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Train crash in U.S. releases flammable chemical, people told to stay home
The Associated Press
Published: January 15, 2007

IRVINE, Kentucky: Four runaway rail cars struck two parked locomotives in east-central Kentucky on Monday, causing a fire spilling a chemical that prompted a limited evacuation and orders that others stay indoors.

The crash released butyl acetate, a flammable liquid, from a burning tanker car, authorities said. The fire produced a huge column of black smoke, and a section of the Kentucky River caught fire. No injuries were reported, authorities said.

"Emergency crews are attempting to extinguish that flame," said Kentucky State Police Maj. Lisa Rudzinski. "That is a toxic cloud as a result of that butyl acetate."

The burning tanker car contained about 30,000 gallons (113,000 liters) of butyl acetate, said CSX spokesman Gary Sease. Butyl acetate is commonly used as a solvent or as a synthetic fruit flavoring.

Police ordered people in the immediate area to evacuate, and people in others part of Estill County, Kentucky, were told to stay indoors, keep their windows closed and to put towels under doors.

Four CSX rail cars left their track shortly before noon and went onto a main rail line, traveling several miles (kilometers) before hitting the parked CSX locomotives, Sease said.

Both the locomotives and rail cars were unmanned, Rudzinski said.

Train crash in U.S. releases flammable chemical, people told to stay home (http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/15/america/NA-GEN-US-Train-Crash.php)

 Hindus Want to ´Reclaim´ Swastika
20:14 Jan 15, '07 / 25 Tevet 5767

(IsraelNN.com) While Germany is pressing ahead with plans to ban Holocaust denial across the European Union, Buddhists and Hindus in Britain are starting a campaign to reclaim the swastika from its Nazi associations.

Hindu Forum spokesman Ramesh Kallidai said the swastika had been a Hindu good luck charm for centuries. His group will stage public awareness workshops across the UK and lobby politicians in an attempt to educate the public and prevent a ban, he said.

"It's the second most sacred symbol in the Hindu tradition which has been used for 5,000 years to ward off evil," Kallidai said.

Hindus Want to ´Reclaim´ Swastika (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119527)

 Fatah Accuses Hamas of Plotting to Assasinate Abbas
00:41 Jan 16, '07 / 26 Tevet 5767

(IsraelNN.com) The Palestinian Authority's Fatah faction on Monday accused rivals Hamas of plotting to assassinate a number of its senior figures, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Gaza-strongman Mohammad Dahlan.

Abdel Hakim Awad, a Fatah spokesman in the Gaza Strip, said a network of tunnels was discovered inside Gaza - some starting inside mosques. The tunnels were laden with explosives, he said, a new development in a violent conflict between Abbas’ Fatah and the Islamic Hamas, which controls the government.

"Hamas have been lately working in a systematic and well-planned manner to complete these diggings and also stored large quantities of explosive devices in the Salah al-Din area in the Strip as well as in the Jabaliya refugee camp," Awad said.

Fatah Accuses Hamas of Plotting to Assasinate Abbas  (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119543)

 Secret Talks with Syria
05:15 Jan 16, '07 / 26 Tevet 5767

(IsraelNN.com) Israeli and Syrian officials, in a series of meetings that took place between 2004 and 2006, reached an understanding for a peace deal between the two countries. Under the agreement, Syria would withdraw support from terrorist organizations Hizbollah and Hamas, distance itself from Iran, and help secure a stable Iraq. Israel would help Syria normalize relations with the United States. The Golan Heights would be demilitarized and mostly become a park, accessible to both Israelis and Syrians. Israel would retain access to the headwaters of the Jordan Rivar and Lake Kineret.

Syria is seen as being on the verge of economic collapse, which would endanger the Assad regime. Israel and Syria are officially at war, though the current cease-fire has lasted for decades.

Secret Talks with Syria  (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119550)

Iran wants 10 nuke reactors ‘to produce electricity’

In press conference, Tehran government spokesman says his country needs at least 3,000 centrifuges for production of nuclear fuel
Dudi Cohen

Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham gave a press conference Monday in which he responded to the question of what operations were taking place at the Natanz nuclear facility.

"We are moving toward production of nuclear fuel which needs 3,000 centrifuges and more than that ... This plan is going ahead and is moving toward completion," Elham said.

