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Monday, November 23, 2009

Iran begins war games to protect atom sites



Iranian air defence forces began on Sunday five days of maneuvers involving simulated attacks on the country's nuclear sites, state-owned Press TV and Al-Alam television channels reported. The maneuvers were announced on Saturday by Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani, head of army air defence, who said the main aim is to thwart aerial threats on Iran's nuclear facilities -- from reconnaissance to actual assault -- posed by an imaginary enemy. The war games would also help improve cooperation among different units, he added. "Due to the threats against our nuclear facilities it is our duty to defend out nation's vital facilities and thus this maneuver covers Bushehr, Fars, Isfahan, Tehran and western provinces," Mighani said. "Our unit will be in charge of the maneuver but there will be units from the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij (militia)," he added. Iran's still unoperational nuclear plant is in the southern Bushehr province while its uranium enrichment plants are in Isfahan and near Tehran. The West believes Iran's enrichment work is masking an atomic weapons programme but Tehran insists it is purely for generating electricity. Washington and Israel have never ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Tehran has often held defence war games and has boasted advances in military capabilities in a bid to show its readiness to counter any military threats over its disputed nuclear programme. The Islamic republic has warned it will hit back at Israel and US interests in the region if it is attacked.

Senate Democrats vote to bring health bill to floor for debate



A sweeping healthcare overhaul narrowly cleared its first hurdle in the US Senate, with Democrats casting 60 party-line votes to open debate on the biggest healthcare changes in decades. In the first Senate test for President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, Democrats unanimously backed a procedural motion to open Senate debate over the opposition of 39 Senate Republicans. Republican George Voinovich did not vote. Democrats needed 60 votes to approve the motion in the 100-member Senate and had no margin for error -- they control exactly 60 votes and Republicans were united in opposition. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell condemned the bill as a costly government intrusion in the private sector that would raise insurance premiums, reduce consumer choices and raise taxes. The Democratic victory was assured earlier in the day when the party's last two holdouts, Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu, said they would support the motion but would not commit to backing the final bill without changes. The Senate debate will begin on November 30 and is expected to last at least three weeks. The House of Representatives has passed its own version, and differences in the two would have to be reconciled in January before Obama could sign a final measure.  The healthcare reform bill would expand coverage to millions of uninsured and bar insurance practices like denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. The legislation would spark the biggest changes in the $2.5 trillion healthcare system -- which accounts for one-sixth of the US economy -- since the 1965 creation of the Medicare government health insurance plan for the elderly.

India not read to change Kashmir border: Manmohan



Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday that India was not ready for any change on Kashmir border, adding that both the countries needed to ensure peace while maintaining the present border. In an interview with a US TV channel, Indian Premiere accused Pakistan of not safeguarding United States’ interests in Afghanistan, adding that it was not doing satisfying work in investigations of Mumbai terror attacks either. Earlier, talking to media upon his arrival in the US, Manmohan had said that operation against terrorists in Waziristan should be decisive. He had claimed that Pakistan wanted US forces to exit Afghanistan as it wanted its own control over there.