Wednesday, January 9, 2008

CONFLICT & TERROR 01/08

Senior al-Qaeda operative arrested in Pakistan
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 6:15am
Amin al-Haq, described as security coordinator for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been arrested in Pakistan in a special police operation, an influential Pakistani newspaper reported on Monday. Full Story

India and Malaysia seek closer ties
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:01am
India is training Malaysian pilots to fly Russian fighter jets as part of a pact to upgrade defence cooperation, ministers from both sides said, as the two nations seek closer ties. Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said after talks with Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak that they also agreed to hold joint military exercises and strengthen efforts to combat regional terrorism. Full Story

Bali bombers seek edict on execution: lawyer
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:03am
Three Islamic militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings met their families on Monday, as their lawyer said they would seek an edict from Indonesia's Muslim body on the legality of execution by shooting. The three -- Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas -- could face a firing squad possibly within a month unless they seek presidential clemency, an option which they have already ruled out. Full Story

Airports set to ease bags limit
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:04am
Twenty-two UK airports are preparing to let passengers take more than one piece of hand luggage on flights from Monday, to coincide with extra security checks. Heathrow, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh are among the airports where two luggage pieces will be permitted. Full Story

Greece hit by strong earthquake
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:06am
A powerful earthquake has hit Greece, shaking buildings and waking people from their sleep. Greek geologists say the quake - measuring 6.5 - was centred 120km (75 miles) south-west of Athens in the southern Peloponnese region. But it was very deep, 51km underground, and there were no early reports of casualties or damage. Full Story

German diplomat expelled by Iran
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:07am
The Iranian government has expelled a German diplomat. The unnamed person had been carrying out "non-diplomatic activities", a foreign ministry spokesman said. He gave no further details. Full Story

Thaksin Ready to Return Thailand, Face Corruption Charges
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:11am
Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to return to Thailand from self-imposed exile by mid-April and is prepared to defend himself in court against corruption-related charges, his lawyer said Monday. Thai authorities have issued arrest warrants against Thaksinwho has mostly lived in London since his ouster in September 2006for allegedly violating stock-trading laws and on corruption-related charges. Full Story

China planning Taiwan Strait route for commercial aviation
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:15am
China plans to open a new commercial aviation route through the Taiwan Strait in a move that officials in Taipei said was a threat to regional peace and a danger to air safety. The new route between Hong Kong and Shanghai would track just inside the Chinese side of the unofficial dividing line through the middle of the Taiwan Strait, an area that both sides have mostly avoided since the 1950s, security and aviation specialists in Taiwan said. Full Story

Britons 'richer than Americans'
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 9:59am
The average UK person will this year have a greater income than their US counterpart for the first time since the 19th Century, figures suggest. Analyst Oxford Economics said the UK's GDP per head of population will reach #23,500 - #250 higher than in the US. Full Story

New clashes in Naples rubbish row ahead of crisis meeting
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 10:19am
Police in Naples clashed with protestors over a mafia-linked rubbish disposal crisis on Monday as the Italian government convened an emergency meeting to try and resolve the row. Prime Minister Romano Prodi was to meet with ministers in Rome to brainstorm long-term measures to resolve the chronic problem in the impoverished southern city and the surrounding Campania region, home to some six million people. Full Story

5.8-magnitude quake strikes Indonesia
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 12:57pm
A strong earthquake hit the Indonesian province of Papua Monday sparking fires in several homes, police officials reported. The earthquake struck at 12:12 p.m. off the northern coast of Papua, about 3,090 kilometres east of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Full Story

Thaksin's wife to return to Thailand on Tuesday
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 3:33pm
The wife of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to return on Tuesday to Thailand, where she and her husband face criminal charges of corruption, the national police chief said. Police plan to meet Pojaman Shinawatra at the airport and escort her directly to the Supreme Court, where she will hear the charges filed against her, national police chief Sereepisut Taemeeyaves said. Full Story

Slowdown fears knock EADS shares
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 3:35pm
Shares in Airbus parent, EADS, have fallen sharply, after an investment bank forecast weak orders and advised clients to sell the stock. Deutsche Bank cut its rating on EADS to "sell" from "hold" and predicted weaker aircraft orders for Airbus in 2008. Full Story

UK push for space station modules
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 3:37pm
A proposal for the UK to join the International Space Station (ISS) project has been put forward by a group of scientists and engineers. Their idea is for Britain to build and launch two modules that greatly enhance living conditions on the platform. Full Story

Far-Right NPD Praises Koch's Tough Talk on Immigration
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 3:43pm
German state governor Roland Koch, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, has won praise from the far-right National Democratic Party for his campaign against "criminal young foreigners" (more...) and his calls for immigrants to embrace German values. Full Story

German Judge Orders Re-Arrest of Former RAF Terrorists
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 3:45pm
A German federal court has ruled that three former members of the Red Army Faction, the left-wing guerrilla group that waged a campaign of kidnappings and murders in the 1970s, be jailed for up to six months because they have refused to testify in a fresh probe into a 1977 killing. Full Story

Finnish Town Faces Fecal Foul-up
Posted on Monday, January 7, 2008 at 3:53pm
A city in Finland best known as the namesake to mobile phone giant Nokia is floundering in filthy drinking water after a municipal employee sent thousands of gallons of sewage into the water supply. Thousands have fallen ill -- and the water is still dirty. Full Story

Afghan bomb kills coalition soldiers
Posted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 12:24am
A roadside bomb killed two soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition in eastern Afghanistan, and a suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a border police patrol in the south, killing a policeman, officials said. Full Story

UN's Ban considers Algeria bomb probe
Posted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 1:31am
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hinted Monday at an independent probe of last month's twin suicide truck bombings that killed 17 U.N. staffers in Algeria. Full Story

Three dead in Mexico army clash with drug gang
Posted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 1:36am
Mexican troops and police shot dead three suspected drug hitmen armed with grenades in a fierce gun battle in a town near the U.S. border on Monday. Full Story

Sri Lanka minister dies after roadside bomb attackPosted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 1:36amA Sri Lankan government minister died on the operating table on Tuesday after his vehicle was targeted by a suspected Tamil Tiger roadside bomb north of the capital, a senior hospital official said. Full Story

Former Taliban commander made Afghan governor: officials
Posted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 2:46am
A former Taliban commander who switched sides and helped NATO-led forces take a troubled southern area in a major operation last year has been made local governor, officials said Tuesday. Full Story

Fatah al-Islam chief warns of attacks on Lebanon army
Posted on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 at 3:32am
The leader of the Fatah al-Islam group threatened attacks against the Lebanese army after it crushed its militants in battles at a refugee camp in northern Lebanon last year. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.

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