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30 April 2012
India – The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported: Army divers and rescue workers pulled 103 bodies out of a river after a packed ferry capsized in heavy winds and rain in remote northeast India, an official said Tuesday. At least 100 people were still missing Tuesday after the ferry carrying about 350 people broke into two pieces late Monday, said Pritam Saikia, the district magistrate of Goalpara district. Deep sea divers and disaster rescue soldiers worked through the night to pull bodies from the Brahmaputra River in Assam state. Rescue operations were centered around the tiny village of Buraburi near the India-Bangladesh border. Heavy winds and rain hampered rescue operations, said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Assam’s top elected official.
Syria – The Washington Post reported: In fresh attacks on symbols of state power, twin suicide bombings occurred Monday near a government security compound in northern Syria and grenades hit the central bank in Damascus, killing nine people and wounding 100. The regime and the opposition traded blame, accusing each other of dooming a United Nations peace plan that has largely failed. The head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria acknowledged that his force cannot solve the country’s crisis alone and urged both sides to stop fighting. The attacks are the latest in a series of suicide bombings that started in December and have mostly targeted Syrian military and intelligence installations. The regime routinely blames the opposition, which denies having a role in such attacks or the capability to carry them out. After other similar bombings, U.S. officials suggested that al-Qaeda militants may be joining the fray, and an Islamist group inspired by al-Qaeda has asserted responsibility for previous attacks in Syria.
Burma – The BBC Asia Corps reported: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has met opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time, in the latest stage of his landmark visit to Burma. The meeting came a day after Ms Suu Kyi, who was elected to parliament a month ago, agreed to take the parliamentary oath despite its wording. Mr Ban is on a three-day visit to Burma to encourage more democratic reforms. On Monday he became the first visiting foreigner to address parliament. Ms Suu Kyi and the 42 other members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) elected in 1 April by-elections are expected to be sworn in on Wednesday.
Mali – The Telegraph UK reported: Troops involved in ousting Mali’s president in March exchanged gunfire with members of his guard on Monday, dimming hopes of a quick return to order in the west African nation, officials said. Clashes were reported at the national TV and radio station and at the garrison town near the capital Bamako that is the headquarters of the rebel soldiers led by Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo. The junta, under regional and international pressure, has allowed an interim government to take over but has kept making arrests, which witnesses said sparked the latest violence. Fighting was reported at the national broadcaster, known as ORTM, a key target of the coup, as well as in Kati, the garrison town near Bamako that serves as the headquarters of the rebel soldiers.
Egypt – Reuters reported: Egypt enters the last stage of its first democratic presidential race on Monday with its field narrowing to a two-horse race between the urbane former head of the Arab League and a charismatic Islamist medic jailed for years under Hosni Mubarak. A poll published in state-run al-Ahram daily on Monday showed veteran diplomat Amr Moussa in the lead, followed by Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, who has emerged in recent days as the leading Islamist candidate after securing the support of the ultra-conservative Salafist movement. Both men are well ahead of 11 other candidates and, for now, look the most likely to face each other in a second round. That would give Egyptians a stark choice about the future of the Arab world’s most populous state. Moussa, 75, served for a decade as Mubarak’s foreign minister before taking over the leadership of the Arab League, and must win over voters skeptical of the old elite.
Palestine – Reuters reported: A hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners against Israel’s jail policies has swollen in weeks from a protest by a handful to a national movement with around 1,400 participants. Several are at risk of dying, including Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahlah, both on their 64th day without food, their Palestinian lawyer said. Eight other detainees have been hospitalized. But most joined the fast two weeks ago, demanding an end to Israel’s imprisonment without trial for individuals the state deems a security threat, restrictive visiting rights and limited access to educational materials. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday his government would refer the issue of prisoners to the United Nations, internationalizing a campaign in which all the often divided and acrimonious Palestinian factions are taking part.
Israel – The Jerusalem Post reported: Sarkozy, Hollande are like two heads fighting each other but both want: Europeanism, ultra-liberalism, libertarianism. I met National Front leader Marine Le Pen at her Paris office on Thursday on the Boulevard Malsherbes, the headquarters of the Support Committee for her candidacy in the presidential election. We met on the same day she published an open letter to the two remaining candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, accusing both of “scorning” her 6.5 million voters. She has said she will announce voting advice for her supporters on Tuesday at the party’s annual “Joan of Arc Day” rally.
