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PARIS-French President Jacques Chirac suggested Monday that the international community renounce referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council during nuclear talks-and that Iran, in return, suspend uranium enrichment. "I don't believe in a solution without dialogue," Chirac said on Europe-1 radio, suggesting that the international community suspend the threat of U.N. sanctions in exchange for Iran's suspension of enrichment during negotiations. "I am not pessimistic," Chirac said. "I think that Iran is a great nation, an old culture, an old civilization, and that we can find solutions through dialogue." He suggested that, firstly an agenda for talks be set forth...

FEDERAL police commissioner Mick Keelty has urged people to back off Muslims, insisting Islamic Australia is not to blame for terrorism. In a revealing interview with The Weekend Australian, Mr Keelty said racial profiling was self-defeating because it risked alienating mainstream Muslims while ignoring the real danger of homegrown non-Muslim terror. "I remind people that the firstperson who was convicted of a terrorist offence in Australia was a person with the unlikely name of Jack Roche," the police chief said. And Mr Keelty said he did not like the phrase "the war on terror", because it did not apply in...

•Paroled TWA Hijacker Returns to Lebanon WASHINGTON — One of the most infamous terrorists of the 1980s has rejoined Hezbollah following his release from a German prison and deportation to his native Lebanon in December 2005, a senior Bush administration official told FOX News.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signaled Monday that a temporary suspension of Iran's nuclear programs might be enough to pave the way for the first direct negotiations involving the United States and Iran in more than a quarter-century. Speaking to reporters as she flew to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Rice said Iran needs to suspend uranium enrichment activities before talks can begin, but she did not rule out something less than a permanent suspension. In talks over the weekend between Iranian and European officials, the chief Iranian negotiator offered a two-month freeze at the start of the talks. "The...

With realignment apparently dead and any diplomatic process with the Palestinians stagnant, some voices inside the EU are calling for the three preconditions to talks with Hamas to be "revisited," The Jerusalem Post has learned. These voices, according to European officials, are not advocating dropping the three conditions - ending terrorism, accepting previous agreements and recognizing Israel - but rather staggering them so an opening is created for talks with the Palestinian Authority. EU begins paying aid to Palestinians "No one is questioning the need for the three conditions," a senior European diplomatic source said. "But maybe if you cannot...

The Pakistani military will no longer operate in the area where Osama bin Laden and other top al Qaeda operatives are believed to be hiding, according to terms of what the Pakistan government calls a "peace deal," signed today with militant tribal groups allied to the Taliban and al Qaeda. It is a stunning setback for U.S. efforts to root out al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds. The agreement, signed in the North Waziristan district of Pakistan's volatile tribal belt, calls for the military to return to its barracks and for the insurgents to stop launching attacks on Pakistani troops.

Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News. The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban. If he is in Pakistan, bin Laden "would not be taken into custody," Major General Shaukat Sultan Khan told ABC News in a telephone interview, "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen." Bin Laden is believed to be hiding somewhere in the...

The European Union's foreign policy chief and Iran's senior nuclear negotiator tentatively agreed to meet Wednesday in a last-ditch attempt to bridge differences over Tehran's atomic program, U.N. and European officials said. With the Vienna meeting seen as the last chance for Iran to avoid sanctions, U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan threw his weight behind a negotiated solution, saying Monday that confrontation with the Security Council "will not be in Iran's favor or that of the region." The officials, who agreed to share confidential information about the meeting with The Associated Press only if their names weren't used, stressed that...

4 September 2006 BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has underlined there can be "no military option" for dealing with Iran's nuclear programme, a spokesman said Monday. "The door for negotiations remains open," said chief German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm. Wilhelm added: "The chancellor has expressed the view that there is no military option." US President George W. Bush has repeatedly said he does not rule out any option for dealing with Iran's nuclear programme, which is widely believed to be aimed at building nuclear weapons. Iran rejects this and says its uranium enrichment is for peaceful purposes. Tehran refused...

