Archive of Latest Articles

DW /  EU in Disarray Over Guantanamo Inmate Relocation After US President Barack Obama has ordered the infamous detention camp for terror suspects shut, Europeans are struggling to figure out whether they can offer to assist the Americans. The notorious Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba epitomized for many Europeans the arrogance with which former US president George W. Bush trampled on basic civil rights in the name of his nebulous "war on terrorism."    23 Jan. 2009 BBC / Obama's inaugural address My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition. 20 Jan. 2009 apnews / 'Anything possible,' Obama tells joyous crowd Two days from the White House, President-elect Barack Obama joined a vast throng Sunday at a joyous pre-inauguration celebration staged among marble monuments to past heroes. "Anything is possible in America," de- clared the man who will confront economic crisis and two wars when he takes office."Despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead, I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America willendure.18.1. MET / Israel's Policy Must be Supported for Mideast Peace As Israel carries out "Operation Cast Lead" to stop Iran-backed terrorists, Hamas, in Gaza from continuing to attack Israeli civilians with thousands of rockets, missiles and mortars, voices around the globe condemned Israel for the "disproportionate use of force." Meanwhile, Arab leaders such as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have blamed Hamas for the violence in Gaza.   13 Jan. 2009 IHT / Israel and Hamas reject UN call for cease-fire in Gaza Israel and Hamas rebuffed a United Nations call for a cease-fire in the 14-day Gaza war on Friday, with Israel saying continued barrages of rocket fire from its adversaries made the United Nations resolution "unworkable."In a statement after a cabinet meeting as the two sides traded fire, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Israeli military would "continue acting to protect Israeli citizens.    9 Jan. 2009 Washington Times / Why Tehran stokes violence in Gaza Israeli raids on Hamas' infrastructure, along with troop movements around Gaza and the shelling of Israel by that organization, are troubling but certainly not surprising. Sadly, it's not the first time we've seen these images. Tragically, seven years after September 11 they seem to connect with similar bloodshed in Mosul, Kabul and Mumbai. 5 Jan. 2009 CNN / Nobel laureate's Tehran home attacked Police dispersed the protesters, who identified themselves as medical students, about a half-hour after they arrived Thursday, she said.The protesters chanted, "Ebadi supports Israel's murders," according to a state- ment from Ebadi's Center for the Defenders of Human Rights. 2 Jan. 2009 IHT / US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,219 As of Monday, Dec. 29, 2008, at least 4,219 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.The figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,399 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.The AP count is the same as the Defense Department's tally, last updated Monday at 10 a.m. EST.30 Dec.08 IHT / In midnight Mass, pope seeks peace in Mideast Pope Benedict XVI offered a Christmas prayer for peace in the Middle East on Sunday and made a special mention of children and the unborn, as he led his first midnight Mass in the splendor of St. Peter's Basilica.Christians around the world celebrated Christmas with prayers for peace. In the Holy Land there were fears of violence as large numbers of pilgrims returned to the birthplace of Jesus Christ.  26 Dec. 2008 Reuters / Bethlehem fills up with Christmas pilgrims Thousands of Christian pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem's Manger Square on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas under the protection of security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. About 500 security men arrived from the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Jericho to provide security for the holiday. Similar deployments have taken place across the West Bank over the past year with U.S. backing.   24 Dec. 2008 Financial Times / Crude hits $33 despite prospect of Opec cuts Oil prices this week plunged to their lowest level since February 2004, in spite of Opec’s latest effort to steady the market with an agreement to implement the largest supply cut in the cartel’s history, which was announced on Wednesday.The benchmark US crude price sank below the $33-a-barrel level on Friday. 19 Dec. 2008 Csmonitor / A sanctuary for dissent in Greece? Inside, piles of empty gas canisters testify to the scores of Molotov cock tails assembled there recently For more than a week, Athenian streets have been a battleground between police and protesters, whose anger was sparked by the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy by a policeman. Pro- tected by Greece's Constitution from police interference, the Polytechnic has become the headquarters of the protest movement. BBC / Mugabe is a 'modern-day Hitler' Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe should be seen as a "21st Century Hitler", a senior South African Anglican bishop has said. Bishop of Pretoria Joe Seoka called on churches to pray for his removal, South African Press Association reports.His comments came as the US ambassador to Zimbabwe warned that the country was turning into a "failed state".      UN / Human rights still not a reality for all, top UN official says The promises enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) remain unfilled for tens of millions of people worldwide, the top United Nations human rights official said today, on the eve of the landmark document’s 60th anniversary.After World War II, many were determined to ensure that there would never be another Holocaust and that everyone – especially the poor, hungry, displaced and marginalized... 10 Dec. 2008 Born and raised inside a North Korean concentration camp  He’s written a book about growing up in one of North Korea’s most brutal prison camps, but Shin Dong Hyuk grows quiet when asked about his past. After writing Escape to the Outside World, “I thought I had rid myself of my scars — I felt uplifted, as if I’d gotten a big burden off my chest,” Shin said in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA). Even his nightmares stopped.   9 Dec. 2008 New York Times / They Hate Us — and India Is Us AS an open, diverse and at times chaotic democracy, India has long been a target for terrorism. From the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi in 1948 to the recent attacks in Mumbai, it has faced attempts to change its national character by force. None has yet succeeded. Despite its manifest social failings, India remains the developing world’s most successful experiment in free, plural, large-scale political collaboration.   8 Dec. 2008 Economist / Ghana's election: Aiming to do better AFRICANS heralded the start of the new millennium with optimistic talk about an “African Renaissance” as Thabo Mbeki, South Africa’s president, called it. Now, at last, the continent was supposed to slip the surly bonds of kleptocracy and dictatorship that had held it back over the previous decades, and ascend to the sunlit uplands of good governance, democracy and economic prosperity.  6 Dec. 2008 CNN / Biological terror attack likely by 2013, panel says Terrorists are likely to use a weapon of mass destruction somewhere in the world in the next five years, a blue-ribbon panel assembled by Congress has concluded.He cited the flu virus that killed millions of people in 1918 as an example."Today it is still in the laboratory, but if it should get out and into the hands of scientists who knew how to use it for a violent purpose.   2 Dec. 2008 BBC / World Aids Day sets HIV drug goal An estimated 40 million people are now infected with HIV around the world. "The lives of millions of people are at stake. This strategy demands massive and unconventional efforts to make sure they stay alive," said World Health Organization Director General Dr Lee Jong-wook.   1 Dec. 2008 NYTimes.com / Terrorism in India India Faces Reckoning as Terror Toll Eclipses 170. As bodies were recovered, questions arose on whether the authorities could have anticipated the attack and improved security.Amid questions on whether the authorities could have anticipated the attack and improved security, India’s home minister resigned.    30 Nov. 2008 chron.com / China vows not to compromise with Tibetan exiles China launched a new attack on the Dalai Lama's drive for Tibetan autonomy on Friday, vowing not to compromise with leaders of the Tibetan exile community meeting to debate the future of their movement.An editorial in the official Tibet Daily newspaper denounced the Nobel peace laureate's "middle way" proposal that the region be granted control over its internal affairs while remaining a part of China.     21 Nov. 2008 IHT / Iran said to have enough nuclear fuel for one weapon The figures detailing Iran's progress were contained in a routine update on Wednesday from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been conducting inspections of the country's main nuclear plant at Natanz. The report concluded that as of early this month, Iran had made 630 kilograms, or about 1,390 pounds, of low-enriched uranium.  20 Nov. 2008 Pravda / Russia and USA get into Cold War spirit again U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has rejected a Russian suggestion that both countries scrap plans to place missile systems in Eastern Europe. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a televised interview with French journalists broadcast Thursday that Moscow was willing to reconsider deploying Iskander missiles in its westernmost region of Kaliningrad.   17 Nov. 2008 Middle East Times / EDITORIAL We should not expect too much from the G-20 financial summit in Washington this weekend, despite some grandiose talk from French President Nicolas Sarkozy about crafting a new global financial system. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is not going to join the talks and has yet to name his choice for treasury secretary. And President George W. Bush and his team will only matter until midday on Jan. 20.    16 Nov. 2008 DW / Landmark Cases Force Europe to Reconsider Right to Die A top Italian court has allowed doctors to cut life support to a coma patient, though euthanasia isn't legal in the country. Meanwhile in Britain, a 13-year-old won the right to refuse a potentially life-saving surgery.Italy's top appeals court on Thursday, Nov. 13, upheld a July ruling allowing for the removal of feeding tubes supporting a woman who has been in a coma for 16 years.      14 Nov. 2008 Economist / The global economic summit: After the fall THE leaders arriving in Washington, DC, for this weekend’s economic summit are being presumptuous. If they want what they are calling Bretton Woods 2 to live up to the original, which took place in New Hampshire overshadowed by war and the Depression, it will have to establish a new economic order for the capitalist world.  