What's going on in the World Today 100928

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USA

Israel: U.S. Disappointed By Israeli Settlement Building September 27, 2010


The U.S. State Department issued a statement expressing disappointment regarding Israel’s decision to let a moratorium on settlement building in the West Bank expire, Reuters reported Sept. 27. A spokesman for the department said the United States is focused on its long-term objective and hopes the Arab League meeting will affirm its support for the peace process. U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will leave for the region Sept. 27 for talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.


U.S.: Duties Placed On Chinese, Mexican Copper Pipe September 27, 2010


The United States placed final duties as high as 61 percent on Chinese copper pipe and from 24.89 percent to 31.43 percent on Mexican copper pipe and tube, according to a Commerce Department announcement Sept. 27, Reuters reported. The United States imported $233 million worth of copper pipe and tube from China and $130 million from Mexico in 2009. The Commerce Department places final anti-dumping duties from 11.25 percent to 60.85 percent on Chinese producers and exporters. Preliminary duties on both countries have been effective since May. The U.S. International Trade Commission will vote Nov. 8 on whether American producers have been materially harmed or threatened with harm by the imports. 

EUROPE


NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT



ASIA


China: Opposition To Iranian Sanctions Reaffirmed - Official September 28, 2010


China opposes sanctions against Iran and believes the nuclear issue should be addressed through negotiations, Li Changchun, a senior Communist Party of China official, said Sept. 28, MNA reported. Beijing has always had a policy of cooperation with Tehran, Li said. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proposed that bilateral trade be expanded to reach $100 billion within five years.


China: Anti-Dumping Duties Put On U.S. Chicken Imports September 26, 2010


China will enact anti-dumping duties on U.S. chicken product imports beginning Sept. 27, AFP reported Sept. 26, citing a statement from the Chinese Commerce Ministry. The statement said the U.S. market has dumped broiler products into the Chinese market and damaged China’s domestic chicken producers. Duties of more than 50 percent will be put on up to 35 U.S. chicken broiler exporters, including Tyson Foods Inc., Keystone Foods LLC, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and Sanderson Farms Inc., and duties of more than 105 percent will be put on all other U.S. producers. The duties will apply for five years.



RUSSIA


Kyrgyzstan, Russia: U.S. Reportedly Welcomes Fuel-supply Venture  September 27, 2010


The United States has welcomed a proposal for establishing a joint Kyrgyz-Russian venture to supply aviation fuel to the Pentagons transit center in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minsiter Zhantoro Satybaldiyev said Sept. 27, RIA Novosti reported. The drafting of an agreement that would create the venture is in its final stages, an Kyrgyz official said.


Russia, Iran: No Nuclear Plant Negotiations Underway September 27, 2010


Russia does not negotiate with Iran on the construction of new nuclear power plants, except for the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko stated, Itar-Tass reported Sept. 27. Bushehr is being finalized but the next power units are not on the agenda, he said without providing details.



IRAN


Above the Tearline: Cyberattacks and Investigation Disturbance STRATFOR


Iran: Unnecessary Foreign Goods Banned September 28, 2010


The Iranian government plans to support domestic producers and permanent jobs on its priority list and will ban the import of unnecessary foreign merchandise, Irans Labor and Social Affairs Minister Ali Reza Sheykholeslami said Sept. 28, IRNA reported. The industrial and agricultural ministries will identify the unnecessary goods, he said, adding that the ban will be transparent so that agricultural and industrial importers can continue their activities.


Iran: Court Bans 2 Reformist Parties September 27, 2010


The Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Islamic Revolution Mujahideen Organization, two political parties that backed presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in the 2009 election, were banned by a court Sept. 27 from holding any further activities, AFP reported, citing a report by the Iranian Labor News Agency.


Iran: Stuxnet Computer Virus Is Mutating, Spreading September 27, 2010


The Stuxnet computer virus has mutated and is spreading, the deputy chief of Iran’s Information Technology Company said, IRNA reported Sept. 27. Hamid Alipur said the exact level of contamination is unclear. He said the Information Technology Company had expected to be able to root out the virus in one to two months, but three new versions of it have been spreading. Alipur said the virus’s writer has been able to access industrial information not available to information technology experts. He said Stuxnet was not written by ordinary hackers and a country or organization was involved in Stuxnet’s creation.


Iran: President Says Soviet Union, U.S. Supported Iraq In War September 27, 2010


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the United States and the former Soviet Union supported Iraq in the 1980-88 war against Iran and that Iran’s enemies are now defending their “white and black palaces,” Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Khuzestan Provincial TV, Ahvaz, reported Sept. 27. He reiterated his urging for an investigation into 9/11, saying it was used as a pretext to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. He added that sanctions against Iran would not be effective.


