Wednesday, October 1, 2008

CONFLICT & TERROR 10/01

U.S. envoy on Korean peninsula to revive nuclear dealPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:12amU.S. diplomat Chris Hill arrived in Seoul on Tuesday ahead of a visit to North Korea to try to save a crumbling disarmament-for-aid deal and prevent Pyongyang from rebuilding its aging nuclear plant. North Korea has threatened to restore its nuclear plant -- frozen and being disabled under the deal -- that makes bomb-grade plutonium, in anger at not being dropped from a U.S. terrorism blacklist and by Washington's verification demands.

"Let's see if we can come up with measures that will allow us to verify their declaration," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Hill told reporters at Incheon airport near Seoul. Full Story

South Korea eyes Thai centre for North's refugeesPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:13amSouth Korea is considering building refugee centers in Thailand, Mongolia and Russia to house North Koreans fleeing their homeland in search of asylum, according to documents seen by Reuters Tuesday.

Hundreds of North Koreans flee the hermit state every year, usually crossing into China and then on to a third country on their way to eventual asylum in South Korea, human rights groups say. Many end up in Thailand, packing detention facilities. South Korea grants asylum to the North Koreans at a slower rate than they have been arriving, creating a bottleneck that has strained ties between Seoul and Bangkok. Full Story

Kidnappers target the rich, influential in AfghanistanPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:15amMohammed Hashim Wahaaj, a large Afghan doctor with a bushy beard, thought he was going to die. "Bring a sword to cut off his head," he recalls one of his abductors as saying. "They made me lie down in a position when you are cutting the head of a cow or lamb. I thought: in a few minutes, they will cut off my head," the 44-year-old doctor told AFP. Full Story

Asia urges action on US bailout as shares plungePosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:16amAsia was shaken Tuesday by the collapse of the U.S. financial bailout effort, with the region's political leaders expressing hopes for a quick solution and Japan's central bank injecting more cash into money markets to promote liquidity and lending. "This is a bad development,"

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said of the U.S. House of Representatives' rejection Monday of a $700 billion plan to rescue ailing financial companies burdened with piles of bad mortgage-related debts. "The outcome has caused a major impact not only the U.S. economy but also the world economy," said Japan's Economy and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano, urging Washington to renegotiate a workable package. Full Story

India's IT sector eyes opportunities amid global turmoilPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:18amIndia's flagship outsourcing industry expects some pain from the latest global financial turmoil but insists it could emerge a winner with companies shifting more work to the country. The sector, an economic mainstay that generates 40 billion dollars in annual export revenues, traditionally views bad times as offering potential as Western companies cut costs by moving work to cheaper destinations offshore. Industry body Nasscom believes the trend will be the same this time, though it could take longer. Full Story

West Bank settler violence challenges IsraelPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:55amArmed with guns, slingshots, knives and stun grenades, Jewish settlers pelted the house of Palestinian Nahla Makhlouf with stones, uprooted young trees and painted the Star of David on her walls. Full Story

Lebanese Parliament holds final debate on 'new' electoral lawPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 8:58amParliament was due to ratify late Monday the new electoral law under which next year's parliamentary polls will be held. The new law, an amended version of the 1960 qada-based electoral law, was agreed on by Lebanon's rival politicians during the Doha talks last May. Full Story

Iraq to Tender Oil Fields in Second Licensing RoundPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 9:04amIraq is planning to announce this year a list of oil fields, mostly discovered but undeveloped, to be tendered in its second licensing round, Iraqi oil sources said Monday. Full Story

Iraq oil shipments start to arrivePosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 9:06amThe Kingdom has in the past 10 days received a total of 10,000 tonnes (74,000 barrels) of oil from Iraq at an average of 7,400 barrels a day. Full Story

Dubai Municipality urges residents to send pictures of tankers illegally dumping sewagePosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 9:08amThe municipality urged people to send pictures they have taken of tankers illegally dumping sewage to the Environment Department. The municipality plans to take immediate action by confiscating the tanker and imposing a huge penalty on the company that owns the tanker. Full Story

UAE investors who dealt with Lehman to lose most of savingsPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 9:08amUAE-based investors who invested their savings in capital protected structured notes and preferred stocks from Lehman Brothers stand to lose most of their investments, Gulf News has learnt. Full Story

Olmert wants to keep key colonies in West BankPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 9:09amIsrael should withdraw from nearly all territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war in return for peace with the Palestinians and Syria, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted on Monday as telling a newspaper. Full Story

Lebanon MPs Adopt Election LawPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 9:11amThe Lebanese parliament adopted a new electoral law overnight in a key move aimed at paving the way for legislative polls due early next year. The move was the final step of a peace deal struck in May between Lebanon's rival pro- and anti-Syrian factions to end an 18-month political crisis that had brought the country to the brink of civil war. Full Story

