Iran to hold three-day war games: report
The ISNA news agency said both Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its regular army would take part in the drills."Maneuvers with the participation of anti-aircraft defense systems will be held for three days starting Monday," it said, without giving further details.The English-language Iran Daily said the aim was to maintain and upgrade the combat readiness of relevant units as well as to "test new weapons and defense plans."Speculation about a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has risen since Israel staged an air force exercise in June which was reported to be a simulation of a strike against Iran. Iran says it would hit back if attacked.An Iranian commander last week said the Iranian air force would hold exercises during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began in Iran on September 2, but it was not immediately clear whether he was referring to the same drills as the ISNA report.Alongside the regular army, Iran has a Revolutionary Guards force viewed as guardians of the Islamic ruling system. The Guards have a separate command and their own air, sea and land units, but often work with the regular military.Iran has dismissed reports of possible U.S. or Israeli plans to strike Iran, but says it would respond by attacking U.S. interests and Israel if any such assault was made.
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSDAH72079920080907
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QUAKEWATCH:SAN FRANCISCO:Quake Jolts Bay Area; Centered Near Danville
Hurricane Ike Strengthens to Category 4, Raises Fears From Caribbean to Gulf
To read more go to:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,418142,00.html
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Growing Ike nears Turks and Caicos, south Bahamas
Shopkeepers and homeowners covered windows with plywood. Boats were hauled ashore or secured with multiple anchors."I am very, very nervous," said John Moore, a fishing boat captain, as he tied down his 61-foot vessel in a Providenciales cove. "It looks like it might go right over us, so that's not a good picture."The outer-bands of the storm brought fierce, palm-bending winds and a scattering of rain. Still, a people lingered in the darkened streets or outside a couple of convenience stores that stayed open for last-minute shoppers. People began to trickle into a makeshift shelter in a vocational school in the Five Cays neighborhood, a poor area that experienced heavy flooding during Hanna."Once we get the fury of this thing, believe me, you will see this open up," said Colin Bascomb, the school's principal.Ike's eye was about 60 miles (105 kilometers) east of Grand Turk Island Saturday evening. It was moving west-southwest about 12 mph (18 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the storm's maximum sustained winds were 135 mph (215 kph).The governments of the Bahamas and Cuba issued hurricane warnings.The approach of the hurricane also raised alarm in Haiti, where aid officials feared it could worsen deadly flooding. And Cuba, still recovering from a devastating hit by Category 4 Hurricane Gustav last month, was directly in Ike's projected path.Forecasters said Ike was expected to reach the northern coast of eastern Cuba Sunday night or early Monday. Cuba's government warned people to be ready to take emergency action, but hotels said they had not yet started evacuating foreign guests.The storm was not expected to affect Saturday's World Cup soccer qualifier between the United States and Cuba in Havana.U.S. military commanders at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base in southeast Cuba were coordinating storm preparations and securing anything that might be carried by the wind, said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Lamb. The U.S. base holds some 255 men suspected on links to the Taliban and al-Qaida in hurricane-proof cells.Turks and Caicos Premier Michael Misick said his government opened shelters throughout the islands and brought in an emergency food shipment."We're still praying that the storm will make a northerly turn and we will be spared, even a little bit," Misick told The Associated Press.Turks and Caicos and the neighboring Bahamas are close to sea level and are vulnerable to flooding from rain and storm surge.To reach Haitian immigrants, many of them illegal, the government broadcast emergency messages in Creole and told law enforcement figures not to enforce immigration laws during the storm."At a time of disaster, the last thing on our mind is whether you are legal or not," Misick said. "The important thing is to save lives."The airport in Providenciales closed after thousands of tourists and longtime residents of the typically tranquil island chain evacuated.In the Bahamas, the government urged tourists to evacuate the sparsely populated southeastern islands and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force dispatched marines to bring food and water to the eastern islands of Mayaguana and San Salvador.Turks and Caicos, a British territory, was pummeled for four days by Hurricane Hanna earlier this week. It caused widespread flooding and some damage, but did far worse when it drifted toward Haiti as a tropical storm, creating floods that had killed 166 people by Saturday.
Dennis Freeburg, who lives in Providenciales, managed to get a flight out to Florida, but he plans to return to the island chain."This is just ... the bad part of living down in the Caribbean, you've got to deal with the storms," the 46-year-old said as he waited to board a flight to Miami with his miniature dachshund, Rue.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tropical_weather
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QUAKEWATCH:Quake rattles Afghanistan, no casualties
Rice:`Time isn't right for the Russia agreement'
As in the days of Noah...
