Brazil VP says country should build nuclear arms; aide says it’s not gov’t position

September 23rd, 2009 Obama: North Korea must show arms responsibilityUNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama has told a gathering of world leaders that Iran and North Korea "must be held accountable" if they continue to put their pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of international security. In a wide-ranging speech on global issues before a U.N.

September 23rd, 2009 Brazil's president defends Iran's nuclear programNEW YORK — Brazil's president said Wednesday that Iran is entitled to the same rights as any other country to use nuclear energy for peaceful ends. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday that Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assured him in meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly that his country's nuclear program was intended solely for peaceful purposes and that he had no reason to doubt him.

September 14th, 2009 US worried about Venezuelan arms buildupWASHINGTON — A U.S. official said Monday that Venezuelan arms acquisitions could spark an arms race in Latin America and he also expressed misgivings about the country's possible nuclear ambitions.

September 10th, 2009 TEHRAN - Iran and Brazil can play an important role in "the new world order through their cooperation on the international scene" and increase their bilateral collaboration, Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki has said. On Wednesday night, Mottaki met Brazil's deputy foreign minister, Roberto Jaguaribe Gomes de Mattos who is on an official trip to Iran.

September 7th, 2009 BRASILIA - Brazil and France have signed a major arms pact worth billions of dollars that includes transfer of key military technologies, building of submarines and purchase of helicopters. The agreement was sealed after a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva here Monday.

August 18th, 2009 MOSCOW - Iran is ready to hold talks on its nuclear programme with the West without any preconditions, a senior Iranian official said Tuesday. "Iran's main position on talks regarding (the country's) nuclear programme is that discussions should be held without any preliminary conditions," said Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

July 31st, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel has sought help from the US to build a nuclear power plant in the country, a media report said Friday. Israel has already conveyed its request to the US, the Ynet news service reported.

July 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A leading arms control expert has suggested that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should use her visit to India to "re-establish nuclear restraint and arms control as a top priority for the region". South Asia is as much a nuclear tinderbox as it was a decade ago when Indian and Pakistani-supported forces engaged in a clash that almost triggered a nuclear war, Daryl G.

July 2nd, 2009 Obama: Iran cannot be permitted to be nuke powerWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he is "not reconciled" to the idea of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon within a year. The president told The Associated Press in an interview that U.S.

June 23rd, 2009 US: missile spat with Russia will be worked outWASHINGTON — A State Department official expressed confidence Tuesday that Russian objections to any U.S. missile defense system in eastern Europe will not impede arms reduction talks.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Ahead of the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to New Delhi next month, India Wednesday underlined its credentials as a responsible nuclear power and reiterated its commitment to universal nuclear disarmament amid speculation there might be pressure on it to sign the global nonproliferation treaties. "We will welcome real action towards disarmament.

May 30th, 2009 Obama cheers step toward new nuclear arms pactWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is welcoming an agreement by the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament to open the way to negotiate a new nuclear arms control treaty. He says the decision signals a commitment to work together on what he calls a fundamental challenge.

May 2nd, 2009 Brazil: At least 60K homeless, 14 dead from floodsSAO PAULO — Officials say floods and mudslides from heavy rains in northeastern Brazil have killed at least 14 people in the last month and driven tens of thousands from their homes. Regional Civil Defense departments report that at least 62,600 people are homeless in five northeastern states.

April 13th, 2009 QOM - Iran will be able to build nuclear power plants worldwide within the next ten years, IRNA reported Monday quoting a senior official. Mohammad Saeedi, deputy director of Iran Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEO), said: 'In the next ten years Iran will be among the countries in the world that build nuclear reactors.' Speaking at a ceremony Sunday to mark the National Nuclear Day, Saeedi said that comprehensive plans for developing nuclear activities began in 1997 and that the country had sought help from some countries but they refused, Mehr News reported.

March 10th, 2009 VIENNA - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei called Monday for Arab countries to help resolve the Iranian nuclear spat, which seems more achievable under the new US administration. 'The neighbours so far have been sitting on the fence,' he said during a speech in the Austrian Parliament in Vienna, hosted by the Austrian Society for Foreign Policy and International Relations.