Chavez: Syria, Venezuela to 'build new world' free of U.S. control

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that he and Syria would "build a new world" free of U.S. domination. "We have decided to be free. We want to cooperate to build a new world where states' and people's self-determination are respected," Chavez said after a 2 1/2-hour meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad at his presidential palace in Damascus. "Imperialism's concern is to control the world, but we will not let them despite the pressure and aggression," the Venezuelan leader said, speaking through an interpreter. Speaking at Damascus airport on his arrival late Tuesday, Chavez said both countries agreed to stand up to the United States. "We have the same political vision and we will resist together the American imperialist aggression," he said.

Netherlands reports 1,000 heatwave deaths in July

The Netherlands recorded 1,000 extra deaths during July when the country was hit by a summer heatwave, the Central Bureau of Statistics has said. In the first week of July, 200 more people were reported dead than the average figure for that period. Like other statistical agencies in Europe, the CBS did not directly blame the additional deaths on the heatwave. It noted however that deaths increased in particular on days following high temperatures.

International concerns about a possible North Korean nuclear test

Kim Jong-il may have crossed the border into China to explain his military provocations to uneasy allies in Beijing. According to the South Korean media, satellites have tracked a special North Korean train, the usual form of transport for Mr. Kim, entering Chinese territory. If confirmed, it would be his second trip to Beijing in less than a year - an unheard-of flurry of diplomacy for a notoriously travel-shy figurehead. The reports are impossible to verify, but they come amid growing signs of Chinese anger with Mr. Kim over last month's missile tests, and regional anxiety about his next move. Earlier this month, the South Korean president, Roh Moo-hyun, requested an emergency summit with Beijing's leaders.

Ahmadinejad defiant, challenges Bush to TV debate

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad voiced defiance on Tuesday as a deadline neared for Iran to halt work the West fears is a step toward building nuclear bombs, and challenged President Bush to a televised debate. "Peaceful nuclear energy is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen that based upon international regulations, it wants to use it and no one can stop it," he told a news conference. The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until Thursday to suspend uranium enrichment -- a process which can produce fuel for civilian reactors or explosive material for warheads -- and has threatened sanctions unless it does so. Ahmadinejad said Iran had laid out a framework for talks in its reply to an offer by world powers of incentives in exchange for a suspension of enrichment. That framework provided an "exceptional opportunity" to solve the nuclear dispute. Asked specifically if Iran would halt enrichment, even for a short period, he replied: "In that (Iran's response to the six-nation offer) we announced that any kind of dialogue should be based upon the certain rights of the Iranian nation." He did not elaborate. Ahmadinejad condemned the U.S. and British roles in the world since World War Two. "I suggest holding a live TV debate with Mr. George W. Bush to talk about world affairs and the ways to solve those issues," he said.

Plan for Enhanced Federal IDs Could Open Door to a Biometrics Boom

In the coming months, a wave of government initiatives could start making such high-tech methods of identification commonplace -- beginning with the replacement this fall of federal employee IDs. Similar cards are planned for transportation workers, first responders and visitors to the United States. Packed with biometric data such as fingerprints and containing a computer chip with room to expand the amount of information stored, the new IDs represent a potential boon to technology companies eyeing an estimated $8 billion in identity-related contracts.

Hezbollah Building Bunkers Near Israeli Border

Hezbollah, with the help of Iran, has started building underground war bunkers in Palestinian camps in south Lebanon just a few miles from the Israeli border, according to senior Lebanese officials. During its 34-day confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel destroyed scores of complex Hezbollah bunkers that snaked along the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border. Military officials said they were surprised by the scale of the Hezbollah bunkers, in which Israeli troops reportedly found war rooms with advanced eavesdropping and surveillance equipment they noted were made by Iran. A senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND Hezbollah has started building a new set of bunker system, this time in Palestinian refugee camps. ‘The Lebanese Army doesn't have the authority to patrol inside the camps,’ said the official. ‘Hezbollah knows it is safe there to rebuild their war bunkers, and they began doing so with Iranian help.

U.S. Official Says Iran Is 'Central Banker Of Terror'

A U.S. anti-terrorism official says Iran is providing money to finance terrorism carried out by the militant group Hezbollah - calling the country quote - ‘the central banker of terror’. In an interview with the Associated Press Monday, Stuart Levey said Iran is a country that has terrorism as part of its budget. Levey - the U.S. Under-Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism - spoke as Iran faces a Thursday, August 31 U.N. deadline to stop enriching uranium or face possible sanctions.

Iran says it's not worried over deadline

Iran said Monday it is not concerned about this week's U.N. deadline demanding it suspend a key part of its disputed nuclear program or face political and economic sanctions. The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until Thursday to suspend a key part of its nuclear program — the enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce either fuel for a reactor or material for weapons. But Iran has refused any immediate suspension, calling the deadline as illegal. "Moving in the international framework is not a matter of concern for us," said government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham.

North Korea Warns Of Counter-Measures Against U.S. Financial Sanctions

North Korea has warned it will take ‘all necessary counter-measures’ against US financial sanctions amid reports the communist state may be preparing for a nuclear test. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said, in a first response late Saturday to intensifying US hunts for Pyongyang-owned bank accounts overseas, that Washington was ratcheting up the pressure in vain. ‘It is the height of folly for the US to think that it can solve any issue by means of sanctions and pressure,’ the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It said the US Treasury Department was tracing North Korea-opened bank accounts in ‘at least 10 countries’ in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian states as well as Mongolia and Russia. ‘Now that the Bush administration is escalating its pressure upon the DPRK through the tightened financial sanctions in a bid to keep itself politically alive, the DPRK is left with no other option but to take all necessary counter-measures to protect its ideology, system, sovereignty and dignity.’

Israel 'Not Fooled' By Iran's Nuclear Assurances

Israel said it was not fooled by assurances from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Tehran's nuclear program was no threat to the Jewish state. ‘Israel is not fooled by such declarations, the sole aim of which are to avoid sanctions being imposed on Iran’ by the UN Security Council, government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP. Ahmadinejad ‘has often stated his true intentions concerning Israel,’ he said, a reference to repeated calls by the Iranian president for the country's destruction. Ahmadinejad said Saturday that ‘one cannot deprive any nation from its rights. The Iranian nation will defend its rights to nuclear technology with force.’

Experts warn U.S. is coming apart at the seams

A pipeline shuts down in Alaska. Equipment failures disrupt air travel in Los Angeles. Electricity runs short at a spy agency in Maryland. None of these recent events resulted from a natural disaster or terrorist attack, but they may as well have, some homeland security experts say. They worry that too little attention is paid to how fast the country's basic operating systems are deteriorating. "When I see events like these, I become concerned that we've lost focus on the core operational functionality of the nation's infrastructure and are becoming a fragile nation, which is just as bad — if not worse — as being an insecure nation," said Christian Beckner, a Washington analyst. The American Society of Civil Engineers last year graded the nation "D" for its overall infrastructure conditions, estimating that it would take $1.6 trillion over five years to fix the problem. "I thought [Hurricane] Katrina was a hell of a wake-up call, but people are missing the alarm," said Casey Dinges, the society's managing director of external affairs.
British oil company BP announced this month that severe corrosion would close its Alaska pipelines for extensive repairs. Analysts say this may sideline some 200,000 barrels a day of production for several months. Then an instrument landing system that guides arriving planes onto a runway at Los Angeles International Airport failed for the second time in a week, delaying flights. Those incidents followed reports that the National Security Agency (NSA), the intelligence world's electronic eavesdropping arm, is consuming so much electricity at its headquarters outside Washington that it is in danger of exceeding its power supply. "If a terrorist group were able to knock the NSA offline, or disrupt one of the nation's busiest airports, or shut down the most important oil pipeline in the nation, the impact would be perceived as devastating," Beckner said. "And yet we've essentially let these things happen — or almost happen — to ourselves."

Iran tests submarine-to-surface missile

Iran test fired a new submarine-to-surface missile during war games in the Persian Gulf on Sunday, a show of military might amid a standoff with the West over its nuclear activities. A brief video clip showed the long-range missile, called Thaqeb, or Saturn, exiting the water and hitting a target on the water's surface within less than a mile. "The army successfully test fired a top speed long-range sub-to-surface missile off the Persian Gulf," the navy commander, Gen. Sajjad Kouchaki, said on state-run television.
Iran routinely has held war games over the past two decades to improve its combat readiness and to test equipment including missiles, tanks and armored personnel carriers. But Sunday's firing of the missile came as Iran remains defiant just five days before a deadline imposed by the U.N. Security Council for Tehran to suspend the enrichment of uranium, which can produce both reactor fuel and material usable in nuclear warheads.

