July 4th, 2009
Iraq
Hussain al-Shahristani has been invited to a Japan-Iraq investment seminar on July 10 organized by the Japanese trade ministry, Kiyoshi Mori, director at the ministrys Middle East- Africa division, said by phone today.
The possible visit would coincide with Iraqs first international tender for oil and gas field development in more than three decades. The holder of the worlds third-largest crude reserves is seeking to boost petroleum output by over 60 percent with the help of foreign partners and cash. A service agreement for the Rumaila oil [...]
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July 4th, 2009
World
Only Friday did Argentinas new health minister, Juan Manzur, raise the countrys official death toll to 44. He now estimates that as many as 320,000 people have been stricken with influenza, including about 100,000 with swine flu - a huge jump in what the government acknowledged previously, and an indication that Argentinas hospitals will remain overwhelmed for months.
Britain, for its part, had refused to do widespread testing for swine flu, slowing the World Health Organizations efforts to declare that the viral spread had become a pandemic. Britains Health Minister Andy Burnham belatedly acknowledged Thursday that Britain needs to revamp its [...]
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July 3rd, 2009
Iraq
Unclassified FBI interviews conducted during his incarceration at a U.S. detention center offered new details Thursday about the late Iraqi dictators life on the run - both before and after he was ousted.
The documents also confirm previous reports that Saddam falsely allowed the world to believe Iraq had weapons of mass destruction - the main U.S. rationale behind the war - because he feared revealing his weakness to Iran, the hostile neighbor he considered a bigger threat than the U.S.
Saddam was captured by American soldiers on Dec. 13, 2003, just over eight months after his regime was toppled by a [...]
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July 3rd, 2009
Africa
The change was materialized by morphing the African Unions executive body, the commission, into an “African Authority.”
The draft document adopted at 4 a.m. at the AU summit of heads of states in Sirte, Libya, showed that the new Authority would simplify the AUs structure and boost its power over defense, diplomatic and international trade matters.
The document, obtained by The Associated Press, was viewed as a milestone for the buildup to what Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has long envisioned as a federal government overseeing a “United States of Africa.”
“The final text reflects everybodys position,” said Benins Foreign Minister Jean-Marie Ehouzou, the [...]
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July 2nd, 2009
Japan
The greenback also gained versus 13 of the 16 major currencies after Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei said he hopes the dollar will “remain stable,” easing concern it will lose its reserve status. The yen rose from near a two-week low against the euro on speculation a U.S. report today will show the worlds biggest economy lost jobs for an 18th month, spurring demand for the relative safety of Japans currency.
“The ministers remarks are definitely supportive of the dollar,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and [...]
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July 2nd, 2009
Israel
In a 127-page report, Amnesty accused the Israeli army of “reckless conduct” and “disregard for civilian lives” in the month-long conflict. Palestinian rocket attacks into Israel were all illegal, it said.
Israel launched the operation on Dec. 27 to stop the rocket attacks on its southern towns from the Hamas-controlled seaside enclave. Palestinian authorities reported that 1,434 Gaza residents died in the conflict that ended on Jan. 18. Israel has put the number of Palestinian deaths at 1,166 and said 13 Israelis were killed in the fighting. [...]
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July 2nd, 2009
Israel
Amnesty called on Israel to publicly pledge not to use artillery, white phosphorus and other imprecise weapons in densely populated areas. And it urged Gazas militant Hamas rulers to stop rocket fire against Israeli civilians - attacks it also described as war crimes.
Amnesty - which first accused Israel of war crimes shortly after the fighting ended on Jan. 18 - said “disturbing questions” remain about why high-precision weapons like tank shells and air-delivered bombs and missiles “killed so many children and other civilians.”
The group also deplored Israels use of less-precise artillery shells and highly incendiary white phosphorous in densely populated [...]
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July 2nd, 2009
China
“We are firmly against such attempts to advance trade protectionism under the pretext of climate change,” Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told reporters in Beijing.
The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that calls for the nations first limits on pollution linked to global warming. One provision could impose tariffs on imports from countries that do not make similar cuts.
“It is not conducive to world economic recovery and it serves nobodys interest,” He said of that proposal.
The U.S. bill must still pass the Senate, and President Barack Obama has expressed reservations about the tariff measure. The Obama administration [...]
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July 1st, 2009
India
About 250 commandos from the National Security Guard will be deployed in Mumbai and 830 others in bases in Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, state-run broadcaster Doordarshan cited Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram as saying yesterday.
“This will increase the confidence of the people of the country that they are secure,” Chidambaram said in Mumbai at the opening ceremony. The NSG comprises elite personnel who specialize in counterterrorism and rescue operations, he said.
Indias government announced [...]
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July 1st, 2009
Australia
European Investment Bank and International Finance Corp., supranationals which raised $17 billion from so-called kangaroo bonds in the four years ended August 2008, are now paying as much as 120 basis points in extra interest to borrow in Australia for projects around the world. That amounts to $12 million a year in interest on every $1 billion of debt.
“The old days are over,” said Patrick Bryant, senior manager of securities origination at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. Many of the kangaroo bonds sold by supranationals [...]
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