Elham added, “Iran needs an electricity supply of 10 thousand megawatts by nuclear energy, and in order to supply that, we need 10 nuclear plants.”

Elham reiterated Iran’s official stance, saying that its nuclear activities were being supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

However, Elham repeated a threat, made by other Iranian officials in the past, to review its position over nuclear cooperation if pushed.

"We have not pulled out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But if they (the West) try to create obstacles then we will change our path as well," he said.

According to him, Iran was expected to announce further progress in its nuclear plans towards next month when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was expected to declare the successful completion of another step in the uranium enriching process.

In a direct response to the United Nations Security Council’s decision on 23 December to impose sanctions on the country, Iran said it would start installing 3,000 centrifuges, which experts say could make enough uranium for power plant fuel, or one bomb within a year.

But western diplomats and analysts had previously told Reuters Iran appeared not to have begun installing the machines for planned "industrial scale" output of enriched uranium.

Iran wants 10 nuke reactors ‘to produce electricity’ (http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3352505,00.html)

 Iran, Nicaragua to stay as allies forever: President Ahmadinejad
Managua, Jan 15, IRNA

Iran-Nicaragua-President
Visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, Sunday expressed confidence Iran and Nicaragua will remain allies forever.

The president's remarks were made during an official ceremony Sunday night awarding him Nicaragua's highest medal of honor, the Liberty Medal, and the Ruben Dario Medal in the field of art.

He left Managua for Quito, Ecuador, later in the night.

The president, accompanied by a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday morning on the first leg of a tour of three Latin American states. He and his delegation left Caracas for the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, Sunday morning.

Addressing well-wishers in Managua, the president said the peoples of Iran and Nicaragua were determined to put an end to the backwardness that grips peoples of the region as well as reinforce their unity and determination to achieve progress.

Felicitating President Daniel Ortega's comeback in Nicaraguan politics, President Ahmadinejad said his recent election is a testament to the Nicaraguan spirit of independence and quest for power.

"You have proved that you are a freedom-loving nation which opposes oppression," the Iranian president told the cheering people in Managua, assuring them that Iran would be with them in their struggle for all time.

President Ahmadinejad said he felt he "was not a stranger" in Nicaragua despite the distance between the two countries.

Stressing that global imperialism was against the progress of nations, President Ahmadinejad voiced Tehran's readiness to share its experiences and capabilities in various fields with Managua.

He expressed the wish that global imperialism would one day end and that the two revolutionary nations of Iran and Nicaragua would stay as allies and achieve their goals.

Meanwhile, President Ahmadinejad's remarks indicating confidence Managua would be able to solve its problems with the help of Tehran was highly welcomed by President Ortega.

Iran, Nicaragua to stay as allies forever: President Ahmadinejad (http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-203/0701158032113243.htm)

 Presidents of Iran, Bolivia ask for higher level ties
Quito, Jan 16, IRNA

Iran-Bolivia-Meet
IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Monday in a meeting with his Bolivian counterpart was agreed with him on need for higher level of bilateral ties.

According to IRNA's dispatched reporter to Quito, during the meeting at residence of the Bolivian President Evo Morales, the IRI President said that the developments in Bolivia are towards advancement and long strides have been taken in that respect.

Ahmadinejad added, "Tehran is ready to transfer its experience and expertise in various fields, particularly in agriculture, oil, and gas technologies to Bolivia.

He referred to the academic potentials in Iran for improving the technical knowledge of Bolivia experts and for assisting the entire independent countries in their will to maintain their national prestige and independence, in accordance with our Islamic teachings and duties.

He also announced Iran's readiness for bilateral and multilateral cooperation in Latin America, emphasizing, "Fortunately the wide scale anti-Imperialist movement in this region is now rolling, and we hope the regional leaders, like President Ortega, President Correa, President Chavez and your good self would lead Latin America towards justice, solidarity, and advancement.

The Bolivian President, too, presenting a brief report on developments in his country, said, "Our people's trust in their leaders today has roots in our transparent policies and our frankness in dealing with our nation and in serving them."
President Morales elaborated on measures adopted by Bolivian government in defense of the prestige of that nation in their campaign against US totalitarian policies, adding, "We have decided that the Americans need to obtain visas in order to enter our country as of this year."