Georgia war risks derailing long-term EU-Russia ties
But Russia has recovered from the state of near economic collapse it was in when it signed the first deal in 1994 and, flush with dollars from high oil prices, it now sees the European Union as only one source of potential investment."It is unsettling, it's not a short-term issue but long-term investments in Russia are contingent on an understanding of Europe as a main trading partner. Over time, it will affect sentiment," said one European diplomat.European Commission figures show that while EU investment in Russia reached 18 billion euros ($26 billion) in 2007-three-quarters of the total invested in Russia that year-just 1 billion traveled the other way.But the trade balance was tilted in Russia's favor.Some 155 billion euros in goods and services, including energy, traveled westwards and 107 billion euros shifted eastwards.
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL572355820080906
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Venezuela to host Russia navy exercise in Caribbean
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China to press N.Korea on nuclear dispute: U.S. envoy
Iranian women battle the system
Restrictions
Women in Iran have severely restricted freedom of choice, and no equality with men.A married woman must obtain her husband's permission before taking a job outside their home.A man may have up to four wives. A woman may not have up to four husbands.Women must observe the Islamic dress code - showing as little hair as possible, and their arms, their legs and their feet must be covered.There is no protection against so-called honour killings for women who are raped; a husband - or a father - who kills the rape victim cannot be prosecuted and sent to jail for murder."This is inhuman," a law professor at Tehran University, Rosa Gharachorloo, told me.Most of the people I have spoken to here agree: they believe rape victims should be comforted, not killed.Women can be stopped and inspected by Gasht-e-Ershad, Ministry of Islamic Guidance patrols.They have vehicles that look like police cars. They are often seen outside main metro stations in Teheran, checking women for hair or dress infringements.They also go to parks, to ensure that couples sitting or walking together are married, engaged or related.
Significant victory
Feminists in Iran celebrated a significant victory for their cause at the end of August.In the Majlis - the Iranian parliament - legislation that might have encouraged polygamy was sent back to committee for more discussion.Article 23 of the Family Support Bill would have allowed men to marry a second wife without the permission of the first.Although polygamy is legal in Iran, it is not widely practised and, Rosa Gharaachorloo told me, not generally accepted in Iranian culture.So, opposition to the bill was on principle, not because it is a widespread phenomenon. The same is the case with honour killings - they are not common here, but women's rights campaigners believe rape victims should nevertheless be protected by law.The polygamy article may have been shelved indefinitely - the campaign against it revealed an improbable alliance of opponents.As well as feminists, the speaker of the Majlis expressed his reservations.And Ayatollah Yusef Sanai, a leading source of what is known as "emulation" of the Prophet and his teachings, wrote on his website that a second marriage without the permission of the first wife is "harram, a sin, a religious offence... contrary to the concept of justice prescribed by the Koran".
He went on: "I pray that such a decision that is oppressive to women will not be made into law... God forbid that the Majlis should add another problem to the existing problems of women."
Women's rights campaigners welcomed that strong and unexpected acknowledgment of their complaints.
Iran rejects French warning it risks Israeli strike
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSDAH62808020080906
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Hu urges flexibility to break Iran nuclear impasse
Rice seeks closer Maghreb counter-terror links
Rice praises India nuclear trade waiver
India says nuclear suppliers' approval "momentous"
HONOUR KILLING WATCH:Pakistan police urged to probe 'honor killings'
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-Police say they have opened an investigation into the "honor killings" of five women in southwestern Pakistan.The women were allegedly shot and then buried alive one month ago in Baluchistan province after several insisted on marrying men of their own choosing.
