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Volume 27, Issue 3, August 26, 2004

World News

Content is provided by:

Deutsche Welle

Iran Rejects UN Nuclear Demands

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani referred to demands from the International Atomic Energy Agency to freeze all work on uranium enrichment as "illegal".

"Iran will not accept any obligation regarding the suspension of uranium enrichment," Rohani said at a news conference on Sunday. "No international body can force Iran to do so."

Over the weekend, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, IAEA, had unanimously adopted a joint US-European resolution giving Iran two months to stop producing enriched uranium or face referral to the Security Council.

Iran digs its heels in

According to Reuters news agency, the resolution agreed to by the IAEA's board of governors called on Iran to freeze all activities related to uranium enrichment and to grant full and prompt access to the IAEA's inspectors, as well as provide them with any further information needed, by Nov. 25.

Iran responded by saying that if the issue were referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions, it would respond by blocking snap checks of its atomic facilities. Hassan Rohani, head of Iran's supreme national security council, added that were the case to go to the Security Council, Iran would also consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it signed in 2003.

"If they want to send Iran to the Security Council, it is not wise, and we will stop implementing the Additional Protocol," he said. The Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty calls for snap nuclear checks by IAEA inspectors.

A "peaceful" nuclear program

Tehran has said it wants to secure its own source of fuel for power stations so that it is not dependent on other countries and stresses that Iran has a legal right to develop nuclear power. Rohani insisted that no institution had the authority to deprive a country of a peaceful nuclear energy program.

But experts also say that enrichment is an integral step in the production of atomic weapons, and Washington has long harbored suspicions about the Islamic country's aims for developing its nuclear capacity. The US believes that oil-rich Iran, which the Bush administration described as a member of the "axis of evil," has no need for nuclear reactors, even for civilian programs.

Criticism from EU

The threatening posture from Tehran marks a turn-around from last October, when the country agreed to more stringent inspections and signed the Additional Protocol. At the time, Iran also consented to the suspension of uranium enrichment activities. In return, Britain, France and Germany, promised to help develop technology for a civil atomic energy plant.

But last week, the European Union abandoned its policy of "constructive engagement," after the bloc's Big Three joined forces with the United States and decided to issue a deadline for Tehran to comply with international demands dispel concerns about nuclear activities.

"The EU calls on Iran to heed the content of the resolution adopted by IAEA's board of governors, in particular with regard to the necessity to suspend fully all its enrichment related activities," the head of the Dutch delegation told a meeting of members of the IAEA on behalf of the EU.

Tehran insists it abided by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and allowed spot inspections proving the intention behind its nuclear program was civilian in nature. Officials in Tehran also point out that the suspension of enrichment was not a legal requirement but a voluntary measure.

In November, the IAEA board of governors will meet to review Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. The country has until then to answer all outstanding questions.

"Designer Baby" Gets Go-Ahead

A couple in Northern Ireland have been given permission to proceed with a controversial stem-cell therapy which could save their young son. The process includes the creation of an embryo to provide life-saving cells.

A couple in Northern Ireland have been permitted under a recent law in Great Britain to pursue the process which would lead to the first "designer baby," an embryo which would provide cells that could help treat the family's seriously ill three-year-old son.

To look at Joshua Fletcher, one would not see any signs of the illness. But he has a rare and potentially fatal blood disease called Diamond Blackfan anemia. In two years time, Joshua will be too old for the stem-cell therapy which could keep him alive. So for his parents, news that the treatment has been authorized is like the revocation of a death sentence.

"The chances are 95 percent in favor that Joshua with be cured by this therapy," said his father, Joe Fletcher. "If we do not do this, he will soon die." This new chance of life will come from an artificially created embryo, designed to provide cells for Joshua which in turn will produce the healthy red blood cells that will keep him alive.

The possible treatment was made a reality in the UK in July when legislation was passed to lift restrictions on Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). Until then, it was illegal to biologically alter an embryo unless it was ill. The new law makes it legal to generate an embryo for the purpose of creating stem cells for a sick relative. The Fletchers, who live in a small village in Northern Ireland, will be the first family to benefit from the new legislation.

Opposition to use of embryos

There has been outcry from pro-life groups over the legislation and the granting of permission to the Fletchers. As many as a dozen embryos will be produced through the in-vitro fertilization treatments but only the one with a perfect genetic match will survive and be carried by Julie Fletcher for a full-term of nine months. The destruction of the other embryos is the aspect that has generated most of the opposition.

If the child is survives to full term and is born, blood will be taken from the umbilical cord containing the cells which should cure Joshua. It will be a further six months until the doctors can ascertain whether the treatment was successful or not.

Despite being legal, the method carries its fair share of controversy in Britain as in many other corners of the globe. Julie Fletcher says she does not understand this.

"I will love this child, regardless, but all the more if the therapy should succeed," she told reporters. "We wanted one more child. It's better when we don't leave it up to the genetic lottery and check before whether this baby also carries the signs for the illness or not."

Not designer baby but life saver

Dr Mohammed Taranissi, one of the UK's top fertility doctors and the man who will be in charge of the procedure, told the Belfast Telegraph newspaper: "I do not see any other outcome other than a successful one for the Fletchers. After all, the principle has already been accepted and there is nothing in the Fletchers' case to throw up any problems."

He dismisses the "designer baby" accusations.

"It is not a matter of selecting the color of eyes or choosing between a girl or a boy," he said. "It is a matter of helping a seriously ill child."

Germany must allow research, says Clement

The news from Northern Ireland comes a day after German Economy Minister Wolfgang Clement called for Germany to abandon all restrictions on stem-cell research if it wants to create a strong, home-grown biotech industry.

"We have to allow unlimited research on stem cells in Germany," he told the German parliament in a debate on his ministry's 2005 budget on Thursday.

Germany has allowed limited research into stem cells since 2002 but under strict conditions; for example, the cells must already exist and not be reproduced through cloning. Germany's stance is more liberal than in some countries, such as in the United States where such research is discouraged, but is less liberal than in Britain.

Paris, Brussels Put Brakes on NATO Mission in Iraq

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Germany, US Call for Closer Cooperation on Terrorism

Germany and the US say better cooperation is needed to fight terrorism, but while Germany is advocating a "clearing house" to exchange information, the US says that idea won't work. More >>

German Business Shuns Iraq

After Berlin's firm opposition to the US-led war in Iraq, German companies largely lost out in the awarding of contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq. But surprisngly few businesses saw it as a missed opportunity. More >>

EU Says Greek Budget Deficit Revised

With reports circulating that Greece has repeated breached EU deficit limits in past years, the European Commission said Tuesday Greek economic data had been revised. The news may spell trouble for the euro's stability.
More >>

Berlin's "MOMArathon" Draws to End

The New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) exhibit in Berlin, which has drawn more than a million visitors since it opened in February, draws to a close on Sunday with a spectacular firework display. More >>

Beethoven Festival Features Chinese Musicians

On Friday, the month-long Beethoven Festival starts in Bonn. Among the musicians flying in from all over the world to perform are a group of young musicians from China. More >>

The Computer as Reading Instructor

Although they can't read and write, that doesn't mean illiterates can't learn. But many are too ashamed to take a course. That's why a new German initiative offers instruction over the Internet. More >>

New Clues to Life on Mars

Concentrations of water vapor and methane gas in certain regions of the red planet strengthen speculation that Mars could be a haven for microbial life. But there are still plenty of questions about the information. More >>