Former US amb to Azerbaijan “Sending gas to Europe doesn’t make commercial sense for Iran”

After Iran 'used' the EU: “Sending gas to Europe doesn’t make commercial sense for Iran” (Taz).

Sending gas to Europe doesn’t make commercial sense for Iran, says Matthew Bryza, former US assistant secretary for South Caucasus and former US ambassador to Azerbaijan.

Speaking to Trend Oct. 19, Bryza, who is also the director of the Tallinn-based International Centre for Defense Studies, said there are countries all around Iran, such as UEA, Oman, and Kuwait, which need gas.

“There are other countries that would like to buy Iranian gas, and it is a lot cheaper, a lot easier, and you don’t need to build that infrastructure, you just send it to your neighbors,” he said.
Bryza says it is unlikely that Iran’s gas will go to Europe because economically it doesn’t make much sense.

”There is not enough infrastructure now to get it [gas] to Turkey, and down to Europe, so there has to be a lot of investment in that infrastructure,” he said.

Bryza also noted that if the demand in Europe goes up, if Iran produces gas beyond the volume consumed in its neighborhood, and if sanctions on the Islamic Republic are lifted, it is possible that Iran’s gas will go to Europe.

Speaking further about the prospects for implementation of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, he said the project is now more promising than it has ever been.

The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline is projected to deliver Turkmenistan’s energy resources to European market.

The gas pipeline is intended to run through the bottom of the Caspian Sea to the coast of Azerbaijan. From there on, Turkmenistan’s hydrocarbons can reach Turkey, which shares a border with Europe.

Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline can be realized as part of a major project for the Southern Gas Corridor, which is meant to deliver the Caspian gas, in particular Azerbaijan’s gas, to Europe. Read the full story here.

Iran studies possible ways to export gas to 'Sponsor' EU[Rabia].

Iran studies possible ways to export gas to 'Sponsor' EU[Rabia]. (Taz).

Iran is studying possible ways to export gas to Europe, including Nabucco (Nabucco west) and Trans-Anatolian pipeline projects (TANAP), a senior Iranian oil official said.

The director of international affairs at National Iranian Gas Company Azizollah Ramezani told Mehr News Agency on August 1 that Iran is studying economical and operational conditions for choosing the most economic and the most secure way to export gas to Europe.

"Based on results of the studies, the best choice will be selected", he said, adding that gas exports to Europe is one of the long-term policies of the Iranian gas industry.

However, the first priority is to export gas to the neighboring countries, especially to the Persian Gulf nations, he noted.

Nabucco West project was the rival of the Trans-Adriatic pipeline (TAP) project in competing for the transportation of Azerbaijani gas to European markets, but failed.

Azerbaijani gas (as well as the potential other gas from Iran, Turkmenistan, etc) would be delivered to Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor by 2020.

The Southern Gas Corridor consists of South Caucasus Pipeline (Azerbaijan, Georgia), Trans Anatolian Pipeline or TANAP (Turkey) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline or TAP (Greece, Albania, Italy).
The concept of the Nabucco West project envisaged the construction of 1,300-kilometer pipeline (412 kilometers running through Bulgaria, 469 kilometers – Romania, 384 kilometers – Hungary, 47 kilometers – Austria) from Turkish-Bulgarian border to Austria’s Baumgarten.

Earlier, Ramazani said on July 30 that stretching a gas pipeline from Iran to Europe needs 10 billion euro worth investment.

He said that so far nothing new has happened regarding gas export to Europe and stressed that as the situation seems ripe, strong will is needed and the sides should pursue talks seriously.

He pointed out that according to studies conducted by the European Parliament, Iran could export 25 to 30 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe annually.


Iran has the long-term potential to become one of the world's top gas producers, thanks to its 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, or around 18 percent of the world's total, Fitch Ratings said in a report on July 10. Hmmm.....As i said many times in the past, EU politicians would sell out their whole family for cheap Gas from Iran and Turkey. Now the 'thirty pieces of Silver' are to be paid.

Related Flashback Jan. 2013.

NATO’s Energy Security Strategy: Break Russia’s control over European gas markets.

Why Mogherini loves Iran - 'Iran Ready to Supply Gas to Europe' Iran FM.

Why Mogherini loves Iran - 'Iran Ready to Supply Gas to Europe' Iran FM. (Fars).

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced Tehran's preparedness to supply gas to the European countries.

"Iran on par with Russia enjoys all the (needed) resources to provide gas to Europe," Zarif said in a joint press conference with his Kazakh counterpart Erlan Idrissov in Astana on Monday.

