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UPI NewsTrack TopNews(UPI Top Stories Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Dean: Bush abused powerWASHINGTON, March 31 (UPI) -- Former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean told a Senate hearing Friday U.S. President George Bush abused his power by ordering domestic surveillance. Dean, a key figure in the Watergate coverup, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the domestic eavesdropping program that allows the National Security Agency to monitor communications between people in the United States and suspected terrorists overseas without court order. I think I must say I have more experience first hand than anybody might want in what can go wrong and how a president can get on the wrong side of the law, said Dean, remembered for telling President Richard Nixon the Watergate coverup had become a cancer on the presidency. World powers seek answer if Iran balksBERLIN, March 31 (UPI) -- The world's major powers generally oppose Iran's nuclear program but they can't reach agreement on what to do if Tehran fails to dismantle on demand. Foreign ministers from the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, meeting in Berlin, are standing behind a U.N. call for Iran to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce weapons-grade material. But, Moscow is against sanctions. So is Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, who said Iran does not pose an imminent threat. This isn't the time to try and come to a conclusion about what the next step is, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cautioned, the Financial Times reported. It's an opening discussion about those next steps. Dai Bingguo, the Chinese vice foreign minister, urged against further steps that could lead to new turmoil in the Middle East. Rice OKs protests during England tourLONDON, March 31 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said protesters she encountered in her tour of England were all right with her. If it is not possible for me to go somewhere and to be willing to encounter people with different views then I'm really not doing my job, she told the BBC. Speaking at the BAE Systems complex in Samlesbury, she said, People have the right to protest -- that's what democracy is all about. I have no problem with people exercising their democratic rights. She visited a factory and a school where demonstrators shouted, Condoleezza Rice go home, a soccer team and a concert. But, a trip to a Blackburn mosque was scrapped because of expected demonstrations. Jaruzelski faces anti-Solidarity chargesWARSAW, Poland, March 31 (UPI) -- Prosecutors have filed charges against Poland's last communist leader Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski for his martial-law crackdown on Solidarity unions. Jaruzelski imposed martial law in 1981 to stop anti-communist government activities by the Solidarity trade unions, led by Lech Walesa. The charges were filed by the Institute of National Remembrance, which investigates Nazi- and communist-era crimes, the BBC reported. Jaruzelski is expected to go on trial soon. The charges cover the March 1981-December 1982 period when the Jaruzelski regime organized crimes of a military nature. Jaruzelski argued that toppling the communist government by protesters of the Solidarity's 10 million members would have led to civil war and Soviet intervention. Later, Poland's parliament cleared Jaruzelski of responsibility for the deaths resulting from martial law. Under Walesa's leadership, Solidarity survived underground activities to negotiate the end of communism in Poland in 1989. Injuries, death behind recall of 3.8M toysLIVINGSTON, N.J., March 31 (UPI) -- Rose Art Industries Inc., of Livingston, N.J., said Friday it was recalling about 3.8 million of its Magnetix toy building sets. Tiny magnets inside the plastic building pieces and rods can fall out, the company said. Magnets found by young children can be swallowed or aspirated. If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract to each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage, which can be fatal. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is aware of 34 incidents involving the small Chinese-made magnets, including one death and four serious injuries. A 20-month-old boy died after he swallowed magnets that blocked his small intestine. All Magnetix magnetic building sets, including the X-treme Combo, Micro, and Extreme sets, contain 20 to 200 plastic building pieces and 20 to 100 1/2-inch diameter steel balls. The building pieces are red, yellow, blue and green, and are shaped in 1 1/2-inch squares, 1-inch triangles and cylinder rods. Some plastic building pieces have Magnetix imprinted on them. Consumers should stop using the magnetic sets and return the sets to Rose Art for a free replacement product suitable for young children. Questions may be directed to Rose Art at 800-779-7122. |