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Thursday, March 8, 2012 – Daily News 5A WORLD BRIEFING Romney says he's on track to get majority before the convention WASHINGTON (AP) — His delegate lead growing, Mitt Romney gently nudged his Repub- lican opponents toward the sidelines on Wednes- day and said he was on track to wrap up the pres- idential nomination before the party conven- tion next summer. Rick Santorum and Newt Gin- grich paid him no mind, vowing to fight on in a campaign marked by per- sistent ideological divi- sions. If anything, the politi- cal maneuvering intensi- fied as the marathon pointed toward contests in five states over the next week. Romney's cam- paign purchased televi- sion advertising time in Alabama according to campaign sources, as it pursued a breakthrough in the party's Southern base. A Santorum ally urged Gingrich to abandon the race. In response, the former House speaker said he would consider it — if he thought Santorum was sure to beat Romney and then President Barack Obama. ''I don't,'' he added. And when Santorum was informed that an aide to Romney had said it would take an act of God for any other candidate to amass a majority of con- vention delegates, Santo- rum responded heatedly. ''What won't they resort to to try to bully their way through this race?'' he said in Lenexa, Kan. ''If the governor now thinks he's now ordained by God to win, then let's just have it out.'' Diplomats say Iran cleaning up nuclear work VIENNA (AP) — Satellite images of an Iran- ian military facility appear to show trucks and earth- moving vehicles at the site, indicating an attempt- ed cleanup of radioactive traces possibly left by tests of a nuclear-weapon trig- ger, diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday. GRAND OPENING 60 minute with massage $25~$55 per hour Elite Skin Care & Spa Facials~ Waxing~and more Eyebrows $5 Gift Certificates Available Owners, Mike & Trisa Waelty 741 Main St., Suite #14 526-8713 entered the ravaged neigh- borhood with a team from the Syrian Red Crescent that had been waiting nearly a week to be allowed in to deliver aid. ''The Syrian Arab Red Crescent stayed about 45 minutes inside the neigh- borhood,'' Red Cross spokesman Hicham Hassan said in Geneva. ''Volunteers say that most inhabitants have fled Baba Amr.'' The Syrian regime has kept the neighborhood sealed off over the past six days, saying it was too dan- gerous for humanitarian workers to enter. But activists accused the gov- ernment of engaging in a ''mopping-up'' operation to hide their atrocities. The assertions from the diplomats, all nuclear experts accredited to the International Atomic Energy Agency, could add to the growing internation- al pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peace- ful purposes. While the U.S. and the EU are backing a sanc- tions-heavy approach, Israel has warned that it may resort to a pre-emp- tive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities to pre- vent it from obtaining atomic weapons. Two of the diplomats said the crews at the Parchin military site may be trying to erase evidence of tests of a small experi- mental neutron device used to set off a nuclear explosion. A third diplo- mat could not confirm that but said any attempt to trigger a so-called neutron initiator could only be in the context of trying to develop nuclear arms. The diplomats said they suspect attempts at saniti- zation because some of the vehicles at the scene appeared to be haulage trucks and other equip- ment suited to carting off potentially contaminated soil from the site. Account tells of bin Laden's family riven by suspicions RAWALPINDI, Pak- istan (AP) — Osama bin Laden spent his last weeks in a house divided, amid wives riven by suspicions. On the top floor, sharing his bedroom, was his youngest wife and favorite. The trou- ble came when his eldest wife showed up and moved into the bedroom on the floor below. Others in the family, crammed into the three- story villa compound where bin Laden would eventually be killed in a May 2 U.S. raid, were convinced that the eldest wife intended to betray the al-Qaida leader. The picture of bin Laden's life in the Abbot- tabad compound comes from Brig. Shaukat Qadir, a retired Pakistani army offi- cer who spent months researching the events and says he was given rare access to transcripts of Pak- istani intelligence's interro- gation of bin Laden's youngest wife, who was detained in the raid. Qadir was also given rare entry into the villa, which was sealed after the raid and demolished last month. Pic- tures he took, which he allowed The Associated Press to see, showed the villa's main staircase, splat- tered