Iran opens nuclear reactor, defying U.N.

Iran's hard-line president on Saturday inaugurated a heavy-water production plant, a facility the West fears will be used to develop a nuclear bomb, as Tehran remained defiant ahead of a U.N. deadline that could lead to sanctions. The U.N. has called on Tehran to stop the separate process of uranium enrichment — which also can be used to create nuclear weapons — by Thursday or face economic and political sanctions. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that his nation's nuclear program poses no threat to other nations, even Israel, "which is a definite enemy." Ahmadinejad said in a speech that Iran would never abandon what he once again called its purely peaceful nuclear program. "There is no discussion of nuclear weapons," he said. "We are not a threat to anybody even the Zionist regime, which is a definite enemy for the people of the region." Though the West's main worry has been enrichment of uranium that could be used in a bomb, it also has called on Iran to stop the construction of a heavy-water reactor near the production plant that Ahmadinejad inaugurated. A senior Israeli lawmaker warned in a statement that the plant inauguration marks "another leap in Iran's advance toward a nuclear bomb." Israeli legislator Ephraim Sneh of the Labor Party, a partner in the ruling coalition, said that the Jewish state must "prepare itself militarily." Ahmadinejad last year called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

Nuclear test possible, says pro-North Korea paper

A nuclear test by North Korea cannot be ruled out if the United States steps up what Pyongyang calls its hostile policy toward the communist country, a pro-North Korea newspaper published in Japan said on Saturday. The news comes amid reports that Pyongyang might be preparing a nuclear bomb test. "We cannot say for sure there will be no nuclear test by North Korea to strengthen its self-defence, if the Bush administration steps up the hard-line stance in military and other areas," said an editorial in Chosun Sinbo, run by ethnic North Koreans living in Japan. The editorial, posted on the newspaper's Web site, said last month's North Korean missile tests were also a response to Washington's threats, notably financial sanctions targeting Pyongyang and joint military exercises with South Korea.

Ahmadinejad would sacrifice half of Iran for the sake of eliminating Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, if he ever became the supreme decision maker in his country, would "sacrifice half of Iran for the sake of eliminating Israel". At present, Eiland stressed, the ultimate decision maker in Iran was Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 67, whom he said was "more reasonable." But, Eiland went on, "if Ahmadinejad were to succeed him - and he has a reasonable chance of doing so - then we'd be in a highly dangerous situation." The 49-year-old Iranian president, he said, "has a religious conviction that Israel's demise is essential to the restoration of Muslim glory, that the Zionist thorn in the heart of the Islamic nations must be removed. And he will pay almost any price to right the perceived historic wrong. If he becomes the supreme leader and has a nuclear capability, that's a real threat."

Syria will try for Golan Heights

Syria is satisfied with Hizbullah's performance against the IDF, and is encouraging the organization to oppose its disarmament, OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He also said Damascus would try to recover the Golan Heights by any possible means, diplomatic or military, and was studying the recent campaign to learn how to conduct successful operations against Israel. "Hizbullah does not intend to leave southern Lebanon or to disarm. At most, it would be willing to stash away its arms in the [south Lebanon] sector," said Yadlin. It was important to note, said Yadlin, that Hizbullah had used more weapons provided by Syria than by Iran. While Iran provided training and funding, Yadlin said it was Syrian supplies that were enabling Hizbullah forces to remain active. The intelligence chief said that despite widespread skepticism over the army's effectiveness, Syria and Hizbullah had been "impressed" by the IDF's performance. He also said, "Syria and Hizbullah were surprised by the determined stand made by the Israeli home front during the course of the war." "They expected Israel to sustain more casualties when they fired close to 4,000 rockets and they expected there to be greater chaos and disorder within Israeli society," he said. Yadlin said Hizbullah was gaining support in Lebanon by rehabilitating areas damaged during the war.

South Korea certain North has nuclear bombs

South Korea is certain North Korea has nuclear weapons and Seoul's best estimate is Pyongyang has produced one or two bombs, its defense minister said on Friday, amid reports that the North may be preparing a nuclear test. Another senior official said South Korea and China had agreed to cooperate in preventing the North from conducting a test, which would pose a grave situation in the region. Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ing said he believed the North had one or two nuclear weapons, but his remarks in parliament on Friday were among the strongest yet on the North's possession of atomic bombs. "It is estimated that the North has one or two," Yoon told a parliamentary hearing when asked about the North's nuclear arsenal. When asked if the South has no doubt about the North's possession of a nuclear weapon, Yoon said: "That's correct."

Big Brother Will Be Watching In 13 Months

Tied into GPS navigation computers, EDRs could give interested parties the ability to take automated ticketing to the next level. Since the data recorders can continuously monitor most of the operating parameters of a vehicle as it travels -- and the GPS unit can precisely locate the vehicle in "real time," wherever it happens to be at any given moment -- any and all incidents of "speeding" could be immediately detected and a piece of paying paper issued to the offender faster than he could tap the brake. Probably they'll just erect an electronic debiting system of some sort that ties directly into your checking account -- or the other chip, the one in your hand -- since the paperwork could not keep up with the massive uptick in fines that would be generated.

Iranian Warship Attacks Gulf Oil Rig

In the first such incident in decades, an Iranian warship has attacked a European-operated oil rig in the Gulf. Romania said the Iranian Navy attacked an oil rig operated by a Romanian company off the coast of Iran on Tuesday. The rig, located near Kish island and involved in an Iranian court case in 2006, was captured and at least 20 Romanians were detained. Sergiu Medar, a national security adviser to Romanian President Traian Basescu, said Iran's action stemmed from a commercial dispute. Medar did not elaborate, but officials said the Foreign Ministry planned to send a team to the rig, operated by Oil Services Group in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. Iran and the UAE have a territorial waters dispute. ‘We are dealing with a commercial dispute that is being treated in an extreme way by the Iranian authorities,’ Medar said.

Israel may 'go it alone' against Iran

Israel is carefully watching the world's reaction to Iran's continued refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, with some high-level officials arguing it is now clear that when it comes to stopping Iran, Israel "may have to go it alone," One senior source said on Tuesday that Iran "flipped the world the bird" by not responding positively to the Western incentive plan to stop uranium enrichment. He expressed frustration that the Russians and Chinese were already saying that Iran's offer of a "new formula" and willingness to enter "serious negotiations" was an opening to keep on talking. "The Iranians know the world will do nothing," he said. "This is similar to the world's attempts to appease Hitler in the 1930s - they are trying to feed the beast." He said there was a need to understand that "when push comes to shove," Israel would have to be prepared to "slow down" the Iranian nuclear threat by itself.

Iran planning nuclear 'surprise'

A senior official in Teheran said Wednesday that in the next few days, a "surprise" was expected regarding Iran's nuclear program, Al-Jazeera reported. Teheran's apparent refusal to suspend uranium enrichment set the stage for a showdown at the UN Security Council later this month. The United States said Wednesday that a proposal by Iran for nuclear negotiations falls short of UN demands for a halt to enrichment, and began plotting "next moves" with other governments.

VeriChip Corporation Now Lobbying Pentagon For Right To Microchip All Military Personnel

A microchip company with powerful political connections is lobbying the Pentagon for the right to implant chips under the skins of the nearly 1.4 million U.S. military personnel. VeriChip Corp., which is based in Florida and planning to offer its stock to the public soon, has been one of the most aggressive marketers of radio frequency identification chips. Company officials have touted the chips as versatile, able to be used in a variety of situations such as helping track illegal immigrants or giving doctors immediate access to patient’s medical records. Now the company is “in discussions” with the Pentagon, spokeswoman Nicole Philbin said. She added that VeriChip wants to insert the chips under the skin of the right arms of U.S. servicemen and servicewomen. The idea is to be able to scan an arm and obtain that person’s identity and medical history. “The potential for this technology doesn’t just stop at the civilian level,” Philbin said. VeriChip hopes that the chips will replace the metal dog tags that have been worn by U.S. military personnel since 1906. The company has political muscle in the form of Tommy Thompson. A former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Thompson is a partner at the lobbying law firm of Akin Gump and is a director of VeriChip.