THE Italian Foreign Minister said today that Iran's desire to develop nuclear energy is "legitimate" provided the goal of the program was for "peaceful purposes"."If Iran is looking to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, it is not only legitimate, but can also clear the way for cooperation" with other countries, said Massimo D'Alema.He stressed that Iran's nuclear program must be peaceful."We must work so that Iran does not build a nuclear weapon," he said.The comments by Italy's top diplomat came one day before a deadline set by the UN Security Council for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment...

SO, what now? Iran has defied the UN order to stop its most controversial nuclear work. It looks as if there will be a fudge by the European Union, dragging the US along behind. At yesterday's deadline, which was supposed to be the climax of this long-running standoff, Europeans blinked first. Germany and Italy, in particular, have taken the view that more talks would be preferable to sanctions, even at the cost of blurring the force of the UN Security Council demand. That has played into the hands of Russia and China, who never much wanted sanctions. It has left...

Two bombs in two crowded trains. Neither bomb, though, exploded. It would have been one of the most lethal terrorist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001. And it was planned not for Britain, not for Indonesia, not for the U.S., but for Germany, of all places. Suddenly the threat to the people there seems very real. German authorities say two people placed suitcase bombs on regional trains that departed from Cologne's main station on July 31. One suspect, a Lebanese student enrolled in a prep program at Kiel University in northern Germany, has been arrested. Police are searching for the other...

When Israel began its counterattack on Hezbollah one month ago, the Bush administration backed the Israeli plan to destroy the militia and its arsenal of rockets, resisting efforts by France and other allies to call for a cease-fire. But as the assault wore on and it became evident that Hezbollah was a far more fearsome and skilled adversary than Israel had first thought — and as Lebanese civilian casualties mounted — American policy moved more urgently toward seeking an immediate political solution. That shift, recounted by senior administration officials, led to one of the most dramatic bouts of diplomacy that...

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the standoff over Iran's nuclear program could not be resolved through use of force, news agencies reported. ADVERTISEMENT "I am convinced that there can be no resolution of the problem through use of force," the agencies quoted Lavrov as saying on Wednesday. "Practically all European countries are in solidarity with Russia" in this regard, Lavrov said. He cautioned against drawing conclusions too quickly following the announcement Tuesday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Islamic republic had successfully enriched uranium itself for use as nuclear fuel. The main goal...

"It is extremely important to point out that the aim behind these cartoons was not to attack the Prophet at all or devalue him, but as an opening to dialogue on freedom of expression," Sunday's apology said. "We did not realize at the time how sensitive this issue was for Muslims in Denmark or millions of Muslims around the world." The adverts included a previously published statement from the Danish embassy in Riyadh declaring respect for Islam. The apology was dated February 5, but an advertising spokesman at al-Riyadh said it might have taken time for the papers, which are...

VIENNA, Austria France accused Iran on Thursday of seeking nuclear weapons in Europe's bluntest criticism to date of Tehran's uranium enrichment plans, while Russia urged its erstwhile ally to re-impose an indefinite freeze on enrichment.

A major American attack on Iran's nuclear sites would kill up to 10,000 people and lead to war in the Middle East, a report says today. Hundreds of scientists and technicians would be targets in the opening salvos as the attacks focused on eliminating further nuclear development, the Oxford Research Group says in Iran: Consequences of a War. The research coincides with reports that strategists at the Pentagon are drawing up plans for "a last resort" strike if diplomacy fails. Plans for an assault have taken on "greater urgency" in recent months, The Sunday Telegraph said. Tacticians at central command...

