>>Pakistan – Members of Pakistan’s intelligence agency were involved in planning the July 7 bombing of India’s embassy in Afghanistan, according to U.S. intelligence agencies, which recently intercepted communications relating to the bombing. The U.S. agencies also said that there was new information showing an increase in the amount of intelligence that the members of Pakistan’s intelligence agency are providing to militants targeted by the U.S.

>>Israel – According to the most recent polls in three major newspapers, Israel’s foreign minister Tzipi Livni has a clear lead (8 to 18 points) over transport minister Shaul Mofaz in the campaign to replace Ehud Olmert as leader of Kadima. Olmert retired on Wednesday. However, two of the three papers show Livni running even with Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu were snap parliamentary elections to be held.

>>China – In the lead-up to next week’s Olympics, China has partially lifted the great firewall, allowing greater access at the main press center for the Games after scrutiny by Olympic officials, journalists, and Western officials. President Hu has also suggested that China might be primed for greater economic and politic reforms after the Games, if the actual event is not politicized.

• Peter Bergen
• Matthew Levitt
• Sierra Leone Police Adopt UN Guidelines on Sexual Abuse
• Peter Bergen
• A Big Day for Darfur
• Paul Cruickshank
• Some Not-So-Bad Signs in Darfur
• Matthew Levitt
• Is Osama bin Laden still relevant?

• China – China Eases Internet Restrictions for Journalists
• China – China Angered by U.S. Lobbying on Rights
• China – China’s Hu pledges post-Olympic reforms
• China – China unveils emergency pollution plans
• Iraq – Lowest US monthly deaths in Iraq
• Iraq – Bush warns Iraq gains reversible
• Iraq – Citing Stability in Iraq, Bush Sees Troop Cuts
• Turkey – Dormitory Collapse in Turkey Kills 14
• Turkey – Turkey’s AKP victory pushes share prices up
• Afghan – Afghanistan aid agencies hampered by growth in violence
• Russia – Medvedev Pledges Fight Against Graft in Business
• Russia – Moscow to seize grain export controls
• Israel – Olmert probed again on corruption
• Israel – Israel’s Political Situation Dims Hopes for Peace Deal
• Zimbabwe – BAE linked to Zimbabwean arms dealer
• Venezuela – Chavez plans to nationalise bank
• Japan – Japanese Prime Minister Reshuffling Cabinet
• Pakistan – Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say
• Malaysia – Leader’s Wife Resigns Post
• Tonga – Cannon fire and bells ring out as Tongan king is crowned
• Guinea – Fear after Bissau death threats
• India – UN debates India-US nuclear deal
• Sudan – U.N. to Keep Darfur Force, but U.S. Withholds Its Vote
• Haiti – Haiti Approves New Premier After Standoff
• Iran – Oil group ends Iran investments
• Korea – S Korea bucks trend with strong exports

>>South Africa – South African troops have been deployed to stop the recent backlash against foreigners that has left 42 dead and forced 15,000 to flee. This morning raids at three hostels in Johannesburg ended in the arrest of 28 people and the seizure of drugs, arms, and ammunition. The last time troops were used to ease unrest was in 1994 at the end of apartheid era. Some members of the South African government, including the director general of the intelligence agency and the minister of intelligence, have claimed that the attacks were orchestrated by movements that supported the apartheid government.

>>Georgia – Georgia’s ruling United National Movement party has crushed its opponents in the parliamentary election, securing 59.5 percent of the vote according to official results released today, and cemented the power of President Mikheil Saakashvili. The second place United Opposition Bloc, which received 17.7 percent of the vote, has complained of irregularities in both the campaign and the vote. International monitors believe that the elections were an improvement on the past, but far from perfect.

>>Italy – Nearly 20 years after it was shut down by referendum in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster, Italy’s nuclear power program is to be revived. Italy, the world’s biggest net importer of energy, will begin construction on new nuclear power plants by 2013.

• From Whence Cometh the League of Democracies? And Does It Matter?
• Ban in Burma
• Rood Has the Goods, Part 2

Japanese whisky beats Scotch?

>>China – Envoys from the Dalai Lama will travel to China on Saturday for informal talks. China has blamed the exiled Buddhist leader for fomenting the March 10 unrest in Tibet, which it claims was aimed at distracting attention from the Beijing Olympic Games in August. This is the seventh round of dialog between China and the Dalai Lama’s envoys since 2002. While the envoys are there, they can visit Beijing airport’s newly opened terminal 3 (the largest building in the world), a factory that will soon produce one in four bibles, and the world’s longest sea bridge. If I were them, I’d avoid Mia Farrow though.

>>Iraq – Turkish bombers launched three hours of fierce raids on northern Iraq last night. No casualties were reported. The raids were targeting senior PKK members in Iraq’s remote Qandil mountains.

>>Germany – A rally by 6,000 left-wing demonstrators to protest a rally by Germany’s extreme right-wing National Democratic Party broke bad yesterday in Hamburg, as protesters set cars on fire and pelted police with bottles. Water cannons were used to quell the violence. May Day typically brings violent street protests to German cities, but these may have been the worst in years.

• Don’t Throw the Biofuels out with the Bathwater
• The Meaning of “Realism”
• Louise Arbour Tells It Like It Is
• Mobile Phones for Social Change

Africa

• Sudan – Farrow Enters Hong Kong to Protest China-Sudan Ties
• South Africa – Nine killed at S Africa gold mine
• Zimbabwe – Zanu-PF split on next move after defeat
• Zimbabwe – Tsvangirai says he will return to Zimbabwe
• D.R. Congo – Elephants are slaughtered for chopsticks
• Nigeria – Oil falls as Nigeria strike ends
• Somalia – Somali rebels defiant after al Qaeda chief killed
• Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe opposition says disputes electoral figure

Americas

• Cuba – Cuba urges economic gain, work at May Day rally
• Barbados – Africans stranded in Caribbean
• Dominican Republic – Dominican Republic sees surge in drug smuggling

Asia

• Japan – Ochone! Japanese whisky is voted the best in world
• China – China moves to head off Carrefour protests
• China – Anti-French Boycott Falters in China
• China – Chinese factory to supply one in four Bibles
• Japan – In Hungry World, Japan’s Farmers Are Stuck With High-Priced Rice
• N. Korea – N. Korea Agrees to Blow Up Tower at Its Nuclear Facility
• Japan – China’s Hu heads to Japan seeking trust and respect
• S. Korea – South Korea investigates mass sex abuse at school
• China – China virus ‘hits 3,000 children’

Europe

• Belarus – US expels Belarus diplomats
• Sweden – Swedes start to question refugee policy
• Germany – Protesters battle German police in May Day violence

Middle East

• Iran – Iran Protests to U.N. About Clinton Comments
• Iraq – Turkish jets bomb PKK camps in Northern Iraq: Anatolian
• Israel – Israel urged to end blockade of Gaza as talks begin in London
• Turkey – Turkey launches intensive air strikes in north Iraq
• Israel – Israeli police question PM Olmert
• Israel – African immigration to Israel
• Yemen – Blast at Yemen mosque kills 6, wounds 35

Today is World Malaria Day. Play the Deliver the Net game, and a life-saving bed net will be sent to Africa on your behalf.

