News and information from the world of Interserve

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

China: 'Chinese border guards fired on a group of Tibetans, including children, fleeing across the Himalayas into Nepal earlier this month, but nobody was hurt, an organization working for the Tibetan cause said.' (Reuters).

Turkey: 'Turkey will push U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week to follow through on promises to help eradicate Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq but experts say the top U.S. diplomat's hands are tied.' (Reuters).

Iraq: 'A catastrophic failure of the largest dam in Iraq would send a wave 65ft high hurtling down the valley of the river Tigris, killing up to 500,000 people, US engineers warned yesterday.' (Independent).

Burma: 'The Burmese army has been accused of kidnapping thousands of children as young as 10 years old to meet a recruitment shortfall.' (Telegraph).

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Saudi Arabia: 'King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is to receive a ceremonial welcome from the Queen later, including a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. The Liberal Democrats and a number of charities say it should not take place because of Saudis' human rights record.' (BBC).

Azerbaijan: 'Azerbaijan detained a group of militant Islamists who were preparing an armed attack near the US embassy in Baku, the former Soviet state's security ministry said yesterday.' (Guardian).

Turkey: 'Helicopter gunships bombed Kurdish rebel positions in southeast Turkey on Monday and the government flexed its military muscle with big national day parades and flypasts in major cities.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'A suicide attack killed at least seven people, including the bomber, less than a kilometer from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, police said.' (Reuters).

India: 'Police have rescued 14 children from a New Delhi sweatshop at the centre of a scandal involving US clothing giant Gap.' (Telegraph).

Monday, October 29, 2007

Saudi Arabia / Britain: 'Britain's most sensitive and controversial relationship in the Middle East faces protests and boycotts during a state visit by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, just weeks after a lucrative new defence contract made clear that it was business as usual between the two countries.' (Guardian).

Turkey / Iraq: 'Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq are warning local people to prepare to run for the hills if Turkey attacks.' (Telegraph).

UAE: 'Thousands of foreign construction workers, mostly of south Asian origin, went on strike over harsh working conditions in this booming Gulf city, a day after the government threatened to deport those who had rioted a day earlier over low and delayed salaries.' (CNN).

Israel / Gaza: 'Israel restricted the flow of fuel to Hamas-controlled Gaza on Sunday, a move it vowed to take in response to "the incessant firing of rockets into Israel," an adviser to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said.' (CNN).

Friday, October 26, 2007

Burma: 'Burmese troops have returned to the streets of Rangoon, a month on from one of the bloodiest days of a military crackdown on anti-government protests.' (BBC).

Pakistan: 'Troops battled militants near the stronghold of a Taliban-style movement in northwest Pakistan on Friday, a day after a suicide bomber killed 21 people in the area, 17 of them soldiers, security officials said.' (Reuters).

Turkey: 'PKK tactics may drive Turkey into a reluctant invasion' (Independent).

Israel / Gaza: 'Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved a measure Thursday to begin cutting off electricity to Gaza, which Israel recently declared a "hostile territory," according to a spokeswoman for Barak.' (CNN).

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Uzbekistan: 'A prominent journalist and an editor of an Uzbek-language newspaper has been shot dead in the Kyrgyz city of Osh near the border with Uzbekistan.' (BBC).

Indonesia: 'Thirty people are missing after an Indonesian sailboat sprang a leak and sank on Thursday off the island of Sulawesi, a rescue official said.' (Reuters).

India: 'Poor but defiant, thousands march on Delhi in fight for land rights' (Guardian).

Syria: 'US security experts have published what they believe to be photographs of a secret nuclear facility in Syria, which was bombed by Israeli jets last month.' (Independent).

Turkey: 'Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships have been bombing Kurdish separatist positions in Turkey along the Iraqi-Turkish frontier amid continuing diplomatic efforts to avert a major cross-border incursion by Turkish military forces. (CNN).

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Kyrgyzstan: 'Kyrgyzstan's government resigned on Wednesday, in line with requirements set by a new constitution adopted at a referendum last weekend.' (Reuters).

Gaza: 'They have been there since the fourth century. But many of the territory's Christians now live in fear of their Muslim neighbours and want to leave' (Guardian).

Burma: 'The special United Nations envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, said in New Delhi last night that he may be allowed to make a return visit to the country earlier than he had expected, perhaps as early as next week. (Independent).

