political news

Terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and al-Shabab do not think African life is valuable, President Obama has said in response to the Uganda bombings.

At least 74 people were killed in blasts targeting people watching the World Cup.

The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab said it was behind the attacks because Uganda supports Somalia's government.

An US administration official said al-Qaeda was racist and used black Africans as "cannon fodder".

In an interview on South African television, Mr Obama said: "What you've seen in some of the statements that have been made by these terrorist organisations is that they do not regard African life as valuable in and of itself.

"They see it as a potential place where you can carry out ideological battles that kill innocents, without regard to long-term consequences, for their short-term tactical gains."

An administration official went further, saying that the Ugandan attacks show that "al-Qaeda is a racist organisation that treats black Africans like cannon fodder and does not value human life".

In his interview Mr Obama said it was both tragic and ironic that the blasts had taken place while people were celebrating the success of a World Cup staged in South Africa.

"On the one hand, you have a vision of an Africa on the move, an Africa that is unified, an Africa that is modernising and creating opportunities, and on the other hand, you've got a vision of al-Qaeda and al-Shabab that is about destruction and death."

About 5,000 African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi are based in Mogadishu, propping up the fragile interim government.

The Amisom force is engaged in frequent firefights with the Islamist insurgents who control much of southern and central Somalia.

Both Burundi and Kenya, which helps with training for the Somali interim government, have stepped up security.

Iran has been subjected to three rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions in relation to its nuclear programme.

In spite of this, it has continued its uranium enrichment operations and there is growing pressure for sanctions to be tightened further.

In March 2006, the issue was discussed at the UN Security Council, which called for a report by the IAEA to establish Iran's compliance with the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

The treaty allows for the use of nuclear technology for peaceful energy purposes, as long as countries can demonstrate that their programmes are not being used for the development of nuclear weapons.

In July 2006, the Security Council said it was "seriously concerned" that the IAEA was unable to provide assurances about Iran's undeclared nuclear material. It demanded that Iran "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development", giving it one month to do so. Failing that, it would face the possibility of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

Iran asserted that its nuclear programme was for civilian use permitted by the NPT. On this basis it said it rejected the validity of the Security Council's calls. It claimed that while subscribers to the NPT were being punished, those who had not signed up to the agreement were being rewarded by generous nuclear cooperation agreements.

The deadline for Iranian compliance with the Security Council's demands passed without being heeded. In December 2006, the Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1737 (2006).

This called on states to block Iran's import and export of "sensitive nuclear material and equipment" and to freeze the financial assets of those involved in Iran's nuclear activities.

The Council decided that all countries should prevent the supply or sale of equipment and technology that would aid Iran's nuclear programme in any way.

Arms

With Iran's nuclear programme ongoing, in March 2007 the Security Council voted to toughen sanctions. It banned all of Iran'S arms exports. It also froze the assets and restricted the travel of people it deemed involved in the nuclear programme.

Financial and trade

Further restrictions imposed in March 2008 encouraged scrutiny of the dealings of Iranian banks.

It also called upon countries to inspect cargo planes and ships entering or leaving Iran if there were "reasonable grounds" to believe they were goods prohibited by previous resolutions.

The measures, which penalise foreign companies that trade with Iran, were overwhelmingly approved by US Congress last week.

Mr Obama said the sanctions would strike "at the heart" of Iran's ability to fund and develop nuclear programmes.

Iran says its nuclear industry is for peaceful purposes; the West disagrees.

The bill targets those firms that supply Iran's Revolutionary Guards or contribute to the country's energy industry, including foreign companies that provide finance, insurance, or shipping services.

"There should be no doubt - the United States and the international community are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons."

Mr Obama noted that Iran had rejected the offer of dialogue and engagement he had made on taking office last year.

"To date, Iran has chosen the path of defiance," he said. "That is why we have steadily built a broader and deeper coalition of nations to pressure the Iranian government."