Presidents of Iran, Bolivia ask for higher level ties (http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0701161986005641.htm)

IRAN PREPARES FIRST-STRIKE NUKE CAPABILITY

JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Iran's nuclear program seeks to acquire first-strike capability against Israel.

A leading Israeli strategist and former intelligence officer has asserted that Teheran was directing its nuclear program for a confrontation with Israel. The strategist said Iran believes it could destroy the Jewish state with one nuclear weapon.

"Iranians believe that it holds, may hold a first strike capability against Israel once it has a nuclear capability," Shmuel Bar, director of studies at the Institute of Police and Strategy, said. "That Israel is a one bomb country, one bomb from the point-of-view of the receiving side. That the U.S. would not intervene against Iran under such conditions, and all of that with apocalyptic zeal may result in actual use of nuclear weapons."

Bar, who for years worked in the Israeli intelligence community, told a lecture on Jan. 9 that Iran was prepared to destroy Muslim cities as the price for firing nuclear missiles toward Israel. He said the ruling Islamic clergy would support a nuclear attack on Israel even at the risk of killing millions of Palestinian Muslims.

IRAN PREPARES FIRST-STRIKE NUKE CAPABILITY (http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2007/january/01_15_2.html)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't know how much stock, I would put in this at the moment.  Seems like Iran has quite a bit of work, to do yet.

Iran: The Backlash Begins
By Robert Tait

AMID THE chaos of confused global weather fronts, uncommonly cold temperatures have gripped Tehran in recent weeks. This freeze provides a suitable metaphor for the rapidly cooling feelings many Iranians have towards President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Just as the Iranian capital has been shivering in the winter freeze Ahmadinejad has started to feel the unmistakable chill of public disaffection. Having become accustomed to the warmth of mass acclaim at a series of nationwide open-air rallies, the Islamist firebrand is now discovering the limits of his popularity.

Criticism was easy to dismiss when it was limited to intellectuals and political reformists. Ahmadinejad countered by resorting to straightforward repressiveness, sacking liberal university lecturers and closing reformist newspapers. But now voters have started to turn against a man whose political strength lay in his populist appeal.
continued...

Last month, rising discontent over his government's failing economic policies led to a drubbing at the polls. In nationwide council elections, candidates supporting the president gained just 20% of the vote. Only two Ahmadinejad loyalists - including his sister Parvin - won seats on the 15-member Tehran city council, often seen as a key indicator of political trends across the country.

The results coincided with a political comeback for Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad's most powerful rival and his defeated opponent in the 2005 presidential election. Rafsanjani, a sharp critic of the president's strident anti-Western rhetoric, topped the poll in elections to the experts' assembly, a clerical body empowered to supervise and appoint Iran's supreme leader.

But the most ominous sign that the political tide is turning against Ahmadinejad is that many of his friends have started to desert him.

Having built an international status on baiting the West, the president is in danger of becoming a scapegoat for the increasing isolation Iran faces over its nuclear programme - which the West suspects is designed for bomb-making despite Iranian denials.

After months of deliberation, the UN security council last month imposed limited sanctions over Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. This process can be used to produce power. Critics blame the president's strident rhetoric and resistance to compromise for uniting the security council against Iran. The influential website Aftab claimed last week that Ahmadinejad effectively killed any chance of a deal between the country's nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, by declaring that Iran would not suspend enrichment for "even one day".

"This remark prepared the circumstances for the recent security council resolution against Iran," the website stated.

More worrying still for the president was the fact that fundamentalist newspaper Jomhouri Eslami - which often reflects the views of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - accused Ahmadinejad of adopting the nuclear issue as a personal slogan to deflect attention from his government's economic failings.

"Turning the nuclear issue into a propaganda slogan gives the impression that you, for the sake of covering up flaws in the government, are exaggerating its importance," the paper said. "This is harmful for you and your government.

"The nuclear programme goes beyond governments and tastes and is a national issue. If people get the impression that the government is exaggerating the nuclear case to divert attention from their demands, you will cause this national issue to lose public support."

The warning followed criticism by MPs that a conference staged last month questioning the holocaust - organised to bolster Ahmadinejad's dismissal of the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis as a "myth" - had damaged the national interest.

