UN: Iran’s president has launched a scathing attack on Western powers, accusing them of spreading “war, bloodshed and terror” in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Tehran was prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us.

But he accused the West of hypocrisy, saying it preached democracy but violated its fundamental principles.

Already speaking to a half-empty chamber, his attacks on the US and its allies – including Israel’s barbaric attack on the Gaza Strip, its inhuman policies in the Palestinian territories and its domination of world political and economic affairs – prompted a walkout by the US delegation.

MOSUL: Fifteen Iraqi soldiers were killed accidentally during what were meant to be controlled explosions in a town outside the northern city of Mosul on Friday, a defence ministry official said.

Among the dead was one army officer, while one soldier was also seriously wounded, said the official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The accident occurred on the outskirts of Baashiqa, around 30 kilometres (18 miles) northeast of Mosul.

A military source said the soldiers were carrying out routine controlled explosions of roadside bombs which had been collected in the area over the previous week.

Iraq took over responsibility for security in its towns and cities on July 1, with US combat troops scheduled to leave the country by August 2010, and all American forces required to leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

Rajasthan: India Fuel Depot Fire 5 killed, A huge fire broke out at an Indian Oil Coporation (IOC) fuel depot in the outskirts of Jaipur, capital of the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, killing at least 5 and injuring nearly 115 people. “One of the oil tanks caught fire and then it spread rapidly. There were huge flames as high as 70 feet and the whole area of nearly 2-3 kilometres was englufed in fire and flames,” an eyewitness said. All four containers in the depot have exploded and the army has joined in rescue operations. The depot contains about nine million litres of fuel products.