China investment in Iran irks US senators


JNN 20.09.10 Two senior senators have urged the US administration to punish Chinese and Turkish firms for providing Iran with refined petroleum products.

In a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on Tuesday, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Jon Kyl said that the Chinese National Petroleum Co. (CNPC) along with two other Chinese companies, Sinopec and Zhuhai Zhenrong, have violated a new US law aimed at discouraging foreign investment in Iran.

“The administration should penalize CNPC, and other Chinese entities, for helping Iran evade international pressure and undermine the cooperation we’ve obtained from allies like Japan and South Korea,” the letter said.

The letter is aimed at prodding the administration to generally enforce the US law. It, however, singles out the Chinese company for its agreement last year to invest in Iran’s South Azadegan oil field.

The American senators also cite the Turkish energy company Turpas.

This comes as China has repeatedly said that it opposes unilateral sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

US President Barack Obama signed the Iran Sanctions Act into law in July, which focuses on the country’s imports of gasoline and other refined energy products and seeks to penalize foreign companies that help Iran’s energy sector.

This is while according to Ali Asghar Arshi, manager of international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, the country has started exporting gasoline.

“The first shipment of Iran’s gasoline has been exported,” he said on Tuesday.

Israel jails Nobel Peace Prize Laureate


JNN 29.09.10 Tel Aviv : Nobel peace laureate Mairead Maguire has been sent to an Israeli jail after she refused to go back upon being denied entry to Tel Aviv, Israeli officials say.

Maguire from Ireland was blocked from entering Israel and arrested at an airport in Tel Aviv on Tuesday because she had taken part in an attempt to break the crippling Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli authorities, however, could not manage to send her back to Britain.

The 66-year old activist is now fighting a legal battle over her right to enter Israel and would challenge the ruling at a full court hearing in Tel Aviv on Friday morning.

Maguire, who won the peace prize in 1976 for her work with the Peace People, traveled to Israel to lead a delegation of women on a week-long tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories to highlight the work of women peace activists.

Maguire was one of the 19 activists onboard the Irish-owned ship, the Rachel Corrie, trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza in June, a week after Israeli forces attacked a Turkish-flagged aid flotilla, killing nine civilian activists.

Maguire’s arrest comes as Israeli navy intercepts the Irene, another aid ship bounding for Gaza. The latest boat that tried to break Israel’s deadly blockade of Gaza carried seven Jewish activists and two journalists.

The passengers of the Irene have refuted Israel’s claims of non-violent takeover, saying they were treated harshly when Israeli troops seized their vessel.

Iran unveils first hybrid vehicle


JNN 29.09.10 Tehran :Auto-making giant Iran Khodro Company (IKCO) has unveiled its first hybrid vehicle, in a move aimed at reducing dependency on fossil fuels.

“In line with the nation’s Automotive Policy Council Bill, IKCO has decided to develop hybrid technology,” a press release quoted the company’s deputy CEO Mir Javad Soleimani as saying on Wednesday.

IKCO’s hybrid Samand LX will hit the market in March.

Soleimani added that Iran Khodro Powertrain Co. (IPCO) experts have played a significant role in achieving this goal.

“Hybrid vehicles receive a part of their required power from electric engines and the rest from internal combustion,” he noted adding, “hybrid vehicles are produced in three categories: micro-hybrid, mild hybrid and macro-hybrid. IKCO products are categorized under micro ones.”

“Fuel-saving degree in hybrid cars varies depending on traffic situation, but normally it is between 12 and 30 percent,” Soleimani explained.

“IKCO hybrid cars with EF7 engines meet Euro IV standard requirements.”

IKCO was founded in 1962 and is currently regarded as the biggest carmaker in the Middle East. The automaker made 688,000 passenger cars in 2009