Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit as "historic and strategic" during a state dinner at the Bab Azizia palace, state television reported on Thursday.
"This is the first visit by a Russian president to Libya. It is a historic, strategic and very important visit," Kadhafi said in a speech late on Wednesday.
"The trip will enable increased cooperation, given that we are both producers of gas and oil," Kadhafi said. "We will work together to defend our interests."
Libya is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2007-2008, and Khadafi said the world body needed to be reformed in order to face what he called an "imbalance of forces" internationally.
Putin, who spoke in Russian, said: "We must reflect on the project to reform the United Nations" and referred to "a friendly country on the Security Council with which we can work together to resolve problems."
The Russian president said "a large number of agreements" would be signed between the two countries during his 24-hour visit to Libya.
Putin arrived in Tripoli on Wednesday at the head of a large delegation for a visit expected to be dominated by talks over energy contracts ...   more »

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country will strongly respond to any "enemy" invasion and defend its interests by all means.
Ahmadinejad did not name any particular country as the enemy.
"The Iranian nation will strongly respond to any invasion and will put any enemy in his place," he said in a speech broadcast live on state TV.
Ahmadinejad said an invasion by "bullying, arrogant, satanic, non-divine and expansionist powers" has failed to dominate the region because of Iranian resistance.
Original Source
   more »

The US Supreme Court Wednesday ruled that lethal injection was constitutional in a landmark ruling set to pave the way for executions to resume after a lull of more than six months.
The judges ruled by seven for and two against that the risk of suffering to those executed by lethal injection did not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" which is barred under the US constitution.
"Petitioners have not carried their burden of showing that the risk of pain from maladministration of a concededly humane lethal injection protocol, and the failure to adopt untried and untested alternatives, constitute cruel and unusual punishment," the judges said in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Lethal injection is the most commonly used form of execution across the United States. Some 53 people were executed in the US in 2006, after the numbers reached a peak of 98 in 1999.
Several death row inmates, led by a pair from Kentucky, had urged the Supreme Court to rule on whether lethal injection violated the constitution. They had argued that the three-part injection method in which the first part sedates the inmate, the second paralyzes the muscles and the third stops the heart, caused ...   more »

Man working to convert all that grows into fuel surprised by 'inattention'
By Joe Kovacs
It could potentially be one of the biggest energy breakthroughs in history – genetically manipulating bacteria to quickly convert anything that grows out of the Earth into oil. But the biggest names in the national media have thus far not provided any coverage of this possible solution to skyrocketing gas prices and America's long-term energy security.
A WND story last month introduced to the nation a new technique where altered bacteria "rapidly digest" everything from grass clippings and wood chips, turning them into hydrocarbons for fuels such as gasoline and diesel. If done on a large scale, it could provide billions of barrels of renewable oil every year.
Naturally occurring bacteria used to convert biomass into hydrocarbons. 
One reader, Joe Russo of Fairbanks, Alaska, called it "the biggest story we've seen in a decade, yet the cable and mainstream news networks haven't even picked up on it."
The apparent inattention comes as a big surprise to the agricultural researcher pioneering the process, J.C. Bell, the CEO of Bell Bio-Energy, Inc.
"We've been on several radio stations, but nothing really national," he said. "We haven't talked ...   more »

Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Says Plans "Couldn't Move a Girl Scout Unit"
By Kristin Roberts
WASHINGTON
The Pentagon is not prepared to respond to a catastrophic chemical, biological or nuclear attack within the United States, placing Americans at risk, an independent panel reported to Congress on Thursday.
While the Defense Department conducts exhaustive planning for operations overseas, its planning for possible action inside the United States in response to attacks is inadequate, said the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.
"We looked at their plans. They're totally unacceptable," said commission chairman Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps major general.
"You couldn't move a Girl Scout unit with the kind of planning they're doing," Punaro said of plans drafted by U.S. Northern Command, the part of the military responsible for homeland defense.
While other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, are responsible for pieces of the government's response to an attack, the Defense Department is the only agency with the resources and capabilities to manage the overall response, the commission argued.
The National Guard and Reserve should be ordered to lead the Defense Department's activities in that arena because those part-time troops live throughout the United States and ...   more »

By Mark Shenk
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil retreated from a record after the dollar increased from an all-time low against the euro, reducing the appeal of commodities.
Oil touched $115.54 before the dollar rebounded. The U.S. currency gained after failing to weaken beyond $1.60 and Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said the euro's rise isn't desirable. The dollar's drop has increased the flow of money into commodities.
``The dollar-oil relationship is very much in evidence,'' said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Galena, Illinois-based energy consulting firm Ritterbusch & Associates. ``As long as there is no evidence that dollar will recover some of its lost ground there will be upside potential in the energy markets.''
Crude oil for May delivery fell 7 cents to settle at $114.86 a barrel at 2:43 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 4.3 percent this week.
Brent crude for June settlement declined 23 cents to settle at $112.43 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract touched a record $113.38 today.
``Oil backed off on Juncker's comments but the trend remains higher,'' said Tom Bentz, a broker at BNP Paribas in New York. ``Every day we get higher highs ...   more »