Meantime, the Iranian minister stressed that his country does not at all intend to replace or rival Russian gas exports, and said, "Tehran is a trustworthy partner and this issue has been understood by China, India, Pakistan and Turkey which use Iran's gas."

Iran, which sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, is making efforts to raise its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, specially in South Pars gas field. The country presently supplies gas to Turkey and Armenia and is due to begin pumping gas to Iraq this spring.

During the press conference, Zarif also referred to bilateral relations between Tehran and Astana, and said, "We have cooperation with Kazakhstan in extensive fields and these grounds lead to regional growth and development and interaction among adjacent countries." Hmmm.....Just lift the sanctions and there will be money to be made. Everyone has his price.....some with no morals come very cheap.Just look how Erdo is allowed to behave in exchange for Cheap gas promises.

EU has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions list to 19 more people and nine new companies.

EU has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions list to 19 more people and nine new companies.(RT).

The European Union has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions list to 19 more people and nine new companies. The EU blacklist now includes 151 citizens of Russia and Ukraine’s self-proclaimed eastern republics and 37 Russian companies.

The newly sanctioned individuals include three top military officials: Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s First Defense Minister, Army General Arkady Bakhin, and the head of the main Operation Directorate of General Staff, Lieutenant General Andrey Kartapolov.

Two members of the Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, singer Iosif Kobzon and Valery Rashkin, who heads the Russian Communist Party branch in Moscow, are also on the list. The remaining 14 people are officials of the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine.

European Union today published the names of 14 leaders of the militias, which are recorded in the EU sanctions list http://t.co/swrvjIozGO
— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) February 16, 2015

Among them - Arseny Pavlov, who is also known under the call sign "Motorola",EU #Sanctions #Russia http://t.co/swrvjIozGO
— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) February 16, 2015

Mistral transfer now suspended until Russia changes approach to Ukraine. French Pres. Holland

Mistral transfer now suspended until Russia changes approach to Ukraine, French Pres. Holland. Source.

While European farmers face ruin, China to start direct sales of fruit and vegetables to Russia.

While European farmers face ruin, China to start direct sales of fruit and vegetables to Russia.(RT).

The 70,000 square meter wholesale market and 30,000 square meter warehouse, fitted out with refrigerators and other equipment, will be in a special cross-border customs zone, ITAR-TASS cites the head of the Association of Applied Economy of the Heilongjiang Province Zhang Chunjiao.

“Direct export of fruit and vegetables to Russia will be organized from it," she said.

It will cost $9.7 million to construct. Customs clearance times will be reduced, and there will be no need to double-check the cargo because of video surveillance in the warehouse.

A Chinese company Dili, also intends to create a similar cross-border trade zone by the end of 2014, Zhang Chunjiao added.

The announcement comes after Russia introduced a 1-year ban on imports of some agricultural products from the EU, US, Australia, Canada, Australia and Norway last week. If it lasts, it could cost European Union members $16 billion, Vygaudas Usackas, the EU ambassador to Russia, estimated.

On Thursday the EU is holding a meeting to assess the possible effect of Russia’s sanctions on its farmers.
Member states have already complained their economies would be hit hard, with Germany and Poland losing the most trade with Russia, and the Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – seeing their shares of GDP falling even sharper.

Greek members of the European Parliament demanded Sunday that the EU cancel sanctions against Russia. MEPs Kostantinos Papadakis and Sotiris Zarianopoulos said in a letter to some senior EU officials that Russia’s ban on food import from the EU, which was Moscow’s response to anti-Russian sanctions, was ruinous to Greek agriculture.

“Thousands of small- and middle-sized Greek farms producing fruit and vegetables and selling them primarily to the Russian market have been hit hard now as their unsold products are now rotting at warehouses,” the letter said.

 Similar sentiments came Sunday from Heinz-Christian Strache, Chairman of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria, which has 20 percent of seats in the lower chamber of the national parliament and showed similarly strong results in this year’s European parliamentary election.

“In just a few days after the [Russian] sanctions came into force they hurt out agriculture. The EU is thinking on how to mitigate it. Instead of putting Russia on its knees, they drag our farmers to ruin with their senseless sanctions policy,” Strache said ac sited by Austria Presse Agentur.

Gregor Gysi, a German parliament member from the Left Party, criticized on Sunday the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel for supporting the sanctions policy, which he called “childish.”

“[US President Barack] Obama talks about economic sanctions all the time, but the response hits us, not the US,” the politician said in an interview with ARD television.


“If we isolate Russia, we will have no influence,” he added. “We must learn to talk to each other again.”

