Defiant Iran building 10 more nuclear plants

Defiant Iran building 10 more nuclear plants

By Middle East correspondent Ben Knight and wires

Posted 17 minutes ago

Iran is defying international pressure to halt its nuclear program by announcing that it will build 10 new enrichment plants.

Iranian state television says work on the the new nuclear facilities will begin in two months.

State media says the nation's cabinet has approved the plan, which reportedly aims to produce up to 300 tonnes of nuclear fuel each year.

It is a defiant move at a time when Iran is under growing international pressure to halt its nuclear program, and will only deepen international suspicions that Iran is secretly trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran maintains its right to nuclear power, but it has failed to convince the rest of the world that it is not also trying to secretly build a bomb.

Last month it rejected a deal to provide it with fuel for civilian reactors.

On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning Iran for developing a secret nuclear facility and insisting that it resume negotiations.

The US and the UK say they are also losing patience and there are signs that even Iran's defenders in China and Russia are doing the same.

On Friday, all of them voted to support a resolution condemning Iran for building a secret nuclear facility under a mountain.

Iran's hardline stance - seen as hitting out at world powers led by Washington - came after the conservative-dominated parliament urged the Government to reduce ties with the UN atomic watchdog.

State media said the Islamic republic plans to produce 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power.

"In order to produce 20,000 megawatts we need 500,000 centrifuges with the current capacity. But we have designed new centrifuges which have higher capacity, so we would require less centrifuges and as soon as they become operational we will use them," President Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

"We have to reach the level to be able to produce between 250 and 300 tons of fuel per year in the country, and for this we need newer centrifuges with a higher speed."

Iran is already under three sets of UN sanctions for defiantly enriching uranium - the most controversial aspect of its nuclear program at the Natanz facility.

Tehran further infuriated world powers in September when it disclosed it is building a second enrichment plant near the Shiite holy city of Qom.(1)

Hardly 'international' pressure, most of the world votes in support of Iran every time it comes to a vote in the UN Gen. Assembly. US, UK & Israeli pressure would be more accurate.

Footnote:
(1)http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/30/2756777.htm?section=justin

Britain to start pulling out of Afghanistan within a year

Gordon Brown yesterday set out a timetable for British troops to start pulling out of war-torn Afghanistan by this time next year.

The Prime Minister responded to growing public opposition to the war by signalling that within 12 months, five of the deadliest provinces currently occupied by British and American soldiers will be returned to Afghan control.

‘It is at that point that we would look at whether there is the need for British troops,’ Mr Brown said – the first sign of a clear exit strategy after an eight-year campaign in which 235 have died and thousands more have been injured.

This year, with 98 deaths, has been the bloodiest so far.

Mr Brown, who made the announcement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Commonwealth Summit in Trinidad, said it was part of his ‘duty to the British people’ to manage a transfer of power back to the Afghans.

In January, Mr Brown is to host a conference in London where he will set out ‘clear milestones’ for the training of 50,000 local Afghan security personnel.

His declaration anticipates a speech by Barack Obama on Tuesday, in which the US President is expected to announce a further 30,000 US troops to help Afghan security training and accelerate an American withdrawal.

Mr Brown has been stung by a poll showing more than two thirds of the public want British troops to come home. But the UK is already committed to increasing its force in the country by 500 to 9,500.

‘What we need is a political push to match the military push,’ Mr Brown said. ‘And that means that [Afghan] President Karzai has got to accept there will be milestones by which he’s going to be judged and...benchmarks which the international community will set.’

He added: ‘We need a new relationship between Afghanistan and its neighbours. We must leave behind the mistrust of the past.’(1)

Good news in my view. The invasion shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Footnote:
(1) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1231802/Troops-begin-Afghan-pull-year-says-Gordon-Brown.html

