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WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW FROM LONDON
5th September 2008
NUCLEAR THREAT
ISRAEL
Daily Mail -- 30th August -- Israel ready to launch attack if Iran
goes nuclear. Israel will bomb Iran rather than let the
ayatollahs get their hands on nuclear weapons, it was claimed
yesterday. The Israeli cabinet held a special session three
weeks ago where it approved plans to stop Iran from going nuclear --
at any price. .... Israeli leaders fear a nuclear Iran would seek to
destroy the Jewish state and they believe time is running out for
the diplomatic option. .... At a recent military parade in
Tehran, banners adorning six Shahab-3 missiles proudly displayed
Iran's hatred toward Israel and the U.S., reading: 'Israel must be
wiped off the map' and ' We will crush America under our feet.' ....
Yesterday, Iran's deputy foreign minister, Ali Reza Sheikh Attar,
said his country was operating 4,000 centrifuges at its main uranium
enrichment plant -- enough to churn out weapons-grade plutonium for
dozens of nuclear warheads.
IRAN
International Herald Tribune -- 31st August --
From Tehran. Iran has increased the
number of operating centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant to
4,000 a top official said Friday, pushing ahead with its nuclear
program despite threats of new United Nations sanctions.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Reza Sheikh Attar, who visited Natanz
last week, also told the state news agency IRNA that Tehran was
installing an additional 3,000 centrifuges.
RUSSIA
Daily Mail -- 29th August --
Sabre-rattling Russia's missile test.
Russia tested a long-range 'stealth'
missile yesterday as it was faced with the threat of EU sanctions.
In what was seen as a calculated show of
strength, the Kremlin announced it had successfully launched a Topol
rocket, which has a range of 6,125 miles -- putting Europe and much of
the U.S. within reach.
NORTH KOREA
Independent -- 27th August -- North Korea 'has
broken US deal.'
North Korea has violated disarmament commitments
by suspending work to disable its nuclear reactor, the US has said.
The dispute threatens an international agreement for Pyongyang to
abandon its nuclear weapons in return for energy aid and political
concessions. The North Korean government has said that
Washington has failed to act on a key promise to remove it from a US
list of terrorism sponsors.
Comment: There are some very itchy trigger fingers in
todays' world. Fingers which would have no hesitation in pulling the
nuclear trigger. In fact would literally enjoy doing so! According
to the Koran for the Islamic believer to die as a result of an
exchange of nuclear missiles would be to have an immediate entrance
into Paradise, it would be the death of a martyr. Especially so if
many "unbelievers" died.
ISRAEL'S
DESPERATE SITUATION!
Independent -- 29th August -- A biblical
tragedy in the Sea of Galilee. An arid country, Israel relies on the
waters where Jesus sailed to irrigate its farmland and supply its
homes. But now the lake is drying up -- and only drastic action will
save it. A 2,000 year
old fishing boat of Galilee in which, the story goes, Jesus may have
sailed, is one of the most precious ancient treasures in Israel. ...
it was discovered by chance in 1986 when the sea level dropped
dramatically because of a severe drought. ... The waters of the Sea
of Galilee are now at their lowest on record and, officials say, are
set to fall even lower. The crisis is both natural and
man-made. Four successive years of droughts, with rainfall less than
half the annual average, has combined with a lack of snow on the
peaks of Mount Hermon to lead to the shortage. At the same time,
Israel's relentless pumping of water to irrigate farmland and supply
homes has been massively worsening the situation. .....Despite the
water falling below the lowest red line, which denotes serious
hazard, the pumping has continued until it is due to reach an even
lower black line, seen previously as a point of no return..... Faye
Statiabou, who arrived at the kibbutz (of Ein Gev, beside the sea),
from Australia 30 years ago, described how "quite big cracks are now
appearing on the walls of our home, that is due to the heat caused
by the drought. This is the hottest I can remember. We desperately
need some rain pretty soon. ...."