Nigeria – Reuters reported: Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram killed four people in an attack on a Sunday church service in the northeast town of Maiduguri, police said on Monday, adding to the death toll from a separate shooting in the country’s second largest city Kano. Gunmen killed at least 15 people and wounded many more at a Christian service in Kano on Sunday, the latest round of violence which has seen hundreds killed in the mostly-Muslim north of Nigeria this year. No group took responsibility for either attack and it was not clear if they were coordinated. But both strikes bore the hallmarks of the Boko Haram sect, which has used bomb and gun attacks in its push to carve out an Islamic state in Africa’s most populous nation. “Boko Haram who were six in number came in a Volkswagen Golf car and shot the pastor and three others while they were about to administer the Holy Communion to worshippers,” Maiduguri police spokesman Samuel Tizhe said.
Philippines – Reuters reported: China is likely to be high on the agenda at top level U.S.-Philippine security talks on Monday as Washington refocuses its foreign policy on Asia and Manila realizes its limits in trying to solve territorial disputes with Beijing alone. China has maritime spats with several countries in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas and crossed by important shipping lanes, and its neighbors fear its growing naval reach in staking claims. Those disputes are pushing the Philippines to seek closer cooperation with the United States, which in turn has prompted China to warn Washington against getting involved, denouncing last week’s U.S.-Philippine military drills as bringing the risk of armed conflict closer. “I’m sure we need to be diplomatic, but I don’t think we should tip-toe around the Chinese on this,” said Walter Lohman, director of the Asian Studies Center with the conservative Washington-based Heritage Foundation think tank.
Austria – The National Post of Canada reported: Viennese police insisted on Monday that a former Libyan premier found dead in the river Danube had drowned, but a Libyan security source suggested he could have been murdered by political enemies. Libya’s former prime minister and oil minister Shokri Ghanem’s fully clothed body was found in the Danube in Vienna on Sunday, a few hundred metres from his home. According to a preliminary autopsy there were no indications of foul play or suicide, spokesman Roman Hahslinger told reporters. A Libyan security source said they were investigating the death and believed he could have been pushed into the Danube by former Muammar Gaddafi agents. His body was found at 8:40 a.m. on Sunday by a passerby near the entertainment area known as Copa Cagrana, where a footpath winds along the riverbank. He had spent Saturday evening watching television with his daughter.
Israel – CNN reported: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has suggested that time is running out for Western sanctions on Iran to have a meaningful effect on Tehran’s nuclear program. The sanctions “are certainly taking a bite out of the Iranian economy,” Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast Tuesday on CNN’s “OutFront.” But “they haven’t rolled back the Iranian program — or even stopped it — by one iota,” he added. “I hope that changes, but so far, I can tell you, the centrifuges are spinning,” he said. “They were spinning before the talks began recently with Iran, they were spinning during the talks, they’re spinning as we speak.” Key world powers met with Iran earlier this month about Tehran’s intentions for its nuclear program and announced that the next meeting would take place in late May.
North Korea – The Voice of America reported: North Korea is giving no official indication it is preparing a third attempted nuclear test. But reports abroad say such an underground detonation could come at any time. Some regional media outlets are reporting a North Korea nuclear test is expected between early and mid-May. One report, in the Joong-Ang Ilbo in South Korea, quotes a diplomatic source in Washington as saying the United States has told South Korea such a detonation could occur as soon as this week. Asked about that, a U.S. diplomat in Seoul replied the Embassy does not comment on “security matters.”
1 May 2012
France – Bloomberg NEWS reported: Union representatives from a PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG) factory hoped last month to meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign in the run-up to the first round of elections. Then Sarkozy himself appeared. “That was a surprise,” said Tania Sussest, a representative for SIA, the biggest union at the factory about 20 kilometers northeast of Paris. “We thought we would talk with the spokeswoman.” The French president, who faces a close runoff against Socialist challenger Francois Hollande on May 6, listened carefully for about 45 minutes and then pledged to meet Peugeot Chief Executive Officer Philippe Varin to support the union’s call to secure jobs. He fulfilled that promise two days later, summoning the CEO to the Elysee Palace, Sarkozy’s official residence. French government interference, which helped Peugeot and Renault SA (RNO) get through the financial crisis in 2009, now risks pushing the two companies further behind Volkswagen AG (VOW) as job- security pledges prevent them from shedding overcapacity. The German carmaker generated more than double the combined revenues of Peugeot and Renault in the first quarter. Peugeot stock is the only decliner among European automakers this year.