>>China – The Chinese state news organization announced today that Chinese officials will meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama. A spokesman for the Lama said they had received no word of the meeting. The announcement comes as a surprise given the fact that China’s government denounces the Dalai Lama as a traitor and as an instigator of unrest, particularly the most recent. The Olympic torch, which has met with widespread protests — generally about the status of Tibet — in its world tour, will be brought into Tibet in May, where the relay will include a summitting of Mt. Everest, and into Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in June.

>>Iraq – After a year-long boycott, Tawafiq, the largest Sunni bloc in Iraq’s government, has agreed to rejoin the cabinet of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Representatives cited the recently passed amnesty legislation, which has already led to the release of some Sunni prisoners, and the government’s fighting of Shi’ite insurgents as reasons for the policy shift. “Details” reportedly have not been worked out, a designation that has, historically in Iraqi politics, represented a significant hurdle.

>>Nepal – The results are final from Nepal’s historic April 10 parliamentary election. The party respresenting former rebel Maoists has won 220 of 601 seats, twice as many as the second-place Nepali Congress party. The new assembly will craft a new constitution, and the Maoists have stated that they will end Nepal’s 240-year-old monarchy. The election caps the 2006 peace agreement, which ended a bloody 10-year civil war.

• Judged by the Company We Keep? –
• What has been most successful? –
• An Apollo metaphor for peacekeeping –

Africa

• Congo – New fighting stops DR Congo aid
• Sierra Leone – The DIY cure for malaria
• Zimbabwe – U.S. Says Opposition Won Zimbabwe Presidential Vote

Americas

• Argentina – Maradona signed as political party’s number 10
• Bolivia – British cyclist Tom Austin killed on Bolivian ‘Highway of Death’

Asia

• Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka rebels ‘abandon shrine’
• Nepal – Nepal torch security ‘too harsh’
• Pakistan – Car bomb kills three in Pakistan
• Pakistan – Pakistan Asserts It Is Near a Deal With Militants
• Turkmenistan – April Is April Again
• Russia – Kremlin Rules: At Expense of All Others, Putin Picks a Church
• Korea – South Korean growth slows sharply
• Ukraine – Ukraine feels strain as inflation soars
• Japan – US marine charged with Okinawa rape
• Korea – Seven cloned sniffer dogs named Toppy begin training in South Korea

Europe

• Spain – Moroccan drugs baron recaptured
• France – Sarkozy attempts to regain initiative

Middle East

• Iran – Iran votes in second round poll
• Israel – Bush Meets Abbas, but Palestinians Criticize Plans for Trip
• Israel – Hamas Truce Offer Now Limited to Gaza Strip
• Israel – Israel rejects Gaza ceasefire

Today is World Malaria Day. Play the Deliver the Net game, and a life-saving bed net will be sent to Africa on your behalf.

>>China – The Chinese state news organization announced today that Chinese officials will meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama. A spokesman for the Lama said they had received no word of the meeting. The announcement comes as a surprise given the fact that China’s government denounces the Dalai Lama as a traitor and as an instigator of unrest, particularly the most recent. The Olympic torch, which has met with widespread protests — generally about the status of Tibet — in its world tour, will be brought into Tibet in May, where the relay will include a summitting of Mt. Everest, and into Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in June.

>>Iraq – After a year-long boycott, Tawafiq, the largest Sunni bloc in Iraq’s government, has agreed to rejoin the cabinet of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Representatives cited the recently passed amnesty legislation, which has already led to the release of some Sunni prisoners, and the government’s fighting of Shi’ite insurgents as reasons for the policy shift. “Details” reportedly have not been worked out, a designation that has, historically in Iraqi politics, represented a significant hurdle.

>>Nepal – The results are final from Nepal’s historic April 10 parliamentary election. The party respresenting former rebel Maoists has won 220 of 601 seats, twice as many as the second-place Nepali Congress party. The new assembly will craft a new constitution, and the Maoists have stated that they will end Nepal’s 240-year-old monarchy. The election caps the 2006 peace agreement, which ended a bloody 10-year civil war.

• Judged by the Company We Keep? –
• What has been most successful? –
• An Apollo metaphor for peacekeeping –

Africa

• Congo – New fighting stops DR Congo aid
• Sierra Leone – The DIY cure for malaria
• Zimbabwe – U.S. Says Opposition Won Zimbabwe Presidential Vote

Americas

• Argentina – Maradona signed as political party’s number 10
• Bolivia – British cyclist Tom Austin killed on Bolivian ‘Highway of Death’

Asia

• Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka rebels ‘abandon shrine’
• Nepal – Nepal torch security ‘too harsh’
• Pakistan – Car bomb kills three in Pakistan
• Pakistan – Pakistan Asserts It Is Near a Deal With Militants
• Turkmenistan – April Is April Again
• Russia – Kremlin Rules: At Expense of All Others, Putin Picks a Church
• Korea – South Korean growth slows sharply
• Ukraine – Ukraine feels strain as inflation soars
• Japan – US marine charged with Okinawa rape
• Korea – Seven cloned sniffer dogs named Toppy begin training in South Korea

Europe

• Spain – Moroccan drugs baron recaptured
• France – Sarkozy attempts to regain initiative

Middle East

• Iran – Iran votes in second round poll
• Israel – Bush Meets Abbas, but Palestinians Criticize Plans for Trip
• Israel – Hamas Truce Offer Now Limited to Gaza Strip
• Israel – Israel rejects Gaza ceasefire

>>South Africa – Thousands of South Africans took to the streets of Johannesburg to protest the rise in food prices, which have increased by around 14 percent. This protest follows similar demonstrations in Haiti and Indonesia. Wheat prices worldwide have risen 140 percent, while rice prices have increased by 75 percent, mainly due to the skyrocketing cost of oil and the dramatic increase in the global middle class.

