Iran said on Monday it could endorse a U.N. deal for it to send potential nuclear fuel abroad for processing, the first official indication that Tehran could respond positively to the outline agreement. The remark by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was the most positive yet from a senior Iranian official and hinted at a shift in backroom debate between hardliners and moderates in the faction-ridden Iranian leadership on whether to accept the deal. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said it was urgent for world powers to make a lasting deal with Tehran to avert an Israeli strike over its disputed nuclear program.
The remark by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was the most positive yet from a senior Iranian official and hinted at a shift in backroom debate between hardliners and moderates in the faction-ridden Iranian leadership on whether to accept the deal.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said it was urgent for world powers to make a lasting deal with Tehran to avert an Israeli strike over its disputed nuclear program.
Just before international inspectors on Sunday were guided for the first time into an Iranian nuclear enrichment plant whose existence was a state secret until recently, the speaker of Iran's Parliament warned his countrymen to beware of American efforts to "cheat" Iran out of the nuclear fuel that has become the country's currency in reasserting its power. In Washington, the concern is precisely the reverse. Here, even some of President Obama's aides are wary that Iran is setting a trap, trying to turn the administration's signature offer of engagement into a process of endless negotiations. They are acutely aware of the fact that the clock is ticking: While talks continue, Iran is steadily enriching more uranium, the fuel it would need if it ever decided to sprint for the bomb, much as Israel and India did 30 years ago, followed by Pakistan and North Korea. That struggle -- pitting Iran's fears of falling for a Western conspiracy to neutralize its "strategic reserve" against the West's fears of being lured into an Iranian plot to buy time for a secret nuclear bomb program -- lies at the heart of the complex set of moves and countermoves now being played out around the globe.
In Washington, the concern is precisely the reverse. Here, even some of President Obama's aides are wary that Iran is setting a trap, trying to turn the administration's signature offer of engagement into a process of endless negotiations. They are acutely aware of the fact that the clock is ticking: While talks continue, Iran is steadily enriching more uranium, the fuel it would need if it ever decided to sprint for the bomb, much as Israel and India did 30 years ago, followed by Pakistan and North Korea.
That struggle -- pitting Iran's fears of falling for a Western conspiracy to neutralize its "strategic reserve" against the West's fears of being lured into an Iranian plot to buy time for a secret nuclear bomb program -- lies at the heart of the complex set of moves and countermoves now being played out around the globe.
South Korea will make a small grant of humanitarian aid to North Korea, ending its suspension of handouts after a series of conciliatory gestures from its destitute rival, an official said on Monday. As well as reaching out to the South, the North has also sent a senior nuclear envoy to the United States for talks that could revive dormant discussions on ending Pyongyang's atomic ambitions in return for massive aid. Officials said they had no intention at present to fully restore aid, once equal to about five percent of the North's annual economy. Analysts said the aid signals to Pyongyang that more could be coming its way if the North continues reaching out to its neighbour on the heavily armed peninsula.
As well as reaching out to the South, the North has also sent a senior nuclear envoy to the United States for talks that could revive dormant discussions on ending Pyongyang's atomic ambitions in return for massive aid.
Officials said they had no intention at present to fully restore aid, once equal to about five percent of the North's annual economy. Analysts said the aid signals to Pyongyang that more could be coming its way if the North continues reaching out to its neighbour on the heavily armed peninsula.
Health and law enforcement officials around the nation are scrambling to figure out how to regulate medical marijuana now that the federal government has decided it will no longer prosecute legal users or providers. For years, since the first medical marijuana laws were passed in the mid-1990s, many local and state governments could be confident, if not complacent, knowing that marijuana would be kept in check because it remained illegal under federal law, and that hard-nosed federal prosecutors were not about to forget it. But with the Justice Department's announcement last week that it would not prosecute people who use marijuana for medical purposes in states where it is legal, local and state officials say they will now have to take on the job themselves.
