Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who plays a Muslim mistaken for a terrorist in his latest film, says he was racially profiled at Newark Airport and detained for two hours on Friday. The 43-year-old "Tom Cruise of India" - cited last year by Newsweek as one of the world's 50 most influential men - was released only after Indian diplomats intervened. "I was really being hassled, perhaps because of my name being Khan," the international box office sensation charged Saturday in a text message to reporters. "These guys wouldn't let me through." Khan, who has appeared in more than 70 films, said he was waiting for his luggage Friday when his name popped up on a computer alert list. Security then pulled him aside. "Absolutely uncalled for, I think," Khan said. "I felt angry and humiliated." Khan said he endured two hours of interrogation before he was allowed to call the Indian embassy in Washington. An official there vouched for the star, who was then released. "I was really taken aback," Khan told an Indian television station. "I did not want to say anything just in case they took everything wrong, because I am a little worried about Americans because they do have this issue when your name is Muslim." Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not answer multiple inquiries Saturday about the case. The actor insisted he had all the proper paperwork when he was brought to a detention room at the New Jersey airport. But, he said, Khan "is a Muslim name, and I think the name is common on their checklist." New Dehli-based U.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer said officials were trying to "ascertain the facts of the case." "Shah Rukh Khan, the actor and global icon, is a very welcome guest in the United States," Roemer said Saturday. "Many Americans love his films." But there were no Bollywood buffs in Newark as Khan came through the airport on his way to Chicago for a celebration of India's independence day. "I told them I am a movie star," Khan said - although the line fell on deaf ears. He recently signed a deal with Fox Star Studios to finance and distribute his new movie, "My Name is Khan" - the story of a Muslim man mistaken for a terrorist in post-9/11 America. The incident caused outrage in his homeland, where the Khan-troversy dominated television news. Last month, Continental Airlines apologized to former Indian President Abdul Kalam for frisking him at New Delhi's airport.

A 11-year-old boy has succeeded where loads of journalists fail by getting an interview with President Barack Obama.
Damon Weaver, from Florida, got his big break after making a name for himself covering the 2008 American presidential campaign for his school news team.
During their 10-minute chat at the White House, Damon quizzed Barack Obama on everything from education and poverty to bullying and mangoes.
Afterwards, Damon said the president was "a good man, very tall and nice".
During their chat, Damon got straight to the point and asked if the president had the power to make school lunches better
He replied: "I used to get school lunches, sometimes they wouldn't taste so good, I got to admit.
"We are actually seeing if we can work to at least make school lunches healthier."
But when Damon suggested a menu of French fries and mangoes everyday, the president wasn't so keen.
"See, if you were planning the lunch program, it'd probably taste good to you," he said. "But it might not make you big and strong like you need to be."
Tackling bullies
Damon also asked the president about what's being done to tackle poverty in America and how he handles people giving him a hard time.
President Obama said: "The main thing I just try to do is stay focused on trying to do a good job, and try to be understanding that sometimes people are going to be mad about things."
When the interview was over, President Obama praised Damon's interview technique, saying: "You did an outstanding job, I look forward to seeing you in the future."

Globetrotting do-gooder Angelina Jolie visited Iraq Thursday to show her support for Iraqis affected by war.
She met with four families displaced from the district of Abu Ghraib, which is west of Baghdad. Parents told the actress and mother of six that their kids can't attend school, and that they don't have the money to pay for medical help.
"It takes a lot of strength for you to survive this life," Jolie, 34, told one man. "I don't know if I would be strong enough to survive this."
She also made the time to hold a baby with a rash.
The day-long trip marks the third visit to the war-torn country by Jolie, a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.
Her first visit to Iraq was in 2007, when she addressed 1,200 refugees, followed by another trip in February.
Jolie vowed that Thursday's trip wouldn't be her last.
"I want to come back and find you in a better place and in a different situation," she said. "We hope that the [UN's refugee agency] and the government will support you in getting a piece of land. You need help not because you are poor, but because you are the future of Iraq."
But Jolie added that the country has a long way to go.
"This is moment where things seem to be improving on the ground," she said. "But Iraqis need a lot of support and help to rebuild their lives."

