Police Work, Politics and World Affairs, Football and the ongoing search for great Scotch Whiskey!

Monday, October 4, 2010

What's going on in the World Today 101004

HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:

USA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

EUROPE

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

ASIA

Philippines: U.S. To Continue Sending Security Forces October 4, 2010


The United States will continue to send security forces to the Philippines in an effort to combat al Qaeda-linked militant group Abu Sayyaf and its regional ally, Jemaah Islamiyah, U.S. envoy to Manila Harry Thomas said Oct. 4, AFP reported. Washington believes Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah are serious threats to the region despite an eight-year-long deployment of U.S. forces to southern Philippines, Thomas said. The United States will send “military advisers” to the country for as long as they are welcomed by their Philippine counterparts, Thomas added.
RUSSIA

Russia: Sea-Based ICBM Tests Resume October 4, 2010
The 13th missile is due to be fired from the Dmitri Donskoi nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents Sea the week of Oct. 3, Russias senior naval officer Vladimir Vysotsky said, RUVR reported Oct. 4. 

Russia: Ex-Moscow Mayor Forms Political Movement October 4, 2010

The former mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov said he plans to form his own political movement to develop democracy in Russia, according to a New Times interview, AP reported Oct. 4. Luzhkov said he was forced from his position because the Kremlin wants a more pliant mayor prior to the 2011 parliamentary elections and the 2012 presidential vote. He dismissed allegations of corruption and will not appeal his ouster because he believes Russia’s courts would not dare defy the Kremlin.

Russia: New Military District Created  October 4, 2010

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the creation of a new military district for southern Russia, Xinhua reported Oct. 4. The southern military district will replace the North Caucasus military district, which has been disbanded. Gen. Alexander Galkin, former North Caucasus military district commander, has taken command of the new district. Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said the new district will fulfill several tasks, including fighting terrorism, keeping a permanent naval presence in Ukraine, keeping Georgia from its breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and air defense tasks outside Russia.

IRAN

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

IRAQ

Iraq: Oil Reserve Estimate Increased October 4, 2010

Iraq’s oil minister increased the estimate on the country’s proven oil reserves to 143.1 billion barrels, an increase of nearly 25 percent, AP reported Oct. 4. The reserves can be extracted by available techniques, Hussain Shahristani stated, adding that the total is based on reserves in 66 oil fields. Other areas must be explored and could add to the reserve total, he said.

Dispatch: NATO Fuel Tankers Attacked at Khyber Pass STRATFOR
ISRAEL

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

AFGHANISTAN

Pakistan: Supply Route To Reopen Quickly - Envoy October 3, 2010

Pakistan will reopen by Oct. 9 the supply route used by NATO forces in Afghanistan that was closed Sept. 30, according to Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Hussain Haqqani, AFP reported Oct. 3. Haqqani said Pakistan was not blockading the route, but merely suspending convoys from moving through Pakistani territory. Haqqani said Gen. David Petraeus had called him, and that Petraeus understands that the closure was not a political retaliation but rather an effort to make convoys more secure, and that the issue will not cause permanent damage to bilateral cooperation. Brig. Usman Khattak, deputy inspector general of the Pakistani Frontier Corps, and another official traveled to Afghanistan Oct. 2 to join a U.S.-led investigation on the Sept. 30 border incident.

NATO, Afghanistan: Forces Kill Taliban Leader October 2, 2010

According to an International Security Assistance Force press release published Oct. 2, an Afghan and coalition security force killed Farman, a Taliban senior leader who participated in attacks, kidnappings, interrogations and executions of Afghan civilians. He and two of his associates were killed during an overnight operation in Paktiya province. Intelligence information led the security force to a compound in the village of Dinar Kheyl in Gardez district. Eight suspected insurgents were also detained while combined troops discovered assault rifles in the targeted compound.

Pakistan: Gunmen Attack 20 NATO Fuel Tankers October 3, 2010

Gunmen attacked around 20 NATO fuel tankers en route to Afghanistan along the recently closed supply line or parked in Islamabad on Oct. 4, Reuters and AP reported. At least two people have been killed, according to a senior police official, who said militants began shooting at the tankers parked on the side of the road, and then lit them on fire. A Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman had said Oct. 3 that the supply line will be closed until public anger over NATO airstrikes eases and security improves.

Afghanistan: Taliban Infiltrate Security Forces October 4, 2010

Taliban sleeper cells were set up inside Afghan security forces, according to the former head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime Antonio Maria Costa, the BBC reported Oct. 4. There is evidence the cells carried out a number of suicide attacks using trusted individuals in the army and the Taliban is planning more attacks on NATO-led troops, Costa said, adding it is one of the biggest problems in Afghanistan.

Pakistan: Taliban Claim NATO Tanker Attack October 4, 2010

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks on NATO supply trucks and tankers in Sindh and Islamabad and will carry out future attacks to avenge drone assaults, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Azam Tariq stated in a telephone interview with AFP, Dawn News reported Oct. 4. The Taliban will not allow Pakistan to be used as a supply route for NATO troops based in Afghanistan, he said
MIDDLE EAST

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Mexico: Armed Gang Kidnaps 20 Tourists October 2, 2010

An armed gang has kidnapped at least 20 Mexican tourists in the resort city of Acapulco, BBC reported Oct. 2, citing the prosecutor’s office in the southern state of Guerrero. The tourists had recently arrived in Acapulco and were looking for a hotel when armed men in cars with Michoacan state number plates seized them. There were conflicting reports regarding when the incident took place.

Colombia: New Strategy To Counter Urban Crime October 4, 2010


The Colombian government has formulated a new strategy to counter urban crime that will allow for tougher judicial measures against members of criminal groups, El Tiempo reported Oct. 4. The new legislation will allow the police to conduct searches at any time and will penalize membership in criminal organizations with up to 15 years in prison. In addition, private firms convicted of actively promoting terrorist ideas or doctrines can be fined an amount equivalent to as many as 200 minimum wages.

MISC

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

Except where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com

No comments:

Post a Comment