EU commissioner urges European press code on religionBy David Rennie in Brussels(Filed: 09/02/2006)Plans for a European press charter committing the media to "prudence" when reporting on Islam and other religions, were unveiled yesterday. <script>document.write('<a href="http://ads.telegraph.co.uk/event.ng/Type%3dclick%26FlightID%3d12277%26AdID%3d14448%26TargetID%3d2697%26Segments%3d183,217,381,406,419,475,491,532,539,736,737,928,950,964,998,1040,1057,1063,1088,1242,1278,1418,1419,1428,1532,1552,1578,1582,1649,1652,1673,1695,1700,1703,1704,1714,1728,1748,1754,1756,1773,1774,1780%26Targets%3d154,3121,3146,2697,3142,3171,2700,3266,2611,3113,2945,2950,3141,3169,3196,3238,3261,3274,2858,2865,2919,3028,2936%26Values%3d25,30,50,62,75,85,100,110,150,155,196,197,198,1275,1282,1393,1444,1462,1503,1899,2096,2098,2248,2262,2336,2423,2500,2542,2564,2619,2626,2629,2630,2631,2632,2650,2664,2666,2667,2682,2860,3116%26RawValues%3d%26Redirect%3dhttp:%252f%252fclk.atdmt.com/MDG/go/tlgrpbpu0050000011mdg/direct/01/bzzawjw,bbRzWRebghNzN/" target="_blank"><img src="http://view.atdmt.com/MDG/view/tlgrpbpu0050000011mdg/direct/01/bzzawjw,bbRzWRebghNzN/" width="200" height="200" border="0" alt=""></a><br>');</script> Franco Frattini, the European Union commissioner for justice, freedom and security, revealed the idea for a code of conduct in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. Mr Frattini, a former Italian foreign minister, said the EU faced the "very real problem" of trying to reconcile "two fundamental freedoms, the freedom of expression and the freedom of religion".Millions of...

Iran’s Leader, Ahmadinejad, Calls on Nations to “Remove Israel” 16:49 Feb 12, '06 / 14 Shevat 5766 By Scott Shiloh At a rally in Teheran, commemorating the 27th anniversary of the revolution that created the Islamic republic, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated his call for Israel’s destruction. "We ask the West to remove what they created sixty years ago, and if they do not listen to our recommendations, then the Palestinian nation and other nations will eventually do this for them," Ahmadinejad said. "Remove Israel before it is too late and save yourself from the fury of regional nations," proclaimed...

  The United Nations and European Union have reached agreement to issue a joint statement condemning cartoon "insults to Islam" that were first published in a Danish newspaper and have been widely reprinted recently, resulting in a rash of violence throughout the Muslim world. According to a report in WAM, the United Arab Emirates news agency, the agreement is the work of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Conference. The agreement, according to Ihsanoglu, will mean a formal rebuke by the U.N. and EU of the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten for publishing the offensive cartoons. The statement, he...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a warning to the international community against threatening Iran regarding ongoing nuclear enrichment efforts, the Russian Interfax News Agency reports. “I think that at this stage, it is important not to attempt to guess what will happen and even more so, not to threaten,” stated the senior Russian official.

PARIS, Feb 1, 2006 (AFP) - The owner of French newspaper France Soir on Wednesday dismissed the publication's managing editor after the paper reproduced a set of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed first published in Denmark that have created an uproar in the Muslim world. France-Soir owner Raymond Lakah said in a statement to AFP he "decided to remove Jacques Lefranc as managing director of the publication as a powerful sign of respect for the intimate beliefs and convictions of every individual." "We express our regrets to the Muslim community and all people who were shocked by the publication" of...

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an interview published days before her first visit to the United States, said Washington should close its Guantanamo Bay prison camp and find other ways of dealing with terror suspects. "An institution like Guantanamo can and should not exist in the longer term," Merkel said in an interview with the weekly magazine Der Spiegel published on Saturday. "Different ways and means must be found for dealing with these prisoners." Merkel has vowed to repair ties with the United States, severely strained over the U.S.-led Iraq invasion, which her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder strongly...

Document seen by Guardian details web of front companies and middlemen The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country's weapons programmes. Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a new ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with "import requests and acquisitions ... registered almost daily", the report seen by the Guardian concludes. The 55-page intelligence assessment, dated July 1 2005, draws upon material gathered by British, French, German and Belgian agencies and has been used to brief European...

EU officials are concerned that U.S. sanctions against companies selling Iran weapons are hobbling a unified effort to end a nuclear standoff. Tuesday, the U.S. State Department announced sanctions against nine companies -- six in China, two in India, and one in Austria. The sanctions are part of a U.S. effort to cut off the flow of technology that could aid Iran's weapons programs while also pressuring China and Russia to threaten action against Tehran at the U.N. Security Council, The New York Times reported. A senior EU official who asked not to be identified said the sanctions weren't in...

