G-20 opponents, police clash on Pittsburgh streets

By DANIEL LOVERING and MICHAEL RUBINKAM, Associated Press Writers

PITTSBURGH – Police threw canisters of pepper spray and smoke at anarchists protesting the Group of 20 summit Thursday after the marchers responded to calls to disperse by rolling trash bins and throwing rocks.

The march turned chaotic at just about the same time that President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle arrived for a meeting with leaders of the world's major economies.

The clashes began after several hundred protesters, many advocating against capitalism, tried to march from an outlying neighborhood toward the convention center where the summit is being held.

Police in riot gear stood guard near the protesters, who banged on drums and chanted "Ain't no power like the power of the people, 'cause the power of the people don't stop."

The marchers did not have a permit and, after a few blocks, police declared it an unlawful assembly. They played an announcement over a loudspeaker telling people to leave or face arrest and then moved in to break it up.

Protesters split into smaller groups. Some rolled trash bins toward police, and a man in a black hooded sweat shirt threw rocks at a police car, breaking the front windshield. Some protesters used pallets and corrugated steel to block a road. Police said the windows at one bank branch were broken.

Officers fired pepper spray and smoke at the protesters. Some of those exposed to the pepper spray were coughing, complaining of eyes watering and stinging.

Some of the protesters were seen ducking into alleyways to change out of their all-black clothing.

The hundreds of marchers had included small groups of self-described anarchists, some wearing dark clothes and bandanas and carrying black flags and others wearing helmets and safety goggles. Some held a banner that read, "No borders, no thanks." Another banner read, "No hope in capitalism."

Protesters unfurled a large banner reading "NO BAILOUT NO CAPITALISM" with an encircled "A," a recognized sign of anarchists.

An activist from New York City, dressed in a white suit with a preacher's collar, kicked off the march with a speech through a bullhorn.

"They are not operating on Earth time. ... They are accommodating the devil," he said. "To love democracy and to love the earth is to be a radical now."

The activist, Billy Talen, travels the country preaching against consumerism. He initially identified himself as "the Rev. Billy from the Church of Life After Shopping."

The G-20 summit begins Thursday evening with a welcome ceremony and ends late Friday afternoon after a day of meetings at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Dignitaries were arriving in waves and were heading to a city under heavy security. Police and National Guard troops guarded many downtown intersections, and a maze of tall metal fences and concrete barriers shunted cars and pedestrians.

G-8: Iran has 3 months to stop uranium enrichment

By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS – Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Thursday that the Group of Eight nations is giving Iran until the end of the year to commit to ending uranium enrichment and avoid new sanctions.

Frattini, whose nation holds the rotating chair of the club of wealthy nations known as the G-8, said the member's foreign ministers agreed Wednesday night to give Iran more time.

"It seems to me a reasonable perspective. And after the end of December, I strongly hope we will have at that time practical moves from Iran," Frattini said.

"That's why together we decided while not excluding further measures, as even Russia apparently said, we have to give Iran a serious chance," he said. "If we give a chance, let's give a chance. Don't, I would say, immediately put another option on the table. This would be counterproductive to the eyes of our counterpart. This is our strategy for the moment."

The U.S. has only just won Russian agreement to consider new sanctions against Iran to add pressure on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who insists Tehran's nuclear program is designed only to generate electricity.

Frattini said that the informal agreement will be re-examined each month until the end of the year.

He said the G-8 could not let the Iranians believe the world's economic powers are "relaxed" and willing to let Iran string them along.

"But we are to make it absolutely clear that our window of opportunity will not remain open indefinitely," Frattini told a group of reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Frattini said G-8 ministers — the U.S., Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Japan and Russia — also agreed that "concerning links" were emerging between Iran and North Korea.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the door Wednesday to backing potential sanctions. He moved in that direction after President Barack Obama scrapped plans for a U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe.

While U.S. and Russian officials denied a quid pro quo, Medvedev told the U.N. General Assembly that Obama's roll-back on the missile defense plan "deserves a positive response." Obama himself has said his missile decision may have spurred Russian good will as a "bonus."

Ahmadinejad has taken a softer tone on many matters since arriving in New York for the U.N. meetings, emphasizing his interest in improving relations with the United States and expressing an openness to include nuclear matters on the negotiations agenda.

He has given no sign, however, that his country is willing to bargain away its nuclear program.

A member of the Russian delegation, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Russians, said Moscow's final position on the question of imposing further sanctions would be determined, to a large extent, by Medvedev's consultations here.

The U.S. and Russia are among six countries that will hold talks in Europe next week with Iran over its nuclear ambitions. Obama wants to reserve the possibility of pursuing tougher sanctions if those meetings lead to no restraint by Iran in the weeks ahead. Russia, which has strong economic ties with Tehran, has stood in the way of stronger action against Iran in the past.

Israel Navy Acquires Landing Craft

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- The Israel Navy has acquired troop transports.

Military sources said the navy procured several landing craft for amphibious missions. The sources said the ships were the first surface vessels procured by the navy in years.

Obama calls Kennedy replacement 'excellent choice'

By GLEN JOHNSON, AP Political Writer

BOSTON – President Barack Obama says the Democrat selected to temporarily replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy is a "distinguished leader" and an excellent choice to carry on Kennedy's work.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval (deh-VAHL') Patrick named former Democratic Party chairman Paul Kirk to fill the seat. Kirk will serve in the post until a special election in January.

His appointment gives Obama a critical 60th U.S. Senate vote he needs to pass a health care overhaul

Kirk is a Kennedy family friend who served on the late senator's staff for eight years and is chairman of the JFK Library Foundation.

Caroline Kennedy, the senator's niece, called Kirk "a citizen-patriot" and a great friend.

Kennedy's family says he would have been pleased with the appointment.

Palestinians go for de facto state

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says the Palestinian Authority plans to proclaim a de facto state by 2011.

A vital component in that historic undertaking will be the U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces fanning out across the West Bank to re-establish order. But some Israelis see this new force as a threat.

Palestinian leaders say they can no longer sit and wait for the U.S.-driven peace process to stumble forward. Taking a leaf out of the Israelis' book, they are seeking to establish their own "facts on the ground" -- and a functioning security apparatus is one of the most important.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's refusal to halt settlement-building in the West Bank, as requested by U.S. President Barack Obama in a bid to kick-start the moribund peace process, has dismayed the Palestinians.

Under the so-called road map for peace, a U.S.-brokered document adopted in 2003, Palestinians pledged to crack down on militant organizations and in return, the Israelis would freeze settlement activity.

A key element of the state envisaged by Fayyad, an independent Palestinian figure untainted by the murky dealings of the late Yasser Arafat, is a reformed and accountable security apparatus.

An independent Palestinian state can only emerge with Israel's approval but Fayyad's unilateral initiative represents a departure from established Palestinian political thinking still rooted in the Arafat era and the objective of a negotiated settlement.

It also reflects swelling Palestinian frustration with Israel's continued refusal to make significant concessions to achieve a comprehensive settlement, and thus could end up impeding Obama's efforts.

But the emergence of a cohesive and effective Palestinian security establishment seems to be real enough and this could yet influence events over the coming months.

In recent months, four 500-man battalions of new-era Palestinian security personnel, trained by the Americans in Jordan, have deployed in the West Bank. Three more battalions are being trained and equipped. All personnel were vetted by U.S., Israeli and Jordanian security services.

To a large degree, the Palestinian force has eliminated the criminal gangs that had taken over the territory during Arafat's Palestinian Authority, riddled by corruption and clan-based rivalries, and has begun to re-establish the PA's authority.

These units, trained to conduct police-style operations and enforce law and order, are drawn from the mainstream Fatah movement and have also killed or rounded up large numbers of Hamas rivals bent on taking over the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip.

Most importantly, they are accountable to the Palestinian Authority and not the cluster of competing security chiefs-cum-warlords that existed under Arafat's rule of keeping potential challengers busy plotting against each other.

There is now a palpable sense of order emerging in the West Bank but the important element in all this is that these security units have also eliminated attacks on Israel by militant groups.

This means in effect that the PA, under U.S. tutelage, has turned its back on armed resistance against the Israelis.

That has put Israeli hard-liners, who want at all costs to avoid a peace settlement in which Israel gives up the West Bank, in an awkward position -- to the point that the see the new Palestinian security apparatus as a threat.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the officer who heads the Palestinian security restructuring program, said recently that "their actions have made a positive impression on senior Israeli commanders."

But the Israeli military has refused to allow these U.S.-trained personnel to have any heavy weapons or advanced communications. The new force is also considered to be dangerously under-resourced.

Still, commanders are considering letting the Palestinian Authority form an elite unit of counter-terror commandos to hunt down Hamas die-hards, leaving everyday police operations to regular police trained by the European Union.

Dayton, the mastermind behind the new PA force, was appointed the U.S. security coordinator in March 2005. His mandate expired recently.

But it is interesting that he signed up for an extension -- two years, which neatly fits in with Fayyad's time frame for a de facto Palestinian state. That suggests that Fayyad's declaration had a deeper resonance, and probably U.S. approval, than has been generally appreciated.