Dubai crisis jolts markets, but early fears ease

By STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer Stevenson Jacobs, Ap Business Writer – 2 hrs 6 mins ago
NEW YORK – Dubai's debt crisis rattled world financial markets Friday, raising concerns that some banks could further tighten lending and stall the global economic recovery.
The possible spillover effects centered on fears that international banks could suffer big losses if Dubai's investment arm defaulted on its $60 billion debt. Stock and commodity markets tumbled in New York, London and Asia as investors flocked to the U.S. dollar as a safe haven.
But earlier concerns that the crisis might trigger another financial meltdown seemed to ease after some analysts downplayed the risks for U.S. banks, which are thought to have little exposure to the Middle Eastern city-state.
U.S. stocks fell sharply but rebounded from their lows as investors concluded that the damage might be contained. The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 155 points, or roughly 1.5 percent, in a shortened trading day, and other stock averages also sank. Oil prices plunged as much as 7 percent before recovering some ground later in the day.
"I don't think the collateral damage is going to be that great," said Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James. "People will dig into this over the weekend, but I think balance sheets have healed enough to withstand a shock like this."
Still, the crisis in Dubai pointed to the vulnerability of the global economy despite signs of recovery. Last year's credit debacle left major banks with billions in losses, forcing them to reduce lending to consumers and businesses.
Access to credit has improved in recent months, but analysts said Dubai's woes could make some banks more cautious. That could further squeeze lending and weaken the recovery after the deepest recession in decades.
"What we need for the economic momentum to continue is for banks to feel confident about lending, and clearly what has happened in the last 48 hours is not a step in the right direction," said David Williams, banking analyst at Fox-Pitt Kelton in London.
Dubai's troubles caught investors by surprise. A year after the global slump derailed the city-state's dizzying growth, its main investment arm, Dubai World, revealed this week it was seeking at least a six-month delay on repaying its $60 billion debt. Credit agencies responded by slashing debt ratings on Dubai's state companies, saying they might consider the plan a default.
In recent years, Dubai has expanded with ambitious, eye-catching projects like the Gulf's palm-shaped islands and the world's tallest skyscraper in hopes of becoming a tourist-friendly Middle Eastern metropolis. In the process, though, the state-backed networks nicknamed Dubai Inc. have racked up $80 billion in red ink. The emirate may now need another bailout from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
In Europe, stock markets rebounded after Wall Street fell less than feared. Earlier, stock indexes in Hong Kong and South Korea tumbled 5 percent in response to the previous day's Dubai-related losses in Europe.
The Dubai crisis caused the dollar to spike higher against the euro and pound but slump against the yen, another traditional safe haven. Speculation that the Bank of Japan might intervene by buying dollars or selling yen to aid Japanese exports helped the dollar recover after it had fallen to a 14-year low against the yen.
European banks appeared to be at most risk if Dubai World can't pay its bills. London-based lenders HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered could face losses of $611 million and $177 million respectively, according to early estimates from analysts at Goldman Sachs. Both have substantial Middle East operations.
South Korea estimated the country's financial institutions have just $88 million in exposure. Construction firms from Japan, Australia and South Korea behind Dubai's recent development boom also might be on the hook.
Among U.S. banks, Citigroup Inc. had $1.9 billion in exposure to the United Arab Emirates as of 2008, according to a JPMorgan research note. But it's unclear how much of that was related to Dubai. Citigroup declined to comment.
In the U.S., Dubai World owns at least eight office buildings and hotels, including the Mandarin Oriental and W Union Square hotels in New York and the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, according to data supplied by Real Capital Analytics. Its projects also include Dubai World's and casino operator MGM Mirage's deal to build the CityCenter project on the Las Vegas Strip.
Between October 2005 and April 2008, Dubai World bought 10 U.S. properties for about $9.7 billion, the Real Capital Analytics data showed. Two of those properties, both office buildings in New York, were sold in November 2007 for a combined $2.4 billion.
But Dubai World's problems likely won't have a major effect on the U.S. commercial real estate market, said Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics.
"They didn't acquire enough," Fasulo said. "They have only been active for a few years."
But the effect on the banking system could eventually touch businesses and consumers. Even if most banks could absorb any Dubai-related losses, the emirate's troubles could lead them to reevaluate and scale back lending. That would make it harder for companies to borrow and to help sustain the global recovery, analysts said.
Others expressed concern that Dubai's woes could stall the buying behind asset booms in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America, which have attracted enormous capital amid investor enthusiasm for regions with rapid economic growth.
"I think it will make investors realize they need to be more discriminating about emerging markets," said Arjuna Mahendran, head of Asian investment strategy at HSBC Private Bank in Singapore.
___
AP Researcher Bonnie Cao in Beijing and AP Business Writers Jeremiah Marquez in Hong Kong, Tim Paradis and Stephen Bernard in New York, Adrian Sainz in Miami, Kelly Olsen in Seoul and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.(1)

Footnote:
(1) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091128/ap_on_bi_ge/dubai_debt_fallout;_ylt=AjInzidAR3OhEHkdyGxczVis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM1b2xrYXFtBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMTI4L2R1YmFpX2RlYnRfZmFsbG91dARjcG9zAzEwBHBvcwM3BHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDZHViYWljcmlzaXNq

Italy to push for creation of a European army

Italy is to push for the creation of a European Army after the "new Europe" takes shape at this week's crucial EU summit following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty.

