Tuesday, January 1, 2008

CONFLICT & TERROR 01/01/08

Union in talks with UK airport operator on strikes Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 5:42am

Union leaders are to hold talks with airport operator BAA (FER.MC) on Monday in an attempt to avert a series of strikes that could cause widespread travel chaos in January. A BAA spokeswoman said the talks would take place at an undisclosed location after negotiations last week failed to solve the dispute over pensions. Full Story

Turkish police foil plot to kill priest: reports Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 5:45am

Turkish police have foiled a plot to murder a priest, in a case that recalls other attacks this year against Christians in Muslim but secular Turkey, newspapers reported on Monday. Police in the coastal resort of Antalya detained a young man on Sunday on suspicion of preparing to kill Orthodox priest Ramazan Arkan, who is a Turk, the Milliyet daily said. Full Story

Israeli parliament report blasts army over Lebanon war Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:00am

A report by an Israeli parliamentary committee on Monday placed responsibility for failures of last year's war against the Lebanese Hezbollah militia on the military. The military leadership "ignored basic principles of Israeli strategy, which aims to bring the battle to enemy terrain and to protect the civilian population," Tzahi Hanegbi, the chairman of the foreign affairs and defence committee, was quoted by local media as saying in presenting the report. Full Story

Bhutan Steps Toward Democracy with Vote for National Council Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:01am

Thousands of people in Bhutan went to the polls Monday to elect an upper house of parliament for the first time. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the vote represents the country's first step toward democracy after a century of monarchic rule. Full Story

Barbados' "Mother of all Elections"Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:05am

What is being profiled by contesting parties, and commentators in local media, as Barbados' "mother of all elections" since Independence 41 years ago, takes place on Tuesday, January 15, 2008. Full Story

Trinidad army chief wants police powers Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:06am

If the top brass of Trinidad's Defence Force has its way, soldiers will be given powers of arrest to help tackle rising crime. Chief of Defence Staff, Edmund Dillon, told the Sunday Express that a committee headed by Justice Ulric Cross is currently reviewing the Defence Force Act, and in 2008, if all goes well, that act will be amended to give the army more powers, which will include the power of arrest. Full Story

Belarus threatens to kick U.S. ambassador out over broader sanctions Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:09am

The Bush administration, which has dubbed Belarus "the last dictatorship in Europe," has imposed a series of punitive measures against Belarus. The Belarus government will expel the U.S. ambassador and ban trade in U.S. dollars if Washington broadens sanctions against the country, the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, said Sunday. Full Story

Morning raid nets Zoniana suspects Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:10am

Police arrested eight people in Crete on Saturday in connection to a series of bank heists on the island in a move that also targets criminal gangs based in the village of Zoniana. Full Story

France to boycott Syria over Lebanon crisis Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:12am

France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows willingness to let Lebanon end its long-running political crisis and find a new president, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday. France "will have no more contact with Syria... until we have proof of Syrian willingness to let Lebanon appoint a president by consensus," Sarkozy told journalists after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak covering thorny regional issues. Full Story

Bhutto party says would oppose poll delay Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:13am

The party of slain Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto does not want next weeks scheduled general election postponed because a delay would help its political opponents, a party spokeswoman said on Monday. Full Story

Mauritania announces tightened tourist security Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 9:14am

Mauritania on Sunday announced tightened security at tourist sites after the Christmas Eve murder of four Frenchmen led French operators to suspend holiday packages to the northwest African nation. "All the tourist sites have been made secure," tourism minister Ba Madine was quoted as saying. "We assure everyone who has chosen to holiday in Mauritania that their stay in our country will pass off well. Full Story

Top rival calls for Musharraf to step down immediately Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 3:57pm

The most experienced opposition politician left in Pakistan, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, sharpened the battle lines with President Pervez Musharraf on Monday, calling for his immediate resignation and the formation of a government of national consensus. In delivering his most stinging public attack on Musharraf since returning from exile, Sharif said the president "must immediately resign" following last week's assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the other leading opposition leader. Full Story

Venezuela introduces new currency Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 3:58pm

Venezuela is launching a new currency with the new year, lopping off three zeros from denominations in a bid to simplify finances and boost confidence in a money that has been losing value due to high inflation. President Hugo Chavez's government says the new currency -- dubbed the ''strong bolivar'' -- will make daily transactions easier and cure some accounting headaches. Officials also say it is part of a broader effort to contain rising prices and strengthen the economy. Full Story

