CONFLICT & TERROR 08/02

Fresh record for euro inflationPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 7:35amEurozone inflation jumped to 4.1% in the year to July, the highest since the measurements began in 1997, according to EU statistics office Eurostat. Inflation in June in the 15 nation bloc was 4.0%, also well above the European Central Bank's 2.0% target. Full Story

Strike-hit Lufthansa cancels 128 flightsPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 7:40amLufthansa canceled more flights Thursday, including 28 long-haul flights, because of a strike by technical and catering staff now in its fourth day, the airline said. The German-based airline said it expected to cancel a total of 128 flights Thursday -- 50 more than the day before. They include 28 flights to North American destinations like New York, Washington, Atlanta, and Calgary, Canada, spokesman Aage Duenhaupt said. Full Story

Afghan, NATO troops kill 20 Taliban - officialPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 7:54amAfghan and NATO-led troops backed by air power killed more than 20 Taliban insurgents southwest of the capital Kabul, a provincial official said on Thursday. Full Story

Malaysia's Anwar to contest election for wife's seatPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:02amMalaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday he would contest a by-election for a parliamentary seat vacated by his wife in a bid to expedite his return to political office. Full Story

Blast wounds 18, including infant, in Thai southPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:03amEighteen people, including a six-month-old baby, were injured in a bomb blast early Thursday at a busy market in Thailand's Muslim south, where a separatist insurgency is raging, police said. Full Story

30 killed as fighting escalates in Pakistan valleyPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:10amPakistani troops battled Islamic militants in a valley near the Afghan border Wednesday, killing 25 insurgents and losing five soldiers as escalating combat threatened the new government's policy of offering peace to pro-Taliban groups. Full Story

Thai court convicts Thaksin's wife for tax evasionPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:12amThe wife of Thailand's deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was convicted Thursday of tax evasion in the first ruling against his family since the 2006 coup that toppled him from power. Full Story

Homemade Bomb Jolts Indonesia's Restive PosoPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:13amA homemade bomb exploded Thursday in the restive Indonesian town of Poso but caused no casualties, police said. Police said the roadside bomb rocked the Sayo residential area at 1:30 am ( 1730GMT) and appeared to be designed to spread fear after years of relative calm in the area, which has been plagued by Christian-Muslim violence. Full Story

William to visit special forcesPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:15amPrince William is to spend time with special forces in the next stage of his army career, Clarence House has said. The Prince will return to the Army on a secondment and will also spend time at the Ministry of Defence with the Army Air Corps. He will not take part in any operational missions, a spokesman said. Full Story

House attacked in bonfire disputePosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:16amThere has been an attack on the home of of a community worker in Ballymena. A window of the man's home in Dunclurg Park was broken by a stone after a crowd gathered in the area at about 2300 BST on Wednesday. Full Story

Bomb wounds 3 at Pakistan consulate in AfghanistanPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:17amA bicycle bomb outside the Pakistani consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat wounded a police guard and two civilians on Thursday, a Reuters witness said. Full Story

IAEA set to advance U.S.-India atom pact despite qualmsPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:19amU.N. nuclear watchdog governors are expected on Friday to approve an inspections plan for India needed for its atomic trade deal with the United States, despite qualms about rewarding a non-proliferation outsider. Full Story

Japanese: E-mail warns of more bombs in IndiaPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:20amThe Japanese embassy has received an e-mail warning of a bomb planted at a market in India's capital, and has warned its citizens to stay away from crowded public places, a notice posted on its Web site Thursday said. Full Story

Spain, France seek allies to fight Somali piratesPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:27amSpain and France are looking for allies to create a multinational naval force to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia, defence ministers from both countries said Wednesday in Madrid. "Our wish is that as many countries as possible" participate, Spanish minister Carme Chacon said following talks with her French counterpart Herve Morin. Full Story

Spate of Algerian migrant arrivals hits Spanish coastPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 8:35amThe number of clandestine migrants travelling between Algeria and Spain's southeast coast has surged in recent days, coinciding good weather conditions in the 200 kilometres of sea that separate the two countries. On Tuesday and Wednesday, 91 Algerians were detained in Murcia and Alicante, all of them thought to have arrived aboard 10 small boats. Full Story

Newspaper: New group claims Greek bomb attackPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 9:06amA previously unknown terrorist group has sent a statement to a Greek newspaper claiming responsibility for the 2004 bombing of a courthouse in central Greece and two failed bombings in Athens, the newspaper said Thursday. Police said all three bombs had been set up to detonate with the use of a mobile phone  a tactic not used before in Greece. Full Story

Crane protests in Brussels coming to an endPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 9:08amAsylum seekers are giving up their protest actions on cranes at building sites after a court ordered them to come down. A Brussels court had ruled that the cranes near the de Brouckhre Square had to be abandoned. About 25 sans-papiers (people without legal documents) climbed down of their own free will. Full Story

Libya resumes Swiss oil shipmentsPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 9:11amLibya has resumed oil shipments to Switzerland, the Swiss Petroleum Association said Wednesday, ending an embargo against the Alpine nation to protest the arrest of Moammar Gadhafi's son in Geneva. A tanker with 80,000 tons of oil left Libya on Tuesday for Switzerland, said Rolf Hartl, managing director of the Swiss Petroleum Association. The oil will be refined in the Swiss branch of Libya's state-owned oil company Tamoil in Collombey, he told The Associated Press. Full Story

Police arrest man regarding passport theftPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 9:36amBritish police say they've arrested a delivery man over the theft of thousands of blank British passports and visa stickers. Greater Manchester Police say the 48-year-old man is being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery. It follows a raid on Monday on a delivery van carrying 3,000 blank documents bound for British embassies overseas. Full Story

Three policemen wounded in a clash with ultra-nationalistsPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 10:03amThree policemen were wounded in a clash with supporters of the ultra-nationalist party Ataka in front of police station in the centre of Sofia, Interior Ministry website said. Two of the victims were hit with flagpoles. Two firecrackers were thrown against the police cordon, but did not harm anyone, the statement on the website said. No more information on the condition of the victims was revealed. Full Story

Centrica announces higher than expected #992m profitsPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 10:07amBritish Gas parent Centrica today reported higher-than-expected profits of #992m and raised its dividend, the day after it provoked fury among its 16 million customers with its biggest ever price hike. The first-half results and the 16% hike in the dividend payment to shareholders drew another angry response from consumer groups. Patrick South at Age Concern said: "Many pensioners will be shocked that while they are worrying about how to afford to heat their homes this winter such significant profits are being made and shareholders are getting a substantial dividend." Full Story

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Leader May Be in AfghanistanPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 10:37amThe leader of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq and several of his top lieutenants have recently left Iraq for Afghanistan, according to group leaders and Iraqi intelligence officials, a possible further sign of what Iraqi and U.S. officials call growing disarray and weakness in the organization. Full Story

Italy ratifies EU Lisbon TreatyPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 11:34amItaly's parliament has ratified the EU Lisbon Treaty, which was rejected by Irish voters in June. Italy has become the 23rd out of 27 EU member states to approve the reform treaty, which is aimed at improving decision-making in the enlarged EU. Full Story

Hitmen kill six, including kids, in western MexicoPosted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 4:50pmGunmen shot dead six people, including children, in western Mexico in an execution-style massacre of the kind often carried out by drug gangs, Mexico media said on Thursday. All the victims, apparently from the same family, were shot in the back of the head and found shrouded in blankets in a house near the town of Zapotlan el Grande, online newspapers said. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.