READ MORE: Who is hit hardest by Russia’s trade ban?


The ban by Russia was retaliation to Western sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine.Hmmm......Meanwhile in Europe: Poland asks US to buy apples banned by Russia, as with the Iranian 'Sanctions' it's again Europe that gets hit hardest.Obama's BFF Turkey will again benefit.

Iran oil ship insurance relief not likely any time soon.

Iran oil ship insurance relief not likely any time soon.(Taz).

A pledge by world powers to ease ship insurance sanctions on some Iranian oil exports is likely to take months to come into effect due to complex law and regulation and to insurers' unease over providing cover.

A deal struck last weekend between Iran and six world powers over Tehran's nuclear programme leaves U.S. and European oil sanctions in place for six months. 

Iran secured limited relief including an easing of a ban on European ship insurance, which could allow the transport of some oil to its Asian customers.

European Union sanctions last year cut out Iran's oil trade from Europe's so-called Protection and Indemnity (P&I) clubs, which cover most of the global tanker market.

"Although this agreement suggests an improvement in relations, a formal change in EU, UK and U.S. laws will be needed to release insurers from existing prohibitions," a spokesman for ship insurer UK P&I Club said.

"Until such changes are made, the effect of sanctions on Club cover remains unchanged," he added.

Specialist P&I insurers, mutually owned by shipping lines, dominate the market for insuring ocean-going vessels against pollution and injury claims, the biggest costs when a tanker sinks. Vessels transporting Iranian crude have been left with limited alternatives, mostly set up by importers.

EU officials said earlier this week the bloc could relax some sanctions on Iran as early as next month, although the timing would depend on how long the legislative process takes. In the meantime, ship insurers remained cautious about any change while they awaited guidelines on the pledged relief.

"The devil is in the details, and we will have to look very carefully at what comes out and what we can and can't do," said Mike Salthouse, director of North Insurance Management, which manages the North P&I Club.

"I suspect unless they target or relax some of the currency transfer restrictions and restrictions on payments of SDNs, (designated entities and individuals), there are still going to be a lot of operational problems in trading with Iran."

Trade sanctions have slashed Iran's oil exports by more than half from prior levels of about 2.2 million barrels per day, costing it billions of dollars a month in lost revenue. Washington has said it will not allow exports to rise above current sanctioned levels.

Spokesman of Iran's administration: "Some $8 billion of Iran's assets released."

Spokesman of Iran's administration: "Some $8 billion of Iran's assets released."(Taz).

Some $8 billion of Iran's assets were released by the US, spokesman of Iran's administration, Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht said, IRNA reported on Nov. 25.

Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough deal early on Sunday on Tehran's nuclear program. The two sides have signed a joint "plan of action". The deal signed in Geneva suggests some softening on sanctions against Iran.
Nobakht also said that the nuclear deal will positively affect Iran's economy, and the sanctions will be decreasing as the time goes on.
He went on to say that the mentioned assets are available for use, but Iran will not be converting all of that sum to national rial currency.
There is no concrete figure about the amount of Iran's frozen assets abroad. Iran's former Deputy Commerce Minister for Economic Affairs, Hamid Safdel said in February that $100 billion worth of Iran's assets have been blocked overseas.
Head of the Majlis Research Centre (MRC) Kazem Jalali said on August 2 that some $60 billion worth of Iranian assets were blocked by foreign banks.
In turn, AP reported on Oct. 18 that Iran's assets are estimated to be between $50 billion to $75 billion.
The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.

Related: EU sanctions on Iran’s oil shipping insurance lifted

EU sanctions on Iranian oil shipping insurance have been lifted after the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines, Masoud Daneshmand said, IRNA news agency reported on Nov. 25.
Previously, Iranian and international shipping companies were unable to carry Iran's oil due to sanctions, he added.

UK allows restart of N. Sea gas field co-owned by 'moderate' Iran.

UK allows restart of N. Sea gas field co-owned by 'moderate' Iran.(Taz).

Britain lifted a production ban on the huge Rhum North Sea gas field, co-owned by BP and the Iranian Oil Company, to prevent any damage to the environment and the field after it shut in 2010 due to EU sanctions on Iranian firms, Reuters reported.

The energy ministry said on Tuesday it was allowing the restart to prevent permanent damage to the high-pressure, high-temperature field, which was not designed to remain shut permanently.

"The government supports restarting production at Rhum, which is necessary to avoid potential environmental damage and to prevent the possible destruction of the value of the field," the ministry said in a statement.

The Rhum gas field was contributing around 4 percent to UK gas production in October 2010 before its shutdown. It started pumping gas in December 2005 and cost 350 million pounds ($565.6 million) to build.
BP said it was too early to say when production at the field could restart.

