Peace Like A River » Cables, dispatches and memoranda

Cables, dispatches and memoranda

March 23, 2009 (12:52 am) | Daily Roundup | By: Jeff Kouba

Cables, Dispatches and Memoranda A brief world news roundup for 23 March 2009.

United States & the Americas

HS Today – Cyber hackers believed to be based in China have tapped three times into the computer network in US Sen. Bill Nelson’s office, the Florida Democrat said Friday. Two attacks on the same day this month and another one last month targeted work stations used by three Nelson staffers — a key foreign-policy aide, the deputy legislative director and a former Nelson NASA advisor, according to Nelson’s staff.
canada.com – Canada is to nearly double the number of police mentors it sends to Afghanistan and intends to base a senior Mountie in Kabul to advise on policing issues, RCMP commissioner Bill Elliott said Sunday.
Khaleej Times – President Hugo Chavez said Saturday he will visit the Middle East, including Iran, and possibly Japan after he attends the summit of Arab and South American countries in Doha on March 31.
Al Jazeera – Venezuela’s military has taken control of all the country’s major airports and sea ports, a move that critics say is meant to limit the powers of mayors, governors and other potential rivals to Hugo Chavez, the president.
AP – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday called President Barack Obama “ignorant,” saying he has a lot to learn about Latin America.
LA Times – China’s copper mine project in Peru reflects its economic power; The Asian giant lacks the natural resources at home it needs to keep its economy expanding, but it has a lot of cash to acquire them.

Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia

RIA Novosti – Russia and Japan could sign an agreement on civilian nuclear power in May, a Russian deputy prime minister said Saturday.
Fars - Russian prime minister’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Iran, Russia and Turkey could jointly develop nuclear energy projects in different countries to help them reduce dependency on oil and gas imports.
Daily Star – Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Gennady P Trotsenko submitted a formal proposal to State Minister for Science and ICT Yafez Osman for setting up a nuclear power plant to meet Bangladesh’s growing demand for energy.
afrol – Nigeria’s Federal government has signed an energy accord with a Russian company, Rosatom Corp, to work on mining uranium, building and testing atomic power plants and sharing knowledge. The memorandum of understanding signed in Moscow would pave the way for a bilateral cooperation on the development of nuclear energy infrastructure, including on nuclear power plants and research reactors in Nigeria.
Moscow Times – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held a tense meeting with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov on Friday, trading thinly veiled barbs about whose responsibility it was to rebuild the impoverished republic.
NPR – When Serge Schmemann arrived in Moscow in 1980 as the bureau chief for The New York Times, the Russian Orthodox Church was in dismal shape. Since then, he says, the path of the church has followed the fate of the country.
Itar-Tass – During a special operation, which is going on to the south of the village of Kakashura in Dagestan’s Karabudakhkensky region for the third day already. Five law enforcers died in the operation. As ITAR-TASS learnt at the press service of the Interior Ministry for Dagestan, “as a result of an exchange of fire, a rifleman-radio operator and another four servicemen died. According to preliminary data, there are losses among the militants – - eight or ten people.”
Civil Georgia – The Kremlin aims at regime change in Georgia “through internal disorders and destabilization”, Gela Bezhuashvili, the chief of Georgian intelligence service, told lawmakers on March 20. Speaking at a hearing of the parliamentary committee for defense and security Bezhuashvili suggested that in a short-term period Russia would likely try to mount pressure on Georgia through inciting internal destabilization rather than through use of direct military force.

