Venezuela has tested six training and light attack jets bought from China for defense and the campaign against drug trafficking.

President Hugo Chavez ordered a total of eighteen Chinese-built K-8 jets after a plan to buy similar jets from Brazil failed because they included US electrical systems.

Venezuelan officials say the jets will be used to train pilots and intercept drug traffickers who use Venezuela as a route to take Colombian cocaine to the United States, Europe, and Africa.

Venezuela has also bought a network of ten radars from China and has spent about four billion dollars on Russian weapons, including fighter jets.

The Kremlin says Russia and the US are likely to set a date for the signing of a new pact to cut nuclear arms known as START.

The heads of state have, by an already established tradition, held a regular exchange of views on the situation in the final stages of preparation of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). Both sides expressed satisfaction with the high level of agreement in the major provisions of the draft treaty.

It was underlined that it is now possible to talk about specific dates for the submission of the draft START treaty for signing by the heads of state, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Saturday.

The White House also said that the leaders of the two countries are committed to concluding the deal soon.

However, no date has been announced for the deal to reduce the two countries’ nuclear arsenals.

Russia and the United States have been negotiating a replacement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty since the Russian and US presidents met in April last year, but the finalization of the document has dragged on, with US plans for a missile system in Europe a particular sticking point.

The previous deal, known as START 1, the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control, expired on December 5

The Judiciary said Saturday it has identified and dismantled a US-backed cyber network, which was set up to gather information on the country’s nuclear scientists and spread unrest after the presidential election.

In a statement, the Judiciary said the group had been established by anti-Iran groups, including the terrorist Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO). It added that some of the prime suspects linked to the group were identified and about 30 of them have been arrested.

According to the New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh, former US President George W. Bush funded a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, allocating up to four hundred million dollars to “destabilize the country’s religious leadership.”

The Judiciary said, under Bush’s Presidential Finding, a new campaign in the intelligence front — called the “cyber war” — was set up to engage Iran, with the help of the MKO, pro-monarchy groups and other anti-Iran cells.

One of the main projects of the campaign, the statement said, was a program called “Iran Proxy,” which received a funding of 50 million dollars from the CIA and the US State Department.

The program, which allowed Iranians bypass the state’s filtering system and access the Internet, was designed to “obtain personal and family information” of its users and pass them along to US spy agencies, the statement said.

Another major project of the campaign, it said, was a network called “Human Rights Activists,” which was led by Keyvan Rafiei, Jamal Hosseini and Ahmad Batebi.

The network was tasked with recruiting people and sending them to an MKO camp in Iraq and other countries, where they would receive training, the statement said.

The network was also in close cooperation with “Lawyers Committee” and “Harana News service,” it said.

The network, according to the confession of its arrested members, was also tasked with inviting people to attend illegal rallies and riots in the aftermath of the presidential election in June.

They also spread rumors about the number of people who were killed during the unrest, saying there had been seventy-two victims.

The network also sought to provide cover for armed acts against the Islamic Republic establishment, the statement said.

The Judiciary added that the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) had been briefed on the situation and key members of the campaign, who reside in the United States, had been introduced to the force.

The Russian foreign ministry has questioned the objectivity of US annual report on worldwide human rights practices, criticizing it for ignoring the United States’ own record.

The Russia section of the US State Department’s 2009 Human Rights Report noted a decline in the number of racially or religiously motivated crimes in Russia during the year, but expressed concern over ethnic discrimination.

“It is no secret to anyone that this opus is aimed primarily at solving the political issues of the US establishment,” said a statement from the ministry’s information and press department published on Friday.

The statement recommended a report on the human rights practices in the United States, which is not included in the US country report.

“For instance, it is interesting to know how the department, which is partial to moralizing in the human rights sphere, will comment on the tortures and cruel and inhumane treatment of people in the US itself.

“And not just the widely known cases in Bagram and the special prison in Guantanamo — which, contrary to the administration’s promises, just doesn’t close — but also in the prisons and on the streets of America.”

Such a report should not shirk from mentioning “domestic violence leading to the murder of children, including those adopted in Russia,” as well as “racism and xenophobia toward migrants, and Islamophobia,” it said.

The ministry concluded that despite efforts to “re-set” relations with Washington, which suffered a post-Cold War low during the former administration, the report had just rehashed its attitude towards Russia:

“Everything in the report fits tradition and ritual.”

US President Barack Obama has convened his war cabinet with top military and intelligence officials to get an update on the US-led occupation of Afghanistan.

Obama was briefed on the latest situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan by his top aides during the Friday session in the so-called ‘Situation Room’ of the White House.