"We look forward to receiving final authorisation over the next few weeks, which will enable us to start work towards restarting the field," a BP spokesman said.

EU sanctions against Iranian companies, including the IOC, are still in place, and the UK government said the IOC's revenue from gas sales at Rhum will be placed into a frozen account.

The European Union and United States imposed sanctions on Iranian companies three years ago, alleging that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says its research has purely peaceful, civilian aims.

Iran giving contradictory signals to Certain EU Members.

Iran giving contradictory signals to Certain EU Members.(JPost).Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi took a conciliatory tone on Tehran's relations with Europe on Monday, a day after cutting off oil sales to two key countries, saying that Europeans and Iran need one another, Iran's Mehr News reported.
Salehi said he believes relations with Europe will soon return to their "earlier state," adding that the current deteriorated state of ties cannot continue for long."Europeans cannot be needless of us, and Iran, due to its old relations with European countries, needs Europe," he said.
On Sunday, Iran announced that it had stopped selling crude oil to British and French companies, a retaliatory measure against the latest round of European sanctions on the Islamic state's lifeblood, oil.
"Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped ... we will sell our oil to new customers," spokesman Alireza Nikzad was quoted as saying by the ministry of petroleum website.In a contradictory report, Iranian broadcaster PressTV quoted Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Kalebani, as threatening to stop selling oil to additional European countries.
Kalebani reportedly said Tehran would take further measures if "EU hostilities continue," according to PressTV, which listed Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Italy and Portugal as countries that could be targeted.China rebuked Iran on Monday for stopping oil sales to British and French companies over the weekend, calling for renewed efforts at dialogue over an escalating stand-off over Tehran's controversial nuclear program."We have consistently upheld dialogue and negotiation as the way to resolve disputes between countries, and do not approve of exerting pressure or using confrontation to resolve issues," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said when asked about Iran's ban on oil sales to British and French firms.Hmmmmm.......Read the full story here.

Related - 'Japan to win exemption from Iran sanctions by US'.(JPost).Tokiyo - Japan is likely to win an exemption from US sanctions by reducing its imports of crude oil from Iran by at least 11 percent per year, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Tuesday.
The two countries reached an agreement at talks last week, with a formal deal expected by the end of this month, the report said, citing unnamed sources.
The United States, angry over Iran's nuclear program, wants Japan, to cut back on Iranian imports.
Japan is the third-biggest customer for Iranian oil. It needs to import more oil in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, and the country's refiners have yet to make significant cuts, awaiting the Japanese government's instructions.
The United States says it will punish financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank, the main clearing house for oil revenues. A country can earn a waiver from the sanctions if it significantly reduces trade with Iran.
The US sanctions, which President Barack Obama signed into law in December, would penalize financial institutions for undertaking transactions with Iran's central bank, exposing the US operations of Japanese banks that deal with Iran.
As of January 2012, Iran exports 22% of its oil to China, 14% to Japan, 13% to India, 10% to South Korea, 7% to Italy, 7% to Turkey, 6% to Spain and the remainder to France, Greece ( other European countries), Taiwan, Sri Lanka, South Africa.
Hmmmm.....Turkey imports at least 175,000 barrels a day from Iran and intends to increase it's import they don't need a waiver and risk no sanctions since they're Obama's 'trusted' allies.Read the full story here.

MFS -The Other News - What the main papers don't say.

                    Morning Posting.

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world seismic activity situation Turkey 4.9 !More info here.

• Fast and Furious Bombshell: Holder Toast; Damning E-mails released.(BN).Looks like there has been another Friday night document dump from the White House on Fast and Furious and the e-mails included in that dump show that Attorney General Eric Holder was informed about Brian Terry's death within 24 hours AND that Fast and Furious guns were found at the scene.
  The most damaging email exchange for Holder appears to be one between then Arizona US Attorney, Dennis Burke and Holder Deputy Chief of Staff, Monty Wilkinson.NPR has the emails. I've posted screen shots of the two exchanges that point to Holder committing perjury when he said on May 3rd that he'd first learned about Fast and Furious a "few weeks" earlier. He later had to concede that he knew about the operation approximately two months earlier and tried to argue that eight weeks could still be classified as "a few."First, the email in which Burke notified Wilkinson that Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry had died after being shot near the Mexican border. Note Wilkinson's response. He says that he has alerted the Attorney General. This shows that Holder was informed of Terry's death within hours.Holder is in deep, deep trouble here. This all comes out just days before Holder is set to appear in front of the committee that Rep. Darrell Issa chairs. On February 2nd, Holder will be in front of the Oversight Committee.As Sipsey Street points out, these emails are the ones that the White House voluntarily released, which indicates they may be willing to throw Holder under the bus now. That leads to another very interesting question.What is the level of White House involvement?Hmmmm........A "black sheep, a black sheep for my presidency"?Read the full story here.
  