Palestine – Reuters reported: A hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners against Israel’s jail policies has swollen in weeks from a protest by a handful to a national movement with around 1,400 participants. Several are at risk of dying, including Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahlah, both on their 64th day without food, their Palestinian lawyer said. Eight other detainees have been hospitalized. But most joined the fast two weeks ago, demanding an end to Israel’s imprisonment without trial for individuals the state deems a security threat, restrictive visiting rights and limited access to educational materials. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday his government would refer the issue of prisoners to the United Nations, internationalizing a campaign in which all the often divided and acrimonious Palestinian factions are taking part.
Mali – The Voice of America reported: A prominent politician in Mali has called on elements of the military to unite and focus on the needs of the country, after rebel troops who toppled Mali’s democratically elected president in March defeated a counter-coup attempt. Niankoro Yeah Samake, leader of the Party for Patriotic and Civic Action, told VOA he is “very disheartened” by what has happened in Mali. “We call on, first of all, the president of the junta, Captain Amadou Haya [Sanogo], to be the leader of the army, to bring people together as we are working hard with the international community and also the political leaders and civil society in Mali to build a just society to restore democracy for the benefit of the people of Mali.” Guards loyal to ousted president Amadou Toumani Toure clashed with renegade troops in the capital, Bamako, beginning Monday in an attempt to reverse the March 22 coup.
South Sudan – The Washington Post reported: Every few moments, Nyameat Nyak glances nervously at the sky. It’s been two weeks since Sudanese warplanes bombed her tea shop as she was serving five traders, pregnant with her sixth child. Shrapnel sliced through the walls, covering her in flesh and blood. The men died. Her baby lived. Since the attack, there have been more bombings, more deaths and a growing unease that this nation’s prized asset is becoming its biggest misfortune. “If we had no oil,” said Nyak, 27, seated outside her hut, “we would not be attacked.” Tens of thousands of South Sudanese are trapped in a conflict over oil and territory between their newly independent country and their northern neighbor, Sudan. For the past three weeks, Sudanese warplanes have bombed the town of Bentiu, killing 15 civilians and injuring several dozen more, according to the United Nations.
Ukraine – The Guardian UK reported: The 2012 European Championships were heading towards a diplomatic fiasco on Monday after more EU leaders said they would join Germany in a boycott of the event next month unless Ukraine freed the opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko. On Sunday, Angela Merkel said that she and her cabinet would not attend any games played in Ukraine, which is co-hosting the tournament with Poland, unless the human rights situation under President Viktor Yanukovych improved. On Monday, the president of the European commission, José Manuel Barroso, and Viviane Reding, the commissioner for justice, said they would not be travelling to Ukraine either. The Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, announced he was cancelling a visit to Yalta, while Germany’s president, Joachim Gauck, called off a trip to the same central European leaders’ summit last week.
Afghanistan – The (AP) reported: A suicide car bomber and Taliban militants disguised in burqas attacked a compound housing hundreds of foreigners in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, officials and witnesses said. The Taliban said the attack was a response to President Barack Obama’s surprise visit just hours earlier. At least six people were killed in the early morning attacks, officials said, as blasts and gunfire continued to ring out from the privately guarded compound known as Green Village that houses hundreds of international contractors. A series of explosions and gunfire rang out near the complex in eastern Kabul at around 6 a.m. and shooting continued for hours later. Another large explosion was heard coming from inside Green Village shortly after 9 a.m. and a large plume of smoke was seen rising from the compound.
India – Bloomberg Businessweek reported: Army divers and rescue workers pulled 103 bodies out of a river after a packed ferry capsized in heavy winds and rain in remote northeast India, an official said Tuesday. At least 100 people were still missing Tuesday after the ferry carrying about 350 people broke into two pieces late Monday, said Pritam Saikia, the district magistrate of Goalpara district. Deep sea divers and disaster rescue soldiers worked through the night to pull bodies from the Brahmaputra River in Assam state. Rescue operations were centered around the tiny village of Buraburi near the India-Bangladesh border. Heavy winds and rain hampered rescue operations, said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Assam’s top elected official.
Mexico – The New York Daily NEWS reported: A major earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale jolted offshore Mexican state of Chiapas, Tuesday, according to a local radio station. There was no immediate report of any casualty or damage to property. According to Chiapas Civil Protection Direction sources, the temblor occurred at 5.43 p.m., reported Xinhua citing the local radio station. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake’s epicentre, with a depth of 44 km, was initially determined to be at 14.42 degrees north latitude and 92.96 degrees west longitude.
