Copyright 2009 The New York Sun Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:48:41 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Foreign :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/foreign istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/russia-accuses-un-agency-of-funding-georgian/86826/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — Russia's confrontation with the West is escalating, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accusing the U.N. Development Program of collaborating with the financier George Soros to fund Mikheil Saakashvili's rise to the Georgian presidency. Russia has long accused Mr. Soros of financing the 2003 Rose Revolution, and Mr. Saakashvili in particular. Yesterday, Mr. Lavrov called for an examination of the ties between Mr. Soros and the UNDP. "At the time, George Soros was sponsoring... ELI LAKE http://www.nysun.com/foreign/5th-us-fleet-seeks-action-over-piracy/86860/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — America's 5th Fleet is appealing to the world's navies and law enforcement agencies to step up their response to a spike in incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The call comes as the 5th Fleet is closely monitoring a pirated ship off the coast of Somalia carrying a cargo of 33 advanced Russian-made T-72 tanks, spare parts, and ammunition. The arms aboard the Faina, a Ukrainian vessel flying the flag of Belize, were reported to be bound for Kenya, though an... GEORGE JAHN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/iaea-head-calls-for-iran-to-end-its-nuclear/86816/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST VIENNA, Austria — A six-year probe has not ruled out the possibility that Iran may be running clandestine nuclear programs, the chief U.N. nuclear inspector said yesterday, urging Iran to reassure the world by ending its secretive ways. At the opening session of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 145-nation conference, the European Union also urged Tehran to cooperate fully with a U.N. probe that is trying to assess all of its past and present nuclear activities. "The international... ISAMBARD WILKINSON http://www.nysun.com/foreign/20000-flee-pakistan-clashes-with-taliban/86817/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Islamabad, Pakistan — Fighting between the Pakistani military and pro-Taliban militants has forced 20,000 people to flee from Pakistan to war-torn Afghanistan. The United Nations said that an intensive military operation in the border tribal area of Bajaur had led to thousands of refugees crossing into the Afghan province of Kunar. "More than 3,900 families, or around 20,000 individuals, have fled fighting in Bajaur into Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan," the U.N. High Commission for... SEBASTIEN BERGER http://www.nysun.com/foreign/anc-split-widens-as-leader-of-s-african-province/86811/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Johannesburg — The leader of South Africa's richest province resigned yesterday, heightening speculation about a split in the ruling African National Congress. Mbhazima Shilowa, a supporter of the ousted President Mbeki, had been provincial premier of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, for almost 10 years. He said he had quit in protest at the ousting of Mr. Mbeki by the party executive. "I am resigning due to my convictions that while the ANC has the right to recall any of its... ANITA CHANG http://www.nysun.com/foreign/china-marks-olympics-spacewalk-for-national-day/86812/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST BEIJING — China kicked off its National Day celebrations yesterday by highlighting its hosting of the Beijing Olympics and the country's first spacewalk, two hard-won successes in a tumultuous year marked by natural disasters, ethnic unrest, and another food safety scandal. The spacewalk on Saturday boosted a wave of Chinese pride and patriotism stemming from the Olympics, which is still a big news story in the domestic press one month after it ended. China's Olympic heroes were honored in a... JOHN DANISZEWSKI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/al-maliki-security-pact-is-in-us-iraqi-interest/86814/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST BAGHDAD — Prime Minister al-Maliki said yesterday that the government is ready to compromise to reach a security accord with America because Iraq still needs American troops despite the drop in violence. In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr. Maliki said neither he nor Iraq's parliament will accept any pact that fails to serve the country's national interests. A poorly constructed plan would provoke so much discord in Iraq that it could threaten his government's survival, he said. Mr... EMAD MEKAY http://www.nysun.com/foreign/egypt-press-union-to-appeal-journalists-arrest/86809/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST CAIRO, Egypt — The Egyptian Press Union said it will appeal the sentencing of opposition newspaper editor Ibrahim Eissa, who was convicted of publishing rumors about the health of President Mubarak. "We disapprove of sending journalists to prison and therefore are taking all measures to suspend this order," the deputy manager of the press union, Ahmed Anany, said by telephone yesterday from Cairo. The group represents more than 5,000 journalists. Mr. Eissa, editor of the independent daily... TIM BUTCHER