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Iraq Asks Iran to Reign in Militants |
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Iraq Asks Iran to Reign in Militants
Published: 9/12/06, 7:45 PM EDT
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made his first official visit to Iran, a close ally, asking the Islamic regime on Tuesday to crack down on al-Qaida militants infiltrating his country and seeking new deals to help Iraq's troubled oil industry.
The visit reflected the complex relationship between Iran, a mostly Shiite Muslim country, and Iraq's government, now dominated in the post-Saddam Hussein era by Shiite allies of Tehran. Since Saddam's fall in 2003, Iraq has sought better relations with Iran and to heal scars left by the 1980-88 war that killed more than 1 million people on both sides.
The two enjoy increasingly strong ties that include new oil cooperation. Iraq has already turned to Iran for help with a chronic shortage of petroleum goods, reaching a deal last month to import Iranian gasoline, kerosene and cooking fuel. Iraqi officials said al-Maliki's visit and other recent exchanges could improve the cooperation.
But at the same time, the United States - the Iraqi government's other top ally and a bitter enemy of Iran - has repeatedly accused Tehran of interfering in Iraqi politics and allowing insurgents to cross the porous 1,000-mile border. Iran denies the claims.
Moreover, Iraq is struggling to control months of brutal Shiite-Sunni sectarian violence, some of which is blamed on Shiite militias that are linked to parties in the government but also believed to have ties with Iran.
Al-Maliki's welcome was warm in Iran, where he spent part of his yearslong exile from Iraq during Saddam's rule.
The Iraqi premier had a red-carpet reception at the office of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After their meeting, the two leaders exchanged jokes and answered questions from reporters.
"All our assistance to the Iraqi people will be to establish complete security" in Iraq, Ahmadinejad told a joint press conference, according to the state-run news agency.
"Iran and Iraq enjoy historical relations. These relations go beyond neighborly ties. Our relations will remain excellent," he said.
Al-Maliki said his visit would be "a turning point in the expansion of relations between Iran and Iraq that enjoy historical and ancient ties."
Asked about allegations that Iran was interfering in Iraq, al-Maliki said, "There is no obstacle in the way of implementing agreements between Iran and Iraq."
Neither mentioned the issue of al-Qaida militants. But Haidar al-Obadi, a parliament member from al-Maliki's Dawa Party, said the Iraqi leader was asking Iran "for cooperation in controlling the border to prevent any al-Qaida exploitation of the border."
"There are al-Qaida members and al-Qaida strongholds in Iran," he told the Associated Press in Cairo, speaking in a telephone interview from Baghdad. The militants have been "taking advantage of the long border" to smuggle weapons and people into Iraq "most likely without the Iranian government's knowledge," he said.
The United States accuses Tehran of harboring al-Qaida fugitives. Tehran has denied the charges and says it has no interest in fomenting instability across the border. However, Iran has not ruled out the possibility that some infiltrators might have crossed its border illegally. Al-Qaida's branch in Iraq has carried out some of the most brutal suicide attacks against Iraqi Shiites.
"We consider Iraq's progress, independence and territorial integrity as our own," Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad also said Iran hoped "unwanted guests will leave the region," a reference to U.S. forces in Iraq.
An Iraqi economic delegation visited Iran just before al-Maliki to discuss more petroleum deals, apparently further Iranian exports of gasoline and other fuel goods, said Haidar al-Obadi, another Dawa party parliamentarian.
Details of any new agreements have not been released. Al-Maliki said "Iraq is willing to expand its relations with Iran in the area of political and economic arenas especially energy and water."
Despite its huge oil reserves, Iraq has been suffering under shortages of fuel products because of the damage to the industry from insurgent attacks and the turmoil in the country. It has also turned to Syria and other countries for supplies.
In July 2005, former Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari made a landmark visit to Iran, the first by an Iraqi premier since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam.
Since the fall of Saddam in 2003, the two countries have sought to heal scars left by the 1980-88 war that killed more than 1 million people on both sides.