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Lebanon: 'Lebanon's parliament has again delayed choosing the country's next president to allow more time for its pro- and anti-Syrian factions to agree a consensus candidate.' (Guardian).

Pakistan: 'A senior government official on Monday rejected a call from Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto for U.S. and British experts to help investigate the suicide attack on her homecoming procession from overseas exile.' (CNN).

Israel: 'A Palestinian prisoner was in a serious condition in hospital last night after pitched battles between prison officers and detainees at the remote Ketziot prison left at least 30 people injured.' (Independent).

Turkey: 'Dozens of Turkish armoured vehicles, carrying troops and heavy weapons, have massed on the border with Iraq as the region's civilians braced themselves for an offensive against Kurdish rebels.' (Telegraph).

Monday, October 22, 2007

China: 'China's ruling Communist Party unveiled a new leadership line-up on Monday, including two men positioned to eventually succeed President Hu Jintao and government head Premier Wen Jiabao.' (Reuters).

Kyrgyzstan: 'Kyrgyzstan is to hold a snap election after initial results of a referendum suggested voters had approved plans to overhaul the country's constitution.' (BBC).

Israel / West Bank: 'Israel delivered an angry protest to Ramallah yesterday after the Palestinian Authority was said to have released three gunmen from Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement suspected of plotting to assassinate Ehud Olmert while the Israeli Prime Minister was driving to the first summit to take place in the West Bank since the intifada broke out seven years ago.' (Independent).

Pakistan: 'Benazir Bhutto has called on the Pakistan government to seek help from abroad in its investigation of last week's bomb attack on her convoy that killed more than 130 people and turned her triumphant homecoming from eight years of exile into a night of bloody chaos.' (Independent).

Turkey: 'The United States is urging Turkey to show restraint after Kurdish rebels attacked its forces on Sunday, killing at least 17 Turkish soldiers and wounding 16 others near Turkey's border with Iraq and Iran, according to Turkey's defense minister.' (CNN).

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Gaza/West Bank: 'Hamas said on Wednesday it would hold reconciliation talks with the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and hinted it might be ready to cede control of the Gaza Strip, which it seized in June.' (Reuters).

Switzerland: 'A minaret planned for a Swiss village has prompted the latest of several disputes over new places of worship' (Guardian).

Turkey/US: 'Turkey has denounced a vote by a US congressional committee recognising as genocide the 1915-17 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.' (BBC).

Vatican: 'More than 130 Muslim scholars have written to Pope Benedict and other Christian leaders urging greater understanding between the two faiths.' (BBC).

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Lebanon: 'The first 100 Palestinian families returned on Wednesday to Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, which was largely destroyed in a 15-week battle between Lebanese troops and Islamist militants, witnesses said.' (Reuters).

Burma: 'Suu Kyi rejects Burma junta's preconditions on peace talks' (Independent).

Turkey: 'Turkey's ruling party decided Tuesday to seek parliamentary approval for an offensive against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, a move that could open a new front in the Iraq war and disrupt one of that nation's few relatively peaceful areas.' (CNN).

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Pakistan: 'At least 65 pro-Taliban militants and 25 Pakistani soldiers were killed in new clashes in Pakistan's North Waziristan on Monday, the military said.' (Reuters).

Turkey: 'Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came under intense pressure last night to order an invasion of northern Iraq following the deadliest attacks for over a decade on the Turkish military and civilians by separatist Kurdish guerrillas.' (Guardian).

Israel: 'Two senior Israeli politicians, including the prime minister's closest ally, talked openly yesterday about dividing Jerusalem, signaling a possible shift in the Israeli consensus at a time when Israeli and Palestinian teams are trying to reach agreement on principles guiding future peace talks.' (Independent).

Iran: To chants of "death to the dictator", hundreds of Iranian students have mounted a vociferous protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Afghanistan: 'Afghanistan executed 15 prisoners by gunfire, including a man convicted of killing three Western journalists and an Afghan photographer, the chief of prisons said Monday.' (CNN).

Monday, October 08, 2007

Saudi Arabia: 'Saudi Arabia has launched an official website to publish Islamic legal rulings, or fatwas. The move is apparently an attempt to ensure that fatwas issued by authorised scholars are given prominence.' (BBC).