>>Russia – Russia has agreed to cancel $4.5 billion of Libya’s debt, accrued during the cold war when it was importing Soviet weaponry, in exchange for deals on energy cooperation and military assistance. Russia also agreed to help Libya construct a 310-mile rail line. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom will now undertake large-scale production and exploration projects in Libya.

>>Burundi – Bujumbura was shelled by the rebel National Liberation Front overnight, causing the government to launch a counter-offensive. The nation is still recovering from a 13-year civil war, sparked by the assassination of the first democratically elected president. All rebel groups have signed a peace agreement except the FNL.

Africa

• Nigeria – Hope springs from Nigeria’s offshore oil
• Zimbabwe – Lawyers seek to block China arms shipment to Zimbabwe

Americas

• Canada – Jerry Zucker, Industrialist and Inventor, Is Dead at 58
• Venezuela – Chavez accused of oil fund plan for rebels
• U.S. – Penitent Pope meets victims of sexual abuse by priests

Asia

• China – Restive Xinjiang: China’s next trouble spot after Tibet?
• China – China activists ‘must curb zeal’
• Pakistan – UN warns Pakistan on refugee plan
• China – China Dissident Loses Chance to Appeal in Subversion Case
• India – Heavy Indian security for Olympic flame
• Russia – Skills shortage hits Russian revival
• Afghanistan – Nato admits mistakenly supplying arms and food to Taliban
• Afghanistan – Suicide bomber hits Afghan mosque
• Russia – Dmitri Medvedev votes were rigged, says computer boffin
• China – Angry Chinese burn French flag outside Carrefour
• Russia – Georgia tells NATO it concerned about Russian plans
• Japan – Japan temple rejects torch relay
• Malaysia – Tamil Newspaper Shut
• Koreas – South Korean Leader Plans New Outreach To the North

Europe

• Iceland – Iceland, a Tiny Dynamo, Loses Steam
• Serbia – Defiant Serbia Will Hold Local Elections

Middle East

• Israel – Palestinian Official Says Talks With Israelis Yield Little
• Israel – Israeli minister offers to talk to Hamas
• Yemen – Yemen MP ‘killed by gunmen’
• Iran – Iran shows off its military might

• The Olympic Flame Gives and Takes Heat –
• Warren Hoge to Leave NYT UN Bureau –
• Brazil on the Benefits of Biofuels –
• Will We Be Fooled Again? –
• As Seen in the New York Times –

>>South Africa – Thousands of South Africans took to the streets of Johannesburg to protest the rise in food prices, which have increased by around 14 percent. This protest follows similar demonstrations in Haiti and Indonesia. Wheat prices worldwide have risen 140 percent, while rice prices have increased by 75 percent, mainly due to the skyrocketing cost of oil and the dramatic increase in the global middle class.

>>Russia – Russia has agreed to cancel $4.5 billion of Libya’s debt, accrued during the cold war when it was importing Soviet weaponry, in exchange for deals on energy cooperation and military assistance. Russia also agreed to help Libya construct a 310-mile rail line. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom will now undertake large-scale production and exploration projects in Libya.

>>Burundi – Bujumbura was shelled by the rebel National Liberation Front overnight, causing the government to launch a counter-offensive. The nation is still recovering from a 13-year civil war, sparked by the assassination of the first democratically elected president. All rebel groups have signed a peace agreement except the FNL.

Africa

• Nigeria – Hope springs from Nigeria’s offshore oil
• Zimbabwe – Lawyers seek to block China arms shipment to Zimbabwe

Americas

• Canada – Jerry Zucker, Industrialist and Inventor, Is Dead at 58
• Venezuela – Chavez accused of oil fund plan for rebels
• U.S. – Penitent Pope meets victims of sexual abuse by priests

Asia

• China – Restive Xinjiang: China’s next trouble spot after Tibet?
• China – China activists ‘must curb zeal’
• Pakistan – UN warns Pakistan on refugee plan
• China – China Dissident Loses Chance to Appeal in Subversion Case
• India – Heavy Indian security for Olympic flame
• Russia – Skills shortage hits Russian revival
• Afghanistan – Nato admits mistakenly supplying arms and food to Taliban
• Afghanistan – Suicide bomber hits Afghan mosque
• Russia – Dmitri Medvedev votes were rigged, says computer boffin
• China – Angry Chinese burn French flag outside Carrefour
• Russia – Georgia tells NATO it concerned about Russian plans
• Japan – Japan temple rejects torch relay
• Malaysia – Tamil Newspaper Shut
• Koreas – South Korean Leader Plans New Outreach To the North

Europe

• Iceland – Iceland, a Tiny Dynamo, Loses Steam
• Serbia – Defiant Serbia Will Hold Local Elections

Middle East

• Israel – Palestinian Official Says Talks With Israelis Yield Little
• Israel – Israeli minister offers to talk to Hamas
• Yemen – Yemen MP ‘killed by gunmen’
• Iran – Iran shows off its military might

• The Olympic Flame Gives and Takes Heat –
• Warren Hoge to Leave NYT UN Bureau –
• Brazil on the Benefits of Biofuels –
• Will We Be Fooled Again? –
• As Seen in the New York Times –

Will they eat cookie or cake? A British court decides.

>>Uganda – Yesterday, Joseph Kony, the notorious leader of the LRA, balked at signing a final peace deal with the Ugandan government once again, and he fired his top negotiator as well (some sources say he quit). Kony is reportedly skiddish about how Uganda’s courts would dole out the justice that Kony insisted not be carried out by the ICC; these specifics were worked out by his top negotiator.

>>North Korea – North Korea and the United States appear to have worked out a deal under which North Korea would acknowledge U.S. concerns and evidence about its nuclear program, as well as disclose its plutonium enrichment program, in lieu of the full report that the nation has delayed producing. In return the U.S. would drop two key economic sanctions.

>>Olympics – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will not attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, due to “scheduling issues.” His spokesman said that he is planning a “substantive visit” instead. Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel will also not attend.

>>Gaza – Israel has cut off the fuel supply to Gaza a day after Palestinian militants attacked Gaza’s sole fuel distribution center (located in Israel) and killed two civilians. Gaza is already under a blockade that denies the area all but humanitarian essentials.