13 Nov. 2008 DW / Europe Commemorates 90th Anniversary of World War I As what was dubbed the "War to End All Wars" is slowly consigned to history, the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I marks what could well be the last major anniversary for the dwindling numbers of veterans. The World War I armistice was signed on Nov. 11 -- the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, and went down in history as the moment, every year, when the world remembers the dead.  11 Nov. 2008 Israel mark 70 years since Nazi-incited riots against Jews "We must not be silent" about condemning anti-Semitism, German chancellor Angela Merkel declared Sunday as Germany and Israel commemorated the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-incited riots against Jews.With concerts, prayers and ceremonies, participants vowed to honor Kristallnacht victims with renewed vigilance.   9 November, 2008 LETTER FROM INDIA: Mumbai: A city of paradise and of hell This city, before it was a city, was a dusting of seven islands in the choppy brine off the Indian mainland. Over the years, it was reclaimed from the sea, seven masses forging one, and claimed by the teeming country at its back. Dangling off the coast, it became India's stock-trading and film-making capital and served as its window to the world.  6 November, 2008 BBC / World leaders hail Obama triumph World leaders have hailed the election of Senator Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Tuesday's poll historic and said he and Mr Obama "share many values". Chinese President Hu Jintao said he looked forward to strengthening dialogue. France's Nicolas Sarkozy said the poll had raised "enormous hope".    5. November 2008 Washington Times / EDITORIAL: The Times endorses ... The last full day of campaigning is over, and the fate of the next president of the United States is in the hands of voters. The calculations of most national and state-by-state polls show Barack Obama with leads substantial enough among committed voters to win the Electoral College. Yet 5 percent of voters remained undecided. 4. November 2008 Economist / US Election 08: Global Electoral College Presidential debates: The last word The final contest was the best by far. Women voters: Hard to get John McCain has tried to win women’s votes, but Barack Obama still leads.  26. October 2008 Apnews / Oil falls below $70 on US recession fears             .   Oil prices fell below $70 a barrel Wednesday as investors shrugged off a looming OPEC production cut after company forecasts suggested the U.S. may be headed for a severe economic slowdown that would crimp demand for crude.Light, sweet crude for December delivery dropped $2.63 to $69.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe. 22. Oct. 2008 Apnews / Archbishop criticizes Obama, Catholic allies             .   Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput labeled Barack Obama the "most committed" abortion-rights candidate from a major party in 35 years while accusing a Catholic Obama ally and other Democratic-friendly Catholic groups of doing a "disservice to the church."Chaput, one of the nation's most politically outspoken Catholic prelates, delivered the remarks Friday night at a dinner of a Catholic women's group.  19. Oct. 2008 Newsweek/GLOBAL INVESTOR: We Need a New Road Map             Despite officials' best efforts to fight raging financial fires, it is a good bet that the capital markets will remain in crisis mode for many months to come. Unfortunately, there is a gaping hole in policymaking—that is, the need to look ahead a few years and to sketch out what the global financial and economic landscape should look like.   14. Oct. 2008 breitbart.com / Holocaust survivors tell love story                  He was a teenager in a concentration camp in Nazi-controlled Germany. She was a bit younger, living free in the village, her family posing as Christians. Their eyes met through a barbed-wire fence and she wondered what she could do for this handsome young man. She was carrying apples, and decided to throw one over the fence. He caught it and ran away toward the barracks. And so it began.   12. Oct. 2008 BBC / Downturn stirs Japan suicide fears                   6. Oct. 2008 Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the industrialised world. On average around ninety people kill themselves in Japan every day. In past years the suicide rate peaked each time the country's economy fell into recession. Now that Japan's government has reported one quarter of nega tive growth, and signalled it is likely there are more to follow, there are fears of further increases in the number of people taking their own lives. Der Spiegel / The Challenges of the New World Order  America is no longer up to shouldering the world’s crises. But who is going to take its place? Russia, Brazil, China and India are all rising, but they are also competing with Europe and the US for finite natural resources. Only a common future -- a "change through rapprochement" and not a "clash of futures" can carry us forward."Americans...can swim in only one sea. They have never developed the ability to move into other people’s world." 3/10 CSM / 'Xenophobic climate' fueling policies, violence in Italy  For the past two weeks, groups of teenagers have mourned in front of "Shining," a snack bar not far from Milan's Central Station. Many leave flowers and cards. But some leave cookies and two euros, a provocative gesture referencing the killing of Abdul Guibre: the 19-year-old African-Italian youth who was allegedly beaten to death Sept. 14 by two shop owners for having stolen some cookies, worth a few euros.    1. Oct. 2008 DailyMail/How China has created a new slave empire in Africa  I think I am probably going to die any minute now. An inflamed, deceived mob of about 50 desperate men are crowding round the car, some trying to turn it over, others beating at it with large rocks, all yelling insults and curses. They have just started to smash the windows. Next, they will pull us out and, well, let's not think about that ... 29. Sept. 2008 WT/Victory over jihadists: Rooting out the real strategic threat  Measuring Progress in the Struggle Against Violent Jihadism" this progress unfortunately mostly consisted of harvesting the low-hanging fruit - our victories were against the easy targets. The challenges of the next 18 months will be much more difficult. Iraq was a major arena of progress. The routing of al Qaeda in Iraq was a significant victory. But let's not fool ourselves.   26. Sept. 2008 DW / Iran Escapes Scrutiny as US-Russian Bickering Continues   The international community won't be able to pressure Iran for details about its nuclear program after Moscow scrapped a meeting planned for later in the week at the UN, German Foreign Minister Steinmeier said.German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Tuesday, Sept. 23, that world powers would find it "difficult" to influence Tehran after Russia cancelled a ministers' meeting slated for Thursday.   24. Sept. 2008 BBC / Burma 'to free 9,000 prisoners'    The military government in Burma says it is releasing 9,000 prisoners because of their good conduct. State media said the prisoners would be freed so that they could participate in elections due to be held in 2010. The National League for Democracy - led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for most of the past 19 years - said it did not know whether any political prisoners would be released.        23. Sept. 08 Breitbart / Pakistan blames Al-Qaeda for hotel bombing    Pakistan on Sunday blamed Al-Qaeda linked Taliban militants for the massive suicide truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel that killed at least 60 people and injured more than 260. Dramatic footage of Saturday night's attack showed the carnage could have been far worse, but the attacker failed to get through a secondary barrier when he crashed his explosives-laden truck into the hotel's security gates.   21. Sept. 08 CSM / Monks with guns? Burma's younger activists get bolder   If Ashin Zawta has his way, the next time the government of Burma (Myanmar) clamps down on dissent it will have to deal with a new force: monks with guns. "Last September the Army proved too powerful for us and defeated our nonviolent tactics," says the young monk, whose real name, like those of other activists in this story, has been changed for security reasons. "We need weapons.   20. Sept. 08 Middle East Times / Keep Israel and Syria Talking   18.Sept. 08 The indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel that began last May have gone as far as they can. Their purpose -- to break the ice between the two states after eight years of not talking, and to test one another's resolve over certain issues -- has been achieved. Now, Syrian President Bashar Assad wants to move forward, as evidenced in his proposal to Israel for direct peace talks at a recent four-way summit in Damascus.   CSM / Global slavery at a high, but reasons for hope Some 27 million people labor as slaves – more than ever before – but those on the front lines of the antislavery movement see signs that human bondage is becoming increasingly unacceptable to the public and to a growing number of governments and businesses. Often, the fight against slavery begins quietly and unheralded, in countries where people risk their lives to free other human beings.       16.Sept. 2008 ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE: Why we shouldn't fear the collider Three hundred feet below the outskirts of Geneva lies part of a 17-mile-long tubular track, circling its way across the French border and back again, whose interior is so pristine and whose nearly 10,000 surrounding magnets so frigid, that it's one of the emptiest and coldest regions of space in the solar system.  13.9. 2008 W.House / President Bush Attends Dedication of 9/11 Memorial THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Mr. Vice President; Secretary Gates; Madam Speaker; Justices of the Supreme Court; members of my Cabinet and administration; members of Congress; Admiral Mullen and the Joint Chiefs; Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a first responder on September the 11th, 2001; directors of the Pentagon Memorial Fund-Mr. Chairman, con- gratulations; families and friends of the fallen; distinguished guests;   11.9. BBC / US marks seventh 9/11 anniversary Memorial services are set to be held to mark the seventh anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when four planes were hijacked and flown into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. The presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, will attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York.     11.9. 2008 CSM / Paralympics bring forward plight of China's disabled The Paralympic Games that opened here Saturday are drawing tens of thousands of spectators to venues across Beijing. Hardly any of them, though, are disabled. Even at the premier global event celebrating handicapped peoples' achievements, China's 83 million disabled citizens remain almost invisible, victims of a society slow to change its attitudes and a government that only recently began addressing their needs.   9.9. 2008 BBC / Is Philippine peace process dead? Just over a month ago, prospects for peace in the troubled southern Philippines looked brighter than in a long time. A Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain had been drawn up, extending the land area to be administered by autonomous Muslim leaders. Mediators had helped maintain a ceasefire; a compromise definition of the eternally sticky concept of Ancestral Domain appeared possible.       