The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a new nuclear arms-reduction treaty with Russia, the broadest such pact between the former Cold War foes in nearly two decades. Although the treaty easily reached the two-thirds threshold for Senate ratification, the vote marked the tightest margin to date for a nuclear arms-control pact with Russia. Pentagon officials said failure to ratify the pact would force the military to plan for worst-case scenarios, devoting more money and satellite coverage to Russia, at a time when resources are stretched because of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Los Angeles Times touches on the theme of price hikes in Iran. The article “IRAN: A daily balancing act as energy subsidies are removed” says that the Iranian authorities removed decades-old subsidies as part of an attempt to reduce the government's budget in the face of hard-hitting sanctions over Iran's nuclear program. The removal of the subsidies has increased prices for a range of goods - diesel as well as bread - and is expected to jack up shipping costs for virtually everything else. The plan may work eventually, but for now it has created economic uncertainty among the middle- and working-classes.
The other article published by the Los Angeles Times on the same theme is “Prices in Iran rise after lifting of subsidies.” In Tehran taxi fares that officially were to rise by 10% shot up much higher, as drivers imposed their own price increases. Crews on ferry boats operating between the port of Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf temporarily stopped working, complaining that the ticket prices set by the government had not gone up, despite a four-fold increase in the price of fuel. Already, the prices of groceries, diesel, gasoline, cooking oil, water and bread have risen dramatically. Every day, factories are closing down, more workers are laid off and salaries are left in arrears, while the flight of investors, lack of investment security and absence of healthy economic competition paint a very dark picture for the country's future.
The relevant issue is discussed by the New York Times. “Iran Stops Fuel Delivery, Afghanistan Says, and Prices Are Rising” says that Afghani government officials expressed alarm on Wednesday about what they described as Iran’s inexplicable ban on fuel exports to Afghanistan, asserting that at least 1,400 loaded tankers were parked on the Iranian side of three border crossings. The governor of Nimroz Province in western Afghanistan said that tankers full of fuel were backed up at the border crossings of Nimroz, Farah and Islam Qala. Afghanistan is landlocked and relies heavily on fuel brought in by truck from Iran, Pakistan and the former Soviet republics.
Hurriyet reports on the ECO summit. It says that the new Iranian foreign minister’s first international appearance, coming amid renewed optimism about a solution to the country’s controversial nuclear program, is likely to overshadow a regional meeting that began Wednesday in Turkey. The foreign ministers of Turkey and Iran held private talks on the nuclear issue for more than an hour in Istanbul, where the three-day 11th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization, or ECO, is taking place. The meeting came following productive talks in Geneva on Tehran’s nuclear program and ahead of the next round, expected to be held in Istanbul in late January. Bilateral and multilateral meetings will be held with leaders of ECO member-states during the summit. A trilateral meeting with Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan will also be held Friday; the three countries’ leaders are expected to discuss security and terrorism issues.
Press-TV sums up the results of 2010 in the sphere of science. The Chancellor of Tehran University, Mr Rahbar, says the growth rate in Iran's scientific research has been 11 times more than the world's average growth rate. He further pointed out that recognizing the country's potentials and planning according to current needs will help generate wealth through scientific advances. Referring to the relationship between technical advances and social welfare, Rahbar emphasized that each country owes its development to its scientific growth and progress. He also said that after the enemy failed to succeed in its mischievous aims in imposing sanctions on Iran, it tried to realize its objectives through the assassination of Iranian scientists.
