All Akcess

World powers have increased pressure on Iran, urging the country to reveal the nature of its nuclear programme during six-party talks in Geneva on Thursday.

A spokesman for the German chancellor said Iran was "comprehensively failing to co-operate".

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was the wrong side of the law in hiding a second uranium plant.

Tehran revealed the existence of the previously secret site, partially built into a mountain, last week.

"Iran was supposed to inform us on the day it was decided to construct the facility. They have not done that," Mohamed El Baradei, the head of the IAEA, told CNN-IBN Television.

Negotiations

Iran has said that it will allow IAEA inspectors in to view the site, thought to be near Qom, but has not said when the inspections can take place.

"Iran was supposed to inform us on the day it was decided to construct the facility. They have not done that"

Mohamed El Baradei

IAEA

A high stakes game

Q&A: Iran and the nuclear issue

Talks herald new phase for Iran

Iranian representatives will meet on Thursday for talks with the five permanent Security Council seat holders – the UK, China, France, Russia and the US – plus Germany – the so-called P+1.

The US and its allies are contemplating tightening sanctions against the country. The UN Security Council has so far imposed three sets of sanctions against Iran over its refusal to freeze its nuclear programme.

Pressure

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in comments quoted by the Irna news agency, said he saw the discussions as both an opportunity and a test.

ANALYSIS
Paul Reynolds
BBC News, LondonWestern diplomats regard this meeting as crucial in determining whether Iran will negotiate on its nuclear programme.

If there is no progress, consideration will be given to further sanctions and if, by the end of the year, there is still deadlock, then according to one diplomat, "it will be impossible to say that there is any more that diplomacy can do and we will be in a dangerous place". That, in plain language, is a reference to the possibility that Israel might thereafter decide to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The six countries negotiating with Iran will remind it of the freeze-freeze concept as a way of unblocking the impasse.

Under this, Iran would not add to the centrifuges it has already installed but would go on enriching uranium with its current machinery and the six would not press for further sanctions while enforcing those already in place. Talks would follow.

However, there is little optimism about the chances of a breakthrough. Any new sanctions would probably be aimed at Iran’s energy and financial sectors. It remains to be seen how far these might go and who agrees to put them into force.

He said the meeting represented an "exceptional opportunity for [Western countries] to change their situation in the world and correct their way of dealing with nations".

In an apparent reference to US President Barack Obama, he added: "These talks could be a test to verify whether some governments are determined to follow up the slogan of change".

In Washington, a US state department spokesman said he hoped the session would pave the way for further discussions with Iran.

"We’re not going to make a snap judgement on Thursday. We’re going to see how that meeting goes, evaluate the willingness of Iran to engage on these issues," PJ Crowley said.

Iran insists that all its nuclear facilities are for peaceful energy purposes and rejects accusations from the US and others that it is seeking a nuclear weapon.

Russia recently signalled it might be prepared to soften its opposition to further sanctions.

China, which is also a permanent Security Council member, has said such pressure would not be effective.

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A tourist boat carrying 76 people has capsized in a lake in the southern Indian state of Kerala, killing at least 37 people, officials said.

The state-owned double-decker boat was travelling in the remote Thekkady forest reserve when it went down.

The boat tipped over after the tourists rushed to one side as they spotted some elephants, officials said.

Fifteen people are missing and 24 have been rescued. Survivors said the boat had few lifejackets and no lifeguards.

Rescuers have pulled out 37 bodies and are still searching the area for survivors, state home ministry official Abhiraj Basheer told the BBC.

Two foreign tourists who were on the boat swam to safety, he said.

Most of the tourists were from the neighbouring state of Karnataka, officials said.

The dead included a group of at least a dozen people from the Indian capital, Delhi, they said.

The brand new boat was owned by the government-owned Kerala Tourism Department Corporation.

The government has announced a compensation of 500,000 rupees ($10,500) to each of the families of the dead.

A judicial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

Kerala is a popular tourist destination for both Indians and foreigners.

It is famous for its beautiful beaches, temples and wildlife sanctuaries.

In February 2007, at least 18 children and four teachers died after a boat carrying school students capsized in Periyar river.