Middle East

Al Arabiya – Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul will arrive in Baghdad Monday on the first visit by a Turkish head of state in 33 years for talks on the thorny issue of Kurdish rebels, feared to step up action after U.S. pullout, officials said.
Asharq Al Awsat – Almost 90 percent of the tens of thousands of U.S.-backed fighters who helped purge much of Iraq of al Qaeda have been transferred to Iraqi control, the U.S. commander in charge of their programme said on Saturday.
Voices of Iraq – Security forces in Diala captured 10 members of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) network in different areas of Baaquba city on Saturday, the Diala police chief said.
Haaretz – A senior source in the Palestinian Authority told Haaretz Sunday that he suspects Hezbollah or another organization with links to Iran was behind the attempted bombing of the Lev Hamifratz shopping mall in Haifa on Saturday night.
Jerusalem Post – Shas became the second party to join Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu’s government Sunday night, signing a deal just after midnight. Shas chairman Eli Yishai will take the Interior Ministry portfolio as part of the agreement.
Al Bawaba – Israeli premier-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to reassure Cairo over choosing a disputed politician who once told the Egyptian president to “go to hell” as his foreign minister, his office said on Sunday. In the past he also said Israel should destroy Aswan Dam.
JCPA – The Role of Radical Islamic Groups in Israel: Implications for Israeli-Arab Coexistence
Naharnet – Phalange Party Central Coordinator Sami Gemayel on Sunday slammed Hizbullah without naming it, saying: “There is a party in Lebanon that owns an army dissimilar to the Lebanese army, and enjoys foreign connections that contradict with the state.” “This takes the country to a different course,” Gemayel said in an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station.
SANA – The Syrian delegation, headed by Minister of Irrigation Nader al-Bunni, and the Iranian delegation, headed by Minister of Energy Parviz Fattah discussed Saturday means of joint cooperation between the two countries regarding water. During a meeting on the sidelines of the Fifth International Water Forum currently held in Istanbul, both sides called for enhancing relations through reciprocal visits of concerned delegations and exchanging information, as well as making use of each other’s technologies.

Iran

Rooz – Just a day after Majlis Speaker Larijani’s harsh reply to President Ahmadinejad, which had heightened the conflict between the two branches of government in the final days of the Iranian calendar year, pro-Ahmadinejad media launched an intense media campaign against the Speaker.
Khamenei – Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the issue of Iran and America and termed the quality of interaction with the American government as a big test for the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic. The IR Leader pointed to the enmity of the American administration towards the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic and said,” America provoked and helped the terror and separatist moves against the Islamic Republic and based on reliable information America cooperates with terrorists along the IRI-Pakistan borders.”
The News – Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmud Qureshi, commenting on the reported attack by Jundullah on an Iranian post, said on Sunday that some miscreants were involved in such activities which were creating misunderstandings. But, these miscreants were not from Pakistan as according to his information, after the attack on the Iranian post, the miscreants did not return towards Pakistan
IRNA – Thailand’s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya stressed the importance of boosting ties with Iran.
Payvand – Photos: Imam Khomeini’s wife, Khadije Saghafi, laid to rest

shura council meeting on Forward Operating Base Morales Frasier, Nijrab district, in southern Kapisa

About 100 government, tribal, and religious leaders, mostly from Alasai district meet at a shura council meeting on Forward Operating Base Morales Frasier, Nijrab district, in southern Kapisa, Afghanistan, March 17, 2009. The shura was held to address operations in the Alasai district and the recent appointment of a new sub-governor there. (photo by Chief Master Sgt. John Zincone)

South Asia

AFPS – Afghan and coalition forces killed 36 enemy fighters and detained eight suspects in operations in Afghanistan, military officials reported Friday.
Maj. Gen. Mart de Kruif, DoD briefing – It’s clear to say that two years ago, the insurgents changed their overall strategy from attacking our strength, being ISAF, towards focusing on terrorizing the local nationals, the Afghan people. And one of the elements of that is the use of IEDs. For ISAF, that means that we have to deliver a 24/7 security in the focus areas where we are placed.
Frontier Post – Afghan Governor Gul Agha Shirzai, who is a semi-literate former warlord and a handful of other former warlords are again being seen as useful partners as US President Barack Obama undertakes a massive overhaul of the war in Afghanistan.
Geo – FC sources told that security forces today in their second day of operation against the extremists at Tehsil Bara of Khayber Agency destroyed two main centers of the extremists. Tanks and helicopter gun ships were used in the operation, but no loss of life thus far reported during the operation. While yesterday 31 extremists were taken into custody during operation, six extremists were wounded and two centers were destroyed.
Statesman – Swat Taliban, who recently made a peace deal with the government, has issued warning to NGOs in the valley. “They come and tell us how to make latrines. I’m sure we can do it ourselves. There is no need for foreigners to tell us this,” Muslim Khan, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told IRIN on Sunday.
Gulf News – Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Muslim League-N chief and former premier Nawaz Sharif agreed on reconciliation and cooperation between PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party during a crucial meeting on Sunday, their first after the historic restoration of the deposed judges.
Times of India – Investigations have been launched to trace the origin of an e-mail threat in the name of al-Qaida to a city hotel a couple of days ago, police said. The sources said a hotel near the railway station received an e-mail threatening that it would face ‘the similar fate of Taj Hotel in Mumbai and another hotel in Islamabad, if it did not act as per our desire, since we know your activities.’
The Age – Five Indian soldiers and six Muslim rebels were killed in separate gunbattles in Kashmir yesterday, police said, a day after Pakistani and Indian troops traded fire across the de facto border.
Sri Lanka MoD – Sri Lankan Army infantrymen of the 53 Division advancing eastwardly in Puthukkudiyirippu towards the remaining LTTE resistance positions at the Mullaittivu battlefront have reportedly gained total control over a 1.5km stretch of the Paranthan- Mullaittivu (A-35 ) main road this morning (March 21). According to military sources, troops are now consolidating defences in the area after neutralizing LTTE resistances. Terrorists put-on stiff resistances with heavy artillery shelling and mortar attacks launched from the declared No Fire Zone in the Eastern Mullaittivu coast, the sources further said.
Hindu – The Sri Lankan government on Sunday said China had opposed a motion in the United Nations Security Council for a discussion on the humanitarian crisis triggered by the war in the north. A report on the Information Ministry website said Beijing had opposed the proposal on the ground that it was an internal matter of the island nation and the military operations had no effect on international peace and security.