The Palestinians feel it is time for the Israelis to respond to the improvement in security by the PA and start pulling out their troops. Fayyad -- and Dayton -- appear to have given them a timetable.

Turkey tells PKK to lay down its arms

ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Turkish military leaders called on Kurdish guerrillas to lay down their arms in an effort to find a settlement to the so-called Kurdish question.

Gen. Ilker Basbug, the top Turkish military commander, called on the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, to lay down its weapons for peace, Iraq's al-Sumaria satellite channel reports.

"We cannot reach a solution with guns and blood," he said. "The only solution is that the terrorist organization lays down its weapons."

He cautioned, however, that his forces would continue their fight against the separatist rebels as long as the PKK continues to fight.

Washington and its European allies list the PKK as a terrorist group for its militant activity in a region that encompasses parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

Turkey is struggling to find a political solution to the Kurdish dilemma following decades of protracted conflict with the PKK.

Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports at least one Turkish soldier was killed in fighting with PKK rebels this week in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari, which sits close to the borders of Iran and Iraq.

The report states as many as three PKK rebels were killed in the fighting as well.

Address 'root' of terror, Musharraf says

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Central Asia needs more than military efforts to combat regional terrorism, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told an audience at Brown University.

The former military general has been outspoken on the global terror effort while on a lecture tour in the United States.

In his speech at Brown University, Musharraf described Central Asia as a center of activity for transnational terrorism, something he said required a comprehensive effort to overcome.

"Don't be stuck in the short-term solution," he said in comments published by the university. "Go for the root."

His comments come against a backdrop of a series of exchanges between India and Pakistan regarding regional terrorism issues.

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said recently Islamabad had evidence to suggest New Delhi had known about terrorist activity in the volatile tribal belt, though he avoided making formal charges.

New Delhi, for its part, claims the government in Pakistan is training Islamic insurgents in the Kashmir region, where two decades of conflict have claimed close to 50,000 lives.

Despite the exchanges, Musharraf said social issues are in part to blame for much of the extremism in the region.

"(The) military will not provide peace alone," he said.

UN chief draws special attention to world's poorest amid global crises

At a time of multiple global crises, including those related to finances, food and flu, the poorest and most vulnerable in the world at large deserve special attention by the international community, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders gathered at the United Nations here Wednesday.

"Millions of people around the world are not seeing the green shoots of recovery we are starting to hear about in some places," he said at a lunch for heads of state and government who are in New York for the annual general debate of the General Assembly.

"For them, the crisis is picking up speed. For them, it is not just one crisis but several, hitting them all at once, multiplying the challenges and the damage," said the secretary-general.

"We are not prepared for this toxic mix. International and national safety nets are frayed," he said. "Not only that, we know very little about what is happening in the lives of those most affected."

As part of its commitment to provide world leaders with solid information and analysis, the UN has produced a new report, entitled "Voices of the Vulnerable: the Economic Crisis from the Ground Up," which details about how the crisis is affecting people and households around the world.

Released last week, the report finds that 100 million more people are likely to have been pushed below the poverty line as a result of the economic crisis. In addition, global unemployment could also increase by up to 61 million between 2007 and 2009.

The secretary-general also highlighted the report on Wednesday in a message to the Global Creative Leaders Summit, in which he noted that while there is talk of "green shoots" of recovery, UN data show another picture.

"A new crisis is spreading," he said in the message, which was delivered by Amir Dossal, executive director of the UN Office for Partnerships.

"It is not the chronic poor who are most affected, but the near and working poor, whose lives had improved significantly over the last decade. The near poor are becoming the new poor," he said.

"Our response," said the secretary-general, "demands bold action and generosity but also good, up-to-date information."

That is why, in addition to the report, the UN is developing the Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System, referred to as GIVAS, which seeks to monitor and draw attention to emerging crises, he said.

GIVAS also aims to provide early, real-time data to the international community on how external shocks, such as the economic crisis, are affecting the welfare of the vulnerable and poor.

It comes none too soon, Ban said, noting that "when global shockwaves hit, you need to make sound and speedy decisions."

Somalia: Islamist Leader Snubs Al Shabaab Rulers in Kismayo

24 September 2009

Kismayo — Sheikh Hassan "Turki" Abdullahi, the leader of Ras Kamboni Brigade and a reputed member of Hizbul Islam faction, told reporters in the Somali capital Mogadishu during a Thursday press conference that he "will not accept" the new administration in Kismayo.

"I will not accept the new administration for Kismayo and I support the former administration, which did not favor [any] particular group," said Sheikh Hassan Turki.

On Wednesday, Al Shabaab spokesman in Kismayo, Sheikh Hassan Yakub, told reporters that the city's new administration has changed its name to the Islamic Walayah of Jubba and comes under the direct control of Al Shabaab.

Kismayo has been tense in recent weeks as Islamist factions compete for control of the city, which is prized with an international airport and a main port along Somalia' s Indian Ocean coastline.

"We were not informed about the new administration [for Kismayo] and we feel that we were ignored and Al Shabaab has violated the promise to jointly rule Kismayo," said Sheikh Hassan Turki.

He urged Al Shabaab leaders to "end the bias" against Hizbul Islam factions, which control parts of southern Somalia and are actively fighting to topple Somalia's UN-backed interim government in Mogadishu, which Islamist hardliners accuse of being a puppet of Western interests.

The dispute between Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam has been brewing in recent months, especially over control of Lower Jubba and Gedo regions, which border Kenya and Ethiopia.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/200909240712.html.

Swiss vote against piracy force

Swiss troops will not take part in an EU anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia, lawmakers have ruled.

Switzerland's parliament rejected a government proposal to take part in the Atalanta mission by 102 votes to 81.

Defense Minister Ueli Maurer said Thursday's vote was a "missed opportunity", Swiss radio reported.

The government had proposed sending 30 troops to the Gulf of Aden, but opponents said the bill compromised Switzerland's long-held neutrality.

"It's about being involved in combat operations, and this clearly contradicts neutrality," said Martin Baltisser, of the nationalist Swiss People's party, AP reported.

Switzerland's upper house had backed the proposal, which analysts say was an attempt to boost the landlocked Alpine nation's relations with its EU neighbors.

Operation Atalanta has some two dozen ships from EU nations - including Britain, France, Germany and Italy - patrolling an area of about two million square miles off the Horn of Africa.

In June, EU ministers agreed to extend the anti-piracy operation until the end of 2010.

Somalia has been without a stable government since 1991.

Abercrombie & Fitch Faces Lawsuit Over Muslim Headscarf

By SEAN GREGORY

Given the hyper-sexualized advertising that Abercrombie & Fitch has long embraced, it is no surprise that the company encourages its employees to let their hair down. But is the company practicing discrimination if it won't hire a young woman who covers her head for religious reasons? Yes, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Last week the EEOC filed suit against Abercrombie on behalf of Samantha Elauf, a 19-year-old community college student from Tulsa, Okla., who is Muslim. The suit alleges that Abercrombie "refused to hire Ms. Elauf because she wears a hijab, claiming that the wearing of the headgear was prohibited by its Look Policy," or employee dress code. The suit says that Abercrombie "failed to accommodate her religious beliefs by making an exception to the Look Policy. These actions constitute discrimination against Ms. Elauf on the basis of religion."

Elauf, who had experience working in retail, interviewed for a position at a Tulsa Abercrombie Kids store in June 2008. During the interview, she wore a black hijab, or headscarf, in line with Muslim religious tradition. According to the EEOC, Elauf got word through a friend, who worked in the store, that the headscarf cost her the job. The EEOC alleges that during its investigation, Abercrombie & Fitch flatly told the agency, in a position statement, that "under the Look Policy, associates must wear clothing that is consistent with the Abercrombie brand, cannot wear hats or other coverings, and cannot wear clothes that are the color black." Elauf is suing for back pay and compensation related to emotional pain and anxiety. "If these allegations are true," says Chuck Thornton, deputy director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, "they are serious. In this day and age, it's not acceptable. Certainly, a headscarf is part and parcel of the Islamic experience."

When contacted for a response, Abercrombie & Fitch issued the following statement: "We cannot comment on pending litigation. We have a strong equal-opportunity policy, and we accommodate religious beliefs and practices when possible. We are confident that the litigation of this matter will demonstrate that we have followed the law in every respect."

Was Abercrombie & Fitch within its rights to enforce its dress code? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination. "It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire .... any individual ... because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex or national origin," the law states. The key language, says Stewart Schwab, an employment lawyer and dean of Cornell Law School, is found in a 1972 amendment to Title VII. This amendment defined "religion." It reads, "The term 'religion' includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business."

This case could hinge on a jury's interpretation of the phrase "undue hardship." If Abercrombie & Fitch had made an exception of its Look Policy for Elauf - a "reasonable accommodation" - would that move have hurt the Abercrombie brand? On the surface, that argument seems specious, at best. Would shoppers at that Abercrombie Kids store have been so jarred by the hijab that they wouldn't have bought the company's jeans? If the company makes that case, it doesn't think much of the religious tolerance of the good folks of Oklahoma.

