By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 — Companies are not building power plants and power lines fast enough to meet growing demand, according to a group recently assigned by the federal government to assure proper operation of the power grid.
The group, the North American Electric Reliability Council, in its annual report, to be released Monday, said the amount of power that could be generated or transmitted would drop below the target levels meant to ensure reliability on peak days in Texas, New England, the Mid-Atlantic area and the Midwest during the next two to three years.
The council was established in 1965 after a blackout across the Northeast, and has since set voluntary standards for the industry. After the blackout of 2003, which covered a vast swath of the Midwest, Northeast and Ontario, Congress set up a process that would eventually give the council the authority to fine American companies that did not follow certain operating standards. It is seeking a similar designation in Canada, since — electrically speaking — the border is irrelevant.
For years, the council has produced often-gloomy annual reports, but this is the first to be officially filed with federal agencies, and to recommend ...   more »

THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Good evening and "Ramadan Karim." Welcome to the White House. Laura and I are really glad you're here. This is the sixth year that we have been pleased to host an Iftaar at the White House. We're honored to be with you and once again we're honored to pay tribute to the month of Ramadan.
 Islam is a religion that brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people around the world. It has transcended racial and ethnic divisions. It has given birth to a rich culture of learning and literature and science. And tonight we honor the traditions of a great faith by hosting the Iftaar here at the White House.
I'm so pleased our Secretary of State, Condi Rice, has joined us. Thank you, Madam Secretary. I'm pleased that Dr. Elias Zerhouni, who is the Director of the NIH, is with us. Good to see you, Elias. I thank Imam Eid, from the Islamic Institute of Boston, is with us. I welcome all the ambassadors and other members of the Diplomatic Corps.
Ramadan is the holiest month in the Muslim calendar. For Muslims in America and around the world, Ramadan is a ...   more »

By Gary Duncan, Economics Editor 
RUSSIA is to diversify further its foreign exchange reserves, the world’s third-largest, and will begin to add the yen to its currency stockpile, its central bank said yesterday.   
With Russia’s reserves expanding rapidly thanks to huge inflows of funds generated by being the world’s second-biggest oil exporter, the central bank said it wanted to widen the range of currencies it holds.
Record oil prices have combined with Russia’s energy riches to swell its foreign exchange holdings by 54 per cent this year, so that its total reserves are outstripped only by those of China and Japan.
Sergei Ignatyev, the central bank’s chairman, said that about half the total reserves were held in dollars, with the bulk of the rest in euros. Holdings of yen were close to zero.
Alexei Ulyukayev, the bank’s first deputy chairman, said that, as of next year, yen would be increased as a proportion of the total reserves, while Russia would build stocks of other currencies, including the Australian and Canadian dollars. This could apply some downward pressure to the US dollar.
The central bank’s reserve corresponds to that of Russia’s $71 billion oil stabilisation fund, created in 2004 to ...   more »

By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Defense Department will resume mandatory anthrax vaccinations for more than 200,000 troops and defense contractors within 60 days, a Pentagon official said yesterday, rejecting the concerns of some veterans and service members who say that the vaccine has not been proved safe or effective.
The vaccinations will be required for most military units and civilian contractors assigned to homeland bioterrorism defense or deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan or South Korea, said William Winkenwerder Jr., a physician and the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. As troops rotate in and out of those regions, the number receiving vaccinations will grow considerably, he said. 
Biotechnology
Researchers and regulators are reshaping the landscape of science, medicine and health, engendering hope -- and disquiet -- for the future of humanity.
FDA Is Set To Approve Milk, Meat From Clones
Mandatory Anthrax Shots to Return
Pentagon to Resume Anthrax Inoculations
Calif. Growers Fear Biotech Rice Threat
Dose of Trouble for Flu-Shot Season
A lawsuit filed by six former or current service members had blocked the mandatory vaccinations since October 2004, when U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ruled that the Food and Drug Administration had erred in ...   more »

Tells Iranians they will be victorious over the West
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appearing at "The World Without Zionism" conference Oct. 26, 2005
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes Iran will be victorious in its nuclear row with the West because he is "in relation with God," while President Bush is inspired by Satan.
Ahmadinejad was speaking to a group of supporters at a mosque in the Iranian capital, Tehran, according to media reports.
"We say that we will be victorious," he said. "One day somebody asked me whether I was in relation with somebody when I say that we will be victorious. I answered: 'Yes, I am in relation with God.'"
His comments come as Tehran faces the prospect of United Nations sanctions over its failure to halt uranium enrichment. The
"In foreign politics, one should not be frightened or fear these people," Ahmadinejad said of Western leaders.
The European Union is expected to acknowledge today that nuclear talks with Iran have failed. It is also expected to support a return to the U.N. Security Council to prepare sanctions.
"Satan inspires Mr. Bush," he repeated several times in his remarks.
Ahmadinejad also reiterated that Iran would not suspend its nuclear program, "even ...   more »