NEW
ORLEANS (Reuters) - The remnants of Hurricane Isaac continue to cause
headaches on Friday, bringing heavy rainfall and the threat of flash
flooding to the lower Mississippi Valley as Gulf Coast residents get
ready to start their cleanup efforts.The first hurricane to hit the United States this year
will be remembered for striking New Orleans on the anniversary of 2005's
deadly Hurricane Katrina - and providing a first, successful test of
the city's pricey new flood defenses.New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu concluded that the ring of defenses was "operating as designed."Now a tropical depression, Isaac can still trigger
tornadoes in Mississippi and Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center
said - among the final acts of a storm that punched above its weight in
terms of impact and often confounded forecasters.One bright spot: rain that is expected to reach the
central U.S. Midwest over the weekend, a godsend to farmers suffering
from the worst drought in more than 50 years, even if too late for many
of this season's crops.Isaac caused widespread flooding and property damage in
the U.S. Gulf Coast region, mostly because of its unexpectedly heavy
and persistent rainfall. The system lingered near New Orleans for the
best part of two days, sometimes moving as slowly as five miles an hour
(8 km per hour)."Most of them blow through and are over with. This one
is just hanging around too long," George Dubaz, a New Orleans tour
guide, said during the deluge.
The storm caused anywhere from $700 million to $2
billion in insured onshore losses, disaster modeler AIR Worldwide said
late Thursday.That would still leave Isaac, which came onshore as a
Category 1 hurricane, well outside the 10 most costly U.S. hurricanes.New Orleans' Audubon Park recorded 18.7 inches of rain
in a 24-hour period during Isaac. That exceeded all records dating back
to 1871, said Jeff Masters of Weather Underground. Many other locations
in Louisiana and Mississippi logged more than 10 inches of rain.
Through it all New Orleans sustained mostly cosmetic
damage such as downed trees and street lights. A massive police and
National Guard presence - and a dusk-to-dawn curfew, now lifted - also
helped keep things calm even as much of the city lost power.The Port of New Orleans and the city's airport were ready to reopen on Friday, authorities said.Surrounding areas, though, without the new protective
federal flood barriers, did not fare as well from the relentless rain
and huge storm surges brought forth by Isaac.Some of the worst flooding was in Plaquemines Parish,
southwest of New Orleans, where flood waters overtopped at least one
levee and left many homes under about 12 feet of water.Late on Thursday, local officials confirmed the death
of a man and a woman in the parish town of Braithwaite. The pair
apparently drowned in their kitchen as flood waters surged in. Earlier, a
Mississippi man died after being hit by a falling tree.Isaac killed at least 23 people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic before taking aim at the United States.Slidell, a town of about 27,000 people northeast of New
Orleans, took the brunt of a storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain, which
left some neighborhoods under about a foot of water."You'd have never made me believe a Category 1 would
dump this much water," said Sam Caruso, 71, a former mayor of Slidell
who toured the town in his pickup truck on Thursday.As the flood waters rose, some residents, including
Caruso, wondered whether the new federal levee system had shored up New
Orleans at the expense of low-lying neighboring parishes outside the
system's protection - a debate that is likely to continue.Benchmark crude oil prices slipped on Thursday after
major oil facilities on the Gulf of Mexico made it through Isaac mostly
unscathed.The smallest of six Louisiana oil refineries began to
power back up on Thursday and most other oil and gas companies in the
U.S. Gulf Coast region were preparing to restart.Some 700,000 residents and businesses in Louisiana and
Mississippi were still without electricity on Thursday, down from a peak
of over 1 million.