Iran now the key power in Iraq, says UK think-tank

A series of strategic errors by the Bush Administration in its War on Terror has left Iran holding virtually all the cards in the power play of the Middle East, according to a report by Britain's most influential think-tank published today. The report from the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House - entitled Iran, its neighbours and the regional crises - paints a bleak picture of the prospects for the United States and its Western allies as they try to put a cap on Iran's nuclear programme. It describes Iran as a state that sits with "confident ease" in the region and says, crucially, that Iran has replaced the United States as the most influential power in Iraq, able to influence events on the street and not just behind the security barricades of Baghdad's Green Zone. "There is little doubt that Iran has been the chief beneficiary of the War on Terror in the Middle East," says the report from Chatham House's Middle East Programme. "The United States, with coalition support, has eliminated two of Iran’s regional rival governments - the Taleban in Afghanistan in November 2001 and Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq in April 2003 - but has failed to replace either with coherent and stable political structures."

EU seeks troops for peacekeeping force

European Union nations made a renewed attempt Wednesday to raise troops for a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, but many remained wary of committing soldiers without safeguards to ensure they do not get sucked into the conflict. There were expectations nations would come forward at a meeting Wednesday of ambassadors at EU headquarters with at least tentative offers of more troops, diplomats said. But any major breakthrough in overcoming the delays in mustering the force of 15,000 is unlikely before a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Friday.

Iran defiant as world awaits response on nuclear package

Iran is set to respond to an international deal to suspend nuclear work but Washington was already baying for UN sanctions in the face of a defiant rejection from the regime's supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all key policy issues, said Iran was determined to press ahead with its nuclear programme despite an August 31 UN Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment. Officials said Iran would give a comprehensive response Tuesday to the package offered by world powers but wanted to address "ambiguities" over its right to nuclear technology under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. "The Islamic republic has made up its mind and on the nuclear programme and other issues it will continue on its path with strength, with God's help," Khamenei was quoted as saying on state television Monday. "Arrogant powers, led by the United States, are fearful of progress of Islamic countries in various dimensions," he said.

North Korea Threatens Retaliation for U.S.-South Korean Exercises

The North Korean army said Tuesday that continuing U.S.-South Korean military exercises were tantamount to war and threatened to take action, saying the drills rendered "null and void" the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. The statement from the North's Korean People's Army outpost at the truce village of Panmunjom comes amid renewed concerns that the communist nation is possibly planning to test a nuclear weapon, following its provocative missile launches last month. The U.S. and South Korea on Monday launched annual military exercises, which the North had previously said would be considered a declaration of war. The North Korean army "reserves the right to undertake a pre-emptive action for self-defense against the enemy at a crucial time it deems necessary to defend itself," the military said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. It wasn't immediately clear whether the North has previously made such a direct declaration calling the Korean War armistice "null and void." However, it commonly issues heated statements warning that the peninsula stands on the brink of renewed war.

Ahmadinejab Planning The Apocalypse Today?

Intelligence sources report that information rated “highly credible” has reached US undercover agencies of a secret report presented to Iran’s supreme ruler Ali Khamenei by Abdollah Shabhazi, one of the heads of the Supreme National Security Council. He claims to expose a mega-terror plot against Jerusalem scheduled for August 22, which aims at killing large numbers of Jews, Arabs and Christians. This atrocity will reportedly arm the United States and Israel with the pretext for hitting Iran’s nuclear installations, as well its capital, Tehran, and other big cities. “In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time - Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam… Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22.

Hizbullah: Israel will be destroyed

In the course of the last month a war waged between the IDF and Hizbullah on Lebanese territory, but Iran is also busy with evaluations of the situation and summaries, following the ceasefire. A conference was held on Sunday in Tehran under the banner "Clarifying the results of the Lebanon war and the future of the Middle East". During the conference, Hizbullah's representative in Iran, Muhammad Abdullah Sif al-Din said: "We think this war has one significance and it is the destruction of the Zionist regime." "The Zionist regime is a not a real regime," said the envoy, who was quoted by an Iranian news agency.

Iran denies inspectors access to site

Iran has turned away U.N. inspectors wanting to examine its underground nuclear site in an apparent violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty, diplomats and U.N. officials said. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the information, told The Associated Press that Iran's unprecedented refusal to allow access to the facility at Natanz could seriously hamper international efforts to ensure that Tehran is not trying to make nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader said Tehran will pursue nuclear technology despite a U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment by the end of the month or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has made its own decision and in the nuclear case, God willing, with patience and power, will continue its path," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to state television.

Tehran Official: Many Weapons Waiting For Hizbullah

Iran, and Syria are working feverishly to rearm Hizbullah ahead of the next round. A senior officer of the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran said that huge quantities of weapons – including weapons of various sources – reached Damascus during the last three weeks, and are waiting to be transferred to Lebanon. According to London based Arabic daily al-Sharq al-Awast, the Revolutionary Guard formed an emergency committee on logistics in Damascus, which will be responsible for supplying Hizbullah's military needs. A senior figure in the Iranian foreign ministry also said his country was preparing to provide aid for areas destroyed in Lebanon, despite claims by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other sources, according to which Hizbullah is not receiving money from Iran for recovery efforts in Lebanon.

U.S. facing wave of murders and gun violence

In a shift from trends of the past decade, violent crime is on the rise, fueling criticism of Bush administration policies as a wave of murders and shootings hits smaller cities and states with little experience with serious urban violence. From Kansas City, Missouri, to Indianapolis, Indiana, places that rarely attract notice on annual FBI crime surveys are seeing significant increases in murder. Boston, once a model city in America's battle against gun violence, is poised to eclipse last year's homicide tally, which was the worst in a decade. Explanations vary -- from softer gun laws to budget cuts, fewer police on the beat, more people in poverty and simple complacency. But many blame a national preoccupation with potential threats from abroad.

Iranian army training: Preparing for 'insane' enemy

Iran holds large exercise with participation of all arms of military. During training General Salkhi says his country's armed forces need to be prepared for operation undertaken by 'insane' enemy Israel. Comander-in-chief of Iran's army, Ataollah Salehi, said Saturday that the armed forces of his country are prepared for any operation Israel may launch against Iran. He spoke in a press conference during the largest, most extensive exercise the Iranian army has ever held.

Iran test-fires 10 short-range missiles

Iran test-fired 10 surface-to-surface short-range missiles on Sunday, a day after it launched a series of large-scale military exercises throughout the country, state-run television reported. The Saegheh missile had a range of between 50 and 150 miles, the report said. It did not specify whether the missile was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, but it was not believed to be. State-run television said the missile was built based on domestic know-how, although outside experts say much of the country's missile technology originated from other countries. Iran said it launched the new military exercises Saturday to introduce a new defensive doctrine. "We have to be prepared against any threat and we should be a role model for other countries," local newspapers quoted army spokesman Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, as saying earlier this week.

Over 80% Of Britons Believe US Losing 'War On Terror', Want Britain Distanced

Four out of five Britons believe the west is losing the "war against terror" and want Tony Blair to distance British foreign policy from the United States, a poll revealed today. Tony Blair's policy of standing shoulder to shoulder with President Bush on foreign policy, most recently seen in his backing of the US stance in the Israel-Lebanon war, is only supported by 14% of the public, according to the poll.

Egypt warns against any military strike on Iran

The conflict between the United States and Iran must be resolved through diplomatic channels and direct dialogue, because any strike on Iran means the end of stability in the region and the world, Mubarak said in an interview published on Saturday in Egypt's Akhbar al-Youm newspaper. Iran has set itself an August 22 deadline to respond to an offer of economic incentives designed to persuade it to comply with the suspension demand. Egypt has not had full diplomatic relations with Tehran in more than 25 years and high-level contacts are rare, usually limited to international meetings. But Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki came to Egypt last week for talks with Mubarak on the conflict in Lebanon and other regional issues. In April, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit received a telephone call from Mottaki on the nuclear issue, and the ministers agreed to stay in touch. "Iran is an important country in the region, and relations between countries are governed by pacts and treaties and agreements that prohibit interference in any internal matters of the countries," Mubarak said in the interview.

Pastors say court's ruling in Houston Bible case 'breath-taking'

A few more court decisions like this week's over a display of a Bible in Houston and the United States will be approaching the "China-level" for Christian persecution, according to a leader in the midst of that battle. The ruling from the Fifth Court of Appeals said the display of a Bible on public ground in Houston to honor the founder of a mission has to go, not because it was unconstitutional itself, but because it became unconstitutional when a Christian group rallied around it. The pastor's group said that means any monument, building, or even feature of nature is an illegal "establishment of religion" if a church ceremony is held there.

North Korea preparing for test of a nuclear bomb

"It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility," said a senior State Department official. A senior military official told ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site. The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside P'unggye-yok, an underground facility in northeast North Korea. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. The intelligence was brought to the attention of the White House last week.