Delhi tops crime charts for fifth year in a row Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 6:03pm

Delhi continues to be the undisputed 'crime capital' of the country. It is not only No 1 among 35 big cities with the largest number of crime cases but also has the dubious distinction of having topped the list for five years in a row. Full Story

AP: U.S. gave Bhutto security intel Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 at 6:04pm

The United States provided a steady stream of intelligence to Benazir Bhutto about threats against her before the former Pakistani prime minister was assassinated and advised her aides on how to boost security, although key suggestions appear to have gone unheeded, U.S. officials said Monday. Full Story

Islamic Center Building Target Of Arsonist? Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:14am

Is it a random act of violence or is the Islamic community in Dalton the target of a hate crime? That's what investigators are trying to figure out after a fire destroys part of what will become a new place of worship for Muslims. Early Christmas morning fire tears through a three-bedroom house that's on the Dug Gap Road site where the new Dalton Islamic Center is being built. Full Story

Piracy remained serious in 2007 and may get worse Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:16am

As the year closes, the situation regarding piracy on the high seas remains of serious concern with the African region showing the greatest risk to seafarers. Full Story

Horizons-2 sat boosts U.S. coast security Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:18am

Intelsat has launched a new Horizons-2 satellite to aid U.S. East Coast homeland security operations. Full Story

Militant attack kills 7 policemen in UP Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:20am

Heavily armed suspected Islamist militants attacked a central police camp in Rampur town in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, killing seven policemen during New Year celebrations, authorities said. One civilian was also killed in the pre-dawn attack in Rampur, about 200 km east of New Delhi. Full Story

Dissident Saudi Blogger Is Arrested Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:23am

Saudi Arabia's most popular blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, has been detained for questioning, an Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed Monday. It was the first known arrest of an online critic in the kingdom. Full Story

Ammonium nitrate regulated -- sort of Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:25am

More than 12 years after Timothy J. McVeigh used ammonium nitrate fertilizer to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building, Congress quietly passed legislation this month to regulate sales of the explosive. But the Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007, part of an appropriations measure signed Wednesday by President Bush, falls far short of the strict law that some in the counter-terrorism community and federal law enforcement were hoping for. Full Story

Fate uncertain of mission to free hostages Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:28am

A mission to free three hostages held by leftist rebels in Colombia stalled Monday, with the rebels and Colombian authorities trading blame for the delay. Full Story

Three killed, murder toll closes at 392 Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:31am

Three men were killed in north Trinidad between Sunday night and yesterday morning during separate incidents, bringing the murder toll up to 392 yesterday evening. However, Deputy Commissioner of Police Gilbert Reyes yesterday challenged the media's murder toll at the weekly police press conference, saying, according to their figures, the murder toll was currently 383 at the time he was giving the statement. Full Story

Crime Report: Police gang unit made 2,078 arrests Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:33am

Nashville police are declaring 2007's anti-gang efforts a success. The Metro police department's Operation Safer Streets gang enforcement initiative racked up 2,078 arrests and 432 drug seizures. Officers also confiscated 45 guns and served 377 outstanding warrants. The arrests included 369 felonies and 2,299 misdemeanor charges. Full Story

Air Canada worker suspect in drug bust Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:36am

An Air Canada employee is at the center of an international investigation after authorities at Vancouver International Airport seized a large quantity of cocaine before Christmas. Paula Shore of the Canada Border Services Agency said yesterday officers seized 61.5 kilograms of the drug "in the early hours of Dec. 23." Full Story

Thai bombing hits New Year's festivities Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 3:51am

A bomb attack wounded 27 people Monday in a Thai tourist town where people had gathered to celebrate the New Year, officials said. Full Story

Chavez Pardons Accused Coup Backers Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 4:01am

President Hugo Chavez granted amnesty Monday to many opponents accused of supporting a failed 2002 coup that briefly drove him from power. Chavez said he signed an amnesty decree that would also pardon others accused of attempting to overthrow his government in recent years. Full Story

New Darfur Peacekeeping Force Takes Over Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 4:03am

A joint African-United Nations force took over peacekeeping duties in Darfur on Monday, a long-awaited change that is intended to be the strongest effort yet to solve the world's worst humanitarian crisis. But many are already warning that its prospects are grim and that if it fails, it will only worsen the 4 1/2-year conflict, which has already killed more than 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.

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