Myanmar pulls warships from disputed waters: BangladeshPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 8:44am
Myanmar withdrew two warships from the Bay of Bengal Thursday after a four-day standoff with neighbouring Bangladesh over mineral-rich disputed waters, a Bangladeshi naval official said. The tension between the two countries began after Myanmar sent warships to support a Korean company drilling some 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Bangladesh's Saint Martin Island. Bangladesh immediately deployed four warships to the area and warned it would take "all possible measures" to protect its sovereignty. Full Story
Rockets hit airport, power line bombed in NW PakistanPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 8:45am
Suspected Taliban militants fired rockets at the airport and blew up the main electricity transmission line in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, officials said Thursday. A rocket hit the runway of Peshawar airport and two others exploded in the surrounding area at about 1:00 am (2000 GMT Wednesday) damaging the runway slightly, police official Dost Mohammad told AFP. This is the third time this week that rockets fired by suspected Taliban militants have hit the airport, which also houses the main airforce base. Mohammad said nobody had claimed responsibility for the attack, but the police suspected the involvement of Taliban militants and were investigating the incidents. Full Story
South Korea: No renegotiation of FTA with USPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 8:47am
South Korea said Thursday that a free trade agreement with the U.S. stands as is, resolving to resist possible calls to redo the deal by the new administration of President-elect Barack Obama. "I repeat that there will be no renegotiation, whether it's automobiles or any other issue," said Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon, according to a transcript of an interview with local radio network KBS. "We will respond by sticking to such a stance." Kim's comments came one day after his deputy Lee Hye-min told reporters that reconsidering the already signed agreement would be like opening a "Pandora's box" and "could damage the balance reached when the deal was concluded." Kim served as South Korea's chief negotiator for the U.S. agreement before becoming trade minister. Full Story
Anti-China protests bring Taiwan capital to standstillPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 8:48am
The streets of central Taipei came to a standstill on Thursday as tens of thousands of protesters chanted slogans and blew air horns to protest closer ties with China being promoted by their leaders. The demonstrators were determined to express their outrage at the presence of Chen Yunlin, Beijing's top negotiator on Taiwan affairs, who was heading a large delegation of Chinese officials and business people visiting the island. The protesters, mostly supporters of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), flooded into the plaza in front of the presidential office and were cordoned off from government buildings by riot police. Full Story
Pakistan sets death penalty for "cyber terrorism"Posted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 8:49am
Causing death through "cyber terrorism" will be punishable by death in Pakistan, according to a decree issued by President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes law will be applicable to anyone who commits a crime detrimental to national security through the use of a computer or any other electronic device, the government said in the ordinance. "Whoever commits the offence of cyber terrorism and causes death of any person shall be punishable with death or imprisonment for life," according to a copy of the ordinance, published by the state-run APP news agency. Full Story
Blast kills 11 in Russia's North Ossetia regionPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 9:04am
An explosion killed 11 people in the southern Russian region of North Ossetia on Thursday, law enforcement officials said. The blast occurred as passengers were getting out of a minibus near the main market in the center of the region's biggest city, Vladikavkaz, the Prosecutor-General's main investigative unit said in a statement. Full Story
Nearly 250 sickened by fumes at Spanish bomb sitePosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 9:04am
Repair crews tearing down walls and ceilings at a university building hit in a Basque separatist car bombing released fumes that sickened nearly 250 people, a school official said Thursday. Full Story
UK interest rates slashed to 3%Posted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 9:07am
The Bank of England has made a shock one-and-a-half percentage point cut in UK interest rates to 3%, the lowest level since 1955. The size of the cut - the most dramatic since 1981 - signals the Bank's concern the UK is heading for a long recession, the BBC's economics editor says. Full Story
France slashes 2009 growth forecastPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 9:10am
France on Thursday slashed its economic growth forecast for 2009 to 0.2-0.5 percent from 1.0 percent blaming fallout from the global financial crisis. Economy and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told the Senate that the forecast for 2010 had been cut to 2.0 percent from 2.5 percent. Full Story
French police detain Basque separatist suspectsPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 9:10am
French police arrested half a dozen suspected Basque militants on Wednesday as part of a probe into the financing of terrorism, police officials said. Between six and eight people were detained in the southwestern Basque country as part of a preliminary inquiry to determine whether bars in the region had received funds from the armed separatist group ETA. Full Story
U.S. suspends some military aid to ColombiaPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 10:04am
The U.S. government told CNN it suspended military aid within the last week to three Colombian army units implicated in the extrajudicial killings of at least 11 innocent civilians. The official did not state how much aid was involved, and there was no immediate reaction from the Colombian government. Full Story
Pakistan bomber kills 17 pro-government tribesmenPosted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 12:06pm
A suicide bomber attacked a gathering of anti-militant Pakistani tribesmen Thursday, killing 17 in a northwestern region where the military has clashed with insurgents for months, officials said. A purported spokesman for a little-known Taliban-linked group claimed responsibility. Full Story
Putin could return as Russia's President as early as 2009Posted on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 12:08pm
Report suggests that President Medvedev will make reforms to allow Putin to stay as president until 2021. Fresh doubt was cast today on the future of Dmitri Medvedev as Russia's President after a report suggested that he could step down next year to pave the way for the return of Vladimir Putin. Full Story
Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.
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