AS OFFICIALS in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz, Austria, busied themselves by removing every mention of the movie star and California governor from city sites because he refused to grant clemency to a convicted murderer, next door in Germany a state parole board mysteriously let go another convicted murderer. His victim was a heroic U.S. sailor. Mohammed Ali Hammadi was convicted of killing Robert Dean Stethem, a Navy diver, during a hijacking in Beirut in 1985. A Washington Post editorial recalled a conversation Stethem had with a fellow passenger, a 16-year-old girl, after Hammadi brutally beat Stethem. . . "He...

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- A Hezbollah militant sentenced to life in Germany for murdering a U.S. Navy diver during the 1985 hijacking of a U.S. jetliner has been freed, officials said. The German government denied on Tuesday the release was related to the freeing of a German hostage in Iraq. Mohammed Ali Hamadi was released Thursday and allowed to return to his native Lebanon on the next day, after qualifying for parole after 19 years in prison, said Ulrich Hermanski, spokesman for the North Rhine Wesphalia state justice ministry. "There was no special treatment," Hermanski said in a telephone interview.

Iran: Europe Proposes Nonaggression Pact By NASSER KARIMI The Associated Press/Sunday, July 31, 2005; 12:55 PM TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's top nuclear negotiator said his European counterparts have proposed a guarantee that Iran will not be invaded if Tehran agrees to permanently halt uranium enrichment, the state-run news agency said Sunday. Hasan Rowhani said the proposal is being discussed by Europeans and includes several important points such as "guarantees about Iran's integrity, independence, national sovereignty" and "nonaggression toward Iran," the Islamic Republic News Agency said Sunday. "If Europe enjoys a serious political will about Iran's nuclear fuel cycle, there will...

Former President Jimmy Carter said today, while in Birmingham, England, the detention of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base was an embarrassment and had given extremists an excuse to attack the U.S. Carter also criticized the U.S.-led war in Iraq as "unnecessary and unjust." "I think what's going on in Guantanamo Bay and other places is a disgrace to the U.S.A.," he told a news conference at the Baptist World Alliance's centenary conference. "I wouldn't say it's the cause of terrorism, but it has given impetus and excuses to potential terrorists to lash out at our country and...

A leading researcher on terrorism believes Norway and Sweden are the two safest countries in Europe. That may further boost tourism, which already is setting records in Norway this summer.The number of cruiseships coming to Norway, for example, is the highest ever, and it's probably no coincidence. Increasing numbers of foreign tourists are heading to Scandinavia because of terrorism fears elsewhere.Now Magnus Ranstorp, who is Swedish himself but considered one of the world's foremost experts on terrorism, has ranked those European countries believed to be most vulnerable to terrorist attack.Ranstorp, a professor at St Andrews University in Scotland, was asked...

Defence Minister Willie O’Dea today cancelled plans for a meeting with United States Joint Chief of Staff General Richard Myers (pictured). Defence Minister Willie O’Dea today cancelled plans for a meeting with United States Joint Chief of Staff General Richard Myers. Anti-war protesters had condemned the general’s visit to Dublin but a spokesman for the Department of Defence said the informal meeting would not now go ahead. The spokesman insisted the engagement, due to be held this afternoon, had been arranged on a casual basis and official talks had not been organised. “The position was that the minister was quite...

Group Seeks Inquiry Into London Bombings Wednesday July 20, 2005 8:31 PM AP Photo LSD116 By ED JOHNSON Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) - Britain's Muslim leaders demanded a judicial inquiry Wednesday into what motivated the four ``homegrown'' suicide bombers who targeted London, as Prime Minister Tony Blair proposed an international conference on rooting out Islamic extremism. The government said all 56 people known to have died in the bombings of three subway trains and a bus have now been identified, but Home Secretary Charles Clarke warned the number could rise. Twenty-seven people remained hospitalized, several in critical condition. Police...

