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۱۳۸۶ فروردین ۲۵, شنبه

Bush Reports 642,905 Of Taxable Income In 2006

Washington (eCanadaNow) - US President George W Bush and first lady Laura Bush reported a taxable income of 642,905 for 2006, the White House said Friday.

The Bushes paid a total of 186,378 dollars in taxes based on the president’s salary and investment income from the trusts holding their assets, the White House said. The US president received an annual salary of 400,000 dollars.

Bush and his wife donated 78,100 dollars to various organizations and charities. The taxable income does not reflect the entire amount earned because it does not include deductions that come through donations and tax laws.

Vice President Dick Cheney and wife Lynne reported 1.6 million dollars in income, based on his salary of 208,575 dollars, and paid 413,326 dollars in taxes for 2006.

The Cheneys donated 104,425 dollars to charity in 2006, bringing his total contributions to charity since he became vice president in 2001 to 7.8 million dollars, the White House said

U.S. holds onto Iranians seized in Iraq

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration decided this week that it will hold onto five alleged Iranian intelligence agents for several more weeks, at least, instead of freeing them quickly on the heels of last week's release of 15 Britons who had been seized by Iran, U.S. officials said Friday.


Vice President Dick Cheney's foreign policy advisers won an internal administration tussle over what to do with the men, U.S. officials confirmed on condition of anonymity. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice had argued for a quicker release but was overruled, partly out of concern not to make the release appear part of a deal involving the British, the sources said.

The United States has held the five since they were seized in January under disputed circumstances in northern
Iraq. The Bush administration has accused Iran of supplying deadly roadside bombs used against U.S. troops in Iraq and of undermining the fragile democratic government there.

Some U.S. officials have suggested that Iran may have captured the 15 sailors and marines last month partly in hopes that Britain would ask close ally Washington to speed up release of the five. Britain has the second-largest number of troops in Iraq after the United States.

The five are classified as detainees and will be treated like other foreign detainees picked up in Iraq, one official said. That means they will be subject to periodic review of their status, a process that means they will be held "certainly a good number of weeks," and possibly for several months, the official said.

U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe an internal administration decision. The decision was first reported Friday on The Washington Post's Web site.

Iran has recently stepped up complaints over its personnel detained in Iraq, hinting that it might boycott an international conference on Iraq unless American forces release the five Revolutionary Guard agents.

U.S. troops seized the five Iranians in Kurdish northern Iraq, saying they were providing money and weapons to militants.

Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani has said American forces were really after commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guards who were visiting Kurdish officials.

Iran claimed the men were diplomats and that the building they occupied was a diplomatic mission. The United States claims the five hold no diplomatic immunity and were properly seized.

They have not been charged with a crime and little is known about their detention. The United States allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the men but has so far not allowed Iranian representatives to visit them.

Separately, an Iranian diplomat showed off wounds on his feet Wednesday, and said they were inflicted by drills during two months of detention in Iraq. He said he was harshly interrogated by an American official when he refused to cooperate.

The U.S. has denied any role in the capture of Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad, who was seized by gunmen in Baghdad on Feb. 4. Tehran has said he was taken by an Iraqi military unit commanded by U.S. forces, and accusation repeated by several Iraqi Shiite lawmakers.

سال نو مبارک



47 people have been killed and more than 60 hurt in a suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's holy city of Karbala

Suicide attack on Iraqi holy city
The bus station was very busy at the time of the attack

At least 47 people have been killed and more than 60 hurt in a suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's holy city of Karbala, police and medical sources say.

The attacker detonated explosives at a crowded bus station in the city close to a shrine holy to Shia Muslims, at around 0915 local time (0515 GMT).

Many of the casualties were said to be women or children.

Meanwhile in Baghdad at least eight people died in a truck bomb attack on a key bridge in the south of the city.

The driver of the pick-up detonated his bomb near a checkpoint on the Jadariya bridge, across the River Tigris. The bridge appears to have been left intact.

This follows a truck bomb which partially destroyed the Sarafiya bridge in northern Baghdad on Thursday, killing eight people.

The attacks come as a US-led security operation enters its third month.

The surge has brought down the rate of sectarian murders in the capital but has failed to stop bomb attacks.

Correspondents say the latest attacks suggest a change in tactics by insurgents, who are targeting infrastructure in an attempt to undermine confidence in the crackdown.

Ambulances

In Karbala, witnesses said police fired into the air to disperse crowds and clear the roads near the bus station, which had been particularly busy at the time of the attack.

Map of Iraq showing Karbala

Iraqi television aired footage in which rescue workers could be seen evacuating casualties. As many as 15 ambulances were said to be at the scene.

Hundreds of people were seen gathered around the ambulances and pounding their chests in grief.

Demonstrations followed outside the Karbala governor's offices.

Protesters threw stones at the offices, demanding the resignation of the governor and provincial council members and blaming them for security lapses.

Police imposed a curfew and sealed off entrances to the city.

The attack occurred about 200m from the Imam Hussein shrine, where the grandson of Islam's Prophet Muhammad is believed to be buried.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the location of the attack, plus the fact that it was clearly aimed at Shia Muslims, makes it highly provocative.

Karbala, which is 80km south of Baghdad, is the destination of a Shia pilgrimage every March.

More than 100 people were killed during last month's pilgrimage.

Kasparov arrested at Moscow rally

Riot police officers detain Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov
Mr Kasparov was arrested amid a "colossal" police presence
Police have arrested Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov at a banned anti-Kremlin rally in Moscow.

He was detained during a huge security operation to prevent protesters from gathering at Pushkin Square. Police deny reports he has now been freed.

The former chess champion leads the United Civil Front group, part of the opposition coalition Other Russia.

It accuses President Vladimir Putin of trampling on democracy. The Kremlin says Other Russia destabilises Russia.

As he was being taken away, Mr Kasparov told Russian Ekho Moskvy radio that he had been "walking with a group of people along the pavement without any slogans" when riot police had surrounded them.

"They grabbed everyone without distinction, without asking any questions," he said.

There is a war-like situation in the city centre
Garry Kasparov

More than 9,000 police had been drafted into Moscow to prevent the rally going ahead.

Mr Kasparov's swift arrest followed warnings by the prosecution office on the eve of the march, stating that anyone participating risked being detained.

And Mr Kasparov said the security presence meant the rally could not go ahead.

"I suppose it will be quite difficult to do anything now, you see, everything is shut off - there is a war-like situation in the city centre, as a matter of fact," he told Russian radio.

The planned march came as Russia warned it wanted the extradition of London-based exile Boris Berezovsky.

Mr Berezovsky told the UK's Guardian newspaper he was plotting "revolution" to overthrow Vladimir Putin.

Accusing Mr Putin of creating an authoritarian regime, the tycoon said that Russia's leadership could only be removed by force.

Later, he clarified his words, stating that he backed "bloodless change" and did not support violence.

Other Russia has called for another massive march in St Petersburg on Sunday, which Moscow has also banned.