Iran to conduct large-scale military maneuvers

Iran will launch a series of large-scale military maneuvers across the country and has not made plans for an end to the ongoing war games, the army said. "The maneuvers are aimed at introducing Iran's new defensive doctrine," military spokesman Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted as saying by state-run television. He said the exercises would begin on Saturday in the south east of the country. "It will continue in the whole of Iran, stage by stage for an unspecified period," Ashtiani said.

'Hybrid Mutant' Found Dead in Maine

Residents are wondering if an animal found dead over the weekend may be the mysterious creature that has mauled dogs, frightened residents and been the subject of local legend for half a generation. The animal was found near power lines along Route 4 on Saturday, apparently struck by a car while chasing a cat. The carcass was photographed and inspected by several people who live in the area, but nobody is sure exactly what it is. Michelle O'Donnell of Turner spotted the animal near her yard about a week before it was killed. She called it a "hybrid mutant of something." "It was evil, evil looking. And it had a horrible stench I will never forget," she told the Sun Journal of Lewiston. "We locked eyes for a few seconds and then it took off. I've lived in Maine my whole life and I've never seen anything like it." For the past 15 years, residents across Androscoggin County have reported seeing and hearing a mysterious animal with chilling monstrous cries and eyes that glow in the night. The animal has been blamed for attacking and killing a Doberman pinscher and a Rottweiler the past couple of years. Loren Coleman, a Portland author and cryptozoologist, said it's unlikely that the animal was anybody's pet. After reviewing photos of the carcass, Coleman said he was bothered by the animal's ears and snout. It reminded him of a case years ago in northern Maine in which an animal shot by a hunter could not be identified. In the end, wildlife officials got a DNA analysis that showed the animal was a rare wolf-dog hybrid, he said. Mike O'Donnell, who is married to Michelle O'Donnell, said the animal looked "half-rodent, half-dog" to him. It was charcoal gray, weighed between 40 and 50 pounds and had a bushy tail, a short snout, short ears and curled fangs hanging over its lips, he said. It looked like "something out of a Stephen King story." "This is something I've never seen before. It's an evil-looking thing," he said.

Staph skin infections on rise in U.S.

A once-rare drug-resistant germ now appears to cause more than half of all skin infections treated in U.S. emergency rooms, say researchers who documented the superbug's startling spread in the general population. Many victims mistakenly thought they just had spider bites that wouldn't heal, not drug-resistant staph bacteria. Only a decade ago, these germs were hardly ever seen outside of hospitals and nursing homes. Doctors also were caught off-guard — most of them unwittingly prescribed medicines that do not work against the bacteria. "It is time for physicians to realize just how prevalent this is," said Dr. Gregory Moran of Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, who led the study.

'End Times' message delivered to 100,000

Wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famine and disease, armies coming against Israel and other signs discussed in the Bible were the subjects of Greg Laurie's California Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. "We don't know what's going to happen. But the end of your own personal world might be near, and my objective is simply to prepare people to meet God through a relationship with Jesus Christ," The 17th annual crusade, which this year drew about 100,000 people to the stadium and another 30,000 via internet broadcasts and podcasts, came amidst high levels of terror alerts, war in the Mideast and worry over the future. Laurie, a weekly columnist for WorldNetDaily, spoke on topics including "What's Your Question?" "What is the Meaning of Life?" and "Is the End of the World Near?" He said current world events serve as a "sign of the times" that the return of Christ is near.

Syria, Iran leaders praise Hezbollah

Tehran and Damascus may be the biggest winners from the 34 days of fighting in Lebanon — buoyed by the ability of ally Hezbollah to stand up to Israel's punishing assaults and by the new, widespread popularity of the guerrillas across the Middle East. Syria and Iran both ridiculed U.S. hopes for eliminating the guerrillas and belittled Israel's high-tech military as useless against Hezbollah. "The Middle East they (the Americans) aspire to ... has become an illusion," Syrian President Bashar Assad said in Damascus. "We tell them (Israelis) that after tasting humiliation in the latest battles, your weapons are not going to protect you — not your planes, or missiles, or even your nuclear bombs ... The future generations in the Arab world will find a way to defeat Israel," Assad added. A few hours later, Iran's leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saluted Hezbollah for hoisting "the banner of victory" over Israel. Analysts said both countries now feel stronger in their own individual disputes with the West and that the alliance of their hard-line governments is stronger now, in contrast to the Mideast bloc of pro-U.S. governments.

Court: Bible display must go

A Bible must not be part of a 50-year-old monument in front of the Harris County (Texas) civil courthouse because a district judge changed it from a secular to a religious use in violation of the Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. "Its recent history would force an objective observer to conclude that it is a religious symbol of a particular faith located on public grounds," a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 2-1 decision.

Microchip "E-passport" Rollout Begins

The federal government this week began the rollout of new electronic passports embedded with radio microchips holding personal data. But the first travelers granted new passports - at the State Department's new Colorado Passport Agency north of Cherry Creek Reservoir - reluctantly embraced the idea. Anything to "make our skies more safe," said Chris Hart, 34, on his way to Mexico with his bride, Alycia, for a honeymoon. "As long as it's not in my skin," he said of his chip, "which is probably what's coming next."

Iran, Syria praise Hezbollah, mock U.S.

Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Hezbollah has "hoisted the banner of victory" over Israel and toppled U.S.-led plans for the Middle East. Hezbollah's main backers -- Iran and Syria -- struck nearly identical tones a day after a cease-fire took effect in Lebanon: heaping praise on the guerrillas as perceived victors for the Islamic world and claiming that Western influence in the region was dealt a serious blow. "God's promises have come true," Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Arbadil in northwestern Iran.

Syria: U.S. Mideast plan an 'illusion'

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday that the U.S. plan for a "new Middle East" has collapsed following Hezbollah's successes in fighting against Israel. Israel's foreign minister, meanwhile, warned Syria not to intervene in Lebanese affairs or use the Hezbollah militia to influence the Beirut government. Assad, speaking to a journalists' conference in Syria, said the region has changed "because of the achievements of the resistance (by Hezbollah)." "The Middle East they (the Americans) aspire to ... has become an illusion," he said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said early in the war between Hezbollah and Israel that any settlement should be durable and lead to a "new Middle East" where extremists have no influence. Assad said the fighting in Lebanon had been planned by Israel for some time, but the endeavor had failed and revealed the limitations of Israeli military power. "The result was more failure for Israel, its allies and masters," Assad said. In a 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces surrounded Beirut within seven days, he said. But after nearly five weeks in the latest conflict, he said, Israel "was still struggling to occupy a few hundred meters." He warned Israel to seek peace or risk defeat in the future.

Iran leader says US and Europe face backlash from supporting Israel

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States of "blindly supporting" Israel against Hezbollah and President George W. Bush of seeking to "solve everything with bombs", in a television interview. Ahmadinejad again denied seeking a nuclear bomb, questioned the US military presence in Iraq and gave the US network CBS an evasive answer when questioned about an alleged unit of suicide bombers in Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Commenting on the Israeli-Hezbollah war, the conservative leader said US support for Israel "threatens the future of all peoples, including the American and European peoples. "So we are asking, why the American government is blindly supporting this murderous regime." Ahmadinejad has in the past said Israel should be wiped off the map and denied the existence of the Holocaust. In this interview, he said through a translator that Israel is "a fabricated government" because he said it had been forced upon the Middle East after the Holocaust. The US administration, Israel's main ally, has repeatedly accused Iran and Syria of giving military and financial support to Hezbollah. Ahmadinejad again denied that Iran sought a nuclear bomb but insisted that the United States and its allies would not stop Tehran's nuclear research. "If Mr Bush thinks that he can stop our progress I have to say that he will be unable to do that."

Misery and hunger stalk drought-hit grain basket of China

Yi Mudan sighs as her flock of sheep and goats push their way to the water troughs after a morning grazing on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. “We try to use our well water but there isn’t enough. We have to ask for tankers to come from the town to make sure the animals have enough.” The drought that brings a frown to the face of this elderly farmer is making itself felt far across China. Horses, cattle and sheep are already beginning to starve in some parts of Inner Mongolia’s grasslands. In central Sichuan province, China’s grain basket, millions of acres of crops have withered. Across the country, more than six million acres have been ruined — an area 21 per cent larger than in previous years. Water levels along the mighty Yangtze river, China’s longest river, have dropped dramatically, falling by more than ten metres in a matter of weeks. Where the river flows through the huge city of Chongqing, the water level is just 3.5 metres (11.5 feet) — its lowest in a century. Seventeen million people across southwest China no longer have access to clean drinking water as a result of the drought.

