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07.04.2009., utorak

Kazakhstan offers to host nuclear fuel bank

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan offered today to host an international nuclear fuel bank, and Iran’s leader said he supported the idea.

The United States initiated the project and allocated $50 million toward it in 2007.

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said today that his Central Asian country would be an appropriate place for such a depository, as it was giving up its own Soviet-era nuclear arsenal.

If created, the global fuel bank would undermine claims by Iran and other states that they need to develop their own fuel enrichment programs.

Nevertheless, Iran’s leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a two-day visit to Kazakhstan that he supported the project.

"We believe Nazarbayev’s proposal to create a nuclear fuel bank in Kazakhstan is a very good proposal," Ahmadinejad was quoted by Russian agency RIA-Novosti as saying at a news conference Monday in the Kazakh capital of Astana. "Nuclear powers should be disarmed in such a way as they can dispel their anxiety and the anxiety of all mankind."

Since 2006 Iran has been under U.N. Security Council sanctions, applied to its nuclear and missile industries, for refusing to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear power plants or the material for atomic bombs.

The United States and some of its allies have accused Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying its nuclear program is geared toward generating electricity, not producing weapons.

Kazakhstan inherited the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal amid the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, but it quickly sought international assistance in removing the weapons. The country still cooperates closely with the United States in permanently decommissioning infrastructure associated with the construction of nuclear weapons.

- 00:38 - Komentari (0) - Isprintaj - #

Nato pick addresses Muslim concerns

Nato's incoming chief has said that he would carefully consider religious sensibilities in his new post, as he seeks to allay Muslim concerns over his appointment.

Speaking in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Monday, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Denmark's former prime minister, called for a balance between free speech and a respect for religion.

Turkey had threatened to veto his appointment due to his support for a Danish newspaper after its decision to print cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2006 prompted protests across the Muslim world.

"I would never myself depict any religious figure, including the Prophet Muhammad, in a way that could hurt other people's feelings," he said during the Alliance of Civilisations forum, a conference sponsored by Turkey and Spain to promote understanding between the Muslim world and the west.

"I was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by many Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave disrespectively towards Islam or the Prophet Muhammad. Nothing could be further from my mind," Rasmussen said.

Remorse over cartoons

The twelve cartoons that were published in Jyllands-Posten led to attacks on Danish and Western embassies and boycotts of their products.

Islamic law generally prohibits any depiction of the prophet for fear that it may lead to idolotry.

In anticipation of his speech, the Turkish media had reported that Rasmussen would apologise for his previous position of defending Jyllands-Posten's right to publish the cartoons.

In the event, Rasmussen expressed remorse and disappointment, but was careful not to apologise, citing the sanctity of freedom of speech and his government's inability to be responsible for the actions of Denmark's free press.

Rasmussen also responded to Turkish requests to ban a Denmark-based channel that they accuse of being a mouthpiece of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union but Rasmussen said that he would not examine the legal grounds for closing the channel unless the station was proven to have links to terrorists.

Obama's intervention

Turkey's initial opposition to Rasmussen's appointment had threatened the image of unity at Nato's 60th anniversary summit in the French city of Strasbourg.

The dispute was resolved after Barack Obama, the US president, guaranteed that Turkish commanders would be present at the Nato's command and that a Turk would be appointed as one of Rasmussen's deputies.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, opened the conference with a speech that called for renewed efforts to overcome religious and cultural divisions.

"We still have the opportunity to write the history of this century, which we began with conflict and polarisation based on religious and cultural differences, as one of peace, harmony and tolerance," he said.

The conference was also attended by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general.

- 00:37 - Komentari (0) - Isprintaj - #

Baghdad car bombings kill dozens

Six car bombs have exploded across Baghdad, killing at least 34 people and wounding scores more, in what officials say was a co-ordinated attack by al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters.

A blast at a popular market in the Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City in east Baghdad killed at least 10 people and wounded 65 others in Monday's attack.

Another car bomb blew up next to a group of people waiting for work, killing six people and wounding 16 more.

Hours later, south Baghdad's Um al-Maalif neighbourhood was shaken by two blasts in a market, killing 12 and wounding 25 people.