At a closed session of the conservative-dominated parliament, members denounced the event as "inappropriate" and "unnecessary", and said it had directly influenced the UN's decision to impose sanctions on Iran.

For the president's opponents the welter of criticism means only one thing. "It's a sign that the golden age and honeymoon of Ahmadinejad with the people is over," said Isa Saharkhiz, a journalist and political activist. "He is in a position where not only his critics but many of his followers are trying to distance themselves from his stances and actions. His rivals in the last presidential election will have a more vital role in the country's future."

Ahmadinejad left the winter blizzard of criticism behind yesterday for a four-day visit to Latin America, where he will meet President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Daniel Ortega, the newly inaugurated Nicaraguan president, and Rafael Correa, who is sworn in today as Ecuador's president. With all three men, he shares a unyielding hostility towards America.

That may be enough to ensure him a warm reception on his travels - but he will find the climate distinctly chilly on his return home.

Iran: The Backlash Begins (http://www.sundayherald.com/analysis/analysis/display.var.1122079.0.0.php)

Iran denies freeze in nuke activity
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 14, 2007

Iran on Sunday denied reports that nuclear activities had stalled at one of its uranium enrichment plants and reiterated it would press ahead with the program which the West fears could be used to make nuclear arms.

"Activities in Natanz continue," Mohammad Ali Hosseini, spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry, said during a weekly media briefing, in response to a question whether nuclear enrichment at the plant had stopped.

On Thursday, diplomats in Vienna - headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency which inspects Iran's declared nuclear sites - had said that despite tough talk from Teheran leaders, Iran's uranium enrichment program appears stalled, leaving intelligence services puzzled.

Deputy chief of Iran's atomic energy organization, Mohammad Saeedi, promptly dismissed the suggestions by the diplomats accredited or otherwise linked to the Vienna-based IAEA that the current calm at the Natanz site could be a front.

While the world's attention is focused on Natanz, Iranian scientists and military personnel could be working on a secret enrichment program at some unknown and possibly more advanced site, according to the diplomats, who had demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing restricted information.

There have been no signs of any activity linked to plans to assemble 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz and move them into an underground facility as the start of an ambitious program foreseeing more than 50,000 centrifuges producing enriched material, the diplomats said.

"Iran has a plan for production of nuclear fuel, so it should not cross anybody's mind Iran might stop its activities," Saeedi said.

Earlier in January, two inspectors from the IAEA arrived here to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan.

Iran's parliament had urged the government in late December to re-examine its ties with the UN nuclear agency following a Security Council decision to impose limited sanctions against Teheran over its refusal to cease enrichment of uranium - a process that produces the material for either nuclear reactors or atomic bombs.

Iran says that as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty it has the right to develop a peaceful uranium enrichment program to produce nuclear power.

The United States and its European allies suspect Iran's civilian nuclear program is a cover for developing a nuclear bomb. Iran denies the charges and says its program is strictly for generating electricity.

Criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hard-line nuclear diplomacy tactics has recently increased at home, in the wake of municipal elections last month in which candidates associated with the president sustained a humiliating defeat.

Iran denies freeze in nuke activity (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467729802&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Palestinian factions hold talks in Damascus on unity government
By News Agencies

Officials from the Hamas militant group and envoys of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held intensive talks Monday in an effort to bridge differences over the formation of a national unity government, a senior Hamas official said.

The talks come ahead of an expected visit by Abbas, of the Fatah party, to Damascus later this week.

Qatari Foreign Ministry representative, Ahmed Abdul-Aziz Al-Mahmoud, also attended Monday's meeting, the official told The Associated Press in Damascus, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

The official said Hamas officials have been holding marathon talks with two Abbas envoys - independent legislator Ziad Abu Amr and Mohammed Rashid, a former adviser to the late Yasser Arafat. Al-Mahmoud also met Hamas' exiled political chief Khaled Meshal in the Qatari Embassy in Damascus, during which the two discussed proposals made by Abbas about the sensitive interior and finance Cabinet posts, the official added.

The official declined to give details of Abbas' suggestions or Hamas' response.

Officials from both Palestinian sides said last week that significant progress has been made in secret talks over the past two weeks between Meshal and the two Abbas envoys.