8.9. 2008 BBC / US rivals to make 9/11 appearance The US presidential rivals, Barack Obama and John McCain have said they will appear together on the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks. The senators said they would take part in the commemorations in New York - the site of two of the attacks. The two candidates said they would put aside politics to honour the memory of the nearly 3,000 people who died.   7.9. 2008 apnews / McCain tells convention, nation he'll bring change John McCain, a POW turned political rebel, vowed Thursday night to vanquish the "constant partisan rancor" that grips Washington as he launched his fall campaign for the White House. "Change is coming," he promised the roaring Republican National Convention and a prime-time television audience."Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight with me. Fight for what's right for our country," he said in a convention crescendo.  5.9. 2008 IHT-Violence in India is fueled by religious and economic divide Then, villagers say, the attackers went on a rampage. Chanting "Kill these pigs" and "All Hindus are brothers," the mob began breaking into homes that displayed posters of Jesus, stealing valuables and eventually burning the buildings. When they found residents who had not fled to the nearby jungle fast enough, they beat them with sticks or maimed them with axes and left them to die.      4.9. 2008 CNN / Greek, Turkish Cyprus in new peace talks Greek, Turkish Cyprus in new peace talks Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias met Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat Wednesday, inside the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone that separates the two communities.Both men say they are determined to end Cyprus' division in an unprecedented display of political will that has raised hopes for a deal. 3.9. 2008 CSMonitor / Is life for Iraqis improving? Five years ago, every textbook printed at the Al-Saadoun publishing company had to have a color photo of Saddam Hussein on the first page. On a recent morning, the noisy printing presses were churning out thousands of booklets promoting the ideas of Shiite Muslim clerics. That would have been unthinkable under Mr. Hussein's regime. 2.9. 2008 BBC / Georgia exposes UN's weakness Deadlocked over Georgia, ineffective on Darfur and impotent about Zimbabwe, the BBC's United Nations correspondent Laura Trevelyan asks, what is the point of the UN Security Council? In the dog days of late August as Manhattan swelters, I have spent much of my time lurking by what is called the "UN Security Council stakeout".     31.8. 2008 Washington Times / Wins gold with the world: China's image The Beijing Olympics are now part of history. The question is how they will be viewed. Olympic history has had some extraordinary highs and lows, and of course Chinese leaders would like the just concluded extravaganza to take its place among the soaring successes. The category in which China competed, that of major leading international nations and the gold medal prize, was "the respect of the world.    27.8. 2008 BBC / Diary: Sierra Leone slum clinic Staff at a clinic in the coastal slum of Kroo Bay, in Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, are keeping a diary of their working lives for the BBC News website. Here, Adama Gondor, who runs the clinic, talks about the challenges of its malnutrition programme and renovation works on the clinic building. Every Friday we distribute a corn-soya blend with oil and sugar mixed in for making porridge.     25.8. 2008 TWT / EDITORIAL: History is the final judge "A wolf wrapped in monk's robes. A devil with a human face and a beast's heart." That's how Tibetan Communist Party Secretary General Zhang Qingli recently described the Dalai Lama, Tibet's traditional political and spiritual leader. It almost makes me laugh. How can someone really believe this? As I am very familiar with the work of the Dalai Lama through his books, articles, interviews and speeches -  23.8. 2008 Times / China: IOC launches probe into He Kexin's age The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into mounting allegations that Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete. An IOC official told The Times that because of "discrepancies" that have come to light about the age of He Kexin, the host nation’s darling who won gold in both team and individual events.     22.8. 2008 Der Spiegel / 'NATO Is a Paper Tiger' A blocked UN resolution, a limited statement by NATO -- the international community has not yet found its voice when it comes to Russia, German commentators write on Wednesday. Moscow, though, may still have a high price to pay.Russian troops may be slowly beginning their withdrawal from Georgia on Wednesday, but when it comes to diplomatic moves, the stalemate continues.         21.8. 2008 MET / Headlines From the Arab Press Iraqi Refugees in Egypt Refuse to Return to Baghdad – Iraqi refugees living in Cairo told Az-Zaman that the free repatriation trips to Baghdad upon the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is more of a political promotion for the government, and that those who returned in two flights did so because they had run out of savings and could not find work in Egypt.         20.8. 2008 IHT / China stifles protest during Olympics When Gao Chuancai slipped into the capital last week hoping to stage a one-man rally against corruption in his village in northeast China, he knew his chances of success were slim.During his decade-long crusade, Gao, a 45-year-old farmer from Heilongjiang Province, had been jailed a dozen times. Two beatings by the police left him with broken bones and shattered his teeth, he said, but did little to temper his drive for justice.    19.8. 2008 Deutsche Welle / What's Left of the Berlin Wall On Aug. 13, 1961, East German workers began erecting the infamous Berlin Wall, which would separate the city in two halves for more than 28 years. Take a look at what's left of the wall nearly two decades after its fall.       14.8. 2008 Washington Post / The Drums of Change On or about last Friday, the world changed. With two very different coming-out parties -- the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and the invasion of Georgia -- China and Russia put everyone on notice that the power relation ships of the past have been reshuffled and that formidable new powers are challenging the established order. I don't mean to equate Friday's two events, of course.       13.8. 2008 UPI / Commentary: Caucasus cauldron For several years after the implosion of the Soviet empire and the end of the Cold War, the United States assured Boris Yeltsin and his successor, Vladimir Putin, that Washington was not interested in expanding NATO's writ to include former Soviet republics. That assurance was ignored when the three Baltic states were voted in to the NATO club. The United States then pushed hard to add Georgia to the NATO roster.     12.8. 2008 IHT / A DIFFERENT K2 DRAMA: The descent of men Himalayan mountaineering is an inherently dangerous pastime, and climbers are always at risk from the unexpected. But mountaineering has become more dangerous in recent decades as the traditional expeditionary culture of the early- and mid-20th century, which had emphasized mutual responsibility and common endeavor, gave way to an ethos stressing individualism and self-preservation.      11.8. 2008 The Washington Times / EDITORIAL: Bush isn't the bad guy The popularity of a president is notoriously fickle. Put your stock in polling and you can get a good sense of how the general public feels about the nation's 43rd president right now. But is he really the boogeyman he has been portrayed to be?The arbiter of all things evil and wrong with our country? Is there nothing good to his credit? History will be the ultimate judge, but we would argue that despite the "all-time low" ranking.   9.8. 08 CNN / Olympics spark global China protests An anti-China protester set himself on fire outside the Chinese Embassy in the Turkish capital and demonstrators raised the Tibetan flag Friday in defiance in London in protests worldwide timed to coincide with the start of the Beijing Olympics.In Ankara, a demonstrator suffered second-degree burns after setting himself on fire during a rally by several hundred ethnic Uighurs, officials said.      9.8. 2008 On the brink of historic change, but will China see the light? China, the nation that invented fireworks, will today write in the smoggy sky above this ancient city an extraordinary statement of belief in its future – and its defiance of an ever-increasing tide of international criticism.There will never have been such a show – or such dramatic symbolism – when the 29th summer Olympics opens in the futuristic "Bird's Nest" stadium.    8.8. 2008 Times of India / 1,100 Tibetan protesters detained in Nepal Police in Nepal's capital broke up protests by Tibetan exiles in front of the Chinese Embassy's visa office on Friday, detaining more than 1,100. The protesters, many of them women, gathered outside the visa office in downtown Kathmandu, despite a ban on demonstrations in the area. China thief, leave our country. Stop killing in Tibet," some of them chanted.     8.8. 2008 The Washington Times / Bush hits Beijing on human rights President Bush chided China over its human rights record Thursday in remarks that are likely to embarrass his hosts in Thailand, a close ally of Beijing. "America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists," Mr. Bush said. "We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly and labor rights not to antagonize China's leaders.    7.8. 2008 BBC / Russia pays Solzhenitsyn respects Russians have been paying their last respects to writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who died on Sunday at the age of 89. The open coffin of Solzhenitsyn, whose books revealed the horrors of Stalin's regime, is lying in state at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. People bearing flowers filed past the coffin making the sign of the cross. His body will be buried in an Orthodox ceremony.  5.8. 2008 TWT / Tehran threatens to cut world oil supply Iran announced yesterday that it has tested a new weapon capable of sinking ships nearly 200 miles away, and reiterated threats to close a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf if attacked. Up to 40 percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage along Iran's southern coast. Tehran has warned it could shut down tanker traffic there if attacked.    5.8. 2008 UPI Asia / North Korea stands firm against the South The head of the South Korean company that operates tourist businesses in North Korea returned empty-handed on Tuesday from a four-day visit in which he tried to convince the communist country to cooperate in a probe into the killing of a South Korean visitor.Upon arriving in Seoul, Yoon Man-joon, chief executive of Hyundai Asan Corp, said North Koreans dismissed his repeated calls to permit South Korean officials to visit the site. 16.7.08 Washington Times / EDITORIAL: Justice for the Sudanese The International Criminal Court (ICC) is at last taking action to enact justice in Sudan on behalf of the 300,000 victims of the genocidal campaign which has been raging for five years. On Monday, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of murder, rape and deportation.    