Syria – The Voice of America reported: Syrian activists say a double bomb attack near security buildings in the northwestern town of Idlib has killed at least 20 people, as a bombing campaign against Syrian government targets intensifies. A separate grenade attack Monday struck the Syrian Central Bank in Damascus, wounding four security officers. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack in Idlib targeted intelligence offices used by the Syrian army and air force. Syria’s state news agency said suicide bombers triggered the blasts and it gave a lower death toll of at least nine, with another 100 people wounded, including security personnel and civilians. Casualties could not be independently confirmed.
Pakistan – The BBC reported: A bomb attack has killed at least two people and wounded several others in the south-western Pakistani province of Balochistan. Reports say the attack may have targeted a passing Pakistan Frontier Corps convoy in the city of Quetta. No group has said it carried out the attack, but Taliban militants and separatist insurgents are active in the volatile province. In February, 11 Pakistani soldiers died in an attack by separatist rebels. The explosives were placed under a car parked on Saryab Road in Quetta, and detonated remotely, reports say.
United Kingdom – The BNO NEWS reported: British police on early Tuesday morning arrested seven people on suspicion of financing terrorism in Somalia by smuggling the drug khat to the United States and Canada, officials said. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), which is better known as Scotland Yard, said six men and one woman were arrested in various parts of London at around 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday. “The arrests were a part of a pre-planned, intelligence-led operation, into suspected fundraising for terrorism overseas,” the force said in a statement. Police believe the seven suspects are part of a network suspected of illegally exporting the stimulant khat, which is legal in the United Kingdom, to the United States and Canada where it is a controlled substance. Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative branch of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was also part of the investigation.
2 May 2012
China – The (AP) reported: The Obama administration’s diplomatic predicament deepened Thursday when a blind Chinese legal activist who took refuge in the American Embassy told the U.S. he now wants to go abroad, rejecting a deal that was supposed to keep him safely in China. Only hours after Chen Guangcheng left the embassy for a hospital checkup and reunion with his family, he began telling friends and foreign media they feel threatened and want to go abroad. At first taken aback at the reversal, the State Department said officials spoke twice by phone with Chen and met with his wife, with both affirming their desire to leave. “They as a family have had a change of heart about whether they want to stay in China,” department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. Nuland stopped short of saying whether Washington would try to reopen negotiations to get Chen abroad should Beijing agree. “We need to consult with them further to get a better sense of what they want to do and consider their options,” Nuland said.
France – Euro NEWS reported: It was a much anticipated face-off between France’s two presidential candidates, billed as a make-or-break debate for Nicolas Sarkozy or a chance for frontrunner Francois Hollande to consolidate his lead. In the end, the one and only televised debate between the Socialist and conservative rivals was a feisty if sometimes bickering exchange of views. Francois Hollande said he felt things were changing regarding the eurozone crisis and the solutions. Even on the German side, things are changing,” he said. “There’s a new way of thinking regarding the ECB and eurobonds. There is a new mindset. I promise to come, the day after the presidential election, to renegotiate the policy and win vital support for promoting growth in our economies, to reduce unemployment and to solve the debt.” In response, President Nicolas Sarkozy said: “The eurobond, that means what? That Germany and France will fund the debts of others? I’m not having that. Because I believe we will not reduce our outgoings, our deficits and debts and they are not going to be secured by Europe as Europe is being secured by its two strongest countries, that of Germany and France.”
Afghanistan – CNN reported: President Barack Obama marked the first anniversary of the death of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden with an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, signing a long-awaited strategic partnership agreement meant to set the conditions of an American withdrawal from the war-torn nation. The president reiterated that U.S. forces will not remain “a single day longer” than necessary, that he remains committed to pulling 23,000 troops out of the country by September and that he will stick to a 2014 deadline to fully withdraw from Afghanistan. “We will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains,” the president said during a nationally televised speech to the U.S. people from Bagram Air Base early on Wednesday (Tuesday evening in the United States). “That will be the job of the Afghan people.”
Egypt – Agence France Presse reported: Campaigning for Egypt’s first post-uprising presidential poll was temporarily on hold after thugs attacked an anti-military protest near the defence ministry in Cairo, leaving 20 people dead. Four presidential candidates announced they were temporarily suspending their campaigns over the killings. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi told reporters he decided to stop campaigning for 48 hours “in solidarity with the protesters.” The SCAF, as the ruling authority, was “the first to be responsible,” he said. His main Islamist rival, Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, cancelled all activity for the day, his camp told AFP, while leftist candidates Khaled Ali and Hamdeen Sabbahi also announced they were suspending their campaigns. In a bid to placate the protesters against military rule, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) said it was ready to hand power to civilian rule on May 24 if a candidate wins the first round of the election.
