West Papua Delegation Donates Gold For Holy Temple
On Wednesday, the last day of the Sukkot festival, a 34-person delegation from West Papua presented a large amount of gold to be used in the building of the Holy Temple. The delegation, including representatives of the nation’s government, explained that they study the Bible regularly and recently came upon a verse in Zecharia (6:16) reading “And the distant ones will come and build the Temple of G-d.” They discussed the passage among themselves and decided that their faith obligates them to fulfill the verse…
From Arutz Sheva Israel National News (dated October 7, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (ME/AP/RE)
Putin praises strength of 'Warsaw Pact 2'
President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao…attend an unprecedented show of joint military force [Aug. 20] amid fears that the Russian leader is trying to turn an increasingly powerful central Asian alliance into a second Warsaw Pact…Founded in 2001, the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization], which includes the four central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as well as China and Russia, is rapidly gaining a reputation as an anti-Western organization…Yet the SCO has wider ambitions. Pakistan, India and Mongolia all want to join - as does Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, attended the summit as guest of honour…
From The Telegraph (London) (dated August 20, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (EU/AP/ME/WT)
Hundreds dead, missing after NKorea rain
Heavy rains spawned flooding that left "hundreds" dead or missing in North Korea and destroyed more than 30,000 homes, the country's state media reported…
Associated Press story at Boston.com (dated August 13, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (AP/ND)
Death toll rises in South Asia floods
Vital to farmers, the annual rains are a blessing and a curse for the subcontinent -- a fact highlighted by official tallies: At least 186 people have been killed and 19 million driven from their homes in recent days…
Associated Press story at Boston.com (dated August 3, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (AP/ND)
China summer storm deaths approach 700
Deaths from floods, lightning and landslides across China this summer have reached nearly 700, state media said on Monday, with experts warning that global warming is likely to fuel more violent weather…
From Reuters (dated July 30, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (AP/ND)
Putin’s hostile course
At virtually every turn, Mr. Putin and the Russian leadership appear to be doing their best in ways large and small to marginalize and embarrass the United States and undercut U.S. foreign policy interests…
From The Washington Times (dated October 18, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (EU/AP/ME/WT)
Analyst: China building world’s largest navy as U.S. sea power is in 'absolute decline'
Did you know that China could become the world’s leading naval power by 2020? That’s the verdict of military analyst Tony Corn. This may help explain why the U.S. Navy thinks a piece of paper called the U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty provides some sort of protection for American forces on the high seas. It offers no such protection, of course, but it creates the impression that Navy leaders are doing something about our increasing weakness and vulnerability. However, like so many other U.N. treaties, including the 19 anti-terrorism treaties in effect on 9/11, this one offers a false sense of security. It will mask a dramatic decline in our military power…
From Accuracy in Media editor Cliff Kincaid (dated September 19, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (AP/WT)
Russia’s Undeniable War Preparations
In the 1990s Russia forged an alliance with China that involved a growing series of joint military exercises. Why would the Russians do this? Why would they seek to develop a joint military capability that would link Russian missile power with Chinese manpower? For over a decade the Russians have been providing the Chinese with technology and weapons. This is not merely a commercial transaction, as some would insist. These transactions are carefully considered strategic steps. Since the mid-1990s, Russia and China have initiated joint-armaments programs that further solidified their military partnership. It is obsolete thinking to suppose Russia and China are enemies. It must be understood, as a practical matter, that Russia and China are underdog powers locked in a struggle for primacy with the United States. The only sensible strategy, if Russia and China expect to emerge on top, is to unite against the Americans. And that is what the two countries have been doing for the past decade…
From J.R. Nyquist at Financial Sense Online (dated August 24, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (EU/AP)
Christianity finds a fulcrum in Asia
Ten thousand Chinese become Christians each day, according to a stunning report by the National Catholic Reporter's veteran correspondent John Allen, and 200 million Chinese may comprise the world's largest concentration of Christians by mid-century, and the largest missionary force in history…
From Asia Times columnist Spengler (dated August 7, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends October 18, 2007 (AP/RE)
More than 150 killed in China floods
Another 74 people have died in floods across China bringing the death toll for the week to at least 156 in one of the deadliest rainy seasons in years…
Agence-France Presse story at Breitbart.com (dated July 22, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends July 25, 2007 (AP/ND)