• The
  Exigencies of Peacekeeping
• UN
  report: Women face bias worldwide
• Russia
  to Increase Payments to the UN?
• UN
  Official: High Food Prices Here to Stay

Africa

• Somalia
  – France Says Hostages Held Off Somalia Are Freed
• Rwanda
  – Grenade kills policeman at Rwanda genocide museum
• Zimbabwe
  – Zimbabwe opposition ‘to shun run-off’
• Zimbabwe
  – MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai ‘optimistic’ after meeting with Thebo Mbeki
• Zimbabwe
  – Zimbabwe raises doubt on Mugabe attending summit
• Zimbabwe
  – Mugabe rival ‘meets SA leader’
• Egypt
  – Alcohol fatwa sparks controversy
• Madagascar
  – In pictures: Mapping the wildlife of Madagascar
• South
  Africa – Latest – India v South Africa
• South
  Africa – Mbeki asked to step up Mugabe pressure
• Ethiopia
  – UN fears new Ethiopia-Eritrea war
• Ghana
  – Dreams of Oil Wealth, Tinted by Fear

Americas

• Colombia
  – House derails Colombia trade agreement
• Haiti
  – Haitians say their hunger is real
• Cuba
  – Wage Limits Removed
• Chile
  – Chile central bank intervenes in forex market
• Peru
  – Peru raises rates to curb inflation impact
• Ecuador
  – Ecuador military crisis to test Correa’s mettle
• Brazil
  – Brazil makes corruption arrests

Asia

• India
  – Court Approves University Quotas
• India
  – Cheap Hair Dye Banned in India After Suicides
• N.
  Korea – Japan renews N Korea sanctions
• S.
  Korea – South Korea’s President Looks to Repair U.S. Ties
• China
  – Ex-Party Boss in China Gets 18 Years
• Thailand
  – Police hunt for driver of Thai death truck
• Japan
  – Japan bans tracksuited Chinese torch guards, as relay moves to Buenos
  Aires
• Afghanistan
  – Afghan Bombing Kills Up to 8 Civilians, Including 3 Children
• Afghanistan
  – US is ‘undermining’ Afghan trials
• Russia
  – Russian military battles overweight soldiers

Europe

• France
  – Students Step Up Protests
• Germany
  – Germany eases law on stem cells
• Italy
  – Italy rivals in final poll push
• Bosnia
  – Bosnia faces vote on EU reforms or isolation
• Bosnia
  – Police law helps Bosnia’s EU bid
• Norway
  – Church and State to Relax Ties
• Portugal
  – McCanns call for a Europe-wide alert system on missing children

Middle East

• Israel
  – 2 Palestinians Held in Poison Plot
• Iraq
  – Bush Dispatches Envoys to Arab Capitals as Part of Iraq Plan
• Iraq
  – Bush Defies Calls for Faster Withdrawal of Iraq Troops
• Iraq
  – President George Bush to reduce tours of duty for US troops
• Iran
  – Spy photos reveal ‘secret launch site’ for Iran’s long-range missiles
• Iran
  – Cabinet Shakeup in Iran

Will they eat cookie or cake? A British court decides.

>>Uganda – Yesterday, Joseph Kony, the notorious leader of the LRA, balked at signing a final peace deal with the Ugandan government once again, and he fired his top negotiator as well (some sources say he quit). Kony is reportedly skiddish about how Uganda’s courts would dole out the justice that Kony insisted not be carried out by the ICC; these specifics were worked out by his top negotiator.

>>North Korea – North Korea and the United States appear to have worked out a deal under which North Korea would acknowledge U.S. concerns and evidence about its nuclear program, as well as disclose its plutonium enrichment program, in lieu of the full report that the nation has delayed producing. In return the U.S. would drop two key economic sanctions.

>>Olympics – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will not attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, due to “scheduling issues.” His spokesman said that he is planning a “substantive visit” instead. Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel will also not attend.

>>Gaza – Israel has cut off the fuel supply to Gaza a day after Palestinian militants attacked Gaza’s sole fuel distribution center (located in Israel) and killed two civilians. Gaza is already under a blockade that denies the area all but humanitarian essentials.

• The
  Exigencies of Peacekeeping
• UN
  report: Women face bias worldwide
• Russia
  to Increase Payments to the UN?
• UN
  Official: High Food Prices Here to Stay

Africa

• Somalia
  – France Says Hostages Held Off Somalia Are Freed
• Rwanda
  – Grenade kills policeman at Rwanda genocide museum
• Zimbabwe
  – Zimbabwe opposition ‘to shun run-off’
• Zimbabwe
  – MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai ‘optimistic’ after meeting with Thebo Mbeki
• Zimbabwe
  – Zimbabwe raises doubt on Mugabe attending summit
• Zimbabwe
  – Mugabe rival ‘meets SA leader’
• Egypt
  – Alcohol fatwa sparks controversy
• Madagascar
  – In pictures: Mapping the wildlife of Madagascar
• South
  Africa – Latest – India v South Africa
• South
  Africa – Mbeki asked to step up Mugabe pressure
• Ethiopia
  – UN fears new Ethiopia-Eritrea war
• Ghana
  – Dreams of Oil Wealth, Tinted by Fear

Americas

• Colombia
  – House derails Colombia trade agreement
• Haiti
  – Haitians say their hunger is real
• Cuba
  – Wage Limits Removed
• Chile
  – Chile central bank intervenes in forex market
• Peru
  – Peru raises rates to curb inflation impact
• Ecuador
  – Ecuador military crisis to test Correa’s mettle
• Brazil
  – Brazil makes corruption arrests

Asia

• India
  – Court Approves University Quotas
• India
  – Cheap Hair Dye Banned in India After Suicides
• N.
  Korea – Japan renews N Korea sanctions
• S.
  Korea – South Korea’s President Looks to Repair U.S. Ties
• China
  – Ex-Party Boss in China Gets 18 Years
• Thailand
  – Police hunt for driver of Thai death truck
• Japan
  – Japan bans tracksuited Chinese torch guards, as relay moves to Buenos
  Aires
• Afghanistan
  – Afghan Bombing Kills Up to 8 Civilians, Including 3 Children
• Afghanistan
  – US is ‘undermining’ Afghan trials
• Russia
  – Russian military battles overweight soldiers

Europe

• France
  – Students Step Up Protests
• Germany
  – Germany eases law on stem cells
• Italy
  – Italy rivals in final poll push
• Bosnia
  – Bosnia faces vote on EU reforms or isolation
• Bosnia
  – Police law helps Bosnia’s EU bid
• Norway
  – Church and State to Relax Ties
• Portugal
  – McCanns call for a Europe-wide alert system on missing children

Middle East

• Israel
  – 2 Palestinians Held in Poison Plot
• Iraq
  – Bush Dispatches Envoys to Arab Capitals as Part of Iraq Plan
• Iraq
  – Bush Defies Calls for Faster Withdrawal of Iraq Troops
• Iraq
  – President George Bush to reduce tours of duty for US troops
• Iran
  – Spy photos reveal ‘secret launch site’ for Iran’s long-range missiles
• Iran
  – Cabinet Shakeup in Iran

>>NATO – Russian President Putin sat down for the first time with leaders at the NATO summit yesterday, although Russian concerns have been heavily considered throughout the three-day meeting. Putin expressed new concerns about the U.S. missile defense shield, but also agreed to let NATO ship non-lethal supplies through Russia to Afghanistan. All told, over the course of the summit, NATO nations and candidates offered 2,000 new troops for efforts in Afghanistan.