WASHINGTON - The American soldier who went missing June 30 from his base in eastern Afghanistan and was later confirmed to have been captured, appeared on a video posted Saturday to a Web site by the Taliban.
Two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the video is the captured soldier. The video provides the first glimpse the public has had of the missing soldier.

The soldier is shown in the 28-minute video with his head shaved and the start of a beard. He is sitting and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Early in the video one of his captors holds the soldier's dog tag up to the camera. His name and ID number are clearly visible. He is shown eating at one point and sitting cross-legged.
The soldier, whose identity has not yet been released by the Pentagon pending notification of members of Congress and the soldier's family, says his name, age and hometown on the video, which was released Saturday on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban.
The soldier said the date is July 14. He says he was captured when he lagged behind on a patrol.
He is interviewed in English by his captors, and he is asked his views on the war, which he calls extremely hard, his desire to learn more about Islam and the morale of American soldiers, which he said was low.
‘Well I’m scared’Asked how he was doing, the soldier said on the video:
"Well I'm scared, scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner."
He begins to answer questions in a matter-of-fact and sober voice, occasionally facing the camera, looking down and sometimes looking to the questioner on his left.
He later chokes up when discussing his family and his hope to marry his girlfriend.
"I have my girlfriend, who is hoping to marry," he said. "I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day when I'm gone. I miss them and I'm afraid that I might not ever see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again and I'll never be able to hug them."
He is also prompted by his interrogators to give a message to the American people.
"To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home," he said. "Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country. Please bring us home. It is America and American people who have that power."
The video is not a continuous recording — it appears to stop and start during the questioning.
It is unclear from the video whether the July 14 date is authentic. The soldier says that he heard that a Chinook helicopter carrying 37 NATO troops had been shot down over Helmand. A helicopter was shot down in southern Afghanistan on July 14, but it was carrying civilians on a reported humanitarian mission for NATO forces. All six Ukrainian passengers died in the crash, and a child on the ground was killed.
Details on disappearance unclearOn July 2, the U.S. military said an American soldier had disappeared after walking off his base in eastern Afghanistan with three Afghan counterparts and was believed to have been taken prisoner. A U.S. defense official said the soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on June 30 and was first listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown."
Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.
But Afghan Police Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said the soldier went missing in eastern Paktika province near the border with Pakistan from an American base. The region is known to be Taliban-infested.
The most important insurgent group operating in that area is known as Haqqani network and is led by warlord Siraj Haqqani, whom the U.S. has accused of masterminding beheadings and suicide bombings including the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed some 60 people. The Haqqani group also was linked to an assassination attempt on Afghan president Hamid Karzai early last year.
On Saturday, a U.S. military official in Kabul, Col. Greg Julian, said the U.S. was "still doing everything we can to return him safely."
Julian said U.S. troops had distributed two fliers in the area where the soldier disappeared. One of them asked for information on the missing soldier and offered a $25,000 reward for his return. The other said "please return our soldier safely" or "we will hunt you," according to Julian.

Michael Jackson, the onetime child star turned King of Pop, died in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest in his home. He was 50 years old. Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center not far from his rental mansion in the Holmby Hills. The cause of death wasn't known. An autopsy is set for Friday. The entertainer was stricken Thursday afternoon and a 911 call was placed. "His personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate Jackson, as did paramedics who transferred him," according to a statement from the hospital.
Frantic, Futile EffortsWith an oxygen mask over his face, Jackson was carted to a red ambulance and rushed to the hospital, arriving at 1:14 p.m. "A team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate for a period of more than one hour but were unsuccessful," the statement says. Jackson had been busy rehearsing for a high-stakes comeback tour, set to start within weeks in England, with dozens of dates scheduled and tickets selling out quickly. To prepare for the rigors of performing, he was training with Lou Ferrigno, the star of the TV show The Incredible Hulk.
Questions About His TourThere were some doubts among Jackson's circle about his ability to perform his upcoming concert schedule. "Michael is physically just not ready [for the concerts]," a source close to Jackson said last month. "He weighs even less than he did during his trial, which was almost nothing. He's 50 years old." Famly members, including his mother Catherine, brothers Randy and Jermaine, and sisters Janet and LaToya, arrived separately at the hospital for a tense and tearful vigil. "First, it was chaotic [in the ER] and then absolute silence," says family lawyer Brian Oxman. "Everyone is just heartbroken. I'm heartbroken." During the ordeal, Jackson's three children were left with a nanny, and plans were made for them to stay with Jackson's mother for the time being. "Mrs. Jackson loves the kids and she will care for them now," says Oxman. By the evening, the family left the hospital in five-vehicle caravan for his mother's house in Encino. A teary-eyed LaToya was behind the wheel of a black Mercedes; she was followed by a grim-faced Janet in a droopy suede cowboy hat driving a tan Maserati. Jackson's father, Joseph, was en route to Los Angeles from his home in Las Vegas. Jackson's body was flown by helicopter to the Los Angeles County Cornoner's Office, where the autopsy will be performed.