For years, since the first medical marijuana laws were passed in the mid-1990s, many local and state governments could be confident, if not complacent, knowing that marijuana would be kept in check because it remained illegal under federal law, and that hard-nosed federal prosecutors were not about to forget it.
But with the Justice Department's announcement last week that it would not prosecute people who use marijuana for medical purposes in states where it is legal, local and state officials say they will now have to take on the job themselves.
The escalating instability in Afghanistan, corruption and war in Africa, organized crime in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and cartel wars in Latin America are all contributing to the flow of illegal drugs into Europe. New figures on the state of the drugs problem in Europe will be released by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in the first week of November. The figures, which in recent years have seen stabilization in addiction figures and even reversal of some drug trends, are likely to be impacted by increasingly fluid security situations around the world. The continuing instability in Afghanistan remains a huge concern on many levels, including the effect it is having on Europe's illegal drug trade. The seemingly unstoppable flow of heroin and opium out of the country feeds the habits of an estimated 15 million addicts worldwide, with Europe, Russia and Iran consuming half of Afghanistan's supply. With Afghanistan producing 92 percent of the world's opium and trafficking the equivalent of 3,500 tons of opium per year in the form of heroin, the war-torn Central Asian country is Europe's biggest pusher. As the security situation worsens and the focus of Western strategists remains largely on a military defeat of the Taliban rather than a coordinated attempt to both destroy the insurgents' main cash crop while providing poor famers with an alternative source of income, experts believe Europe's dependency on Afghanistan is unlikely to wane any time soon. The situation in countries surrounding Afghanistan is also likely to keep the flood gates open.
New figures on the state of the drugs problem in Europe will be released by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in the first week of November. The figures, which in recent years have seen stabilization in addiction figures and even reversal of some drug trends, are likely to be impacted by increasingly fluid security situations around the world.
The continuing instability in Afghanistan remains a huge concern on many levels, including the effect it is having on Europe's illegal drug trade. The seemingly unstoppable flow of heroin and opium out of the country feeds the habits of an estimated 15 million addicts worldwide, with Europe, Russia and Iran consuming half of Afghanistan's supply. With Afghanistan producing 92 percent of the world's opium and trafficking the equivalent of 3,500 tons of opium per year in the form of heroin, the war-torn Central Asian country is Europe's biggest pusher.
As the security situation worsens and the focus of Western strategists remains largely on a military defeat of the Taliban rather than a coordinated attempt to both destroy the insurgents' main cash crop while providing poor famers with an alternative source of income, experts believe Europe's dependency on Afghanistan is unlikely to wane any time soon. The situation in countries surrounding Afghanistan is also likely to keep the flood gates open.
On the firefly platform on sunny goodge street Violent hash-smoker shook a chocolate machine Bobbed in an eating scene Smashing into neon streets in their stillness Smearing their eyes on the crazy kali goddess Listenin' to sounds of mingus mellow fantastic "My, my", they sigh "My, my", they sigh
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - The Big Mac, long a symbol of globalization, has become the latest victim of this tiny island nation's overexposure to the world financial crisis. Iceland's three McDonald's restaurants -- all in the capital Reykjavik -- will close next weekend, as the franchise owner gives in to falling profits caused by the collapse in the Icelandic krona. "The economic situation has just made it too expensive for us," Magnus Ogmundsson, the managing director of Lyst Hr., McDonald's franchise holder in Iceland, told the Associated Press by telephone on Monday. Lyst was bound by McDonald's requirement that it import all the goods required for its restaurants -- from packaging to meat and cheeses -- from Germany. Costs had doubled over the past year because of the fall in the krona and high import tariffs on imported goods, Ogmundsson said, making it impossible for the company to raise prices further and remain competitive with competitors that use locally sourced produce.
"The economic situation has just made it too expensive for us," Magnus Ogmundsson, the managing director of Lyst Hr., McDonald's franchise holder in Iceland, told the Associated Press by telephone on Monday.
Lyst was bound by McDonald's requirement that it import all the goods required for its restaurants -- from packaging to meat and cheeses -- from Germany.
