Morning Coffee - 20 November 2009

Welcome to Morning Coffee, brought to you by Lindsay Beyerstein with additional links from the UN Dispatch team. Every morning we survey foreign affairs and foreign policy news so you don't have to. We begin with the "Starting Five" items of the day -- these may not always appear on A-1, but they *are* the kinds of stories that will be buzzing in foreign capitals, the UN and wherever foreign policy minds roam.
Starting Five
EU PICKS PREZ - The European Union selected Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the EU's first president yesterday. Van Rompuy has pledged to tackle unemployment and the environment during his term, which begins on January 1, 2010. The EU also named Catherine Ashton, the UK's trade commissioner, as its chief of foreign policy. Link
GOLPISTA TAKES FIVE - The leader of Honduras's coup regime announced that he was stepping down temporarily to allow voters to "concentrate" on the upcoming election. Roberto Micheletti promised to step aide through the November 29 vote, until at least December 2 when the Honduran congress will vote on whether to reinstate ousted president Mel Zelaya. This is really a moot point since his term will all but elapsed by the time congress votes. Micheletti did not say who would be in charge of Honduras during his furlough. Link
ALLEGED FAT KILLERS BUSTED - Four people have been arrested in Peru on suspicion of murdering people to steal their body fat and sell it to European cosmetics manufacturers. The alleged killers are said to have lured their victims with phony job offers. Police say that the gang could be responsible for up to 60 disappearances. Link
AFGHAN SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 13 - A suicide bomber killed 13 people, including a police office, in a market in south western Afghanistan near the Iranian border. At least 36 others were wounded in the attack. The blast comes the day after Hamid Karzai was sworn in for his second term as president of Afghanistan. Link
SAIPAN SHOOTING - A gunman opened fire at a World War II historical site on the island of Saipan in the Northern Marianas today, killing four people before turning the gun on himself. The shooting occurred in the town of Kannat Tabla. All those killed were residents of the U.S. commonwealth. Several South Korean tourists were wounded in the rampage. Link
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