Recent optimism on reducing tensions between India and Pakistan is tempered by Pakistan’s Aug. 10 test-firing of its first ground-launched nuclear-capable Cruise Missile Hatf VII Babur, with a range of 500 kilometers. The military said that with the “successful test,… Read morePakistan test-fires cruise missile; strategic re-alignment on subcontinent?
A Nuevo Laredo police officer was killed and the ex-officer she was driving with injured in an attack by unknown gunmen Aug. 10—just two days after the US consulate in Nuevo Laredo re-opened—having closed its doors for a week in… Read morePress terrorized in Nuevo Laredo; fear grows in Texas
AllAfrica.com runs a story from Nigeria’s Abuja Daily Trust on the insistence of Niger’s President Mamadou Tandja, has dismissed reports that his country is experiencing a famine. “The people of Niger look well-fed as you can see,” he told the… Read moreNiger president: hunger politicized
In a London Times opinion piece Aug. 11, “Muslims unite! A new Reformation will bring your faith into the modern era,” author Salman Rushdie begins by applauding Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain, for admitting that… Read moreSalman Rushdie calls for “Islamic Reformation”
A Taliban spokesman called Hakimi said guerillas destroyed a US military vehicle Aug. 9 in Ghazni Province. “The Americans suffered loss of life in the attack,” Hakimi said. US military sources acknowledged that a vehicle was destroyed by an improvised… Read moreAfghanistan: woman candidates threatened
Kosovo’s Albanian-led interim regime has issued a “Plan B” for administrative decentralization following the recent rejection of the original pilot project by local Serb leaders. Kosovo’s minister for local self-government, Lutfi Haziri, said Serb objections had been taken into account,… Read moreKosovo still divided; more bodies unearthed
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline reports Aug. 10 that three opposition parties—the Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and a wing of the Socialist Party—issued a statement protesting limitations on freedom of the press in Tajikistan. The statement said that “political… Read morePress crackdown in Tajikistan
The Washington Post reports Aug. 8 that the Pentagon “has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country,… Read moreWashington Post: Northern Command to lead domestic terror response
The Cuban government welcomed a decision by a three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to retry five Cubans convicted of spying. The five were sentenced four years ago to at least 15 years in… Read moreNew trial for Cuba Five
Cindy Sheehan of California, mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan, killed in action in Baghdad, April 4, 2004, has written an open letter to George Bush, and is currently maintaining a vigil at the gates of Bush’s ranch in Crawford, TX,… Read moreBush snubs mom of slain soldier
Iran has resumed operations at its Isfahan plant to enrich uranium ore for reactor fuel. The plant will convert yellowcake, or uranium ore, into uranium hexafluoride gas to be fed into centrifuges for uranium enrichment in the still-closed neighboring Natanz… Read moreHalliburton tied to Iran nuke program?
An Aug. 9 AP story (online at TruthOut) reveals that Judge John G. Roberts Jr., President Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court, was on a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit… Read moreRoberts ruled against Geneva Conventions