15.7. 2008 VOA / Middle East: Call for Larger EU Role in Peace Process Palestinian and Israeli leaders have declared their commitment to peace before a Mediterranean summit in Paris. Lisa Bryant reports for VOA both sides have called for Europe to play a bigger role in the Middle East peace process.Flanked by Israeli and Palestinian leaders, French President Nicolas Sarkozy described Sunday's euro-Mediterranean summit in Paris as an historic event.    13.7. 2008 IHT / CHINA: Rumors and riots Erupting roughly 40 days before the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, the riot, captured on YouTube, clearly bothers a government that wants to showcase China's prosperity and stability. The riot was also one of the largest (involving more than 10,000 people) and most violent in recent years. Rioters set fire to the headquarters of the local Communist Party and the police and caused widespread property damage.    8.7. 2008 MET / EDITORIAL: U.S. May Yet Achieve Victory in Iraq Declaration of Independence in 1776, the country is grappling with the dismaying thought that it is losing a war. This is unusual. Every American war so far has been a victory, with the haunting exception of Vietnam. And the Vietnam War now looks with hindsight to have been a strategic victory, in that communism did not triumph in South-East Asia. China and Vietnam are no longer communist except in name. Capitalism has prevailed. 6.7.08 BBC / Betancourt reunited with family Ingrid Betancourt has been reunited with her children - a day after being freed from more than six years of captivity in the Colombian jungle. The French-Colombian politician was among 15 hostages rescued without a shot being fired as their rebel captors were tricked into handing them over. Her children travelled to Bogota from France for the emotional reunion.  3.7. 2008 FOREIGN POLICY  / Think Again: The Olympics Of course, the most notorious example is the 1936 Berlin Games, which were promoted by a network of Nazi agents working both inside and outside the IOC. Pierre de Coubertin, the French nobleman who founded the modern Olympic movement, called Hitler’s games the...Of course, the most notorious example is the 1936 Berlin Games, which were promoted by a network of Nazi agents working both inside and outside the IOC. NYT / Editorial: The Europeans Step Up It has been nearly two years since the United Nations ordered Iran to stop enriching uranium. Tehran continues to defy that order, and its scientists are getting closer to mastering a process that is the hardest part of building a nuclear weapon. So we welcome the European Union’s decision — after much foot-dragging — to impose new sanctions on Iran that go beyond what the United Nations Security Council has mandated.  Yahoo News / Stars gather for Nelson Mandela birthday show The latest leg of the Olympic torch relay was held in Tibet's capital of Lhasa Mandela was released from prison in 1990 after 27 years behind bars, and was elected South Africa's first black president in 1994. He retired from politics in 1999 and has since campaigned to prevent the spread of AIDS. Josh Groban and the Soweto Gospel Choir were also lined up for the event, hosted by VOA / Olympic Torch Relay Held in Tibet The latest leg of the Olympic torch relay was held in Tibet's capital of Lhasa Saturday under tight security. The relay began at the exiled Tibetan leader Dalai Lama's former summer palace, Norbulingka, and ended at the hilltop Potala Palace - the traditional seat of Tibetan rulers. Hand-picked specta- tors cheered runners as they carried the torch through the sealed-off city.  21.6.2008 BBC / EU grapples with Irish 'No' vote Governments in the European Union are exploring what to do after the Irish Republic's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty to reform the expanded EU. France and Germany have described the "No" vote as a serious blow but urged the EU to press ahead with the project. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said ratifications must carry on so that the Irish vote did not "become a crisis"  14.6. 2008 IHT / Mikhail Gorbachev- RUSSIA AND THE EU: A new start I found my chance to do that on a recent visit to Brussels, where I received the Energy Globe award. This lifetime achievement award, citing my contribution to environmental causes, was presented in the European Parliament plenary hall by the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.   13.6. 2008 BBC / Zimbabwe aid ban puts many in peril In the week in which world leaders met in Rome to discuss an ongoing global food crisis, will Zimbabwe's own food crisis be exacerbated by the announcement that aid groups and non-governmental organisations should stop operations at once and re-apply for their permits? Put together the facts - a recurring poor harvest of basic cereals like maize and wheat; persistent droughts.        7.6. 2008 CSM / Aid efforts begin to gather momentum in Burma As relief workers fly to Rangoon (Yangon) with a ray of hope after three weeks of frustrated efforts to get into Burma (Myanmar), aid efforts are gathering momentum in the cyclone-damaged Irrawaddy Delta. Yet many workers are voicing fresh complaints about bureaucratic restrictions and government efforts to move people out of shelters and back to their devastated villages.        1.6. 2008 Breitbart.com / Bush pays tribute to troops on Memorial Day "On this Memorial Day, I stand before you as the commander in chief and try to tell you how proud I am," Bush told an audience of military figures, veterans and their families at Arlington National Cemetery. Of the men and women buried in the hallowed cemetery, he said, "They're an awesome bunch of people and the United States is blessed to have such citizens."  26. 5. 2008 VOA / UN Chief Tours Burma's Cyclone Disaster Zone Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has left Burma's main city of Rangoon to visit the Irrawaddy Delta, getting his first glimpse of areas ravaged by Cyclone Nargis.Mr. Ban flew to the region by helicopter Thursday after meeting with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein. The two men met at a Rangoon hotel, but details of the talks were not released.   22. 5. 2008 NYT / Gay Couples Celebrate California Court Ruling Gay and lesbian couples in San Francisco rejoiced Thursday over a California Supreme Court decision affirming their right to marry even as political leaders on both sides of the issue girded for an extended fight in the courts and at the ballot box. “It’s just amazing to feel like I am a full citizen — I am not a second-class citizen,” said Christmas Laubrile, a nurse, who was with her partner, Alice Heimsoth.     15. 5. 2008 Reuters / "Unimaginable tragedy" if Myanmar delays aid Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis poured out of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Sunday in search of food, water and medicine but aid workers said thousands of them would die if emergency supplies do not get through soon.Buddhist temples and schools in towns on the outskirts of the storm's trail of destruction are now makeshift refugee centers for women, children and the elderly.       11. 5. 2008 CNN / Bush to Myanmar: 'Let us help' President Bush joined a chorus of international leaders urging Myanmar's reclusive military government to allow the flow of aid after a disastrous weekend cyclone killed tens of thousands of people."Let the United States come and help you," Bush exhorted the junta on Tuesday.The death toll has risen to more than 22,000, Myanmar state radio and opposition sources said Tuesday.     6. 5. 2008 Dalai Lama's Envoys to Hold Talks Sunday with chinese Officials Representatives of the Dalai Lama are to meet with Chinese officials this weekend for the first talks on Tibet since violent unrest broke out in March. But, as Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing, the talks are not expected to yield any breakthroughs.Two envoys of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader were scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong Saturday ahead of informal talks with Chinese officials in neighboring Shenzhen.       4. 5. 2008 NYT / Chinese Clash With Protesters at Seoul Torch Rally Thousands of young Chinese assembled to defend their country’s troubled Olympic torch relay pushed through police lines on Sunday, some of them hurling rocks, bottled water and plastic and steel pipes at protesters demanding better treatment for North Korean refugees in China. Two North Korean defectors living in South Korea poured paint thinner on and tried to set themselves on fire in an attempt to protest  themselves.  27. 4. 2008 VOA / Indicating N. Korean Nuclear Cooperation With Syria State Department officials say the intelligence briefings were requested by congressional leaders, and acknowledge they come at a sensitive point in negotiations aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program. News reports say legislators are being shown a video obtained by Israel and said to show North Koreans helping build a nuclear reactor in northern Syria.    24. April 2008 TWT / Darfur casualty estimate rises to 300,000 The senior U.N. humanitarian official yesterday raised by half the estimated casualties in Darfur, saying that as many as 300,000 had been killed by warfare, disease and hunger.John Holmes, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council that the situation had worsened in the past four years, as the numbers of casualties and the displaced rose and as assaults on aid workers increased.     23. April 2008 BBC / Pope to offer Ground Zero prayer Pope Benedict XVI is set to wrap up his six-day trip to the United States with a visit to Ground Zero and a baseball stadium in New York on Sunday. The Pope will tour the site of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the twin towers with survivors and relatives of the 2,749 people who died there.    20. April 2008 THT / N.KOREAN REFUGEES: Where has all the courage gone? Few countries today can claim as staggering a list of human rights violations as North Korea.For starters, there's a resurgent famine driven by gross government mismanagement that threatens millions of lives, hundreds of thousands of political prisoners languish in concentration camps, and an estimated half-million refugees remain in hiding from forced repatriation that often results in torture and execution.     17. April 2008 Yahoo News / Nepal's Maoists extend strong election lead Nepal's Maoists on Sunday extended a stunning early lead in historic polls on the country's political future, election officials said as vote counting continued.The trend has put the former rebels on track to become the single biggest bloc in a body that will rewrite Nepal's constitution, and positioned to boot out the impoverished country's unpopular King Gyanendra and abolish the monarchy.      13. April 2008 CNN / Olympic torch protests begin in San Francisco Thousands of demonstrators descended on San Francisco on Wednesday, the day of the Olympic Torch run, with one side waving Tibetan flags to protest the Beijing Olympics and the other brandishing Chinese flags in support.The city has been gearing up for the protests, trying to head off the kind of chaos that greeted the Olympic torch relay in Paris and London. 