Still, this case is far from a lock for Elauf. "You can't give a blanket statement that this clearly violates her rights," says Schwab. "Employers often win cases involving dress codes. There's a general feeling that employers are entitled to set an image in their stores." If a company sells sex - you can sometimes find a shirtless male model hanging out in front of Abercrombie stores - let's face it, head coverings aren't ideal.

No matter how the suit turns out, Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't need another headache. The company just announced more dismal sales figures: August same-store sales declined 29%. In 2004, the EEOC sued Abercrombie for limiting its hiring of minorities; that case was settled for $50 million. A British woman sued the company for discrimination after Abercrombie's management allegedly shunted her to the stockroom for wearing a cardigan to cover her prosthetic arm. In August, a tribunal awarded her nearly $15,000. The EEOC has also sued Hollister, a teen retailer owned by Abercrombie, for allegedly firing a Pentecostal worker who asked to dress more modestly. That case is still pending.

As for Elauf, she is under attorney's orders to keep quiet about the case. But her grandfather, Ata Elauf, is clearly irked. "They put a wedge into her Americanism," says Elauf. "She grew up here speaking the language, going to school. Why did they do this? She's sort of confused."

Former DNC head Kirk tapped to replace Kennedy

By GLEN JOHNSON, AP Political Writer

BOSTON – The governor of Massachusetts named former Democratic Party chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. on Thursday to temporarily fill the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat, acknowledging the appointment was controversial but saying the issues before Congress were "too important to Massachusetts for us to be one voice short."

Kirk, a Kennedy family friend, served on Edward Kennedy's staff for eight years and is chairman of the JFK Library Foundation. Kennedy's widow, Vicki Kennedy, and son Edward Kennedy Jr. had urged Patrick to pick Kirk and attended the announcement at the Massachusetts Statehouse.

"He (Sen. Kennedy) often said that representing the people of Massachusetts in the Senate of the United States was the highest honor that he could possible imagine, and it is certainly nothing that I imagined, but it will be my highest honor, as well," said Kirk, who added he expected to be sworn Friday.

Gov. Deval Patrick's appointment means Kirk will serve in the interim post until voters pick a replacement in a Jan. 19 special election. Kirk said he would not be a candidate in the special election.

This week, lawmakers gave Patrick the appointment power, five years after taking that power away when Republican Mitt Romney was in office. The legislation did not take effect immediately, so Patrick had to sign an emergency letter Thursday to make the appointment right away.

The interim senator allows President Barack Obama to regain a critical 60th U.S. Senate vote to pass a health care overhaul.

"I am pleased that Massachusetts will have its full representation in the United States Senate in the coming months, as important issues such as health care, financial reform and energy will be debated," Obama said in a statement. "Paul Kirk is a distinguished leader, whose long collaboration with Senator Kennedy makes him an excellent, interim choice to carry on his work until the voters make their choice in January."

Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, said Kirk's "wisdom, kindness and integrity mean the world to the entire Kennedy family."

"Paul's life long commitment to democracy and civic engagement has given life to my father's belief that one person can make a difference, and earned him the friendship and respect of politicians on both sides of the aisle," she said in a statement.

Sen. John Kerry, who attended the announcement, called Kirk a "superb steward for this seat" and said he already has a personal relationship with many of the people he will be working with during his brief time in Kennedy's former office.

"Paul Kirk shares Ted's love of the commonwealth and the country and shares his passion for public service," Kerry said, adding "he is going to hit the ground running."

Kirk, 71, is a Boston attorney who also has been a registered lobbyist for pharmaceutical companies. He said Thursday he would resign from his board positions, including at Hartford Financial Services, known colloquially as "The Hartford." It sells life and property insurance.

Early in his career, he spent eight years on the senator's staff. He was master of ceremonies last month for a memorial service the evening before Kennedy's funeral.

Kennedy died Aug. 25 after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. Kirk has been helping with efforts to raise money for a Senate institute named for him. Organizers have been criticized for accepting donations from the health care industry while Kennedy and the White House pushed for an industry overhaul.

Federal records show Kirk registered as a lobbyist a decade ago. While Kirk would be banned from lobbying for two years after his appointment ends, he would retain Senate floor privileges, the honorific title "senator" and a coveted Capitol Hill parking space for life.

Kirk said that while he had represented "a couple of pharmaceutical firms" as recently as 2002, he no longer works as a lobbyist and has no conflicts of interest.

Kirk graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School and served on Kennedy's staff between 1969 and 1977. He ran the Democratic National Committee in the run-up to former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' unsuccessful run for president in 1988.

Kirk also co-founded the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has sponsored every presidential and vice presidential debate involving major candidates since 1988.

Kirk retains graybeard status within the party in part because he has never served in political office. That factored into his selection, one aide said, since he posed no threat to the candidates competing in the special election.

The Massachusetts Legislature laid the groundwork Wednesday for the announcement, when, after a contentious debate and a whirl of parliamentary maneuvering, it approved a bill allowing the governor to make an interim appointment.

Patrick has argued the state stood to suffer without full Senate representation before the special election campaign, but some fellow Democrats have joined Republicans in accusing him of a power grab. Patrick said he was untroubled by criticism from Republican lawmakers.

"I'm quite satisfied that I am both within the law and within tradition," Patrick said.

Russia slams Polish parliament's World War II resolution

MOSCOW - Russia is lashing out at the Polish parliament over its resolution condemning the Soviet invasion of Poland 70 years ago.

The Slavic neighbors' vastly different viewpoints on World War II have sparked increased friction around the anniversary of its outbreak. Russian leaders bristle at criticism of Moscow's actions and reject efforts to equate the Soviet Union with Hitler's Germany.

The Polish parliament's resolution Wednesday condemned the Soviet attack on Poland in September 1939 and the Nazi-Soviet pact that preceded it.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the resolution will damage efforts to improve strained relations. It said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had signaled Russia's readiness for constructive ties in a newspaper article last month.

Libya and Algeria Urge Wide-Scale Reform of the UN to Deal With Current Challenges

24 September 2009

Two North African leaders have told the General Assembly today that the United Nations needs wide-scale reform to ensure that the voices of developing countries are better heard and to bring about more democratic decision-making across the Organization.

Muammar al-Gadhafi, Libya's Leader of the Revolution, and Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria, addressed the Assembly's annual high-level segment at UN Headquarters in New York, saying the answer to the current multiple crises facing the world - from the collapse of the global financial order to climate change - lay in a renewed and reinvigorated multilateralism based on fairness and transparency.

"The interdependence of countries, and the increasingly close connections between the problems they face, require international governance that will promote the emergence of multilateralism based on the values of consultation, cooperation and partnership," Mr. Bouteflika said.

"It is only through an integrated, unified and inclusive approach that we will be able not only to solve the problems of our time, jointly and collectively, but also to face up to threats to our peace and security."

The Algerian President said that multilateral institutions which were "undermined by contradictions and incoherence" would not be able to resolve issues as complex as the current economic crisis, climate change, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, the fight against impunity and human rights violations, and the battle against terrorism.

He called for "substantial advances in the creation of reforms" which would revitalize the General Assembly, reform the Security Council, reinforce the role of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), integrate the aspirations of developing countries, and seek new working methods that were more suited to today's needs.

Touching on the relationship between the UN and the African Union (AU), Mr Bouteflika said that while cooperation between the two organizations had led to a significant reduction in areas of tension on the continent, it was regrettable that the Security Council and its African partners did not always meet in full the demands made on them.

For his part, Mr. al-Gadhafi said the Security Council should be re-named the "Terror Council," given the way that Council resolutions were used against other countries.

He stressed that the 15-member body as it is currently constituted, with five permanent members that have the right of veto, did not provide genuine security for the world. The AU should also have a permanent seat on the Council, he noted.

Turning to the General Assembly itself, Mr. al-Gadhafi questioned its utility and compared it to Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London, where "you just make a speech and then you disappear."

The Libyan leader said too much of the discussion about reform of the UN focused on expanding membership, such as at the Security Council, when what was needed was the provision of equality among existing members of the Organization.

He also voiced concern about the UN Charter, saying that while he supported the contents of the Preamble to the Charter, he did not support the provisions and articles that follow in the document.

In addition, Mr al-Gadhafi said Africa deserved trillions of dollars in compensation for the impact of colonialism, particularly the resources and other forms of wealth that had been stolen in the past.

He also called for the establishment of a new State to be known as "Isratine," bringing together Israelis and Palestinians into one country; and for the creation of another State, Kashmir, that would be separate from India and Pakistan.

Source: allAfrica.
Link: http://allafrica.com/stories/200909240590.html.

New UN resolution aims at nuclear-free world

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS – With President Barack Obama presiding over an historic session, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a U.S.-sponsored resolution Thursday committing all nations to work for a nuclear weapons-free world.

Russia, China and developing nations supported the measure, giving it global clout and strong political backing.

The resolution calls for stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote disarmament and "reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism." It calls for better security for nuclear weapons materials and underscores the Security Council's intention to take action if such material or nuclear weapons get into the hands of terrorists.