 KitsuneChan66 · Wed Sep 13, 2006 @ 01:09am · 0 Comments |
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No Wait Expected for Flu Shots This Year! |
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No Wait Expected for Flu Shots This Year
Published: 9/7/06, 2:00 PM EDT
By MIKE STOBBE on the news section of the Bellsouth home page
ATLANTA (AP) - About 75 million doses of flu vaccine will be in most doctor's offices and clinics by the end of October - a near record amount that should prevent flu shot rationing this year, health officials said Wednesday.
Overall, more than 100 million doses should be available over the next several months, beating the 95 million manufactured in 2002.
"There may still be some lines, but we really think this is promising," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads immunization programs for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The best time for vaccination is in October or November, before the flu season typically begins, CDC officials said.
In 2004, production problems at one manufacturer caused severe shortages and hours-long lines for shots. Last September, tight supplies caused doctors to limit shots at first to people at risk of severe complications.
"This year, we're not asking people to step aside or hold off. We think people who want to be vaccinated can be vaccinated right away," Schuchat said.
The last time early-season supplies were as plentiful was 2003, when more than 80 million doses were distributed by the end of October. Last year, about 60 million doses were distributed by that point.
But CDC officials cautioned that some clinics, doctor's offices and other health care providers still may not receive their full allotment until November or later. It depends on which supplier or manufacturer they used and when they placed their vaccine orders, they said.
Between 5 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year. The illness leads to about 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations each year, according to federal officials.
Vaccine manufacturers this year include Sanofi Pasteur Inc., which projects 50 million doses; Novartis, which is expected to make more than 35 million doses; and GlaxoSmithKline, which is planning roughly 25 million doses.
Glaxo has two flu vaccines; one of them, FluLaval, has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But that approval is expected this month, said Jennifer Armstrong, a Glaxo spokeswoman.
If FluLaval is approved, it will mean closer to 110 million total flu shot doses for the nation, Schuchat said.
In addition, MedImmune Vaccines Inc. plans to distribute about 3 million of doses of FluMist, a nasal mist recommended only for healthy people between 5 and 49. It contains live virus, and carries with it a slight chance of causing flu symptoms.
Federal officials issued a warning letter to Sanofi in June, after FDA inspectors found the company's Swiftwater, Pa., plant wasn't adequately maintaining sterile conditions.
The failures were corrected, and none of the problems affected the purity or safety of distributed products, said Patty Tomsky, a Sanofi spokeswoman.
Sanofi began shipping flu shots two weeks ago, she added.
The CDC's decision to expand flu shot recommendations is influencing production, Armstrong said. "There's an unmet need out there," she said.
This year, the CDC began recommending that doctors give flu shots to children ages 2 to 5 - about 5.3 million healthy U.S. children. Vaccinations were already recommended for children ages 6 months to 23 months, pregnant women, people 65 and older, and people of all ages with chronic health conditions, along with a few other groups.
Overall, about 218 million Americans - or 73 percent of the population - should get vaccine this year.
Only a fraction of the people who should get flu shots usually do. For example, just 40 percent of health care workers get the vaccinations, Schuchat said.
"We have lots of work to do," she said.
KitsuneChan66 · Sun Sep 10, 2006 @ 09:36pm · 0 Comments |
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12 Arrested for Prostitution Ads on Web |
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12 Arrested for Prostitution Ads on Web
Published: 9/9/06, 12:08 PM EDT on the Bellsouth home page
Police in Bucks County have charged 12 women after an investigation into prostitutes who allegedly have been advertising on the Web site Craigslist.
After police received a tip in August about alleged prostitutes advertising on the site, investigators called cell phone numbers in local listings that advertised "GFEs" girlfriend experiences asking for payment in "ro$e$" or "125 donations."
The undercover investigators agreed to meet the women at motels, and almost all 12 were arrested within two minutes, he said.
Several of the women who were arrested had brought along their boyfriends, and five men were arrested on drug charges, police said.
Similar sting operations have led to prostitution charges against women in states including Maryland, New York, Oregon and New Hampshire.
I don't know about you, but this is a great example of online businesses gone awry xd
KitsuneChan66 · Sat Sep 09, 2006 @ 08:17pm · 0 Comments |
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