Bush waives restrictions on Palestinian aid WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush formally waived U.S. restrictions on providing direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority on Thursday in a move that set the stage for spending $50 million on projects in the Gaza Strip. The announcement came on the same day that a fragile Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire was imperiled, threatening disruptions to Israel's planned evacuation of settlers from occupied Gaza. Israel launched a fourth air strike in the space of an hour in the Gaza Strip on Friday, witnesses said, hours after an Israeli woman was killed in a...

Terrorist involved in Madrid and 9/11 bombings released by German court July 18, 2005 German-Syrian Mamoun Darkazanli Germany says terror arrest illegalMIM: If the Germans don't want to hand over one of their citizens, why don't they start proceedings to strip him of his citizenship instead of releasing him to continue his terrorist activity with the use of a German passport?http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/18/germany.extradite/BERLIN, Germany -- Germany's high court has ordered the release of a Syrian-born German man whom Spain wanted extradited in connection with the 2003 Madrid bombings.The Federal Constitutional Court ruled Monday it would be illegal to extradite Mamoun Darkazanli, a...

TEHRAN (AFP) - European nations negotiating with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme may be ready to help build nuclear reactors and supply them with fuel, Iranian negotiator Hossein Moussavian said. He told the official IRNA agency that a proposal promised by Britain, France and Germany by August and aimed at resolving the crisis could include such an offer, as well as a several-month delay before Iran's nuclear ambitions are referred to the UN Security Council. The EU proposal could make or break the lengthy diplomatic process aimed at easing widespread fears Iran is seeking nuclear weapons technology. In contrast...

We rock the boat Today's Muslims aren't prepared to ignore injustice Dilpazier Aslam Wednesday July 13, 2005 Guardian If I'm asked about 7/7, I - a Yorkshire lad, born and bred - will respond first by giving an out-clause to being labelled a terrorist lover. I think what happened in London was a sad day and not the way to express your political anger. Then there's the "but". If, as police announced yesterday, four men (at least three from Yorkshire) blew themselves up in the name of Islam, then please let us do ourselves a favour and not act shocked....

Queen Guitarist Brian May Asks For Reasoning Why Terrorists Hate West Douglas Maher All Headline News Staff Reporter July 12,2005 12:04 PM EST London,UK (AHN)-Brian May,the guitarist for the legendary rock group Queen has made a comment regarding the recent terrorist attacks in London. "I sense there is a mood of quiet resolve among the people I speak to. We are feeling that we must not go any further down the road of escalation...this is old stuff, but I personally feel that in the wake of 9/11 an opportunity was missed...to seek understanding rather than revenge." May told Launch Radio...

British Prime Minister Tony Blair sees the Arab-Israeli dispute as one of the main reasons behind the London bombings. The group claiming responsibility puts it third on a list of grievances. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has attributed last week’s bombings in London to the Arab-Israeli dispute and lack of democracy in the Middle East. At least 70 people were estimated to have been killed in bombing attacks that gripped London last Thursday, with hundreds more wounded. Blair told the BBC that precluding terrorist attacks was not necessarily a question of taking preventative security measures. “The underlying problems have to...

SEOUL President Roh Moo Hyun declared Thursday that under no circumstances would South Korea allow the United States to resort to a military attack against North Korea. President George W. Bush insists that he wants to resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomacy, but he has not officially ruled out a military option, which he has called a "last choice."

In a preview of her strategy for handling terrorist states, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is urging a brand new aid package for North Korea in the hope of persuading brutal dictator Kim Jong Il to scuttle his nuclear weapons program. In a Washington Post op-ed piece co-authored with Sen. Carl Levin on Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton blamed President Bush for bungling the nuclear face-off. "While the [Bush] administration wrangled internally about whether to negotiate seriously with North Korea, Pyongyang was using the time to break out as a nuclear power," she complained. "Indeed, in February the North Koreans declared that they...

The United States said on June 22 it would give North Korea 50,000 tonnes of food aid, saying its decision was based on humanitarian need and was not linked to efforts to end Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. 'The United States will be donating, in response to the World Food Program appeal, 50,000 metric tonnes of agricultural commodities for North Korea,' State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said, adding it was not designed to lure North Korea to six-party talks on ending its suspected nuclear arms programs.