CONFLICT & TERROR 06/26

Tokyo eases North Korea policyPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 7:54amJapan indicated on Tuesday it was resigned to the US removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, considerably softening what had been staunch opposition to the move. Nobutaka Machimura, chief cabinet secretary, said Tokyo understood the high possibility that Washington would begin the process of delisting North Korea if, as hoped, Pyongyang declared its nuclear programmes on Thursday. Full Story

Rushdie receives knighthoodPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 7:58amQueen Elizabeth II on Wednesday knighted the controversial author Salman Rushdie, an award which caused protests by Muslims around the world when it was announced last year. Rushdie was knighted for his services to literature. Full Story

China announces Olympics drugs crackdownPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:00amChina plans to crack down on illegal drugs in Beijing and other cities that will host Olympic events, a top police official said Wednesday. Authorities will target drug use at nightclubs and other entertainment venues, as well as smugglers supplying major cities, said Yang Fengrui, director of the Bureau of Narcotics Control under the Public Security Ministry. Full Story

Brown calls for Zimbabwe cricket banPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:06amPrime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday he wanted the Zimbabwe cricket team to be banned from touring England next year and from the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, which England are due to host. "The Secretary for Culture is working with the English Cricket Board," Brown told lawmakers at the House of Commons during Prime Minister's Question Time on Wednesday. Full Story

'Berlusconi bill' passed in ItalyPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:07amItaly's Senate has passed legislation which opponents of PM Silvio Berlusconi say is designed to help him in his legal battles with the nation's courts. The bill would freeze some long-running trials for a year, including one involving Mr Berlusconi in Milan. Full Story

Tourist dies of 'food poisoning'Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:08amA British tourist has died of suspected food poisoning at a luxury hotel at Lake Garda, northern Italy. Geoffrey Appleyard, 71, from Evesham in Worcs, died early on Sunday after falling ill after dinner hours earlier. Full Story

Indian rebel leaders announce trucePosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:09amSeveral commanders of a leading separatist group in India's restive northeast announced a cease-fire Wednesday and called for an end to their 30-year rebellion, separatist leaders and government officials said. Full Story

Wheeler to appeal over referendumPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:09amTycoon Stuart Wheeler says he has "high hopes" of winning an appeal against a High Court decision to oppose his bid for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Two judges rejected the millionaire's claim that there was a "legitimate expectation" of a public vote. Full Story

Tropical storm hits flood-weary southern ChinaPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:24amTropical storm Fengshen struck China's southeastern coast Wednesday, bringing new torrential downpours to a region still reeling from heavy rains and deadly flooding since early June. The storm, which also packed high winds, made landfall in Guangdong province early in the morning, closing schools and disrupting air traffic across the region and in neighbouring Macau and Hong Kong, Xinhua news agency reported. Full Story

Militants kill 22 pro-government tribesmen in north-west PakistanPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:27amPro-Taliban militants executed 22 tribesmen they had held captive for two days in Pakistan's volatile north-western tribal regions, officials said Wednesday. The bullet-riddled bodies of the abducted men were found Wednesday morning in the Kariwam area of Jandola, the gateway to the restive South Waziristan tribal district that borders Afghanistan. Full Story

S Korea to allow US beef back inPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 8:31amSouth Korea will resume US beef imports from Thursday following a deal between the two sides on extra safeguards, ruling party officials have said. A legal notice on new rules will be posted in the government gazette, the final step needed to restart imports. Full Story

New jihadist message calls for bomb-making aidPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:00amA new message posted on a prominent al-Qaeda linked website calls on Islamic militants to lend their bomb-making expertise to the jihadist cause. Full Story

Three (3) Americans killed, Shiite fighting in southPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:11amA roadside bomb killed three American soldiers and an interpreter north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Wednesday, and Iraqi police reported 14 Shiite gunmen were arrested after fighting south of the capital. Full Story

End of truce? 3 Kassams hit w. NegevPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:13amThe sixth day of the Gaza truce saw the first violations when three Kassam rockets slammed into Israel in response to the IDF killing of top Islamic Jihad operative Tarek Abu Ghally in Nablus on Tuesday. There was no immediate military response from the IDF. Full Story

