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English.news.cn   2010-02-10 03:50:44

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday his administration will develop "a significant regime of sanctions," over the next several weeks targeting Iran.

Obama said Iran has refused to accept a UN-backed uranium swap deal, which he claimed was "the most obvious attempt" of the international community to engage with Tehran, accusing Iran of pursuing "a course that would lead to weaponization."

He said since Iran refused to engage, "then the next step is sanctions."

"What we are going to be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions," he announced.

As to how the sanctions tactic will be played out, Obama said the administration is "going to be looking at a variety of ways in which countries indicate to Iran that their approach is unacceptable," and the United Nations "will be one aspect of that broader effort."

Obama said he is confident that "the international community is unified around Iran’s misbehavior" in the area of applying more pressure to Tehran. He said he is pleased …to see how forward- leaning the Russians have been on this issue."

Iran declared on Tuesday it had started the process of producing 20-percent enriched uranium inside the country. Obama said Iran "hasn’t been serious about solving what is a solvable dispute."

He made the remarks during an unannounced visit to the White House briefing room, where Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was supposed to be holding a regular briefing.

Under a draft deal brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, most of Iran’s existing low-grade enriched uranium should be shipped to Russia and France, where it would be processed into fuel rods with the purity of 20 percent.

Iran has been at the center of an international dispute over its nuclear plan. The United States and its Western allies have been accusing Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons under the disguise of a civilian program. Iran has denied the accusation and stressed its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

Related:

Russia says Iranian decision casts doubt on nuclear program

MOSCOW, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — Iran’s decision to enrich uranium to higher levels raises doubts about the purpose of its nuclear program, the Russian security council secretary said on Tuesday.

"We do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons. Iran insists that holding nuclear arms is not its goal and that its nuclear program is civilian," Nikolai Patrushev said in televised remarks. Full story

Iranian protesters try to attack Italian embassy in Teheran: FM

ROME, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Tuesday told a Senate audition that a group of Iranian Basij militia had tried to attack the Italian embassy in Teheran.

Participating in a Senate audition, Frattini said the failed assault was carried out by more than 10 people belonging to the Iranian paramilitary Basij group, according to a report by the Agi news agency. Full story

Germany threatens new sanctions against Iran

BERLIN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Tuesday threatened new sanctions against Iran, saying that Tehran has the right to make peaceful use of nuclear power, but must refrain from any nuclear armament.

"If Iran continues to refuse talks, then talks at the United Nations is inevitable, and we’ll have to talk about new measures," said Westerwelle. Full story

Gates gets European support on Iran sanction

PARIS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — After the last stop in Paris, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrapped up his European tour on Tuesday with widespread support from European alliance on sanctions against Iran, in the hope that concrete punishment can stop Iran from moving closer to military nuclear programs.

During Gates’ meeting with his French counterpart Herve Morin on Monday, the two nations’ common position on Iran nuclear issue was a highlighted part besides other major topics such as France’s sale of advanced warship Mistral to Russia, Afghan security issue, and competition and cooperation between European and U.S. plane makers. Full story

Italy, U.S. call for increased global pressure on Iran

ROME, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) — Italy and the United States on Sunday vowed to cooperate in raising international pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear enrichment program.

But the defense ministers of Italy and the United States brushed aside the possibility of a military intervention in Iran.Full  story

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-02/10/c_13170050.htm

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State of Emergency Declared As Swine Flu Spreads In US

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With 20 cases of Swine Flu now confirmed in different locations around the United States, the Obama administration yesterday declared an official State of Emergency.

Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Richard Besser spoke at a White House briefing, declaring that all the cases in the US have, thus far, been mild. President Obama is being briefed on a regular basis as to the potential spread of the new strain of virus which has been blamed for the deaths of at least 81 people in Mexico.

John Brennan, assistant to the president for Homeland Security, announced, “At this point, a top priority is to ensure that communication is robust and that medical surveillance efforts are fully activated.”

A press release from Reuters provided the following additional information:

[Brennan] said beefed up monitoring would enable rapid identification and notification of any new cases that might occur in the United States and Mexico.

Besser said the CDC has confirmed one case of swine flu in Ohio, two in Kansas and eight in New York. There were already seven confirmed cases in California and two in Texas. Officials emphasized that the U.S. cases are not as severe as the cases that have been identified in Mexico.

Nevertheless, the officials recommended planning for potential U.S. school closures and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the United States would release some of its stockpiles of anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza. She also said the United States would declare a public health emergency to start the flow of aid to states and communities that might be affected by the outbreak.

While we at Grand Rants will continue to post appropriate additional information as it becomes available, I think it should be stated clearly at this time that while we look to federal, state and local government for information, it is incumbant upon each of us to step up and take the necessary pro-active measures at the individual level to minimize both our own susceptibility to the virus as well as its spread.

The biggest problem in the prevention of spreading any communicable illness comes from individuals who fail to act in a responsible manner either through poor hygiene practices or simply being uninformed. The CDC has made available for downloading and printing, guidelines for the steps we should all take to help prevent the spread of this and any other flu-virus. You can download these posters here.

For more information,including links to resources, please read my previous post on this topic. Michelle Malkin is also providing excellent coverage.

Gerry Ashley

State of Emergency Declared As Swine Flu Spreads In US « Grand Rants

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