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ByGeorgeJahn The Associated Press VIENNA Iran said Wednesday it wants to greatly expand its ura- nium enrichment program despite Western fears that it could be used to make atomic arms. The position outlined by Iranian nuclear agency head Ali Akbar Salehi ap- peared to be the most de- tailed yet of what Tehran wants at its closed-door negotiations with six world powers. It also highlighted the huge obstacles in the way of an agreement by a July 20 target date, since the world powers want Iran to reduce its enrich- ment program. Iranian Foreign Min- istry spokesman Marzieh Afkham said "substantial differences" remained. Depending on its level, enriched uranium can be used for reactor fuel or the core of a nuclear weapon. Iran says it does not want such arms. It went into nuclear talks last year with more than 9,000 centrifuges enrich- ing uranium and about 10,000 on standby. The U.S. is ready to accept only a fraction of that number — or even less, if Tehran insists on newer machines with a higher output. And it wants the enrichment program frozen at that low level for decades. But Salehi told Iran's offi- cial IRNA news agency his country wants to expand the output of its enrichment program over the next eight years to a level that would need about 190,000 current centrifuges. Salehi said Iran wanted to use 8,000 ad- vanced models to achieve that goal. IRAN Furtheruranium enrichment sought By Daniel Estrin The Associated Press JERUSALEM Israel stepped up its offensive on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Wednesday, pummeling scores of targets and killing at least 22 people as Israeli leaders signaled a weeks- long ground invasion could be quickly approaching. The military said it struck about 200 Hamas targets on the second day of its offensive, which it says is needed to end in- cessant rocket attacks out of Gaza. Militants, how- ever, continued to fire rocket salvos deep into Israeli territory, and Is- rael mobilized thousands of forces along the Gaza border ahead of a possible ground operation. "The army is ready for all possibilities," Prime Minis- ter Benjamin Netanyahu said after holding a meet- ing of his Security Cabinet. "Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing toward Is- raeli citizens. The security of Israel's citizens comes first. The operation will ex- pand and continue until the fire toward our towns stops and quiet returns." The fighting stepped up as Egypt, which often serves as a mediator be- tween Israel and the Pales- tinians, said it was in con- tact with both sides to end the violence. It was the first indication since the offen- sive was launched on Tues- day that cease-fire efforts might be under way. The offensive has set off the heaviest fighting be- tween Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas since an eight-day battle in No- vember 2012. As the death toll continued to rise, Pal- estinian President Mah- moud Abbas accused Israel of committing "genocide." Israeli leaders warned a ground invasion could be imminent. "Despite the fact it will be hard, complicated and costly, we will have to take over Gaza temporarily, for a few weeks, to cut off the strengthening of this terror army," Yuval Steinitz, Isra- el's intelligence minister, told Israel Radio. "If you ask my humble opinion, a sig- nificant operation like this is approaching." The government has au- thorized the army to acti- vate up to 40,000 reservists for a ground operation. An Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing Israeli tactical strategy, said the reservists would be sent to the West Bank to allow active duty troops to amass near the Gaza border. Despite the tough threats, Israeli security officials are still hesitant about order- ing a ground invasion due to the many risks. Entering Gaza could lead to heavy ci- vilian casualties on the Pal- estinian side while putting Israeli ground forces in danger. It remains unclear whether the international community would support such an operation, or how Israel would end it. Officials have little desire to retake control of Gaza, a densely populated territory of 1.8 million people from which Israel withdrew in 2005. Since the offensive be- gan Tuesday, Israel has at- tacked at least 560 sites in Gaza, the military said. Mil- itants have fired more than 160 rockets at Israel, reach- ing further north than ever before. Palestinian medics say a total of 49 people have been killed in Gaza, including 22 on Wednesday. Of the total dead, medical officials have confirmed at least 15 are civilians and 10 militants, with the remainder uncer- tain. The rocket fire from Gaza has not caused any se- rious Israeli casualties. The Israeli onslaught has caused panic in Gaza. A number of airstrikes aimed at wanted militants have also killed family members and bystanders. Many resi- dents have huddled indoors or moved from hard-hit ar- eas to relatives in areas that are believed to be safer. Gaza health official Ashraf al-Qidra said that an 80-year-old woman was among those killed Wednes- day. Hamas official Musheer al-Masri said Israel had "crossed all the red lines" and warned that Hamas would strike back fiercely. "What the resistance showed today is only part of what it is capable of," he said. The increasing range of the rockets from Gaza has disrupted life across a wide swath of southern and cen- tral Israel, where people have been forced to remain close to home and kinder- gartens and summer camps have been forced to close. Besides firing toward Israel's two largest popu- lation centers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Hamas also fired one rocket that reached the northern Is- raeli city of Hadera for the first time, effectively put- ting