Japan's more provocative military makes neighbors nervous
The incremental changes - especially since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States - amount to the most significant transformation in the Japanese military since World War II, one that has brought it ever closer operationally to America's military while rattling nerves throughout northeast Asia…
From the International Herald Tribune (dated July 22, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends July 25, 2007 (AP/WT)
China, Russia seek 'multi-polar world'
Russia and China on Friday stressed their common desire for a ''multi-polar world'' - one not dominated by the United States - and vowed to keep improving economic ties that President Vladimir Putin said are already improving fast…
Associated Press story at NDTV (India) (dated July 13, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends July 25, 2007 (AP/EU)
UN offers Pakistan aid as 600 die in South Asia rains
More than 600 have been killed across South Asia as the annual summer monsoon brings downpours and extreme weather, with at least 117 deaths in southwestern Pakistan during the past week…
Agence France-Presse story at Yahoo News (dated July 2, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends July 25, 2007 (AP/ND)
China building military force to challenge US
An increasingly wealthy China is now building a military force tailored specifically to challenge any attempt by the United States to intervene in a conflict over Taiwan, Western and Chinese military analysts have said…
From The Times of India (dated June 11, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends July 25, 2007 (AP/WT)
Ceding the Fall of Pakistan
Beyond Musharraf lie only question marks and uncertainties at best, which is a dire Western predicament for a nuclear power cohabitating with popular and powerful al-Qaeda and Taliban movements on its soil. And increasingly, the question regarding Musharraf's rule as the leader of Pakistan is most often discussed in terms of how long he can survive, not whether or not he can retain reliable control of both Pakistan's government and its military. The Center for Security Policy's Salim Mansur raised the uncomfortable issue of a potential nuclear alliance between Iran and Pakistan. Few in the public governmental forum care to delve into the possible scenario of a fallen Pakistan suddenly a nuclear and military ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran. But such a scenario is very real, and one which few care to delve into for long. It’s not a pleasant exercise…
From Steve Schippert at FrontPage Magazine (dated July 5, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends July 25, 2007 (AP/WT)
The persecution of Lina Joy, continued
Malaysia supreme court upholds law forbidding citizens from converting out of Islam…
From columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin (dated May 30, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends June 8, 2007 (AP/RE)
Hundreds view 'sweating' statue
Hundreds of Hindus in Nepal are flocking to see a statue of a deity which is said to be "sweating". Devotees believe the apparent perspiration is a sign of impending turmoil or natural disaster…
From BBC News (dated May 21, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends June 8, 2007 (AP/RE)
Japan approves constitution steps
Japan's parliament has passed a bill that sets out steps for holding a referendum on revising the country's pacifist constitution…
From BBC News (dated May 14, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends June 8, 2007 (AP/WT)
Pakistan: New apostasy bill to impose death on anyone who leaves Islam
Pakistan’s government sends draft bill tabled by six-party Islamic alliance to standing committee for review…The Apostasy Act 2006 which the government sent to the committee would impose the death penalty on Muslim men and life in prison on Muslim women in case they leave Islam. It would also force them to forfeit their property and lose legal custody of children…
From AsiaNews (dated May 9, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends June 8, 2007 (AP/RE)
The Age of the Dragon: China’s Conquest of Africa
China is conquering Africa as it becomes the preferred trading partner of the continent's dictators. Beijing is buying up Africa's abundant natural resources and providing it with needed cash and cheaply produced consumer goods in return…
From Der Spiegel (Germany) (dated May 30, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends June 8, 2007 (AP/AF)
Indonesia Confirms 75th Fatality From Bird Flu
Indonesian health officials say a woman has died from bird flu, raising the country's death toll from the virus to 75…The WHO says bird flu has killed 172 people worldwide since it reemerged in Asia in 2003…
From VOA News (dated May 7, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (AP/ND)
Congress: India Builds Military Ties With Iran
Congress has determined that India was developing military relations with Iran despite a nuclear agreement with the United States. Members of the House and Senate said India was establishing defense and military cooperation with Iran in wake of a U.S. nuclear agreement with New Dehli. They have raised the prospect that Iran could benefit from U.S. missile technology sold to India…
From Middle East Newsline (dated May 3, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (AP/ME/WT)
Putin not able to track all nukes
Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush he could not account for all of Moscow's nuclear weapons at the same time al Qaeda was seeking to purchase three Russian nuclear devices on the black market, former CIA Director George J. Tenet said…