United Nations – The New York Times reported: A United Nations Security Council sanctions committee on Wednesday added three North Korean state companies to a United Nations blacklist of firms banned from international trade in response to the country’s launching of a rocket last month. The decision by the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee came after China consented to sanctions on the companies. It falls far short of the roughly 40 companies the United States, the European Union, South Korea and Japan had wanted to blacklist after the launching by the North, which they suspected was done to test missile technology. The newly blacklisted companies are “very significant North Korean entities” involved in the country’s nuclear and missile programs, said the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Susan E. Rice. The three companies are Green Pine Conglomerate, Amroggang Development Banking Corporation and Korea Heungjin Trading Company. Analysts have said that North Korea often changes the names of companies once they are put on sanctions lists.
Israel – The LA Times reported: Israel’smove toward early elections is the latest sign that its threatened attack againstIran’snuclear facilities is unlikely to take place in the coming months. Though no final decision has been made about moving up national elections slated for next year, the Knesset, or parliament, is talking about dissolving this month and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce as soon as next week an election date in September. Some officials predict the chances of an Israeli airstrike against Iran will decrease because a divisive political campaign would paralyze the government and focus attention on domestic issues. “He can’t do anything before elections,” said Knesset member Daniel Ben-Simon of the Labor Party. “He’s a lame duck. Nothing will be decided before the vote.”
Syria – Agence France Presse reported: Thousands of Syrians rallied on Friday, braving regime gunfire to show their determination to oust Bashar al-Assad, as the office of international envoy Kofi Annan said his peace plan is “on track.” The demonstrations came as forces cracking down on dissent reportedly killed at least 26 civilians only hours after UN peacekeepers urged Damascus to make the first move to end nearly 14 months of bloodshed. “The Annan plan is on track and a crisis that has been going on for over a year is not going to be resolved in a day or a week,” the UN-Arab League envoy’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, told journalists in Geneva. “There are signs on the ground of movement, albeit slow and small.
Russia – Radio Free Europe reported: Russia is hosting a conference on missile defense today in the capital, Moscow. Reports say Russian officials intend to use computer modeling to show how NATO plans to build an antimissile shield in Europe could undermine Russia’s nuclear deterrent. Ahead of the conference, Ellen Tauscher, the U.S. special envoy for strategic stability and missile defense, said the United States was fully committed to building its system and that it posed no threat to Moscow. According to Russian officials, the Moscow conference is due to be attended by senior U.S. and NATO officials as well as non-NATO European nations and countries such as China and India. Russia and NATO agreed in 2010 to seek ways to cooperate on missile defense but have failed to reach a deal.
3 May 2012
Skipped
4 May 2012
Egypt – CNN reported: One person died and more than 300 were injured Friday when clashes broke out in Cairo as protests against the country’s military government turned violent, state media reported. Video from the scene showed some protesters throwing rocks at security forces, and the security forces spraying water cannons at the demonstrators, who were protesting near the country’s Defense Ministry. The protests erupted amid a backdrop of frustration about the pace of reform since Hosni Mubarak was ousted as president last year and over concern that Egypt’s military leadership is delaying the transition to civilian rule. One person was killed and 373 were injured in the clashes in the Abbasiya area, said Ahmed Ansari, director of Cairo’s emergency medical services.
United Kingdom – Bloomberg Businessweek reported: Markets were on edge Friday ahead of crucial U.S. jobs figures and weekend elections in France and Greece that could have a big bearing on how Europe’s debt crisis plays out over the coming months. Before the elections, investors have the monthly U.S. government jobs report to digest. It often sets the market tone for a week or two after its release as it’s considered the key barometer of the health of the world’s largest economy. Following a week of mixed U.S. economic releases, there’s a high degree of uncertainty going into the figures, which will be released an hour before Wall Street opens. At the moment, the consensus in the markets is that the U.S. generated around 160,000 jobs during April — a steady if unspectacular result. The range is between 90,000 and a little over 200,000.