Palestinian officials said Sunday that Abbas will visit Syria later this week for talks with Meshal as well as Syrian officials. The talks would aim at negotiating a new coalition government and ending weeks of Palestinian infighting that have claimed 35 lives.

Aides from Abbas' moderate Fatah party had said the Palestinian president
could meet with Mashaal as early as Monday, but Hamas officials said the
tentative meeting had been postponed to Saturday.

Abbas told reporters after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Ramallah on Sunday that he would go ahead with early elections if negotiations for a coalition government with Hamas were to fail.

Fatah: Hamas digging tunnels in likely plot to kill Abbas
Palestinian security forces uncovered an extensive network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip that the Fatah faction said on Monday could have been used to assassinate its top leaders, including Abbas.

The ruling Hamas faction would not say whether it dug the tunnels, discovered by Fatah-dominated security forces in central and northern Gaza on Monday and over the weekend.

A Fatah spokesman, Abdel-Hakim Awad, held Hamas responsible but stopped short of accusing the group of being behind any specific assassination plot.

Awad said some of the tunnels were lined with explosives and ran directly beneath the homes of prominent Fatah members.

One of the tunnels ran underneath the main road leading to the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, a key route used by some Palestinian workers into the Jewish state.

The crossing and road are also used by Abbas and Mohammad Dahlan, a possible successor to Abbas, and other Fatah officials to reach the West Bank.

"This represents ... a premeditated intention to carry out assassination attempts against leaders and symbols of Fatah," Awad said, singling out Abbas and Dahlan.

"Any attack on any of our leaders will turn the Palestinian situation into serious chaos and internal fighting, which will spare no one," Awad said.

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Abbas of Fatah called for fresh elections last month, raising the stakes in his bitter power struggle with the governing Hamas Islamists.

Abbas said he would give negotiations over a unity government with Hamas one last chance.

But Fatah's accusations about the tunnels could cast a shadow over the renewed talks.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, declined to comment on the tunnels.

"Hamas will not respond to such media provocations ... in order to provide a positive atmosphere to defuse the crisis and to allow the resumption of national dialogue over the formation of a unity government," Barhoum said.

Hamas arrests gunmen who stormed UN office in Gaza Strip
Hamas-affiliated policemen on Monday arrested six gunmen who stormed into a United Nations office in the Gaza Strip looking for foreigners to kidnap, a spokesman for the force said.

The spokesman, Islam Shahwan, said the gunmen, whose identities and affiliations he declined to disclose, had sought to seize international staff at the Khan Younis headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

gotcha98 Abu Hasna, UNRWA's media adviser in Gaza, said no foreigners were present when some 10 gunmen barged in.

"We have detained six gunmen ... [and they] are now being interrogated," Shahwan said.

Gaza has been hit by a spate of kidnappings in which gunmen attempting to press the Palestinian government for jobs or to free prisoners have seized foreigners, all of whom have been released, usually within hours or days.

Recently, some kidnappers in Gaza sought ransoms but it is unclear whether any money was paid.

Palestinian factions hold talks in Damascus on unity government (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=813708&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1)

 Islamic Jihad Threatens Ashkelon
23:09 Jan 15, '07 / 25 Tevet 5767

(IsraelNN.com) Islamic Jihad terrorists leaders threatened Monday afternoon they have more powerful Kassam rockets ready to be fired on the southern port city of Ashkelon, where a large electric generating station and oil and gas pipelines are located.

They spread banners in Gaza proclaiming that their "Jerusalem Brigade" will begin a new military campaign against Israel, which was accused of "drinking blood"
of Arab victims.

Shortly after the campaign rally, a Kassam rocket landed near Sderot.

Islamic Jihad Threatens Ashkelon (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119487)

 Zelekha: Israel Most Corrupt Western Country
05:40 Jan 16, '07 / 26 Tevet 5767

(IsraelNN.com) Israeli Finance Ministry Accountant-General Yaron Zelekha noted Monday that Israel is recognized by international bodies to be the most corrupt country in the Western world, yet remained optimistic that most public agencies were trustworthy and that the problems could be healed.

Zelekha is under constant security protection since receiving threats by phone. His efforts to root out corruption have brought him many enemies in the treasury. Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who installed Zelekha, has publicly defended him.