In the convention, US General Stanley McChrystal, commander of US military in war-ravaged Afghanistan, spoke, via video link, of “continued progress” on the ground against Taliban forces.

“We were largely through the clearing phase and more rapidly moving to a phase of hold, which puts a premium obviously on good governance,” AFP quoted White House spokesman Robert Gibbs Gibbs as saying on the continued occupation of the country.

He also quoted McChrystal as saying that the US military is keeping Obama’s commitment to send 30,000 additional US troops to the hotspots.

“We were on schedule on our force flow in getting additional forces approved by the president into Afghanistan by the end of summer,” he noted.

Militancy in Afghanistan has worsened in recent months despite US plans to fortify military and deploy extra troops in the war-ravaged country.

The heads of top US intelligence agencies were also present at the meeting of which no detailed report has been published.

Brazil has highlighted Iran’s role in the region, reiterating that Tehran must be part of a solution to any conflict in the Middle East.

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said in an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz that “new ideas” from all key players in the Middle East are needed to resolve issues in the sensitive region including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“The time has come to bring into the arena players who will be able to put forward new ideas. Those players must have access to all levels of the conflict: in Israel, Palestine, Iran, Syria, Jordan and in many other countries that are associated with this conflict.”

“After all, the Middle East conflict is not bilateral and does not pertain only to Israel and Palestine. There are other interests in the Middle East, interests which must be represented so we can find a solution. Iran is part of all this, and therefore someone must talk to them,” he added.

Lula’s remarks come as Israel is under pressure to stop settlement activities, which are considered the key obstacle to a long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Israel on Friday, saying that its plan to erect new housing units in East Jerusalem Al-Quds has undermined trust and confidence in the so-called peace process.

Israel’s settlement activities are in direct violation of international law.

On the Iranian nuclear issue, the Brazilian president, who is scheduled to travel to Iran in May, said he did not favor further sanctions against Tehran.

“Before sanctions of any kind are imposed, we must make every effort to rebuild peace in the Middle East.”

Brazil has repeatedly warned that fresh sanctions against Iran would be counterproductive reiterating that diplomacy can still work on the issue.

US Secretary of state Hillary Clinton has criticized Israel after it announced plans this week to build new housing units in East Jerusalem Al-Quds.

On Friday, Clinton told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tel Aviv’s latest settlement plans are a “deeply negative signal.”

She also said that the move has undermined trust and confidence in the so-called peace process.

Clinton underlined that Israel is expected to take actions to improve the prospects of re-launching peace talks with Palestinians.

The dispute opened up a rare diplomatic rift between the US and Israel, as the announcement for the new constructions came while Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel.

On Tuesday, Israel announced a decision to approve 16-hundred new housing units in East al-Quds. The move drew condemnation from the UN and even Israel’s western allies.

China has lashed out at the United States for accusing other countries of human rights violation while ignoring its own poor rights record.

On Friday, in a report on US human rights violation, Chinese Information Office of the State Council denounced Washington for using the rights issue as a political instrument to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.

“The United States not only has a terrible domestic human rights record, it is also the main source of many human rights disasters worldwide,” the Chinese report said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Chinese government has said the report is “prepared to help people around the world understand the real situation of human rights in the United States.

Beijing has also rejected the US report on the rights violation in China.

On Thursday, US State Department claimed in its annual report on global human rights that China’s human rights record worsened in 2009. The report has also targeted Iran as a major human rights violator, a yearly routine for US policy makers.

The US report is widely believed to be an unreliable and highly political document aimed at punishing nations that do not share American political and strategic views.

A top US military commander in Latin America has confirmed Venezuelan government’s insistence on not aiding regional rebel groups, rejecting Spain’s accusations against the Hugo Chavez Administration.

“We have not seen any connection specifically that I can verify that there has been a direct government-to-terrorist connection,” said General Douglas Fraser, chief of US military’s Southern Command, responsible for Latin American operations, on Thursday.

“We have continued to watch very closely for any connections between illicit and terrorist organization activity within the region,” Fraser claimed.

President Chavez and other Latin American leaders have spoken harshly of the continuation of large US military presence in the region, arguing that such presence reflects US intention to intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries, as it has done so for decades.

Fraser’s comments follow accusations by a Spanish judge linking alleged assassination plots in Spain by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Basque separatist group ETA to Venezuela.

Caracas has vehemently rejected the charges, exasperating already tense relations with Spain.

The US claims Saudi Arabia and the UAE are open to lobbying China and Russia to support a new round of sanctions on Iran.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates toured in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over the past two days to tighten pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.

