liberal to the most conservative, should closely guard their First Amendment rights, and why giving the government too much power to limit political speech will inevitably result in selective enforcement against unpopular groups. While Lois Lerner, a senior official at the IRS, apologized on Friday for these unconstitutional practices, which are as unseemly as the Bush administration\'s targeting of the NAACP and the House of Representatives\' defunding of Planned Parenthood on purely political grounds.

Long delays in inland transport, customs, and port handling procedures are common in developing countries across the world, especially for those that are landlocked. Out of the 31 developing landlocked countries, globally 16 are from Africa. With the presence of majority of landlocked developing countries in Africa, the share of formal intra African trade is only about 10% of total trade compared to 20% for Latin America and 48% for Asia.

This year\'s Thanksgiving travel may not be easy for many Americans, with a winter-storm in the Southwest now heading to the US East Coast. Freezing temperatures have already brought snow, sleet and rain to the Southwest. At least 13 people died in storm-related incidents in Oklahoma, Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona over the weekend. Hundreds of flights have already been canceled. And forecasters are warning of more flight delays and icy roads as the storm\'s heading eastward, bringing heavy rain over the next two days. Millions of Americans are expected to hit the roads for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

Syria says it\'s committed to destroying its chemical weapons despite difficulties caused by the ongoing fighting with foreign-backed militants. Deputy foreign minister, Faisal Meqdad says the difficulties may at times prevent Damascus from implementing some of its commitments. However, he says the government will fully turn over its chemical weapons by June, as required by the deal brokered by the US and Russia last year. Damascus has already met several deadlines in the process of destroying its chemical weapons so far. But, it has reportedly delayed the work twice. The US and Britain have criticized Syria for that, with Washington accusing Damascus of having a slow pace in moving the weapons abroad. Syria has rejected such claims and blamed the U-S for the delays because of its support for militants.