President Barack Obama, annoyed by a fly during a television interview at the White House, took matters into his own hands by killing it.Mr Obama told the persistent fly: “Get out of here.”It did not. So Mr Obama waited for the fly to settle and then smacked the fly dead at the first attempt.Without missing a beat, the president said to CNBC correspondent John Harwood: “Now, where were we. That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it? I got the sucker.”The camera crew was still rolling in the East Room. Mr Obama pointed to the vanquished insect on the floor and said: “You want to film that?”

Barack Obama's ex-brother-in-law says he wants to challenge for the Conservative seat left vacant by MP Andrew MacKay in Bracknell.
Ian Manners, who was married to the US president's half sister, is responding to David Cameron's call for candidates from non-political backgrounds.
The 56-year-old businessman says he is "lifelong Conservative" who was angered by the MPs' expenses scandal.
Mr MacKay is standing down following revelations about his allowances.
Mr Manners, who lives in the constituency, said he had sent a letter to Bracknell Conservative association expressing an interest in the vacancy, after friends had persuaded him he would be a "good candidate".
'Morally wrong'
He said he thought Mr MacKay had done a "good job" as the Berkshire town's MP but he had been shocked by the expenses revelations.
He is probably on the other side of the fence politically, but some of our values are similar
Ian Manners
"I think it is pretty disgraceful. They say it is within the rules, but MPs have been setting their own rules," he told the BBC News website.
He said he would only consider standing as an MP if the expenses system was changed as he thought it was "morally wrong".
He said he would step back from the day-to-day running of his luxury marquee hire company, which employs nine people.
He said he agreed with Conservative policies, such as "strong family values", and has also said he shares Mr Obama's commitment to fairness and racial equality.
He is a former accountant and restaurant owner, who also worked for a time as Castrol Oil racing competitions manager, alongside champion motorcycle racer Barry Sheene.
Mr Manners was married to Auma Obama Manners, Mr Obama's half-sister, whose mother Kezia Obama was the first wife of the president's Kenyan-born father.
'Public service'
The couple divorced in 2000. Mr Manners said he used to play golf with Mr Obama, and the future US president attended his stag night in Bracknell and his wedding in 1996 and his daughter attended the inauguration.
He said: "There is a family connection. I haven't spoken to him for a long time but there is no bad feeling.
"He is probably on the other side of the fence politically, but some of our values are similar. I am sure he would wish me well."
Andrew MacKay has one of the Conservative Party's safest seats, with a majority of more than 12,000 at the 2005 general election.
But he was forced to stand down after it was revealed he and his wife, Julie Kirkbride, Tory MP for Bromsgrove, both claimed second home allowances.
Ms Kirkbride has announced she too will be standing down at the next election.
Conservative leader David Cameron announced at the weekend that he was re-opening the Conservative candidates list in the wake of the expenses scandal.
He said anyone could apply to stand even if they have not had anything to do with the Conservative Party before.
The Tory leader told the BBC he wanted people who "believe in public service".