Tehran denies seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Last month, the UN Security Council voted to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran for failing to halt its nuclear enrichment programme.

They include tighter finance curbs and an expanded arms embargo, but not the crippling sanctions the US had wanted.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed those sanctions as a "used handkerchief" fit for the dustbin.

Three earlier rounds of UN sanctions have blocked trade of "sensitive nuclear material", frozen the financial assets of those involved in Iran's nuclear activities, banned all of Iran's arms exports and encouraged scrutiny of the dealings of Iranian banks.

The US Congress has overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against foreign companies that trade with Iran, over its nuclear programme.

Those firms that supply Iran's Revolutionary Guards or contribute to the country's energy industry are targeted by the bill.

The sanctions are designed to put pressure on Tehran which denies seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

The bill now goes back to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.

The Senate and House of Representatives acted in quick succession on Thursday to agree to the new penalties. The Senate vote was 99-0 and the House vote was 408-8.

Iran says its nuclear industry is for peaceful purposes.

"We must stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a weapon that would surely threaten the national security of the United States and of Israel," said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Republican Senator John McCain said: "We will be posing a choice to companies around the world: Do you want to do business with Iran? Or do you want to business with the United States?

"We don't think that is much of a choice, but we will force companies to make it. They can't have it both ways."

Earlier this month, the UN Security Council voted to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran for failing to halt its nuclear enrichment programme.

They include tighter finance curbs and an expanded arms embargo, but not the crippling sanctions the US had wanted.

Three earlier rounds of UN sanctions have blocked trade of "sensitive nuclear material", frozen the financial assets of those involved in Iran's nuclear activities, banned all of Iran's arms exports and encouraged scrutiny of the dealings of Iranian banks.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has criticised the unilateral US and EU sanctions on Iran that go beyond those approved by the UN Security Council.

He said Russia "did not agree" to any separate sanctions when it backed a joint UN resolution last week.

Meanwhile, Pentagon chief Robert Gates said US intelligence showed that Iran could be able to attack Europe with "scores" of missiles by 2020.

He added that Russia seemed to have a "schizophrenic" approach to Iran.

Moscow viewed Iran as a threat, but still pursued commercial ties with it, he told a US senate hearing in Washington.

Western powers suspect Iran is seeking nuclear weapons - which Tehran denies.

In an interview that ran on Thursday, the Russian leader criticised the EU and US for acting unilaterally.

"We didn't agree to this when we discussed the joint resolution at the UN," Mr Medvedev told the Wall Street Journal.

Russia this month agreed to back a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran, following months of US-led diplomacy.

The United States is expanding its sanctions against Iran because of concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

Washington said the individuals and institutions targeted were helping Iran to develop its nuclear programme.

This is the first step in implementing sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council last week.

Those blacklisted include Iran's Post Bank, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi and the air force and missile command of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons - a charge Iran strongly denies.

The US sanctions prohibit any American business or individual from trading with those named on the blacklist. The sanctions also freeze any assets they may have under US jurisdiction.

"We will continue to target Iran's support for terrorist organisations, we will continue to focus on Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and we will continue to expose Iran's efforts to evade international sanctions," US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a White House news briefing.

Also on the list is a front company for the national shipping line, which is run by the Revolutionary Guards.

The Treasury has designated 27 new ships and has updated entries for 71 others whose names had been changed.

The designation of Post Bank brings to 16 the total number of Iranian banks under sanctions. The US Treasury says Post Bank is a front for Bank Sepah, which was designated in 2007 for providing financial services to the Iranian missile industry.

Last week, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the UN sanctions as "a used handkerchief" fit for the dustbin.

The European Union, which has been working closely with Washington, will decide on its own sanctions at a summit on Thursday.

The EU's proposed sanctions go further than the UN, targeting the oil and gas industry.

EU countries such as Germany and Italy have become important trading partners for Iran, but the EU is becoming increasingly concerned that Iran may be pursuing nuclear weapons.