The Iranians require some one from Hezbullah to trap and catch USraeli special forces and agents who have been trying to infiltrate Iran from he Iraqi borders. In order to facilitate such subversive activities, the Americans have already moved Kurdish Beshmerga units to the borders near Basrah in the South. The Kurds are somewhat reluctant and afraid of retaliation if they openly support USraeli agents getting into Iran from the Kurdish borders with Iran.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
Blast kills 18 in Iran military base
Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:56AM
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A blast resulting from a fire at a munitions depot has killed 18 and wounded 14 at an Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) base in the Western Iranian province of Lurestan, an IRGC commander says.
"In yesterday's explosion at one of IRGC's bases in Lurestan, 18 people lost their lives and 14 others were injured," said Deputy Commander of IRGC Lurestan province Yadollah Bouali, quoted by Fars news agency Wednesday.
He noted that the incident occurred Tuesday morning when a blaze spread to a munitions depot at the corps's Imam Ali base resulting in the death and injury of a number of its personnel.
The commander added that the injured were immediately transferred to medical centers, some of whom were briefly treated and released.
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writers Elizabeth A. Kennedy And Bassem Mroue, Associated Press Writers – 32 mins ago
BEIRUT – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was welcomed on Wednesday by thousands of Lebanese — mostly Hezbollah supporters — in a visit that underscores the deep divisions between the Shiite militant group and the country's pro-Western factions.
Ahmadinejad is making his first state visit to Lebanon at a time when tensions have mounted between Iranian-backed Hezbollah and American-backed parties. The growing crisis has raised fears over the fate of the fragile unity government that includes both sides and has managed to keep a tenuous calm in the conflict-torn nation.
Hezbollah's opponents in Lebanon often brand it a tool of Iran and fear the movement — which boasts widespread support among Shiites and has the country's strongest armed force — is seeking to impose control over the country. Hezbollah and its allies, in turn, say their political rivals are steering Lebanon too far into the American camp.
The visit by the leader of Hezbollah's most powerful ally, Iran, throws Lebanon's divisions into sharp relief.
Thousands of Lebanese lined the main highway into the capital from Beirut's airport, where Ahmadinejad arrived Wednesday. Many waved Lebanese and Iranian flags, and giant posters of Ahmadinejad towered over the road, while loudspeakers blasted anthems and women in the crowd sold Hezbollah flags and balloons to onlookers.
The crowd broke into cheers and threw sweets as the motorcade slowly passed, and Ahmadinejad stood and waved from the sunroof of his SUV.
"Ahmadinejad has done a lot for Lebanon, this is just a thanks" to him, said Fatima Mazeh, an 18-year-old engineering student who took the day off classes to join the crowds. "He's not controlling Lebanon, he is helping. Everyone has a mind and can think for himself. We are here to stand with him during the hardest times."
Ali Chehade, a math teacher, told his kids to take the day off to come to the airport road. "Ahmadinejad is a big leader in the region because of his words about the resistance," he said, referring to Iran's support for what Hezbollah touts as its armed resistance to Israel.
But Hezbollah's rivals expressed concern over the message sent by the Iranian leader's visit.
A group of 250 politicians, lawyers and activists sent an open letter to Ahmadinejad on Tuesday, criticising Tehran's backing of Hezbollah and expressing worry Iran was looking to drag Lebanon into a war with Israel. Iran funds the group to the tune of millions of dollars a year and is believed to provide much of its arsenal.it said.
"One group in Lebanon draws power from you ... and has wielded it over another group and the state," the letter said, addressing Ahmadinejad.
"Your talk of 'changing the face of the region starting with Lebanon' and 'wiping Israel off the map through the force of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon' ... makes it seem like your visit is that of a high commander to his front line,"
But even in the mouthpiece newspapers of parties opposed to Hezbollah, criticism of Ahmadinejad was muted, as the government sought to treat the visit like that of any other head of state. The government is headed by the leader of the pro-Western factions — Prime Minister Saad Hariri — but his Cabinet includes members both from Hezbollah and from fiercely anti-Hezbollah parties.
Ahmadinejad will meet with Hariri and with Lebanon's president during his visit, which lasts until Friday. But the biggest splash will come from his welcome by Hezbollah. Iran has ironclad ties to Hezbollah, which in many Shiite areas runs nearly a state-within-a-state.
During his visit, Ahmadinejad is to make public appearances expected to draw giant crowds in two Hezbollah strongholds — one in south Beirut later Wednesday, another the following day in Bint Jbeil, a border village that was bombed during the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war. It is barely two and a half miles (four kilometers) from the Israeli border.
The show of support from Iran comes as many Lebanese worry over a possible impending blow to the unity government.
A U.N. tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — Saad's father — is expected to indict members of Hezbollah as soon as this month, raising concerns of possible violence between the Shiite force and Hariri's mainly Sunni allies.
Washington has come out against Ahmadinejad's trip. Last week, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton raised concerns about the visit with the Lebanese president, Michel Suleiman.