9. April 2008 Sky News / Paris Olympic Torch Relay Is Cut Short The Olympic torch relay in Paris has been cut short after chaotic protests by anti-China demonstrators.The flame had already been extinguished four times by security forces after repeated clashes with pro-Tibet and human rights campaigners.The demonstrations also saw the city's mayor cancel a ceremony to mark the torch's passing. 7. April 2008 CNN / Olympic: Angry protests as torch reaches London In a statement, the two men, Martin Wyness and Ashley Darby, said the relay was a propaganda campaign to cover China's "appalling human rights record," PA reported."Our protest is not directed at the Chinese people whatsoever but instead at the brutal Chinese regime that rules them," they said. 6. April 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. deserves to be honored, then followed It was in this environment that Dr. King lived, preached and worked. It is easy to bask in his glow four decades after his death. It took incredible bravery at the time to walk with him in support of his cause. And it wasn't only his cause. It was an American cause. He challenged this country to live up to its ideals and what he knew was its better nature. 5. April 2008 VOA / China Warns of Tibetan Suicide Attacks China's Public Security Ministry gave reporters an update on the official investigation into riots in Lhasa in mid-March. The Chinese government says 18 innocent people and one policeman died. Tibetans say the numbers are much higher, and include Tibetans killed by Chinese security forces. 1. April 2008 VOA / Protesters Breach Olympic Security Three members of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders unfurled a flag at the ceremony and demanded a boycott of the Beijing Games. Their protest disrupted a speech given by China's Olympic organizing committee chief, Liu Qi.Television coverage in Greece and China was suddenly switched to scenic shots of the landscape.The demonstration shook up the crowd of spectators and Olympic officials.      NYT / China Accuses Dalai Lama Of Taking Olympics "Hostage" China has accused the Dalai Lama of plotting "terror" in Tibet and colluding with Uighur separatists in Xinjiang as it escalates a security and propa- ganda drive to stifle anti-Chinese unrest ahead of the Olympics.Anti-government protests by Buddhist monks erupted in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, from March 10 and five days later anti-Chinese rioting shook the city,killing a policeman and 18 innocent civilians.     23. March 2008 IHT / Pope reflects on persecuted Catholics Pope Benedict reflected on the persecution of Catholics across the world during a Good Friday procession around Rome's Colosseum that threw the spotlight on suffering among China's faithful.The Pope, who has made improving relations with China one of the goals of his pontificate, presided over the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession commemorating Christ's crucifixion and death.       22. March 2008 CNN / U.S. House speaker critical of China over Tibet U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday criticized China for its crackdown on anti-government protesters in Tibet and called on "freedom-loving people" worldwide to denounce China."As a freedom-loving people, if we don't speak out about the Chinese oppression, then we have lost our right to speak on human rights," Pelosi told reporters.   21. March 2008 apnews / Bush Defiantly Defends War in Iraqs President Bush defiantly defended the Iraq war Wednesday as U.S. troops began a sixth year of combat in the long and costly conflict that has domin- ated his presidency. Bush conceded the war has been harder and more expensive than anticipated but insisted it has all been necessary to keep Americans safe.Protesters marked the anniversary of the U.S. invasion with demonstrations near the White House and in other cities.     NYT / Dalai Lama Says He’ll Resign if Violence Escalates The Dalai Lama on Tuesday invited international observers, including Chinese officials, to scour his offices here and investigate whether he had any role in inciting the latest anti-Chinese violence in Tibet. He also threatened to resign as leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile in the event of spiraling bloodshed in his homeland. 19. March 2008 Washington Times / Tibet Protests Spread to Other Provinces Violence in Tibet spilled over into neighboring provinces Sunday where Tibetan protesters defied a Chinese government crackdown. The Dalai Lama warned Tibet faced "cultural genocide" and appealed to the world for help.Protests against Chinese rule of Tibet were reported in neighboring Sichuan and Qinghai provinces and also in western Gansu province.    16. March 2008 The Economist / Iran's election: The limits of reform D is among the 2,000-odd parliamentary candidates whose electoral bid was nipped in the bud by the Guardians’ Council, the 12-man, unelected body of senior clerics which takes upon itself the duty of vetting candidates for public office. D is particularly upset because he had taken special care to avoid being branded a reformist, and therefore automatically suspect in the eyes of the conservative Guardians.       11. March 2008 The Washington Times / Taiwan's straits of reality In fact, in 2005 China's National People's Congress passed an "anti-secession law" that said: "Both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division." This anti-secession law explicitly authorizes the Chinese government to "employ nonpeaceful means and other necessary measures" if Taiwan unilaterally declares its independence.     9. March 2008 Washingtonpost.com / China to Increase Military Spending China announced Tuesday that it will again sharply increase its military spending this year, budgeting a 17.6 percent rise that is roughly equal to last year's increase.Disclosure of plans for a $59 billion outlay in 2008 followed a U.S. report Monday that raised questions about China's rapidly increasing military budget, and less than three weeks before a presidential election in Taiwan.      4. March 2008 Breitbart.com / Putin's Chosen Successor Ahead in Vote Russia's voters had been expected to endorse Vladimir Medvedev, allowing the outgoing president to retain significant power in a nation whose wealth and global influence have grown even as democratic freedoms diminished. Some voters complained of pressure to cast ballots for Medvedev, and critics called the election a cynical stage show to ensure unbroken rule by Putin.    2. March 2008 The Washington Times / Editorial: Europe's time to choose In the second half of the 20th century, France and Germany each realized that on their own their importance on a European and global level was going to decline. Hence, they became the motors of the so-called European unification process. Many — especially in Britain, but also in smaller coun- tries such as Denmark and the Netherlands — perceive the European Union to be a joint Franco-German effort at dominating Europe.   Jerusalem P./N. Korea, Iran cooperating on long-range missiles During a meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Olmert said that Iran stood at the head of the axis of evil. Olmert presented to Ishiba intelligence information on North Korea's involvement with the Islamic Republic, specifically its distribution of its nuclear know-how and its expertise in the production of long-range missiles. 27. Feb. 2008 NYT / North Korea Welcomes New York Philharmonic The Philharmonic will play in the East Pyongyang Grand Theater, where music of Gershwin, Dvorak and Wagner, not to mention the American and North Korean national anthems, was to be broadcast live on state radio and television. That will be a novelty for a populace screened by rigid govern- ment censorship from the rest of the world. 26. Feb. 2008 Pravda (Russia) / Thank you, Comrade Fidel! After almost 50 years of heroic leadership, Fidel Castro Ruz steps down as President of Cuba, having survived countless assassination attempts by the CIA, having stood up to decades of an inhuman and inhumane blockade, having seen his economic and social model survive and having built a valid example of an alternative socio-economic model for the future, while providing substantial humanitarian aid programmes abroad.   Reuters / Attacks in Baghdad fall 80 percent: Iraq military Attacks by insurgents and rival sectarian militias have fallen up to 80 percent in Baghdad and concrete blast walls that divide the capital could soon be removed, a senior Iraqi military official said on Saturday. Lieutenant-General Abboud Qanbar said the success of a year-long clampdown named "Operation Imposing Law" had reined in the savage violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs. 18. Feb. Time Magazin / China: The Short March My wife, a Shanghai native, and I had moved back to China from New York City in the spring of 2004, and 21/2 years later we had decided to take the plunge. We bought a three-story, five-bedroom townhouse way out in the suburbs, in a town called New Songjiang, a place that was then — and remains now — very much a work in progress.   17. Feb. 2008 UPI Asia Online / Food aid to North Korea going to the army Nuclear-armed North Korea has been accused of diverting food and economic aid from South Korea for military use, sparking strong calls for stringent monitoring of aid deliveries in the reclusive communist country. According to Seoul government officials on Friday, the South's humani- tarian rice aid has been spotted going to the country's powerful military.    16. Feb. 2008 BBC / HIV vaccine research hits impasse Scientists are no further forward in developing a vaccine against HIV after more than 20 years of research, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist has said. Professor David Baltimore, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), said there was little hope among scientists. 15. Feb. 2008 BBC / Teenager 'confesses' Bhutto plot Pakistani police say they have arrested a teenage boy who has confessed to being part of a team instructed to kill opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. It was the first arrest in connection with last month's assassination.Security officials say the boy told them he was part of a backup squad trained to attack, if the initial attempt on her life had failed.   20. Jan. 2008   IHT / Gaza: Women gain a place Since mid-August, 60 women have been accepted into the force. Unlike policemen, the women have not played any role resisting the latest Israeli incursions, instead working mostly on gender-sensitive cases of drugs and prostitution and helping out at police headquarters and the central jail.   18. Jan. 2008   Washington Times / Migrants flood through EU open borders Thousands of asylum seekers are on the move across Europe as a result of a new relaxation of internal border controls.Last month's expansion of a system intended to make it easier for European Union citizens to move among member countries has led to a dramatic rise in illegal aliens.Some politicians are demanding that the borders once again be closed. 6. January  2008   Reuters / Afghan clerics warn Karzai against missionaries Afghanistan's Islamic council has told President Hamid Karzai to stop foreign aid groups from converting locals to Christianity and also demanded the reintroduction of public executions. The council, an influential group but without binding authority, is made up of Islamic clergy and ulema (scholars) from various parts of Afghanistan and made the warning in a statement during a meeting with Karzai on Friday.     