Category:April 12, 2006

Hello and welcome to Audio Wikinews Newsbriefs, at 0915 UTC, April 12, 2006.

Former Iranian president Rafsanjani states Iran is enriching uranium

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed on Tuesday that the country has successfully enriched uranium from 164 of their centrifuges. On Wednesday, Mohamed ElBaradei, the President of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will visit Iran to review the progression, if any, to Iran's nuclear program and will release a report at the end of April. The United States said that Iran is "moving in the wrong direction" in regards to its nuclear program and that if it continues its program, it will discuss the possibility of taking steps with the United Nations.

Straw and Bush respond to Iran situation

Meanwhile, George W. Bush and the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw have both dismissed the nuclear 'first-strike' plan reported in the New Yorker magazine on Saturday. According to the New Yorker story, written by Seymour M. Hersh, American military and intelligence officials were making plans for a massive nuclear strike on Iran in order to stop the country developing nuclear weapons. Bush has described the plan as "wild speculation” in a speech delivered at John Hopkins University in Washington DC.

Australia's deputy PM faces Iraqi kickback inquiry

Yesterday, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, appeared before the Cole Inquiry into kickbacks paid to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. It is the first time in over a decade that a senior government official has been called to give evidence before a royal commission in Australia. The inquiry heard that Mr Vaile could not recall being told any specific details of the allegations made against the wheat exporter AWB before 2003. Mr Vaile has been Australia's trade minister since 2000 and the deputy prime minister since 2005.

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