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Obama Talks, while Iran Develops Nuclear Weapons and Missile Systems
That Can Strike American Bases and Europe 16
Dec
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran on Wednesday test-fired an
upgraded version of its most advanced missile, which is capable of hitting
Israel and parts of Europe, in a new show of strength aimed at preventing
any military strike against it amid the nuclear standoff with the West.
The test stoked tensions between Iran and the West, which is pressing Tehran
to rein in its nuclear program. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it
showed the need for tougher U.N. sanctions on Iran.
"This is a matter of serious concern to the international community and it
does make the case for us moving further on sanctions. We will treat this
with the seriousness it deserves," Brown said after talks with U.N. chief
Ban Ki-Moon in Copenhagen.
Wednesday's test was for the latest version of Iran's longest-range missile,
the Sajjil-2, with a range of about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers). That
range places Israel, Iran's sworn enemy, well within reach, as well as U.S.
bases in the Gulf region and parts of southeastern Europe.
The two-stage Sajjil-2 and is powered entirely by solid-fuel while the
older, long-range Shahab-3 missile uses a combination of solid and liquid
fuel in its most advanced form.
Iran has repeatedly warned it will retaliate if Israel or the United States
carries out military strikes against its nuclear facilities, at a time when
the U.S. and its allies accuse Tehran of seeking to develop a nuclear
weapon. Iran denies the claim, saying its program is intended solely to
generate electricity.
Nuclear negotiations have been deadlocked for months, with Iran equivocating
over a U.N.-drafted deal aimed at removing most of its low-enriched uranium
from the country so it would not have enough stockpiles to produce a bomb.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog last month sharply rebuked Iran for refusing to
halt uranium enrichment.
State television broke the news in a one-sentence report accompanied by a
brief clip of the test, showing the missile rising from the launch pad in a
cloud of smoke.
Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi vowed that the Sajjil-2 would be a
"strong deterrent" against any possible foreign attack. He said the new
version can be fired more quickly and flies faster than previous ones making
it harder to shoot down, though he did not give further details.
"Given its high speed," he said, speaking on state TV, "it is impossible to
destroy the missile with anti-missile systems because of its radar-evading
ability."
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor declined to comment on the
latest missile test.
Iran has intensified its missile development program in recent years, a
source of serious concern in Israel, the United States and its Western
allies at a time when they accuse Tehran of seeking to build a nuclear
weapon. Iran, which is under several sets of U.N. sanctions over its nuclear
program, denies the charges and says its nuclear program is aimed solely at
generating electricity. |
Rape Rampant in Haiti's camps. Girls as young
as 12 have been attacked as sexual violence plagues the quake's survivors
7 February 2010 The Independent (UK)
In one of the great unmentioned effects of the earthquake in Haiti, women
and young girls are suffering a rising number of rapes and sexual assaults,
according to leading aid agencies. So widespread are the reports – and they
include the rape of a girl of 12 by her rescuer after she was pulled out
from the rubble – that emergency measures are now being taken.
Displaced men and women patrol some camps with makeshift arms to ward off
attackers; girls wear jeans under their skirts for protection if they go out
after dark; temporary women-only health centres are being set up; and NGOs
try to deliver aid to dangerous neighbourhoods where women are too scared to
go out in search for food.
Sarah Spencer, gender-based violence co-ordinator for the International
Rescue Committee (IRC), who arrived in Port-au-Prince two weeks ago, said:
"Violence against women was a problem in Haiti before this crisis. Now,
women and girls are dramatically more vulnerable to attack.
The humanitarian community focuses on
food, water and shelter, understandably, but this is at the sake of
protection for women. Criminal gangs have regrouped; security is poor;
people are sleeping in the streets, too frightened to go inside or else in
crowded, unlit camps, surrounded by strangers.
Many women have been left without
male protection because their husbands or brothers were killed. All of
this means the risk to women in post-disaster Haiti have elevated
dramatically."
Obama Lack of Direction Causing Loss in Allied Support
The Telegraph (UK Britain)
25 November
Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, has blamed Barack Obama and the United
States for the decline in British public support for the war in Afghanistan.
The Defence Secretary's blunt remarks about the US threaten to strain
further a transatlantic relationship. Mr Ainsworth took the unprecedented
step of publicly criticizing the US President and his delays in sending more
troops to bolster the mission against the Taliban.
A “period of hiatus” in Washington - and a lack of clear direction - had
made it harder for ministers to persuade the British public to go on backing
the Afghan mission in the face of a rising death toll, he said.
But Mr Ainsworth is the first Government minister to express in public what
amounts to personal criticism of the US president’s leadership over the
conflict which has so far cost 235 British lives.
Polls show most voters now want an early withdrawal, following the death of
98 British service personnel this year alone.
Ministers say the mission is vital to stop international terrorists using
Afghanistan as a base, but Gordon Brown has promised an “exit strategy” that
could start next year.
The Defence Secretary’s blunt remarks about the US threaten to strain
further a transatlantic relationship already under pressure over the British
release of the Lockerbie bomber and Mr. Obama’s decision to snub Mr Brown at
the United Nations in September.
Mr Obama has been considering advice from General Stanley McChrystal, the US
commander in Afghanistan, to send more than 40,000 extra troops to the
country.
Next week, after more than three months of deliberation, the president is
expected to announce that he will send around 34,000 more troops.
Mr Ainsworth, speaking to MPs at the defense committee in the House of
Commons, welcomed that troop 'surge' decision, but lamented the time taken
to reach it.
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