Iran says disarming Lebanese Hizbollah "illogical"

Iran welcomed on Sunday a planned ceasefire to halt the month-long war between Lebanon's Hizbollah and Israel but described the U.N. Security Council's call for disarming the Iranian-backed group as "illogical". The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday calling for a "full cessation of hostilities" and for the implementation of a previous U.N. resolution requiring the disarming of armed groups including Hizbollah. "We are happy for the ceasefire in Lebanon. But the resolution is not balanced," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a weekly news conference. "It does not condemn the Zionist regime (Israel) and its crimes in Lebanon." Asked about the call for disarming Hizbollah, Asefi said: "This is a totally unreasonable demand. It is illogical." "Let us not forget that as long as there is occupation there is resistance," he added.

British officials say terrorists could still be planning to carry out attacks

Home Secretary John Reid told British television (BBC) Sunday the threat of a terrorist attack in Britain is still very substantial. He says at least four major terrorist plots have been thwarted since the deadly July seventh attacks on the London transit system last year. Twenty-three people are in detention in London, suspected of planning to detonate liquid explosives aboard as many as 10 airliners. London investigators say they arrested the suspects Thursday after a conspirator in Pakistan urged an accomplice in Britain to quickly carry out the plan. Pakistani officials also have arrested several suspects, including a Briton (Rashid Rauf) allegedly tied to al-Qaida in Afghanistan. British investigators are searching for possible links to last July's suicide bombings, which killed 52 people and wounded hundreds more.

Iran has reported a major increase in arms sales

Officials said the Defense Ministry has garnered new clients for Iranian military systems over the last 18 months. They said the sales included anti-tank missiles, naval boats and other platforms. On Thursday, Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Najar reported a 75 percent increase in defense sales. Najar, who did not cite a figure, said this was the highest increase ever for Iran's military industry. In an interview with the official Iranian news agency, Irna, Najar said Iranian defense exports increased by 17 percent in the year that began in March 2006. The minister said defense sales in 2005 rose by 15 percent.

Greenland Ice melt 'speeding up'

Break-off point into the ocean of Helheim Glacier in southeast Greenland. The meltdown of Greenland's ice sheet is speeding up, satellite measurements show. Data from a US space agency (Nasa) satellite show that the melting rate has accelerated since 2004. If the ice cap were to completely disappear, global sea levels would rise by 6.5m (21 feet). Most of the ice is being lost from eastern Greenland, a US team writes in Science journal. Jianli Chen of the University of Texas at Austin and colleagues studied monthly changes in the Earth's gravity between April 2002 and November 2005. These measurements came from the US space agency's Grace (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite, launched in 2002. "Acceleration of mass loss over Greenland, if confirmed, would be consistent with proposed increased global warming in recent years." Estimated monthly changes in the mass of Greenland's ice sheet suggest it is melting at a rate of about 239 cubic kilometres (57.3 cubic miles) per year. This figure is about three times higher than an earlier estimate of the mass loss from Greenland made using the first two years of Grace measurements.

Huge waves strike central Philippine villages

Heavy rains, strong winds and huge waves, boosted by the southwest monsoon, damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 shacks in the central Philippines, disaster and local officials said on Saturday. Disaster officials said nearly 60,000 people in Negros Occidental province were displaced when waves as high as 3 meters (10 feet) smashed into coastal villages. "We've never seen such waves in our entire lives," Ricardo Presbiterio, mayor of Valladolid town, told Reuters. "The waves even reached about 50 meters inland, flooding the coastal areas due to heavy rains and high tide." Presbiterio said the coastal villages were struck twice by the huge waves on late Wednesday and Thursday during high tide and the full moon.

Ahmadinejad Demands U.S. Change 'Behaviour'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States of harboring imperial ambitions and demanded the administration change its behavior, in an interview with a US television network. The Americans ‘want to build an empire,’ said Ahmadinejad, according to excerpts of the interview published by the CBS network on its website Wednesday. ‘And they don't want to live side-by-side in peace with other nations. The American government, sir, it is very clear to me they have to change their behavior and everything will be resolved,’ said Ahmadinejad.

Strong quake rocks northwest Indonesia

A strong earthquake rocked parts of Indonesia's Sumatra island early Saturday, causing some people to flee their homes, but there were no reports of damage and no tsunami was triggered. The 6-magnitude quake struck at 3:54 a.m. and was centered under the Indian Ocean 175 miles northwest of Sumatra, the U.S. Geological Survey said. "It felt pretty strong," state news agency Antara quoted one villager as saying. "The whole family and our neighbors ran out from our house, but there was not a massive panic." Officials on Sumatra were not available for comment early Saturday. There were no immediate reports of damage. Sumatra was hardest hit by a powerful December 2004 earthquake and tsunami. More than 216,000 people in Indian Ocean nations were killed or missing in the disaster. The region is rocked by many earthquakes, including a magnitude 8.7 quake in March last year that killed about 900 people on an outlying island.

Tourists flock as warming Alps crumble

Hansruedi Burgener has welcomed up to 800 people a day -- twice the average number of visitors -- to his remote mountain hostel in the Alps this summer. They all hope to watch a rock the size of two Empire State Buildings collapse onto the canyon floor up to 656 feet below, as retreating glacier ice robs a cliff face on the eastern edge of the Eiger mountain of its main support. "We would also have made a living without the rock coming down. But it would have been a bit quieter," Burgener said. Accessible only by a steep hike of more than an hour, Burgener's place offers a safe view of the crumbling rock right opposite, and refreshments like a cold beer. Every few minutes or so, there is a surprisingly loud sound as a boulder comes thundering down, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The sharp crackle of smaller stones rolling down the cliff face is almost continuous. The spectacle is a dramatic reminder that the Alps have been hit hard by global warming, and underscore warnings from scientists that thawing permafrost -- the frozen soil that can glue mountains together -- will cause more havoc in the future.

U.S. Embassy warns of attacks in India

Foreign militants, possibly from al-Qaida, may be planning to bomb New Delhi and Bombay, the U.S. Embassy warned Friday, raising fears that Osama bin Laden's network may be targeting India for its rising economic power and links to the United States. An e-mail sent to Americans registered with the embassy said New Delhi, the capital, and Bombay, the country's financial and entertainment hub, were targeted for attacks around India's Independence Day celebrations Tuesday. The embassy warning said the "likely targets include major airports, key central Indian government offices, and major gathering places such as hotels and markets."

Israel expands offensive in Lebanon

Israel launched an expanded ground offensive into southern Lebanon on Friday as U.N. diplomats worked furiously on a cease-fire deal to end the monthlong conflict with Hezbollah. Israel expressed dissatisfaction over an initial cease-fire plan, saying it failed to meet its basic requirements, such as stationing robust international combat troops in southern Lebanon once Israel withdraws. But after France and the U.S. reached a deal on a revised draft resolution, Israel indicated it may accept the new arrangement and call off its offensive. The U.N. Security Council was expected to vote on the text later Friday. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was reviewing the draft, and an individual close to the government, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, said there was a "good chance" Israel would accept it. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry said the resolution would give a U.N. force in Lebanon an enhanced mandate to help coordinate the eventual withdrawal of Israeli troops. But it would ultimately be deployed under Chapter 6 of the U.N. Charter — which Israel has previously opposed.

Airline bomb plot causes worldwide airline chaos

Air travel to and from Britain have been severely disrupted as drastic security measures were swiftly introduced following the discovery of a suspected plot to blow up planes on transatlantic flights. Many airlines said they were cancelling all flights to Britain and to the epicentre of the threat, London Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, and warned the problems could last for several days. The inter-connected nature of international air travel meant the disruption caused by chaos at Heathrow in the wake of the new measures was rippling out across the world. In contrast to their European counterparts, and despite a request by the British Airports Authority, US airlines said they were not planning to cancel flights to Heathrow, but warned of severe delays. British anti-terrorist police said the plot involved explosives concealed in hand luggage, which led to security being beefed up at most of Britain's airports.

New Laser Weapon Test Successful

A two-mirror relay system that could one day be used to destroy ground targets and airborne missiles with a high-intensity laser has been tested by the US Air Force Research Laboratory in New Mexico, US.The tests carried were out in recent weeks at Kirtland Air force base, New Mexico, by Boeing and the US air force. They involved firing a laser with an output power of just under 1 kilowatt at the relay system from a distance of about 3 kilometres. The laser was then successfully redirected to a target a further 3 km from the relay. The mirror relay consists of two 75-centimetre-wide mirrors positioned close to one another and suspended 30 metres above the ground by a crane. The long-term goal is to develop a high-altitude mirror system that could redirect powerful laser beams at targets beyond the direct line-of-sight of the laser's source. An air force fact sheet says such a relay could provide "a worldwide speed-of-light capability to the war fighter."