The resolution consolidated many elements previously endorsed individually in the Security Council or other international forums. But bringing them together in a single document, voted on by global leaders, should add political momentum to efforts to achieve these goals, particularly at important conferences next year on nuclear security and on strengthening the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

It was only the fifth time the Security Council met at summit level since the U.N. was founded in 1945 and 14 of the 15 chairs around the council's horseshoe-shaped table were filled by presidents and prime ministers. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's name was on the U.N.-circulated list as attending but he was a no-show. Libya's U.N. ambassador spoke for his country.

The U.S. holds the rotating council presidency this month and Obama was the first American president to preside over a Security Council summit, gaveling the meeting into session and announcing that "the draft resolution has been adopted unanimously."

"The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to a goal of a world without nuclear weapons," Obama said immediately after the vote. "And it brings Security Council agreement on a broad framework for action to reduce nuclear dangers as we work toward that goal."

Just one nuclear weapon set off in a major city — "be it New York or Moscow, Tokyo or Beijing, London or Paris" — could kill hundreds of thousands of people and cause major destruction, Obama said.

The council endorsed a global effort to "lock down all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years" and the president announced that the United States will host an April summit to advance compliance and assist all nations in achieving it.

The resolution does not mention any country by name but it reaffirms previous Security Council resolutions that imposed sanctions on Iran and North Korea for their nuclear activities. It does not call for any new sanctions.

The draft "expresses particular concern at the current major challenges to the nonproliferation regime that the Security Council has acted upon."

"This is not about singling out an individual nation," Obama said. "International law is not an empty promise, and treaties must be enforced."

But Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy all identified North Korea, which has tested nuclear weapons, and Iran, suspected of harboring weapon plans, as obstacles to a safer world.

Sarkozy sharply criticized both countries for ignoring Security Council resolutions calling on them to cease such activities.

"We may all be threatened one day by a neighbor, by a neighbor endowing itself" with nuclear weapons, he said.

"What I believe is that if we have the courage to affirm and impose sanctions on those who violate resolutions of the Security Council we will be lending credibility to our commitment to a world with fewer nuclear weapons and ultimately with no nuclear weapons," Sarkozy said.

The British leader called on the council to consider "far tougher sanctions" against Iran.

Obama said the resolution reflects the nuclear agenda he outlined in his April speech in Prague when he declared his commitment to "a world without nuclear weapons."

The president called in that speech for the slashing of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, adoption of the treaty banning all nuclear tests, an international fuel bank to better safeguard nuclear material, and negotiations on a new treaty that "verifiably" ends the production of fissile materials for atomic weapons.

He also strongly backed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, which requires signatory nations not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for a commitment by the five nuclear powers to move toward nuclear disarmament. States without nuclear weapons are guaranteed access to peaceful nuclear technology for electricity generation.

All those measures are included in the draft resolution.

In its opening paragraph, the resolution reaffirms the council's commitment "to seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons."

Obama warned Thursday against violations of the NPT saying, "We must demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties will be enforced."

But global differences remain.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that "our main shared goal is to untie the problem knots" among nations seeking nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament.

"This is complicated since the level of mistrust among nations remains too high, but it must be done," he said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao focused on a late addition to Thursday's resolution: a call for all nuclear-weapon states to commit to "no first use" of those weapons, and to not using them against non-nuclear states. China has long proclaimed such a policy, which the U.S. has never embraced.

"All nuclear-weapon states should make an unequivocal commitment of unconditionally not using or threatening to use nuclar weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states," Hu said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saluted the national leaders for joining in the unprecedented Security Council summit on nuclear arms.

"This is a historic moment, a moment offering a fresh start toward a new future," he said.

Among the invited guests were U.N. nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei, former U.S. Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry, media mogul Ted Turner, former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and Queen Noor of Jordan — all campaigners against nuclear weapons.

Nunn, a Georgia Democrat who heads the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based group designed to fight the global spread of nuclear materials, said the most important thing about the resolution "is the high-level visibility that will be taking place ... with world leaders gathering to remind both themselves and the world that we are at a nuclear tipping point."

Gaddafi talks Kashmir at UN, embarrasses India

Nidhi Razdan

Maverick Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has embarrassed India at the United Nations. In his marathon speech Gaddafi raised the Kashmir issue.

"Kashmir should be an independent state, not Indian, not Pakistani. We should end this conflict. It should be a Ba'athist state between India and Pakistan," he said.

And he also opposed expanding the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to include countries like India, saying that would add more injustice and tension to the world.

"The preamble says all nations are equal whether they are small or big. Are we equal in the permanent seats? No we are not equals," Gaddafi said.

Instead of his allotted 15 minutes, Gaddafi spoke for nearly 100 minutes during which he slammed the United States and the United Nations, and described the UNSC as the terrorist council.

About an hour into his speech, Gaddafi had complained of jet lag and having to get up early for the General Assembly, but it seems the rest of the United Nations General Assembly was also fatigued by then, as more than half the seats were empty.

Hamas: Meshaal will head Cairo delegation for reconciliation talks

Gaza City/Cairo (Earth Times - dpa) - Khaled Meshaal, the Syrian-based leader of the Hamas movement, is due to head a delegation to Cairo on Sunday to give a "final response" to Cairo's proposals for Palestinian reconciliation, a spokesman for the movement has said. Fawzi Barhoum, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said Thursday that Meshaal would be present in Cairo with other Hamas members from the Gaza Strip, in an effort to reach agreement on inter-Palestinian elections, security issues, and a reconciliation pact.

Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction fell out in 2007 after Hamas won Palestinian elections the previous year. Egypt has been attempting to mediate between the two sides since then.

In August Egypt presented its proposal on how the two sides might reconcile, which has been accepted by Fatah, but so far no response from Hamas - which rules the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt - has come.

A new round of comprehensive dialogue is expected to start in Cairo in October.

Meanwhile, in Thursday's statement Barhoum slammed Abbas' meeting with US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.

"Abbas' presidential term has been over since January 25, 2009, so he is illegal and he doesn't represent all the Palestinian people. Therefore, he is not authorized to speak on behalf of our people," Barhoum said.

Indonesian woman sets heaviest baby record

A woman has marked her name in the Indonesian history by giving birth to an 8.7kg (19.2 pound) baby boy, by far the country's largest newborn ever.

The baby, who is still unnamed, was born at the Abdul Manan General Hospital in the town of Asahan in North Sumatra province, said a gynecologist who had taken part in the operation, according to press reports.

Doctors delivered the baby, who measured 62cm, by the Caesarean section on Monday, hospital staff said Thursday.

They noted that the mother was a 41-year-old woman named Ani, who had three other children. They had all been delivered at home by midwifes.

"This heavy baby made the surgery really tough, especially the process of taking him out of his mum's womb. His legs were so big," said the gynecologist, Binsar Sitanggang.

Although doctors had to give oxygen to the boy to help him overcome breathing problems at the time of birth, he is in a healthy condition now, Sitanggang explained.

"He's got strong appetite, every minute, it's almost non-stop feeding. This baby boy is extraordinary; the way he's crying is not like a usual baby. It's really loud," he added.

Sitanggang said the boy's massive size was probably the result of his mother having diabetes.

Medical research shows that diabetic mothers can give birth to extraordinarily large babies if their glucose level is high during pregnancy, a condition that makes the fetus grow too large.

Records show that until Monday, the largest baby born in Indonesia weighed 6.9kg. The previous record holder's mother was a diabetic woman who gave birth in Jakarta in 2007.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest baby ever was born to Anna Bates of Canada in 1879. The newborn, which weighed 10.8kg (23.12lb), died 11 hours after birth.

First Turkish-made satellite put into orbit

The first satellite developed and manufactured by Istanbul Technical University's Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics has been placed into orbit around the Earth.

The cube-shaped 'ITUpSAT1' satellite was launched on a 'PSLV C-14' rocket from Sriharikota by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at 9:21 a.m. local time (0351 GMT) on Wednesday and settled into its orbital path at 9:41 a.m. (0411 GMT) , 720 kilometers above the surface of the earth, according to a report by Today's Zaman daily.

The satellite travels at a speed of nearly 7.5 kilometers per second, orbiting the Earth once every 90 minutes. It will take photographs of the Earth's continents and transmits data when it passes over Turkey.

Turkish satellite ITUpSAT1 is expected to stay in orbit for six months.

Gadhafi meets Swiss leader in NY amid tensions

Thu Sep 24, 2009

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi has reportedly met with Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting, amid rising tensions.

The Swiss finance ministry said on Thursday that Merz had received an assurance over the freedom of two Swiss men detained in Libya last year over alleged visa violations.

The meeting in New York on Wednesday evening "focused on the normalization of bilateral relations between Libya and Switzerland," the ministry statement said, confirming media reports.

The arrest came in July 2008 shortly after Bern detained one of Gadhafi's sons, Hannibal, for abusing two servants in Switzerland, angering the Libyan leader to the point where he filed a motion asking the UN to abolish the country and divide its land between France, Italy, and Germany, according to a Daily Mail article published in early September.

The two servants, a Moroccan and a Tunisian, have since dropped their compliant with an out-of-court settlement and Hannibal and his wife were freed on bail after two days in detention, but the issue provoked a diplomatic crisis.

