The Daily Tension for Tue. 9 May

TENSION NEWSMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

FLORIDA
Wildfires trigger state of emergency in Florida
MIAMI (Reuters) -- Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency and put the National Guard on alert to fight wildfires that have scorched thousands of acres and caused deadly traffic accidents, officials said on Tuesday.

Smoke From Fla. Fires Blamed in 4 Deaths
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A quarter-inch of rain brought little relief to firefighters battling about 50 wildfires in parched central Florida on Tuesday, and smoke from the blazes was blamed for auto accidents that killed four people.

IRAN NUCLEAR CRISIS
Letter from Iran fails to ease international tension
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s letter to US President George W. Bush does not change Washington’s position on Tehran’s nuclear program, a White House official said Monday. “Nothing in the letter addresses the issues between Iran and the international community,„ said Frederick Jones, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

Iranians Fault Rice's Dismissal of Letter
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's abrupt dismissal of a letter from Iran's president might only strengthen hardline attitudes and mistrust of America, some Iranians warned Tuesday.

Iran Says It Won't Exit Nuclear Treaty
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- An Iranian official said Tuesday that Tehran had no intention of withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and promised to cooperate if the U.N. atomic watchdog agency dealt with the issue of its nuclear program, rather than the U.N. Security Council.

Iran to Bush: 'Return to Christianity'
NEW YORK, May 9 (UPI) -- A rambling letter to U.S. President George Bush from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested Bush return to Christian teachings.

'Iran wants to change world order'

'Iran can also be wiped off the map'

IRAQ CONFLICT
Suicide Truck Bomber Kills 17 in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A suicide truck bomber attacked a crowded market in Tal Afar late Tuesday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 35 in a city cited by President Bush as a success story in battling insurgents.

NATIONAL
Rumsfeld supports Hayden, denies tension
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld energetically denied there is any turf battle over intelligence responsibility, and endorsed the nomination of an Air Force general to head the CIA.

E-Mails Show Brown Disputed Levee Breach
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former FEMA director Michael Brown disputed that floodwaters had breached New Orleans' levees in the early hours after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore, new e-mails released Tuesday show.

ECONOMY
All Eyes on the Fed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Pause: n. a temporary stop in action. Stop. v. to bring to an end.

Gold climbs above $700
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Gold spiked up to a new 25-year high above $700 an ounce on Tuesday on dollar weakness, while platinum set a new record on strong industrial demand and fund buying.

Gold Prices Hit Highest Level Since 1980
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gold prices surged Tuesday above $700 an ounce _ a level not reached since 1980 _ as funds bought into the market, driven by weakness in the dollar, political tension in the Middle East and overall upward momentum in the commodities markets.

Personal Finance Daily -- May 9
(MarketWatch) -- Your first job interviews can be intimidating, producing a nervous tension that turns you into a jabbering magpie. That's a natural reaction for those who haven't been through the job-hunting process often, who don't have the confidence that comes with years of experience in a particular field.

ASIA
Tension in Sri Lanka as 30 Tamils are killed
(www.lankaeverything.com) -- The security situation in Sri Lanka's north and eastern provinces Lanka deteriorated amid claims that 30 Tamils were killed in fighting with a rival faction on Sunday night.

AFRICA
Nigeria: Tension Highten Over Recall of Jigawa Lawmaker
Abuja (Daily Trust) -- The Chairman, House Committee on Population, Mr. Farouk Adamu Aliyu, has announced that he is pulling out from the ongoing verification exercise by the Independent Electoral Commission, on the recall petition against him, accusing the body of bias while also describing the process as too flawed to guarantee fairness.

West Africa: Guineans Grab More Sierra Leone Territory
Freetown (Concord Times) -- Border tension mounting in the eastern town of Yenga took a different dimension when few days ago residents of Kpondu in the Kissi Teng chiefdom, Kailahun district alleged they were forced by Guinean military personnel to quit their farms.

INTERNATIONAL
CHRONOLOGY-Key recent dates in US-China forex tensions
WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) -- Key dates in recent tension between the United States and China over the value of China's yuan currency.

Spoilers win seats on UN rights council
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -- Five nations seen by rights groups as among the world's worst abusers were elected along with 39 other countries to the United Nations' new Human Rights Council in a first round of voting on Tuesday.

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