http://www.nysun.com/foreign/11-europeans-freed-after-being-kidnapped-in-egypt/86810/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Eleven European tourists and their eight Egyptian guides have been released and are being flown to Cairo after being taken hostage a week ago in a remote desert region of Egypt. The group, including five Germans, five Italians, and a Romanian, were reported to be in good health although there were conflicting reports that rescuers had exchanged gunfire with their captors. The group was kidnapped at Gilf al-Kebir, a mountainous, cave-riddled plateau used as the setting for the 1996 film "The... ELLIOT SPAGAT http://www.nysun.com/foreign/12-bodies-found-near-mexican-school/86813/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST TIJUANA, Mexico — The bodies of 11 men and one woman were found dumped in an empty lot next to a Tijuana elementary school yesterday morning, an hour before children were scheduled to arrive. City officials suspended classes after finding the victims, most of whom had been bound and tortured. Some were only partially clothed, a state police spokeswoman in Tijuana, Prisna Perez, said. Minutes after the grisly discovery, four other bodies were found in another empty lot in Tijuana, and two other... JASON STRAZIUSO http://www.nysun.com/foreign/afghan-policeman-fires-on-us-troops-killing-one/86815/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan policeman opened fire on American troops at a police station, killing an American soldier and wounding three, officials said yesterday. An American commander said American forces in the station in eastern Afghanistan then killed the policeman. "Initial reports suggest that a rogue ANP [Afghan police] official turned on our forces and shot and killed one of our soldiers, the commander of Task Force Currahee in eastern Afghanistan, Colonel John "Pete" Johnson, said... ELI LAKE http://www.nysun.com/foreign/bin-ladens-son-makes-return-to-pakistan/86796/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — Al Qaeda is consolidating its leadership in the territory under its control in Pakistan. Osama bin Laden's son and heir apparent, Sa'ad bin Laden, has returned to Pakistan from his safe haven in Iran, according to messages posted on a Qaeda jihad Web forum known as al-Hesbah. An organization that tracks and translates discussions on such forums, the SITE Institute, provided its subscribers with a summary of messages describing what it said was an escape by Sa'ad bin Laden from an... JOSH GERSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/ex-cia-man-casts-doubt-on-hmong-trial/86752/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST A former CIA operative who advised a venerable Hmong leader, General Vang Pao, on a plan to put military pressure on Laos is expressing doubts that the aging general played a role in a plot against the Laotian regime, as American prosecutors alleged in an indictment last year. "My assessment is he's an old man. There's just no way. He's not full of piss and vinegar," the ex-CIA officer, Michael Spak, told The New York Sun yesterday. "The younger people surrounding him might be a different story... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/obamas-man-on-the-middle-east/86736/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Senator Obama's leading voice on Middle East policy, Dennis Ross, is one of America's most talented, creative, and clear-eyed diplomats, tirelessly seeking paradigm-shifting ideas, breakthroughs, and new openings to achieve his goals. And as he told a small group of pro-Israeli Obama donors, activists, and reporters at the United Nations, the goal is peace. Mr. Ross, who climbed the ladder at Foggy Bottom from the days of President Reagan until the end of the Clinton administration and is most... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/financial-crisis-casts-pall-on-un-poverty-goals/86680/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — Members of the Black Eyed Peas performed, Bill Gates donated money, and Mayor Bloomberg hosted a party for world leaders, all in the name of eradicating half of the world's poverty by the middle of the next decade. But as leaders from the wealthy countries kept a wary eye on the financial markets, some said it was unrealistic — unfair even — to ask them to funnel money to the poor during a financial crisis. Having dedicated this year's U.N. General Assembly session to fighting... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/pirates-seize-ukrainian-ship-off-somalia/86676/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST KIEV, Ukraine — The Foreign Ministry says pirates have seized a Ukrainian-operated ship off Somalia. The ministry says the Faina was sailing with 21 people on board under the Belize flag, though it is operated by Ukrainian managing company Tomax Team Inc. The ministry says in a statement that the ship's captain reported being surrounded by three boats of armed men yesterday afternoon. The ship's passengers include 17 Ukrainian citizens including the captain, as well as three Russians and one... MAAMOUN YOUSSEF http://www.nysun.com/foreign/egypt-kidnapped-european-tourists-released/86798/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:22:40 EST CAIRO, Egypt — A kidnapped 19-member European tour group was freed today and the 11 tourists and eight Egyptian guides and drivers are in good health and on their way to Cairo, Egypt's state news agency and television reported. The