Two other explosions hit a market area of Hussainiya, on Baghdad's northern outskirts, killing four people, and a street in eastern Baghdad, apparently targeting the convoy of an interior ministry official, killing one of his guards and a bystander.

Sahwa arrests

The attacks followed a week of arrests in Baghdad by the Iraqi government of Sunni Arab fighters known as Awakening Councils, or Sahwa.

The Iraqi government insists it is only detaining those wanted for grave crimes, but the fighters - many of them former fighters - fear it is settling sectarian scores.

Kadhum al-Muqdadi, a Baghdad University professor, suggested the bombs might be an attack in response to the raids, one of which sparked clashes just over a week ago between Iraqi forces and supporters of an arrested Sahwa leader.

An Iraqi police officer stands next to a bombed car at the site of an attack in Baghdad [AFP]

"Any security action carries the risk of a reaction," he said.

"These could be the work of Sahwas or just of opportunists exploiting this issue."

The Sahwas first switched sides and joined with US forces to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq in late 2006, manning checkpoints and conducting raids.

US officials have doubted claims that the Awakening Councils may have been behind Monday's bombings.

Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Smith, a military spokesman, said: "Our assessment is that the attacks today were a co-ordinated effort by al-Qaeda. There were no indicators that the [Sahwa fighters] ... were involved in any of the attacks."

Sheikh Hameed al-Hayyes, a founder of the Sahwa movement, also said the bombs were unlikely to be the work of the guards.

"There were bombings in Baghdad before the arrests and after the arrests," he said, blaming al-Qaedain Iraq for the attacks.

Al-Qaeda fingerprints

Qassim al-Moussawi, a Baghdad security spokesman, said the attacks "carry the fingerprints of al-Qaeda-linked groups".

Iraqi and US officials say a small number of the 90,000-odd Sunni guards still have links to al-Qaeda and other fighter groups. But the government insists they are a minority.

"Al-Qaeda is trying to infiltrate the Sahwa, but I think it will not succeed, because the Sahwa have seen their crimes and brutality," Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, said.

The latest attacks underscore the challenges Iraqi security forces face as US combat troops prepare to withdraw by August 31, 2010, with all US troops due to leave by the end of 2011.

Bombings continue on an almost daily basis in Iraq, despite the sharp fall in violence.

The last large bomb blast in Baghdad killed 20 people in a shopping district on March 26.

Preventing all car bombs in the crowded streets of Baghdad - a maze of crumbling buildings and concrete walls housing millions of people - is all but impossible.

- 00:36 - Komentari (0) - Isprintaj - #

Obama: 'US not at war with Islam'

During his first visit to a Muslim nation, Barack Obama, the US president, has said the US "is not and will never be at war with Islam''.

In an address to the Turkish parliament in Ankara on Monday, he called for a greater partnership with the Muslim world.

Obama described Turkey as an important US ally in the fight against terrorism, the war in Afghanistan and the Middle East peace process.

The comments came shortly after private talks between him and Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president.

In what was the first address given to the Turkish parliament by a US president since Bill Clinton in 1996, Obama said: "Let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is not at war with Islam ... if we are joined together in delivering that message East and West, to the world, I think we can have an extraordinary impact."

"America's relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al-Qaeda"

Barack Obama, US President

He said: "America's relationship with the Muslim world cannot and will not be based on opposition to al-Qaeda.

"We seek broad engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect."

Obama said he is committed to renewing the alliance and friendship "between our people".

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Istanbul, said: "This was the address we had all been waiting for, it hit all the right notes.

"He talked about the contribution of the Islamic faith in the life of American Muslims and then he personalised that message by saying 'I know because I am one of them'. It was a message that reached out to many today.

"Of course it needs to be followed up by actions and by discernible policy changes."

Armenian question

Obama sought to strike a balance over the issue of the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, a sensitive issue which has poisoned ties between the two allies before.

Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks during World War I but denies that up to 1.5 million people died as a result.

Obama said that while his views on a resolution calling the killing of Armenians "genocide" had not changed, he wanted negotiations between Turkey and Armenia aimed at restoring diplomatic relations to bear fruits.

He praised Turkey for pursuing "difficult political reforms" and pressed Turkey to open borders with Armenia.

"[Open borders] would provide for a peaceful and prosperous coexistence" that would serve both countries, he said.