"Both sides reiterated their desire to swiftly implement the agreement concluded between the two states on August 20, 2009," the statement said, referring to an accord in August, when Merz apologized for Hannibal's arrest despite being criticized at home.

Libya retaliated by removing its assets from Swiss banks, leaving a mere 628 million Swiss francs from an estimated 5.7 billion in 2007. It also froze all business dealings with the country.

At Wednesday's meeting, Merz spoke of "Libya's wish to develop bilateral international relations with mutual interests and mutual respect," Jana news agency reported.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/107012.html.

Largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure found in UK

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer

LONDON – An amateur treasure hunter prowling English farmland with a metal detector stumbled upon the largest Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered, a massive seventh-century hoard of gold and silver sword decorations, crosses and other items, British archaeologists said Thursday.

One expert said the treasure would revolutionize understanding of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people who ruled England from the fifth century until the Norman conquest in 1066. Another said the find would rank among Britain's best-known historic treasures.

"This is just a fantastic find completely out of the blue," Roger Bland, who managed the cache's excavation, told The Associated Press. "It will make us rethink the Dark Ages."

Bland said the hoard was unearthed in what was once Mercia, one of five main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and is thought to date to 675-725 AD.

A total of 1,345 items have been examined by experts and and 56 lumps of earth were found to contain metal artifacts detected by an X-ray machine, meaning the total will likely rise to about 1,500.

"I think wealth of this kind must have belonged to a king but we cannot say that for absolute certain," Bland said.

The Anglo-Saxons were a group of Germanic tribes who gradually invaded England by sea starting in the fifth century in the wake of the collapse of the Roman Empire. Originally, they came from what is now the coastal region of northwest Germany.

Their artisans made striking objects out of gold and enamel and they also created poetry that still amazes people today. Their best-known literary work is "Beowulf," an anonymous epic poem about a warrior who does battle with monsters and a dragon.

Their language, Old English, is a distant precursor of modern English. It supplies many of the structurally important words such as pronouns and prepositions as well as words for everyday concepts.

Unfortunately, much of their literature and artwork have been lost through warfare, looting, upheavals and the passage of time. Scholars must deduce what their culture was like using often scanty evidence.

Leslie Webster, the former curator of Anglo-Saxon archaeology at the British Museum, said the amount of gold uncovered — about 11 pounds (5 kilograms) — suggested that early medieval England was a far wealthier place than previously believed.

She also said the crosses and other religious artifacts mixed in with the mainly military items, such as sword pommel caps, might shed new light on the relationship between Christianity and warfare among the Anglo-Saxons.

The seventh-century hoard found by 55-year-old Terry Herbert in western England, consists of at least 650 items of gold and 530 silver objects weighing more than 2.2 pounds (1 kilo), along with some copper alloy, garnets and glass.

Most of the objects are ornaments for weapons and other military artifacts, some inlaid with precious stones.

Herbert, from the town of Burntwood, found the gold on a friend's farm on July 5 and spent the next five days scouring the field for the rest of the hoard.

Herbert recovered the first items before professional archaeologists took over the excavation.

"Imagine you're at home and somebody keeps putting money through your letterbox, that was what it was like," Herbert said. "I was going to bed and in my sleep I was seeing gold items."

One of the most intriguing objects is a small strip of gold inscribed with a warlike Latin quotation from the Old Testament, which translates as: "Rise up, O Lord, and may thy enemies be dispersed and those who hate thee be driven from thy face."

Most of the other treasures unearthed in the hoard appear to be military-related, and the strip may have been fastened to a shield or a sword belt.

The hoard was officially declared treasure by a coroner, which means it will now be valued by a committee of experts and offered up for sale to a museum. Proceeds would be split 50-50 between Herbert and his farmer friend, who has not been identified. The find's exact location is being kept secret to deter looters.

Bland said he could not give a precise figure for the worth of the hoard, but he said the treasure hunter could be in line for a "seven-figure sum."

Herbert said the experience had been "more fun than winning the lottery," adding that one expert likened his discovery to finding Tutankhamen's tomb.

"I just flushed all over when he said that. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up," Herbert said.

The hoard is in storage at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Some of the items are due to go on display starting Friday.

"The quantity of gold is amazing but, more importantly, the craftsmanship is consummate," said archaeologist Kevin Leahy, who cataloged the find. "This was the very best that the Anglo-Saxon metalworkers could do, and they were very good."

Leahy said there was still much to learn about the treasure, its purpose, and its origins.

"It looks like a collection of trophies, but it is impossible to say if the hoard was the spoils from a single battle or a long and highly successful military career," he said. "We also cannot say who the original, or the final, owners were, who took it from them, why they buried it or when. It will be debated for decades."

Bland agreed, saying that archaeologists were still baffled by the function of many of the pieces they found.

"There's lots of mystery in it," he said.

Settlement university dropped from prestigious architecture competition

Press release, Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine

23 September 2009

The following press release was issued by Architects & Planners for Justice in Palestine (APJP) on 21 September 2009:

The University Center of Ariel in Samaria (AUCS) has been excluded from the Solar Decathlon, an international university competition promoting sustainable architecture.

The self-styled AUCS, claiming to represent Israel, though situated in the illegal settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank, was one out of 20 architecture teams short-listed from university entries last April to compete for the Solar Decathlon-Europe 2010. The Spanish Government together with the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid organizes this most prestigious competition for sustainable architecture in the world.

Although this is the first competition of its kind in Europe, it builds on almost a decade of competitions in the US sponsored by the US Department of Energy.

Selected teams, formed by architects and engineering students are asked to design and build a real house entirely driven by solar energy. Every house should be built in one of the 20 sites in the "Solar Villa" planned in Madrid to host them. To facilitate participation of the various teams, the Spanish Ministry of Housing allocated a sum of 100,000 Euros to every project.

The International Union of Architects (UIA) has already taken note that Israeli architecture and planning in the West Bank is contrary to its professional ethics and Codes of Conduct and Accords. After a motion raised at the UIA Council meeting in Brazil this July, in relation to these activities, the UIA confirmed its policy that:

"The UIA Council condemns development projects and the construction of buildings on land that has been ethnically purified or illegally appropriated, and projects based on regulations that are ethnically or culturally discriminatory, and similarly it condemns all action contravening the Fourth Geneva Convention."

On this basis, the UK-based Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine (APJP) initiated a campaign backed by UK and international architects and academics, which was also taken up by the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) in Palestine, against official Spanish recognition of the illegal Israeli university in occupied Palestinian territory. The support of many individuals and organizations in Spain for the cancellation of AUCS's participation in the Solar Decathlon culminated in a parliamentary question in the Spanish Parliament and the eventual exclusion of the illegal settlement's academic institution from the competition.

Last Wednesday, 16 September, Sergio Vega, General Director of Solar Decathlon Europe addressed all participant teams to inform them of the exclusion of AUCS: "The decision has been taken by the Government of Spain based upon the fact that the University is located in the [occupied] West Bank. The Government of Spain is obliged to respect the international agreements under the framework of the European Union and the United Nations regarding this geographical area." EU policy is firmly against Israel's illegal settlements and occupation, and this clear, firm and principled response represents the first case of sanctions against an Israeli academic institution in Spain and one of the very first such actions in the West.

Spain joins the growing number of European governments taking effective steps to uphold international law by boycotting or divesting from institutions and corporations involved in Israel's illegal settlements and Separation Wall built on occupied Palestinian land.

This move of the government of Spain follows the decision of the UK government not to rent offices from Israeli settlement builder Lev Leviev and the divestment of the Norwegian Pension Fund from Elbit Systems, an Israeli company providing surveillance equipment to the Wall. The global company Veolia has lost major European contracts due to its construction of the light railway in illegally annexed East Jerusalem.

The Spanish university teachers, parliamentarians and organizations are to be congratulated for this principled stand with the Palestinian people and international law, and professional ethics.

'The Obama Administration Has Completely Failed'

Human Rights Lawyer on Bagram Prison
'The Obama Administration Has Completely Failed'

September 23, 2009

Human rights lawyer Tina Foster talks to SPIEGEL about detainee abuses in the US military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan and her disappointment with the Obama administration.

SPIEGEL: Right after taking office, US President Barack Obama announced his plan to close Guantanamo. It looked like he would reverse the human rights policies of the Bush administration. Will the detainees the US military prison in Bagram, Afghanistan now be given legal rights?

Foster: Unfortunately, the US government did not change its position on Bagram when Obama took office. The government still claims that our clients are not entitled to any legal protections under US law. It maintains that even those individuals who they brought to Bagram from other countries, and have held without charge for more than six years, are still not entitled to speak with their attorney, and they are arguing now that they are not entitled to have their cases heard in US courts.

SPIEGEL: But there has been an important legal decision stating that detainees in Bagram have the right to legal representation.

Foster: The April 2 decision of Judge John D. Bates, a George Bush appointee, was that our clients were entitled to have their cases reviewed by the court. That was a huge success.

SPIEGEL: Is the Obama administration complying with the Bates decision in providing each detainee a representative?