U.S. Raises Air Security Alert To RED For The First Time

The U.S. government raised the security alert on passenger planes to its highest level for the first time on Thursday after Britain said it had foiled a plot to blow up flights to the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it was taking an unprecedented step by raising the threat level for commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom to ‘severe,’ or red. The threat level for all other commercial aircraft operating in or destined for the United States would be raised to ‘high,’ or orange, from ‘elevated,’ or yellow, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement.

Iranian Cataclysm Forecast For Aug 22

A top expert on the Mideast says it is possible Iran could pick Aug. 22, the anniversary of one of Islam's holiest events, for a cataclysm Shiite Muslims believe will forever resolve the battle between ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ Princeton's Bernard Lewis has written an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal advising that the rest of the world would be wise to bear in mind that for those who believe the end of the world is imminent and good, there is no deterrent even to nuclear warfare. As WorldNetDaily has reported, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has urged his people to prepare for the coming of an Islamic ‘messiah,’ raising concerns a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic could trigger the kind of global conflagration he envisions will set the stage for the end of the world. He's also said, in a WND report, that Islam and its followers must prepare to rule the world, because it is a ‘universal ideology that leads the world to justice.’ Now comes Lewis, who notes that the world must be concerned about a leader for whom the possibility of death is not a deterrent.

Britain Facing Most Sustained Threat Since WWII

Britain is living through its most threatening time since the second world war, John Reid, the home secretary, will warn today. In a speech to a London think-tank, the hyperactive home secretary - who will mark 100 days in the job this Friday - will confirm that a terrorist attack on the UK is ‘highly likely’, as signaled by the current ‘severe’ warning on official government websites. The heavily-trailed speech will also call for a national debate on immigration levels - something the Labour party heavily attacked Michael Howard for demanding at the last general election. In an address to Demos, Mr. Reid will call for the public, especially ethnic minority communities, to help the police and intelligence services track potential terrorists, saying the professionals alone cannot ‘100% guarantee’ to defeat the threat.

Israel’s Defense Minister Slams Russian Sophisticated-Weapons Deliveries to Middle East

Hezbollah’s troops are using modern and sophisticated Russian-made anti-tank missiles against Israel’s army in fights in the South of Lebanon, Israel’s defense minister Amir Peretz said Wednesday, RIA Novosti news agency reports. “We are fighting against the Iranian commando, which is armed with sophisticated, modern weaponry. This includes Russian-made anti-tank missiles, which in the past it was promised would not fall into the hands of Hezbollah. This weapon is used today against IDF soldiers in Lebanon,” Peretz said during the meeting with the German Foreign Minister, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, ynetnews.com reports. The Gaaretz newspaper claimed on Sunday that Hezbollah used Russian-made RPG-29 anti-tank missiles, which were sold to Syria by Russia, and then to Hezbollah. RPG-29 missiles are able to break through the heavy armor of Israel’s “Merkava” tanks. Hezbollah fighters also use RPG’s against Israeli troops. Israel found out that Hezbollah possesses Russian-made anti-tank missiles in November 2005, after Hezbollah fighters had attacked Israel’s army in Radjar village.

AIDS and TB team up to kill even more

More people are getting tuberculosis because of AIDS and more die of AIDS because of TB, yet doctors fail to recognize the respiratory disease in AIDS patients and governments do little about it, according to a report released on Tuesday. Sexier topics like avian flu get immediate attention while 2 million people die every year of tuberculosis, and 9 million become infected, according to the report from the Open Society Institute, a foundation set up by financier George Soros. Together, TB and AIDS are causing a "double plague," Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa told reporters in a telephone briefing. "Governments and the international community have got to realize they have on their hands two simultaneous and interrelated catastrophes," Lewis said.

U.S. plans to refurbish U.S.-origin platforms in the Lebanese military in an effort to overpower Hizbullah

Officials said the Defense Department has been reviewing options to bolster the Lebanese Army over the next few months. They said the Pentagon could supply more than $10 million in spare parts to Lebanon to renew operations of the U.S.-origin fleet of helicopters and armored personnel carriers. The Lebanese Army has long been hampered by a shortage of spare parts and maintenance services. The army has required these services to ensure operations of its M113 APC fleet as well as UH-1H medium transport helicopters. Under the Pentagon plan, the M113 and UH-1H would become a priority. Termed ‘1206,’ the Defense Department program would immediately send funds and spare parts to restore Lebanon's military platforms.

Religion Off The Agenda In 'Church Of Laughter'

For those who are curious about Christianity but disillusioned by the institutional Church, there is a novel solution - drop the religion. The Rev Ian Gregory, a cleric well known to readers of The Daily Telegraph for launching the Campaign for Courtesy in an attempt to improve manners, has embarked on a new project which he calls ‘Christianity without religion’. Out goes the ‘archaic mumbo-jumbo’ of church services and the ‘silly arguments about things that don't and shouldn't matter’; in come chats about anything that makes you feel good and the world's first dedicated ‘laughter room’ because ‘laughter is as important as prayer’.

Barbaric New Baby-Use Beauty Treatment

Clutching her Hermes holiday bag under her arm, Susan Barrington, a 52-year-old housewife from Buckinghamshire, can't help smiling as she leaves the exclusive clinic in London's Wimpole Street. She has been given the final go-ahead to travel abroad for a cutting edge nonsurgical treatment that promises to make her look ten years younger. She doesn't care if the treatment is expensive, involves babies and is so controversial that it is not allowed to be performed in this country - among her well-heeled friends, this is the ultimate new elixir of youth. The attractive brunette has opted for a controversial stem- cell therapy where umbilical cord tissue from new-born babies will be injected into her body. It may seem distasteful, but thousands of women have already done it and it is organised by a seemingly respectable British clinic then carried out in Rotterdam, Holland, where rules regarding stemcell therapies are not so strict.

Terrorists Fight Israel With Russian Weapons

Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter has said in an interview that “all the terrorists surrounding Israel” are using Russian weapons, AFP reports. “All the terrorists surrounding Israel are using Russian and Soviet-made arms — Kalashnikov assault rifles and Katyusha rockets,” Dichter told the Russian daily Vremya Novostei in an interview published Tuesday. “We don’t have information about direct contacts between Hezbollah combatants and Russia, but we know quite well about Hezbollah’s direct contacts with Syria and Iran,” Dichter said. Russian sales of anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and Iran have been heavily criticized by the United States and Israel.

China has deployed missiles giving it second-strike capability against U.S.

The U.S. intelligence community has determined that Beijing has developed and deployed a series of missiles that would give China second-strike nuclear capability in any confrontation with the United States. The determination of a sea-based deterrent is said to have significantly increased Beijing's threat to the United States. "It is clear to me that China is now embarking on a significant investment in a second-strike capability to ensure the survival and, thus, viability of its nuclear forces," said Richard Fisher, a researcher at the International Assessment and Strategy Center and a leading U.S. expert on China.

What Do They Know? Simulated U.S. nuclear explosion planned

The state plans to hold an exercise in mid-August simulating the explosion of a half-kiloton nuclear device at the entrance of Honolulu Harbor, a mock blast that theoretically would result in 10,000 casualties. State Adjutant Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, head of the Hawai'i National Guard, said Hawai'i is one of the first to take on the nuclear device planning. Several hundred state and military planners and first responders will take part Aug. 14 to 16 in "Exercise 'A Kele." Edward Teixeira, vice director of state Civil Defense, said the name of the exercise uses the Hawaiian words " 'a," for hot and fiery, and "kele," for impurity, signifying radiation. The Department of Homeland Security about two years ago developed 15 national planning scenarios, including simulating an "improvised nuclear device" explosion. Planned for a year and a half, 'A Kele comes as Hawai'i reportedly was targeted on the Fourth of July in a North Korean test of a long-range Taepodong-2 missile that U.S. officials said blew up 42 seconds or sooner after launch.

Syria Transfers Deadly Russian Weapons to Hezbollah

The majority of the Israeli Defense Force’s ground-troop casualties, both infantry and armored, were the result of Russian-made anti-tank units of Hezbollah, according to intelligence sources quoted by Haaretz daily. The same sources note that these units have not retreated from southern Lebanon following the deployment of large Israeli ground forces in the area. The Hezbollah anti-tank teams use a new and particularly potent version of the Russian-made RPG, the RPG-29 that was sold by Moscow to the Syrians and then transferred to the Shi’ite organization. The RPG-29’s penetrating power comes from its tandem warhead, and on a number of occasions has managed to get through the massive armor of the Merkava tanks.