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The death toll from Typhoon Ketsana in Vietnam has risen to at least 85, a relief official has said.

The official from the national flood and storm control committee said 24 of the deaths occurred in the mountainous inland province of Kon Tum.

There were also 16 people missing and 124 injured, across the central region.

The powerful typhoon that fatally hit the Philippines and Vietnam is now weakening over Cambodia, where several people died and hundreds lost homes.

In Vietnam, the official from the national flood and storm control committee said 24 of the deaths occurred in the mountainous inland province of Kon Tum.

Across the central region there were 16 people missing and 124 injured, the official said.

Strongest storm

The victims in Kon Tum had mostly died in landslides, when their houses collapsed after being rattled by the storm, or by drowning in floodwaters, local government official Ha Ban, president of the Kon Tum People’s Committee, said on state television.

When Typhoon Ketsana hit Vietnam, more than 30 people were killed and almost 200,000 people fled their homes; severe flooding remains in central provinces.

In Cambodia, at least 11 people have died in Kampong Thom province in central Cambodia.

"We’re used to storms that sweep away one or two houses. But I’ve never seen a storm this strong," said Nam Tum, governor of Cambodia’s Kampong Thom province.

More to come

Meanwhile, a new typhoon, named Parma, is gaining strength about 650 km (404 miles) off the country’s eastern coast.

It was bringing winds of 150 km (93 miles) per hour, and was expected to hit land on Saturday in the northeastern Philippines, weather forecasters said.

In pictures: Philippines relief effort

Eyewitness: Philippines floods

In the Philippines, the government said it now believed 246 people had died after the storm struck on Saturday, a figure that is expected to rise as mud is cleared from the worst affected areas.

Almost two million people were affected by the flooding in Manila, the worst to hit the city in 40 years. At one point, 80% of the city was submerged.

Ketsana, with winds of up to 100km/h (60mph), hit the Philippines early on Saturday, crossing the main northern Luzon island before heading out toward the South China Sea.

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By Jonathan Beale
BBC News, Washington

The White House says that President Barack Obama will take several more weeks to review United States strategy in Afghanistan.

Only then will he make a decision on whether to send more US troops.

The White House issued a statement after the president met his most senior advisors to discuss the way forward.

General Stanley McChrystal, the top US military commander ins Afghanistan – has already warned that the mission could fail without more resources.

President Obama held the second of what the White House says will be five intensive sessions on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his National Security team.

These discussions will influence the decision on whether the US deepens its military commitment in Afghanistan.

The meeting included Vice President Joe Biden, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as senior military staff.

The commander of US forces in Afghanistan – General Stanley McChrystal – took part by video link.

He has already spelt out that he wants more boots on the ground. Reports suggest he wants up to 40,000 more troops.

The White House said the president would rigorously assess progress in Afghanistan when it involved decisions about keeping America safe and putting US troops in danger.

The goal remains to disrupt, defeat and dismantle al-Qaeda and its allies.

But the strategy is still unclear.

While the Pentagon is arguing for more troops some of the President’s closest advisors – including Vice President Biden – are urging caution.

Some Democrats in Congress have also voiced opposition to widening America’s military commitment.

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Deliveries of aid are being sent to western Indonesia after a powerful earthquake which left at least 100 people dead.

The quake, with a magnitude of 7.6, triggered a landslide in Sumatra that blocked roads and cut power lines.

Hundreds of buildings, including hospitals, collapsed in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province.

Rescue workers say thousands of people could be buried under rubble and the number of dead is expected to rise.

Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for Indonesia’s National Disaster Agency, said some 100 to 200 people had died in Padang and more than 500 houses and buildings had collapsed.

"Many people are staying outdoors and some people are staying in public facilities," he told Reuters.

Mr Kardono told the AFP news agency about 150 military personnel, as well as police and Health Ministry workers, were in the affected area, but they urgently needed heavy machinery to lift the rubble.

Earlier, Rustam Pakaya, head of the health ministry’s disaster centre in Jakarta, said there were "thousands of people trapped in the rubble of buildings".

He said a city hospital was among the ruined buildings.

The quake brought down telephone lines, severely affecting communications with the affected area and making it difficult to assess the scale of the damage.

The authorities said heavy rain was hampering the rescue attempt.