Foster: Before we could present any evidence or proceed in their cases, the Obama administration appealed the decision to the court of appeals, and is now arguing that it should be overturned. The announcement was intended to generate a positive media spin on the "new" procedures at Bagram, which were announced at this time because the government's filing in the court of appeals was due the following day. If you look at the actual procedures, you will see that the detainees will not be given any legal representation. Instead, the Department of Defense is saying that it will send non-lawyer "representatives" to question the detainees and look into their cases. Those individuals are not officers of the court, and have no duty of confidentiality or loyalty to the detainee.

SPIEGEL: But what then is the difference between the Bush and Obama administrations?

Foster: There is absolutely no difference between the Bush administration and the Obama administration's position with respect to Bagram detainees' rights. They have made much ado about nothing, in the hope that the courts and the public will not examine the issue more closely.

SPIEGEL: Is it true that the human rights situation has gotten much better at Bagram in the last 18 months?

Foster: Some of our clients have been at Bagram since its early days, and they still are not being told what the charges are against them, or given the ability to challenge those allegations in any fair legal proceeding. Moreover, several of our clients were brought to Bagram from outside of Afghanistan. For example, Amin Al Bakri -- a Yemeni gem trader who was kidnapped while on a business trip in Thailand, rendered to secret prisons, tortured and finally ended up at Bagram -- is still being held incommunicado and without access to his attorneys. We believe he was tortured in CIA secret prisons before being transferred to Bagram, which is why I believe the government does not want to allow us to speak with him. It's a cover up. Amin has been at Bagram for more than six years. It's hard to imagine any other reason why the government would not allow him a simple hearing in a US court.

SPIEGEL: What about the case of Jawed Ahmad, which received a certain amount of media coverage?

Foster: Our client Jawed "Jojo" Ahmad was a young journalist working for the Canadian television network CTV. He was also taken into custody by the military and held without charge for more than a year before the US government finally released him. This all happened in 2007-2008 -- in other words, fairly recently. That "mistake" by the US government cost Jojo his life. We were eventually able to convince the US government that he was innocent, and happily he was released. Jojo committed his time after he got out of prison to exposing other injustices at Bagram and beyond in Afghanistan. He helped us with the cases of other innocent people who are currently being held at Bagram, and was essentially our star witness in this litigation. This was all cut short earlier this year, when Jojo was shot and killed in broad daylight. His assassins have never been identified. It was one of the most terrible moments of my life. He was a great person and a friend.

SPIEGEL: Can you compare the human rights situation in Bagram with that in Guantanamo?

Foster: What most people don't realize is that Bagram has always been far worse than Guantanamo. One thing that has not been stressed enough in media accounts regarding Guantanamo is that much of the abuse that the Guantanamo prisoners suffered actually happened at Bagram. Many of our former clients were subjected to sexual humiliation and assault akin to Abu Ghraib-style torture. In terms of torture and abuse, Bagram has a far worse history than Guantanamo. There are at least two detainees who died there after being tortured by US interrogators. One of them was strung up by interrogators by his wrists, and then beaten until his legs were "pulpified," according to the military's own autopsy report. Our clients who have been released more recently report exposure to extreme temperatures, sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation and other torture that is still ongoing. Bagram has always been a torture chamber -- there is no way that the United States will ever be able to rid it of that reputation unless it discontinues the practice of holding detainees incommunicado and in secret.

SPIEGEL: Major General Douglas M. Stone, who was charged to investigate Bagram, has been quoting as saying that many of the detainees in Bagram are innocent.

Foster: I think General Stone's report confirms what we have learned over the years from our clients -- most of the people at Bagram are being imprisoned unjustly. General Stone reviewed the military's own records and determined that, of the 600 current detainees at Bagram, there are 400 innocent people that the US government should not be detaining. It's obvious that the procedures that the military is using to determine who to imprison and who to release are completely flawed. What is completely baffling is why these 400 innocent individuals have not been released. It doesn't make sense to hold innocent people in our custody -- it's completely counterproductive and undermines the entire war effort.

SPIEGEL: You worked on the Obama campaign last year. Do you regret that now?

Foster: I voted and campaigned for Obama, like all the other folks here in the US who wanted to see this country recover from the illegal and unjust policies of the Bush administration. When I heard Obama's announcement to close Guantanamo, I breathed a sigh of relief that perhaps this extremely ugly chapter of American history was finally being put to an end. Unfortunately, since then, the Obama administration has completely failed in delivering the change that was promised. For a time, we believed that perhaps it would just take the new administration time to shift its policies. The reality is that the Bush and the Obama administrations have the same position on the rights of detainees in Bagram.

Spain: Israel team out of contest over West Bank

By DANIEL WOOLLS, Associated Press Writer

MADRID – Spain said Thursday it has disqualified a group of Israeli academics from a solar power design competition because their university is in the West Bank, the latest in a series of low-level European sanctions against Israel over its settlement policy.

Spain expelled the team representing Ariel University Center of Samaria from an international contest called the Solar Decathlon, in which 20 universities are presenting designs for solar-powered homes, a Housing Ministry official said.

Samaria and Judea are the two Biblical names for the land now known as the West Bank.

Spain acted in line with EU policy of opposing Israel's occupation of Palestinian land, the Spanish official said on condition of anonymity, in line with ministry rules.

The Israeli university said it "rejects with disgust the one-sided announcement we received from the Spanish Housing Ministry" and that the "anti-academic" decisions harms 10,000 students, including 500 Arab students who study there.

The decision is "an expression of the illegitimate political struggle which contravenes international law and international charters on academic freedom," it said in a statement sent Thursday to The Associated Press.

The contest is sponsored by the U.S. Energy Department, but Spain is hosting and financing a European version of it in 2010 and 2012 and has ultimate say over such details as who takes part, the ministry official said.

The Israelis were notified of the decision on Sept. 11, and the U.S. Energy Department was also advised. The Spanish Housing Ministry did not hear back from the Americans, the official said.

Late last year, the Israelis' proposal made the final cut of 20 universities chosen to take part in the contest after a technical evaluation of their project. But at some point this year, the Spanish Housing Ministry realized their university is not in Israel but rather in the West Bank, the official said. He could not explain why this fact was initially overlooked.

The European Union has adopted a more critical attitude toward Israel since last year's Gaza war. The refusal of Israel's new right-wing government to heed demands for a complete settlement freeze has further strained ties.

Britain recently revoked several licenses granted to U.K. companies to sell weapons parts to Israel because of concerns over their use in the assault on Gaza. But the move was largely symbolic, as Britain supplies less than 1 percent of Israel's military imports.

Norway decided to sell its shares in Elbit Systems Ltd., an Israeli company that provides surveillance equipment for the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank, leading Israel to lodge a formal diplomatic complaint.

Hamas, PFLP slam Obama's speech at UN

Palestinian opposition groups, including Gaza ruler Hamas movement, slammed Wednesday U.S. President Barack Obama's speech earlier at the UN General Assembly.

The Palestinian groups, Hamas and the Popular Front to Liberate Palestine (PFLP), criticized Obama's speech.

Taher al-Nounou, spokesman of the deposed Hamas government in Gaza, told Xinhua that Obama is fully "biased to the Israeli occupation," and "his speech fails to give the Palestinians any hope to gain back their legitimate rights."

"When Obama mentions Israel as a Jewish state, it means that the United States had responded to Israel's demands," he added.

"One of the Israeli demands is erasing the right of return for the Palestinian refugees," said al-Nounou.

Asked about the three-way summit of Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, al-Nounou said "this process has no credibility."

"The aim that had been achieved out of this meeting is just to break the strict Palestinian position, which rejects any meetings, contacts or talks before Israelis stop settlement," said al-Nounou.

He added that "there has been nothing new to be offered to the Palestinians by both Obama and Netanyahu. Therefore, the continuation of such meetings will be harmful to the Palestinian cause."

Meanwhile, deputy chief of the PFLP Abdel Rahim Mallouh said in a press statement that Obama's speech is considered "a retreat to his previous positions towards resolving the Palestinian question."

"Saying that he is committed to achieve a just and a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians was not enough. He should be committed to the implementation of the related international resolutions," said Mallouh.

The top PFLP leader added that "If Obama really wants to end the conflicts and achieve peace; he has to show more seriousness in pressing on Israel to be committed to the recognition of the Palestinians legitimate rights, instead of just pressing on the Palestinians."

Despite Hamas criticism of Obama's speech, the prime minister of deposed Hamas government in Gaza Ismail Haneya Tuesday addressed a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, urging the support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

Chechen rebels 'backed by UK'

The controversial Kremlin-backed president of Chechnya has claimed that militants in the violence-plagued Russian province are backed by US and British intelligence agencies.

Ramzan Kadyrov's remark is probably the bluntest claim by a Russian official that insurgents in the restive North Caucasus have western support.

A statement from Mr Kadyrov's office yesterday quoted him as suggesting that western-backed mercenaries are fighting the government in Chechnya. He said: "We are fighting in the mountains with the American and English special services."

Al-Qaida-linked inmates break out of Iraq prison

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – Five al-Qaida-linked prisoners awaiting execution and 11 other inmates broke out of a prison in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, prompting a massive manhunt Thursday, officials said.