>>Zimbabwe – Police in Harare have raided the offices of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and arrested two foreign journalists, including New York Times Pulitzer-prize winning correspondent Barry Bearak. Meanwhile, Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party met in an emergency session to discuss whether Mugabe would contest a runoff election. There are reports that he will cede power if there is a guarantee that he will not be prosecuted. However, conflicting posturing by ZANU-PF seems to imply that the party has begun to facture and may not be acting as a united entity. It has also rendered news reporting out of Zimbabwe incomplete if not contradictory.

>>Colombia – Efforts to free ailing FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombia presidential candidate who also has French citizenship, have grown more frantic as French President Sarkozy has said that he is ready to travel to the Colombian border with Hugo Chavez if it will hasten her release. FARC has said that it will only free Betancourt through a prisoner exchange of hundreds of jailed FARC rebels, including Nayibe Rojas and Ricardo Palmera who are both held in U.S. prison.

>>Iraq – Over 1,000 Iraqi soldiers, including some senior commanders, either refused to fight or deserted the army during the assault on Basra’s Shiite militias last week.

• With
  Great Progress Comes Even Greater Efforts
• Passing
  the Buck

>>NATO – Russian President Putin sat down for the first time with leaders at the NATO summit yesterday, although Russian concerns have been heavily considered throughout the three-day meeting. Putin expressed new concerns about the U.S. missile defense shield, but also agreed to let NATO ship non-lethal supplies through Russia to Afghanistan. All told, over the course of the summit, NATO nations and candidates offered 2,000 new troops for efforts in Afghanistan.

>>Zimbabwe – Police in Harare have raided the offices of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and arrested two foreign journalists, including New York Times Pulitzer-prize winning correspondent Barry Bearak. Meanwhile, Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party met in an emergency session to discuss whether Mugabe would contest a runoff election. There are reports that he will cede power if there is a guarantee that he will not be prosecuted. However, conflicting posturing by ZANU-PF seems to imply that the party has begun to facture and may not be acting as a united entity. It has also rendered news reporting out of Zimbabwe incomplete if not contradictory.

>>Colombia – Efforts to free ailing FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombia presidential candidate who also has French citizenship, have grown more frantic as French President Sarkozy has said that he is ready to travel to the Colombian border with Hugo Chavez if it will hasten her release. FARC has said that it will only free Betancourt through a prisoner exchange of hundreds of jailed FARC rebels, including Nayibe Rojas and Ricardo Palmera who are both held in U.S. prison.

>>Iraq – Over 1,000 Iraqi soldiers, including some senior commanders, either refused to fight or deserted the army during the assault on Basra’s Shiite militias last week.

• With
  Great Progress Comes Even Greater Efforts
• Passing
  the Buck

Enjoy an Egg McMuffin with your Morning Coffee today in honor of its inventor, Herb Peterson, who died today at age 89.

>>Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s hotly contested presidential election will be held tomorrow. Opposition leaders have repeatedly stated that 84-year-old President Mugabe, who has held power for 28 years, is again undermining the election. They claim to have already discovered 90,000 suspicious names on voting rolls. Yesterday he handed out 450 cars to doctors at government-run hospitals. Security forces are on high alert amid warnings by the opposition that they will carry out Kenya-style protests if they feel the election is rigged. The Times reports on the millions of Zimbabwean refugees living in South Africa, some of which may decide to return pending the results of tomorrow’s election.

>>Tibet – Yesterday monks in Lhasa interrupted a carefully orchestrated press trip
by the Chinese government at the Jokhang Temple. The group of 30 to 40 monks wept
and shouted at Chinese authorities and spent 15 minutes with reporters
rebutting what they said were Chinese lies about the recent unrest. The
Chinese government announced that the monks won’t be punished.

>>Colombia – Colombia is offering to suspend the sentences of jailed FARC guerillas if FARC, in turn, frees Ingrid Betancourt, along with other hostages. Betancourt, a former senator and presidential candidate who has spent six years in captivity, is feared to be ill, suffering from Hepatitis B and Lesmaniasis.

>>Korea – North Korea test-fired a battery of short-range missiles today in further defiance of the new South Korean president’s reprimand on human rights and non-proliferation. The show of force follows the expulsion of 11 South Korean officials from a jointly run factory complex in Kaesong.

>>Iraq – Iraq’s government has extended their deadline for Shia militias to lay down their arms by 10 days as the assault by government forces in Basra has begun to stall.

• What’s In A Name?
• UN Population Fund joins others to
  launch campaign in DRC against sexual violence
• Attacks on Aid Workers Threatening
  Relief Operations in Darfur

Africa

• Tutu
  wants SA arms deal inquiry
• Kenya
  in mobile phone share sale
• U.N.
  body calls on Sudan to tackle rights abuses
• Kenya
  power-sharing hits deadlock over cabinet

Americas

• TV
  crew denies passing fatal flu
• Honduras:
  Cantaloupe Ban Criticized
• Bolivia:
  Deadline Set for Energy Nationalization
• Canada
  confident NATO will help its Afghan troops
• Argentine
  leader warns strikers
• Robert
  Gates wants list of all US nuclear arms

Asia

• Shi’ite-Sunni
  clashes intensify in northwest Pakistan
• Tibetan
  children in Nepal protest
• Sri
  Lanka probes ‘bomber offer’
• 21
  Indonesians Die After Drinking Tonic
• Boat
  Sinks in Philippines; 13 Are Missing
• Japan
  court rules troops involved in WW2 suicides
• China
  allows diplomats into Tibet
• E
  Timor leader criticises troops
• US
  hails progress in Russia talks
• China
  Law Could Impede Microsoft Deal for Yahoo
• Japanese
  inflation hits decade high
• Fallout
  From Tibet Is Test for China’s Rulers

Europe

• Dutch
  relief at Muslim restraint over Koran film
• Belarus:
  Journalist’s Homes Raided
• France
  flies rebel out of Comoros
• Italy
  murder fuels ‘mafia’ fears
• U.S.
  critical of “brutal” Belarus crackdown
• Sarkozy
  and Brown list joint plans
• Vatican
  distances Pope from views of baptized Muslim
• EU
  peacekeepers raid homes of Karadzic family
• EU
  warns Italy over cheese scare
• German
  plans for maglev derailed

Enjoy an Egg McMuffin with your Morning Coffee today in honor of its inventor, Herb Peterson, who died today at age 89.