• Catholic Church: tell Sebelius you will not obey.(NWV).By: Devvy.The Department of Health and Human Services is unconstitutional. It's nothing more than a trillion dollar a year rape of the American people's labor to fund more welfare and programs that financially support sin and the death culture.Last week, under the administration of the impostor president squatting in the White House, a new regulation was announced which would "require virtually all employers to offer insurance coverage of sterilization, abortifacients and contraceptives without deductibles or co-pays in their employee plans by Aug. 1. Churches are exempt, but not religiously inspired hospitals, schools and other charities that hire outside their faith tradition."Exempt: houses of worship and their employees, as well as other institutions whose primary purpose is to promote religious belief. Where this unconstitutional "order" will hit hard are religious-affiliated hospitals, colleges and social service agencies. DHS is headed up by yet another female who oozes evil: Kathleen Sebelius. She joins the ranks of Hillary Clinton, Condelezza Rice, Janet Butch Reno and Jan 'the man' Napolitano. Sebelius never misses an opportunity to advocate and fund the killing of unborn babies, which is why Obama/Soetoro selected her for that position. Of course, the U.S. Senate confirmed her appointment including phony conservatives like former Sen. Sam Brownback. What a hypocrite. Here is the roll call vote back in 2009. Sebelius claims to be Catholic. She is not. She should be denied entrance to any Catholic church because you cannot support killing unborn babies and claim to be Catholic.But then again, 54% of Catholics allegedly voted for the other champion of killing babies: Obama/Soetoro in 2008. They slapped God right in the face for false promises of "hope and change".Read the full story here.

• The Silent Anschluss: Germany Formally Requests That Greece Hand Over Its Fiscal Independence.(ZeroHedge).It was tried previously (several times) under "slightly different" circumstances, and failed. Yet when it comes to taking over a country without spilling even one drop of blood, and converting its citizens into debt slaves, Germany's Merkel may have just succeeded where so many of her predecessors failed. According to a Reuters exclusive, "Germany is pushing for Greece to relinquish control over its budget policy to European institutions as part of discussions over a second rescue package, a European source told Reuters on Friday." Reuters add: "There are internal discussions within the Euro group and proposals, one of which comes from Germany, on how to constructively treat country aid programs that are continuously off track, whether this can simply be ignored or whether we say that's enough," the source said.' So while the great distraction that is the Charles Dallara "negotiation" with Hedge Funds continues (as its outcome is irrelevant: a Greece default is assured at this point), the real development once again was behind the scenes where Germany was cleanly and clinically taking over Greece. Because while today it is the fiscal apparatus, tomorrow it is the legislative. As for the executive: who cares. At that point Goldman will merely appoint one of its retired partners as Greek president and Greece will become the first 21st century German, pardon, European colony. But at least it will have its precious euro.Hmmmm.......Der Euro muss Lebensraum haben?Read the full story here.

• Sharm el-Sheikh - French tourist killed, German injured in Egypt resort town.(BikyaMasr).CAIRO: A French tourist was shot dead in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday, Egyptian officials said. A German tourist was also injured in the shooting.The German man is receiving medical care at the Southern Sinai hospital and his condition is stable, said Khaled Fouda, governor of South Sinai.Fouda said that two out of the three attackers were killed in an exchange of fire with the police already present at a local market. The third man was arrested.Officials in the coastal tourist destination confirmed to Bikyamasr.com an Associated Press report saying that the 42-year-old man was shot in the stomach and thigh, although AP reported numerous differing accounts of the incident.The official, and a police officer speaking to AP, both said that the shooting occurred in the Old Souk in the town as a revenge shooting of a tribesman who had been shot dead by police earlier in the day.The men were caught in the crossfire.However, military officials reported to AP that the man was caught in the crossfire of a bank robbery in the town.Residents of the city say this is the second attempt to raid the same currency exchange.Read the full story here.

