Sunday, January 24, 2010
U.S.-Russia nuclear deal [ 588 ]
U.S.-Russia nuclear deal "95 percent" agreed upon
MOSCOW (Reuters)Sunday., Jan 24, 2010,, 01:18pm EST -
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday that a deal with the United States on a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty was "95 percent" agreed, news agencies reported Sunday.
"Everything in negotiations is going fine, 95 percent of the new deal's issues have been agreed upon," Interfax quoted him as telling reporters in the Black Sea town of Sochi.
"I am pretty optimistic in my expectations," he added, but said that U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe remained an issue.
Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova declined to comment.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Medvedev laid out plans last year to forge a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, called START, and reduce the arsenals of the two largest nuclear powers.
It is an important element of efforts to mend relations between Washington and Moscow, which plunged to post-Cold War lows after Russia's brief war with pro-Western Georgia in 2008.
Negotiators were unable to reach agreement by December 5, when START I expired, and official negotiations in Geneva have not resumed after a break over the holiday period.
A top U.S. official indicated earlier this month that they would resume on January 25, and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday he expected an agreement would be reached soon once negotiations resume at the beginning of February.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in late December that U.S. plans for a missile defense system were the main obstacle to reaching a new deal, causing the U.S. State Department to reject any attempt to broaden START talks to cover defensive weapons systems.
Sunday, Medvedev said the Kremlin "will definitely raise the issue" of the missile shield with its U.S. negotiators once START talks resume.
"It is crafty to speak of strategic nuclear forces without touching upon missile defense," Itar-Tass quoted him as saying. "If nuclear missiles are launched, anti-missiles are too."
Russia's leaders have remained wary about Obama's revised missile defense plans, which are based on sea- and land-based missile interceptors in Europe.
Any START agreement must be ratified by lawmakers in both countries to take effect.
In July, Obama and Medvedev agreed that the new treaty should cut the number of nuclear warheads on each side to between 1,500 and 1,675, and the number of delivery vehicles to between 500 and 1,100.
Analysts say negotiators are at least closer to agreement on more specific numerical limits within those ranges.
Officials recently have said that issues still being negotiated included monitoring and verification measures.
(Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman, additional reporting by Denis Dyomkin)
Violence in Nigeria[ 587 ]
Christian-Muslim violence in Nigeria warrants probe, rights group says
January 23, 2010 -- Updated 1910 GMT (0310 HKT)
Workers on Saturday close mass graves where dozens of people killed during religious clashes were buried.
Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) -Jan 23, 2010 - Reports of at least 150 Muslims killed in recent religious clashes in Nigeria should be investigated, a human rights group urged Saturday.
Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that armed men attacked Kuru Karama in central Nigeria on Tuesday, "killing many as they tried to flee and burning many others alive," the international organization said Saturday.
The assailants targeted Muslims, reportedly killing at least 150, Human Rights Watch said.
Community leaders from Jos, a city about 19 miles north of Kuru Karama, and journalists told the organization that later in the week they saw dozens of bodies lodged in wells or sewage pits. The bodies of 121 people, including 22 children, had been recovered, the organization said. Most of the homes in the town were burned down, along with three mosques, the group said.
Those interviewed by the group said they thought the attackers were Christian, Human Rights Watch said. But even Christians were not spared. When a Christian pastor tried to stop the attacks he was beaten, a Muslim imam told the group.
Human Rights Watch called on Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to open a criminal investigation into the deaths based on the reports the groups said were credible.
Officials are still tallying death figures in the latest round of violence, said H.A. Angulu, director of public communications for the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Nigerians flee the city of Kuru Karama on Thursday after religious violence reportedly killed 150 Muslims.
"Yes [the clashes] occurred, but I cannot confirm any numbers," he told CNN. "At this time the government is still compiling figures of those people affected and of those displaced in Jos. They are accounting for the deceased and missing. At this time I cannot confirm the number of dead."
Earlier this week, dozens were reportedly killed in clashes in Jos. Angulu did not specifically address the reports about Kuru Karama.
On Thursday, Jonathan declared in a televised address that the attackers in the state of Plateau would be held accountable, according to Human Rights Watch.
Police were called to end the attacks, but they did not, the group reported witnesses as saying.
Hundreds have died in clashes between Christians and Muslims in central Plateau state in the past decade.
The most populous country in Africa, with a population of more than 150 million, Nigeria is almost evenly divided between Muslims and Christians.
With more than 78 million Muslims, it has the sixth largest Islamic population in the world, according to a study last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
A curfew was imposed Tuesday -- the same day as the reported attack in Kuru Karama -- in Jos after violence flared up there following unrest on Sunday. A local activist said 69 people had been killed and about 600 injured in the most recent outbreak. Thousands more were displaced, seeking shelter in military and police headquarters, said Sani Shehu of the Civil Rights Congress in Jos.
There was no independent confirmation of Shehu's figures.
It is unclear what sparked the latest violence.
In November 2008, at least 700 Nigerians died in Christian-Muslim riots that followed a disputed local election, Human Rights Watch reported.
CNN's Andreena Narayan contributed to this report.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Skydiver will attempt to break record [ 585 ]
Skydiver to break records with space dive
A daredevil skydiver is preparing to make a record breaking 23 mile freefall from the edge of space.
Austrian-born Felix Baumgartner will plummet 125,000 feet in a fall that will see him break the sound barrier.
His jump, which is being assisted by former Nasa and US Air Force engineers, will feature in a documentary to be shown on BBC Two later this year.
It is 50 years since American Joe Kittinger made history by leaping from a balloon at 102,800ft.
Mr Baumgartner, who is known for stunts such as jumping off the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will travel up to 125,000ft in a specially designed capsule suspended beneath a helium balloon.
His freefall will last for more than five minutes and he will have to wear a specially made pressure suit and helmet to protect his body in the extreme cold and thin air.
It is hoped that the jump will answer a number of important scientific questions. Reaching speeds of over 690mph (Mach 1) in just 35 seconds his body will experience some of the most arduous conditions ever experienced in freefall.
His team also hope to use the "space dive" to gather data about the stratosphere and how the body copes with the extreme conditions.
The jump is due to take place above North America this summer.
Gary Hunter, BBC executive producer, said: "This is a fascinating blend of scientific challenge and human endeavour."
RA Ambassador to Russia..[ 584 ]
Oleg Yesayan appointed RA Ambassador to Russia
11:35 am | January 22, 2010 | Official
Last year Armenian Ambassador to Russia Armen Smbatyan was elected Executive Director of the Humanitarian Cooperation Council of the CIS countries.
On this occasion President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on releasing Armen Smbatyan from the duties of Armenia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Russian Federation.
According to another presidential decree, Oleg Yesayan was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Russian Federation (seat in Moscow).
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