Iran said it would conditionally consider a Russian proposal on uranium enrichment being discussed Monday in Moscow, giving new hope for what is seen as the best chance for averting a confrontation with the West over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Under the Russian proposal which has U.S. and European backing Iran's enrichment activities would take place on Russian soil to ensure no uranium is diverted for nuclear weapons. Enrichment is a key process that can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or material for a warhead. "If the Russian plan, with supplementary indicators, leads to a comprehensive proposal, then we could say it will have Iran's interest," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Sunday, according to the state news agency IRNA. ... http://abcnews.go.com censor News |
Editor - 12:17:00 02-19-06 |
Palestine on brink as Hamas takes over |
A new Palestinian parliament, dominated by the militant group Hamas, was sworn in yesterday amid threats of an international boycott and domestic paralysis that could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Israel has promised to enforce an economic blockade of Palestinian areas, while the European Union and America say they will withhold aid unless Hamas renounces violence and recognises Israel. Hamas also faces strong internal opposition, with some members of the Fatah party, which until the elections dominated Palestinian life, determined to obstruct the new government in every way they could. At the meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the government compound in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, told Hamas it must form a government as quickly as possible, but laid down stringent conditions that contradict its declared aims. He said Hamas must respect all agreements made with Israel, which means the group must recognise Israel. ... http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1712974,00.html
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Editor - 12:13:00 02-19-06 |
A Vatican Decree Means Some Papal Words Come With a Price, Triggering Hot Debate |
Royalties for Pope Benedict XVI's writings and speeches? The Italian publishing world is aghast. The demand by the Vatican to respect copyright on the pontiff's writings and pay for their use has triggered hot debate: Should an institution which exists to spread the word of God be putting a price on papal writ? Unthinkable, say some authors. Not so, counters the Vatican; the authors are being paid for their efforts, so why not the church? While the question is pondered, the new papacy is shaping up as a publisher's dream. Benedict's first encyclical, "God is Love," is a best-seller. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1638349
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Editor - 12:00:00 02-19-06 |
Questions still surround accounts of Cheney shooting accident |
The South Texas sun hung low on the sprawling Armstrong Ranch when Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting party encountered two last coveys of quail.The late-day find could have meant a winged bonanza for Cheney, prominent Austin lawyer Harry Whittington and Pamela Willeford, U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Instead, the final shot from Cheney's 28-gauge Perazzi Brescia shotgun found Whittington, peppering his right torso, neck and face with up to 200 pellets."I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend," Cheney said Wednesday on Fox News Channel, his only public account of the Feb. 11 shooting. "And I say that is something I'll never forget."But despite a week of details trickling out from Cheney, Whittington, eyewitnesses and official reports of the incident, a clear picture of exactly what happened on the ranch's Comal Pasture has yet to emerge.... http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3669994.html
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Editor - 11:55:00 02-19-06 |
Bush Didn't Need to Get Court Approval for Wiretaps, Frist Says. Yep the Constitution don’t matter anymore as most people have never read it anyway |
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said President George W. Bush didn't need court approval when he authorized a National Security Agency surveillance program, and that the U.S. law establishing a special court to review national security wiretap requests doesn't need to be changed. ``I don't think that it does need to be rewritten,'' Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said about the 1978 law on CBS's ``Face the Nation.'' When asked if the NSA program, which conducts surveillance without warrants, should be reviewed by the court, he said, ``I personally don't think so.'' Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, has introduced legislation that would require the Foreign Intelligence Security Act court to examine the NSA surveillance. While the New York Times reported yesterday that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts also supports court review of the wiretapping, Senator Saxby Chambliss, a panel member, questioned that today. ... http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=azhhe_QPHWrA&refer=home
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Editor - 11:50:00 02-19-06 |
Deadly bird flu widens its reach |
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has continued to spread, with India, France and Iran becoming the latest countries to confirm the presence of the virus. In western India the strain was found among thousands of dead chickens at a farm, and health officials are testing eight people for possible infection. France and Iran also reported their first H5N1 cases, following tests carried out on dead birds. The strain has killed at least 90 people since it emerged in 2003. It can be caught by humans who handle infected birds, but it is not yet known to have been passed between people. Scientists have warned that if the virus mutates it could create a pandemic that would kill millions of people. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4728632.stm
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Editor - 11:46:00 02-19-06 |
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post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
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