"We expressed our concern about it given that Iran, through its association with groups like Hezbollah, is actively undermining Lebanon's sovereignty," Crowley said in Washington.
==============
11 October 2010 Last updated at 06:15 ET
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Joy as Chile miners reach surface
trapped miners
Accident
Accident
Relatives of trapped miners wait outside mine Relatives of trapped miners wait for news
Thirty-three miners were trapped underground when part of the San Jose mine in Chile's Atacama desert collapsed on 5 August 2010.
A second collapse on 7 August hampered rescue efforts, blocking access to the lower parts of the mine.
The San Jose mine, 800km (500 miles) north of Santiago, is mined for copper and gold. The main path - or rampa - reaches down to 720m (2,362ft) below the surface.
The collapses, blocking exit routes, had taken place between 400m (1,312ft) and 500m (1,640ft).
Rescue teams drilled a number of exploratory boreholes, sending listening probes down knowing that, despite the collapse of some ventilation shafts, the miners may have survived.
Discovery
Discovery
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Miners attached a note to a borehole probe
Seventeen days after the accident, rescuers found a note from the miners attached to one of the probes saying "Estamos bien en el refugio los 33" - "All 33 of us are well inside the shelter."
The note referred to a refuge shelter, 700m (2,300ft) down, where the miners had been having lunch when the first collapse happened.
Emergency supplies and fresh water were sent down the borehole to the miners after they had survived on rations for 17 days.
Communications were set up and the miners told the rescue team they had access to about 1km (0.6 miles) of tunnel and had split into three groups to eat and sleep.
Since then, rescuers have sent food and medical supplies, specialist clothing, camp beds and other equipment down the borehole to make the miners' lives more comfortable.
Drilling begins
Drilling begins
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Three machines have drilled to different depths
With access via the mine tunnels blocked, rescuers decided the best way of reaching the men was to drill a shaft and winch them to the surface.
Three types of drilling equipment were used - two raise-bore machines, which drill a pilot hole before widening the shaft. And a third drill, normally used in the oil industry, which drills a wide shaft at the first instance.
The pilot hole for the first shaft, Plan A, started on 30 August - aiming for the shelter. Plan B, involving faster machinery, was aiming for a machine workshop a few hundred metres from the refuge and completed its pilot hole on 17 September.
Rescuers dug all three holes at the same time to be sure of getting the miners out as fast as possible, even if one of the pieces of equipment broke.
Life underground
Life underground
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Miners have been shifting debris from the rescue drills
Communication with the miners has been key to morale and the rescue operation itself. Messages from relatives and supplies have been passed down the boreholes in special tubes nicknamed "palomas" or "doves".
But the miners have also been able to provide rescuers with video updates of conditions in the mine.
The 33 men have split into three groups - Grupo Refugio, Grupo Rampa and Grupo 105 - named after the shelter, the ramp and Level 105 sections of the tunnel where they are trapped.
They have established shift patterns - work tasks involve clearing the debris falling from the pilot hole as the shaft is widened and unloading the dozens of palomas sent down each day.
Rest periods are used for sleeping, writing letters and games - the miners also need to keep fit and slim enough to fit in the rescue capsule.
Life at the surface
Life at surface
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Tour of the camp above trapped Chile miners
Relatives and friends of the 33 miners have gathered at the mine since the accident in an area dubbed Campo Esperanza, or Camp Hope.
Families have been living in tents, with daily meals provided by charities and local authorities.
They also send messages and creature comforts down to the miners, and await their replies, sent back up in the paloma supply tubes.
A school has been set up for the children of the trapped miners living at the camp - following a request from the miners.
Breakthrough
Breakthrough
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The BBC's Tim Willcox was at the mine when the breakthrough happened
Amid scenes of jubilation above and below ground, the Plan B drill finally broke through to the miners' workshop on 9 October.
After a video inspection of the shaft to check the rock's stability, rescuers decided they only needed to encase the first 96m (315 ft).
Sixteen six-metre tubes were welded together to go into the shaft. This will prevent rocks in the looser soil near the top of the shaft being dislodged and jamming the rescue capsule.
A winch and pulley for the rescue capsules will then be installed and the shaft tested before the rescue begins, it is hoped, on Wednesday.
Rescue
Rescue
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Three rescue capsules have been sent to the mine
Three Navy-designed rescue capsules are waiting at the surface to be used to bring the miners out of the mine.
A medic will be lowered down to the miners to help the first miner into place for the ascent to the surface - where they will undergo medical checks, be reunited with their families and be transferred to a nearby hospital.
Each time the rescue capsule reaches the surface, it will be checked thoroughly - which means rescuers expect to bring up one miner an hour.
The whole operation should take a day-and-a-half to bring up all 33, if there are no complications.
If the capsule gets stuck, the miner inside will be able to pull three levers to separate the upper part of the capsule so the bottom part, containing the miner, can be lowered back into the mine.
The parts obstructing the shaft will then be removed and a new capsule sent down.
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