From The Washington Times (dated May 2, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (EU/AP/ME/WT)
Japan Considers Amending Pacifist Constitution
After years of talking about it, Japan's governing party has moved ahead this month with plans to revise the country's constitution. The changes would expand the role of Japan's military - a significant break from its post-World War II pacifist era. And as Catherine Makino reports from Tokyo, that is giving rise to fear that Japan could return to its militarist past…
From VOA News (dated April 30, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (AP/WT)
Millions face famine as crop disease rages
Scientists say wheat blight that ravaged Africa is set on a course for Asia…
From The Guardian’s Observer (Manchester, England) (dated April 22, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (AF/AP/ND)
Wen Jiabao in Japan, a decisive step
Starting today [April 11th] through to April 13th the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is in Japan on a state visit which observers describe as a milestone in the journey towards reconciliation between East Asia’s two super powers…
From AsiaNews.it (dated April 11, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (AP)
Indonesia's Secular State under Siege
Indonesia is a nominally secular democracy. But the influence of conservative Islam is gaining in the world's biggest Muslim country. A further step away from tolerance may be just around the corner…
From Der Spiegel (Germany) (dated April 6, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (AP/RE/WT)
Failure to See Jihad for What It Is
Someday, when the war in Iraq has become a historical episode, we will tally up the lessons learned--if, that is, we ever learn any. Here are two worth mastering because failing to do so probably means we will no longer exist. Lesson 1. Nation-building in a war zone is nuts. Nation-building in an Islamic war zone is suicide…I hate to be the one to break it to Gen. Petraeus, not to mention President Bush, but the fact is, in an Islamic war zone, an "infidel" army just isn't going to win Islamic allegiance. There are many religious and cultural reasons I could offer in explanation, but instead I'll turn to the underreported story of the week: two findings contained within an extensive new poll of Muslim opinion conducted in four major Islamic countries, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan. Accordingto WorldPublicOpinion.org, more than half of those polled in Indonesia, and three-quarters of those polled in Egypt, Morocco and Pakistan believe in the strict application of Shariah, or Islamic law. Nearly two-thirds of all respondents expressed their desire to see the Islamic world united in a caliphate. Which brings me to: Lesson 2. With numbers like these, portraying jihadist war goals (Shariah, caliphate) as belonging to a "tiny band of extremists" is nuts. Persisting in this PC fantasy as part of the narrative and strategy of the "war on terror" is suicidal. But such PC fantasy fuels hearts-and-minds efforts that go beyond "allegiance"-winning outposts in Iraq as the United States now weirdly cheers on world Islamization to curry Islamic favor…
By columnist Diana West in The Washington Times (dated April 27, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends May 9, 2007 (ME/AP/RE/WT)
Russia Eyes Stronger Partnership With China
Russia has renewed its pledge to build its strategic partnership with China, in a thinly veiled attempt to oppose what Moscow views as American unilateralism…
From Cybercast News Service (dated March 27, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends April 2, 2007 (EU/AP)
New Delhi: Jesus Portrait 'Bleeds' in Andaman
Christians are gathering in huge swarms at the Bishop's House of Churches in Andaman, where a portrait of Christ is reported to have bled from its heart…Many people, including some journalists, also witnessed the incident. ''Call it a miracle or a mystery, it appeared to be true. There was something unusual as there was no chance that a laminated cardboard portrait could bleed,'' said Denis Giles, Editor of a local Andaman daily and Andaman Chronicle, who first reported the incident. Finally, priests of Anglican Church of Northern India took the portrait to CNI church and the portrait was kept there for public viewing. ''The portrait bled even after it was taken to the Bishop's house,'' Denis said…
From DaijiWorld (dated March 21, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends April 2, 2007 (AP/RE)
Syria ready with bio-terror if U.S. hits Iran: Damascus reportedly hiding WMD among commercial pharmaceuticals
An American biodefense analyst living in Europe says if the U.S. invades Iran to halt its nuclear ambitions, Syria is ready to respond with weapons of mass destruction – specifically biological weapons…She anticipates a variation of smallpox is the biological agent Syria would utilize…[She] also told WND the North Koreans were working closely with the Syrians on their biological weapons program…
From author Jerome Corsi at WorldNetDaily (dated March 5, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends April 2, 2007 (ME/AP/WT)
Why Pakistan, not Iran, is the most pressing nuclear threat
The most pressing nuclear threat is widely perceived to be from Iran while the more imminent terrorist threat is believed to be found in Pakistan. While both threats remain very real, few seem to understand that the most imminent nuclear threat is posed by Pakistan--the only current nuclear power considerably within reach of becoming an Islamist-run state aligned with al Qaeda, the Taliban, or other Islamists…