5. January  2008 Middle East Times / How the U.S. can win friends American Muslims have assimilated into U.S. culture far better than Muslims have in European. There is no shortage of examples of the Americanization of the Muslims. Many have been here for generations. Thousands serve in the armed forces, many of them in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even more have applied for jobs at the FBI, the CIA, the DHS, and other agencies involved in national security.     4. January  2008 The Washington Times / Iran no longer aids Iraq militants Iran's leaders are no longer supplying weapons or training to Islamic militants in Iraq, the spokesman for the top U.S. commander in Iraq told The Washington Times. Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, sees Iran as following through on assurances it made to Iraqi and U.S. officials last fall not to assist extremists in Iraq, spokesman Col. Steven Boylan said.      3. January  2008 The Australian  / Assassinated because she was a woman Nevertheless it was a reminder of what we face. Bhutto was murdered because to her enemies she was Westernised, a traitor to her culture and an American stooge. She was murdered because she had vowed to bring secularism and democracy to Pakistan. She was murdered because she was all these things, and a woman."I know I am a symbol of what the so-called jihadists, Taliban and al-Qa'ida, most fear,".      2. January  2008 CSMonitor / The Benazir Bhutto I knew Growing up as the scion of one of its most powerful political families imposed enormous responsibilities on her and created perhaps unrealistic expectations of what she could deliver to save her chaotic country from disintegration. Her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, reportedly encouraged her as an up-and-coming politician to study the lives of history's great women leaders, from Joan of Arc to Indira Ghandi.     29. December 2007 Reuters / Pope makes Christmas appeal for world peace Pope Benedict on Tuesday said he hoped Christmas would bring consolation to those living in poverty, injustice and war and appealed for just solutions to conflicts in Iraq, the Holy Land, Afghanistan and Africa. In his Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) Christmas Day message, the Pope also urged people in modern societies to accept the light of Christ. 25. December 2007 TWT / Bush praises troops, thanks kin in address President Bush praised U.S. troops yesterday and gave a special thank-you to military families who have turned the grief of losing loved ones into acts of compassion.For many relatives of U.S. troops, military service means packing up their belongings and moving on short notice, living in a foreign country or missing a family member as he or she serves overseas, Mr. Bush said in his weekly radio address.     23. December 2007 Washington Times / Iraq: 40,000 troops may be home by July The Pentagon expects that more than 40,000 U.S. troops will be home by July if the situation in Iraq remains stable, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday. Declining to cite exact troop numbers, Mr. Gates told reporters that five brigade combat teams are scheduled to be home by July. Defense officials said there are nearly 4,000 front-line troops for each plus about that number of support personnel.     22. December 2007 Reuters / North Korea resists Dec 31 declaration deadline The United States is still struggling to get North Korea to disclose its nuclear programs, a challenge in a society so tight-lipped that it would keep even clothing sizes secret, a U.S. official said on Thursday.North Korea has promised to make a declaration by December 31 as part of a wider deal to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for economic and diplomatic benefits from the United States and others.   The Washington Times / China: Cyberwarfare The fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, passed yesterday by the House, contains a provision requiring the annual Military Power of the People's Republic of China report to include a new section on Beijing's "efforts to acquire, develop and deploy cyberwarfare capabilities" in its assessments of China's "asymmetric" warfare capabilities. 14. December 2007 The Washington Times / Israeli-Palestinian talks go nowhere Instead of building on the momentum of last month's high-profile peace conference in the United States, the two sides traded barbs and accusations — and wrapped up a 90-minute session without any achievements.An Israeli official described the atmosphere as "tense," and a Palestinian official reported "not an inch" of progress.  13. December 2007 Reuters / Gates says Iran still a threat He also accused Iran of actively supporting insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Islamist groups Hezbollah and Hamas, and that its missile program poses a wider threat throughout the region."Everywhere you turn, it is the policy of Iran to foment instability and chaos, no matter the strategic value or cost in the blood of innocents -- Christians, Jews and Muslims alike," Gates said.    8. December 2007 CNN / Bush sends letter to Kim In a rare move, U.S. President George W. Bush has reached out, by letter, to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, whom Bush has labeled a tyrant and part of what he called "the axis of evil." The letter urged North Korea to follow through on an agreement to declare and dismantle its nuclear programs, calling the moment a "critical juncture," U.S. Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Thursday.     7. December 2007 TWT / Terrorism: Osama targets Europe Bin Laden is preparing the psychological terrain for an escalation on European soil. In Madrid, his cells struck the trains while claiming it was because of the "unjust presence" of Spanish troops in Iraq. It is very possible that future strikes in Europe would be accompanied with claims related to the European military presence in Afghanistan.  6. December 2007 UPI / U.S. nuclear negotiator Hill: North Korea on schedule Top U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill expressed satisfaction Wednesday in Pyongyang with his just-concluded talks with North Korean officials.Hill told Xinhua, China's official government-run news agency, before leaving the country for China he will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, before returning to Washington to report to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.   5. December 2007 Reuters / Iran vows to press on with atomic plans The West says the program is aimed at building atom bombs and wants a freeze on its enrichment of uranium. Iran, a major oil exporter, says enrichment efforts are meant only to produce electricity which it says is an inalienable right. Attempts by the six nations -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- to stall Iran's program have failed and they vowed to pass a new U.N. Security Council resolution.   BBC / More activists arrested in Russia Russian police have broken up an opposition rally, arresting activists for the second day running. Police detained about 150 people in St Petersburg, including opposition leader Boris Nemtsov - who was later freed.On Saturday Other Russia leader and former chess champion Garry Kasparov was arrested during a rally in Moscow. Mr Kasparov was jailed for five days for leading an unauthorised march.   26. November 2007 The Washington Times / Arabs agree to U.S. summit The meeting will include discussions on a "comprehensive" Arab-Israeli peace deal. But it is mainly intended to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations after a lull of seven years, and Washington had pushed for a strong Arab presence to show support.Arab leaders made clear they were on board in part to ensure that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not make any damaging concessions.      24. November 2007 Middle East Times / U.S. works the angles of hearts and minds The U.S. military has entered into what is, perhaps, the most difficult phase of the long war in Mesopotamia to date. On the village and city streets of western Anbar province in Iraq U.S. forces are putting into action the hearts-and-minds component of the counter-insurgency strategy the United States hopes will help defeat insurgents and terrorists.    Reuters / Iranian weapons still a problem in Iraq: U.S. military Iranian weapons and agents still pose a threat to U.S.-led forces in Iraq, a U.S. military spokesman said on Sunday, despite a recent softening in tone by U.S. officials towards Washington's bitter foe."We're still seeing a large number of Iranian-made weapons still exist here in Iraq," U.S. military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith told a news conference, adding that "individuals" coordinating and carrying out attacks.   18 November 2007 UN Human Rights Envoy Urges Coordinated Effort On Burma U.N. human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro spent five days in Burma on a mission to see the extent of human rights violations committed during and after the Burmese military government's crackdown on peaceful, pro-democracy demonstrators in September. 16 November 2007 ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE  / Commentary: Know your enemy Radical Islam, or Islamo-fascism as conservatives are prone to call it, conveys the impression of a political movement. It is no such animal. Al-Qaida's suicide bombers and assorted gunslingers are not individual al-Qaida terrorists, inspired by Osama bin Laden, who have hijacked a religion. 16 November 2007 Nov. 9, 07 marks 18 years since the Berlin Wall was opened up When the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that entering West Berlin would be permitted, crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters.   9 November, 2007   Atheism's contribution to civilization? Genocide Embarrassed at the murderous legacy of atheist Communist regimes in the twentieth century, leading atheists seek to even the score with believers by portraying Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime as theist and specifically Christian. Atheist websites routinely claim that Hitler was a Christian because he was born Catholic, he never publicly renounced his Catholicism, and he wrote in Mein Kampf...      6 November, 2007 The Washington Times / Turkey under fire When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets President Bush at the White House today, the stakes could hardly be any higher. Turkey, a NATO member, is a majority-Muslim, democratic nation that under siege from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Marxist-oriented terrorist group that plagued Turkey during the 1980s and 1990s, and which raises much of its funding from drug trafficking.  6 November, 2007 CNN / Pakistan under martial law Faced with increasing violence and unrest, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency Saturday, government sources told CNN. Musharraf issued a provisional constitutional order proclaiming the emergency and suspending the nation's constitution, according to a statement read on state television. He is scheduled to address the nation at 1800GMT Saturday.   