Tehran, June 21
Tehran said today it had banned two UN nuclear inspectors from entering the country because they had leaked “false” information about Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.

The ban is the latest twist in Iran’s deepening tussle with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency and the West over its nuclear programme. The United States and its allies warn that Iran’s programme is geared toward making nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies the charge saying its nuclear activities are only for peaceful purposes like power generation.

The IAEA report in question stated that in January Iran announced it had conducted certain experiments to purify uranium, which could theoretically be used to produce a nuclear warhead. Iran then denied the experiments had taken place a few months later.

When the inspectors in May visited the Jaber Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Research Laboratory in Tehran, where the alleged high temperature pyroprocessing experiments were conducted, they said the equipment involved had been removed.

The Associated Press reported the IAEA’s concerns in May, citing unnamed diplomats.

Iran, however, maintained in June there were no experiments related to pyroprocessing and no equipment was removed and has called the IAEA report “false with the purpose of influencing public opinion.” The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi said on state TV that the IAEA had been informed of the decision to ban the inspectors, whom he did not identify.

“We announced names of two inspectors to the agency last week. Those two now have no right to enter Iran anymore,” he said. “What they reported was untrue and they revealed it before it was officially reviewed.” Salehi also said Iran would remain loyal to its international commitments to the agency and the IAEA inspectors would still be able to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Since 2006, after Iran’s nuclear dossier was reported to the UN Security Council, Iran limited its cooperation to only its obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

The UN Security Council slapped a fourth set of sanctions on Iran earlier this month over its nuclear program. The move followed Iran’s refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process, which can be used for the production of fuel for power plants as well as material for warheads if enriched to a higher level. — AP 

New York, June 21
A doctor in South Africa has designed what she claims is a new female “condom with teeth” aimed at preventing rape.

Dr Sonnet Ehlers has created the female condom, called Rape-aXe, some 40 years after she met a devastated rape victim who was like “a breathing corpse”.

“She looked at me and said, ‘If only I had teeth down there’,” Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old medical researcher at the time, recalled in an interview with ‘CNN’. “I promised her I’d do something to help people like her one day.”

Now, 40 years on, Rape-Axe is born. The condom has jagged teeth-like hooks that latch onto a man’s penis during penetration. Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it, a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make arrest.

“It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it’s on. If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... However, it doesn’t break the skin, and there’s no danger of fluid exposure,” the doctor said.

Dr Ehlers has been distributing 30,000 free condoms under supervision during the World Cup period. “I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe,” she said.

After the trial period, they’ll be available for about $2 a piece. “The ideal situation would be for a woman to wear this when she’s going out on some kind of blind date or to an area she’s not comfortable with,” Ehlers said.

Critics, however, say that the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device.

It’s also a form of “enslavement”, said Victoria Kajja who is a fellow for Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Uganda. “The fears surrounding the victim, act of wearing the condom in anticipation of being assaulted all represent enslavement that no woman should be subjected to.” South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, according to Human Rights Watch.

Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said, with some inserting razor blades in their private parts. “I believe something’s got to be done... And this will make some men rethink before they assault a woman.” — PTI

Responding to US representative for the region Richard Holbrooke's warning on Pak-Iran gas pipeline deal, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the agreement should remain intact as it is in the best interest of the country.

He, however, said Pakistan would abide by the UN or US restrictions. "Our experts hope that Pak-Iran gas pipeline accord would not be affected by the sanctions imposed on Iran, Qureshi told reporters at Multan airport when asked to comment on Holbrooke's statement cautioning Pakistan to be wary of an impending US congressional legislation further tightening curbs on Iran. Holbrooke said these curbs might impact Pakistani companies involved in the project.

Qureshi said apart from Pakistani experts, the US strategic team during talks in Islamabad last week, did not know whether the gas pipeline project came under restrictions.

He, however, added that if the project was found to be hit by the restrictions then "Pakistan will not violate international laws".

The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan would protect its interests with regard to energy which is the requirement of the country. He, however, added that it would be premature to give final opinion at this stage.

The blast occurred in coal mine when a pack of gunpowder kept underground detonated trapping 75 miners in Weidong district. The official said 28 miners were brought out to safety while 47 were confirmed killed. — PTI