From Center for Threat Awareness co-founder Steve Schippert in The Weekly Standard (dated March 15, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends April 2, 2007 (AP/RE/WT)
Russian democracy is dying
We do know that over the past half dozen years, Vladimir Putin's government has extinguished all of Russia's independent broadcast media and severely curbed most print media. We do know that Putin has ended elections for local government and centralized all power in the Kremlin. We do know that he has used administrative powers to seize some of Russia's largest corporations and transfer ownership to his supporters -- and to confiscate gas fields leased to foreign investors. And now we have a clearer idea of how Putin has been able to get away with these dangerous moves toward dictatorship: The Russian people support him. Last week, the EU-Russia Centre released the results of a major new survey of Russian public opinion. Only 16% of those surveyed identified the "Western model" of democracy as the ideal. More than twice as many, 35%, said they "prefer the Soviet system before the 1990s." Only 10% of Russians regarded their country as belonging to the West. 71% said that Russia was not part of Europe. Almost half of Russians, 45%, regard Europe as a threat...We have no shortage of things to worry about in our troubled world: Islamic extremism, Chinese aggression, European weakness, American isolation. Now add one more. A potentially great power, endowed with vast energy wealth and inheriting a vast nuclear arsenal, is deliberately and with the approval of the majority of its people turning its back on democracy and freedom. Instead of joining the West, Russia is finding its way to dangerous alliances with Iran, Syria, China, and who knows what other sinister forces. This grouping of anti-democratic states is extending its reach around the world -- even perhaps to the suburbs of Washington D.C....
From columnist David Frum in the National Post (Canada) (dated March 10, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends April 2, 2007 (EU/AP)
Giants meet to counter US power
India, China and Russia account for 40 per cent of the world’s population, a fifth of its economy and more than half of its nuclear warheads. Now they appear to be forming a partnership to challenge the US-dominated world order that has prevailed since the end of the Cold War. Foreign ministers from the three emerging giants met in Delhi yesterday to discuss ways to build a more democratic “multipolar world”…
From The Times (London) (dated February 15, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends March 1, 2007 (EU/AP)
Indonesian rescuers battle to reach flood victims
Indonesian rescuers, police and troops in inflatable boats on Monday helped evacuate Jakarta residents stranded in severe floods that have killed 29, as the number left homeless approached 350,000…
Agence-France Presse story at TerraDaily (dated February 5, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends February 5, 2007 (AP/ND)
How the 'axis' seeks the killer missile
North Korea and Iran are cooperating in developing long-range missiles, the deputy director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said yesterday…
From The Washington Times (dated January 30, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends February 5, 2007 (ME/AP/WT)
Iran prepared to provide security in Caucasus, C. Asia with Russia
Iran's foreign minister said Sunday the Islamic Republic is prepared together with Russia to provide security in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Secretary of Russia's Security Council Igor Ivanov is holding talks in Iran with the country's top officials. Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran and Russia could play an effective role in providing security in the region, especially in the Caucasus and Central Asia…
From Russian News and Information Agency Novosti (dated January 28, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends February 5, 2007 (ME/EU/AP/WT)
Burma 'orders Christians to be wiped out'
The military regime in Burma is intent on wiping out Christianity in the country, according to claims in a secret document believed to have been leaked from a government ministry…The text, which opens with the line "There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practised", calls for anyone caught evangelising to be imprisoned. It advises: "The Christian religion is very gentle – identify and utilise its weakness." Its discovery follows widespread reports of religious persecution, with churches burnt to the ground, Christians forced to convert to the state religion, Buddhism, and their children barred from school…
From The Telegraph (London) (dated January 21, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends February 5, 2007 (AP/RE/WT)
A Star Wars Sequel? China throws down gauntlet with missile test
On Jan. 11…the Chinese military launched a ballistic missile into space and blasted a decrepit [Chinese] weather satellite the size of a refrigerator about 540 miles up. It was a technologically astonishing act – strategic analyst Richard Fisher told The Wall Street Journal that the missile shot shows that China's anti-satellite capabilities have now leapfrogged over our own – and a diplomatically audacious one. Only the U.S. and Russia had ever done anything like this, and not since 1985. This was clearly a shot across America's bow from a rising and aggressive world power. Despite its official stance against the militarization of space, Chinese military planners have for some time viewed space as a potential weak link in America's defensive capabilities. This is partly because of heavy U.S. dependency on satellites to gain and transmit information. An influential 1999 book by Chinese military writers revealed a key to that nation's strategic thinking when it observed, "To cripple or destroy the enemy's information system would drastically degrade the enemy's combat capabilities by making it blind, deaf or paralyzed." Though U.S.-China relations are good, this anti-satellite test belies Beijing's stated policy of pursuing peaceful relations…