Zelekha: Israel Most Corrupt Western Country (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119552)

IDF delighted with new head of UNIFIL
Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 15, 2007

The IDF on Sunday praised the United Nations' decision to appoint Italian Gen. Claudio Graziano as the new head of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

Graziano, whose appointment has yet to be officially announced, is scheduled to take up his new post by mid-February, when French Maj.-Gen. Alain Pellegrini steps down after three years in the post.

"He is a serious officer," IDF sources said of Graziano. "He takes his job seriously and we expect to see a continued crackdown on Hizbullah under his command."

Graziano rose through the ranks in Italy's Artillery Corps and commanded NATO's Kabul Multinational Brigade in the past. He has extensive experience in combating insurgency and terrorism, according to the IDF.

Northern Command sources also praised the performance of UNIFIL's 2,500-strong Italian contingent, saying it was working to prevent Hizbullah from returning to its outposts on the border. The Italian force has been instrumental in destroying close to 20,000 explosive devices - bombs and mines - left behind in Lebanon from last summer's war.

Italian Ambassador Sandro De Bernardin told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that the appointment of Graziano reflected Italy's commitment to stabilizing Lebanon.

"This is confirmation that our government is willing to invest heavily for the sake of the stabilization of Lebanon," he said. "I am sure it will also be instrumental in maintaining a continued good relationship between Israel and Italy."

Last week, IDF officers bid "good riddance" to Pellegrini, who they said was pro-Hizbullah and had not made sufficient efforts action to prevent the Islamists from building their forces and attacking Israel.

IDF delighted with new head of UNIFIL (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467733051&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

This is a potential big deal. If Graziano does do more against the terrorists there could be much more fighting between UNIFIL and the Hezbullah. But, I just can't see that happening; I see them running out of Lebanon if the fighting increases.

Of course, if he does nothing as UNIFIL usually does, then the status quo will remain pretty much the same. But, the situation will get hotter and hotter if UNIFIL does nothing and it will eventually explode into violence when the terrorists are ready to attack again. Then UNIFIL will not be equipped to fight them and will surely end up running anyway.

Olmert offers carrot for recognising Israel

    * Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent
    * January 16, 2007

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised sweeping moves towards Palestinian sovereignty if a new unity government in the occupied territories commits to recognising the Jewish state.
Mr Olmert last night told visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Israel's concessions to Palestinian statehood would be unprecedented if deadlocked talks between warring Palestinian factions succeeded in moderating the ruling Hamas administration.

Hours before she departed for the Arab world, Dr Rice said the US would devote substantial resources over coming months to reactivating the peace process.

Both Jerusalem and Washington have been trying to strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a move that has pitched his Fatah party into deadly conflicts with the Hamas-led Government of Ismail Haniya.

Tensions have threatened to spark open warfare in Gaza and the West Bank and plunge the peace process back even further.

Mr Olmert told Dr Rice that if tortured moves towards a unity government did not lead towards recognition of Israel, adherence to past peace accords and a pledge to denounce violence, he would sever support for Mr Abbas. Officials linked to Mr Abbas said he was not intending to immediately depart the West Bank for the Syrian capital, Damascus, for sensitive talks with Hamas politburo leader Khaled Meshaal, as Palestinian administrators had announced on Sunday.

A summit with Mr Meshaal, who directs Hamas from exile, was on the drawing board but had not yet been finalised, the officials said. Mr Meshaal, Hamas's hardline supremo, declared in an interview with Reuters late last week that the existence of "a state called Israel was a reality" in the first clear sign that he was prepared to moderate the group's charter, which calls for Israel's destruction.

Dr Rice last night left Israel for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where she hopes to use renewed peace efforts in the Holy Land to leverage support for the US troop surge in Iraq and America's hardline stance against Iran.

The Israeli Defence Force has been ordered to tone down its activities in the West Bank and Gaza for the duration of Dr Rice's visit after an unannounced operation in the West Bank administrative capital Ramallah jeopardised talks last week between Mr Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Olmert offers carrot for recognising Israel (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21065321-601,00.html)

Severe storms hit southern Sweden
Storm lashing Malmo, Sweden, 14 Jan 07 Severe storms have battered southern Sweden, killing at least three people, disrupting transport and leaving about 270,000 homes without electricity.