- 00:33 - Komentari (0) - Isprintaj - #

Italy earthquake leaves 130 dead and scores more trapped under rubble

Rescue workers in central Italy were working last night to free hundreds of people feared trapped under rubble, after the deadliest earthquake to strike the country in three decades caused widespread destruction across the mountainous region of Abruzzo.

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, declared a state of emergency and cancelled a trip to Russia to travel to the epicentre of Monday morning's quake, close to the medieval city of L'Aquila, 60 miles north-east of Rome. He said that in some cases rescuers were digging with their bare hands.

Having climbed steadily all day yesterday, the official total last night stood at more than 130 dead and more than 1,500 injured, but Berlusconi said he feared that total would rise. Unconfirmed reports quoting hospital sources last night put the total at up to 150 dead.

Between 10,000 and 15,000 buildings had collapsed in the quake, an official at the local civil protection agency said, and at least 50,000 people are homeless.

Gianfranco Fini, speaker of the lower house of parliament, said some small towns had been "virtually destroyed in their entirety". Early rescue efforts were hampered by rubble strewn across roads and the collapse of several bridges.

"We will work for the next 48 hours without any stop, because we have to save lives," Francesco Rocca, the head of Italy's Red Cross, told BBC television. "We estimate that hundreds of people could still be alive under the buildings."

The quake, measured at 6.3 on the Richter scale by the US Geological Survey, struck at 3.32am local time and lasted for "20 interminable seconds", said the mayor of L'Aquila, Massimo Cialente, who described its effects as "terrible, really terrible".

Streets in the city were carpeted with thick dust yesterday, as helicopters hovered overhead and sirens screamed. Part of a university residence and a hotel were destroyed, and the quake brought down the bell tower of a church in the centre of the city. One local man, standing next to a head-high pile of rubble, said: "This building was four storeys high."

Scores of people lined up with suitcases on the roads leading out of the city, waiting to be evacuated from the area. Others, dazed, huddled in blankets close to the ruins of their homes, or assisted the well-organised rescue effort in a desperate hunt for missing relatives. Frequent aftershocks struck the town throughout the day, provoking cries of alarm.

"I woke up hearing what sounded like a bomb," said L'Aquila resident Angela Palumbo, 87. "We managed to escape with things falling all around us. Everything was shaking, furniture falling. I don't remember ever seeing anything like this in my life."

"Our house was destroyed but we got out," said Marion Cadman, a teacher at the English school of L'Aquila. "Now we're in limbo and just glad to have a tent.

"There was a first tremor around a quarter to 11 and we considered going out, but we didn't as we had become so used to them. Then the top floor fell down on the lower one and the corridor was smashed. Our 18-year-old daughter got under the bed as she had been trained to do and we got out before the next big one. We will spend the night in someone's garden. I don't think I will be sleeping between four walls for some time."

Graziella Fantasia, also a teacher in the city, said her family had lost two houses, one in the suburbs of L'Aquila and one in a nearby village. "We have no homes. Now we are waiting because the earth is still moving. We will spend the night in the village where it is better, but it's not safe to stay in houses. A lot of people are in tents. Wherever there is open space there are people and lots of tents."

Dozens of remote villages in the area were also affected, with at least 10 reported killed in the village of Onna. "Almost all the old village is destroyed, 99% of it," a man in Tempera, a few miles to the east of L'Aquila, told the Guardian. "We have already found 10 bodies."

Berlusconi said that 4,000 hotel rooms had been requisitioned along the Adriatic coast and that 20,000 beds in tents were being provided, while stadiums were also being prepared. No one would be allowed to stay in damaged buildings because of the risk of further quakes, he said. Field hospitals were set up after part of L'Aquila's hospital was deemed unsafe and had to be evacuated. More than 5,000 emergency workers were involved in the rescue effort, the prime minister said, adding: "I want to say something important: no one will be abandoned to their fate."

The EU offered immediate assistance, as did Russia and Israel, but an Italian government spokesman said the situation was under control at present. The foreign secretary, David Miliband, said Britain stood "ready to do what we can".

Berlusconi said he would finalise his funding plans last night, but indicated that he planned to seek assistance from an EU fund for disaster relief.