(Additional reporting by Emily Le Coz in Tupelo,
Mississippi; Chris Baltimore in Houston; David Adams in Miami; and Sam
Nelson in Chicago; Writing by Ros Krasny)
Misery in La. as Isaac flooding leaves power out
By CAIN BURDEAU and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN | Associated Press – 54 minutes ago AUG 31,12
NEW
ORLEANS (AP) — Isaac sloshed northwards into the nation's midsection
Friday after flooding stretches of Louisiana and knocking out power,
leaving entire water-logged neighborhoods without lights, air
conditioning or clean water.It will be a few days before the soupy brown water recedes and people forced out of flooded neighborhoods can return home.And
the damage may not be done. Officials were pumping water from a
reservoir to ease the pressure behind an Isaac-stressed dam in
Mississippi on the Louisiana border. In Arkansas, power lines were
downed and trees knocked over as Isaac moved north into the state.
The
earthen dam on Lake Tangipahoa could unleash a 17-foot flood crest
downstream in Louisiana if it were to give way, which prompted
evacuations in small towns and rural areas Thursday. Officials released
extra water through the dam and were considering punching a hole in it
to lower the rain-swollen reservoir.
New Orleans, spared any major
damage, lifted its curfew and returned to its usual liveliness,
although it was dampened by heavy humidity."I have a
battery-operated fan. This is the only thing keeping me going," said
Rhyn Pate, a food services worker who sat under the eaves of a porch
with other renters, making the best of the circumstances. "And a fly
swatter to keep the bugs off me — and the most important thing, insect
repellent."The heat was getting to Marguerite Boudreaux, 85, in Gretna, a suburb of New Orleans."I
have a daughter who is an invalid and then my husband is 90 years old,
so he's slowing down a lot," she said, red in the face as she stood in
the doorway of her house, damp and musky from the lack of air
conditioning.
Isaac dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in some areas, and about 500 people had to be rescued by boat or high-water vehicles.At least five deaths were reported in Louisiana and Mississippi.The
latest two victims, a man and a woman, were discovered late Thursday in
a home in the hard-hit town of Braithwaite, south of New Orleans.
Authorities said deputies went to search for the couple after someone
reported they had apparently not escaped the flooding. Their names were
not immediately released.An unidentified man died in a restaurant
blaze in Gretna that firefighters could not control because of Isaac's
strong winds Wednesday. Another man died falling from a tree during the
storm and a tow truck driver in Mississippi was killed when a tree
crushed the cab of his truck.On Grand Isle, a barrier island on the Gulf, the town pumped away water. Sections of the only road to town had washed out.On
a street turned river in Reserve, on the east bank of the Mississippi
River, two young men ferried their neighbors to the highway in a
johnboat, using boards as paddles.Lucien Chopin, 29, was last to leave his house, waiting until his wife and three kids, ages 7, 5 and 1 were safely away.He was finally joining them late Thursday, hoping they would find a shelter.His van was underwater and water flowed waist-high in the house he'd rented for eight months."It's like, everything is down the drain. I lost everything. I've gotta start all over."Chopin was upset that pumps meant to keep the area dry either failed or were shut off."We
knew it was coming, but they didn't tell us we had to evacuate. We had
no idea it was gonna be like this," he said, a refrain echoed by many.Cisco
Gonzales, a heating and air conditioning business owner, said he got
his boat and truck and headed for higher ground when he heard the water
was rising quickly, from 0 to 6 feet of water in five minutes."I've
never seen so much water in my life," said Gonzales, who built a home
in Braithwaite, southeast of the city, after his previous home was
damaged by Katrina in 2005.He rode out the storm at a ferry landing and when the weather calmed, he went out and rescued about a dozen people."I got back to my house to assess the situation, and it's a mess," he said. "That's all I can say."Isaac hit on the seventh anniversary of Katrina, a hurricane that devastated New Orleans.The
two storms had little in common. Katrina came ashore as a Category 3
storm, while Isaac was a Category 1 at its peak. Katrina barreled into
the state and quickly moved through. Isaac lingered across the landscape
at less than 10 mph and wobbled constantly. Because of its
sluggishness, Isaac dumped copious amounts of rain. Many people said
more water inundated their homes during this storm than during Katrina.Both storms, however, caused the Mississippi River to flow backward. And both prompted criticism of government officials.In the case of Isaac, officials' calls for evacuations so long after the storm made landfall caused some consternation.Jefferson
Parish Council President Chris Roberts said forecasters at the National
Hurricane Center in Miami needed a new way of measuring the danger that
goes beyond wind speed."The risk that a public official has is,
people say, 'Aw, it's a Category 1 storm, and you guys are out there
calling for mandatory evacuations,'" Roberts said.Eric Blake, a
specialist at the hurricane center, said that although Isaac's cone
shifted west as it zigzagged toward the Gulf Coast, forecasters
accurately predicted its path, intensity and rainfall. He did say the
storm came ashore somewhat slower than anticipated.
