August 6 Photo Brief: Hassan Rouhani, monsoon season and a pool slide fit for a pig
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at his first news conference since taking office, monsoon season continues, a pool slide fit for a pig in Bathmen and more in today’s daily brief.
- Iran’s President Hasan Rowhani addresses his first news conference since taking office, in Tehran, on August 6, 2013. Rowhani said that Iran was ready for “serious” talks on its nuclear program without delay and that US calls for tougher sanctions showed a lack of understanding. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)
- A Yellow scorpion glows in the dark on August 5, 2013 near Sde Boker in the Negev Desert, Israel. The Negev is second on a list of the world’s top ten regional travel destinations for 2013. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)
- People release paper lanterns on the Motoyasu river facing the gutted Atomic Bomb Dome in remembrance of atomic bomb victims on the 68th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, in this photo taken by Kyodo. (Kyodo/Reuters)
- Family members of those killed hold a American flag as mourners attend a candlelight vigil on the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin August 5, 2013. Gunman Wade Michael Page killed six members of the Sikh temple in 2012 before shooting himself dead. (Darren Hauck/Reuters)
- Hundreds of Indonesians wait to receive “zakat”, or alms, given to poor people during Ramadan at a tobacco factory of Gudang Garam, Indonesia’s biggest clove cigarette manufacturer, in Kediri in East Java province on August 6, 2013. Each person received 10,000 (1 USD) or up to 20,000 rupiah (2 USD) cash from company in a tradition of giving charity to the poor during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan. (M. Andikam/AFP/Getty Images)
- British Prime Minister David Cameron greets King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain (R) outside 10 Downing Street on August 6, 2013 in London, England. Mr Cameron is likely to address issues of human rights during the meeting. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
- A commuter watches through the window of a car during a rain shower in New Delhi August 6, 2013. Rainfall in August and September, the second half of the four-month long monsoon season, is likely to be normal or 96 percent of the long-term average, the state-run weather department said. (Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters)
- A Greek army helicopter drops water over a forest fire in Marathon near Athens. A wildfire fanned by strong winds raged near Athens on Monday, damaging homes and sending residents fleeing, fire brigade officials said. Reuters witnesses said the blaze had damaged at least three homes at a hamlet by the town of Marathon – the site of the historic 490 BC battle between Athenians and Persians about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the Greek capital. (Yannis Behrakis/Reuters)
- A Greek firefighter runs to help a colleague as a forest fire rages in Marathon near Athens. A wildfire fanned by strong winds raged near Athens on Monday, damaging homes and sending residents fleeing, fire brigade officials said. Reuters witnesses said the blaze had damaged at least three homes at a hamlet by the town of Marathon – the site of the historic 490 BC battle between Athenians and Persians about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the Greek capital. (Yannis Behrakis/Reuters)
- A boy jumps into the water at a forbidden place on Zegrze lake near Warsaw, Poland on August 6, 2013. Thirty-five people have drowned in Poland since the beginning of August, according to police, as Poles attempt to combat a heatwave by flocking to the beach. (Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images)
- A performer blows fire from his mouth as he performs in front of the historical monument Charminar during the annual Hindu religious festival of Bonalu in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The word “Bonalu” is derived from the Telugu word “Bhojanalu”, which refers to the food offered to Goddess Kali, the Hindu goddess of power. The main ritual in the month-long festival consists of offering cooked rice, jaggery, curd, water and other dishes brought by women in earthen pots to Goddess Kali. Devotees believe that the offerings will ward off evil and epidemics during the monsoon period. (Reuters)
- A youth jumps through the air as he plays at the Don Bosco Ngangi community center in Goma, North Kivu region, August 6, 2013. The center was established in 1988 and hosts over 3,000 abandoned children and HIV/AIDS victims. Recently, they have been receiving victims from the fighting between the Congolese army known as the FARDC and the M23 rebels in North Kivu province, according to an official from the center. (Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)
- A pig uses a slide to get into the mud pool at a farm in Bathmen on August 6, 2013. Farmer Erik Stegink bought the depreciated slide from a neighboring pool to offer his pigs some fun. (Vincent Jannink/AFP/Getty Images)
- Male elephant Tuluba who was born at the zoo, walks by a cake made from hay and fruit to celebrate his third birthday at the Schoenbrunn zoo in Vienna August 6, 2013. “Alles Gute” reads “All the best”. (Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)
- A construction vehicle lies where it was swallowed by a sinkhole on Saint-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters)
- Ding Shilu (L) tests the engine of his self-made aircraft before conducting a test flight on the outskirts of Shenyang, Liaoning province. Ding, a 65-year-old migrant worker, spent around 2,000 yuan ($327) to build this 5-metre-long, 4.5-metre-high plane using components from motorcycles and electric bicycles. Ding failed his fourth test flight on Tuesday since he started his project four years ago, local media reported. (Sheng Li/Reuters)
- A man carries a “charpoy” (rope bed) as he wades through flood waters in Dera Allah Yar, located in the Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province, August 6, 2013. Monsoon rains have claimed more than 80 lives in Pakistan, according to local media on Monday. (Amir Hussain/Reuters)
- A girl carries dried fish in Vridi-Zimbabwe, a poor area in Abidjan August 5, 2013. (Thierry Gouegnon/Reuters)
- Residents look on as clothes are hung out to dry in the aftermath of floods in Karachi on August 5, 2013. Pakistani disaster relief officials issued fresh flood warnings after the death toll from heavy monsoon rains rose to 45 and waters paralyzed parts of the largest city Karachi. (Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images)
- A Bharatiya Janata Party activist shouts anti-Pakistan slogans during a protest against the death of five Indian Army soldiers during an ambush in Kashmir blamed on the Pakistani army, in Allahabad on August 6, 2013. India accused Pakistan’s military of involvement in an ambush on an army post in disputed Kashmir which killed five soldiers and punctured hopes of a resumption in peace talks. (Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images)
- Cast member Amanda Seyfried arrives at the premiere of the film “Lovelace” in Hollywood, California. (Jason Redmond/Reuters)
- A woman uses an umbrella to protect herself from the sun as she crosses a busy street in downtown Shanghai August 6, 2013. The temperature in Shanghai rose to 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, according to local media. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
- Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s helicopter destroyer DDH183 Izumo, the largest surface combatant of the Japanese navy, is seen during its launching ceremony in Yokohama, south of Tokyo August 6, 2013. (Toru Hanai/Reuters)
- A man enjoys the water with his son in a public swimming pool at a suburban area of Shanghai. The temperature in Shanghai rose to 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, reported local news. (Aly Song/Reuters)
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Iran’s leader reaches out to U.S., vows to resolve nuclear row
Marcus George and Yeganeh Torbati, Reuters
12:52 p.m. EDT, August 6, 2013
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s incoming President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday offered an olive branch to the United States in talks on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program, raising hopes of progress after years of stalemate.