A number of British aid agencies said they had received no requests for aid, but were monitoring the situation and were ready to respond. Pete Garratt, relief operations manager with the British Red Cross, said its Italian counterpart had "significant resources in emergency response".

The earthquake is the worst to hit Italy since 1980, when 2,735 died in a quake measuring 6.5 that struck close to Salerno in southern Italy, and caused widespread damage in nearby Naples. That disaster prompted the introduction of new regulations designed to strengthen constructions in the event of an earthquake. Many of the buildings destroyed in yesterday's tremor appeared to have been earlier, dating from the 1960s and 1970s or, in remote villages, to be medieval structures.

There were questions yesterday about how so many buildings could have been destroyed. Gian Michele Calvi, an earthquake expert at the University of Pavia, said that Italy was in the habit of forgetting lessons. "This country is reminded of the risk of earthquakes only when it finds itself under the rubble," he told Corriere della Sera. "The fact that two of three operating rooms at L'Aquila hospital are no longer usable is something not worthy of a civilised country."

- 00:30 - Komentari (0) - Isprintaj - #

Italy searches for quake survivors

Rescuers are searching for survivors after a strong earthquake killed more than 100 people, including several children, and damaged many buildings in central Italy.

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, declared a state of emergency after the magnitude 6.3 quake struck early on Monday morning near the city of L'Aquila, in the mountainous Abruzzo region, east of Rome.

Local news agencies reported that people were feared trapped under the rubble as rescue workers in the area said the death toll had crossed the 100 mark.

Rescue teams combed through the debris for survivors and rushed to set up tents for the homeless. However, they were hampered by a night of rain.

The earthquake is believed to have left more than 1,500 people injured and thousands of houses, churches and buildings damaged or destroyed.

Berlusconi said up to 100,000 people may have become homeless in some 26 cities and towns.

He said "no one will be abandoned to his fate", and that the shelters being set up could accommodate between 16,000 and 20,000 people.

Police have begun going door to door in L'Aquila, checking that people who had decided to stay in the crippled town, most of them elderly, had what they needed for the night.

"We're also patrolling to prevent thefts from empty homes," an officer told the AFP news agency after reports of looting.

Bomb-like sound

Angela Palumbo, 87, a resident of L'Aquila, said: "I woke up hearing what sounded like a bomb. We managed to escape with things falling all around us.

"Everything was shaking, furniture falling. I don't remember ever seeing anything like this in my life."

Part of a university residence and a church tower were among the buildings that had collapsed in L'Aquila, officials said.
In depth

Gallery: Quake rocks Italy
World offers sympathy

Television footage showed rubble blocking streets in the town and burying several parked cars.

"Police are asking people to stay away from buildings, away from lamp-posts, away from anything that could fall," Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from L'Aquila, said.

"Many of these buildings are clearly showing signs of cracks, showing signs of broken windows. Glass is scattered all along the streets.

"There are fears that aftershocks could trigger more collapses and trap more people."

Our correspondent reported, quoting a local government official Ugo DePaolis, that 60 people died in the town of Onna alone, approximately 5km from L'Aquila.

Thousands homeless

Massimo Cialente, L'Aquila's mayor, told Sky Italia television that about 100,000 people had left their homes and many buildings in the city's historic centre were damaged.

"The civil defence department is setting up some sort of tent town where they will be housed until the situation with their homes is made clearer," Sabina Castelfranco, a Rome-based journalist, told Al Jazeera.

"People are walking around draped in blankets, they have been up all night."

Antonio D'Ostilio, a resident of L'Aquila, said: "We left as soon as we felt the first tremors.

"We woke up all of a sudden and we immediately ran downstairs in our pyjamas."

Hundreds of people waited outside the town's main hospital while doctors treated people in the open air since only one operating room was functioning.

The city's university hospital was declared off limits due to concerns that it could collapse.

According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the earthquake was about 95km northeast of Rome, at a depth of about 10km.

It struck at 3:32am local time (01:32 GMT) when many people were asleep.

Italy lies on two fault lines and has been struck by powerful earthquakes in the past, mainly in the south of the country.

- 00:09 - Komentari (0) - Isprintaj - #

Ovaj blog je ustupljen pod Creative Commons licencom Imenovanje-Dijeli pod istim uvjetima.

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