US sanctions Kurdish separatists

October 13th, 2009 MOSCOW - Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after talks with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Tuesday that neither country is seeking to impose sanctions against Iran under the present circumstances. Clinton said sanctions over Iran's controversial uranium enrichment programme would be premature, and that Russia was being extremely cooperative in the work we have done together on the issue.

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - Burmese pro-democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is in prison for opposing army rule, has urged the ruling military junta to increase cooperation with her pro-democracy opposition in order to find a way to end sanctions on the country. In a letter addressed to senior general Than Shwe, Suu Kyi has sought permission to meet foreign ambassadors from those countries that have imposed sanctions to better understand their reasons.

September 30th, 2009 US: Engagement won't replace sanctions in MyanmarWASHINGTON — The Obama administration says it will not ease harsh sanctions against military-run Myanmar (mee-an-MAWR') even as it pursues a new policy of dialogue with the Southeast Asian nation's ruling generals. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says lifting sanctions without democratic progress in Myanmar "would be a mistake." Democratic Sen.

September 11th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Following an apparently unyielding diplomatic engagement in Iran, the Obama administration is preparing the groundwork for sanctions against the Islamic country, two senior US officials have told Jewish leaders in Washington. The Jerusalem Post quoted US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, William Burns, as saying that the Obama administration wants to lay the sanctions now, so that it will be ready to implement them at the end of the year.

September 7th, 2009 BAGHDAD - Nine people were killed and 13 others injured Monday when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, police said. The attack took place near a checkpoint on the highway near the northern approach to the city.

August 26th, 2009 UYGUR - Chinese President Hu Jintao, who made his first trip to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region since last month's deadly riot, has warned the separatists that they are "doomed to fail". The July 5 riot, which killed 197 people and injured more than 1,600, were masterminded by the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism both at home and abroad, he said.

August 18th, 2009 DHAKA - Five Indian separatists have been arrested from the wooded hills of Khagrachhari in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, an apparent indication of the growing cooperation between the two neighbours in curbing militancy. Bangladesh Army and police personnel in a joint drive Monday arrested the five Indian nationals who they believe are members of the separatist National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) of India's Assam state.

August 9th, 2009 White House: Iran confirms 3 US hikers in custodyWASHINGTON —The White House says Iran has confirmed it has three American hikers in custody. The Americans strayed into Iran while hiking in the mountains of Kurdish territory in neighboring Iraq.

July 29th, 2009 US envoy to consult UN sanctions panel on NKoreaWASHINGTON — The State Department says the Obama administration's coordinator for enforcement of U.N. sanctions against North Korea is going to New York to consult with the U.N.

July 29th, 2009 Obama renews sanctions against MyanmarWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has renewed sanctions against the junta that runs the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar. Congress last week approved the reauthorization of sanctions, first enacted in 2003, targeting imports from Myanmar.

July 25th, 2009 ARBIL - Iraqis went to polls Saturday in the Kurdish regional parliamentary and presidential elections that will determine the leadership of the country's Kurdish region. Voting started at 8.00 a.m.

July 22nd, 2009 Obama to work to lift UN sanctions on IraqWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he is committed to working with Iraq to get the U.N. to lift international sanctions that the world body imposed on the country after the 1991 Gulf War.

July 22nd, 2009 House approves sanctions against MyanmarWASHINGTON — The House has voted to renew sanctions meant to penalize the junta that runs the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar, also called Burma. The resolution approving the reauthorization of the sanctions now goes to the Senate for consideration.

June 12th, 2009 NEW YORK - The UN Security Council Friday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the recent nuclear test conducted by North Korea and imposing new sanctions.

May 9th, 2009 Obama renews sanctions on Syria to mark concernWASHINGTON — The Obama administration is renewing economic and diplomatic sanctions on Syria, even as two US envoys are in the Syrian capital exploring prospects for improved relations. The State Department said President Barack Obama felt compelled to renew the penalties, which were first imposed by George W.