Turkey: 'A Turkish soldier was killed and three more were wounded in a landmine explosion on Monday, putting further pressure on Turkey's government just one day after Kurdish rebels shot dead 13 Turkish troops.' (Reuters).

Pakistan: 'The depth of British and US involvement in the deal that helps General Pervez Musharraf retain office for another five years emerged yesterday when it was revealed the two countries have worked to secure a "safe return" to Pakistan for the woman he is poised to share power with.' (Independent).

China: 'A storm drenched China's southeast on Sunday after killing five people on Taiwan and prompting the evacuation of 1.4 million people on the mainland, officials said. In Vietnam, the death toll from a separate storm rose to 55. (CNN).

Friday, October 05, 2007

Nepal: 'Nepal's elections for an assembly to draw up a new constitution have been delayed after the ruling coalition failed on Friday to break a political deadlock with Maoist former rebels.' (Reuters).

Myanmar: 'Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party dismissed the Myanmar junta's offer of talks as unreal on Friday, while China said the ruthless suppression of pro-democracy protests did not require international action.' (Reuters).

Koreas: 'The leaders of North and South Korea shook hands and toasted their success after pledging to seek a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War, which could provide a powerful impetus to broader talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.' (Independent).

US / Iran / Syria: 'America should seize every opportunity to force regime change in Syria and Iran, a former senior adviser to the White House has urged.' (Telegraph).

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Indonesia: 'Hundreds of Indonesians have begun evacuating the slopes of a rumbling volcano in East Java following increased levels of toxic fumes and tremors, a local rescue official said on Thursday.' (Reuters).

Gaza: 'Palestinians divided over future under Hamas' (Independent).

Pakistan: 'Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has accused Islamabad of waging "a typical disinformation campaign" by saying it planned to lift longstanding corruption charges ahead of her planned return to Pakistan for upcoming elections.' (CNN).

North Korea: 'A U.S. team, including technical experts, will head to North Korea next week after the communist country agreed to begin disabling its nuclear weapons facilities, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said Wednesday.' (CNN).

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Turkey: 'Women's groups in Turkey have condemned a new draft constitution, saying it sets the country back years in terms of gender equality.' (BBC).

Israel / Syria: 'Israel has confirmed that it carried out a strike on a Syrian military installation last month.' (BBC).

Pakistan: 'Pakistani security forces killed 10 pro-Taliban militants on Wednesday after they attacked a military checkpost in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, an army spokesman said.' (Reuters).

Burma: 'Burmese junta opens door to talks with Suu Kyi' (Independent).

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Iraq: 'Reconstruction work will begin next month on a revered shrine in the Iraqi city of Samarra blown up in the current conflict, UN cultural body Unesco says.' (BBC).

Koreas: 'The leaders of North and South Korea shook hands in Pyongyang today at the start of the second summit in history between the two countries, which are still technically at war.' (Guardian).

Burma: 'Thousands of monks, who played a leading role in pro-democracy demonstrations last week, have been disrobed and shackled by Burma's military junta and will be moved to prisons hundreds of miles from Rangoon, it was reported last night.' (Telegraph).

Yemen: 'NATO ships rescued two survivors and spotted three bodies off the coast of a small Red Sea island Monday morning, following a spectacular volcanic eruption the night before, a NATO commander said.' (CNN).

Monday, October 01, 2007

India / Pakistan: 'India and Pakistan have boosted trade ties with a truck carrying goods across the border for the first time since partition 60 years ago.' (BBC).

Pakistan: 'Fifteen people have reportedly been killed in a suspected suicide bombing on a military convoy in north-western Pakistan, the army has said.' (BBC).

Turkey: 'Turkish troops yesterday killed two Kurdish guerrillas, a day after a group of rebels launched a deadly ambush on a minibus in southeastern Turkey, local media said.' (Telegraph).

Iran: 'The Iranian parliament on Saturday voted to designate the United States' Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Army as terrorist organizations, IRNA, the country's state-run news agency, reported.' (CNN).

Afghanistan: 'President Hamid Karzai's office said Sunday that there is "serious debate" among some Taliban fighters about laying down arms, while a spokesman for the militants said they will "never" negotiate with Afghan authorities until foreign troops leave.' (CNN).