Racist crime on the rise across EuropePosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:23amRacist crime is on the rise across Europe, the head of the European Union's Agency for Fundamental Rights announced in Brussels on Tuesday. There was a worrying trend of an increase in racist crimes between 2000 and 2006, and 2007 showed a similar picture, Anastasia Crickley, the agency's chairperson, said as she presented her organisation's annual report. Full Story

Ukraine PM's daughter 'assaulted'Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:24amAuthorities in Ukraine are investigating allegations that the daugher of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was assaulted by police. The alleged incident took place last week at a Black Sea resort, where Yevhenia was staying with her husband. Yevhenia and her partner, British musician Sean Carr, say they were beaten by police on a beach in Odessa. Full Story

BP Russia boss 'should quit job'Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:29amThe Russian chairman of BP's joint venture, TNK-BP, has called on the firm's chief executive to step down. Speaking to the BBC, billionaire Mikhail Fridman said that Robert Dudley was concerned only with BP's interests and this was "unacceptable".

But he denied that the actions of the Russian police, who pulled in Mr Dudley for questioning, were anything more than "routine practice" in Russia. Full Story

Iran slams UK for lifting opposition banPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:33amIran on Wednesday condemned as a "disgrace" the decision by Britain to lift a ban on the main Iranian armed opposition group, the People's Mojehedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI). "The British government's action regarding the group of monafeghin is a disgrace and utterly condemned," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in a statement. Full Story

Serbian Socialists to join governing alliancePosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:34amThe Serbian Socialist Party will join an alliance headed by the Democratic Party to form a pro-European coalition government, the Socialist leader, Ivica Dacic, said Monday. Although details on the final division of posts and functions in the cabinet have yet to be decided, the move signals the formation of a government that will try to speed up Serbia's European Union membership campaign after years of halting progress. Full Story

Forest fire burns near AthensPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:34amA large forest fire on the outskirts of Athens is sending a cloud of smoke over the Greek capital just as power in part of the city has been cut. The fire is burning on the eastern slopes of Mount Hymmetus, near the Glyka Nera area of greater Athens. It is not immediately clear whether the fire is threatening homes or is related to the power outages in central Athens. Full Story

Polish shipyard workers protest outside EU headquartersPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:36amPolish trade union workers demonstrated outside EU headquarters Wednesday demanding officials move away from threats to force the closure of three ailing shipyards. Around 100 people took part in a noisy protest to try to sway the European Commission not to rule against Polish subsidies given to the shipyards in Gdynia, Szczecin and Gdansk in recent years. Full Story

Swedish foreign minister has no concerns on secularismPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:47amSwedish Foreign Minister and Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe Carl Bildt said European observers do not share the concerns about secularism in Turkey, in an interview with the Turkish Daily News Monday. None of the European observers following Turkey have seen anything that would disturb them really. Full Story

French Senate rejects referendum hypocrisy against TurkeyPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:51amFrance's Senate has dropped a measure from a proposed bill that would require a referendum on Turkey's membership in the European Union. The measure has proven one of the most sensitive parts of a broader institutional reform package going through the French parliament. The measure would require a referendum before France could approve EU membership for any country whose population exceeds 5 percent of the population of the entire 27-nation union. Full Story

US-backed radio says Turkmen commentator torturedPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:55amTurkmen security forces detained and tortured a commentator for a U.S.-backed radio station after he had refused to stop working for the broadcaster, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) said."Today a contributor to RFE/RL's Turkmen Service (Radio Azatlyk) was found beaten and tortured for refusing to sign a letter in which he agreed to stop reporting for RFE/RL," the station said in a statement released late on Tuesday. The Prague-based station said Sazak Durdymuradov told his wife he "wanted to die" after she found him at a state security detention centre. Full Story