'Mobsters' held in Naples raidsPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 10:05amAbout 30 suspected mobsters have been arrested around Naples in the latest stage of what Italy's interior minister has called a "war" with the mafia. Full Story

Top Barclays exec murdered while helping homeless manPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 10:06amA top Barclays executive was beaten to death by a group of youths in Norwich as he tried to stop them attacking a homeless man, Norfolk police said on Tuesday. Frank McGarahan, 45, was standing at a taxi rank in central Norwich in the early hours of Sunday morning when the incident occurred. Full Story

$4M paid for release of Malaysian shipsPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 4:33pmSomali pirates have released two Malaysian oil tankers and their crews in exchange for ransom a month after hijacking the vessels, a shipping company official said Tuesday. Full Story

Tough security reforms for MexicoPosted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 6:35amMexican President Felipe Calderon has announced new measures to fight the wave of drug-related violence that has swept the nation this year. Among the pledges made by Mr Calderon in a televised address was a promise to create a department to monitor and tackle corruption among Mexican police. Full Story

EU monitors begin Georgia patrolsPosted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 6:36amThe first European Union observers have entered the buffer zone around South Ossetia, as they begin monitoring a ceasefire between Georgia and Russia. Full Story

Suspected US missile strike kills 6 in PakistanPosted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 6:37amA missile strike by a suspected U.S. drone killed at least six people in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, two Pakistani intelligence officials said Wednesday. Full Story

Two Koreas agree to military talks: defence ministryPosted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 6:40amSouth and North Korea have agreed to hold military talks this week amid a deadlocked nuclear disarmament deal, the South Korean defence ministry said Wednesday. Full Story

Holiday bombings kill 27 in BaghdadPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:38amFive bomb attacks struck Baghdad on Sunday, three of them aimed at civilians who were out holiday shopping and strolling. Security sources said at least 27 people had been killed and 84 wounded. Full Story

Officials say 15 dead or hurt in Lebanon explosionPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 2:09amA car bomb exploded near a military bus carrying troops to work in northern Lebanon on Monday, killing and wounding at least 15 people, Lebanese security officials said. Most of the casualties were soldiers, the officials said. Full Story

4 Afghan bodyguards die in attack on politicianPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:13amGunmen targeting an Afghan provincial council chief killed four of his bodyguards, while a Taliban leader died in an airstrike in central Afghanistan, officials said Monday. Gunmen in the southern city of Kandahar tried to kill Mohammad Hashim, the provincial council chief of neighboring Zabul province, said Fauwzia, a council member who goes by one name. Full Story

Maoists blow up CRPF vehicle in Bastar before Prez Patil visitPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 8:10amSuspected Maoist insurgents triggered a landmine blast to blow up a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Monday, hours before President Pratibha Patil was scheduled to visit the area. A CRPF deputy commandant and a driver were killed, while five other troopers were injured. Full Story

Bomb blast in Sri Lankan capital wounds fivePosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 8:40amA bomb hidden inside a van exploded in a market area of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on Monday, wounding five people and damaging nearby vehicles, authorities said. Police said the bomb was the latest set off by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), separatist guerrillas who are fighting one of the world's longest-running insurgencies since taking up arms against the government in 1983. Full Story

US ambassador appeals for patience in IraqPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:07pmU.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on Sunday accused Iran of trying to interfere with a new security pact between Iraq and the United States, and said Americans need to view Iraq with "a sense of strategic patience" because the stakes in the region are so high. Full Story

Iraq buys 12 US-made reconnaissance planesPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:09pmIraq's Defense Ministry says it has bought new U.S.-built reconnaissance planes. Defense Minister Abdul-Qadir al-Obeidi says the King Air planes were delivered a few days ago. Full Story

Arab nations 'will reject any partial peace deal' with IsraelPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:10pmArab nations will totally reject any partial or interim solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because historically such arrangements have become permanent, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Saturday. Full Story

Olmert says Israel Must Give Up Almost All West BankPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:10pmIsrael's interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel must give up virtually all the occupied West Bank including east Jerusalem, insisting in an interview published on Monday this was key to achieving peace with the Palestinians. Full Story

Car Bomb Kills 17 in Syria Near Intelligence OfficePosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:11pmA powerful car bomb exploded near a Syrian intelligence agency office Saturday morning in Damascus, the Syrian capital, killing 17 people and wounding at least 14 in the worst attack the country has seen since the 1980s. Full Story

Syrian troops 'dig trenches inside Lebanese territory'Posted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:12pmSyrian troops were allegedly digging long trenches between the regions of Rachaya and Haqel Ashty in the Kfarkouq area near the northern Lebanese border, according to Al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Sunday. According to the newspaper, Syrian troops have remained in this area despite the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in April 2005. Full Story