Costs had doubled over the past year because of the fall in the krona and high import tariffs on imported goods, Ogmundsson said, making it impossible for the company to raise prices further and remain competitive with competitors that use locally sourced produce.
La información que ha comenzado a circular apunta al abandono de un efectivo programa de conservación y mantenimiento de las facilidades. Se ha señalado que en el día de ayer se realizaban labores de reparación en los desatendidos tanques para corregir una filtración de combustible. Cuando la situación se hizo crítica, los directivos de la petrolera desalojaron a todo el personal conscientes de la grave situación que estaba ocurriendo y el peligro de la misma para el personal y la comunidad.
My translation - Information has begun circulating about the abandonment of an effective conservation and facility maintenance program. It was pointed out that repair work was being carried out yesterday to correct a fuel leak on unattended tanks. When the situation became critical, the company directives cleared out all who were cognizant of the severity of the situation and of the danger it posed for the personnel and the community.
Sounds eminently plausible to me. "Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne
Amnesty International is accusing Israel of pumping disproportionate amounts of drinking water from an aquifer it controls in the West Bank, depriving local Palestinians of their fair share. The London-based human rights group also said in a report to be released Tuesday, that Israel has blocked infrastructure projects that would improve existing water supplies to Palestinians -- both in the West Bank and those living in the Gaza Strip.... Israelis use more than four times the amount of water per person on average than do Palestinians, whose consumption falls far below the minimum amount recommended by the World Health Organization, the report said. The report especially focuses on the so-called Mountain Aquifer in the West Bank. It says that Israel uses more than 80 percent of water drawn from the aquifer and while the Jewish state has other water sources, the aquifer is the West Bank's sole supply of water. As a result, the 450,000 Israelis who live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem use more water than the 2.3 million Palestinian residents, Amnesty said.
The London-based human rights group also said in a report to be released Tuesday, that Israel has blocked infrastructure projects that would improve existing water supplies to Palestinians -- both in the West Bank and those living in the Gaza Strip.... Israelis use more than four times the amount of water per person on average than do Palestinians, whose consumption falls far below the minimum amount recommended by the World Health Organization, the report said.
The report especially focuses on the so-called Mountain Aquifer in the West Bank. It says that Israel uses more than 80 percent of water drawn from the aquifer and while the Jewish state has other water sources, the aquifer is the West Bank's sole supply of water.
As a result, the 450,000 Israelis who live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem use more water than the 2.3 million Palestinian residents, Amnesty said.
An activist in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Eda Haredit community was conditionally released from prison Monday, a day after his arrest for allegedly spraying an ultra-Orthodox woman with tear gas in the capital's Mea She'arim neighborhood. Yoel Kraus was arrested after the woman filed a police complaint. The alleged attack occured about two weeks ago, during the Sukkot holiday, as the woman was walking on a "men only" sidewalk, and refused Kraus' demand that she move to the women's side. The woman did not require medical attention. According to an agreement reached with the police, Kraus is to spend five days under house arrest at a location outside of Jerusalem and will not be allowed to return to the city for two weeks. He will then be prohibited from participating in public protests or public events for 30 days.
Yoel Kraus was arrested after the woman filed a police complaint. The alleged attack occured about two weeks ago, during the Sukkot holiday, as the woman was walking on a "men only" sidewalk, and refused Kraus' demand that she move to the women's side.
The woman did not require medical attention. According to an agreement reached with the police, Kraus is to spend five days under house arrest at a location outside of Jerusalem and will not be allowed to return to the city for two weeks. He will then be prohibited from participating in public protests or public events for 30 days.