Blake cautioned against using Katrina as a benchmark for flooding during other storms."Every
hurricane is different," Blake said. "If you're trying to use the last
hurricane to gauge your storm surge risk, it's very dangerous."Crews
intentionally breached a levee that was strained by Isaac's floodwaters
in southeast Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, which is outside the
federal levee system. Aerial images showed the water gushing out.In
Louisiana alone, the storm cut power to 901,000 homes and businesses,
or about 47 percent of the state. That was down to 39 percent, or about
821,000, by Thursday evening, the Public Service Commission said.Entergy
Corp., Louisiana's largest power company, said Isaac knocked out power
to nearly 770,000 of its customers in Louisiana, Mississippi and
Arkansas. Only three storms have left more customers without power:
Hurricanes Katrina (1.1 million), Gustav (964,000) and Rita (800,000),
the company said in a news release.More than 15,000 utility
workers began restoring power to customers in Louisiana and Mississippi,
but officials said it would be at least two days before power was fully
restored.
In Mississippi, several coastal communities struggled
with all the extra water, including Pascagoula, where a large portion of
the city flooded and water blocked downtown intersections.High
water also prevented more than 800 people from returning to their homes
in Bay St. Louis, a small town that lost most of its business district
to Katrina's storm surge.Robbie Daniel, 55, an industrial
engineer, and his wife, Kathi, a retired school teacher, live in a house
on the Tchoutacabouffa River in Biloxi, and hadn't left home since
Tuesday. Their house is on stilts and was surrounded by chest deep
water.Kathi saw online Thursday that casinos could be opening so
they hopped in a kayak, paddled to their car on higher ground and drove
to Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport."Tired of sitting there watching rain," Kathi said.____Contributing
to this report were Associated Press writers Brian Schwaner and Stacey
Plaisance in New Orleans; Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, La.; Kevin
McGill in Houma, La.; Vicki Smith in LaPlace, La.; Holbrook Mohr in
Waveland and Pass Christian, Miss.; and Jeff Amy in Pascagoula and Bay
St. Louis, Miss.
EARTHQUAKES
ISAIAH 42:15
15 I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Quake of 7.9 magnitude strikes off Philippines: USGS
Reuters – 23 mins ago AUG 31,12
MANILA (Reuters) - An earthquake of 7.9 magnitude struck off the Philippines on Friday and a tsunami warning has been issued for the region, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.The quake was centered off the east coast, 91 miles off
the town of Guiuan in Samar province at a depth of about 20 miles, USGS
said.The tsunami warning was issued for the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the
Pacific including the U.S. state of Hawaii.(Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.
REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)
ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them;(ATOMIC BOMB) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).
