disaster

The possibility of a United States or Israeli war to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions has been an obsession among foreign policy wonks, diplomats and journalists for some time.

Many Iran experts believe such a war would be a disaster that would fail to halt Iran's nuclear program. Michael Axworthy is one of them.

During the 1970s, the British author and former diplomat traveled to Iran many times while his parents lived and worked there. He joined the British foreign service in 1986, serving as a head of the Iran desk from 1998 to 2000. 

Several Ukrainian villages are at risk from a giant poisonous cloud that formed after a train carrying a toxic chemical caught fire and derailed.

The cloud covers an area of 90sq km (56sq miles) above some 14 villages near the town of Lviv.
Hundreds of villagers from the area have been evacuated and at least 20 people have been taken to hospital.

The fire aboard the train carrying highly flammable yellow phosphorus was put out late on Monday, reports say.
The train was travelling from Kazakhstan to Poland and Ukrainian rescue teams are still said to be working at the site of the accident.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk compared the accident to the blast at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986.