>>Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s hotly contested presidential election will be held tomorrow. Opposition leaders have repeatedly stated that 84-year-old President Mugabe, who has held power for 28 years, is again undermining the election. They claim to have already discovered 90,000 suspicious names on voting rolls. Yesterday he handed out 450 cars to doctors at government-run hospitals. Security forces are on high alert amid warnings by the opposition that they will carry out Kenya-style protests if they feel the election is rigged. The Times reports on the millions of Zimbabwean refugees living in South Africa, some of which may decide to return pending the results of tomorrow’s election.

>>Tibet – Yesterday monks in Lhasa interrupted a carefully orchestrated press trip
by the Chinese government at the Jokhang Temple. The group of 30 to 40 monks wept
and shouted at Chinese authorities and spent 15 minutes with reporters
rebutting what they said were Chinese lies about the recent unrest. The
Chinese government announced that the monks won’t be punished.

>>Colombia – Colombia is offering to suspend the sentences of jailed FARC guerillas if FARC, in turn, frees Ingrid Betancourt, along with other hostages. Betancourt, a former senator and presidential candidate who has spent six years in captivity, is feared to be ill, suffering from Hepatitis B and Lesmaniasis.

>>Korea – North Korea test-fired a battery of short-range missiles today in further defiance of the new South Korean president’s reprimand on human rights and non-proliferation. The show of force follows the expulsion of 11 South Korean officials from a jointly run factory complex in Kaesong.

>>Iraq – Iraq’s government has extended their deadline for Shia militias to lay down their arms by 10 days as the assault by government forces in Basra has begun to stall.

• What’s In A Name?
• UN Population Fund joins others to
  launch campaign in DRC against sexual violence
• Attacks on Aid Workers Threatening
  Relief Operations in Darfur

Africa

• Tutu
  wants SA arms deal inquiry
• Kenya
  in mobile phone share sale
• U.N.
  body calls on Sudan to tackle rights abuses
• Kenya
  power-sharing hits deadlock over cabinet

Americas

• TV
  crew denies passing fatal flu
• Honduras:
  Cantaloupe Ban Criticized
• Bolivia:
  Deadline Set for Energy Nationalization
• Canada
  confident NATO will help its Afghan troops
• Argentine
  leader warns strikers
• Robert
  Gates wants list of all US nuclear arms

Asia

• Shi’ite-Sunni
  clashes intensify in northwest Pakistan
• Tibetan
  children in Nepal protest
• Sri
  Lanka probes ‘bomber offer’
• 21
  Indonesians Die After Drinking Tonic
• Boat
  Sinks in Philippines; 13 Are Missing
• Japan
  court rules troops involved in WW2 suicides
• China
  allows diplomats into Tibet
• E
  Timor leader criticises troops
• US
  hails progress in Russia talks
• China
  Law Could Impede Microsoft Deal for Yahoo
• Japanese
  inflation hits decade high
• Fallout
  From Tibet Is Test for China’s Rulers

Europe

• Dutch
  relief at Muslim restraint over Koran film
• Belarus:
  Journalist’s Homes Raided
• France
  flies rebel out of Comoros
• Italy
  murder fuels ‘mafia’ fears
• U.S.
  critical of “brutal” Belarus crackdown
• Sarkozy
  and Brown list joint plans
• Vatican
  distances Pope from views of baptized Muslim
• EU
  peacekeepers raid homes of Karadzic family
• EU
  warns Italy over cheese scare
• German
  plans for maglev derailed

>>Tibet – Ongoing protests surrounding the anniversary of the 1959 uprising that led to the flight of the Dalai Lama continue to grow. Yesterday, hundreds of monks took to the streets in Lhasa in the largest demonstrations against Chinese rule in over two decades. Chinese authorities responded by locking down the three largest monasteries. At least two monks in those monasteries attempted suicide by stabbing themselves. Others are on hunger strike. Today, protesters have set fire to police cars and shops. Mount Everest has been closed in hopes that protestors won’t spoil the planned Olympic torch assent.

>>Iran – Iran’s general election is under way. Conservatives are expected to do well, as everyone else has been barred from running. Iranian authorities are countering expected lackluster participation by entreating citizens to vote as a sign of defiance of the U.S. and other enemies of Iran.

>>Pakistan – The last corruption charge (the ‘BMW case’) and impediment to Asif Ali Zardari’s ability to seek public office was dropped today.

“Concern over climbing activities, crowded climbing routes and increasing environmental pressures will cause potential safety problems in Qomalangma areas. We are not able to accept your expedition, so please postpone your climbing.”
– A letter to expedition companies from the China Tibet Mountaineering Association announcing the closing of Mt. Everest.

• Peace AND Justice in Northern Uganda
• UN Addresses Reproductive Health
  Disparities in the U.S.
• No connection between legality and
  incidence

Africa

• Liberia’s
  Taylor ordered cannibalism, court told
• Kenyan
  president appoints panel to probe election
• Nigeria
  looks to solve power crisis
• In
  South Africa, Crime Is Child’s Play
• Sudan
  and Chad Sign Peace Pact

Americas

• Moderate
  quake rattles southern Mexico
• Dollar
  plunges to record low
• Cuba:
  Finally, Something to Buy
• Backyard
  Body Count Up to 33 in Mexico
• Bush
  Signals Intent to Force Vote in Congress This Year on Colombian Trade
  Deal

Asia

• Romanovs
  bless Medvedev after Russian vote win
• Thaksin
  supporters lose bid to lead Thai senate
• Malaysia
  PM urged to resign as rift opens in party
• Chen
  fires Beijing a defiant parting shot
• US
  envoy urges N Korea progress
• Taiwan
  Referendum Faces Boycott

Europe

• Macedonian
  govt in crisis as Albanian party quits
• Al
  Qaeda gives 3-day ultimatum on Austria hostages
• Japan
  denies German activist entry ahead of G8
• EU
  opens door to Croatia membership

Oceania

• Human
  shield to defy kangaroo killers

An 8-year-old Brazilian who passed a law school entrance exam has been blocked from enrolling becasuse they think he should finish elementary school first.

>>Jerusalem – At least one gunman entered the Merkaz Harav seminary in Jerusalem on Thursday and fired 500 to 600 bullets, killing eight and endangering a fragile lull in the violence and the possibility of the resumption of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Israel has said that it will not break off talks.