3 November, 2007 IHT / Myanmar expels UN official after critical memo The move complicates the visit of the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, whose six-day trip, scheduled to begin Saturday, was intended to support reconciliation between the government and its political opponents in the wake of the crackdown against demonstrators who had been led in protest by Buddhist monks.  3 November, 2007 BBC / Burma frees democracy activists The military government in Burma has released 46 more people detained during September's pro-democracy protests. Most of those freed are members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi who remains under house arrest. The releases come ahead of the arrival in Burma on Saturday of UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari."   2 November,  2007 CNN / Myanmar: Monk who helped protests escapes "I was an ordinary monk, but then I heard about the death in Bokoku I was surprised no monks came onto the streets," he said, describing an incident in the town of Bokoku in which one monk was publicly beaten to death at a rally. "So I wrote to other monasteries. We had a committee of fifteen who organized the protests." 1 November,  2007 Here SHE is, the USS New York, made from the WTC! Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there." 30 October,  2007 UPI / N. Korea: Six nations open talks in Panmunjom Working groups from six nations on North Korea’s denuclearization met Monday on the South Korean side of Panmunjom to decide on aid details. The meeting of representatives from the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas in the demilitarized zone is a continuation of a process that is expected to culminate in North Korea disabling its nuclear facilities and disclosing all its nuclear programs.   29 October,  2007 TWT / Terrorism: Bin Laden tape hints at al Qaeda frailty Osama bin Laden's appeal for unity between Iraq's Sunni insurgent groups confirms what many have believed for some time: al Qaeda in Iraq is increasingly isolated and that splits in the insurgency may be its greatest weakness. "Sticks refuse to break when banded together, but if they come apart, they break one by one," bin Laden said in his latest audio message.    28 October,  2007 Washingt. Times /Beijing's air still looks too dirty for Olympics Beijing's pollution is increasing the likelihood that some Olympic events may be postponed, although special restrictions may help keep the skies clean, the International Olympic Committee said yesterday. With less than 10 months to go before the 2008 Olympics, air pollution emerged as one of Beijing's biggest headaches. A report by the United Nations Environment Program criticized Beijing's cleanup as slow.   26 October,  2007 CNN / Myanmar, where 'traitors soon meet their tragic ends' The military crackdown has been unbelievably severe, especially considering this country's deep reverence for Buddhist monks. To see monks attacked during peaceful demonstrations is disturbing, as is the vengeance with which the military attempts to cover up its abuse and prevent news from leaking to the outside world. 20 October, 2007 Insight Magazin / London: Orwellian logic at the U.N. In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the protagonists in the totalitarian society employed “newspeak,” the inversion of words to create false meaning. “War is peace,” “good is bad,” “moral is immoral” are merely a few of the possible inversions. While Orwell passed this mortal coil years ago, his notion of false meaning is alive and well and residing in the United Nations.19 Oct. 2007 Sky News / Bush: Nuclear Iran 'Could Mean World War III' US President George Bush has warned that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War III.Speaking at a White House news conference, Mr Bush said that Iran could pose a "dangerous threat to world peace".Referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he said: "We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel.   19 Oct. 2007 The Washington Times / Iran's choice: planes or bombs? With Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calling the Iranian regime liars about their nuclear program, it is time to consider sharply cutting off Iran's air links to the outside world. This step would dramatize the seriousness of the efforts to steer Tehran away from developing nuclear weapons. The United States, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia will begin meeting again Wednesday to discuss tightening U.N. sanctions.  17 Oct. 07 International Herald Tribune / Kim Jong Il's last card One year ago Tuesday, North Korea conducted its first nuclear test, a small explosion that established it as the newest member of the world's nuclear club. Strangely, since then, the prospects for peace and stability in northeastern Asia have never been better. North Korea's agreement, last week, to disable all its nuclear facilities by year's end is the biggest step so far in the right direction.   9. October 2007 WTimes / Home is where the heart trouble likely begins "Married people are generally healthier than unmarried people," the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation said in a June report on the effects on marriage on health. But when it comes to specific physical health outcomes, "the effects of marriage remain largely unaddressed by rigorous research," the report said.  9. October 2007 The Washington Post / Russians Honor a Crusading Journalist "In death, she confirmed that what she wrote is real and true," Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, a human rights organi- zation, told the crowd in Pushkin Square. "Violence and lies rule in our country, and it's a disgrace." There were brief chants of "Putin without Russia," a common refrain at opposition rallies, which prompted the head of the Glasnost Defense Foundation, Alexei Simonov,   8. October 2007 BBC / Korean leaders in historic talks North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il has welcomed South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to Pyongyang for a historic summit. Live television footage showed the two men shaking hands ahead of three days of talks in the North Korean capital. The summit between the two leaders is only the second such meeting in more than 50 years since the Korean war.    2. October 2007 ABCNews / Iran Strengthens Ties With South America "Together we are surely growing stronger, and in truth no one can defeat us," the Iranian leader said through an interpreter. Apparently  referring to the U.S., he said, "Imperialism has no other option: Respect the peoples (of the world) or accept defeat." Chavez greeted the Iranian leader warmly on a red carpet in front of the presidential palace, where they both stood before microphones...  29. September 2007 W. Post / U.S. Urges China to Help Curb Violence in Burma Senior Bush administration officials have pressed Chinese officials in private conversations this week to use their leverage with Burmese  authorities to limit the violence and help manage a transition to a new government in Burma, which is experiencing its most serious and violent demonstrations in two decades, U.S. officials said yesterday. The Chinese have deflected the entreaties by describing Burma's turmoil as an internal matter. 29. Sept. 07 The Washington Times / Bill Gertz: Beijing and Burma China is scrambling to prevent the fall of the junta, viewed by Beijing as a linchpin of its Southeast Asia strategy, which is aimed at increasing Chinese influence in the region and building up Chinese access and ultimately control over vital sea lanes carrying Middle East oil to China. China's stability-obsessed rulers also fear that the collapse of the junta will send the million Chinese now working in Burma back across the border into China,.  28.9.07 The Australian / Tehran's guards branded terrorists The US Senate on Wednesday called for Iran's Revolutionary Guards to be officially designated as a "foreign terrorist organisation", one day after the House of Representatives passed a bill to the same effect. Iran angrily condemned as "worthless and invalid" the vote to black-list the corps. The house bill also calls for penalties for foreign companies with US subsidiaries that invest in Iran, particularly in the oil and gas sector.    28. September 2007 Washington Times / Strongman rules with an iron hand The world now knows about Burma's struggling Buddhist drive for democracy, but the dictator who rules the country is still obscure, grimly hidden behind dark sunglasses and a uniform decorated with military medals. Gen. Than Shwe is seen only occasionally in photographs, usually saluting Burma's powerful armed forces at parades and other ceremonies, his jowls framing a plump, sullen face.     27. September 2007 N.Y. Times / Iran President Vows to Ignore U.N. Measures  The enrichment has continued, though not yet on a scale large enough to produce a bomb’s worth of material in the near future. Mr. Hadley refused to speculate on how much time the United States and its allies had to stop the program before Iran had enough material to manufacture a weapon. Mr. Ahmadinejad, as he has in the past, argued that Iran’s nuclear program was solely for civilian purposes and fell within the legal requirements of the atomic energy agency.      26. September 2007 N.Y. Times / Burmese Monks Protest, Defying Junta’s Warning   Until now, the government had remained silent and mostly out of sight, ceding to the protesters streets that were mostly empty of any uniformed security presence. “We are in uncharted territory,” said the British ambassador to Myanmar, Mark Canning, speaking by telephone from Yangon after observing the crowds on Monday.“These demonstrations seem to be steadily picking up momentum,” he said. “They are widely spread geographically. They are quite well organized.       CNN / New York: Iran's leader can't visit ground zero City officials in New York have denied Iranian President Ahmadinejad's request to visit the site of the destroyed World Trade Center next week, a police spokesman said Wednesday.The controversial, outspoken president wanted to "pay his respects" and lay a wreath at the site of the 2001 al Qaeda attacks during his visit to the U.N. General Assembly, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.   20. September 2007 Middle East Times / N.Korea denies nuclear links with Syria "Recently, some US media, including the New York Times have been spreading allegations that we are secretly helping Syria with its nuclear program. Such reports are groundless and misleading," the spokesman said. "We, as a responsible nuclear power, already declared in October 2006 that we will never allow the transfer of nuclear materials, and we have been sticking to this declaration," the spokesman said in a statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency.  The Washington Times Editorial: Iraqis show courage Rather than taking the terrorist presence in their country lying down, Iraqis in many locations have shown amazing courage, not only by providing an ever-increasing amount of information on insurgent activity to coalition forces, but also by working to rebuild what the insurgents have destroyed, as well as by putting their lives on the line to drive terrorists out of their own villages. 