Subject: Airline grounds mile-high passions

From: "Moises Crandall" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2007 10:03:28 +0200

Khamenei also said Iran will continue cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is scrutinizing Iran's nuclear program.At talks Friday with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, he ridiculed U.S. plans for a missile defense system in eastern Europe, supposedly to stop an Iranian attack.ROME, Italy (AP) -- A man opened fire in a courtroom in northern Italy on Wednesday, seriously wounding his estranged wife and killing her brother before being shot to death by police, officials said.Before visiting Iran, Putin held extensive talks on Iran's nuclear activities with some Western leaders including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.On Tuesday in Tehran, Putin warned the United States not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran.The wife was taken to a hospital, where she was declared clinically dead, Italian media reported. Her brother died at the scene.Russian officials could not immediately be reached to verify the report and the Iranian news agency provided no details on what Putin had proposed.Police were investigating how the man managed to take a weapon into the courtroom in Reggio Emilia, a city about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Bologna. The strike is expected to cripple France's national train network.Officials close to hard-liners within Iran's ruling Islamic establishment said they believed the proposal by Putin was a type of "time out" on U.N. sanctions against Iran, if Tehran suspends uranium enrichment. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue."The main reason for Putin's visit to Iran was to convey this message personally to the ultimate power inIran," one official said.A police officer and the woman's lawyer also were injured, but not seriously, police said.Unidentified relatives of the gunman's victims console one another outside the courtroom.Railway workers will join bus, power, gas and some state employees for the action called after President Nicolas Sarkozy refused to back down over planned pension reforms, according to Monique Ricard, spokeswoman for the French railway SNCF.With Paris hotels booked full many fans are staying 30 kilometers (20 miles) outside the city in hotels around Disneyland's Paris resort.LONDON, England (CNN) -- Widespread strikes are expected to cripple France's transport network just as rugby fans make their way to Paris for this weekend's World Cup final.