“I have a sense that there is a willingness to do that,” Gates told reporters in Abu Dhabi.

“Although there is less need with respect to Russia, because I think Russia is pretty much already there. It’s mainly China.”

China and Russia, which are reluctant to impose sanctions on Iran, have repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The United States, Israel, and their allies have accused Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program, a claim rejected by Tehran.

As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted toward the production of nuclear weapons.

Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal of at least 250 warheads, has never signed the NPT, and has never allowed IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities.

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has struck Central Chile while President-elect Sebastian Pinera was preparing to swear in as the country’s new head of state.

The strong quake hit on Thursday in the vicinity of Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins, near the Chilean coast.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was centered 114 kilometers (71 miles) south of Valparaiso, AFP said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued no warning about a potential “destructive widespread tsunami.”

The rightist President-elect Pinera, a multi-billionaire media and business tycoon, brings to an end 20 years of left-leaning governance in Santiago.

The city of Valparaiso in the west of the country hosted the swearing-in ceremony as spectators at the event looked terrified when the aftershock struck.

The 60-year-old president, who replaces popular former president Michelle Bachelet, faces a bumpy road ahead, as he has to assume power in a country ravaged by last month’s strong 8.2-magnitude quake.

Pledging to continue with the reconstruction efforts, Pinera declared, “We won’t be the government of the earthquake, we’ll be the government of reconstruction.”

Brazil has urged the US to quickly start negotiations to settle a trade dispute between the two countries over US cotton subsidies.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday called on US President Barack Obama to swiftly start talks on the row. He said Brazil expected Washington to respect the decisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Brazil has no interest in a confrontation of any kind with the United States, but it is interested in the United States respecting the decisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO),” Lula said.

“We are not pursuing a policy of retaliation,” He added. “We want to be respected and that the WTO be respected.”

Brazil on Monday said it would raise tariffs on a number of US goods worth USD 591 million to counter Washington’s move to unlawfully pay subsidies to US cotton producers.

The World Trade Organization has authorized the South American country to impose levies as high as 100 percent on US imported goods over illegal US cotton aid.

American goods will be subject to import tariffs within 30 days unless the United States agrees to put an end to the subsidies.

Brazil says it may apply another USD 238 million penalty in sectors like intellectual property and service sectors.

In late 2002, Brazil initiated a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement case against specific provisions of the US cotton program.

In September 2004, a WTO dispute settlement panel ruled against the United States on several key issues. The ruling included key findings among which was that US domestic support measures that are “contingent on market prices” have resulted in excess cotton production and exports that, in turn, caused low international prices and resulted in “serious prejudice” to Brazil.

Mexico’s Carlos Slim has topped Forbes magazine’s billionaire list, becoming the first person from outside the US to lead the rankings since 1994.

According to Forbes’ estimates, the net fortune of Slim, 70, who built a telecommunications empire after buying Mexico’s state-run phone monopoly two decades ago, rose by $18.5 billion last year to more than $53 billion.

That beat Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($53bn) into second place, with US investor Warren Buffett ($43bn) third.

The Mexican telecom giant, named the world’s new richest man on Wednesday, first showed a talent for business as a 10-year-old kid when he filled his pockets with pesos selling drinks and snacks to his family.

A spokesman for Carlos Slim refused to confirm the Forbes estimate of the Mexican tycoon’s wealth, saying they did not “waste their time” on such calculations, but he welcomed the result.

“We’re pleased that he has been considered the best businessman of the world,” spokesman Arturo Elias told the BBC. “It means there is trust among the investors.”

The total number of billionaires in 2009 rose from 793 to 1,011, Forbes said.

“The global economy is recovering. The financial markets came back, especially emerging markets,” said magazine editor-in-chief Steve Forbes.

“There’s a 50 percent increase in general global wealth compared to last year,” Forbes said.

Chile will swear in the government of President-elect Sebastian Pinera on Thursday amid efforts to reconstruct the country’s quake-ruined regions.

The new administration under rightist Pinera will terminate 20 years of popular leftists’ governance in Santiago.

60-year-old Pinera, a media and multi-business tycoon, has pledged to boost the country’s economy and create jobs.

The incoming president will take over the top government job from outgoing President Michelle Bachelet whose government is grappling with the consequences of Chile’s devastating February 27 quake, fifth largest in human’s history,

Pinera has vowed to continue with the reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the quake that left at least 500 dead and 260 missing along with an additional two million homeless.