Burning buildings

The earthquake struck at 1716 local time (1016 GMT) some 85km (55 miles) under the sea, north-west of Padang, the US Geological Survey said.

MAJOR INDONESIAN QUAKES

• 26 Dec 2004: Asian tsunami kills 170,000 in Indonesia alone
• 28 March 2005: About 1,300 killed after a magnitude 8.7 quake hits the coast of Sumatra
• 27 May 2006: Quake hits ancient city of Yogyakarta, killing 5,000
• 17 July 2006: A tsunami after a 7.7 magnitude quake in West Java province kills 550 people

In pictures: Sumatra earthquake

Animated guide: Earthquakes

Witnesses said residents ran out of buildings in Padang – which has a population of 900,000 – and surrounding cities.

Jane Liddon, an Australian businesswoman in Padang, told Australian radio many large buildings in the town had been severely damaged.

"The concrete buildings are all down, the hospitals, the main markets, down and burned," she said.

"A lot of people died in there. A lot of places are burning."

But Ms Liddon said many smaller residential properties had escaped the damage.

Australia has offered to send emergency assistance to Indonesia if needed.

"They are very close friends and neighbours. They know that we are here and available to help. They just have to ask," said international Aid Minister, Bob McMullan.

Indonesian officials have said the quake was one of the biggest in Indonesia in recent years and could have been more powerful than the 2006 Yogyakarta quake which killed more then 5,000 people.

Wednesday’s quake was along the same fault line that spawned the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

That much more powerful earthquake struck roughly 600km north-west of Padang.

Geologists have long warned that Padang could one day be completely destroyed by an earthquake because of its location.

Western Sumatra is a mainly rural area with dense tropical forest.

It has several national parks and many of its beaches are popular with surfers.

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British archaeologists have unearthed an amphitheatre at a ancient port outside Rome which may have played host to emperors such as Hadrian and Trajan.

The team, led by the University of Southampton, say the arena could have held up to 2,000 people and been used for gladiator games or animal baiting.

It was found inside a gigantic imperial-style palace within the well-preserved old harbour of Portus.

Experts said the entire site deserved greater recognition.

The excavation team, which also included archaeologists from Cambridge University, has spent two years at Portus, about 20 miles (32km) from the Italian capital.

They worked in collaboration with the British School at Rome on the first large-scale dig at Portus.

The ancient gateway to the Mediterranean Sea, which is twice the size of the port of Southampton, supplied the centre of the Roman Empire with food, slaves, wild animals and building materials for hundreds of years.

It is now two miles inland and next to Fiumicino Airport’s runway.

‘Strictly private’

The project concentrated on the banks of a hexagonal-shaped man-made lake which formed part of the 2nd Century harbour.

This area was first excavated in the 1860s and what might have been a theatre was discovered and marked on plans, but no trace of the building could subsequently be found.

"The site has been known about since the 16th century but it has never ever been given the importance it deserves"

Prof Simon Keay

The British team has now discovered an oval-shaped theatre – similar in size to the Pantheon in Rome.

Professor Simon Keay, director of the Portus Project, said the theatre was tucked away at the eastern end of the palace.

"Its design, using luxurious materials and substantial colonnades, suggests it was used by a high status official, possibly even the emperor himself, and the activities that took place there were strictly private," he said.

"It could have been games or gladiatorial combat, wild beast baiting or the staging of mock sea battles but we really do not know.

"What we do know is it’s unusual to find this type of building with elements of imperial architecture so close to a harbour."

‘Wonder of the world’

In addition to the amphitheatre and 295ft (90m) canal, the archaeologists have made thousands of smaller finds.

The project aims to answer a number of questions about the development of Portus and its relationship to the nearby but better known Ostia, the ancient port of Rome built on the banks of the River Tiber.

"It’s going to generate a lot of rethinking about how ports were used and that will change the way we think about Rome’s relationship with the Mediterranean," said Prof Keay.

"The site has been known about since the 16th century but it has never been given the importance it deserves. It has been grossly understudied."

He claims it is "one of the most important archaeological sites in the world" and should be rated alongside "such wonders as "Stonehenge and Angkor Wat in Cambodia".

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