You can chart the descent. keep to the Fen Causeway
If you've been diagnosed "probable" or "presumed" 2009 H1N1 or "swine flu" in recent months, you may be surprised to know this: odds are you didn't have H1N1 flu.... CBS News learned that the decision to stop counting H1N1 flu cases was made so hastily that states weren't given the opportunity to provide input. Instead, on July 24, the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists, CSTE, issued the following notice to state public health officials on behalf of the CDC: "Attached are the Q&As that will be posted on the CDC website tomorrow explaining why CDC is no longer reporting case counts for novel H1N1. CDC would have liked to have run these by you for input but unfortunately there was not enough time before these needed to be posted (emphasis added)." When CDC did not provide us with the material, we filed a Freedom of Information request with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). More than two months later, the request has not been fulfilled. We also asked CDC for state-by-state test results prior to halting of testing and tracking, but CDC was again, initially, unresponsive.... While we waited for CDC to provide the data, which it eventually did, we asked all 50 states for their statistics on state lab-confirmed H1N1 prior to the halt of individual testing and counting in July. The results reveal a pattern that surprised a number of health care professionals we consulted. The vast majority of cases were negative for H1N1 as well as seasonal flu, despite the fact that many states were specifically testing patients deemed to be most likely to have H1N1 flu, based on symptoms and risk factors, such as travel to Mexico.... It's unknown what patients who tested negative for flu were actually afflicted with since the illness was not otherwise determined. Health experts say it's assumed the patients had some sort of cold or upper respiratory infection that is just not influenza. With most cases diagnosed solely on symptoms and risk factors, the H1N1 flu epidemic may seem worse than it is. For example, on Sept. 22, this alarming headline came from Georgetown University in Washington D.C.: "H1N1 Flu Infects Over 250 Georgetown Students." H1N1 flu can be deadly and an outbreak of 250 students would be an especially troubling cluster. However, the number of sick students came not from lab-confirmed tests but from "estimates" made by counting "students who went to the Student Health Center with flu symptoms, students who called the H1N1 hotline or the Health Center's doctor-on-call, and students who went to the hospital's emergency room." Without lab testing, it's impossible to know how many of the students actually had H1N1 flu. But the statistical trend indicates it was likely much fewer than 250.....
CBS News learned that the decision to stop counting H1N1 flu cases was made so hastily that states weren't given the opportunity to provide input. Instead, on July 24, the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists, CSTE, issued the following notice to state public health officials on behalf of the CDC:
"Attached are the Q&As that will be posted on the CDC website tomorrow explaining why CDC is no longer reporting case counts for novel H1N1. CDC would have liked to have run these by you for input but unfortunately there was not enough time before these needed to be posted (emphasis added)."
When CDC did not provide us with the material, we filed a Freedom of Information request with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). More than two months later, the request has not been fulfilled. We also asked CDC for state-by-state test results prior to halting of testing and tracking, but CDC was again, initially, unresponsive....
While we waited for CDC to provide the data, which it eventually did, we asked all 50 states for their statistics on state lab-confirmed H1N1 prior to the halt of individual testing and counting in July. The results reveal a pattern that surprised a number of health care professionals we consulted. The vast majority of cases were negative for H1N1 as well as seasonal flu, despite the fact that many states were specifically testing patients deemed to be most likely to have H1N1 flu, based on symptoms and risk factors, such as travel to Mexico....
It's unknown what patients who tested negative for flu were actually afflicted with since the illness was not otherwise determined. Health experts say it's assumed the patients had some sort of cold or upper respiratory infection that is just not influenza.
With most cases diagnosed solely on symptoms and risk factors, the H1N1 flu epidemic may seem worse than it is. For example, on Sept. 22, this alarming headline came from Georgetown University in Washington D.C.: "H1N1 Flu Infects Over 250 Georgetown Students."
H1N1 flu can be deadly and an outbreak of 250 students would be an especially troubling cluster. However, the number of sick students came not from lab-confirmed tests but from "estimates" made by counting "students who went to the Student Health Center with flu symptoms, students who called the H1N1 hotline or the Health Center's doctor-on-call, and students who went to the hospital's emergency room."
Without lab testing, it's impossible to know how many of the students actually had H1N1 flu. But the statistical trend indicates it was likely much fewer than 250.....