CAIRO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world on Thursday but offered no new initiative to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, an omission likely to disappoint many.
"We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world -- tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate," the U.S. president said in a major speech at Cairo University.
"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect," he said. "America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition."
Obama's speech was an effort to restore the tarnished U.S. image among many of the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world, damaged by former President George W. Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the treatment of U.S. military detainees.
It coincided with the release of new remarks by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden aimed at trying to undermine his message.
Bin Laden told Muslims alliances with Christians and Jews would annul their faith and urged them to fight Western allies in Muslim countries.
The choice of Cairo for the speech underscored Obama's focus on the Middle East, where he faces huge foreign policy challenges, from trying to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to curbing Iran's nuclear program.
Obama, who is hoping to build a coalition of Muslim government to back his diplomatic moves, offered no new proposals to advance the Middle East peace process, saying Palestinians "must abandon violence" and urging them acknowledge Israel's right to exist.
"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," he said. "This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."
Before the speech, the U.S. president met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
"We discussed how to move forward in a constructive way to bring peace and prosperity to people in the region," Obama told reporters after the talks with Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt since 1981 and kept a tight lid on opposition.
(Additional reporting by Cynthia Johnston in Cairo and Zahra Hosseinian in Tehran; Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Obama will give a major policy talk at Cairo University on June 4, intended to start mending the rift between the United States and the Arab world. During the Bush years, many Arabs turned against the United States because of the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the abuses at Guantanamo and Abu Graib. But the issue that is really at the crux of the tensions with the United States is the intractable conflict between Israel and Palestine, and what many perceive as a one-sided U.S. policy in support of Israel.

The Obama administration has taken a positive stand on the Israeli settlements, calling for a complete freeze. “[Obama] wants to see a stop to settlements — not some settlements, not outposts, not ‘natural growth’ exceptions,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently told reporters.

But the administration has said almost nothing about the devastating Israeli invasion of Gaza that left over 1,300 dead, including some 400 children. To many in the Middle East, this is an unfortunate continuation of past policies that condemn the loss of innocent Israeli lives, but refuse to speak out against the disproportionately greater loss of Palestinian lives at the hands of the Israeli military.

The Israeli invasion of Gaza began on December 27, 2008, when Obama had just won the election but had not yet taken office. While he spoke out against the November 26 Mumbai terrorism attack, he refused to even call for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying coldly, “When it comes to foreign affairs it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time."

Once inaugurated, Obama appointed George Mitchell as a special peace envoy and immediately sent him on a “listening tour” to key places in the Middle East—except Gaza. Mitchell returned for a second trip to the region in late February, visiting Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank but once again bypassing Gaza. The same thing happened on his third trip in April.

Hillary Clinton has never visited war-torn Gaza. She promised $300 million for rebuilding, but the aid won’t get to Gaza as long as the administration insists on dealing only with Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority in the West Bank while shunning Hamas, which controls Gaza and was democratically elected.

Obama won great support from the American people during the presidential campaign when he said that America must talk to its adversaries, without preconditions. But his administration now puts ridiculous conditions on talking to Hamas: It must recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous international agreements. Israel, on the other hand, does not have to recognize Palestine, renounce violence or abide by past agreements. Putting preconditions on just one side of the conflict makes it impossible to move a peace process forward.

While Obama prepares for his trip to the Middle East, more than 150 people—mostly Americans—are trying to enter war-torn Gaza through both the Egyptian and Israeli borders. Organized under the umbrella of the peace group CODEPINK, this is the largest group of Americans to travel to Gaza since the siege began.

The delegations, invited by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), are bringing medicines, toys, school supplies and playground building materials. An estimated 1,346 Gazan children were left without one or more of their parents as a result of the Israeli assault and the majority were left traumatized and depressed.

That’s why the peace group CODEPINK has launched an international petition (see www.codepinkalert.org) calling on Obama to visit Gaza and see for himself the devastation and deprivation that continues to plague the region’s 1.5 million people almost 6 months after the invasion. Just this week, Obama just tacked a new stop to his upcoming Middle Eastern visit: Saudi Arabia. If he can make room for a private dinner with the King, then surely he can find the time to go to Gaza. Isn't it more important for Obama to visit a region where 1,300 people have recently been killed and thousands of homes, schools and mosques destroyed? Isn't it more important for him to see how the Israelis are using the yearly $3 billion in military aid from U.S taxpayers?

