PERSIAN GULF

IRAN SHOULD BE ABLE TO PRODUCE PLUTONIUM BY 2007, GROUP SAYS

A heavy water reactor in central Iran should be able to produce enough plutonium for a nuclear bomb by 2007 – years ahead of its official completion date, an exiled Iranian opposition group claimed yesterday.

The National Council of Resistance said the site near Arak was already producing heavy water. Nuclear experts consider heavy water reactors a danger because they provide for a simpler way of producing bomb fuel than units using light water. The head of the group’s foreign affairs committee, Mohammed Mohaddessin, said work on a 40-megawatt heavy water reactor is “near an end” and should be ready in 2006 or 2007. When that reactor is completed, the Arak facility will capable of producing up to 22 pounds of plutonium, enough for a nuclear bomb, he said. Heavy water is used in nuclear power plants and can be used to produce plutonium for weapons. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that the reactor near Arak would be finished in 2014.

– Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

OFFICIALS BACK OFF PLEDGE TO CRACK DOWN ON PALESTINIAN GUNMEN

Palestinian officials backed away yesterday from a pledge to crack down on gunmen who shot up Mahmoud Abbas’ office building, underlining the difficulties authorities face in restoring order in the chaotic West Bank.

The Palestinian leader was in the building but unhurt in the gunfire late Wednesday. He ordered his forces to go after the gunmen, who security officials said had “crossed a red line” by attacking the seat of government. But in the light of day, officials adopted a conciliatory line, and one even admitted they feared coming under armed attack themselves. Under a compromise, the gunmen will be allowed to rejoin their former units in the security forces.

– Associated Press

EASTERN EUROPE

U.S. MILITARY AIRPLANE CRASHES IN ALBANIA; NINE BELIEVED DEAD

An American military airplane crashed in central Albania while on a training mission yesterday, and nine American personnel aboard were believed to have been killed, the Albanian Defense Ministry said. The Pentagon said a C-130 crashed, and a search was under way.

The plane had taken off from Tirana’s Mother Teresa Airport and crashed on Driza Mountain in the district of Gramsh, 50 miles southeast of capital, Tirana, an Albanian Defense Ministry spokesman, Agim Doci, told the Associated Press.

Mr. Doci said officials believe that the nine people aboard, all Americans, were killed. He said the plane was taking part in joint exercises with the Albanian military. A Pentagon spokesman, Jim Turner, said the plane that crashed was a C-130 and that a search was under way using another aircraft in the area. Mr. Turner said he had no word on the crew’s status.

– Associated Press

SOUTH AMERICA

BOGOTA, Colombia – Five U.S Army soldiers are under investigation for allegedly trying to smuggle 32 pounds of cocaine out of Colombia aboard an American military aircraft, officials said yesterday.

The soldiers were detained Tuesday as a result of the investigation, said Lieutenant Colonel Eduardo Villavicencio, a spokesman for the U.S. military’s Southern Command in Florida. He would not disclose where the five are being held, other than “in the United States.”

“The Department of Defense is working closely with Colombian authorities and U.S. law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation,” the American ambassador to Colombia, William Wood, said in a statement. “I congratulate our law enforcement agencies for their excellent cooperation in uncovering this drug smuggling scheme.” The embassy declined further comment.

– Associated Press

SOUTHEAST ASIA

SURVIVORS OF EARTHQUAKE DEMAND HELP

GUNUNG SITOLI, Indonesia – Angry and hungry survivors were demanding help from Indonesia’s government yesterday, three days after an earthquake leveled homes and slowed the delivery of aid over roads and bridges battered by the temblor.

President Yudhoyono of Indonesia stood in pouring rain in the town of Gunung Sitoli on Nias island, and hugged a child as she wept uncontrollably and told him she had lost her brother and sister in Monday night’s powerful magnitude-8.7 quake.

“Be patient, we will help you,” Mr. Yudhoyono’s wife told another crying girl. After being confronted by a group of hungry and angry survivors, senior officials conceded the government had responded slowly to the humanitarian crisis.

– Associated Press