What's going on in the World Today 100825

HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:
USA
Taiwan: U.S. To Supply Radar Equipment August 25, 2010

The United States will supply relatively low-grade radar equipment to Taiwan’s air force, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Aug. 25, AP reported. The sale includes defense services, technical data, and defense articles for Taiwan’s air defense system, and radar equipment for Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighter jets, Crowley stated.




EUROPE
France: Immigrant Summit Planned August 24, 2010


France invited several EU member states to an immigrant summit scheduled on Sept. 6 in Paris, the EU Observer reported on Aug. 24. Interior ministers from Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Greece were invited as well as Canada and the Belgian EU presidency. Mihai Somfalean, media advisor for the Romanian interior minister, said Romania had not yet been invited.


RUSSIA
Russia: Drought Causes $1 Billion In Crop Loss  August 23, 2010


Russia’s agriculture industry faces losses of over $1 billion after a drought destroyed a quarter of its crops, Russian Deputy Agriculture Minister Alexander Petrikov said Aug. 23, AFP reported. Petrikov said the drought has affected about 16,000 farms, destroying 11 million hectares of crops. Although the Russian agricultural sector has produced only 40.3 million tons of grain this year — about 15.4 million tons less than in 2009 — carryover stock, intervention supplies and the remaining grain harvests for 2010 will allow Russia to meet its consumption needs, Petrikov said, RIA Novosti reported Aug. 23.




IRAN


Iran: Assault Boat Production Launched August 23, 2010
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier Gen. Ahmad Vahidi officially opened the production lines for the Seraj high-speed vessel and a new generation of the high-speed Zolfaghar vessel on Aug. 23, Press TV reported. The Zolfaghar is designed to sail at a speed of 70 knots (82 mph) and conduct immediate strikes on enemy ships, IRNA reported. It can operate in an average wave height of 1.21 meters (3.97 feet) and its missiles will effectively function at 1.25 meters.


Turkey: Iran Removed From Watch List August 23, 2010


Turkey will remove Iran from its watch list of nations considered as specific threats to Turkish national security, the Milliyet newspaper said on Aug. 23, AFP reported. Turkey’s National Security Council produces the list. The revisions will be adopted in October and will no longer refer to Iran as a “specific threat.” It will also downgrade a perceived threat from Greece. The review mentions Iran’s nuclear weapons program and repeats Turkey’s diplomatic line that it favors a nuclear-free Middle East, in a statement taken as a reference to Israel, which is believed to hold the region’s only nuclear weapons arsenal.

Iran: Fateh-110 Missile Test Fired  August 25, 2010


Iran successfully test fired the domestically built Fateh-110 missile, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said on Aug. 25, Press TV reported. The new generation of the Fateh-110 is a precision, 250-kilometer medium-range ballistic missile with a quicker launch time, Vahidi stated. Known as the Conqueror, the missile is nine meters (29 feet) long and weighs 3,500 kilograms (7,700 pounds), he said.


IRAQ

Dispatch: Coordinated Attacks Across Iraq


Iraq: Police Arrest 12 Alleged ISI Members August 23, 2010


Iraqi police have broken up an alleged al-Qaeda group whose members, in an effort to expose the weakness of security forces, have been killing traffic police in Baghdad, Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said Aug. 23, BBC News reported. Nine men and three women — all of whom are alleged members of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) — have been arrested and have confessed to the killings, the ministry said. According to video recordings of the confessions, a man named Ali said he helped execute numerous insurgency operations in Baghdad, placing five roadside bombs in position and shooting traffic policemen. Ali also said there were five cells in his organization, each composed of four members. According to officials, the Interior Ministry received intelligence on the group, and then followed its members around Baghdad before raiding their apartments.




ISRAEL
Israel: New Army Chief Named August 22, 2010


Israeli Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant has been named the new army chief of staff by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Reuters reported Aug. 22. The decision comes several weeks earlier than expected following a scandal over alleged lobbying for the military’s top position. Barak said he will ask the Israeli Cabinet to approve the appointment at its Aug. 29 meeting.




AFGHANISTAN
A Week in the War: Afghanistan, Aug. 18-24, 2010 STRATFOR










SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Mexico: Stock Market Receives Bomb Threat  August 23, 2010


Mexico Citys stock market received a bomb threat and the Immediate Response Special Group was called in and is searching for the alleged explosive device, Reuters reported Aug. 23. The threat did not affect the stock market’s operations, traders said. There is no floor trading at the Mexican stock exchange.

Coast Rica: Counternarcotics Official Requests Help From U.S. Navy August 23, 2010


Costa Rican National Counternarcotics Commissioner Mauricio Boraschi confirmed an Aug. 22 report that Costa Rica asked the U.S. Navy to assist in its counternarcotics efforts, Radio Reloj reported Aug. 23. The request was made in order to prevent the arrival of cocaine-laden boats into Costa Rica, Boraschi said during a meeting with officials from the U.S. Navy’s Southern Command.


Colombia: Suspects Sought In Bogota Bombing August 23, 2010


Colombian authorities are seeking suspects Javier Lopez and Arnuldo Tafur for a car bombing near Caracol Radio in Bogota in earlier August, El Tiempo reported Aug. 23. The two men were previously arrested in 2006 for alleged links to the 14th front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Lopez is a cousin of Adelmo Lopez, who was arrested for allegedly providing counterfeit license plates for the car used in the attack.


Mexico: U.S. Citizen Fired On Soldiers - Army August 23, 2010


A Mexican soldier told police that U.S. citizen Joseph Proctor was killed Aug. 23 in Acapulco after opening fire on an army convoy with an AR-15 rifle and subsequently being shot by soldiers, the Washington Post reported. A Mexican police investigator provided no further details on Proctor, who was found dead in his car Aug. 22.


Mexico: Official Warns Of Cartel Presence In Mexico City August 25, 2010


A Mexican federal police official warned about the presence of drug trafficking organizations in Mexico City and their intent to extend control over territory and illegal drug sales in the city, El Universal reported Aug. 25. According to the official, the Sinaloa cartel reportedly has a presence in the Cuautitlan corridor and is in a territorial dispute with the Beltran Leyva cartel in Huixquilucan while Los Zetas and La Familia Michoacana are present in the area between the Itzapalapa, Gustavo A. Madero and Venustiano Carranza neighborhoods.

MISC


Above the Tearline: BlackBerry Security | STRATFOR
North Korea: Stealth Manual Revealed August 23, 2010


The North Korean military developed stealth paint and other camouflage materials and built phony facilities and equipment to deceive state-of-the-art U.S. and South Korean reconnaissance satellites and aircraft, according to an exclusively obtained, confidential field manual, Chosun Ilbo reported on Aug. 23. A source smuggled the manual out of North Korea. The booklet gives detailed instructions on how to make and apply stealth paint that absorbs radar waves and build various kinds of fake facilities, such as command posts. It describes how to conceal facilities and equipment and make military units appear to be moving when they are stationary.


Dispatch: Pakistan Floods Increase Risk of Social Unrest | STRATFOR

Dispatch: Chinese Influence Expands in South Pacific | STRATFOR