Franco Frattini, the Italian Foreign Minister, said that the Lisbon Treaty had established "that if some countries want to enter into reinforced co-operation between themselves they can do so". This was already the case with the euro and the Schengen accords on frontier-free travel, and could now be applied to "common European defence".

In an interview with The Times at his office in the monumental marble-halled Foreign Ministry on the banks of the Tiber, Mr Frattini said: "We have finally concluded a never-ending story". The Lisbon Treaty, which comes into force in December, will be sealed on Thursday with an EU summit to choose an EU President and Foreign Minister.

He warned that "if we do not find a common foreign policy, there is the risk that Europe will become irrelevant. We will be bypassed by the G2 of America and China, which is to say the Pacific axis, and the Atlantic axis will be forgotten. We need political will and commitment, otherwise the people of Europe will be disillusioned and disappointed. People expect a great deal of us. After Lisbon we have no more alibis".

It was a "necessary objective to have a European army", Mr Frattini said. "Take Afghanistan: at present President Obama asks Poland, or Italy, or Great Britain for more troops. If there were a European army, he would have a 'toolbox' to draw from. He might need 30 aeroplanes: he would be able to ask if the European army was in a position to provide them."

Mr Frattini said that at present "every country duplicates its forces, each of us puts armoured cars, men, tanks, planes, into Afghanistan. If there were a European army, Italy could send planes, France could send tanks, Britain could send armoured cars, and in this way we would optimise the use of our resources. Perhaps we won't get there immediately, but that is the idea of a European army".

Asked how differing national equipment and systems could be integrated, Mr Frattini said Afghanistan had already shown the way. "There are no problems in current crisis areas. We work well together in Afghanistan. In the province of Herat, we Italians work with the Spanish. Why not form a common force? This would also bring economic benefits, because the countries involved would share the costs of military engagement overseas."

Mr Frattini suggested that "some European countries" such as France were not pulling their weight in Afghanistan. "Italy is already doing quite a lot: we have 3,200 men deployed, plus a contingent of 400 men for the elections who should now be able to return home. We send most officers after the United States to train the Afghan police and army, and we have abolished the caveats limiting the deployment of our troops, in return for more intelligence sharing."

He noted that Britain had suffered greater losses in Afghanistan than Italy, "but then the death of even one soldier is a tragedy. Even in the most difficult moments, such as the recent death of six Italian soldiers in Kabul, Italy has remained united in supporting the mission".

There was also a case for joint naval patrols in the Mediterranean, Mr Frattini said. "Europe could deploy a joint naval fleet or air force in the Mediterranean: why not? We could say, look, one group of nations is ready at once, and leave the door open for others to join, as with the euro."

Mr Frattini predicted that if David Cameron and the Conservatives came to power in Britain next year, they too would understand "that if we pool our forces in Afghanistan that is better than going it alone, that if we want to work for a common market without customs barriers that is better than putting the barriers back again, that if we have a problem with China — and with all due respect to the United Kingdom, China is a little bigger than Britain — it is much better if Europe negotiates with China as a whole. "

Asked about Mr Cameron's proposal for a law protecting British national sovereignty, Mr Frattini replied that national sovereignty was "already protected. I believe that when you are in government you understand the advantages of Europe — perhaps even the advantages of Schengen", he added with a chuckle. "When you are in opposition you say important things, but when you are in government things change. When you are in government you understand that Europe is an opportunity."

Mr Frattini acknowledged that in the past the centre-right Government of Silvio Berlusconi had backed Tony Blair for EU President "because he is an important political leader". It had also made clear however that the successful candidate "must have a broad consensus. The Swedish Prime Minister, who will chair the summit this week, has said we will take a vote if necessary. But that would be a bad first step. It would not a be a good start for the Lisbon Treaty."

He said the signs were that the European Centre Right would get the Presidency and the Centre Left the Foreign Minister post — in which case the best candidate for the latter post was Massimo D'Alema, the former centre-left Prime Minister. "I say this for an objective reason, because of his abilities, and secondly because Italy will obviously support an Italian candidate. It is a question of national interest."

Mr Frattini said that post-Lisbon Europe was "obliged" to formulate common policies on economic growth, including investment and infrastructure, the fight against organised crime and illegal immigration, and "energy security". The most difficult task however was to reach a common policy on international issues such as the Balkans, Iran, the Middle East — where Europe had "not achieved any great results" so far — and future enlargement, including Turkey. "Europe is divided about Turkey: France and Germany unfortunately still take a negative view, whereas Italy and Great Britain are in favour, while other countries are uncertain."