• 1000s Islamists hold anti-US demo in Karachi.(PT).Thousands of supporters of Pakistan's Jamiat Ulema-e Islam party have gathered in Karachi to condemn US assassination drone attacks in the northwestern border regions.About 100,000 JUI supporters held a demonstration organized by Jamiat Ulema-e Islam in front of the mausoleum of the founding father of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, on Friday.JUI leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the United States will face an “imminent defeat” in Afghanistan.Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas have been hit by several airstrikes carried out by US assassination drones since the beginning of 2012. On Monday, Pakistani officials said at least five people were killed in a US drone attack in the North Waziristan tribal area, close to the Afghan border.The demonstrators in Karachi also demanded that the Pakistani government continue the blockade on the NATO supply route to Afghanistan.Read the full story here.

• Egypt gets dumped by its Washington lobbyists.(FP).By Josh Rogin.All three of the lobbying firms representing the Egyptian government in Washington, D.C., dropped Egypt as a client late Friday amid widespread criticism of the ruling military council's raid of U.S. NGOs in Cairo and its refusal to let American NGO workers leave the country.The Livingston Group, run by former Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA), the Moffett Group, run by former Rep. Toby Moffett (D-CT), and the Podesta Group, run by Tony Podesta, unanimously severed their combined $90,000 per month contract with the Egyptian government, Politico reported late Friday, quoting Livingston directly. The three firms had formed what is known as the PLM Group, a lobbying entity created to advocate on behalf of the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed in February 2011 after 18 days of massive street protests. According to the disclosure filings, Egypt has paid PLM more than $4 million since 2007.The trio came under fire last week for circulating talking points defending Egypt's Dec. 29 raid of several NGOs working to train political parties in Egypt, including three organizations partially funded by the U.S. government. The groups had been working in Egypt for years without being technically registered with the government, but now stand accused of fomenting unrest against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has been ruling the country since Mubarak's ouster."It is bad enough when the actions of American lobbyists conflict with U.S. national interests. It is far worse when their influence-peddling undermines American values, as the Egyptian government's lobbyists in Washington are doing in this instance," said Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in a Jan. 24 statement. McCain is the chairman of the board of the International Republican Institute (IRI), one of the groups that had their Cairo offices raided. The other two groups were the National Democratic Institute, whose board is chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Freedom House.Read the full story here.

• Egypt says it ended US lobbyists' contract.(DS).CAIRO: Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sunday that it has ended a contract with three Washington lobbying firms to cut expenses, denying reports that the firms were the ones to have terminated the contract.The rupture occurred as Cairo comes under criticism in Washington for banning at least 10 Americans and Europeans from leaving the country as part of an investigation into foreign-funded civil society organizations.Among those barred was Sam LaHood of the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, who is the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement was issued two days after Politico reported that former Republican Rep. Bob Livingston, former Democratic Rep. Toby Moffett and longtime lobbyist Tony Podesta ended their contract with the Egyptian government.The lobbying firms could not be reached immediately for comment.Meanwhile, a delegation from Egypt's Defense Ministry has arrived in New York, Cairo's state news agency reported.Read the full story here.

• U.N. resolution on Syria to be redrafted as Ban Ki-moon calls for end to bloodshed.(AlArabiya).U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime had absolute control over Syria until a sustained and increasingly violent challenge to its rule, must end the killings in his country.“First and foremost, he must stop immediately the bloodshed,” Ban told reporters. “The Syrian leadership should take a decisive action at this time to stop this violence. All the violence must stop.”Assad’s opponents have sought to ramp up pressure on the international community for UN action after the Arab League withdrew its observers amid mounting violence.Ban called directly on Assad, saying that as leader he had an “important responsibility (to) resolve this situation (and) engage in political dialogue.”According to an AFP tally taken from reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state media, at least 232 people − among them 147 civilians − have been killed since last Tuesday.European and Arab U.N. members early Sunday started rewriting a proposed Security Council resolution condemning Syria’s deadly crackdown on dissent after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria.The Arab League took the decision on Saturday days after calling on Assad to step down and make way for a government of national unity. It will take an Arab peace plan to the U.N. Security Council next week.Read the full story here.

