Putin uses keynote speech to attack US and NATO

Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of launching a new arms race. The Russian president used his address to the State Council, one of his last keynote speeches before he steps down, to criticise NATO expansion and US plans for a missile defence shield in eastern Europe.

Putin looks to have laid down the course his country will follow under Dimitry Medvedev, the man he has endorsed to replace him as president.

He said: "It is already clear that a new arms race is being unleashed in the world. We must not allow ourselves to be drawn into this."

In the speech to ministers, regional governors and elected representatives, Putin said Russia had made great strides since he came to power eight years ago, but now was the time to reduce its dependence on energy exports, be more robust in the global economy and stand up to the West

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President George W Bush has visited the US state of Tennessee

President George W Bush has visited the US state of Tennessee, one of several southern states hit by deadly tornadoes which left a swathe of

destruction.
More than 50 people died and hundreds were injured when dozens of twisters hit Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi this week.

Thousands of people were left without power because of the high winds.

Mr Bush has designated Tennessee and Arkansas major disaster areas, meaning they will get federal aid to recover.

Flattened streets

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has sent teams to the worst affected areas.

The president began his visit to Tennessee with a helicopter flight over the disaster zone.

He then received a briefing from state officials, before hearing from local people about their experiences of the storms.

More than 30 people are thought to have been killed in Tennessee by the tornadoes.

The winter storms also killed 13 people in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky and four in Alabama.

They left behind flattened streets, wrecked mobile homes, overturned vehicles, and uprooted trees.

"Loss of life, loss of property - prayers can help and so can the government," Mr Bush said.

"I do want the people in those states to know the American people are standing with them."

Mr Bush said he had no doubt that the communities would "come back better than before".

In the past, the Bush administration has been criticised for its handling of disasters, particularly Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when the storms hit the US Gulf Coast, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

'Amazing'

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen said he was shocked by the scale of the storms, which "just literally sat on the ground in wide areas", leaving a trail of destruction up to 400 miles (643km) wide.

"It looks like the Lord took a Brillo pad and scrubbed the ground," he told reporters as he observed the damage from a helicopter.

As survivors attempt to salvage possessions from their wrecked homes, remarkable stories of survival emerged.

In Castalian Springs, Tennessee, a baby was discovered unscathed in a field after lying there for several hours after his mother was killed.

At Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, students helped free classmates trapped in the rubble of two campus dormitories which collapsed in the high winds.

Fifty-one students were treated in hospital, some with extensive injuries, but no-one was killed.

"It's an amazing thing," university president David Dockery told reporters.

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