Obama should take the opportunity, during this visit to Egypt next week, to visit Gaza. He should express his condolences for the loss of so many innocent lives, call for a lifting of the inhumane siege that continues to imprison an entire population, and support an investigation of how U.S. military funds to Israel are being spent.

Those actions, more than any fine words he may speak during his talk at Cairo University, will do wonders to repairs our relations with the Arab world that were so tattered during the Bush years.

HIGH School Musical hunk Zac Efron has been named one of the world's most influential people - alongside Barack Obama.
The 21-year-old actor appears on Time magazine's list, which alsot features Bono, George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey Claire Danes - Efron's co-star in new film Me And Orson Welles - said he deserved his slot.
She said: "He is going to make us swoon for many years to come." British rapper M.I.A., whose song Paper Planes featured in Slumdog Millionaire, also made the list..

The President of the United States and his bare chest grace the May cover of Washingtonian magazine in an issue featuring a list of "Reasons We Love Washington."
The Commander-in-Briefs ranks No. 2 on the tally. His position is explained with the accompanying phrase, "Our neighbor is hot."
The cover photo was shot by paparazzi while the then-President-elect was on vacation in his native Hawaii in late December. Washingtonian made a few edits to the original photo -- changing Barack Obama's bathing suit from black to red and editing out the background.
Some critics are calling the cover disrespectful, asking if the magazine would put similar shirtless photos of Presidents Clinton, Bush or Reagan on a cover. But Washingtonian editor at large defends his latest decision.
"You have a buff president and the paparazzi like taking shirtless photos of him," Garret Graff told ABC News. Obama in D.C. is "really hot," she added. The magazine tried to "capture the energy and excitement" over the Obamas and "have a little fun."

United States President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Iraq on Tuesday, saying the next 18 months could be "critical" for the war-torn country, which would soon have to look after itself.

Obama, who has called for an end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq by August next year, also pledged he would stick to a timetable for all American troops to leave the country by the end of 2011.
"It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis. They need to take responsibility for their country ... in order to do that they need to make political accommodations," Obama told some 1,500 troops at a base outside Baghdad.

"They need to take responsibility for their country," he said, noting that the next 18 months "could be critical" for the nation invaded by a U.S.-led coalition in March 2003.

The U.S. president's trip came just two days before the sixth anniversary of the toppling of Saddam Hussein and amid a spate of recent attacks that have killed dozens and wounded hundreds more.

Upon lannding Obama was immediately rushed off to meet Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. army commander in Iraq at the start of his short trip, and met Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at a U.S. airbase outside Baghdad.

"You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that you have the thanks of the American people," Obama told the troops.

As well as the planned U.S. withdrawal, Obama and Odierno talked about diplomatic and political challenges, the need to build strong Iraqi institutions and the importance of future general elections.
Bad weather prevented Obama from flying to the Green Zone, the heavily guarded compound that houses the Iraqi government in central Baghdad. But both Prime Minister Maliki and President Jala Talabani travelled to Camp Victory, the sprawling U.S. base near the airport, to see the president.

During his meeting with Maliki at the U.S. base Camp Victory, Obama promised that he would pull American troops out of the country as planned, the Iraqi prime minister said.

General Odierno told Obama that violence in Iraq reached its lowest levels since the invasion and Prime Minister Maliki added that the improvement of security conditions meant that his country in now “stable” enough for foreign firms to return and invest in Iraq.

"Iraq now is based on increased security, for peace and stability, and looks forward to international companies .... participating and investing in the country," he said through a translator after talks with President Obama.

Obama, who opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq ordered by his predecessor George W. Bush, has used his debut overseas tour to reach out to the Islamic world and attempt to restore America's battered image abroad.

Although it was his first trip to Iraq as president, Obama visited the country last year during the presidential campaign.