Mr Frattini said that he also hoped for a common approach on illegal immigration, for which Italy had "paid a high price", with Europe failing to come to its aid as would-be migrants drowned at sea. The last EU summit had agreed to set up a European Agency for asylum seekers and refugees, with "common criteria for repatriation", and was committed to following Italy in concluding an agreement with Libya. "At the moment there is a kind of 'asylum shopping' because each country has different rules."(1)

Lol, talk about jumping the queue. The Lisbon Treaty had nothing to do with an EU army last I checked.


Footnote:
(1) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6917652.ece

Obama to send 34,000 to Afghanistan

President Barack Obama has settled on a new course for the eight-year war in Afghanistan that he said Tuesday will “finish the job” and that he will announce to Americans after Thanksgiving.

“After eight years, some of those years in which we did not have, I think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done, it is my intention to finish the job,” Obama said at a news conference following his meeting with the prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh. “And I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, they will be supportive.”

The president would not confirm reports that he will make his announcement in a prime-time address next Tuesday, Dec. 1, saying only that he’d announce his plan “shortly.”

Obama's decisions about his strategy are not known. But administration officials expect him to announce an increase of 20,000 to 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan, a victory for his commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

McChrystal has argued that "success is achievable" in Afghanistan with proper resources, and 40,000 troops was his middle — and preferred — recommendation in a set of three options he presented in his own strategic review. They would join 68,000 U.S. troops there now.

Obama, who Monday night held his ninth and final meeting on an Afghanistan strategy in the situation room, said the new course will include “civilian and diplomatic efforts” and will “make sure that Al Qaeda and its extremist allies cannot operate effectively” in the region.(1)

Footnote:
(1) http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29865.html

Failed N.Ireland car bombing highlights terror threat

BELFAST (AFP) – A massive car bomb that failed to explode properly was designed to cause widespread destruction in Belfast, police said Sunday, underscoring the threat to Northern Ireland's fragile peace.
The car, containing a 400-pound (180-kilogramme) device, crashed through barriers outside a police headquarters in Belfast late on Saturday and partially exploded, police said.
Elsewhere, police exchanged shots with paramilitaries in a border village. Three people have been arrested in Northern Ireland and one across the border in the Republic of Ireland, police said.
The attacks come at a delicate time for Northern Ireland's peace process.
The main Protestant and Catholic parties, who share power in the province's devolved assembly, are at loggerheads over when policing and justice responsibility should be transferred from London.
The threat from dissident paramilitary groups opposed to the peace process is at its highest for six years, according to the watchdog monitoring their activities, which called the situation "very serious".

A police spokeswoman said two men were seen running away from the bomb-laden car after it crashed through the barriers of the province's policing supervision board shortly after 7 pm (1900 GMT) on Saturday.
Half an hour later, a small explosion went off inside the vehicle.
"Police believe at this early stage that the device only partially exploded. It had contained some 400 pounds of explosives," she said.
"Had this device functioned as the terrorists planned, there would certainly have been widespread damage and destruction. It is also very probable that this 'no warning' device would have led to very serious injury or loss of life."
Northern Ireland police chief Matt Baggott called it "a reckless act -- not just in doing damage but also the potential loss of life."

Northern Ireland has been largely peaceful since the 1998 Good Friday agreement paved the way to powersharing, after three decades of bloodshed between pro-British Protestants and Catholic opponents of British rule.
But the killings of two British soldiers and a police officer in March this year -- the first of their kind in about a decade -- highlighted the renewed threat posed by dissident paramilitary groups.
"Very clearly these people are trying to undermine the progress that has been made in Northern Ireland in recent years," said Britain's minister for Northern Ireland affairs, Paul Goggins, reacting to Saturday's failed car bomb.
"When attacks like these happen, it brings people together with the strong message that these dissidents will not succeed," he said. "They are a small minority, they are reckless and criminally intent."

Baggott said: "The terrorist situation is severe. We have substantial resources being put into investigating and thwarting these attacks."
Three men were arrested in relation to the shooting incident at Garrison in the west of the province, and another over the border in Dooard.
"Police believe they foiled a planned terrorist attack," a spokeswoman said.
"Two shots were fired by police, and at least one by terrorists."