>>Weapons – Russian arms dealer Viktor “Merchant of Death” Bout, said to be the inspiration for the protagonist in Lord of War was arrested in a Bangkok hotel room on Thursday by D.E.A. agents posing as FARC rebels attempting by buy millions in arms. He was promptly charged with conspiracy in the U.S.

>>United Nations – Two top jobs at the UN just opened up as Jean-Marie Guehenno, the Undersecretary General for Peackeeping, and Louis Arbour, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have decided to leave their posts. Guehenno oversaw UN peacekeeping over an 8-year period, during which time the number of peacekeeping missions and peacekeepers skyrocketed at the request of the UN Security Council.

• Scorched
  Earth in Darfur – by John Boonstra
• NHCR
  Releases Guide Addressing Women’s Protection and Empowerment
  – by Mark Leon Goldberg
• Why
  A Billion People Need a Stronger U.S.-UN Partnership – by
  John Boonstra
• Mediators
  on Call – by Mark Leon Goldberg

Beware the plague of the jellyfish, but flock to the Indian train system. It sounds safer than Amtrak … in one way at least.

>>Kenya – Rival leaders in Kenya signed a powersharing agreement yesterday, a day after it looked like talks had fallen apart. The agreement, mediated by Kofi Annan, stipulates the creation of a powerful Prime Minister position, which will be filled by opposition leader Odinga, and the splitting of cabinet posts between the government and opposition. When news of the agreement was broadcast, crowds filled the streets of Nairobi to celebrate.

>>Cuba – Cuba signed two UN human rights agreements, both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, yesterday, a step that Fidel Castro had been unwilling to take. Both went into force in 1976. Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque also announced that Cuba would open its doors to UN Human Rights Council scrutiny in 2009.

>>Afghanistan – Prince Harry, third in line to the throne of England, has been serving on the front lines in Afghanistan for the last 10 weeks (timeline) as part of a deal to keep him from leaving the Army after he was denied deployment in Iraq. The news was kept safe through a remarkable media blackout deal between the UK military and news outlets, which was broken by a “world exclusive” on the Drudge Report, prompting rebukes from, among others, News of the World Executive Editor Neil Wallis and the head of the British Army. Prince Harry, known by call sign “Widow Six Seven,” worked as a forward air controller at forward operating base Delhi near the border with Pakistan (excellent color here). He is now slated to be withdrawn, amid concerns for his safety and that of his fellow soldiers.

“It’s bizarre. I’m out here now, haven’t really had a shower for four days, haven’t washed my clothes for a week and everything seems completely normal … I think this is about as normal as I’m ever going to get.”
– Prince Harry

“I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us. This is in stark contrast to the highly responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations.”
– Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the British Army

• Tension
  Between Peace and Justice – by John Boonstra
• Disturbing
  News – by Mark Leon Goldberg
• UN
  agencies rally to end to female genital mutilation within a generation
  – by Mark Leon Goldberg

President Bush’s dance movies in Liberia have been unfairly labeled as “David Brent-style gyrations.” Obama handily wins the Democratic “global primary,” but only claims .5 more delegates…don’t ask me how you get half a delegate.

A day after Valentine’s, and where’s the love? Romney has some for McCain. I have some for Indy.

>>Hezbollah – In front of 10,000 mourners at the funeral of Imad Mughnieh in Beirut, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel with “open war,” because he said, “you have killed Hajj Imad outside the natural battlefield.” Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki read a letter of condolence from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Israel stepped up security in the wake of his death. Tens of thousands also gathered yesterday in Beirut to commemorate the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (Photos of both rallies.)

>>Oceans – Science has published a report suggesting that only four percent of the world’s oceans remain pristine. Roughly 41 percent has been affected strongly by human activity — including climate change, overfishing, and pollution. The report was unprecedented in its detail: each square kilometer of ocean was examined individually.

>>Iraq – Iraq’s parliament announced that it would rely heavily on the United Nations to help organize the October 1 provincial elections mandated by the package of legislation passed earlier this week.

>>Eritrea – UNMEE, the UN peacekeeping force for Ethiopia and Eritrea, has begun to withdraw from its bases. Eritrea had attempted to force the hand of the international community on a border dispute by cutting the fuel supply of the mission.

“We want to assure the Iraqi people that this time the elections will
be free and transparent. We will cooperate completely with the United Nations and
prevent any violations.”
– Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, speaker of Iraq’s Parliament

• Bono, Ban
  ki Moon, and many others honor Tom Lantos – by
  Mark Leon Goldberg
• “A
  crisis is a terrible thing to waste” – by Matthew
  Cordell
• Bush
  administration pushes for bilateral ties with Iraq – by
  John Boonstra
• The
  Demand-Side Attack on Climate Change – by Matthew
  Cordell

Romney dropped out of the Republican process. Yusuf al-Qaradawi was refused a UK visa, while Amy Winehouse was denied a U.S. one. The latter will not be able to perform at the Grammy awards.

>>Smoking – A WHO report, financed by Michael Bloomberg’s foundation, has found that a billion people could be killed by cigarettes in the 21st century. Poorer countries, where cigarette sales continue to climb, collect 5,000 times as much revenue from tobacco as they use to fight its use. And, only 5 percent of the world has no smoking laws similar to those in New York.

>>Pakistan – Detectives from Scotland Yard have determined that Benazir Bhutto was killed by a bomb blast, not gunfire. The Pakistan People’s Party maintains that she was shot by an assassin, and that there was a cover-up. There was no post-mortem performed on Bhutto and the scene was scrubbed soon after the event.

>>Afghanistan – Responding to a Canadian ultimatum and an unwillingness by other NATO members, France has agreed to send troops to southern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the relationship between Afghanistan and Britain has reached a new low.

>>India and China – The economies of both India and China are showing signs of long-term slowing. India’s growth rate for 2008 to this point is 8.7 percent, down from 9.6 percent last year. Forecasters see more of the same coming. Likewise, both Chinese and World Bank Economists have predicted something in the range of 9.4 percent growth for China this year and suggest that last year’s 11.4 percent growth might represent China’s peak.

• “The W.H.O. is described by the tobacco industry as its biggest enemy. Today we intend to enhance that reputation.”
  – Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director general.

• Viagra renders fighter pilots a potent force – Times

• Peacekeeping
  Budget and the Pentagon – by Mark Leon Goldberg
• Third
  DRC Suspect in ICC Custody – by Mark Leon Goldberg

Hillary and Barack debated in Hollywood to a crowd you usually see at a Lakers game. The candidates are releasing their 2007 fundraising numbers. Obama has raised $32 million so far in 2008.