Comment: The water level of the River Jordan is also at an
all-time low. As it flows into the Dead Sea the water levels are
also at an all-time low with the water now a mile further away from
the original shore line. The water situation is yet another factor
which will lead to war in the Middle East before long.
CLIMATE CHANGE
THE ARCTIC
Independent -- 28th August -- Sea ice drops to worrying level.
The Arctic ice cap has shrunk to its second lowest level since
records began 30 years ago, scientists said yesterday. Climate
change has caused ice to rapidly retreat in areas such as the
Chukchi Sea, experts from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre
revealed.
Daily Mail -- 1st September -- Melting ice turns North Pole into
an island. The North Pole has become an island for the first
time in human history. Startling satellite pictures taken
three days ago show that melting ice has opened up the fabled
North-West and North-East passages - making it possible to sail
around the Arctic ice cap..... If the ice continues to melt at
current rates it will soon be possible to sail right across the
North Pole.....
Four weeks ago, tourists had to be evacuated from
Baffin Island's Auyuittuq National Park in northern Canada because
of flooding from thawed glaciers. The park's name means 'land
that never melts.'
BRITAIN
Independent -- 1st September -- Rain threatens wheat harvest.
Forecasts of rain for the next few days have dashed
farmers' hopes of an Indian summer to help the wheat harvest.
The National Farmers Union said three-quarters of Britain's wheat -
which had promised to be a bumper yield, given the high price of
grain - had yet to be cut after a rainy summer and crops were
'vulnerable'. Rising fuel prices have also pushed up the price
landowners pay to dry grain.
EARTHQUAKES
CHINA
International Herald Tribune - 1st September - Widespread damage in
weekend earthquake.
An earthquake that hit Sichuan and Yunnan provinces
in southwestern China killed 27 people, damaged or destroyed more
than 180,000 homes and affected at least 800,000 residents, state
media said Sunday..... the magnitude of the quake was measured at
6.1 .... parts of Sichuan Province were devastated by an earthquake
that killed about 70,000 people in May and left 10 million people
homeless
FLOODS
INDIA
Independent -- 2nd September -- A heartbreaking tragedy, but world
has been looking the other way.
From an eyewitness Parvinder Singh in the north
eastern state of Bihar :- ".... the crisis began where the Kosi
river crosses from Nepal into India. The disaster has struck in a
place which hasn't seen flooding for 150 years. We are facing a
total social collapse. Huge areas are under water. In
most places the flooding is18 feet deep and ordinary homes and huts
have been completely submerged. Only the roofs of schools and other
official buildings are still visible. People have tried to escape
from the waters by climbing on to the raised parts of roads which
have been built on stilts. In Supaul district I saw around
21,000 people sitting on a single section of highway. The
waters have been rising for nearly two weeks... there had been no
sign of any help from the government until yesterday. .... the waters
are still rising and.... will continue in its full fury until
November.
BANGLADESH -- The same reports tell of half a million people
stranded by floodwater surging from Bihar.
Comment: The cause started with exceptionally heavy monsoon
rains which caused the Kosi river to burst its banks and then surge
southwards through an old channel submerging villages in its wake
and turning hundreds of square miles of farmland into a giant lake.
What is incredible and practically unforgiveable is that it has
taken two weeks for the Indian government (or the Bangladesh) to
take any action. Meanwhile thousands upon thousands are not only
homeless, but are starving, stranded in the middle of the floods and
now at the risk of disease. Delhi fiddles while Bihar drowns.
SOME CLOSING NEWS HEADLINES
from the London newspapers.
-- Independent -- 1st September -- Can engineering the Earth save
it from catastrophe?
-- Independent -- 1st September -- Regarding Hurricane Gustav -- A
savage force of nature -- and mounting evidence they are becoming
more violent.
-- Daily Mail -- 30th August -- We face the worst crisis for 60
years admits Darling.
-- Independent -- 30th August -- The wind is blowing the wrong way
on fuel prices and a cold front is coming.
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