the entire country un- der rocket range from the north and south. The city is more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Gaza and was struck in 2006 by mis- siles from Hezbollah guer- rillas in Lebanon. ISRAEL 200 t ar ge ts h it i n Ga za KHALILHAMRA—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS A Palestinian boy plays in the rubble of a destroyed house in the northern Gaza Strip. The Associated Press SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday morn- ing into the sea off its east coast, a South Korean de- fense official said. The missiles, presumed to Scud-series missiles, were fired from the south- west Hwanghae province and flew across the coun- try before landing in the ocean, the official said re- questing anonymity citing department rules. The mis- siles have a range of 500 ki- lometers(310miles),hesaid. North Korea has con- ducted an unusually large number of test-firings of missiles, artillery and rockets since earlier this year. South Korean offi- cials have confirmed about 90 such firings by North Korea since Feb. 21 and 10 of them have been ballis- tic launches, according to Seoul's Defense Ministry. The North's recent launches come as the coun- try is stepping up its de- mand that South Korea ac- cept a set of proposals that it said would reduce bilat- eral tensions, including the cancellation of regular mil- itary drills between Seoul and Washington. South Ko- rea has rejected the North's proposals, saying it must first demonstrate that it is serious about nuclear dis- armament if it truly wants peace. NORTH KOREA Ballistic missiles fired into ocean By Frank Jordans The Associated Press BERLIN German authori- ties are investigating a sec- ond spy case reportedly in- volving the United States, a week after the arrest of a German intelligence em- ployee cast a new shadow over relations between the two countries. Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that police raided properties in the Berlin area on "initial sus- picion of activity for an in- telligence agency." They did not elaborate or specify what intelligence agency was involved, but said they had not made an arrest. "We have investigations in two cases of suspected espionage, a very serious suspicion," government spokesman Steffen Seibert later told reporters in Ber- lin. He declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigations. The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, without naming sources, that the man being investigated worked at Germany's De- fense Ministry and is sus- pected of spying for the U.S. News website Spiegel On- line reported, also without naming sources, that the man worked in a depart- ment dealing with interna- tional security policy and had aroused the suspicion of Germany's military coun- ter-intelligence agency be- cause of his close contacts to alleged U.S. spies. Defense Ministry spokes- man Lt. Col. Uwe Roth de- clinedtoconfirmthereports, but said the casefell"into the ministry's area of responsi- bility" and that Defense Min- ister Ursula von der Leyen had been informed. State Department offi- cials traveling with U.S. Sec- retary of State John Kerry in Beijing had no immediate comment. The White House also decided to comment, al- though press secretary Josh Earnest reiterated that the U.S. appreciates its "impor- tant partnership" with Ger- man national security offi- cials. He said diplomats from the two countries were work- ing to resolve circumstances surrounding the reports. SURVEILLANCE Germans probe spy case reportedly involving US By Ryan Lucas The Associated Press BAGHDAD The ethnic and sectarian tensions that threaten to tear Iraq apart flared Wednesday as the prime minister accused the Kurdish self-rule region of harboring the Sunni mil- itants who have overrun much of the country, and 50 bodies were discovered dumped in a village south of Baghdad. It was not clear who the men were or why they were killed, but such grisly scenes were common dur- ing the darkest days of the Iraq war, and the deaths raised fears of another round of sectarian blood- letting. Many of the vic- tims were bound, blind- folded and shot in the head. Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki's allegations, made in his weekly televised ad- dress, are likely to worsen Baghdad's already thorny relationship with the Kurds, whose fighters have been battling the insurgents over the past month. The accusations would also seem to dampen the prospect of reconciliation that the United States, the U.N. and even Iraq's top Shiite cleric say is necessary to bridge the country's eth- nic and sectarian divisions and hold Iraq together. The militant offensive spearheaded by the Islamic State extremist group has plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since the last U.S. troops left the country in 2011. The jihadis have been joined in their assault by other Sunni insurgents, feed- ing off the anger in their mi- nority community against the Shiite-led government. On the other side, Shiite mi- litias have rallied around al- Maliki's government to fight off the insurgents. IRAQ Bodies of 50 men found dumped THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An Iraqi family leaves their hometown of Mosul, walking towards Irbil, Iraq, nearly a month a er Islamic militants took over the country's second largest city. Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 527-2151 to find out how. ThroughtheNewspapersinEducation program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. •DOLLINGINSURANCE • GUMM'S OPTICAL SHOPPE • HOOKER CREEK INC. • CALIFORNIA WALNUT COMPANY • LEPAGE COMPANY INC. • MODERN CLEANERS • OLIVE CITY QUICK LUBE • WALMART • TEHAMA CO. DEPT. 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