A few days were sufficient for Republican candidate John McCain to make up for the vote intentions in favor of his opponent Democratic candidate Barack Obama. The polls even showed that McCain was leading, albeit with a slight difference.This advantage was determined by McCain's choice of the young Alaska governor as his vice-presidential candidate despite the many criticisms regarding Sarah Palin's lack of experience and family issues - including a pending case in court. Experience and personal background have not even played out in favor of the Obama-Joe Biden ticket, which combines the Afro-American candidate's charisma and eloquence and Biden's experience in Congress and foreign affairs.McCain's campaign has borrowed one of Obama's two main slogans; the Democratic candidate used them as a backbone for his presidential campaign once he snatched victory in the party elections campaign. These two slogans focus on the US domestic conditions. They revolve around change and hope: the change of the political practice at the level of the central administration in Washington, and the hope that all Americans would have equal opportunities to enjoy the same rights and obligations. McCain's campaign - particularly after Palin's choice - has borrowed change according to Palin's formula: the Democratic ticket speaks of change in order to get to the White House, whereas the Republican ticket gets to the White House in order to induce such change, albeit with a different content than the one sought by Obama. What matters in this change is to move away from the current Republican president George Bush's legacy and the negative results of his eight-year term of office both on the economic and social levels.

At a time when the Bush administration foreign policy seriously took a toll on the image of the United States - particularly with the unilateral management of the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq - Obama tried to establish a new policy based on the return to state institutions, negotiations and cooperation with allies, and dialogue with enemies, in order to guarantee US interests. In his opinion, force alone is insufficient to protect these interests.Hence, Obama gained considerable popularity around the world and up to 70% in polls outside the United States - particularly in Western Europe. However, this image sought by US allies for the US president has not dispelled domestic fears, the very ones that are feeding McCain's popularity at home. The Republican candidate is known for his military record and boldness in taking hard and unpopular decisions when necessary.McCain's campaign takes every opportunity to focus on the continuous threat to the United States and the ongoing war on terror. This threat is not limited to targeting Americans in their own country but also their interests around the world.There is a repetition of the main headline of the presidential battle four years ago between Bush Jr. and Democrat John Kerry. The former held on to the war in Iraq as a means to keep the danger off the United States. Kerry, for his part, failed to convince his fellow citizens of the need to end this costly, tiring, and damaging war. Moreover, Bush's consecutive terms of office proved that the Americans were driven more by fear than hope.* Published in the London-based DAR AL-HAYAT on September 16, 2008.

The White House warned Iran Monday that it faced possible new sanctions after the U.N. atomic watchdog reported it had been unable to make much progress in investigating Tehran's suspect nuclear program.

"The Iranian regime's continued defiance only further isolates the Iranian people," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe

"We urge Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities or face further implementation of the existing United Nations Security Council sanctions and the possibility of new sanctions," he added.

Iran's ambassador to the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Monday that his country will continue enriching uranium in defiance of UN Security Council demands, the ISNA news agency reported. "Stating that Iran did not obey the United Nations Security Council resolution asking it to halt uranium enrichment shows this reality, that Iran found no logical and legal reasons for doing so," Ali Asghar Soltanieh was quoted as saying. "Therefore it cannot give up its undeniable right under the International Atomic Energy Agency charter," Iran's ambassador to the U.N. atomic watchdog said. The International Atomic Energy Agency charged in a restricted report that the Islamic republic has not frozen uranium enrichment activities, which can be a key step towards nuclear weapons. The IAEA "regrettably has not been able to make any substantive progress on the alleged studies and other associated key remaining issues which remain of serious concern," the agency said in the report. "On this particular issue, we've arrived at a gridlock," a senior official close to the IAEA told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The so-called "alleged studies" suggest Iran may have been trying to develop a nuclear warhead, convert uranium and test high explosives and a missile re-entry vehicle. But Iran has so far done little to disprove the allegations, merely dismissing the documentation used to back them up as "forged" and "fabricated," the International Atomic Energy Agency said. The report is to be discussed by the IAEA's board of governors next week. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei "urges Iran to implement all measures required to build confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program at the earliest possible date," the report concluded.