WHITE HOUSE - The Bush administration says it will not comment on reports it is considering a naval build-up off the coast of Iran. The reports began to surface as Iranian leaders vowed to defy any international sanctions relating to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
News organizations in the United States are quoting unnamed defense department officials as […]

MOSCOW (RFE/RL) — The history books will not remember Leonid Brezhnev as the most influential of Soviet leaders.
His rule, between 1964 and 1982, over a peacetime union was short on geopolitical drama. Instead, it was characterized by relative stability, predictability, and the slow, somber start of economic decline.
But, with the 100th anniversary of his birth […]

TEHRAN (RFE/RL) — Iran’s Interior Ministry has released the final results of the December 15 elections for the Assembly of Experts that oversees the work of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a moderate conservative, garnered more than 1.5 million votes, which is the most of any candidate.
Rafsanjani is a fierce […]

TEHRAN (RFE/RL) — Analysts say partial results from the December 15 city council and Assembly of Experts elections in Iran could signal a defeat for the supporters of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad who — after 18 months in power — was facing the first public test of his government’s rule. Reports say opponents of Iran’s hard-line […]

PENTAGON - The new U.S. Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, took office Monday, with a private swearing-in at the White House and a public ceremony later at the Pentagon. 
Robert Gates took his ceremonial oath of office as U.S. defense secretary, administered by Vice-president Dick Cheney, who was defense secretary 15 years ago.
After taking the oath in […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The Bush administration said Monday it wants the U.N. Security Council to vote within a matter of days on a resolution putting sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the issue by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose government has resisted some […]

BEIJING - North Korea says it will not abandon nuclear weapons until all sanctions against it are lifted, while the United States says its patience with North Korean negotiating tactics is running out. Roger Wilkison reports on the inauspicious beginning to a new round of six-party talks in Beijing - the first in 13 months, […]

WASHINGTON — A former reserve officer with the Memphis Police Department, Andrew Hunt, was sentenced today to 19 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for his part in plotting and taking part in robbery and kidnapping while on duty, the Justice Department announced.
In addition, Hunt will pay $300 in special assessments for […]

Nation’s Food Banks Feel Pinch as Decrease in Donations Puts Strain on Ability to Feed More Than 35 Million Hungry Americans 
CHICAGO — America’s Second Harvest - The Nation’s Food Bank Network today issued a call for help asking Americans to donate funds, food or time to ensure none of their neighbors go hungry. Donations are […]

WASHINGTON - Beijing and Washington have reached an agreement for U.S.-based energy company Westinghouse to build four civilian nuclear power plants in China.The multibillion dollar deal was signed Saturday in Beijing by U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and senior Chinese planning official Ma Kai.
Bodman says the project will create about 5,500 jobs in the United […]

BAGHDAD (RFE/RL) — British Prime Minister Tony Blair, during a surprise visit to Baghdad, today pledged his full support for Iraq’s prime minister and urged neighboring countries not to undermine Nuri al-Maliki’s government.
Standing alongside his Iraqi counterpart during a press conference in Baghdad, Blair called on Iraq’s neighbors to help its efforts to restore order […]

ST. LOUIS — John V. Kessler was sentenced to 63 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, on charges involving his sale of illegal firearms on E-Bay and other Internet sites, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.
“This case sends the message that illegal firearms sales on the Internet, particularly by […]

By Ken Joseph Jr.
Special to ASSIST News ServiceWASHINGTON, DC (ANS) – The contrast could not have been more dramatic - the previous day advisors to the Baker Commission held a dire meeting saying things such as “Iran has done more than anyone else in helping Iraq’s current government” and essentially a message of failure and […]

PENTAGON - President Bush and other dignitaries gathered at the Pentagon Friday to say farewell to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who will leave office on Monday. The president and others praised the often-controversial secretary for his dedication and leadership over the last six years.
With a military band playing and hundreds of people watching on a […]

WASHINGTON - Homeland security officials announced new steps Friday to protect the U.S. rail system from terrorist attack.
The focus of the new security measures is on preventing terrorists from exploding rail cars carrying dangerous chemicals like chlorine.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the plan at a Washington news conference.
“The biggest danger I think we are […]

BAGHDAD (RFE/RL) — The decision by radical Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to pull his political bloc out of the Iraqi government to protest Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s decision to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on November 30 has brought the Iraqi political process to a virtual standstill.
Major Iraqi political parties have now engaged […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the Bush administration is considering new aid to the Lebanese armed forces to help shore up the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.  Rice says she is not concerned about appearing to take sides in the Siniora government’s political struggle with pro-Syrian forces.
The United States […]

WHITE HOUSE - The White House says it is inappropriate for members of Congress to meet privately with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  
White House spokesman Tony Snow criticized Florida Senator Bill Nelson for meeting with President Assad Wednesday, saying it is neither helpful nor appropriate.
“The point is that, even lending a further specter of legitimacy to […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush awarded America’s highest civilian honor to 10 men and women who have distinguished themselves in contributing to world peace, national security, and culture. 
In a glittering East Room of the White House, decorated for the holidays, President Bush presented the Medal of Freedom to teachers, historians, a writer, a […]

WASHINGTON — Sixteen individuals in six states have been charged with criminal violations in connection with their efforts to obtain refugee status in the United States by concealing their prior service in the Bosnian Serb military, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty and Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Julie L. Myers […]

WASHINGTON — The two leaders of a six-person nationwide employee-leasing conspiracy that exploited hundreds of illegal aliens throughout the United States have been sentenced to terms in prison, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, announced today.
At a hearing today […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President George Bush says he will continue to work through the United Nations to strengthen an African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan’s Darfur region.
President Bush says resolving the humanitarian crisis in Darfur was a big part of his talks with Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi.
“The president recognized the genocide taking place […]

JOHANNESBURG - The Bush administration is launching an ambitious offensive against malaria during a conference at the White House. The news is being welcomed in Africa where malaria kills an estimated one-million people a year. 
Experts on malaria are praising the new initiative in the battle against the disease.
A specialist on malaria-carrying mosquitoes at South Africa’s […]

HCJB World Radio Celebrates 75th Anniversary Dec. 25 
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (ANS) – After years of satellite and shortwave broadcasting into the North Africa/Middle East Region, HCJB World Radio (www.hcjb.org) recently had the opportunity to show God’s love through its healthcare ministry, responding to the aftermath of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Even as […]

Social Democrat: No Excuse for All Sorts of Behavior 
By Wolfgang Polzer
Special to ASSIST News ServiceBERLIN (ANS) – The German federal Minister of Justice, Brigitte Zypries, has called for limitations on religious freedom. “We should not place any behavior under the protection of this important basic right”, said the Social Democrat in a “Speech on Religious […]