From The Dallas Morning News (dated January 29, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends February 5, 2007 (AP/ST/WT)
Al-Qaeda 'rebuilding' in Pakistan
The head of US spying operations says the leaders of al-Qaeda have found a secure hideout in Pakistan from where they are rebuilding their strength. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said al-Qaeda was strengthening its ties across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Pakistan rejected the comments, which are the most specific on the issue yet…
From BBC News (dated January 12, 2007)
Posted to Current World News & Trends January 18, 2007 (AP/ME/WT)
Malaysia floods force thousands to flee
Malaysia's worst floods in 37 years have displaced nearly 100,000 people amid food shortages, looting and criticism on Saturday of the government's handling of the crisis…
Reuters story at Yahoo News (dated December 23, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends January 10, 2007 (AP/ND)
Motherless Russia
Previous would-be conquerors of Russia such as Napoleon and Hitler failed due to her harsh winters and inexhaustible supply of men. Contemporary conquerors, and there are two eyeing Russia hungrily, apparently will have only the winters with which to contend. Some think that France will be the first European country in modern times to be taken over by Muslims due to her very large, violent immigrant population and effeminate native populace. Others point to the Netherlands, from which native Dutch people are beginning to flee in the face of hostile Islamism among the immigrants in that densely-populated nation. But Russia--a huge nation with vast natural resources, thousands of nuclear warheads, and until recently a global superpower—-may be the first to go under. This seems possible even though Russia suffers little from the suicidal tolerance and multiculturalism that afflicts Western Europeans. All the would-be conquerors, tyrannical tsars, and sinister Communists could not destroy Russia. Yet there is a force more powerful than all these, a force which can overcome comparatively minor factors such as wealth, size, and military power, and that is demographics. And it is demographics that will deliver Russia into the hands of chaos, Islam, China, or most likely a combination of all three…
From Population Research Institute vice president Joseph D’Agostino at Right Bias (dated December 22, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends January 10, 2007 (EU/AP/ME)
Bodies Wash Up On Philippine Shores A Week After Killer Typhoon
Supertyphoon Durian, which hit the country last week, triggered deadly volcanic mudflows that cascaded down Mayon volcano, inundating dozens of villages near this eastern provincial capital. The civil defense office on Thursday said it had confirmed 1,316 dead or missing from the storm, even as rescue teams found more bodies in the mud…
Agence France-Presse story at TerraDaily (dated December 7, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends December 12, 2006 (AP/ND)
Burma’s War on Children
Although we often read about Aung Sang Suu Kyi's fight for democracy in Rangoon, a far bloodier struggle is being carried out in the jungles east of the Dawna mountain range. The brutal Burmese junta, known as the State and Peace Development Council (SPDC), has launched its biggest military offensive in a decade. The human casualties of the conflict are pushed throughout the border region. Many victims of past military actions have ended up in sprawling refugee camps near Mae sot, a small, rural community just over the Thai border. The SPDC long has been warring against the Karen, Karenni, and other ethnic groups. From a distance the individual victims blur into an indistinguishable mass. Talking to children caught in the violence helps brings the tragedy into clearer focus…
From Policy for Citizen Outreach Vice President Doug Bandow in The American Spectator (dated December 11, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends December 12, 2006 (AP/WT)
Taking charge: Germany and Japan strive to regain their military might
More than 60 years after their defeat in the second world war, Japan and Germany appear finally to be shedding an abiding legacy of the conflict. Public signals from leaders in Tokyo and Berlin in the past few weeks suggest both are moving towards developing military forces that reflect their global economic clout…
Financial Times story at World Security Network (dated November 17, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends December 12, 2006 (EU/AP/WT)
Taiwan: China targeting island with 900 missiles on 5 bases
China continues its planning to invade Taiwan and now has more than 900 missile targeted on the island, Taiwanese officials said last week…
From World Tribune (dated November 16, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends November 17, 2006 (AP/WT)
Chinese Submarine Stalks US Carrier
A Chinese submarine approached a US aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected, The Washington Times reported Monday. The newspaper said the encounter highlighted China's continuing efforts to prepare for a possible future conflict with the United States despite the administration's efforts to try to boost relations with the Chinese military…