Previously, on September 8, army experts defused a 600-pound (270-kilo) roadside bomb near the Irish border, averting what police called a potential "devastating" explosion.
Three days later, a car was damaged in an explosion carried out by dissident Republicans outside the home of a police officer's parents, while a pipe bomb was made safe near the officer's sister's house.
On October 16, the partner of a Northern Ireland police officer was slightly injured when a bomb exploded under her car in Belfast. Six days later, an explosive device went off inside a British army reserve barracks.(1)

Footnote:
(1) http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091122/wl_afp/britainnirelandunrest

52% of Republicans think Obama stole the election

PPP’s newest national survey finds that a 52% majority of GOP voters nationally think that ACORN stole the Presidential election for Barack Obama last year, with only 27% granting that he won it legitimately….

Belief in the ACORN conspiracy theory is even higher among GOP partisans than the birther one, which only 42% of Republicans expressed agreement with on our national survey in September.

Overall 62% of Americans think Obama legitimately won the election to only 26% who think ACORN stole it for him, as few Democrats or independents buy into that line of thinking.(1)

Lol, talk about desperate thinking!

Footnote:
(1) http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2009/11/19/a-majority-of-gop-voters-think-acorn-stole-the-08-election-for-obama/

Puerto Rico in grips of gay hate slaying

San Juan, Puerto Rico (CNN) -- Several hundred gay activists rallied Thursday afternoon in Puerto Rico to demand a robust prosecution in the brutal slaying of a gay teenager nearly a week ago.

Juan A. Martinez Matos was charged at a hearing Wednesday with first-degree murder and three weapons violations in connection with the killing of 19-year-old Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado. The teen's decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body was found Friday afternoon on a road in central Puerto Rico. Bail has been set at $4 million, court documents show.

The slaying has reverberated through the gay and lesbian community in Puerto Rico and the United States, where supporters started a Facebook page called "Justice for Jorge Steven Lopez -- End Hate Crimes." The group demands an investigation by Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno and prosecution of the case under the federal hate crime law.

Puerto Rico's gay community is asking authorities to investigate whether the slaying was a hate crime, said Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Serrano, a protest leader, said homophobia can be found among political and law enforcement officials on the island. One politician, he said, recently referred to gays as "twisted and mentally ill."

"We hold accountable authorities for promoting hate rhetoric that provokes violence," Serrano said after the rally.

Another suspect, Martinez Matos, confessed to the slaying, prosecutor Yaritza Carrasquillo said in a statement.

In an interview with Telemundo, Martinez Matos also admitted to the killing.

"What happened happened because I defended myself. I cut him and beheaded him and I accept it as a man."

The broadcast also showed an encounter in a courthouse hallway between the handcuffed suspect and a man identified as Lopez Mercado's father. In the video, Martinez Matos asks the man for forgiveness.

"The one you have to ask for forgiveness is God," the man says. "That's who can forgive you. On my part, you were forgiven a while ago."

Puerto Rico does not have a hate crime provision in its criminal code, but allows prosecutors to ask that actions that could be interpreted as a hate crime be considered at sentencing.

The United States does have a federal law on hate crimes, and a bill signed by President Obama last month extended it to cover crimes involving sexual orientation. Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, which means federal laws and agencies can have jurisdiction.

If the U.S. attorney's office, in consultation with local officials and other agencies, decides to prosecute the case as a federal hate crime, it is believed it would be the first such case under the latest addition to the law.

The FBI is monitoring the investigation being conducted by local authorities but has not been asked to help, Agent Harry Rodriguez said Thursday. There have been no discussions on whether federal officials will ask that the slaying be classified a hate crime, he said.

Puerto Rican prosecutor Jose Bermudez said he believes the slaying was a hate crime.

"This constitutes a hate crime because [Martinez Matos] is angry with people who have sexual relations with persons of the same sex, but he goes out and seeks the services of people of the same sex in order to get angry and kill them," Bermudez said in an interview with Telemundo.

A spokesman for Lopez Mercado's family told Telemundo they were unaware the teen was involved in any kind of prostitution.

In separate footage aired on Telemundo, a reporter asked Martinez Matos if he is gay.

"No," he replied. "[Lopez Mercado] tried to kill me."

Martinez Matos, 26, was arrested late Monday at his home in the Mogote de Cayey neighborhood, said Wilson Porrata Mariani, a spokesman for the Guayama police district.

Police impounded two cars and were investigating a home in another neighborhood, Huertas del Barrio Beatriz de Cidra.

Lopez Mercado's body was found on Puerto Rico Road 184 in another part of town, Barrio Guavate de Cayey, police said.(1)

Footnote:
(1) http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/19/puerto.rico.gay.slaying/index.html