Rouhani, seen in the West as a relatively moderate leader, told his first news conference since taking the oath on Sunday that he was “seriously determined” to resolve the dispute and was ready to enter “serious and substantive” negotiations.
Hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue have risen with Rouhani’s victory over conservative rivals in June, when voters chose him to replace hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a cleric whose watchword is “moderation”.
Western countries and Israel have said in the past that they believed Iran was trying to achieve nuclear weapons capability, but Tehran says its program is purely for peaceful needs.
Rouhani said Iran would not abandon its nuclear program, which it would uphold “on the basis of international law”.
“We will not do away with the right of the nation,” the 64-year-old said.
“However, we are for negotiations and interaction. We are prepared, seriously and without wasting time, to enter negotiations which are serious and substantive with the other side.”
“If the other party is also prepared like we are, then I am confident that the concerns of both sides will be removed through negotiations within a period which will not be very long.”
LAST TALKS DEADLOCKED
His words were likely to reinforce a sense of cautious optimism in the West, despite the fact that negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have long frustrated both sides.
The last high-level talks between Iran and world powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – were held in April and failed to break the deadlock.
Since Rouhani’s victory at the polls, the United States has said it would be a “willing partner” if Iran was serious about finding a peaceful solution to the issue.
The former nuclear negotiator dodged a question on whether he would like to meet President Barack Obama during a visit to the United Nations in New York.
“If we see there is no covert secret agenda and there are good intentions, who will be meeting and who will be negotiating, these will be sideline issues,” Rouhani said with a wry smile.
Hoping to seize on Rouhani’s appointment, Russia on Tuesday said fresh talks between Iran and world powers must not be delayed and should take place by mid-September. Rouhani has yet to name his nuclear negotiator.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking during a visit to Italy, said Russia “absolutely agreed” with Rouhani, and criticized moves to tighten sanctions against Iran, saying it was a time for dialogue, not ultimatums.
“Now it is critical to support the constructive approach of the Iranian leadership,” he said in comments carried on Russian news agencies.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is due to meet Rouhani for the first time as president in September.
In a letter to the new leader on Tuesday, the European Union said Rouhani had “a strong mandate to engage in dialogue” and added that it hoped for a new round of talks “as soon as practicable.”
SANCTIONS RANKLE
Rouhani warned against what he called the “carrot and stick” approach of the United States of offering talks and at the same time ratcheting up sanctions, which have had a deepening impact on Iran’s economy over the last 18 months.
The measures have already cut Iran’s oil exports by more than half compared to pre-sanctions levels of about 2.2 million barrels per day, helping to devalue Iran’s currency and contributing to a steep rise in inflation.
“It is said (that) through sanctions they check Iran’s nuclear activities. This is totally unfounded, and they themselves are cognizant of this fact … It has nothing to do with the nuclear issue. It is pressuring people.”
Rouhani’s election has led to divisions in the United States, with Obama’s administration cautiously welcoming the prospect of new talks and many in Congress arguing that the result of the vote showed sanctions had been effective.
Washington should “realize the fact that the solution is solely through talks and the threats will not solve any problem,” Rouhani said.
“If anyone thinks through threats they can impose their will on the Iranian nation, they are making a very big mistake. This dual approach will not yield any result. This brings into question the honesty of American officials.”
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pressure on Iran had, in fact, been effective.
“Iran’s president said that pressure won’t work. Not true! The only thing that has worked in the last two decades is pressure,” he said in a statement.
“And the only thing that will work now is increased pressure. I have said that before and I’ll say it again, because that’s important to understand. You relent on the pressure, they will go all the way. You should sustain the pressure”.
Rouhani blamed what he called a “war-mongering group” in the U.S. House of Representatives for voting last week to increase sanctions on Iran.
Referring to Israel, he said the group “pursues the interests of a foreign country and receives most of its orders from the same country … even U.S. interests are not being considered”.
The United States and Israel have said all options, including military action, are open to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear arms.
(Additional reporting by Jon Hemming in Dubai; Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Michael Roddy)