North Korea makes "significant" nuclear reactor progress: IAEA
By Fredrik Dahl | Reuters – 26 mins ago AUG 31,12
VIENNA (Reuters) -
North Korea
has made significant progress in the construction of a light water
atomic reactor over the past year, a U.N. watchdog report said, a
facility that may extend Pyongyang's capacity to produce material for
nuclear weapons.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing
satellite images, also said "certain activities" had been observed at
locations where the reclusive Asian state "reportedly" conducted nuclear
tests in 2006 and 2009.But "without access
to the locations the agency is unable to provide a technical assessment
of the purpose of these activities or of whether nuclear material is
being used," the annual report, issued to
IAEA member states on Thursday, said.North Korea's
nuclear program is a "matter of serious concern", it said, adding that
the country's statements about
uranium enrichment activities and the construction of the reactor "continue to be deeply troubling".North Korea says it needs nuclear power to provide
electricity, but has also boasted of its nuclear deterrence capability
and has traded nuclear technology with Syria, Libya and probably Myanmar
and Pakistan. It is believed to be pushing ahead with plans for a third
nuclear test. {ID:nL4E8JO284]It became the first country to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has denied
IAEA
access to its atomic sites, reneging on a February deal to do so after
it announced plans to launch a long-range rocket, in defiance of United
Nations Security Council resolutions.In May, website 38North said North Korea had resumed
construction work on an experimental light water reactor (ELWR) after
stopping in December.
REACTOR WORK "PROGRESSING APACE"
38North - run by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns
Hopkins University and former U.S. State Department official Joel Wit -
said the ELWR, when operational, could produce enough material for an
additional nuclear bomb each year.U.S. expert David Albright
estimated a higher potential production of about 20 kg of weapon-grade
plutonium a year, enough material for four nuclear weapons or more. But
he said it could also produce electricity."I think they do want to pursue this as an electricity
route too, so it is really a question of dual use, and we don't know
what they are going to do. North Korea would be able to do both,"
Albright told Reuters.A highly enriched uranium program running alongside
this could allow North Korea significantly to increase the number of
nuclear devices it could produce, giving it a dual track to nuclear
weapons as it has big reserves of uranium.The IAEA said "significant progress" had been made in
the reactor's construction since its previous report a year ago.Progress included placing a dome on the reactor
containment building and indications that some components may have been
installed inside the building.A system for
pumping water from a river to the reactor for cooling purposes has also
been built, the IAEA report said."However, without access to the site, the agency is
unable to assess either the design features of the LWR or the likely
date for its completion," the Vienna-based agency said.Earlier in August
Albright's think-tank, the Institute for Science and International
Security, said satellite imagery from May and June showed construction
"progressing apace". It said the reactor could be completed in the
second half of 2013.(Editing by Tim Pearce)
Iran doubles underground nuclear capacity: U.N. agency
By Fredrik Dahl | Reuters – 17 hrs ago AUG 31,12
VIENNA (Reuters) -
Iran
has doubled the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges it has in an
underground bunker, a U.N. report said on Thursday, showing
Tehran has continued to expand its
nuclear program despite Western pressure and the threat of an Israeli attack.As Israeli politicians increased their talk of air
strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in recent months, the Islamic Republic
was rapidly increasing the enrichment capacity of its Fordow site,
buried deep underground to withstand any such hit.The
U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency also said in its quarterly report on Iran that buildings had been demolished and earth removed at a military site the
IAEA
wants to inspect, in what Western diplomats see as a determined effort
by Tehran to clean up any evidence of illicit nuclear-linked tests.These "extensive activities" at the Parchin complex,
the Vienna-based U.N. agency added, would significantly hamper its
investigation there, if and when inspectors are allowed access.The building, which the IAEA believes is housing a
steel chamber for explosives tests, has now been "shrouded", the report
said, in a possible attempt to hide it from satellite cameras.In another apparent sign of stonewalling of the IAEA's
inquiry, it said "no concrete results" had been achieved in a series of
high-profile meetings with Iran this year aimed at allaying concern
about its nuclear research."Iran's continued enrichment activities ... serve to
taunt all those in the international community concerned by Iran's
nuclear program," a senior Western diplomat said.In Washington, the White House said the United States
had made it clear to Iran that it has a limited window of time to stop
its nuclear activity and diplomatic terms offered by the West would not
remain open indefinitely.
