USELESS UN-RUSSIA,CHINA VETO

Ban: Russia, China Veto 'Undermines' the United Nations-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon slams Russia and China’s veto of a Security Council resolution on Syria.By Elad Benari First Publish: 2/5/2012, 6:01 AM

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon slammed Russia and China’s veto of a Security Council resolution on the Syria crisis on Saturday, saying it undermines the United Nations.AFP quoted a statement by Ban in which he said he deeply regrets the failure to agree on a resolution condemning the deadly crackdown on protesters by President Bashar al-Assad.Ban said the veto undermines the role of the United Nations and the international community in this period when the Syrian authorities must hear a unified voice calling for an immediate end to its violence against the Syrian people.
He added, As Syria’s crisis deepens, bringing escalating violence and suffering to the Syrian people, the Security Council has lost an opportunity to take unified action that could help end this crisis and forge a peaceful future.The UN chief said the veto in the Security Council was a great disappointment to the people of Syria and the Middle East, and to all supporters of democracy and human rights.The resolution vetoed earlier by Russia and China demanded that Assad resign and was backed by the Arab League. The League later called on Arab countries to shut down their embassies and consulates in Syria, and remove Syrian ambassadors from their countries.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said that Washington was disgusted by the vetoes.The Security Council has been held hostage for months by two member states, at least one of which is still supplying Syria with weapons,Rice said at the Council meeting after the vote. France's UN Ambassador Gerard Araud called the vetoes sad day for the UN Security Council, a sad day for democracy and a sad day for Syrians.The vetoes followed a particularly bloody night in Syria, as Assad-controlled forces opened fire on crowds in the city of Homs, killing over 400 people. Human rights groups said over the weekend that some 7,000 people had been killed in Syria since March 2011, when the uprising against Assad began.

Iran Conducting More Exercises in Straits of Hormuz-Iran is conducting yet more military exercises in the Straits of Hormuz By David Lev First Publish: 2/4/2012, 10:17 PM

Iran is conducting yet more military exercises in the Straits of Hormuz. Iranian officials said that the exercises were in response to a European boycott of Iranian oil, and that Iran would not submit to Western pressure against it. The new exercises, the official said, were aimed at preparing Iran for a battle against a hypothetical enemy.The Straits of Hormuz are considered an important strategic asset; 20% of the world's production of oil passes through it on oil tankers bound for the West, and Iran has threatened to close the Straits if its nuclear facilities are attacked.Iranian television said that the exercises would continue for a month. The report added that Iran had no plans to interfere with sea traffic through the Straits.Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi said that Tehran would strike back against European countries that were planning a boycott of Iranian oil, by cutting off the oild supply to Europe immediately. Iran would not be hurt by cutting off sales to Europe, Qassemi said.We've made the necessary planning to deal with that. We have friends in the world and will assist each other. We won't back down a single step under political pressures and won't give up our right position even if we can't sell a single barrel of oil.

In addition to the exercises, Iranian officials said Saturday that they had developed a new short-range missile designed to shoot down missiles fired at Iran from warships. The Zafar is a short-range anti-vessel radar-guided cruise missile, which can target small and medium-sized targets with high precision, officials said. The missile loses altitude after being launched, and then cruises at low altitude in order to be hidden from sight of the enemy, and in the final stage identifies the target at a low altitude and destroys the target,the official added.