Iran's plot to mine uranium in Africa

Iran is seeking to import large consignments of bomb-making uranium from the African mining area that produced the Hiroshima bomb, an investigation has revealed. A United Nations report, dated July 18, said there was “no doubt” that a huge shipment of smuggled uranium 238, uncovered by customs officials in Tanzania, was transported from the Lubumbashi mines in the Congo. Tanzanian customs officials told The Sunday Times it was destined for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, and was stopped on October 22 last year during a routine check. The disclosure will heighten western fears about the extent of Iran’s presumed nuclear weapons programme and the strategic implications of Iran’s continuing support for Hezbollah during the war with Israel. It has also emerged that terror cells backed by Iran may be prepared to mount attacks against nuclear power plants in Britain. Intelligence circulating in Whitehall suggests that sleeper cells linked to Tehran have been conducting reconnaissance at some nuclear sites in preparation for a possible attack.

Syria 'ready for possible regional war'

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem crossed into Lebanon Sunday for the first visit by a top Syrian official in more than a year, Lebanon's state news agency said. Speaking to reporters after the meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Fawzi Salloukh, Moallem said "Syria is ready for the possibility of a regional war if the Israeli aggression continues." He added that a US-French draft resolution to end the war "adopted Israel's point of view only." Underlining his support for Hizbullah, Moallem said, "as Syria's foreign minister I hope to be a soldier in the resistance." Salloukh said that "Israel cannot take in peace what it had failed to take in war." "If Israel attacks Syria by any mean, on the ground, by air, our leadership ordered the armed forces to reply immediately," he said after emerging from a meeting with Lebanese President Emil Lahoud.

6 of 7 N.Korean missile tests successful

An analysis by Japan and the United States has concluded that six of the seven missiles tested by North Korea last month fell within their targets, a major Japanese newspaper reported Sunday. Only a newly developed long-range missile, Taepodong-2, is believed to have failed, the Yomiuri newspaper said, citing unidentified Japanese officials. Based on initial data from U.S. military early warning satellites, Japan's Defense Agency had doubted the targeting accuracy of the missiles, but later discovered that the six medium-range missiles actually fell inside the sea zone North Korea had marked beforehand, the newspaper said.

Iran plans to expand nuclear activities

Iran's top nuclear negotiator said Sunday that Iran will expand uranium enrichment, in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution giving the Islamic Republic until Aug. 31 to halt the activity or face the threat of political and economic sanctions. Ali Larijani called the U.N. Security Council resolution issued last week illegal and said Iran won't respect the deadline. "We reject this resolution," he told reporters. "We will expand nuclear activities where required. It includes all nuclear technology including the string of centrifuges," Larijani said, referring to the centrifuges Iran uses to enrich uranium.

Iran warns of $200 oil surge

Global oil prices could hit $200 per barrel if the United States pursues international sanctions against Iran, an Iranian official said yesterday, although analysts passed the comment off as saber rattling. Iran's Foreign Relations Vice Minister Manuchehr Mohammadi told Venezuelan state television, "The first consequence of these sanctions would be an increase in the price of oil to around $200 per barrel." The statement comes after the United Nations on Monday demanded that Iran suspend all nuclear development within a month or face the threat of sanctions. Iran responded that it had a sovereign right to nuclear development.

U.S. Report Cites Indian Missile Help To Iran

The Middle East Newsline reports: “The United States, in wake of a nuclear cooperation agreement, has acknowledged that India continues to aid Iran's ballistic missile program. A State Department report has cited at least two Indian companies as suppliers of missile parts to Iran. Officials said both companies, the names of which have not been released, would be sanctioned by the United States over the next week. This would be the third time over the last year that India has been cited for helping Iran's weapons of mass destruction program. Last year, two other Indian firms were sanctioned for supplying material to Iran's chemical weapons program.

Census Bureau Adopts GPS to Find American Homes

Two-and-a-half years from now, in early 2009, the Census Bureau plans to send an army of 100,000 temporary workers down every street and dusty, dirt road in America. They will be armed with handheld GPS devices. Robert LaMacchia, head of the Census Bureau's geography division, says they'll capture the latitude and longitude of the front door of every house, apartment and improvised shelter they find. "We will actually knock on doors and look for hidden housing units," he says. "We will find converted garages; from the outside, it may not look like anybody lives there." But census workers will add each dwelling, legal or not, to the Census Bureau's Master Address File.
Recent proposed budget cuts have put part of this plan in jeopardy. But if Congress restores the money, the census will end up with the geographic coordinates -- accurate to within 10 feet -- for about 110 million residences.

U.S. May Supply Israel With Worlds Most Advanced Stealth Fighter

The United States may supply Israel with the most advanced stealth fighter jet in the world – the F22 Raptor – considering the war in Lebanon and the Iranian threat, the Israeli security establishment has assessed. The US has not yet exported the F22 to any of its allies. Recently, however, the House of Representatives lifted its nine year ban on the sale of the advanced jet outside the United States. No real contacts have yet been made on the matter, but the lifting of the ban on its sale has paved the way for such a deal.
US officials have apparently hinted to Israel lately that as part of American efforts in the international war on the “axis of evil,” the US would offer Israel to buy the stealth fighter. The F22 Raptor is manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Originally, the US Air Force planned to buy 750 of the jets, but the number dropped first to 350, then to a mere 183. The price of each F22 is roughly USD 150 million. Lockheed Martin wanted to export the plane to American allies, but up until now it was barred by the US government from offering them for sale. The Israeli Air Force enthusiastically welcomed reports that the stealth jet could come to Israel. The F22 Raptor is the most advanced warplane in the world and is almost undetectable to radar systems. The plane’s stealth is achieved through the combination of its shape, color, composite materials, and various installed systems. The single-seater plane is armed mainly with air-to-air missiles, but also with the smart missiles used by the Israeli Air Force.

Iran Is Racing To Resupply Hezbollah

Iran is racing to resupply Hezbollah across the Syrian border ahead of a possible cease-fire being ironed out this week at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Israeli jets have begun a new bombardment of Beirut's suburbs and Hezbollah is threatening to launch a missile attack on Tel Aviv. Israeli military and intelligence officials here say Iranian technicians were aboard a flight to Damascus on Monday with the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. The Israel Defense Forces also says it has not been able to seal the border between Syria and Lebanon, making it possible to ferry men, small rockets, and other materiel to Hezbollah through the back roads and smuggling routes in the Bekaa Valley. The Iranians this week began a double game in Lebanon best summed up by President Ahmadinejad's message to Muslim nations yesterday in Malaysia: "Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented.

2005 Was The Hottest Year Ever Globaly - 2006 May End Hotter

The average temperatures of the first half of 2006 were the highest ever recorded for the continental United States, scientists announced today. Temperatures for January through June were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average. Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri experienced record warmth for the period, while no state experienced cooler-than-average temperatures, reported scientists from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Scientists have previously said that 2005 was the warmest year on record for the entire globe. (And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto it to scorch men with fire.)

Iran's President Ahmadinejad Says The Solution To Middle East Peace Is Easy: Destroy Israel

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday the solution to the Middle East crisis was to destroy Israel, Iranian state media reported. In a speech during an emergency meeting of Muslim leaders in Malaysia, Ahmadinejad also called for an immediate cease-fire to end the fighting between Israel and the Iranian-back group Hezbollah. "Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented," Ahmadinejad said, according to state-run television in a report posted on its Web site.

Rare snowfall across South Africa

Snow fell on South Africa's biggest city Johannesburg for the first time in 25 years as icy temperatures gripped vast swathes of the country, the weather office said. "It (the snow) is by no means freakish but I would certainly classify it as rare," said Kevin Rae, assistant manager of forecasting at the South African Weather Service in Pretoria. Forecasters said snow was reported in the southern Johannesburg township of Soweto and the posh northern suburb of Sandton, as well as the nearby towns of Carletonville and Westonaria. Johannesburg last had snow on September 11, 1981.

New North Korea missile bases target U.S. military in Japan

North Korea has been building new underground missile bases along its east coast, targeting Japan and US military facilities in Japan, a report said. Some 200 Rodong missiles with a range of up to 2,200 kilometers (1,360 miles) and 50 SSN-6 missiles with ranges of 2,500 to 4,000 kilometers are at the new bases, the state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) said in the report carried by Yonhap news agency. "The new bases clustered along the east coastal line are for medium- and long-range missiles targeting Japan and US military bases in Japan," read the report by Yun Deok-Min, an IFANS arms control expert. "Combined with its nuclear weapons, North Korea's ballistic missiles provides it with a powerful deterrent." North Korea has also constructed new underground missile bases deep in mountains near its border with China, to avoid outside attacks, it said.