The brutality of the crime and foot-dragging by police sparked outrage in Pakistan, especially after a lawmaker defended the killings in Parliament last week as part of tribal traditions.A provincial court official, Amanullah Kinrani, said Monday that the police have been told to investigate the crime and that their work has already begun.About 60 human rights activists, meanwhile, have protested outside Parliament.Some shouted "Burying women alive is no honor!" Others denounced lawmakers who have defended the practice.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/01/pakistan.honor.killings.ap/
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At least six killed by car-bomb in Pakistan
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSP9924120080906
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QUAKEWATCH:Quake in Pakistan, no word on damage
Rice Sees 'Good Way Forward' After Pakistan Election
"Obviously the civilian government of Pakistan is something we have welcomed after the free and fair election and now with a new president I think we have a good way forward," Rice said. "I've been impressed by some of the things he has said about the challenges that Pakistan faces, about the centrality of fighting terrorism, about the fact that the terrorism fight is Pakistan's fight and also his very strong words of friendship and alliance with the United States."Zardari comes into office at a time when the Bush administration is pressuring Pakistan to eradicate Taliban and al-Qaida havens near its border with Afghanistan. Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, said President Bush looks forward to working with Zardari, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other government officials on bilateral issues, including counterterrorism and making sure Pakistan has a stable and secure economy.Zardari wed Bhutto in an arranged marriage in 1987. Many Pakistanis call him "Mr. 10 Percent," a reference to accusations he pocketed commissions on government contracts during her two terms as prime minister. After Bhutto was killed last year, Zardari returned from exile, took control of her party and led it to victory in the February elections
Bhutto's widower goes from prison to presidency
Scientists Nearly Spot Milky Way's Massive Black Hole
Blessing and a curse
Since our own galaxy's apparent supermassive black hole is the closest of its kind to us, it offers a unique chance to study how these objects behave and affect galaxies."This is the best black hole candidate that we have anywhere in the universe, the best chance we have to observe the kind of signatures we would expect around the immediate vicinity of a black hole," said study leader Sheperd Doeleman of MIT. "One of the problems with looking at this particular source is that we have to look through our galaxy. It's a blessing that it's this close, but it's a curse because it's obscured by gas and dust."In order to bypass the Milky Way's shroud of gas and dust, the researchers looked at 1.3 mm radio light, which escapes the fog better than longer-wavelength light.They combined observations taken from observatories in Hawaii, Arizona and California in a technique called Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to observe the galactic center with some of the highest resolution ever achieved in astronomy — the equivalent of a baseball seen on the surface of the moon, 240,000 miles away.The researchers observed a bright source of light known as Sagittarius A* ("A-star"), thought to mark a black hole roughly 4 million times the mass of the sun.The mass is determined by looking at the effect of the colossal object on stars that orbit near to the galactic center.The team found that Sagittarius A* has a diameter equal to about one-third the distance between Earth and the sun, or about 30 million miles (50 million km).This small size indicates the mass in the galactic center is even denser than previous measurements found, which supports the idea that the object hidden there must be a black hole, because current theories have no other reasonable explanation for describing so much mass packed into such a small space.
ESA spacecraft completes flyby of Steins asteroid
On the Net:
European Space Agency: http://www.esa.int/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080905/ap_on_sc/sci_asteroid_flyby
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Hanna Closing in on the Carolinas
The storm surge of 3 to 6 feet above normal tides could cause coastal flooding and beach erosion, especially along the Outer Banks, Long Island and Cape Cod. North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine have declared states of emergency. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford urged people in two northern counties to leave flood-prone areas and mobile homes by this afternoon. Associated Press reports preparations are underway in New England. Workers from Washington D.C. to Providence, R.I., cleared storm drains and stocked up on sandbags, while officials urged residents to stock up on supplies. "If nothing else it's a good dress rehearsal for Ike if Ike were to come," said Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
To read more go to:
http://www.accuweather.com/news-top-headline.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&date=2008-09-05_16:25
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Nearly 500 dead in flooded Haitian town: police
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TERROR WATCH:Al Qaeda video vows more Denmark attacks
ISLAMIC WATCH:Thousands protest against Indian rule in Kashmir
South Korea says critical moment for North nuclear deal
India pledges seen inadequate for nuclear deal
Rice set for historic Libya visit, meeting Gaddafi
US navy ship steams into port where Russian troops stationed
Washington has also pledged one billion dollars in aid to help Georgia rebuild after Russia pounded many of its military bases to dust and targeted important infrastructure.The brief conflict has left thousands of Georgians homeless, including many driven from South Ossetia and the surrounding Russian buffer zone inside Georgia itself.Georgian officials have accused the Russian-backed Ossetian militias of “ethnically cleansing” remote villages, while Moscow has charged Tbilisi with “genocide” for its heavy handed attack on the breakaway region last month. By James Hider in Tbilisi http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4682003.ece
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ISRAEL of the CAUCASUS?
Iran: Citizens are not allowed to freely choose names for new born babies
Snow in Kenya-Africa
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=91d_1220555596
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FLOODS DISASTER WATCH:Don't go home yet, Indian state warns flood victims
To read more go to:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSBOM10775720080905
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Aid Can’t Reach Starving Haitian City
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Haiti-Floods.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
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