Rights group: Russians kill civilians in IngushetiaPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 9:58amA leading human rights group accused Russian forces on Wednesday of killing innocent civilians as they try to snuff out rebel activity in Ingushetia. New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Russia's heavy-handed counter-insurgent tactics were alienating the population and risked destabilising the whole north Caucasus. "The crimes in Ingushetia, although on a far smaller scale, evoke the thousands of enforced disappearances, killings and torture cases that plagued Chechnya for more than a decade," said Tanya Lokshina, main author of the HRW's 120-page report. Full Story

Neo-Nazi jailed for terror, paedophile offencesPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:01amA court on Wednesday ordered a 16 year jail term against a neo-Nazi who made nail bombs designed to attack black, South Asian and Jewish people. A judge in Leeds told Martyn Gilleard, who was found guilty by a jury of terror offences Tuesday, that he believed he intended to cause "havoc" with the devices, which were found under a bed at his home. Full Story

Central Asia: Websites Unite To Protest Internet Censorship In UzbekistanPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:07amSeveral websites in Central Asia have launched what they call an "unlimited campaign" against Internet censorship to protest the increasingly restricted access in Uzbekistan to independent websites. The independent websites fergana.ru and uznews.net and an online news bulletin, "Uzbekistan's Civil Society," have placed a special emblem on their homepages that carries the inscription "This Site Is Blocked in Uzbekistan." Full Story

Child food poisoning cases rise to 70 in East SiberiaPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:15amThe number of children hit by a relatively uncommon stomach infection in the East Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk since last week has risen to 70, the region's chief sanitary doctor said Wednesday. A total of 46 children from the Solnechny summer camp were hospitalized on June 20 with the symptoms of yersiniosis, which is a bacterial infection usually contracted through the consumption of undercooked meat, milk, water or vegetables. Full Story

Georgia warns Russia, Abkhazia against establishing sea linksPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:19amGeorgia pledged Wednesday to appeal to international organizations if regular sea links are set up between its breakaway republic of Abkhazia and Russia. Russian media reported recently that regular passenger routes between Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi and Gagra in Abkhazia will be restarted on July 1. Full Story

Dagestani Police Head MurderedPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10:34amA senior police officer in the restive republic of Dagestan was killed in an apparent contract murder, Dagestani police said Tuesday. Magomed-Arip Aliyev, police chief in the town of Buinaksk, died at the scene after armed assailants sprayed his Mercedes 500 sedan with automatic gunfire late Monday. The unidentified attackers fled the scene, regional police spokesman Mark Tolchinsky said. Full Story

Protesting police warn of airport, border crossings troublesPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 1:10pmProtests over wages by National Police officers could bring airports and border crossings to a standstill in July with officers threatening to scrupulously follow the rules - checking almost everyone entering or leaving the country, filing charges for all offences and filling in all the relevant paperwork. Full Story

EU proposes single European legal status for small firmsPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 1:40pmThe European Commission sought on Wednesday to make it easier for small and mid-sized companies to do business across Europe's borders with proposals for a single EU legal status. "If SMEs want to do business in several member states, they have to set up subsidiaries using different company forms," said EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy. Full Story

Hijacked Dutch ship released in Somalia, crew safePosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 1:55pmA Dutch shipping company says a freighter hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia a month ago is free, along with its crew, and sailing toward the Suez Canal. Spokesman Lars Walder of Reider Shipping BV says its freighter Amiya Scan and its crew of four Russians and five Filipinos are unharmed. Full Story

Afghan intelligence accuses Pakistan spy agency of Karzai attackPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 1:56pmAfghanistan's intelligence agency on Wednesday accused its Pakistani counterpart, ISI, of masterminding an assassination bid on President Hamid Karzai in April. The US-backed Karzai survived the April 27 attack at the annual military parade, but three Afghans were killed, one of them a parliamentarian. Full Story

Ecuador buys planes, radar for borderPosted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 6:03pmColombian rebels in northern Ecuador are an old problem that previous governments failed to confront, Ecuador's defense minister told The Associated Press, announcing additions to a growing arsenal aimed at securing the Andean nation's borders. Defense Minister Javier Ponce said in an interview that the government is buying six Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicles and new radar so it can get a better handle on its borders, especially the troubled frontier with Colombia. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.