CONFLICT & TERROR 01/26

Cartel link to SAA drug bustPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:24amCrime intelligence operatives have arrested two people in connection with a multimillion-dollar international drug-smuggling syndicate that uses airlines to traffic narcotics across the world. It is hoped that Thursday's arrests of a security guard at OR Tambo International Airport and an SAA crew member, caught smuggling millions of rands worth of narcotics into Heathrow Airport earlier in the week, have cracked open the suspected west African drug cartel. Full Story

'Transport woes menace SA food security'Posted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:26amPoor road and rail transport networks in South Africa may threaten its food security, hampering the country's ability to import, process and distribute basic food stuffs, a newspaper said. South Africa's Business Day newspaper reported on Friday that crumbling rural road networks and problems with rail and logistics group Transnet's freight service were adversely affecting the food distribution chain. Full Story

Obama Administration Outlines Cyber Security StrategyPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:28amPresident Barack Obama's administration has sketched out a broad new strategy to protect the nation's most vital information networks from cyber attack and to boost investment and research on cyber security. Full Story

Pending EU deal to take Iran group off terror listPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:36amEuropean Union diplomats have reached tentative agreement to remove an Iranian opposition group from the 27-nation bloc's list of terrorist organizations, officials said Friday. Full Story

Serbia protests to NATO and UN over Kosovo forcePosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:38amSerbia protested to the United Nations and NATO on Friday against Kosovo's new security force, calling it a threat to the Balkan stability. Full Story

Italy pressed by UN over migrantsPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:41amThe UN's refugee agency says it is increasingly concerned for the welfare of nearly 2,000 migrants at a detention centre on a southern Italian island. The centre on Lampedusa has a capacity of 850, forcing hundreds of people to sleep outdoors in the cold, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. Full Story

Knifeman kills three in Belgian crechehorrorPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:44amA man armed with a knife and wearing face paint went on the rampage at a Belgian creche on Friday, killing two children and an adult, officials said. About 10 children were wounded, some seriously, in the attack in the small town of Dendermonde near Brussels, prosecutor Christian Du Four said as anxious parents gathered to identify the victims and injured.

Bolivia readies for divisive referendumPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:47amVoters in Bolivia are to go to the polls this weekend to decide a referendum on changing their constitution that will pit the indigenous majority backing President Evo Morales against the economic elite of European descent. Morales is seen as likely to win the divisive plebiscite on Sunday, based on his 67-percent approval rating in an August 2008 recall referendum and his near-total support from the country's six million Amerindians. Full Story

Brazil police arrest 800 in fugitive roundupPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:48amBrazil police say they have arrested more than 800 people in an operation against fugitives across Brazil's most populous state. Sao Paulo state's Civil Police say 813 people were taken into custody by authorities during Operation Recapture. Full Story

Venezuela and Argentina sign cooperation accordsPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:49amThe presidents of Venezuela and Argentina signed a dozen agreements Thursday to cooperate in energy, industry and agriculture  including a joint venture to develop oil fields in eastern Venezuela. Hugo Chavez and Cristina Fernandez agreed to have Petroleos de Venezuela and Argentina's state-operated Enarsa energy company survey and develop four oil fields. Full Story

Venezuela: No conflict over Brazil refineryPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:51amOil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday there's been no conflict with Brazil regarding a refinery project worth $4.1 billion  despite earlier comments from a Brazilian oil executive. Ramirez called the comments "the opinion of a low-level official," and said that Venezuela has not been notified of any changes to the project, a favorite of President of Hugo Chavez. Full Story

Mexican agents charged with favoring drug cartelPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:52amPresident Felipe Calderon's war on drug trafficking has led to his own doorstep, with the arrest of a dozen high-ranking officials with alleged ties to Mexico's most powerful drug gang, the Sinaloa Cartel. The U.S. praises Calderon for rooting out corruption at the top. But critics say the arrests reveal nothing more than a timeworn government tactic of protecting one cartel and cracking down on others. Full Story

UK in recession as economy slidesPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:54amThe UK is now in recession for the first time since 1991, official government figures have confirmed. Gross domestic product fell by 1.5% in the last three months of 2008 after a 0.6% drop in the previous quarter. Full Story

Another editor attacked in Sri LankaPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:56amAssailants beat a Sri Lanka newspaper editor and smashed his car as he drove to work Friday, colleagues said, in the latest of a string of violent attacks here against journalists. Full Story

NKorea's Kim meets Chinese envoyPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:57amNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-Il held talks with a Chinese envoy on Friday, state media in both countries reported, in his first known meeting with a foreign visitor since a reported stroke last August. Full Story

China says Web crackdown to be "long-lasting"Posted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 9:59amChina sought on Friday to portray its Internet crackdown as a campaign to protect youth from filth and nothing to do with stifling political dissent, with an official promising long-lasting action against "vulgarity." Full Story

Suspected US missile strikes kill 18 in PakistanPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 12:36pmTwo suspected U.S missile attacks killed 18 people Friday in Pakistan just east of the Afghan border, security officials said, the first such strikes since the inauguration of President Barack Obama. At least five victims were identified as foreign militants, an intelligence officer said. Full Story

Kabul suicide attack planner killed - NATOPosted on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 12:40pmAfghan and NATO-led forces killed a militant suspected of planning last week's suicide bomb attack that killed a U.S. soldier and four Afghans in the centre of Kabul, NATO-led forces said on Friday. The attack happened close to the German embassy and a U.S. military base and targeted a U.S. military vehicle guarding a fuel tank. Another U.S. soldier is still in critical condition. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.