with blood. Other pic- tures show windows pro- tected by iron grills and the 20-foot high walls around the villa. Qadir's research gives one of the most extensive descriptions of the arrange- ments in bin Laden's hide- out when U.S. SEAL com- mandos stormed in, killing bin Laden and four others. His account is based on accounts by an official of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency who escorted him on a tour of the villa, the interrogation tran- scription he was allowed to read, and interviews with other ISI officials and al- Rent Special $ March Madness fir500 OFF st month rent! TEHAMA ESTATES PROVIDES: ◆ Independent Living ◆ Private Apartments ◆ Three Nutritious Meals Daily ◆ 24 Hour Secure Environment ◆ House Keeping Services ◆ Warm & Friendly Staff ◆Recreational Programs ◆Scheduled Transportation ◆Private & Formal Dining Rooms A Retirement Community for the Active Senior Citizens EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Qaida-linked militants and tribesmen in the Afghan- Pakistan border region. Humanitarian chief finds Baba Amr deserted BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief toured the shattered Syrian district of Baba Amr on Wednesday but found most residents had fled following a bloody military siege, while activists accused the government of trying to cover up evidence of atroci- ties there. The visit by Valerie Amos, the New York-based undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, was the first by an independent outside observer since the Syrian military began its month-long assault of the rebellious neighborhood. A key stronghold of the upris- ing to oust authoritarian President Bashar Assad, it was wrested from rebel con- trol on March 1. Amos made no state- ment, but a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross said she Obama urges an end to oil dependency MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. (AP) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday made his most urgent appeal yet for the nation to wean itself from oil, calling it a ''fuel of the past'' and demanding that the United States broaden its approach to energy. Mindful of the political dangers of high gas prices, he said shrinking demand for oil must drive the solu- tion. Obama, promoting his energy policies in a politi- cally prominent state that will host the Democratic National Convention, called on Congress to provide $1 billion in grants to local communities to encourage greater use of fuel-efficient technologies. The adminis- tration's goal is to make electric vehicles as afford- able and convenient as gasoline-powered vehicles by 2020. The president also pro- posed greater tax incentives to encourage the purchase and use of more fuel-effi- cient vehicles. Gasoline prices are at their highest levels for this time of year and Obama has been traveling in recent weeks to promote energy proposals he says will reduce foreign oil depen- dency over the long term. GOP, Dems battle for support among women WASHINGTON (AP) — Is the 2012 election shaping up to be all about women? President Barack Obama is working hard to woo this pivotal con- stituency in his re-elec- tion race. His Democratic allies are even accusing the GOP of launching a ''war against women'' after the Republicans reignited a new national debate over cultural issues, including birth control. But now the Republi- cans — including Ann Romney and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski — are striking back with a promise: Their party will win women by focusing on the real No. 1 issue, the economy. Not that Obama is ready to give up that issue. ''I believe that the Democrats have a better story to tell to women about how we're going to solidify the middle class and grow this economy, make sure everybody has a fair shot, everybody's doing their fair share, and we got a fair set of rules of the road that everybody has to follow,'' Obama said Tuesday as Republi- can presidential con- tenders competed in Super Tuesday primaries. Carsen Perkins would like to thank all of his sponsors for supporting him through a successful 2011-2012 Outlaw Kart season. 750 David Avenue, Red Bluff • 527-9193 Best of Tehama County Will be announced in a special section on Digital Edition will stay online through March, 2013 2012 Winners Saturday, March 31, 2012 D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY Nu-Way Market, BP2 Retail, Inc., Gary Perkins Racing, Dudley's Excavating, We Shoot Ya Photography, Juan and Andre at La Corona Mexican Restaurant, Dr. Ronald L. Clark, D.D.S., Amundson Physical Therapy, Dr. Riico J.N. 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