Far East & Pacific

VOA – China’s official Xinhua news agency says police have detained almost 100 ethnic Tibetan monks who attacked a police station in northwestern China. Xinhua says the monks were among hundreds of rioters who assaulted police and government workers at the police building Saturday.
China Daily – A Jian-10 (Fighter-10), China’s most advanced military jet, had made a successful forced landing during a training flight after an engine failure, China Central Television (CCTV) reported Sunday.
Times Online – A French arms company is at the centre of a deepening scandal involving the sale of three submarines, the murder of a beautiful Mongolian interpreter and the man most likely to become prime minister of Malaysia next month.
JoongAng – Two American warships, initially deployed for the U.S.?South Korea joint military exercise, will remain in the waters near the Korean Peninsula in preparation for the suspected long-range rocket launch by North Korea next month, a military source said yesterday.
ABC – Japanese Military Assumes More Global Role; From Sapporo to Somalia: Japan moving to redefine its military as a global force
Bangkok Post – A car bomb went off at a fresh market in the troubled southern province of Narathiwat on Monday morning, injuring seven people.
Irrawaddy – Three alleged members of the network operated by late drug kingpin Khun Sa have been arrested in Thailand and assets worth more than 117 million baht (US $3.3 million) seized.
Manila Times – THE joint RP-US military exercises scheduled in the Bicol region will start 15 days earlier than the original plan to make sure that projects will be completed before the closing of the annual undertaking a military officials disclosed Sunday. At the same time American troops are expected to arrive in the region by next week.
Air Force – Airmen aboard a B-2 Spirit tested their endurance in a 24-hour, 8,000-mile mission to Alaska and back to Guam March 12 in an exercise showcasing U.S. commitment to peace and stability throughout the Pacific region. Four B-2s and 270 Airmen from the 13th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron are deployed to Andersen Air Force Base from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., and this was the first bomber to complete the Polar Lightning Exercise since their arrival in late February.

Europe

Javno – Poland said on Sunday it hoped the new U.S. administration would not abandon plans to station a missile defence system on its territory. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Poland had taken “something of a political risk” in signing an agreement with the Bush adminstration to host the system.
Czech News – The congress of the opposition Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) today agreed that the party should strive for the cancellation of the Czech-U.S. treaties based on which a U.S. radar be is to be stationed on Czech soil.
Interpol – Pakistan has been praised by INTERPOL for its benchmark move in sharing with the world police body and its 187 member countries the DNA profiles of suspected terrorists linked to last November’s Mumbai terrorist attacks. On 21 March, INTERPOL’s Command and Co-ordination Centre at its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon received DNA profiles from Pakistan relating to the Mumbai terrorist attacks which were immediately checked against the organization’s global database by experts from INTERPOL’s DNA unit.
MSNBC – Hungary’s prime minister stunned the country Saturday by announcing his resignation because he had become an “obstacle” to the reforms needed to pull the country out of its worst financial crisis since the end of communism nearly 20 years ago.
euobserver – The Eastern Partnership is an EU attempt to expand its “sphere of influence” in the quest for hydrocarbons, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said, in Moscow’s first major broadside against the new policy.
Expatica – Spain’s government said Saturday it had cleared up a misunderstanding with Washington over the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Kosovo.
BBC – Macedonians have voted in presidential and local polls seen as critical to the country’s EU and Nato membership bids, amid stringent security.
euronews – Slovakia’s presidential election is to go to a second round. Amid a low turnout, no one candidate managed to win more than half the votes cast in Saturday’s ballot, as is required for outright victory. So a head to head battle between the two frontrunners will now take place next month.