17. September 2007 BBC / Rumbling protests worry Burma's leaders The generals must have hoped that the momentum of the demonstrations would eventually die down, but more marches keep taking place across the country.Most of these have so far been led by activists and members of the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy - but ordinary people have also joined them, speaking out about their misery under military rule.   16. September 2007 Reuters / USA: Remembering 9/11 New Yorkers are doing all they can to preserve the way September 11 is commemorated, and with it falling on a Tuesday for the first time since 2001, the day is another trigger of tragic memories.And across the United States, September 11 will have much of the same emotional impact that has gripped the American psyche and dominated U.S. political discourse for six years, an impact that will not soon ease, analysts say.   TWT Bill Gertz: Al Qaeda still plots another U.S. attack Al Qaeda terrorists continue to plan and train for a major attack against the United States, but so far, there are no signs that the group's extremists have infiltrated into the country, senior U.S. security and intelligence officials told Congress yesterday."They have committed leadership that can adapt. They have safe haven for training. 11. September 2007 G. W. BUSH: National Days of Prayer and Remembrance, 2007 We remain a hopeful America, inspired by the kindness and compassion of our citizens and our commitment to freedom and opportunity. During these days of prayer and remembrance, we reflect on all we have lost and take comfort in each other and in the grace and mercy of our Creator. May God guide us, give us strength and wisdom, and may He continue to bless our great country.   11. September 2007 BBC / Al-Qaeda claims Algerian bombings Members of al-Qaeda's North Africa wing say they carried out two suicide attacks that have killed at least 50 people in Algeria in the past two days. The UN and EU condemned the bombings. The chairman of the UN Security Council, Jean-Maurice Ripert, called Saturday's bombing a heinous terrorist attack. More than 30 people were killed in similar bombings in Algiers in April of this year.   9. September 2007 EDITORIAL: The shame of the Vietnamese left behind Later, back in New York, watching those searing images of desperate Vietnamese being shoved away from the United States embassy, or clinging to the runners of departing helicopters, I anguished over the fates of the girls and all the other Vietnamese who had worked with us. 8. September 2007 IHT  N. Yorkers split over how to commemorate Sept. 11 attack Is all of it necessary, at the same decibel level - still? Each year, murmuring about Sept. 11 fatigue arises, a weariness of reliving a day that everyone wishes had never happened. It began before the first anniversary of the terrorist attack. By now, though, many people feel that the collective commemorations, publicly staged, are excessive and vacant, even annoying. 3.September 2007 Major German synagogue reopened  The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, in Berlin, says that there has been a revival of Jewish life and culture in Germany in recent years, helped by an influx of mainly Russian-speaking Jews from former Soviet states. This has helped modern Germany boast one of the fastest-growing Jewish communities in the world.   31.08.2007 Foreign: Poor diet factor in child deaths Malnutrition is a major contributor in more than 6 million childhood deaths worldwide each year, but numerous low-cost methods can help reduce its impact, a global research group says."Lack of nutrition not only carries enormous human costs, but high economic costs as well," said Richard Skolnik, director of international programs for the Washington- based Population Reference Bureau.  30. 08.2007 Taliban Begin Releasing South Korean Hostages  The Taliban required him to follow elaborate rules during the handover, he said. For each release, Mr. Zaher drove five to 10 minutes outside the city in International Committee of the Red Cross vehicles. Then, he was required to walk one to two hours into remote areas controlled by the Taliban. There, Taliban officials handed the hostages over to him. 29, 08.2007 Iran warns students against 'US contacts' Iran warned Sunday that the Islamic republic would clamp down on students, who, it said, were in contact with the US administration, and seeking to topple the country's authorities. "We will confront those who are currently studying in universities under the guise of being students, and have contact with foreigners and White House statesmen," intelligence minister Gholam Hossein Mohseini Ejeie said.   August 28, 2007 Islam Is Not The Enemy There is little to no coverage of rallies where Muslims denounce terrorism and violence on a national or international scale. No coverage of the events where Muslims work with others in their communities to remove the wave of isolationism that has gripped us. Violence is never the answer. We choose to differentiate ourselves on the basis of origin, color and sex, but mostly, religion.  August 27, 2007 Iranian Unit to Be Labeled 'Terrorist' The United States has decided to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's 125,000-strong elite military branch, as a "specially designated global terrorist," according to U.S. officials, a move that allows Washington to target the group's business operations and finances. August 15, 2007 U.S.-French relations improving Sarkozy, visiting Bush for the first time as France's president, came with plenty of his own warm words. He focused on more than two centuries of united history between the countries, thanking the U.S. for sacrificing lives to help defend France in time of war.  August 12, 2007 TWT Bill Gertz: China espionage Meng also pleaded guilty to stealing proprietary corporate technology known as "Mantis" while working for the San Jose-based Quantum3D Inc., and attempting to sell it to China's Navy Research Center. Prosecutors said Meng violated arms export control laws by selling China's military what is called "viXsen" source code,...  August 10, 2007 'China Wouldn't Win Medals For Rights' Amnesty's Kate Allen said: "To put it mildly, China would win no medals for human rights today."We're urging the Chinese government to ensure that Beijing 2008 will deliver a marvellous Olympic games but also deliver genuine improvements for human rights in China."  August 7, 2007 Oliver North: Seize the moment "We're in a generationlong battle against terrorism, against al Qaeda-inspired terrorism, and this is a battle for which we can give no quarter. It's a battle that's got to be fought in military, diplomatic, intelligence, security, policing and ideological terms."  August 5, 2007 U.N. aims to absorb peace role for Iraq The United Nations is poised to take on a greatly expanded role in Iraq and soon will be charged with aggressively pursuing agreements between key political and religious parties while improving relations with neighboring countries.  August 4, 2007 Confronting Iran: Not only America is nervous of Tehran’s intentions The aim is not to change the military balance between Israel and its neighbours, but to help governments to cope with what Condoleezza Rice has called, correctly, the greatest threat to security and stability in the Middle East: Iran. August 1, 2007 ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN: 'I Am Not Afraid of Death' When I was in the gulag I would sometimes even write on stone walls. I used to write on scraps of paper, then I memorized the contents and destroyed the scraps. July 24, 2007 N. Korea nuclear talks end without setting disarmament deadline BEIJING — Arms negotiators failed today to set a firm deadline for North Korea to disable its nuclear facilities following the shutdown of its reactor, but top envoys planned to meet again in early September. PHOTOS TOO GRAPHIC FOR ABC, CBS, CNN AND NBC Pictures From Iraq That Are Too Shocking and Graphic for The Mainstream Media. Photos that will never make the news..... July 12, 2007 Hong Kong Marks Hand-Over 10th Anniversary The next 10 years could be just as challenging for the bustling city on southern China's coast. Hong Kong will likely grapple with democratic reform and face growing competition from other Asian cities threatening its position as a global business capital. July 01, 2007 UK: London bomb plot foiled The terror threat level in Britain has remained at "severe" — meaning a terrorist attack is highly likely — since last August. But Metropolitan Police sent more officers into the streets of Central London yesterday, and authorities also stepped up security at Wimbledon for the ongoing tennis championship. June 30, 2007 North Korea could shut down its plutonium-producing reactor Christopher Hill — the chief U.S. negotiator at international talks on North Korea's nuclear programs — also told reporters in Tokyo that the next round of nuclear negotiations could begin in early July, before a full shutdown of the Yongbyon reactor. June 22, 2007 Bill Gertz - China arming terrorists Some arms were sent by aircraft directly from Chinese factories to Afghanistan and included large-caliber sniper rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and components for roadside bombs, as well as other small arms. June 15, 2007 Letter from Sgt. Justin Harding stationed in Iraq "I am pissed at the negative press job the American Media is running please by word of mouth pass this across the net and get the word out a beach head has been established in Ramadi. And if suddenly a 1000 terrorist show up tomorrow here and blow us up I'll eat my words." May 20, 2007 The 25th Anniversary Gala for the Washington Times On May 17, the 25th anniversary gala for the Washington Times was held in the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. More than 1,100 leading figures in politics, culture, and journalism representing 82 nations took part in the celebration.  May 17th, 2007 Bill Gertz - U.S. commander says U.S. forces stopping terrorists Adm. William Fallon told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that U.S. military forces are "working very hard" to block al Qaeda fighters entering the country through Syria.   May 4th, 2007 Grahame Bennett - Journalists call for media to foster Mideast peace Several journalists at a recent media symposium in Jerusalem expressed agreement that the media should actively work to influence events by seeking to calm attitudes among conflicting parties in Middle East conflicts. May 1st, 2007 Sticks and Stones The hundreds of demonstrators the Kremlin has had beaten and arrested in the last few weeks alone, we are told, were not pro-democracy activists but common criminals -- like world chess champion Garry Kasparov. April 30th, 2007 Frank Kaufmann - Changing Course in Iraq The Bush campaign in Iraq was defeated on November 7, 2006. At the end of the day 17% per cent of Americans stand with the president in pursuit of an imaginary "victory in Iraq" (see whitehouse.gov) December 19, 2006 Arnaud De Borchgrave - September 11 was an historical watershed I believe that fifty-five years of covering wars, revolutions, assassinations, and other major world crises have given me a license to be blunt and undiplomatic. December 2001 Tyler Hendricks - The Incarnations of Terror Bombs might kill terrorists, but bombs cannot kill terrorism. The government of Israel cannot defeat terrorism when its perpetrators live across the street. How can we root out terrorists when they are on the other side of the planet? November 2001