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6B Daily News – Tuesday, February 7, 2012 US closes Syrian embassy BEIRUT (AP) — The U.S. closed its embassy in Syria and Britain recalled its ambassador to Damas- cus on Monday in a new Western push to get Presi- dent Bashar Assad to leave power and halt the murderous grind in Syria — now among the dead- liest conflicts of the Arab Spring. Although the diplo- matic effort was stymied at the U.N. by vetoes from Russia and China, the moves by the U.S. and Britain were a clear mes- sage that Western powers see no point in engaging with Assad and now will seek to bolster Syria's opposition. ''This is a doomed regime as well as a mur- dering regime,'' British Foreign Secretary William Hague told law- makers as he recalled his country's ambassador from Syria. ''There is no way it can recover its credibility international- ly.'' President Barack Obama said the Syrian leader's departure is only a matter of time. ''We have been relent- less in sending a message that it is time for Assad to go,'' Obama said during an interview with NBC. ''This is not going to be a matter of if, it's going to be a matter of when.'' Obama orders Iran sanctions WASHINGTON (AP) — Targeting Iran's econo- my, the U.S. ordered tough new penalties Mon- day to further pinch the country's financial system and encourage Israel to give sanctions more time before any military action against Iran's nuclear pro- gram. The new, stricter sanc- tions, authorized in legis- lation that President Barack Obama signed in December, will be WORLD BRIEFING The U.S. and Europe want to deprive Iran of the oil income it needs to run its government and pay for the nuclear program. But many experts believe Iran will be able to find other buyers outside Europe. The European Union announced last month it would ban the import of Iranian crude oil starting in July. The U.S. doesn't buy Iranian oil, but last month it placed sanctions on Iran's banks to make it harder for the nation to sell crude. The U.S., how- ever, has delayed imple- menting those sanctions for at least six months because it is worried about sending oil prices higher at a time when the world economy is strug- gling. Iran exports about 3 percent of the world's oil Powell planned deadly fire enforced under an order he signed only now. They give U.S. banks new pow- ers to freeze assets linked to the Iranian government and close loopholes that officials say Iran has used to move money despite earlier restrictions imposed by the U.S. and Europe. The action against the Central Bank of Iran is more significant for its timing than its immediate effect. It comes as the United States and its allies are arguing that tough sanctions can still persuade Iran to back off what the West contends is a drive to build a nuclear bomb. for some time GRAHAM, Wash. (AP) — Josh Powell planned the deadly house fire that killed him and his young sons for some time, dropping toys at charities and sending final emails to multiple acquaintances before the blaze, authorities said Monday. Powell, the husband of missing Utah woman Susan Powell, died along with his children Sunday. He had been named a person of interest in his wife's disappearance and just last week was denied custody of his children. The fire happened when a social worker dropped them off for what was supposed to be a super- vised visit. Pierce County sher- iff's spokesman Sgt. Ed Troyer said authorities found two, five-gallon gasoline cans inside the home. A five-gallon can was spread throughout the house and used as an accelerant in the huge blaze. Another can was found by the bodies, he said. Front-runner Romney works to beat Santorum challenge GRAND JUNC- TION, Colo. (AP) — Sensing a possible threat, Mitt Romney criticized Rick Santo- rum's time in the Senate as ''not effective'' because of his past sup- port for spending on pork-barrel projects as he worked to fend off an unexpected challenge in the next states to vote. Santorum countered that Romney, the front- runner in the GOP pres- idential race, ''should not be our nominee'' because he was ''dead wrong on the most important issue of the day'' when, as governor, he signed a health care overhaul into law in Massachusetts. The two sparred from afar one day before Republicans in Col- orado and Minnesota hold nominating cau- cuses, the latest contests in what's become almost a plodding race for the GOP nomination compared to the rapid- fire campaign of last month. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul also are competing but neither was expected to have a breakout performance in either state. Romney, who won both states four years ago, hopes to extend his winning streak though advisers acknowledged that a first-place finish would be more likely to come by in Colorado than in Minnesota. The Republican Party in Minnesota has become more conservative in recent years and Santo- rum's strong conserva- tive positions on social issues could resonate with the state's strong contingent of evangeli- cal voters. Santorum, a Catholic, has a strong anti-abor- tion record and consis- tently focuses on the issue. Romney, who once supported abortion rights, has struggled to win over those voters. But in a sign that he's trying to do just that, Romney's campaign on Monday rolled out a petition focusing on religious liberty. The move was intended to challenge a recent Obama administration decision to require hos- pitals to distribute free birth control, a policy at odds with the religious teachings followed at many Catholic health care facilities. Tea party activists starting to rally behind Romney DENVER (AP) — Long skeptical of Mitt Romney, tea party activists are either warming up to the GOP presidential front-run- ner or reluctantly back- ing him after abandon- ing hope of finding a nominee they like bet- ter. Whatever the reason, the former Massachu- setts governor who is coming off of back-to- back victories in Florida and Nevada now is pick- ing up larger shares of the tea party vote than he did when the Repub- lican nomination fight began. And that fact alone illuminates the struggles of the nearly three-year-old move- ment to greatly influ- ence its first presiden- tial race. ''We haven't gone away,'' insisted Amy Kremer, chairwoman of the national Tea Party Express. But, in the same breath, she acknowledged lower expectations and a shift in focus to Senate races over the White House campaign. She also pleaded for patience, saying: ''Anybody that thinks we are going to change things in one cycle or two cycles is fooling themselves.'' Tea party activists across the country entered their first presi- dential contest this year expecting to hold major sway over the Republi- can race following a 2010 congressional election year in which their favored candidates successfully knocked off a string of insiders in GOP primaries in Col- orado and elsewhere. The movement influ- enced the presidential race early on, with can- didates from Romney on down parroting the movement's language and promoting its agen- da of restrained spend- ing to curry favor with its adherents. Palestinians take step toward unity RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — After months of wavering, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took a decisive step Monday toward reconciliation with the Islamic militant group Hamas, a move Israel promptly warned would close the door to any future peace talks. In a deal brokered by Qatar, Abbas will head an interim unity govern- ment to prepare for gen- eral elections in the Palestinian territories in the coming months. The agreement appeared to bring reconciliation — key to any statehood ambitions — within reach for the first time since the two sides set up rival Palestinian gov- ernments in the West Bank and Gaza in 2007. Monday's deal, signed in the Qatari cap- ital of Doha by Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, put an end to recent efforts by the international communi- ty to revive long-stalled negotiations between Israel and the Palestini- ans on the terms of Palestinian statehood. Abbas appears to have concluded that he has a better chance of repair- ing relations with Hamas, shunned by the West as a terror group, than reaching an agree- ment with Israel's hard- line prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu quickly condemned the Doha deal. ''It's either peace with Hamas or peace with Israel. You can't have them both,'' he said in a warning to Abbas, who has enjoyed broad international sup- port. In moving closer to Hamas, Abbas risks los- ing some of that backing and hundreds of mil- lions of dollars a year in aid. Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. DONATE YOUR VACATION newspaper dollars to the Newspaper In Education Program HELP OUR CHILDREN For more details call Circulation Department (530) 527-2151 D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 PHONE: (530) 527-2151 FAX: (530) 527-5774 545 Diamond Avenue • P.O. Box 220 • Red Bluff, CA 96080