Africa

Shabelle – The government officials in Elbarde town in Bakol region have disproved that some of their soldiers surrendered to the Islamic administration of al-Shabab in Bay and Bakol regions, official told Shabelle radio on Sunday. Mohamed Mo’allin, a district commissioner of Hudur town of the Somali government who is in parts of Bakol region disproved that some of their soldiers left and surrendered to the Islamic administration of al-Shabab who controls most of Bay and Bakol regions in southern Somalia.
Garowe – Somalia’s Contending Islamic Ideologies; Report Drafted By Dr. Michael A. Weinstein
Kavkaz Center – Struggle for Somalia: ”Al-Shabaab” movement welcomes bin Laden’s statement
Monitor – The Military Police Commander, Lt. Col. Tumusiime Katsigazi, has been appointed the Commanding Officer of the UPDF battalion set to reinforce the African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom).
Sudan Tribune – Some 34 people were killing as result of fighting tribal in between Fallata and Habaniya tribes in South Darfur State, tribal leader said. Jafar Ali Al-Gali, a representative of Al-Habaniya tribe told Al-Ray Amm daily newspaper that joint force from Al-Fallata and their ally Salamat attacked them at Afonna location killing 28 Habaniya and wounding 6 other. He further said they killed 6 members from the assailant force which was heavily armed.
New Vision – Mutinying Sudanese soldiers in Nimule have opened the Ugandan border after their leaders were addressed by President Salva Kiir of Southern Sudan. The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers opened the border at 8:00am yesterday, allowing over 300 trucks trapped in Sudan since Thursday to cross into Uganda. But traders aboard 200 vehicles inside Uganda were still too scared to cross into Sudan.
CSM – Hutu rebels in Congo strike back against joint offensive; FDLR militia targets civilians, aid workers, and officials who supported the Congo-Rwanda effort.
The Standard – Major donors have voiced concern over the spate of farm invasions amid concerns some Zanu PF elements are stepping up their efforts to sabotage the inclusive government’s push for an emergency financial rescue package. The fresh farm invasions spearheaded by the Joseph Chinotimba-led Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU) and senior Zanu PF officials are reportedly causing headaches for MDC-T ministers charged with leading Zimbabwe’s desperate search for aid.
Magharebia – Algeria will sell liquid natural gas (LNG) directly to Portugal, following an agreement signed between Sonatrach subsidiary SGC and the Portuguese government, APS reported on Saturday (March 21st). Algeria already supplies 2.5b cubic metres of LNG per year to Portugal.

Two U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 B Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft take off from Camp Liberty Command Pad, Iraq, March 19, 2009. When it comes to how it flies, the Osprey combines the best of both worlds with the ability to take off and land like a helicopter and the added feature of flying through the air like a plane. (photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp)

The Global War

LA Times – An intense, six-month campaign of Predator strikes in Pakistan has taken such a toll on Al Qaeda that militants have begun turning violently on one another out of confusion and distrust, U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism officials say. The pace of the Predator attacks has accelerated dramatically since August, when the Bush administration made a previously undisclosed decision to abandon the practice of obtaining permission from the Pakistani government before launching missiles from the unmanned aircraft.
US Navy – The U.S. Navy submarine and U.S. amphibious ship that collided in the Strait of Hormuz March 20, arrived in port Bahrain March 21.

Sights & Sounds

Africa Today – *African outrage against Madagascar’s new leader mounts as the A-U suspends the island *The Pope arrives in Angola to an enthusiastic welcome *And why convicts from Sierra Leone’s Special court will serve their sentences in Rwanda