The victims - who included a nine-year-old boy - were all struck by falling trees.

Winds on the south-west coast reached speeds of nearly 150km/h (93mph) on Sunday but have since slackened.

Rail services were suspended because trees had been blown onto tracks. Road and air traffic were also badly hit.

Road traffic was suspended on the giant Oresund bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark.

Ferry services were also cancelled from the Swedish mainland to Gotland, Frederikshavn in Denmark and Sassnitz in Germany.

Sweden's The Local website says power companies were unable to send staff out to reconnect households because of the harsh conditions.

Severe storms hit southern Sweden (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/6262465.stm)

Ice storms, snow, floods, tornado wallop US killing 13

Jan 14 2:40 PM US/Eastern

Freezing rain, snow, sleet, flash floods and at least one tornado walloped the United States this weekend, killing at least 13 people in accidents on slick roads as a massive storm front blanketed much of the country.

The storm was expected to continue through at least Tuesday.

The ice, wind and snow downed trees, traffic signals and power lines, blocked roads and forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Churches cancelled Sunday services and businesses closed early or did not open at all.

Ten people died in Oklahoma where slippery highways caused more than 200 accidents, the Oklahoman newspaper reported.

A state of emergency was declared and the National Guard was called out in the midwestern state of Missouri declared after an ice storm knocked power out to more than 200,000 homes on a bitterly cold weekend.

Emergency shelters and hotels were filled by people trying to warm up and a nursing home had to be evacuated because of the freezing temperatures, local media reported.

In Texas, the governor also call out the National Guard after more than six inches of rain cause flash flooding and dramatic high-water rescues.

One woman was swept away by floodwaters in an Austin creek and a man who jumped in to save her was rescued when he was spotted clinging to foliage in water up to his neck, the Austin-American Statesman reported.

Crowds filled grocery stores to stock up on essentials after the rain was forecast to turn into an ice storm, the Statesman reported.

Record-breaking cold weather even hit California, which usually has mild temperatures throughout the year, with citrus farmers in the Central Valley and the southern part of the state using wind-machines to protect their fruit, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"This is a very, very big cold front," National Weather Service spokesman Greg Romano told AFP.

"We're aware of at least six fatalities and numerous injuries due to weather-related vehicle accidents as of Saturday afternoon. There's been tree damage, downed power lines and significant power outages."

Parts of Colorado got up to 18 inches of snow while up to three inches of sleet were reported in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri, Romano said. Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri got an inch or more of freezing rain.

The storm is gathering moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and cold air from the Arctic, Romano said. It is expected to hit the east coast on Tuesday.

Ice storms, snow, floods, tornado wallop US killing 13 (http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/14/070114194002.ccc68npd.html)

Jihad threatens '100 rockets'

Islamic Jihad threatens 'Operation Red Rose' to target Sderot, Ashkelon as immediate 'response'

Yaakov Lappin
Published:    01.15.07, 16:59

The website of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Arabic released a statement Monday in which the terror organization threatened to fire "100 rockets" as an immediate response to any IDF activities in Gaza or the West Bank.

"The al-Quds Brigades declares the commencement of Operation Red Rose," the communiqué read, adding: "The al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad in Palestine, has declared the commencement of Operation Red Rose rockets, in response to the ongoing aggressions against the beloved Gaza Strip and our resisting West Bank."

In the statement, Islamic Jihad threatened that "the minute Israel commits aggression in our land and against our people… we will launch 100 rockets."

"The al-Quds Brigades affirms: The Zionist enemy has to understand well that Sderot, Ashkelon, and their inhabitants, are a target for the al-Quds rockets. And that any harm to our holy fighters in Gaza or the West Bank will result in a heavy price for the enemy," the statement added. The message concluded by vowing "victory or death as a martyr."

For its part, Hamas also warned in a statement - published on its official English-language website, that its "armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, was ready to repel any military aggression the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) might think to unleash against the tiny Gaza Strip."

"Hamas is ready to block any kind of aggression Israel might launch against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as it did before many times", the PIC website quoted Hammad Al-Rukob, a Hamas spokesman in south Gaza, as saying.

"Rukob, moreover, called on the Palestinian factions to consolidate their ranks and end internal tension in the Palestinian arena, and to gear up for confronting any IOF atrocities against the Strip," the website added.

