U.S. and Russia close to new nuclear deal
Top news: The United States and Russia have reportedly made a breakthrough in negotiations for a new nuclear-arms reduction treaty and are hopeful that the new treaty can be signed next month. Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev will speak on Friday to discuss final details and some technical fixes still need to be worked out, but both sides say a deal is very close. The Czech government has agreed to host a signing ceremony on April 8 to mark the anniversary of Obama's speech in Prague in which he promoted his vision for a nuclear weapons-free world. A formal announcement will not be made until after Obama and Medvedev's conversation.
The new deal would replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991 which expired in December.It would reportedly require each side to reduce its number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 and launchers to 800 over the next seven years.Negotiations over the new treaty had been frustratingly slow at times, and were nearly put on hold over Russian objections to a new U.S. missile defense system in the Balkans.
The Obama administration will still likely face a tough ratification fight over the treaty in the senate, where it will require 67 votes to pass.
Church scandal: The New York Times reports that during the 1990s, top Vatican officials -- including future Pope Benedict XVI -- declined to defrock a priest in Wisconsin who had molested as many as 200 deaf boys.
The new deal would replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991 which expired in December.It would reportedly require each side to reduce its number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 and launchers to 800 over the next seven years.Negotiations over the new treaty had been frustratingly slow at times, and were nearly put on hold over Russian objections to a new U.S. missile defense system in the Balkans.
The Obama administration will still likely face a tough ratification fight over the treaty in the senate, where it will require 67 votes to pass.
Church scandal: The New York Times reports that during the 1990s, top Vatican officials -- including future Pope Benedict XVI -- declined to defrock a priest in Wisconsin who had molested as many as 200 deaf boys.
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-By Joshua Keating |  |
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