>>Malaria – The WHO is reporting that the widespread use of anti-malarial bed nets and artemisinin, a new drug, has sharply reduced malaria deaths in some African countries. Malaria still kills over a million people a year, most of them children, and is crippling the African economy. Send a net, save a life.

>>Chad – Rebels representing the Union of Forces for Democracy from eastern Chad and seeking to drive the president from power, are advancing on N’Djamena. Government troops have been dispatched to confront the 300 vehicle column less than 50 miles from the capital. Five UNHCR vehicles have been hijacked and their offices to the east have twice been entered by armed gunmen. France is deploying 150 additional troops to provide additional protection for French nationals. Rebel groups believe that French troops helped thwart their assault on N’Djamena in 2006. A 3,700-strong EU peacekeeping force, which the rebels also oppose, is set to deploy to the refugee camps in eastern Chad in the next few weeks.

>>Afghanistan – Senior al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan and star of several al-Qaeda videos, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Northern Waziristan. Sources indicate that the missle was fired by a drone. Following Canada’s declaration that it would withdraw its 2,500 troops from Afghanistan if NATO doesn’t deploy 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan, US Sec. of Defense Robert Gates pushed Germany to do so, in what is being reported as an “unusually blunt” exchange. Reportedly, German Minister of Defense Franz Jung plans to announce at NATO defense ministers at the next meeting in Vilnius next Thursday that Germany plans to send a 250-strong “Quick Reaction Force.” Germany’s rules of engagement, out of step with the rest of the NATO mission, will also alledgedly be part of the discussion.

>>The Internet – Apparently a distressed ship attempting to moor off the coast of Egypt cut the line that has left 75 million with diminished internet services, mainly in the Middle East and India. If you’re interested in the cable network that crisscrosses the ocean floor, this is a really cool map.

>>Kenya – Ban Ki-moon is in Kenya to help revitalize the fledgling peace process initiated by Kofi Annan. Four, accused of looting and burning residences and businesses, were killed by police in Eldoret in western Kenya in the wake of the murder of opposition MP David Too. Although the opposition claims that it was a political assasination, evidence points more convincingly to a love triangle

>>Whaling – Japanese ships have resumed whaling in antarctic waters as anti-whaling activists were forced to leave to refuel.

>>Trash – The EU ordered Italy to take out the garbage in Naples. Nearly 250,000 tons of garbage has piled up on the streats. Collectors have stopped because there is no more room at the regional dumps.

• Somalia’s
  Crisis Continues In the Shadow of Darfur – Matthew
  Cordell
• Secretary
  General to Visit Kenya – Mark Leon Goldberg

• Swiss
  AIDS Experts: Unprotected Sex OK for Some
• Navy
  Tests High-Powered Electromagnetic Railgun
• Bangladesh
  steps up vigilance as bird flu spreads
• No
  Serbian violence expected over Kosovo: EU
• Copy
  China and invest abroad, says Medvedev
• OPEC
  Pins Hopes on U.S. Soft Landing
• Judge
  Bans Carnival Float Depicting Naked Holocaust Victims
• EU
  states oppose Kosovo bid
• India
  MP held over rival’s death
• Mauritania
  gunmen hit embassy
• China
  freeze ‘has cost billions’
• Rwanda
  opens stock exchange
• Noriega
  appeals ‘not exhausted’
• New
  plan for HIV marriage tests
• Kosovo
  declaration ‘not imminent’
• Blizzards
  and Coal Shortages Strain China’s Rail Network
• China
  Accuses Online Activist of Subversion
• Rights
  Group Says U.S. Is Too Eager to Endorse Suspect Elections
• China’s
  Inflation Hits American Price Tags
• Zimbabwe:
  Inflation at New Peak
• In
  Report, Officers Call for Major Overhaul of NATO
• Israel’s
  Mauritania Embassy Attacked

Roger Federer’s grand slam winning streak finally came to an end.
 The wife of a Fairfax county school administrator left a message
on the answering machine of a student who called her husband at
home…and it is all the rage on YouTube.

Top Stories

>>The five permanent members of the UN Security
Council and Germany have
agreed on a draft resolution enacting a new round of
sanctions against Iran — including a new restriction on those
exporting to Iran and a stricter ban on travel for Iranian nuclear
scientists. It is unlikely that the resolution will be introduced in
the Council until next month, at which time Iran has agreed to the IAEA
to answer remaining questions on its nuclear program.

>>Brazil announced yesterday that the rate of
Amazon
rainforest destruction increased
roughly 400 percent from August to December 2007.
 President Lula da Silva has
vowed
a 25 percent increase in
the region’s police force.

>>U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates said that the U.S. was
prepared to send troops to assist Pakistan in fighting
militants. Meanwhile, police in Indian-controlled Kashmir have
killed a top commander of the pro-Pakistani Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami militant group, who was
the mastermind of three bombings in Uttar Pradesh last November.

>>The EU member states’ foreign ministers are expected to agree
to a 1,800-person stabilization force for Kosovo on Monday, under the
expectation that it will soon declare independence from Serbia.
 Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has said that it is only a matter of days.

>>Italy’s Prime Minister Romano Prodi has resigned after losing a vote of confidence in the Senate.  President Giorgio Napolitano is holding emergency meetings with political leaders in an effort to avoid snap elections.

>>Amid continuing violence, warring Kenyan political leaders met for the first time face to face,
along with Kofi Annan, who is facilitating the negotiations. Even the
most optimistic analysts agree that this is at best the first step in a
long process.

The Rest of the Story

• Egypt
  moves to seal Gaza border
• The
  U.S.’s Weighty Role on the World Stage

• Russia
  Talks of a Stability Beyond Ties to the U.S.
• Frailty
  of U.S. Finances Has Japanese Agonizing
• Arms
  control role for Wolfowitz
• Britain:
  Plan to Hold Terror Suspects 42 Days
• Finland:
  Sexual Harassment in Parliament
• Turkey
  to Alter Speech Law
• Face
  recognition technique aids security – and lookalike searches
• Al
  Arabiya ‘Chickens-to-Terror’ Promo Ad Is a Head-Scratcher
• Senators
  Criticize U.N. Program in North Korea, but Question Set of Accusations
• Iraq
  forced to hold ‘rolling elections’
• Report:
  Muslim Cleric Issues Fatwa Against Bollywood Star
• Sierra
  Leone farmers return to dig fields, not gems
• Pope
  urges ‘more ethical’ media
• Fidel
  Castro polished his memoirs near death
• The
  British have made matters worse, says Afghan President
• Japan
  expected to pledge emissions cut