Agence France-Presse story at SpaceWar (dated November 13, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends November 17, 2006 (AP/WT)
North Korea May Have Up To 50 Kg Of Plutonium
North Korea is believed to have secured up to 50 kilograms of plutonium, enough to make six or seven nuclear weapons, according to a defence ministry report leaked to the media…After its first nuclear test on October 9, the communist state is now believed to be researching how to miniaturise warheads to fit them on missiles, according to the report…
Agence France-Presse story at SpaceWar (dated October 26, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends November 8, 2006 (AP/WT)
PM: North Korea nuclear test poses danger to world stability
Israel is concerned that North Korea will transfer materials and technology for the development of nuclear weapons to Iran, a senior Israeli official said Monday following a nuclear test carried out by North Korea…
From Haaretz (Tel Aviv) (dated October 10, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends November 8, 2006 (AP/ME/WT)
Beijing secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites
China has secretly fired powerful laser weapons designed to disable American spy satellites by "blinding" their sensitive surveillance devices…The hitherto unreported attacks have been kept secret by the Bush administration for fear that it would damage attempts to co-opt China in diplomatic offensives against North Korea and Iran…
From The Telegraph (London) (dated September 26, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends November 8, 2006 (AP/ST/WT)
Thailand's PM Ousted in Military Coup
In the dead of night and without firing a shot, Thailand's military overthrew popularly elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday amid mounting criticism that he had undermined democracy. The sudden, well-orchestrated coup - the first in 15 years and a throwback to an unsettled era in Thailand - was likely to spark both enthusiasm and criticism at home and abroad. The military said it would soon return power to a democratic government but did not say when…
Associated Press story at My Way News (dated September 19, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends September 22, 2006 (AP)
China ups Lebanon force to 1,000
China will increase its peacekeeping presence in Lebanon to 1,000 troops, Premier Wen Jiabao has confirmed. The move would make China one of the largest contributors to a strengthened UN force designed to keep the peace. It would also signal that China, now the world's fourth largest economy, was starting to lift its diplomacy in areas it had previously not seen as vital…
From BBC News (dated September 18, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends September 22, 2006 (AP/ME/WT)
Anti-U.S. allies back Iran nukes
Developing countries yesterday wrapped up a multinational summit with North Korea charging that U.S. threats drove it to acquire deterrent atomic weapons and Iran winning solid support for its nuclear ambitions. Iran, Venezuela and Cuba joined North Korea in leading efforts to forge an anti-U.S. alliance. Summit leaders, in a statement on Iran, "reaffirmed the basic and inalienable right of all states to develop research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes"…
From The Washington Times (dated September 17, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends September 22, 2006 (US/AP/ME/LA/WT)
Thailand's king reverts to the bad old days
As for the monarchy, it is sad that in the twilight of an exceptionally long reign, King Bhumibol has seen fit to approve the unconstitutional removal of the prime minister. That is a reversion to a bad old pattern in Thai history, and one that shamefully makes the country, along with Burma, an odd-man-out among the Association of South-East Asian Nations. The present king's standing is unassailable. But Tuesday's coup could rebound on the Chakri dynasty once he is gone…
From The Telegraph (London) (dated September 21, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends September 22, 2006 (AP)
Tears in the Darfur dust: Sudan backed by Arabs, Beijing
Where does Sudan one of Africa’s poorest countries, get the diplomatic clout to block humanitarian aid and world outrage in the midst of a widely acknowledged crisis? The easy answer is support in the Arab world which while uncomfortable with many of the tactics of the Khartoum rulers, often view the issue as Western- inspired interference in an brother Islamic country. Another compelling reason remains black gold, Oil! And here the People’s Republic of China just coincidently happens to be one of Sudan’s major partners in petroleum exploration and imports 7 percent of its oil from Sudan. In other words, Khartoum can rest assured of Beijing’s support and veto in the UN Security Council. This provides the Khartoum rulers with a political platinum plan for stonewalling…
From World Tribune UN correspondent John Metzler (dated September 18, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends September 22, 2006 (ME/AP/WT)
Fanatical Islam's Marriage to Red China
As the sane world watches Iranian leadership develop nukes, world-altering events are in the making. Fanatical Islam has temporarily entered into a marriage of convenience with People’s Republic of China Communist dictators. This is bad…
From author Ed Timperlake at Human Events Online (dated September 1, 2006)
Posted to Current World News & Trends September 6, 2006 (ME/AP/RE/WT)
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