MPs overhaul Lebanese election law, but not everyone is satisfiedPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:14pmSenior government figures said over the weekend they were "disappointed" that proposed reforms to electoral laws were blocked by Parliament on Saturday, and pledged to continue pushing for "radical" change after next year's parliamentary elections. Full Story

Explosion rocks north Lebanon city of TripoliPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:15pmA bus carrying soldiers in the north Lebanese city of Tripoli was struck by an explosion on Monday, witnesses and media said. Full Story

Owners must protect vessels from piracyPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1:16pmThe complexities of the tragic and serious situation in Somalia continue to spill around the Horn of Africa with a steady escalation of danger to vessels as pirates increase their attacks on merchant ships. Full Story

Agency founded to shore up nuclear securityPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:17pmU.S. non-proliferation campaigners launched an agency on Monday aimed at sharing information to improve security at the world's nuclear sites. "Global nuclear security is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. We can't afford to wait for a security Chernobyl before we act," said Charles Curtis, president of the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), referring to the 1986 Soviet nuclear reactor meltdown. Full Story

Bomb blasts in India kill two - local mediaPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:18pmTwo separate bomb blasts in western India killed at least two people and injured several more, local media reported on Monday. A blast, which appeared to be caused by a crude bomb, killed one person and injured several people in the town of Modasa in the state of Gujarat, local television said. Full Story

Mexico drug slayings leave 16 dead in TijuanaPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:19pmPolice found 16 bodies dumped in the seedy Mexican border city of Tijuana on Monday in what the state attorney general's office said could be a revenge attack for the arrest of a local drug gang hit man. Twelve bodies were left in a heap with plastic bags tied over their heads within view of a primary school in the east of the city. The school was closed for the day but local residents gathered on rooftops of nearby houses to gape at the victims, who had been shot in the head. Full Story

Russia calls for revived anti-terror coalitionPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:20pmRussia has called for a revival of the global anti-terrorism coalition that formed after Sept. 11, 2001, but that started to unravel with what it called the subsequent domination by a single power - a veiled reference to the United States. "The solidarity of the international community fostered on the wave of struggle against terrorism turned out to be somehow 'privatized,"' Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia said Saturday at the UN General Assembly annual ministerial meeting. Full Story

Police say New York City homicides back upPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:21pmHomicides in New York City have jumped 10 percent this year over the same time period last year, police statistics show. Crime statistics show that so far this year, there have been 377 homicides in New York City, compared to the 344 reported during the same time period of 2007, the New York Post reported Monday. Full Story

Austria sees return of extreme rightPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:22pmn 2000, Austria was shunned by most of its European Union partners after Wolfgang Schssel invited the far right Freedom party into a coalition with his conservative Peoples party. Eight years later, the possible return to government of the extreme right is high on the political agenda again after two far right parties scored massive gains in Sundays general election. Full Story

Bomb blast in Colombo, 5 injuredPosted on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 5:23pmAt least five were injured in a blast that took place in Colombo on Monday, hospital sources said. According to military sources, five vehicles were also damaged in the blast. They added that the blast took place in the busy Pettah market area of Colombo, located next to the Fort, a heavily guarded area of government offices. Full Story

2 bombs kill at least 6 in western IndiaPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:31amTwo bombs exploded in separate towns in western India in crowded markets packed with Muslim shoppers, killing six people and wounding 45 others, police said Tuesday. Full Story

Taliban chief vows 'safe retreat' for foreign troops: statementPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:32amTaliban supremo Mullah Mohammad Omar Tuesday offered international forces safe passage if they withdrew from Afghanistan and ordered his fighters to drop certain tactics, such as attacks in mosques. Full Story

At least 144 dead in India Hindu temple crushPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:32amAt least 144 people were killed and scores injured on Tuesday in a massive stampede at a Hindu temple in the western state of Rajasthan, a senior state official said. Full Story

Karzai asks Saudi Arabia for help in peace talksPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:33amAfghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he has asked the king of Saudi Arabia to help facilitate peace talks with the Taliban in order to bring an end to the Afghan conflict. Full Story

Japan's unemployment rises, spending fallsPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:35amJapan got a triple dose of bad economic news Tuesday when numbers showed that family spending dropped sharply, the jobless rate rose to a two-year high and industrial production at the nation's vital manufacturers declined. Full Story

Global stock markets rebound after plunge on bailout failurePosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:35amBargain-hunting helped lift the London, Paris and Hong Kong stock markets on Tuesday after investors worldwide had dumped shares following the unexpected rejection of a US financial bailout package. Full Story

Dexia bank gets $9.2 billion bailoutPosted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:36amDexia became the second Belgian bank this week to get a government and shareholder bailout Tuesday when Belgium, France and Luxembourg said they would inject almost 6.4 billion euros ($9.2 billion) to keep it afloat. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.

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