group, which includes five Germans, five Italians, and a Romanian, disappeared Sept. 19 while on a desert safari trip in a remote corner of southwestern Egypt. Their abductors took them to Sudan, then to Libya, but their final whereabouts were unclear. Italian news... GWEN ACKERMAN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/olmert-says-settlement-attack-threatens-democracy/86735/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Jerusalem — Prime Minister Olmert blamed an attack on an outspoken critic of Jewish settlement in the West Bank on what may be a newly formed Jewish underground and said the violence threatened the country's democracy. "An evil wind of extremism, hatred, violence, malice, of unlawfulness, of lack of restraint, of disregard for the state has swept through certain sectors of the Israeli society and is threatening Israeli democracy," Mr. Olmert told his Cabinet yesterday. Police have not yet found... GEORGE JAHN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/as-un-nuclear-watchdog-convenes-iran-israel/86734/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:12:19 EST VIENNA, Austria — A meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's 145 member nations this week could turn into a showdown between the West and the developing world, as Iran and Syria bid for more influence within the agency, and Islamic nations express anger over Israel's nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference, starting tomorrow, has traditionally been an annual chance for member countries to plan general nuclear policies that range from strengthening... YURAS KARMANAU http://www.nysun.com/foreign/belarus-claims-rout-of-opposition-in-national/86744/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:02:20 EST MINSK, Belarus — No opposition candidate won a seat in the Belarusian parliament with nearly all the districts counted, the head of the elections commission said early Monday. Although there is the possibility that some opposition members could still make it in, the major opposition candidates ran in districts where the vote has already been counted and thus were shut out. None of the opposition candidates running in the remaining districts is well known. "The voter is afraid of losing what he... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/bomb-threat-clears-us-embassy-in-brussels/86750/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:08:06 EST BRUSSELS, Belgium — Belgian police have evacuated the American embassy in Brussels after a caller told them there was a bomb in the building. Police on the scene said no bomb had gone off by 2245 GMT deadline tonight the caller gave them but that they would check the embassy for any explosives before giving the all-clear. The American complex in the Belgian capital houses both the American embassy to Belgium and the American diplomatic mission to the European Union, which has its headquarters... ALBERT AJI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/car-bomb-kills-17-wounds-14-in-syrian-capital/86720/ Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:36:07 EST DAMASCUS, Syria — A car packed with explosives detonated on a crowded residential street Saturday, killing 17 people and wounding more than a dozen others, state-run television reported. The car was packed with 440 pounds of explosives when it blew up on Mahlak Street, shattering apartment building and car windows and twisting the roof of one car, according to footage aired on Syrian TV. Syrian Interior Minister Bassam Abdul-Majid called the bombing a "terrorist act" and said all of the victims... ASHOK SHARMA http://www.nysun.com/foreign/explosion-in-indias-capital-kills-1-injures-18/86721/ Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:49:20 EST NEW DELHI — An explosion in a crowded flower market in India's capital Saturday killed a 13-year-old boy and injured 18 others, police and hospital officials said. Seven of the wounded were in critical condition, said Sanjeev, a spokesman for the state-run All India Institute for Medical Sciences who uses only one name. "The boy was brought dead to the hospital," Mr. Sanjeev told reporters. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said police were... NICOLE LANGE http://www.nysun.com/foreign/germany-arrests-2-terror-suspects-on-klm-flight/86710/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:55:37 EST COLOGNE, Germany — German police boarded a plane at Cologne-Bonn Airport and arrested two terrorist suspects today just before the plane took off for Amsterdam. Police said they decided to act after finding a suicide note that claimed the men wanted to die in a terror attack. A 23-year-old Somali man and a 24-year-old German man born in Somalia were arrested before the KLM flight left the airport, a spokeswoman for North Rhine-Westphalia state police said. The police spokeswoman, Katharina... WONG WAI-BOR http://www.nysun.com/foreign/china-mission-to-include-first-spacewalk/86625/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST JIUQUAN, China — China successfully launched a three-man crew into space yesterday, including an astronaut who will make the country's first spacewalk. The Shenzhou 7 spacecraft, China's third manned mission, blasted off atop a Long March 2F rocket shortly at 9:10 p.m. under clear night skies in northwestern China. The spacewalk is expected to take place either on Friday or Saturday. Underscoring the mission's weighty political overtones, the Chinese president and Communist Party head, Hu... GEORGE JAHN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/diplomats-america-asks-iaea-for-full-syria-report/86673/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST VIENNA, Austria — America has asked the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency for a fuller accounting of its investigation of Syria's alleged efforts to secretly develop a plutonium-producing facility at a site bombed by Israel. A senior Syrian envoy in turn accused Washington of using "twisted logic" in pressuring his country instead of condemning the Israeli attack. "When you shield the aggressor and when you accuse the victim it is ... being not only an accessory to the crimes committed... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/bush-indian-pm-hope-nuclear-agreement-will-pass/86674/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — President Bush and Prime Minister Singh of India expressed hope yesterday that Congress will approve a landmark agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation whose passage is in doubt. In remarks to reporters at the start of an Oval Office meeting, Mr. Bush said the deal is an example of how the American-India relationship has changed for the better during his administration. "It has taken a lot of work on both our parts, a lot of courage on your part," Mr. Bush said, looking toward Mr... The Daily Telegraph http://www.nysun.com/foreign/air-travel-to-pakistan-suspended-before-muslim/86675/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Islamabad — Air travel in Pakistan was on the brink of total shutdown on yesterday as terrorists declared the country's airports a target, dashing hopes for an early resumption of British Airways flights before next week's Eid festival. The holiday plans of thousands of Britons have been put in jeopardy by the British carrier's decision to halt flights on security grounds in the run up to the biggest Muslim holiday of the year. The airline cancelled the six flights it operated a week to... MAGGIE MICHAEL http://www.nysun.com/foreign/kidnappers-move-european-hostages-into-libya/86677/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST CAIRO, Egypt — A group of kidnappers who abducted a 19-member European tour group during a desert safari moved their captives from Sudan to Libya yesterday in a new complication to the week-old hostage ordeal, the Sudanese government said. Sudanese troops "monitored" the kidnappers as they drove in three 4x4 vehicles from the Oweinat Mountain area in northwest Sudan and crossed the border into Libya, a Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ali Youssef, told the Associated Press. The kidnappers... ROB GILLIES http://www.nysun.com/foreign/canadian-found-guilty-of-plot-to-behead-premier/86678/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST BRAMPTON, Ontario — A Canadian man accused of participating in military exercises and firearms training as part of a group authorities say plotted to storm Parliament and behead the prime minister was found guilty yesterday. The man's attorney says the plot was a "jihadi fantasy" and that his client knew nothing about it. A judge ruled yesterday that evidence of a terrorist group was "overwhelming." The man is the first person to be found guilty of a terrorist offense in Canada since the... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/computer-glitch-grounds-british-flights/86679/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST LONDON — A computer glitch at Britain's air traffic control center yesterday led to delays and cancellations across the country, officials said. NATS, which provides air traffic control services for planes crisscrossing British airspace, said a technical problem hit its Swanwick Air Traffic Control Center in southern England but had been fixed. "Safety has not been compromised at any stage and we sincerely apologize to those who have been inconvenienced," the director of NATS's operational... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/russia-launches-3-navigation-satellites/86626/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST MOSCOW — Russia successfully launched three satellites yesterday to enhance its space navigation system, officials said. The Russian Federal Space Agency said the three GLONASS-M satellites were put into orbit yesterday by a Proton-M rocket that blasted off from the Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan. They are to join Russia's Global Navigation Satellite System, or GLONASS — the equivalent of the American Global Positioning System, or GPS. The system, which serves both military and civilian... DANIEL CANCEL http://www.nysun.com/foreign/caracas-to-honor-founder-of-farc-with-plaza/86627/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Caracas, Venezuela --Venezuela's capital plans to honor the founder of Colombia's largest rebel group by naming a plaza for him, El Universal reported. Venezuelan groups sympathetic to socialist causes in Latin America, including the country's Communist Party, will inaugurate a plaza in Caracas to honor Manuel Marulanda, who died in March at the age of 77 after decades as the rebel's top commander, the Caracas-based daily reported. A bust of Marulanda will be placed in the 23 de Enero... SEBASTIAN ALISON and HENRY MEYER http://www.nysun.com/foreign/russia-offers-venezuelas-chavez-weapons-nuclear/86628/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Moscow — Russia offered