“We won’t be the government of the earthquake, we’ll be the government of reconstruction,” AFP quoted him as saying in a recent speech.

The US House of Representatives has rejected an effort by anti-war lawmakers to force a withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

On Wednesday, Sixty-five lawmakers, most of them Democrats, voted for the pullout resolution, while 356 voted against.

The resolution written by liberal Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich called for President Barack Obama to pull out US forces from Afghanistan by the end 2010.

Supporters of the Kucinich resolution said it was time for US legislators to consider the continuation of the nine-year-old war in Afghanistan in which around 1,000 US soldiers have been killed and hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent without having established security in the war-ravaged country.

“Unless this Congress acts to claim its constitutional responsibility, we will stay in Afghanistan for a very, very long time at great cost to our troops and to our national priorities,” Kucinich said.

US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that Iran’s policies were against US national interests, adding that Washington will keep existing sanctions against Tehran in force.

In a letter to the Congress of the United States, President Obama informed lawmakers about his decision to make the National Emergency on Iran, which will be expired on March 15, saying that the emergency will continue in effect for one year.

“The actions and policies of the Government of Iran are contrary to the interests of the United States in the region and pose a continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” Xinhua quoted the US president as saying in his letter.

He added that issues between Washington and Tehran which led to the declaration of a national emergency on March 15, 1995 “has not been resolved”, stressing that “It is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to Iran and maintain in force comprehensive sanctions against Iran.”

The report comes despite Obama’s claims that his administration is moving towards a policy change on Iran.

The US has also embarked on a campaign to slap fresh embargos against Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.

Russia and China, two veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, have voiced their reluctance to back new sanctions against Iran and continue to call for a diplomatic solution to the country’s nuclear issue.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will not relinquish the legitimate nuclear rights of the Iranian nation under Western pressure.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has paid a visit to Saudi Arabia, seeking to win the support of the United States’ closest ally in the Persian Gulf on tough sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Gates met with King Abdullah and the Saudi crown prince as part of the US administration’s diplomatic push for new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions against Iran.

“We are certainly hopeful that the Saudis will use whatever influence they have which is considerable in this region and throughout the world to try and help us in our efforts at the UN so we can get meaningful sanctions enacted against Iran,” US press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters on Wednesday.

As China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the UNSC, is highly skeptical of new Iran sanctions, Washington hopes to win Saudi Arabia’s support in persuading Beijing to change its stance toward Iran and its nuclear program.

The US hopes the Saudis could guarantee China, which has extensive trade ties with main oil producer Iran, stable crude supplies in the event of disruption from Iran, AFP reported.

Hundreds of demonstrators have held an anti-Israeli rally outside a fundraiser for the Israeli military in New York.

Earlier a Jerusalem Post article had reported that the Friends of the IDF would host a USD 1,000-a-plate dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, to raise funds for the Israeli military.

Organized by a broad coalition of about 25 groups, including American Jews for a Just Peace, the demonstration took place in New York on Tuesday, with protestors defending the Palestinian cause by chanting “Long live Palestine, long live the Intifada. Palestine will never die.”

We have come here “to protect the Jews from our mortal enemies, when the mortal enemy is this entity of Zionism which is the ideology behind the [creation of] Israel,” one demonstrator told Press TV, adding that by “exacerbating anti-Semitism” Israel has exposed “a rift between the Jews and the Muslims.”

The fundraiser was attended by several Israeli military officials, including Chief of Staff General Gabi Ashkenazi, who arrived in Washington on Monday for talks on Iran.

Ashkenazi has met with US military officials at the Pentagon, and he’s also due to meet with Republican Senator John McCain.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Ecuador on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for construction of power plant.

IRI Energy Minister Majid Namjou and his Ecuadorian counterpart, Miguel Calahorrano signed the MoU for construction of two power plants (100 and 50 MW power plants) in Ecuador, IRIB reported.

Namjou said that the Ecuadorian delegation traveled to Iran to complete and enforce the agreement.

“The two countries’ delegations will study methods for enforcement of the agreements,” he added.

Namjou said that the agreement is very important for support of the private sector.

Miguel Calahorrano for his part said, “Ecuador agreed to expand cooperation with Iran through joint projects and we eager to use the experiences of Iranian experts in this regard.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that his father predicted the 9/11 attacks on New York’s twin towers back in the ’90s.

The remark was made during the 100th birthday celebration of the premier’s father, Benzion Netanyahu, Haaretz reported.

The Israeli prime minister added that those who do not know their past will not understand their presence and will not be able to predict their future.

Benzion Netanyahu is an Israeli historian and Zionist activist.