OTTAWA: A Toronto man has been arrested for allegedly procuring and trying to clandestinely export a device used to enrich uranium to Iran, federal police said Friday. Mahmoud Yadegari was detained after an "extensive" eight-week probe by Canada's federal police and foreign service, Canadian and US border officials, and the US Department of Homeland Security, police said in statement. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police allege Yadegari "attempted to procure and export items known as 'pressure transducers.'" The devices are used in the production of enriched uranium, for military applications or commercial use. Initially, police said the suspect was attempting to send them to Dubai, but at a press conference RCMP Inspector Greg Johnson told reporters they were ultimately destined for Iran."The declared point of destination was Dubai, United Arab Emirates, however we have evidence to support the fact its ultimate destination was Iran," Johnson said. Charges were laid under Canada's nuclear non-proliferation policy and international treaties prohibiting exports of "strategic technologies" for illicit purposes, as well as a United Nations act regulating sanctions against Iran.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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