Poland Rejects U.S. Missile Defense Plan

Poland on Friday rejected a U.S. offer to boost its air defenses in return for basing a missile shield on Polish soil, but the Polish prime minister said will remain open for further talks with Washington.

"We have not reached a satisfactory result on the issue of increasing the level of Polish security," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference after studying the U.S. proposal.

Without citing Russia's opposition to the plan explicitly, Tusk argued that placing a missile defense facility in Poland, a Soviet satellite during the Cold War, would create new security threats.

Tusk said talks will continue. "I wouldn't talk about the end, suspension, or interruption," he said. "Negotiations, in my opinion, are continuing."

The U.S. wants to place 10 missile interceptors in northern Poland as part of a shield against a possible attack by Iran or a "rogue state." Complete details of the offer have not been made public.

 

State Media: Iran Responds On Nuclear Proposal

The Iranian state media reported Friday that Tehran has delivered its response to an incentives package offered by six world powers over the country's nuclear program.

The report did not say what the response was.

Iran's state-run television reported that Iran's ambassador to Belgium gave the response to the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana. There has been no official comment from the European Union.

The report also said Iran's top nuclear negotiator and Solana spoke by phone, and they agreed to hold the latest in a series of talks later this month.

The offer of economic and other incentives was made by the United States, Germany, Britain, France, China and Russia. They presented the deal to Iran last month in an effort to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The package had called on Tehran to suspend certain uranium enrichment, a key step in the nuclear fuel process. In the past, Iran has insisted it will not give up enrichment, saying its aim is to produce nuclear energy, not weapons.

 

Betancourt Receives Presidential Welcome In France

Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt received a presidential welcome when she arrived in Paris Friday, days after her rescue from a rebel camp in Colombia.

President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife greeted Betancourt at a military airport just outside Paris. They will then go to a reception at the Elysee presidential palace.

The former Colombian presidential candidate, who has French and Colombian citizenship, has said she is alive because of France's willingness to take up her cause.

Betancourt's case was a cause celebre in France throughout her captivity. Her picture hangs in public squares. The governments of both Jacques Chirac and Sarkozy made constant attempts to secure her release.

Betancourt was among 15 hostages freed Wednesday in a daring Colombian military operation. She was campaigning for the Colombian presidency when she was captured by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, rebels in 2002.

Three American hostages who were rescued in the same operation are in San Antonio, Texas. They underwent medical evaluations on Thursday and have been reunited with family members.

The three U.S. military contractors - Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell - were captured by FARC rebels after their drug-surveillance plane went down in the jungle in February 2003.

 

More Homes Burned In Big Sur Wildfire

More homes have been lost to a ferocious wildfire threatening the coastal community of Big Sur, Calif., fire officials reported Friday.

California fire officials said 20 homes have been lost in blazes that are burning out of control along the coast. Some residents of the area have ignored evacuation orders in hopes of saving their homes and businesses.

Residents of the area said wild animals have been seen fleeing the area. The fire has scorched more than 100 square miles.

Officials said they have made progress in containing the blazes. State and federal officials estimated that 367 wildfires are now burning around the state -- down from a peak of about 1,500 a few days ago.

North of San Francisco bay, a 63-year-old volunteer firefighter died after collapsing on Wednesday.

 

EU Calls For New Election In Zimbabwe

The European Union called on Friday for a new election in Zimbabwe as soon as possible after a short political transition from the rule of President Robert Mugabe.

"The European Union will only accept a formula which respects the will of the Zimbabwean people as it was expressed in the elections of March 29, 2008," a statement by the French EU presidency said, referring to a first ballot won by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

The aim of any solution must be the rapid holding of a new, free, democratic and transparent election, the statement said.

Mugabe was re-elected in a June 27 vote condemned as violent and unfair by monitors. Tsvangirai pulled out of the runoff saying his supporters were at risk.

Meanwhile, Mugabe said he would like South African leader Thabo Mbeki to continue mediating between Zimbabwe's rival political parties.

 

Some Economists Predict Worsening Economy

The number of analysts who think the U.S. economy is in recession is growing -- and some say the worst economic pain may be yet come.

Recent economic news has been grim: another dip in employment in June, with the economy losing 62,000 non-farm, payroll jobs; a fall-off in a key non-manufacturing index last month; and consumer confidence whip-sawed by record high oil prices.

"Clearly, the economy is being battered by the high cost of gasoline, the credit crunch and the housing debacle," Sohn said. "I believe the worst is yet to come, and, so, bad news is all over the map right now."

California State University economics professor Sung Won Sohn said he thinks things will likely deteriorate further.

Sohn is in the group that believes the bear market may have just begun. He said such down markets historically last a year or more.

 

Italian Government Moves To Protect Pompei

The Italian government has declared a state of emergency for the ancient archaeological site of Pompei in an effort to try to salvage one of the world's most important artistic treasures from decline and neglect.

The Italian cabinet has announced it will appoint a special commissioner for Pompei, the Roman city buried by a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 a.d.

The year-long state of emergency would include special funds and measures to protect the site, which is visited by some 2.5 million tourists annually. Pompei has been plagued by poor upkeep and looting.

One Italian newspaper reported that many of the 1,500 houses are closed to the public and frescoes are fading. One area that has not been excavated is used as an illegal dump filled with tires, refrigerators and mattresses.

 

Former N.C. Sen. Jesse Helms Dies At 86

Former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, who represented North Carolina in Congress for 30 years, died Friday. He was 86.

Helms died in Raleigh, N.C., at about 1:15 a.m., according to a posting on the Web site of The Jesse Helms Center at Wingate University in North Carolina. His former chief of staff, Jimmy Broughton, said the former senator died of natural causes.

The Helms Center said funeral arrangements would be announced later.

An icon of the conservative movement, Helms was elected to five terms in the Senate and served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He was a blunt-talking product of the Old South -- known as "Sen. No" for opposing just about anything that clashed with this conservative views. He retired in 2003.

Helms was born in Monroe, N.C., on Oct. 18, 1921. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942-1945. Later, he became involved in the media, serving as the city editor of the Raleigh Times and as a television and radio executive.

Helms was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and was re-elected in 1978, 1984, 1990 and 1996. He was plagued by a number of illnesses in his later years, including a bone disorder, prostate cancer and heart problems. He used a motorized scooter to get around the Capitol near the end of his career and decided not to run again in 2002. He retired Jan. 3, 2003.

He penned his memoir, Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir, which was published in 2005.