Nuclear progress in Iran quickens
With efforts to halt its nuclear program at an impasse, Iran is moving faster than expected and is now just days from making the first steps toward enriching uranium, according to diplomats who have been briefed on the program.
If engineers encounter no major technical problems, Iran could manufacture enough highly enriched uranium to build a bomb within three years, much more quickly than the common estimate of five to 10 years, the diplomats said.
Iran insists that it is only interested in producing electricity, which requires enriching uranium to a much lower level.
New information about the status of Iran’s program came from diplomats representing countries on the U.N. Security Council. The diplomats were briefed by senior staff of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors in Iran.
Vatican City
Pope installs 15 cardinals
Pope Benedict XVI warmly embraced 15 new cardinals when he placed crimson hats on their heads in a ritual-filled ceremony Friday, tears welling in his eyes as he gripped the shoulders of the Polish prelate who faithfully served his predecessor for 40 years.
The moving moment in tribute to Pope John Paul II drew long applause from the crowd in St. Peter’s Square as Benedict elevated Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the late pontiff’s private secretary, as well as key churchmen from Hong Kong, Boston, Venezuela and the Philippines.
Archbishop Sean O’Malley, who was brought in to clean up the church in Boston after a major sex abuse scandal, was among the new cardinals, along with William Levada, formerly the archbishop of San Francisco and Portland. Levada took over Benedict’s old job as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s chief doctrinal watchdog.
Kabul, Afghanistan
Pressure mounts to free Christian
The Afghan government faced heavy international pressure Friday to reconsider the charges against an Afghan man who faces a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity – and reports emerged that the man might be freed soon.
Pressure against the case has been building, and the Afghan government may be rethinking the charges against Abdul Rahman. A government official and MSNBC said Friday that Rahman may be freed within the next few days.
“He could be released soon,” an Afghan government official told the Associated Press.
MSNBC, citing an Afghan diplomatic official it did not identify, said Rahman, 41, could be released Monday. The British Broadcasting Corp. said government officials were meeting today to discuss the case.
Senior clerics in the Afghan capital have voiced strong support for prosecuting Rahman and again warned Friday they would incite people to kill him unless he reverted to Islam.