A complete curfew was imposed on the city of 250,000 after the prisoners escaped at around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday. Checkpoints have been set up throughout the city and at roads leading out, a Tikrit police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the operation with media.

The prisoners were being held on charges including terrorism, kidnapping and murder, and the majority have links to al-Qaida in Iraq, the officer said.

Some are still awaiting sentencing, but five were slated for execution on terrorism convictions, the officer said. One of the five was recaptured early Thursday in the Tikrit area — a 19-year-old from a town near the city.

Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf would not comment on the inmates' possible links to al-Qaida, saying only that six of the escaped convicts are considered "dangerous."

The police officer said authorities found a pipe wrench in a bathroom in the prison yard, which the inmates apparently used to open a ventilation window.

Khalaf would give no details on the prisoners or how they escaped, but said authorities were distributing wanted posters with photos of the fugitives, which is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

Extra surveillance has also been ordered at Iraq's borders and throughout the northwest of the country, Khalaf said.

Provincial authorities fired Col. Mohammed Saleh Jubara, the head of the anti-terrorism department for Salahuddin province where Tikrit is located, the police officer said.

The anti-terrorism department is responsible for the security of prisoners being held on terrorism related charges.

Provincial spokeswoman Fatin Abdul-Qadir said in a statement that a committee had been formed to investigate how the 16 prisoners escaped and whether they had any help getting the wrench into the prison. She would not comment on Jubara's firing, but state television said it was related to the prison break.

The facility from which the inmates escaped was a makeshift prison, built on the compound of one of Saddam's former palaces. Inmates were housed in a former school of Islamic studies, surrounded by tall concrete blast walls and guard towers.

Iraq's overcrowded prison and judicial systems are struggling to handle the thousands of detainees being handed over to Iraqi authorities this year by the U.S. military under the requirements of a security pact between the two countries.

International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have said conditions inside Iraqi prisons are appalling.

Earlier this month, inmates at Abu Ghraib prison rioted for two days to demand better conditions and the replacement of prison staff they accuse of mistreatment. The prison, where abuses by U.S. troops helped fuel anti-American sentiment in Iraq, has been handed back to Iraqi control and reopened in February.

Israel hails US call for talks without conditions

By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM – Israel's prime minister welcomed Thursday President Barack Obama's call for the resumption of Mideast peace talks without preconditions despite Palestinian demands for a halt to new Jewish settlements in the West Bank before any new negotiations begin.

In the past, Obama had said all Israeli building must stop on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state. But he toned down his language Tuesday at a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New York, where he spoke of Israeli steps "to restrain settlement activity." And in a speech to the U.N. Wednesday, Obama called for talks to restart without conditions.

"I'm pleased that President Obama accepted my request that there should be no preconditions," Netanyahu told Israel Radio by telephone from New York.

Netanyahu is proposing a partial and temporary slowdown, while Palestinian leaders say there can be no negotiations without a complete halt to Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank.

In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Obama criticized Israel's settlement policy, saying that "American does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements."

But the Obama's statement was no more critical of the settlements than previous U.S. administrations have been since Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast War.

Netanyahu said the U.S. position was nothing new but said he was pleased Obama did not make the issue a prerequisite for talks.

"The president of the United States said unequivocally that is not an issue that should prevent the start of negotiations," he said.

Netanyahu added that dropping preconditions to talks along with Arab recognition of Israel as a Jewish state were the key to peace in the Middle East. In his U.N. speech Obama supported that goal, along with creation of an independent Palestinian state.

"At the end of the day those are the most important things for peace," Netanyahu said.

Brazil defends Iran nuclear rights

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said Iran is entitled to the same rights as any other country in its use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

“I defend for Iran the same rights with respect to nuclear energy that I do for Brazil,” Lula told reporters outside the United Nations General Assembly.

“If anyone is ashamed of having relations with Iran, it's not Brazil,” he added.

The Brazilian president made the remark following his meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday.

Ahmadinejad, for his part, assured Silva that his country's nuclear program was intended solely for peaceful purposes.

Lula called Iran a 'great partner' and defended Brazil's right to define its own foreign policy.

Western powers have declared that they might consider new sanctions against Iran, should the country refuse to halt its nuclear program through dialogue.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will not give up the Iranian nation's legitimate rights under Western pressure.

Lula further pointed out that he would meet his Iranian counterpart in the country's capital Tehran next year after Ahmadinejad travels to Brazil in November.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian president said international condemnation of Iran's election results is no barrier to closer relations between the two countries.

“What right do I have, or any president, to question the election results in Iran,” Silva said. “It would be overly arrogant for Brazil, 12,000 kilometers away, to pass judgment on Iran's elections. Nor would I want them to judge ours.”

Al-Qaeda inmates flee Tikrit prison

Thu Sep 24, 2009

Security sources say over a dozen convicted al-Qaeda terrorists have broken loose overnight from a prison in the central Iraqi city of Tikrit.

Sixteen prisoners from al-Qaeda, including five who have been sentenced to death, managed to escape at night from one of the prisons in the center of Tikrit, a security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Thursday.

The group managed to remove the windows from a prison bathroom, crawled through the opening and scaled a ladder to climb over the prison wall, he said.

One of the men was re-captured on Thursday morning but the rest are still at large, the official added.

Iraqi forces have stepped up security in Tikrit, located 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province, which is also the birth place of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.

A predominantly Sunni town, Tikrit is viewed by Washington as a safe haven for al-Qaeda militants who are operating in the war-torn country years after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/106986.html.

Jordan and Syria to discuss water sharing issues

AMMAN - Jordan and Syria are scheduled to begin talks today on issues of common interest, with the sharing of water from the Yarmouk River Basin topping the agenda, a government official said on Wednesday.

Meetings on cooperation in water issues between the two neighbors will be part of the Joint Jordanian-Syrian Higher Committee meetings, which will be held in Damascus next week, co-chaired by Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and his Syrian counterpart, Mohammad Otri.

Jordan Valley Authority Secretary General Musa Jamaani, who heads the Jordanian side at the Jordanian-Syrian Committee of the Yarmouk River Basin, is expected to leave for Syria today to prepare for the discussions over the outstanding water issues.

"We will discuss two main issues: the first is the Yarmouk River Basin hydrogeological study and the second is how to end the [Syrian] violations on the Yarmouk River," Jamaani told The Jordan Times yesterday.

The study, which will be carried out jointly by Jordan and Syria, seeks to evaluate the quantity and quality of water resources in the Yarmouk River Basin, identify the causes of their depletion, and propose means to protect the basin from pollution and arbitrary pumping.

The study, which also aims to examine the economic impact of ongoing depletion of the basin's water sources, will take one year to complete and will be carried out by a Syrian-based public company for hydrological studies.

The Yarmouk River is a tributary of the Jordan River, originating in the southeastern slopes of Mount Hermon and forming a boundary between Syria and Jordan for nearly 40 kilometres before becoming the border between the Kingdom and Israel.

Jordan urged Syria several times to stop the cultivation of crops upstream and downstream on the Yarmouk River as the farming activity slows the river's water flow and storage at the Wihdeh Dam.

"We will, again, push for banning cultivation upstream and downstream of the Wihdeh Dam... violations on the river have got to stop in order to raise the water storage at the dam this winter," Jamaani said.

Under agreements signed between the two countries, Syria's share of water from the Wihdeh Dam, which is built on the Yarmouk River, is six million cubic metres (mcm) for agricultural purposes, provided that the dam reaches its full capacity of 110mcm. The quota decreases proportionately in accordance with the volume of storage.

But for the first time since its construction three years ago, the dam held only 18mcm by April, and thus Syria's share declined to 1mcm. The neighboring country, however, has been pumping more than its allocated share to water vegetables planted all the way from downstream of Wihdeh Dam to Al Raqqad Valley, located on the banks of the Yarmouk River.

"Until the 1960s, the Yarmouk River flow used to reach 16 metres of water per second, but following the violations on the river by digging more wells and collecting floods resulting from rainwater, its flow dropped to one cubic metre per second," Jamaani noted.

Water found on Moon's surface; NASA to make announcement

NEW DELHI: India’s maiden Moon mission Chandrayaan-1 has found water on the lunar surface before the project was aborted.

Credit for this much-awaited discovery goes to NASAs Moon Minerology Mapper (M3), one of the payloads on board Chandrayaan. The Rs 386-crore craft was launched on October 22 last year and terminated on August 30 following a communication failure. One of the mission’s main goals was to sniff for water.

"It's very satisfying," said Dr Mylswamy Annadurai, the project director of Chandrayaan-1 at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bangalore. "This was one of the main objectives of Chandrayaan-1, to find evidence of water on the Moon," he told British newspaper “The Times”.

The Moon mapper also made the unexpected discovery that water may still be forming on the surface of the Moon, according to scientists familiar with the mission.

NASA will hold a press conference to brief about the new scientific findings later in the day.

Earlier, neither ISRO nor NASA spoke about the discovery. A spokesman for Brown University had also declined comment, saying there was an embargo. "It will be a major announcement of a major discovery and is something great for Chandrayaan. It will mark a major leap for India’s space programme," he had said.