"We are closely studying the details of the report, but
broadly speaking it is not surprising that Iran is continuing to
violate its obligations," Press Secretary Jay Carney said.The IAEA said the number of centrifuges at Fordow, near
the holy Shi'ite Muslim city of Qom, about 130 km (80 miles) from the
capital Tehran, had more than doubled to 2,140 from 1,064 in May. The
new machines were not yet operating, it said.Iran's supreme
leader repeated this week that Iran's nuclear program was entirely
peaceful. "Our motto is nuclear energy for all and
nuclear weapons for none," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a developing nations summit in Tehran.But the expansion in enrichment infrastructure and the
stockpiles of nuclear material revealed in the IAEA's report will do
nothing to ease fears or reduce the diplomatic and sanctions pressure on
Iran.
PARCHIN "LANDSCAPING"
The report may
strengthen a belief in Israel - which sees Iran's nuclear program as an
existential threat - that the West's tougher economic sanctions against
Tehran this year are failing to make the major oil producer curb its
program."This report
corroborates what (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has been
saying for years now," an Israeli official said, referring to his view
that the diplomatic process had only given Iran more time to pursue its
program.Washington says there is still time for diplomatic
pressure to work. It could be drawn into any Iran-Israeli conflict.Cliff Kupchan, a
Middle East analyst at consultancy Eurasia Group, said he did not think
the IAEA's findings represented a "game changer" and he believed any
U.S. president would attack if there was an obvious Iranian bid to build
a nuclear bomb.The IAEA said Iran had produced nearly 190 kg (418
pounds) of higher-grade enriched uranium since 2010, up from 145 kg in
May, although a large part of that had been earmarked for conversion to
reactor fuel. Refined uranium can have both civilian or military uses,
depending on the enrichment level.Iran says it needs the higher-grade material - which is
much purer than fuel needed for electricity generation - for a medical
research reactor, but it also takes it significantly closer to making
potential bomb material.Iran would need about 200-250 kg of uranium refined to
20 percent fissile concentration if it wanted to make one bomb, a
decision it is not believed to have taken yet, experts say."Iran would not
likely want to take the dramatic step of breaking out of the nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) until it has enough material for several
bombs — a point that it will not likely be able to reach for two years
or more," said the Arms Control Association, a U.S. research and
advocacy group.The IAEA expressed
deepening concerns about Parchin, a military site southeast of Tehran
that it wants to inspect for evidence of past nuclear weapons
development tests. "Significant ground scraping and landscaping have
been undertaken over an extensive area at and around the location," it
said.
Five buildings or
other structures had been demolished and power lines, fences and paved
roads removed, it said, activities that would hamper its investigation
if granted access.Iran says Parchin is a conventional military facility and has dismissed the allegations about it as "ridiculous".(Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian in Zurich and Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem; Editing by Myra MacDonald)
Syrian troops shell Lebanese village: officials
AFP – 51 mins ago AUG 31,12
At least 25 shells fired by Syrian troops during the night struck a Lebanese Christian village on the northern border, wounding one person and causing damage, officials said.The border village of Minjez in
the Akkar region was hit by at least 25 shells fired between midnight
and 1:30 am on Friday (22:30 GMT Thursday), Toni Antonios, an elected
official from the Christian community, told AFP, adding that a house was
damaged.
A security official said a member of the security services was wounded by shrapnel."We have been the target for
months of stray bullets and shelling which has displaced families who no
longer dare go home. This is unacceptable," Antonios said."If they (Syrian troops) want to hunt down armed men, they must do it
in their own land, not on our territory," he said, denying that Syrian
rebels were in the village.The border has seen frequent exchanges of fire and the Syrian authorities have placed landmines along the frontier after accusing "terrorists" of infiltrating from Lebanon and groups there of supporting the rebellion by arming insurgents.
The Damascus regime says it thwarts attempts by armed men to infiltrate Syria from Lebanon almost daily.
The UN Security Council on
Thursday warned against attempts to destabilise Lebanon amid concerns of
a possible spillover of the Syrian conflict into its neighbour.Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2005 after 30 years of occupation.More than 150,000 Syrians are
said to have fled to Lebanon where factions for and against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad's regime have fought deadly clashes, notably
in Tripoli, the largest city in the country's north.