• Islamic Scholars speak out in favor of “electronic Jihad” against the enemy.(AlArabiya).In light of the increasing support of “the electronic Jihad” and the divergence of views regarding this subject, Islamic scholars have underlined their support for this new phenomenon, arguing that “any attempt to spite the enemy and endorse religion is legitimate”. They consider that Muslim youth involved in this phenomenon are in fact leading a jihad”. But what do those who refuse to support this phenomenon have to say? They believe that “bringing down the enemy’s electronic devices could help in realizing certain objectives in some instances, but it can also be harmful if done at the wrong time.”They noted that there is “a large number of people in the world who sympathize with Israel and might get involved in this battle, which would widen the circle of damage.”On the other hand, Sheikh Fahd Bin Saad Al Jahni, a professor of sharia graduate studies, says that “in Islam, the Jihad is a broad concept that could be defined according to the interpretation of the and texts that cite the jihad. There are many types of jihad: the personal jihad, the jihad by money, and verbal Jihad. The last type includes the intellectual jihad, jihad by composition and by the call to God”.Al Jahni added that “any attempt to spite the enemy and empower the religion must be conducted by legitimate means and according to Muslim rules. Therefore, religion could be widely empowered through electronic websites. This is what some people call “the electronic Jihad”. Thus, the terminology is correct, but it is the definition that matters as well as the extent to which the concept respects the legitimate procedure.” “Therefore, I believe that the young Muslims who are striving to take advantage of this wide electronic window and fight the perverted ideology or shut down obscene websites and the websites of those who offended and dishonored the people of Islam and put hand on their holy sites like the Zionist aggressors, are using all legitimate means and are indeed leading a jihad provided they don’t exceed the limit of God in their rivalry,” Al Jahni said. Moreover, Abdullah Al Aalwit, a Muslim law researcher, pointed to the fact that electronic jihad means “destroying the enemy’s electronic devices or surreptitiously taking valuable information from these devices.” He confirmed that “the electronic jihad, like any other type of ihad, is legitimate in determined instances and might be harmful if used at the wrong time and in the wrong circumstances.” “However, it is clear that the nation’s condition does not allow any type of Jihad against any of its enemies because our enemies are way more advanced than we are in all kinds of fields. If an electronic war shall erupt, it is expected to have serious repercussions due to the big number of those who sympathize with Israel in the world and who might enter this battle, which would widen the circle of damage,” he added.Dr. Mustafa Mourad, professor at Al Azhar University, said that “the electronic jihad is a type of jihad because jihad is not limited to military weapons or any other type of painful means. Under jihad, it is possible to use any tool that might fulfill the goal behind the attack against the enemies of God in response to their attempts to violate our rights and seize our holy sites.”Hmmmmm........US reaction lets crack down on copyright infraction.Read the full story here.

• Mexican Swine Flu Outbreak Kills 29, Infects Nearly 1,500.(Fox).Bringing back memories from three years ago, when the swine flu closed Mexico City and caused an international scare, the media is now warning of an alarming increase in cases of the flu virus, while the government insists there is no cause for alarm. Federal and state health officials agree there is an increase, but they say the number of cases is within the range of a normal flu season.The Mexican health ministry, however, has listed confusing numbers on its website and it hasn't specified the rise in cases despite repeated requests from The Associated Press.Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that while Mexico is seeing more cases of the H1N1 virus, the U.S. is seeing more cases of a different strain, H3N2. Antibodies for both are part of this year's flu vaccine. H1N1 is now considered a seasonal flu.
  The health ministry on Sunday reported 637 cases of confirmed flu cases so far in 2012 along with 10 deaths — nine of them associated with 573 cases of H1N1.On Jan. 15, it reported far lower numbers: 181 confirmed cases for all strains of flu and five deaths for 2012, meaning cases would have increased 250 percent in just one week.Read the full story here.
  
   

• Iranian Religious Leader: We're Already Nuclear.(INN).Senior Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said on Friday that Iran is already a nuclear state and that Americans have not realized that.“The United States says it will not allow Iran to be nuclear, but it is so blind that it hasn’t noticed that Iran has already become a nuclear state,” Khatami was quoted by Channel 10 News as having said. He added that the U.S. has become isolated in the region, after its four “slaves” were removed from power. He was referring to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, former Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.Khatami also addressed the EU’s embargo on Iranian oil imports, which was announced this week, and said that the Europeans decided to wait with the implementation of the sanctions until July because their economic situation is no better than Iran’s.“Why did the Europeans decide to wait half a year before implementing the sanctions? The answer is simple - the Europeans have their own serious trouble - they were hit by the financial crisis,” he said.Khatami added the embargo will hurt Europe more than it will hurt Iran, because Saudi Arabia will not be able to provide the required amount of oil to Europe, while the sanctions will only hurt 18 percent of Iran’s oil exports. Read the full story here.

• Norway: Two Iranian converts attacked bymasked men, called 'kuffar'.(IIE).Two Iranians who converted from Islam to Christianity were stabbed by masked me in Haugesund last week. The attacker shouted 'Kuffar' (Arabic for non-believer) during the attack.The attack happened Tuesday evening, when both Christian Iranians were out walking in Haugesund. They were suddenly attacked by three masked men armed with knives, who shouted 'kuffar' while they stabbed the two.A nurse passing by gave first aid and then an ambulance brought them to hospital, reports Haugesunds Avis.According to the police, one of the victims was stabbed twice in the back and the other was stabbed in his side. No perpetrators have been caught.The two victims want to remain anonymous and have not spoken of the assault. They've lived in Norway for many years. One of them converted in Norway, the other did so in Iran and managed to flee to Norway after he was abused and imprisoned for his faith.They're both active in a local evangelical church.Read the full story here.