An ISRO official at Sriharikota has also confirmed that a major announcement was expected on Thursday. "I too have heard something to that effect. Nothing more," he said.

The finding could now trigger another round of Moon missions, and start serious hunt for life in outer space. India has not ruled out the possibility of a manned lunar flight.

International Criminal Court Considering War Crimes Prosecution of Israeli Officer

The senior prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at The Hague told Newsweek magazine that he is considering prosecuting an Israeli reserve officer for war crimes following the issuance of the Goldstone report. The officer in question, Lt. Col. David Benjamin, served in the Military Advocate General’s office and was charged with providing approval of the selection of targets during last January’s three-week military operation in the Gaza Strip. While the ICC has not investigated Israeli officers until now because it lacks jurisdiction over citizens of states that did not sign the Rome Treaty that enabled the ICC, the prosecutor believes he has jurisdiction over Benjamin because he is a dual citizen of Israel and South Africa, and the latter is a signatory to the Treaty.

Frenetic Day at U.N.: Sarkozy Warns Iran; Ahmadinejad Fuels Walkout

A day longtime U.N. observers are calling one of the most frenzied in history ended on Wednesday with a mass walk-out of delegates when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke; a filibuster by Libyan strongman Muammar Ghaddafi; and a speech by President Obama that left some supporters of Israel angry. While Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu praised Obama for “his unequivocal support of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people,” other Israelis riled at the absolute condemnation of post-1967 communities as a step backwards, believing that a rough understanding that there would be border corrections in the final agreement was an accepted working principle on both sides. Much to his dismay, Ghaddafi’s 100-minute marathon knocked British Prime Minister Gordon Brown out of prime time. French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy warned Iran that it would be a mistake to believe the international community will sit passively by and allow it to develop nuclear weapons. A meeting of nations that contribute to the Palestinian Authority picked up $400 million in new pledges of support for the Palestinian people.

Foreign fighters penetrate into N. Afghanistan

Hundreds of foreign fighters loyal to the Taliban outfit have penetrated into Afghanistan's peaceful northern provinces, a local newspaper reported Thursday.

A senior police officer in the northern Balkh province of Mujtaba Patang, according to the daily Rah-e-Nejat, has insisted that hundreds of militants from Pakistan's lawless tribal areas have shifted to Kunduz, Baghlan and Faryab provinces in north Afghanistan.

These militants, the police officer stressed, are members of the Uzbekistan Islamic Movement fighting under Tahir Yaldash and Juma Namangani.

Kunduz, Baghlan and Faryab have been the scene of Taliban-led militancy over the past couple of months.

Rambling Kadafi Rant Gives U.N. An Earful

2009-09-23

Moammar Kadafi Wednesday suggested the United States take a cue from his governing style and make Barack Obama president for life, delivering surprisingly lavish praise for the American during the Libyan leader's first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

Kadafi, clad in a long, coffee-colored robe, gave a long, rambling address that was mainly critical and touched on everything from jet-lag - something he blamed on having to travel to New York - to the invasion of Iraq, which he called "the mother of all evils." He blasted the U.N. Security Council as an elitist organization that favors superpowers over small nations and said no country should have veto power over resolutions.

But Kadafi's comments took a sharp turn about midway through his address. Prefacing his words by saying they were a bit "sensitive," he confessed to being thrilled that Americans had elected a black man as their leader.

"We Africans are happy, proud that a son of Africa governs the United States of America," said Kadafi, whose relations with the United States have generally been sour. Even his visit to New York for this event has been fraught with controversy as his plans to stay in a lavish tent erected in a New Jersey suburb were quashed after local protests.

He then planned to stay in a tent on a property owned by Donald Trump north of Manhattan, in the town of Bedford, but the Associated Press reported Wednesday that town officials were threatening criminal action if the tent stayed there.

Kadafi alluded to the difficulties of moving around a city under air-tight security measures but said Obama, at least, offered hope for the next eight years. After that, he said, "I'm afraid we may go back to square one. We are content and happy if Obama can stay forever as the president of the United States."

It was not immediately clear what Obama's reaction was. He had left the huge hall after delivering his own speech, as had Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Kadafi joined others in applauding after Obama's speech, which he said showed that the United States had taken a turn for the better. In fact, he appreciates it so much that he urged the rest of the world to give America a break and move the United Nations elsewhere, such as Beijing or New Delhi.

"I don't think there will be any objection to that," he said, noting the expense of security.

"This place is a target," said Kadafi. "Perhaps America will be targeted by a rocket. We want to relieve America of this worry."

But he also complained about the limits placed on visitors such as himself in their movements - something he compared to being imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay - not to mention the headache of flying across continents and oceans to reach New York.

"All of you are tired, jet-lagged," he said, pointing to the audience and noting that he had been up since 4 a.m., unable to sleep because of the time zone switch, suggesting that every 50 years the U.N. location be switched to a new hemisphere.

"This is not an insult to America," he insisted. "This is a service to America."

Source: Free Internet Press.
Link: http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=22988.

Iran to ask for nuclear fuel at talks next week

By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer

Iran's president says his country will ask the six world powers at nuclear talks next week for imports of highly enriched uranium — material that the U.S. fears Tehran wants to use to arm nuclear warheads.

Iran vehemently denies having nuclear weapons aspirations and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his country was seeking to buy uranium that is highly enriched — or near that level — to fuel a small research reactor.

He also made clear that Iran is seeking uranium that is enriched only to 20 percent — the threshold for the high-enrichment level but substantially below the 90 percent-plus grade needed for nuclear warheads.

"We are interested in purchasing it, and we'd like to offer that as an issue to expand discussions on the table for the next meeting," he told the AP on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

That request could put the U.S. and its five negotiating partners in a bind at the Oct. 1 talks in Geneva. Until now, Iran has produced only low-enriched uranium, but it could use refusal of its request as a pretext to start producing high-enriched material.

Ahead of the negotiations, the foreign ministers of the six nations — the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany — were meeting Wednesday on the sidelines of the General Assembly to discuss how to get Iran to stop uranium enrichment. Russian news agencies cited an official in the Russian delegation as saying Moscow does not rule out new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

U.N. sanctions on Iran are meant to prohibit exports of sensitive nuclear material and technology. The international community is unlikely to give Iran enriched uranium closer to weapons-grade level at a time when it wants Tehran to stop enrichment.

In the enrichment process, uranium oxide is processed into uranium hexafluoride, which then is spun to varying degrees of enrichment, with low-enriched uranium used for nuclear fuel and upper-end high-enriched uranium used for nuclear weapons.

Security Council refusal to waive the sanctions could give Tehran a plausible reason to turn to its own facilities and produce high-enriched uranium.

Since Iran's program was discovered seven years ago, it has put thousands of centrifuges online to churn out enriched uranium. But the International Atomic Energy Agency says the more than a ton of enriched material it has amassed is all below the 5 percent level and well below the 20 percent highly enriched mark.

Still Iran's accumulation of well over 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of low-enriched uranium gives it more than enough material to produce enough weapons-grade uranium through further enrichment for one nuclear weapon.

Ahmadinejad, who has ruled out any compromise on enrichment at the Geneva talks, touched on the issue of enrichment levels in his comments to the AP, saying Iran was enriching only "to the grade of 3 1/2 percent ... basically for our power plants."

Such low-enriched uranium can only be used for nuclear fuel — something Iran says it will need as it expands an ambitious civilian nuclear network.

But low-enriched uranium can be processed reasonably simply into higher grades, all the way up to weapons grade, stoking international fears of Tehran's ultimate aims — and three sets of Security Council sanctions since 2006 meant to crimp Iran's program.

Tehran's small and creaky research reactor has not figured highly in international concerns. But — unlike Iran's planned reactor network that Tehran says will be fueled on enriched uranium below 5 percent — it runs on fuel enriched to just below the 20 percent, highly enriched threshold.

In announcing the import request, Ahmadinejad suggested the more than 30-year-old 5-megawatt reactor, which Tehran says is needed for medical and scientific research, had used up its reserves of 19.75-level fuel, adding "we cannot produce that (level) at this moment."

"It appears that fuel is running out," said David Albright, whose Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security has closely tracked Iran's nuclear program for signs of covert proliferation. "But they can't buy any because of the Security Council sanctions, so they would need an exemption."

Such a waiver is unlikely, said a senior Western diplomat whose country is on the 35-nation IAEA board and who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.

But refusal could provide Iran with a pretext to reconfigure its enrichment program at the central city of Natanz to move to the next level — producing uranium at or near the highly enriched 20 percent level.

Albright said even producing the relatively small amount of more highly enriched material that the Tehran reactor would need would be of concern because it would increase Tehran's know-how — and make producing weapons-grade material easier, should Iran choose to go that route.

"The international community is in a bind," he said. "It's not in their interest to make exemptions to the (U.N) resolutions that Iran refuses to abide by.

"At the same time, they don't want enrichment at Natanz to go above 5 percent."

Of additional concern, he said, would be the fact that the Iranians would be expected to turn any more highly enriched fuel into uranium metal, further perfecting that technology.

He said the Tehran reactor uses enriched uranium metal as fuel. But weapons-grade uranium is also turned into uranium metal — and then shaped into warhead form.