Greece – The New York Times reported: In the two years since Greece asked for a foreign bailout, its leaders have had trouble governing even with a clear majority. Now, as the country heads to elections on Sunday in which no single party is expected to secure enough votes to form a stable government, they may have to try governing with political chaos. Along with elections in France, and with a rising tide of anti-austerity sentiment across Europe, Greece’s vote is expected to have a clear impact on the future of the euro. The next government, amid a deepening recession and facing likely social unrest, will have to enforce the country’s loan agreement with its foreign creditors, which stipulates slashing $15.5 billion from the state budget over the next two years and completing a crucial bank recapitalization. Yet fierce opposition to the bailout terms — tax increases and wage cuts that have seen Greece’s gross national product drop 20 percent since 2009 and unemployment hit 21 percent — has led to the implosion of the two parties that have dominated Greek politics for four decades, the Socialists and the center-right New Democracy, and the rise of fringe parties on both the right and the left that oppose the loan deal.
Syria – The New York Times reported: Syria’s government risked stoking a new source of rebellion on Friday when its forces fired on a mass demonstration in Aleppo, the country’s largest city, where activist groups said thousands of people had massed to demonstrate against the violent closing of the main university there the day before. At least four demonstrators were said to be killed. The allegiances in Aleppo have been closely monitored by experts on Syrian politics because it has remained a source of support for President Bashar al-Assad during the 14-month-old uprising against him, even as other major cities, including Homs, Hama and Idlib, have become increasingly hostile and subjected to harsh military crackdowns. A turn in Aleppo, the country’s commercial capital, could present new complications for Mr. Assad, who has deftly maneuvered to stay in power throughout the uprising. Some analysts said the willingness of Mr. Assad’s military to fire on protesters in Aleppo — a blatant violation of a cease-fire plan brokered by the United Nations and the Arab League — not only reflected his worry about that city’s political leanings, but also laid bare his intention to subvert the cease-fire plan, which took effect nearly three weeks ago.
Pakistan – USA Today reported: An American drone fired a volley of missiles into a house close to the Afghan border on Saturday, killing eight suspected militants and indicating U.S. resolve to continue with the attacks despite renewed Pakistani opposition, officials said. The strike in North Waziristan was the second American drone operation in Pakistan this week. The attacks come amid American efforts to rebuild its relationship with Pakistan, which in November blocked the passage of U.S. and NATO war supplies to neighboring Afghanistan. The country’s parliament has called for an end to the drone strikes, which many here regard as an unacceptable violation of sovereignty. Up to eight missiles were fired at a house in the Dra Nishtar area of North Waziristan early Saturday, Pakistani intelligence officials said. They didn’t give their names because they were not authorized to be named in the media.
South Sudan – The Chicago Tribune reported: South Sudan on Friday accused Sudan of launching an air strike on one of its oil regions, imperiling the chances of a promised ceasefire between the two former civil war foes, but Khartoum denied the charge. The 1,800 km-long (1,200 mile) border between the two countries had been largely quiet for the past 48 hours, raising hopes that they could begin talks to end a series of clashes over oil exports, border demarcation and citizenship that have pushed them closer towards a full-blown war. But South Sudan’s army (SPLA) spokesman Philip Aguer said on Friday that Khartoum was again on the offensive. “There was an aerial bombardment in Lalop at Unity state at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) on Thursday,” he said, speaking from Juba.
Iran – The (AP) reported: Early returns in Iran’s parliamentary runoff elections Friday showed conservative rivals of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leading in many constituencies in the vote that was billed as an endorsement of the country’s controversial nuclear program. The semiofficial Mehr news agency said the president’s opponents appeared to be winning a majority of the 65 seats that were up for grabs in the second round. Official results are expected Saturday. Ahmadinejad’s conservative rivals already won an outright majority in the 290-member legislature after the first round of voting in March and the runoff was only expected to cement their victory. Mehr said more than 5 million people voted Friday, including 1 million in the capital Tehran — the only place where Ahmadinejad supporters and opponents were in a neck-and-neck race, according to results from several polling stations. The results suggest Ahmadinejad will face a more belligerent parliament in the remaining time of the second four-year term in office that ends August 2013.
France – The Hindustan Times reported: A Paris court sentenced a Franco-Algerian nuclear physicist to four years in jail on Friday after he was convicted of plotting with al Qaeda’s north African branch to carry out terror attacks. Police arrested Adlene Hicheur, a researcher studying the Big Bang at the birth of the universe at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), in October 2009 after intercepting emails to an alleged contact in al Qaeda. Hicheur, 35, who has been behind bars since his arrest, admitted at the start of his trial in late March that he was going through a “turbulent” time when he wrote the emails but denied he intended to carry out any attacks. His father embraced him in the Paris courtroom before he was taken off to serve his term. His lawyer said the verdict was “a legal scandal” because his client had been convicted merely on “words exchanged on the Internet”.
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