Jihad threatens '100 rockets' (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3352670,00.html)

Russian Admiral Says U.S. Navy Prepares Missile Strike on Iran

Created: 15.01.2007 11:45 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 20:38 MSK, 10 hours 40 minutes ago

MosNews

U.S. Navy nuclear submarines maintaining vigil off the coast of Iran indicate that the Pentagon’s military plans include not only control over navigation in the Persian Gulf but also strikes against Iranian targets, a former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Eduard Baltin has told the Interfax news agency.

“The presence of U.S. nuclear submarines in the Persian Gulf region means that the Pentagon has not abandoned plans for surprise strikes against nuclear targets in Iran. With this aim a group of multi-purpose submarines ready to accomplish the task is located in the area,” Admiral Baltin said.

He made the comments after reports that a U.S. submarine collided with a Japanese tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

“American patience is not unlimited,” he said. “The submarine commanders go up to the periscope depth and forget about navigation rules and safety measures,” the admiral said.

Currently there is a group of up to four submarines in the Persian Gulf area, he said. So far they only control navigation in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and in the Arabian Sea, he said. They might receive different orders in future: to block off the Gulf of Oman, that is the Iranian coast, and, if need be, launch missile strikes against
ground targets in Iran, he said.

Russian Admiral Says U.S. Navy Prepares Missile Strike on Iran (http://www.mosnews.com/news/2007/01/15/admiral.shtml)

Rains force 100,000 in Malaysia to flee

Sun Jan 14, 10:32 PM ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - More than 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes in southern Malaysia after heavy rains over the weekend caused massive flooding, officials said Monday.
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The evacuations came just a couple weeks after many residents had returned home to clean up from flooding in late December and early January that killed at least 17 people and caused more than $28 million in damages, officials said.

One town in the hardest-hit area, Kota Tinggi, has been completely cut off from the rest of Johor state, just north of Singapore. Floodwaters as high as 13 feet have engulfed houses, gas stations and roads in the town, the New Straits Times newspaper said.

Several relief centers in the area are overcrowded and cannot take in any more evacuees, an official at the Johor state flood operations center said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said there were about 105,000 flood victims in more than 300 relief centers in the state.

"We need donations of food. Some (relief) centers have no more space already," the official said. "Blankets and warm clothing are also needed."

Malaysia's Meteorological Service said heavy rain was forecast for the area until the middle of the week, the national news agency Bernama said.

Rains force 100,000 in Malaysia to flee (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070115/ap_on_re_as/malaysia_floods)

Millions of Hindus wash away their sins

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 15, 2:05 AM ET

ALLAHABAD, India - Hundreds of Hindu holy men, naked but for the ash smeared on their bodies and an occasional marigold garland, led a sea of humanity to the waters of the Ganges River Monday to wash away their sins at the apex of a weekslong pilgrimage.
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By midmorning Monday, some 3 million people had immersed themselves in the waters near the north Indian city of Allahabad, said festival organizer P. N. Mishra.

The number was expected to top 5 million by the end of the day — declared a royal bathing day by astrologers and the most auspicious of the 45-day festival that started Jan. 3.

The holy men, or sadhus, were followed into the waters by the heads of Hindu monasteries, many of them pulled into the waters on elaborate silver chariots or palanquins. Marching bands accompanied them as they initiated the bathing by scattering flowers over the waiting faithful and chanting "Har Har Gange" (Long live Ganges).

Nearly 70 million Hindus are expected to participate in the 45-day "Ardh Kumbh Mela" or Half Grand Pitcher Festival, one of the largest regular gatherings in the world. They wash themselves in the waters of the Ganges, believing it absolves their sins and ends the process of reincarnation.

While pilgrims dip themselves in the chilly waters at the spot where the Ganges meets the Yamuna River throughout the festival, Monday was declared by astrologers as especially auspicious after the sun entered the Tropic of Capricorn late Sunday night.

According to Hindu mythology, gods and demons fought a celestial war, spilling nectar at Allahabad in a pitcher, or Kumbh. A larger festival, the "Maha Kumbh Mela," or the Grand Pitcher Festival, takes place every 12 years.

Millions of Hindus wash away their sins (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070115/ap_on_re_as/india_hindu_festival)