President Vladimir Putin issued an acerbic warning Thursday to the United States, saying the recent test of a new Russian missile was a direct response to US actions and condemning "imperialism" in world affairs.
"Our American partners have quit the ABM Treaty," Putin told reporters after meeting his Greek counterpart, referring to the landmark 1972 US-Soviet treaty limiting the missile defenses of the Cold War superpower foes.
"We warned them then that we would come out with a response to maintain the strategic balance in the world. Yesterday we conducted a test of a new strategic ballistic missile with multiple warheads, and of a new cruise missile, and will continue to improve our resources."
The United States informed Russia in 2001 that it was exercising its option to withdraw unilaterally from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) pact. It has since stepped up controversial plans, fiercely opposed by Russia, to deploy a missile defence shield in eastern Europe.
Putin warned Wednesday that the US missile defense plan would turn Europe into a "powder keg" and he repeated on Thursday previous assertions that the planned deployments would ignite a new Cold War-style arms buildup.
"We are not the initiators of this new round ...   more »

KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait’s decision to stop pegging itsdinar to the dollar has only confirmed speculation that oil-rich Gulf states will not be able to meet a 2010 target to launch their single currency, economists said on Monday.
“Certainly, the decision casts a serious doubt over the Gulf states’ ability to launch their single currency in 2010... I think such a step is difficult now. It’s premature,” said Saudi National Commercial Bank chief economist Saeed al-Shaikh.
“It makes it much more difficult to prepare the necessary groundwork for a single currency... It’s a step backward,” Shaikh told AFP.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, which groups energy-rich Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, has already taken a number of measures in its bid to launch a monetary union and a single currency by 2010.
But last year, Oman said it would not be able to meet the target date while some countries have reportedly expressed reservations on a number of criteria, fuelling speculation that the launch date may not be met.
In a surprising decision on Sunday, Kuwait pegged the dinar to a basket of currencies, more than four years of linking it to the dollar in preparation ...   more »

By Dennis Cauchon
The federal government recorded a $1.3 trillion loss last year — far more than the official $248 billion deficit — when corporate-style accounting standards are used, a USA TODAY analysis shows.
The loss reflects a continued deterioration in the finances of Social Security and government retirement programs for civil servants and military personnel. The loss — equal to $11,434 per household — is more than Americans paid in income taxes in 2006.
"We're on an unsustainable path and doing a great disservice to future generations," says Chris Chocola, a former Republican member of Congress from Indiana and corporate chief executive who is pushing for more accurate federal accounting.
Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later.
The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition.
Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006. That amount is equal to $516,348 for every U.S. household. By comparison, U.S. households owe an average of $112,043 ...   more »

In promising strategy to fight pandemic, vaccine made from survivors' blood shown to treat disease
Joseph Hall
health reporter
An international team of researchers has used antibodies derived from Vietnamese survivors of the avian flu to successfully treat and prevent the disease in mice.
And the promising and unique strategy for fighting a pandemic could be fast-tracked into human trials and provide a new tool in public health efforts to control any outbreak, according to a scientific paper published today in the Public Library of Science's online journal PloS Medicine.
After inoculating 60 mice with one of the monoclonal antibodies, 58 survived. All the mice in the control group died within 10 days. The other three antibodies made from the human blood provided "robust" protection, even 24 hours after the mice were infected.
"That was really quite remarkable because the virus actually replicates ... very rapidly in the mice," said study author Dr. Kanta Subbarao, a senior investigator with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md. "So we were very intrigued to see how effective treatment was after the virus was administered."
The research marks the first time human antibodies have been used to fight ...   more »

CAIRO, Egypt  —
An American member of Al Qaeda warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a new videotape.
Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said Al Qaeda would not negotiate on its demands.
"Your failure to heed our demands ... means that you and your people will ... experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq and Virginia Tech," he said in the seven-minute video.
Gadahn, who has been charged in a U.S. treason indictment with aiding Al Qaeda, spoke in English and the video carried Arabic subtitles. The video appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of Al Qaeda's media wing, as-Sahab.
Gadahn, who appeared in an Al Qaeda video last September in which he called on Americans to convert to Islam, demanded that Bush remove all U.S. military and spies from Islamic countries, free all Muslims from U.S. prisons and end support for Israel. He said a withdrawal of U.S. troops ...   more »