visiting President Chavez of Venezuela $1 billion in credit to buy weapons and nuclear cooperation amid worsening relations between both nations and America. "We are ready to implement all our accords in the military sphere," Prime Minister Putin of Russia said as he met Mr. Chavez at his residence outside Moscow late yesterday. He told him that Russia was also ready to consider cooperation with Venezuela in atomic power in addition to high-technology and energy. Mr... BRUNO WATERFIELD http://www.nysun.com/foreign/in-precautionary-move-eu-moves-to-ban-chinese/86629/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Brussels, Belgium — The European Union moved to ban imports of dairy based Chinese food products yesterday, including biscuits, sweets, and chocolate, aimed at children or infants amid a growing global health scare over contaminated milk from China. New "precautionary" restrictions imposed by the European Commission will come into force on Friday along with tighter E.U. border checks on all Chinese food products entering Europe. "The measures will also impose an exclusive, total ban all... MALCOLM MOORE http://www.nysun.com/foreign/un-will-question-china-on-human-rights/86630/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Shanghai — The United Nations has presented China with a long list of questions about its alleged human rights abuses. China will have to answer the questions during two hearings in Geneva at the beginning of November. The U.N. Committee against Torture excoriated China for the "continued pervasiveness" of torture "in the criminal justice system." It demanded a list of all the people detained in connection with the riots in Tibet in March, including their current location and convictions. It... CAROLINE ALEXANDER http://www.nysun.com/foreign/britains-brown-enjoys-rise-in-popularity-pole/86631/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST London — Gordon Brown's popularity among British voters rose, cutting in half a lead enjoyed by the Conservative opposition, after the prime minister addressed the Labour Party's conference this week, a poll showed. Labour gained 7 percentage points from last week to 31%, the biggest post-conference boost in 20 years, according to YouGov Plc. The Conservatives' support fell 3 points to 41%. The margin of error was 2 points. Mr. Brown had been facing pressure from more than a dozen of his own... GEORGE JAHN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/us-seeks-full-un-report-on-syrian-nuclear-program/86612/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:21:12 EST VIENNA, Austria — Diplomats say America is asking the chief U.N nuclear inspector for a full written report on his efforts to probe allegations that Syria had a secret atomic program. The diplomats suggest Washington's move is prompted by dissatisfaction with a brief oral presentation of the status of the probe at this week's meeting of the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA got involved after Israel bombed what America said was a nearly completed nuclear... MATTI FRIEDMAN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/pipe-bomb-injures-critic-of-west-bank-settlements/86614/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:07:15 EST JERUSALEM — A pipe bomb exploded today outside the home of a prominent Israeli scholar and outspoken critic of Jewish West Bank settlements, lightly wounding him in what police suspect was an attack by Jewish extremists. Investigators found posters in Professor Zeev Sternhell's neighborhood offering a $320,000 prize to anyone who kills a member of Peace Now, a dovish Israeli group whose views Mr. Sternhell shares. If extremists were behind the attack, it would be one of the worst instances of... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/putin-pledges-expanded-ties-with-latin-american/86619/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:52:33 EST MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says relations with Latin America will be a top foreign policy priority for the Russian government. Mr. Putin, who is meeting with visiting President Chavez of Venezuela, says Russia is willing to discuss further military contacts with Venezuela and help it develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Mr. Chavez said during today's meeting that close ties between Venezuela and Russia would strengthen a multi-polar world. Mr. Chavez's visit takes place as... ADRIAN BLOMFIELD http://www.nysun.com/foreign/russia-moves-to-ban-us-cartoons/86530/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Moscow — The Kremlin was accused of a return to Soviet-style indoctrination yesterday after Russia moved to ban American cartoons such as "South Park" and "The Simpsons" and replace them with programs teaching children to be patriotic. The move came as Russia's broadcast watchdog began hearings on whether or not to revoke the licence of a cartoon network as punishment for transmitting episodes of "South Park," "The Simpsons," and "Family Guy." The American cartoons, which have adult themes... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/russians-permanently-unwelcome-by-czechs-poles/86531/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Czech and Polish officials say their countries oppose a permanent Russian presence at planned American missile defense facilities on their territories. The Czech foreign minister, Tomas Pojar, and the Polish undersecretary of state, Przemyslaw Grudzinski, said in a statement released yesterday that they could only let Russian officials in on the basis of reciprocity. The American missile defense plan calls for a radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor... RICHARD SPENCER and PETER FOSTER http://www.nysun.com/foreign/china-ordered-cover-up-of-tainted-milk-scandal/86532/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Beijing — Chinese authorities ordered a cover-up of a tainted milk scandal that has poisoned tens of thousands of babies because they feared social unrest if the news was made public, the Daily Telegraph has learned. Senior officials gave the order to Sanlu, the company whose poisoned milk powder is said to be responsible for at least four deaths and illnesses in almost 53,000 infants. The company, based in Shijiazhuang, met city officials three times to explain the extent of the crisis... Associated Press http://www.nysun.com/foreign/italian-lawyers-seek-rice-testimony-in-egyptian/86533/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST MILAN, Italy — Lawyers for a former Italian intelligence chief want to call Secretary of State Rice as a witness in the trial of 26 Americans charged in the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric. The request filed yesterday by a defense lawyer, Nicolo Madia, is based on testimony saying Ms. Rice was in charge of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program. A former military intelligence director, Nicolo Pollari, is among several Italians also charged in the 2003 abduction of Osama Moustafa... BENNY AVNI http://www.nysun.com/foreign/at-assembly-fretting-over-russias-rejection/86570/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST UNITED NATIONS — European diplomats are expressing concern that Russia's refusal to impose a new round of sanctions on Iran could spell an end to diplomacy and lead to a military attack to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. A Russian veto at the U.N. Security Council would scuttle any resolution on sanctions, which America is seeking over Iran's refusal to dismantle its nuclear program. Relations between Washington and Moscow have turned icy since Russia's war with Georgia this... ISAMBARD WILKINSON http://www.nysun.com/foreign/pakistani-governor-us-must-talk-with-taliban/86534/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Peshawar, Afghanistan — America must broker a power-sharing agreement with the head of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, to establish peace in the region, the governor of Pakistan's lawless border areas has said. Owais Ghani, who governs the North West Frontier Province and its adjoining tribal areas, is the most prominent figure to advocate publicly holding talks with commanders leading the insurgency against coalition forces in Afghanistan. His thinking reflects that of Pakistan's military... CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER http://www.nysun.com/foreign/venezuela-arrests-2-in-alleged-assassination-plot/86535/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan authorities have arrested two people suspected of plotting to kill Hugo Chavez by blowing up the president's plane with heavy artillery, the country's top security official said yesterday. Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami said the suspects were apprehended Tuesday during a raid on a house in western Zulia state, where authorities found a cannon and four grenades. He said the names of the suspects would not be disclosed for "strategic reasons." At least six... SARAH EL DEEB http://www.nysun.com/foreign/germany-in-contact-with-tourist-kidnappers/86565/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST ASWAN, Egypt — German officials have established direct contact with kidnappers of a 19-member tour group in Egypt after days of trying to negotiate through mobile phone calls between one of the captives and his wife, Egyptian and Sudanese officials said yesterday. The kidnappers, who snatched the 11 Europeans and 8 Egyptians on Friday during a desert safari in Egypt, have taken their captives across the border into Sudan. Sudanese troops have located them and are keeping watch on their... NICK ALLEN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/finnish-college-killers-may-be-linked-say-police/86566/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Kauhajoki, Finland — Detectives believe a gunman who shot dead 10 people at a college in Finland had been in contact with another student responsible for a similar school shooting last year. Matti Saari, 22, who also killed himself at the vocational college in the town of Kauhajoki, 220 miles north of Helsinki, on Tuesday, was guilty of a copycat killing, the police believe. Saari had made a long journey to buy his gun in the town of Joleka in the south of the country where Pekka-Eric Auvinen... ELI LAKE http://www.nysun.com/foreign/us-shrugs-at-n-korea-nuclear-move/86568/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — North Korea's decision to reactivate a nuclear plant in Yongbyon that it shuttered earlier this year is meeting with little more than a shrug from the Bush administration, which is working desperately to secure the $700 billion it is requesting from Congress to bail out Wall Street's investment banks. Secretary of State Rice yesterday promised that talks with North Korea would continue, despite the regime's provocative move and the unknown condition of the country's leader Kim...