Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/107189
Friday, February 1, 2013 – Daily News 3B WORLD BRIEFING than going to war,'' he have to make decisions,'' Hagel, Hanegbi told Israel's said. Thursday. criticized by Israeli attack Army Radio other Israeli Hanegbi, like officials, would not conGOP senators on Syria firm Israeli involvement in WASHINGTON (AP) the airstrike. — Republican senators could be hammered former GOP Iran says it Sen. Chuck Hagel at his beginning of confirmation hearing plans to Thursday on issues rang- new strategy ing from Israel and Iran to BEIRUT (AP) — An speed up his support for a group that advocates the elimi- Israeli air attack staged in nuclear nation of nuclear Syria this week may be a weapons. But with most sign of things to come. Israeli military officials program Democrats in his corner, an unflustered Hagel seemed headed for approval as defense secretary. Hagel, a former twoterm senator from Nebraska, described his views as mainstream and closely aligned with those of President Barack Obama, the Democrat who nominated him. But several GOP members of the Armed Services Committee sought to portray him as radical and unsteady. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., called his ideas ''extreme'' and ''far to the left'' of Obama. Hagel said he believes America ''must engage — not retreat — in the world,'' and insisted that his record is consistent on that point. He pointed to Iran and its nuclear ambitions as an example of an urgent national security threat that should be addressed first by attempting to establish dialogue with Iranian rulers, although he said he would not rule out using military force. ''I think we're always on higher ground in every way — international law, domestic law, people of the world, people of the region to be with us on this — if we have ... gone through every possibility to resolve this in a responsible, peaceful way, rather appear to have concluded that the risks of attacking Syria are worth taking when compared to the dangers of allowing sophisticated weapons to reach Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon. With Syrian President Bashar Assad's grip on power weakening, Israeli officials fear he could soon lose control over his substantial arsenal of chemical and advanced weapons, which could slip into the hands of Hezbollah or other hostile groups. These concerns, combined with Hezbollah's own domestic problems, mean further military action could be likely. Tzachi Hanegbi, an incoming lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and a former chairman of parliament's influential foreign affairs and defense committee, signaled Thursday that Israel could be compelled to act on its own. While Israel's preference is for Western powers to gain control over Syria's arms stockpile, he said there are no signs of that happening. ''Israel finds itself, like it has many times in the past, facing a dilemma that only it knows how to respond to. And it could well be that we will reach a stage where we will VIENNA (AP) — In a defiant move ahead of nuclear talks, Iran has announced plans to vastly increase its pace of uranium enrichment, which can make both reactor fuel and the fissile core of warheads. Eager to avoid scuttling those negotiations, world powers are keeping their response low-key. Iran told the International Atomic Energy Agency of its intentions last week, and the IAEA informed member nations in an internal note seen by The Associated Press on Thursday. The brief note quoted Iran as saying new-generation IR2m ''centrifuge machines ...will be used'' to populate a new ''unit'' — a technical term for an assembly that can consist of as many as 3,132 centrifuges. It gave no timeframe. A senior diplomat familiar with the issue said work had not started, adding that it would take weeks, if not months, to have the new machines running once technicians started putting them in. He demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge confidential information. Mark Fitzpatrick, a nonproliferation expert and former senior official at the U.S. State Department, described the planned upgrade as a potential ''game-changer.'' Menendez: reimbursed donor $58.5K on Jan. 4 WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Robert Menendez's office says he reimbursed a prominent Florida political donor $58,500 on Jan. 4 of this year for the full cost of two of three trips Menendez took on the donor's plane to the Dominican Republic in 2010. More details about the New Jersey senator's trips emerged as his office said unsubstantiated allegations that the senator engaged in sex with prostitutes in the Dominican Republic are false. There had been no public disclosure of the two trips until now. ''The senator paid for the two trips out of his personal account and no reporting requirements apply,'' Menendez spokeswoman Tricia Enright said Wednes- day night. The FBI searched the West Palm Beach, Fla., office of the donor — eye doctor Salomon Melgen — on Tuesday night and early Wednesday, but it was unclear if the raid was related to Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat. 3 dead after huge storm system rakes South with tornadoes ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A violent storm system that spawned deadly tornadoes in the South delivered torrential rain and dangerous winds to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, leaving at least three people dead and tens of thousands without electricity as swollen rivers threatened flooding. Two people were killed by tornadoes Tuesday and Wednesday, while a third was found dead Thursday in a flooded homeless camp. In the Georgia city of Adairsville, many homes splintered by the massive storm front as it punched across the Southeast on Wednesday. The vast storm front shattered homes and businesses around the Midwest and South with tornadoes and high winds. By Thursday, it had spread tens of thousands of power outages from Georgia to Connecticut, triggered flash floods and forced water rescues in areas outside Washington. Evacuations were ordered in parts of Virginia and Maryland with river levels on the rise. In Laurel, Md., outside Washington, officials were opening some dams to ease pressure after the heavy rains. The avocado, a marvel of marketing muscle Imagine for a moment a Super Bowl without the avocado. No tubs of guacamole to be defiled by doubledipping guests at your big game-day party. No chunks of creamy green flesh with which to spike your salsa or scatter over nachos. If that's hard to picture, it's because the avocado has so completely — and so quickly — attached itself to this utterly unrelated sporting event. As recently as 13 years ago the avocado wasn't the football juggernaut it is today. It has been a relentless and cunning campaign to victory, achieved in part through marketing muscle.