Subject: Senate majority leader estimates cost of Iraq war near $650 billion

From: "Dolores Bermudez" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 05:10:33 -0500

http://migyemg.gentlefraction.cn/?267903793307Russian officials could not immediately be reached to verify the report and the Iranian news agency provided no details on what Putin had proposed.Prompted by government attempts to cut pension privileges, the strikes will be for 24 hours but could be prolonged to Friday, Ricard said.Putin met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and attended a summit of Caspian Sea nations Tuesday, the first visit by a Kremlin leader to Iran since Josef Stalin attended a 1943 summit with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.Putin has bluntly spelled out his disagreements with Washington, saying last week that he saw no "objective data" to prove Western claims that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.Khamenei told Putin that Iran is serious about continuing uranium enrichment in turn but wants to avoid adventurism and cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the news agency said.Commercial flights to the French capital were sold out, while thousands of England supporters have booked to travel on the Eurostar rail service from London to Paris.The strike is expected to cripple France's national train network.Trains across France and the Metro -- Paris's subway system -- are expected to come to a halt starting Wednesday night, Ricard said."We will ponder your words and proposal," IRNA quoted Khamenei as saying.Vladimir Putin's visit was the first by a Kremlin leader to Iran since 1943.With Paris hotels booked full many fans are staying 30 kilometers (20 miles) outside the city in hotels around Disneyland's Paris resort.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.Unidentified relatives of the gunman's victims console one another outside the courtroom.The man and his wife were attending a court hearing in Reggio Emilia as part of separation proceedings when he pulled out a gun and pointed it at his wife and her brother, then started shooting randomly, police said.SNCF has insisted the industrial action would not continue into the weekend. 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.