• Saudi grand mufti: Twitter is full of lies.(JPost).The Saudi grand mufti on Friday called social-networking website Twitter full of lies, a day after the site announced that it would begin restricting Tweets in specific countries.The news from the social media platform is renewing questions over how it will handle issues of free speech as it rapidly expands its global user base.Until now, Twitter had to remove a tweet from its global network if it received a takedown request from a government.But the company said in a blog post published on Thursday that it now has the ability to selectively block a Tweet from appearing to users in one country.“Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country while keeping it available in the rest of the world,” the Twitter blog said.Twitter gave as examples of restrictions it might cooperate with, such as pro-Nazi content in France and Germany, where it is banned. It said that even with the possibility of such restrictions, Twitter would not be able to operate with some countries.“Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there,” it said.“As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression.”Saudi Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said in his Friday sermon in Riyadh that Muslims should avoid being a “source or feeding” Twitter, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported.Twitter was a place “in which people are invited to throw charges between them, and to lie in a manner that brings fame to some,” he said.The 71-year-old cleric called on those present to warn people about such sites, adding that positive sites do exist on the Internet concerning science, business and God.Despite the grand mufti’s caution over the website, Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company announced in December that it would invest $300 million in the social-media site.“Our investment in Twitter reaffirms our ability in identifying suitable opportunities to invest in promising, high-growth businesses with a global impact,” Alwaleed said, according to BBC.Hmmmm.....Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment has nothing to do with the new ristrictions of free speech.Ooooooh look a Unicorn.Read the full story here.

• Oldest case of prostate cancer in ancient Egypt uncovered.(BM).CAIRO: An international research team in Lisbon has diagnosed the oldest case of prostate cancer in ancient Egypt and the second oldest case in the world.Using high-resolution computerized tomography (CT) scanners, the researchers identified the cancer in a mummy subject known as M1.“Cancer is such a hot topic these days; experts are constantly trying to probe in hopes of answering the one question- when and how did the ailment really evolve?” said Salima Ikram; member of the research team and professor of Egyptology at The American University in Cairo (AUC).“Findings such as these bring us one step closer to finding the cause of cancer, and, ultimately, the cure to a disease that has besieged mankind for so long.”The study, published in the International Journal of Paleopathology used CT scans with pixel resolution of 0.33 millimeters on three Egyptian mummies from the collection of the National Archaeological Museum in Lisbon.The images revealed several small, round, dense bone lesions located mainly in M1’s pelvis, spine and proximal limbs, indicative of metastatic prostate cancer.Until recently, researchers have believed the widespread occurrence of carcinogens in food and in the environment were the main causes of cancer in the modern industrial age.However, according to Ikram, “We’re starting to see that the causes of cancer seem to be less environmental, more genetic. Living conditions in ancient times were very different; there were no pollutants or modified foods, which leads us to believe that the disease is not necessarily only linked to industrial factors.”Read the full story here.

• Video: Divers find large, unexplained object at bottom of Baltic Sea.(Yahoo).A team of salvage divers has discovered an unexplained object resting at the bottom of the Baltic Sea near Sweden.“This thing turned up. My first reaction was to tell the guys that we have a UFO here on the bottom,” said Peter Lindberg, the leader of the treasure hunters.Sonar readings show that the mysterious object is about 60 meters across, or, about the size of a jumbo jet. And it’s not alone. Nearby on the sea floor is another, smaller object with a similar shape. Even more fascinating, both objects have “drag marks” behind them on the sea floor, stretching back more than 400 feet.But Lindberg says the ship theory doesn't really hold up because of the unusually large size of the objects. "Of course it would be something from another ship but it's quite big," he told CNN. Lindberg notes that some observers have speculated that the objects may be Russian warships built around the end of the 1800's. However, Lindberg points out that not only were those ships much smaller, they were not patrolling the Baltic during that era.The Ocean Explorer team first made their find back in August and had no plans to return to the scene. For now, Lindberg is waiting for calmer waters in the Baltic, possibly in May, before taking his salvage team to the bottom for a closer look at the mysterious objects. They originally had no plans to return to the spot, but the spike in interest from the public has led them to begin planning a return trip.Read and see the full story here.