Iran working with N.Korea on missiles

North Korea has been working closely with Iran to develop its long-range ballistic missiles, possibly using Chinese technology, and is building large bases to prepare for their deployment, a South Korean state-run think tank said. Communist North Korea is also building new sites near the Demilitarized Zone border for short-range missiles and is deploying missiles with improved precision that can strike most of Japan, the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) said in a report. "The development of Taepodong-2 is conducted jointly with Iran, and it is possible China's technology is used in the development of the Taepodong-2 engine," said the IFANS report.

Physicists In Japan Plan To Create A New Universe In The Lab

A radical new project could permit human beings to create a "baby universe" in a laboratory in Japan. While it sounds like a dangerous undertaking, the physicists involved believe that if the project is successful, the space-time around a tiny point within our universe will be distorted in such a way that it will begin to form a new superfluid space, and eventually break off, separate in all respects from our experience of space and time, causing no harm to the fabric of our universe. The project takes as its starting point two basic theories about the foundations of our universe: the big bang and inflation theory. The big bang theory, as many readers are well aware, observes that all objects in the known universe appear to be moving away from one another, suggesting that the universe was jump-started when all matter and energy were concentrated in an inconceivably tiny space, allowing them to overcome binding forces and causing a cosmic explosion. It is well-tested and consistent with all currently accepted models for general cosmology, as tested against advanced theoretical and observational physics. But it is only one piece of the puzzle. Inflation is a key theory, developed in 1981, when MIT physicist Alan Guth observed that there appeared to have been a period immediately following the big bang when the universe "inflated" rapidly, allowing distinct regions of matter and energy to function comfortably free from any forces that might cause them to collapse against each other or disrupt each other's evolution.

Third of Americans suspect 9-11 government conspiracy

More than a third of the American public suspects that federal officials assisted in the 9/11 terrorist attacks or took no action to stop them so the United States could go to war in the Middle East, according to a new Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll. The national survey of 1,010 adults also found that anger against the federal government is at record levels, with 54 percent saying they "personally are more angry" at the government than they used to be. Widespread resentment and alienation toward the national government appears to be fueling a growing acceptance of conspiracy theories about the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Suspicions that the 9/11 attacks were "an inside job" _ the common phrase used by conspiracy theorists on the Internet _ quickly have become nearly as popular as decades-old conspiracy theories that the federal government was responsible for President John F. Kennedy's assassination and that it has covered up proof of space aliens. Seventy percent of people who give credence to these theories also say they've become angrier with the federal government than they used to be.

Eastern U.S. endures heat wave

Commuters up and down the East Coast sweated on their way to work Wednesday and others stayed close to fans and swimming pools as the temperature and humidity climbed back up to heat wave levels after a night of little relief. In the stifling subway tunnels, there was no air conditioning on three cars of the train Sayed Bukhari rode into Manhattan. "People were crying," Bukhari said. The National Weather Service posted heat advisories and warnings from Maine to Oklahoma. Triple-digit temperatures were forecast Wednesday along the East Coast as far north as parts of Maine and New Hampshire. By 11 a.m., the heat index at Washington's Reagan National Airport was 103, a combination of the 94-degree heat and 51 percent humidity — and up north in Boston thermometers read 93, for a heat index of 101, the national Weather Service said. The temperature at Newark, N.J., already had hit 95. Even before dawn, the temperature was already above 80 in Nashua, N.H. New York's LaGuardia Airport still had 92 degrees at midnight and eased only to 86 degrees by 6 a.m., the weather service said.

Fingerprints Replacing Credit Cards At Retail Stores

When students living in Berkeley, Calif., crave a chicken burrito with an extra heaping of guacamole at High Tech Burrito, a Bay Area-based fast-food chain, they need to remember to bring only two things, an empty stomach and a forefinger. That's because even when they leave their wallets in their other pair of pants, they can pay up by simply using their fingerprints. High Tech is one of 2,100 stores in 44 states that are clients of Pay By Touch, a company that lets customers use biometric identification, body-based measurements unique to each person, instead of cash or a credit card to pay their bills. For Pay By Touch and its clients and customers, biometrics is the cutting edge of convenience and consumer technology.

EU Gathering For Crisis Talks On The Middle East

EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today for crisis talks on the Middle East following almost three weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Member states will try and use the meeting to present a unified front on the conflict which has thrown up deep divisions around the call for an end to the violence. ‘If the EU cannot function and take a kind of leadership one can say goodbye to the union's influence for a very long time’, said Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, currently heading the EU, on the eve of the meeting. Political leaders in the European Parliament are also coming together again today for an extraordinary meeting to press member states to speak with one voice on the issue.

Iran forces urged to prepare to hit Israel

Iran's hardline forces should get ready to take revenge on Israel and the United States for the offensive on Lebanon, the head of the Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday. "The Basij and Revolutionary Guards should prepare to get even with the Zionists and Americans," Yahya Rahim-Safavi was quoted as telling Islamic militiamen by the conservative Fars news agency. The Basij are volunteer Islamic militiamen. "The timing of the this will be announced by the leader," he added.

Atomic clock ticking for Iran after UN resolution

The UN Security Council order for Iran to suspend its nuclear activities set off a tense wait to see how Tehran responds and whether UN unity remains strong if sanctions need to be imposed. "The clock has begun to tick," said John Bolton, the US ambassador to the United Nations, after Resolution 1696 was passed on Monday, giving Iran until August 31 to halt sensitive nuclear work. If International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohammed ElBaradei then says that Iran has flouted the order, the council can start debating economic and political sanctions. "The ball is now clearly in Iran's court. The choice is up to them," added Bolton.

Chinese Christians Wounded and Arrested As Large House Church Destroyed in Zhejiang Province

A large house church building was destroyed and many Christians were arrested and wounded during a confrontation on the afternoon of July 29 in the Chinese Provibce of Zhejiang. The house church building is located at Che Lu Wan Village, Dangshan Town, Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. According to eyewitness reports provided to China Aid Association (CAA), the destruction of the church building started at 2:30 PM, July 29. CAA says several thousand anti-riot police, military police and government workers along with three hundred military vehicles arrived and surrounded the church building at 1:30 PM while 10,000 House Church Christians were praying in the church. The church has been under construction since July 17, 2006 and was almost complete when it was destroyed. Eyewitnesses reported that the police used electric shock batons and anti-riot shields to disperse thousands of Christians. Several hundred Christians were observed to be beaten and some were arrested and taken away by police while they attempted to protect their church building.

U.S. set to issue passports with RFID chips

The U.S. Department of State is on track to start issuing passports with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips next week. The new program will start in the Denver passport office and be rolled out across the country over the next several years. All American passports are expected to include RFID chips containing personal information by 2017. State Department personnel have successfully tested the electronic passports over the past year, said Frank Moss, deputy assistant secretary for passport services. Moss contended that electronic passports improve security by making it harder to forge or alter official documents. All personal information on the chip must precisely match that in the printed portion of the electronic passport. "In the past, it could have been possible to put a new photo inside [a stolen passport] or find someone who looks like the holder," Moss said. Additionally, if an electronic passport is stolen, the chip has a unique identifying number that can be tracked by law enforcement agencies worldwide, he said.

Russia Blames Israel for Middle East Conflict Escalation

Israel bears full responsibility for the spread of violence in the Middle East, a member of the Russian parliament said Sunday, RIA Novosti news agency reports. The situation in Lebanon took another tragic turn when 60 civilians, including more than 30 children were killed Sunday as a result of an Israeli air strike on Qana in the south of the country. “The tragedy is unprecedented in its scale even for the Middle East where violence is a common phenomenon,” said Konstantin Kosachev, head of the committee on foreign affairs at the lower house of the Russian parliament. He said the incident proved once again that conducting large-scale military operations to fight terrorism was counter-productive. “Such an indiscriminate use of force not only leads to mass deaths among the civilian population, but also strengthens the ranks of terrorists,” Kosachev said.

U.S. to tighten noose on North Korean missile technology

The United States will move to tighten the screws on North Korea's acquisition of funds and technology for manufacturing nuclear weapons and missiles. US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill ruled out a military response by Washington over Pyongyang's continued refusal to freeze its nuclear weapons program and its snubbing of multilateral talks to end the crisis. But among other measures, Washington will see to it that North Korea would not be able to counterfeit American currency and get its hands on new missile technology, he said Monday. "We're going to do everything we can do to make it difficult for the North Koreans to do that," Hill said during a university forum in Manila. "We are also going to do everything we can do to make it difficult for them to produce these weapons," he said.