Iran: May Sue Russia Over S-300 Delivery September 26, 2010


Iran may sue Russia if Moscow does not deliver the S-300 air defense system to Iran, according to Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Iran’s semi-official ISNA reported Sept. 26. Boroujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Iran would sue for compensation if Russia does not deliver the system.



IRAQ


Dispatch: Factionalization and the Iraqi Security Forces STRATFOR


Iraq: Kurdish Rebels Deny Iranian Attack September 27, 2010


Iranian forces did not conduct a raid at the Iraqi border, Sherzad Kamanger, a spokesman for Kurdish rebels based in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains, said on Sept. 27, AP reported. Iranian state television reported on Sept. 26 that Iranian forces moved into Iraq and killed 30 militants involved in a bomb attack that occurred in northwestern Iran. Kamanger said there have been no recent battles with Iranian troops, but there was Iranian shelling late Sept. 26 at four border towns that left a civilian injured.



ISRAEL


NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT



AFGHANISTAN


Afghanistan: Spokesman Confirms Contact With Taliban September 28, 2010


The spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai confirmed that contact has been made between the government and Taliban leaders, Tolo TV reported Sept. 28. The spokesman said both indirect and direct contact has been made at various levels but said he did not consider it the beginning of peace talks.


Afghanistan: Security Transition Target May Be Delayed - NATO Gen. September 28, 2010


NATO will not meet its target for transferring security responsibility to Afghan forces in 2011 unless allies provide hundreds more specialty instructors, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan head U.S. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell said Sept. 28, Reuters reported. According to Caldwell, desertion and casualties have caused attrition in the Afghan army, which has in turn led to 133,000 fewer Afghan police and army troops than is needed to increase the total number of personnel by 50,000 and, thus, reach the target of 305,000. If NATO’s requirements are not met on time, the transition will be delayed, Caldwell said.


U.K., Afghanistan: Taliban Demand Prisoner Swap September 27, 2010


A local Afghan Taliban commander said he kidnapped a British aid worker and her Afghan colleagues in Kunar province Sept. 26 and told an Afghan press agency with close ties to the Taliban that he was demanding an exchange for Aafia Siddiqui, The Telegraph reported.


Afghanistan: Conflict Moving North - Defense Ministry September 26, 2010


Afghanistan’s northern provinces have become less secure as International Security Assistance Force and Afghan troops have increased their presence in the country’s south and east, according to a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, Tolo TV reported Sept. 26. The spokesman said while security has improved in the south and east due to the increased operations in the area, the Taliban has shown some success in moving the conflict to the north and west.



SOUTH OF THE BORDER


Venezuela: Nuclear Program Considered September 28, 2010


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his government is considering a nuclear energy program for peaceful purposes, AP reported Sept. 28. Venezuela needs an atomic energy program and will not be stopped as it conducts initial studies, Chavez stated during a news conference.


Colombia: FARC Nominate New Chief September 27, 2010


The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) designated Felix Antonio Munoz Lascarro, aka Pastor Alape, as the successor to deceased chief Victor Julio Suarez Rojas, El Espectador reported Sept. 27. Lascarro is the head of the Central Magdalena bloc and is allegedly responsible for managing FARC drug production and distribution policy and controlling the supply of cocaine in Central Magdalena province.


Mexico: Tancitaro Interim Mayor Killed September 27, 2010

Mexican police discovered the bodies of Tancitaro interim Mayor Gustavo Sanchez Cervantes and his secretary, Rafael Equihua Cervantes, near the town of Angahuan in Michoacan state, El Universal reported Sept. 27. Both men had been killed with stones and were bound and blindfolded.


Colombia: GPS Not Used To Target FARC Commander September 27, 2010


Colombian armed forces commander Adm. Edgar Cely denied that a GPS chip was used to locate and target Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) chief Victor Julio Suarez Rojas, Caracol Radio reported Sept. 27. Cely said the Sept. 22 raid that killed Suarez Rojas in La Macarena, Meta department, was the result of armed forces intelligence and that only the military high command was aware of his presence at the targeted camp.


Venezuela: Chavez Allies Win Congressional Majority September 27, 2010


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s socialist party won at least 90 of the 165 seats in the National Assembly, while the opposition coalition won at least 59 seats, National Electoral Council chief Tibisay Lucena said Sept. 27, AP reported. Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, leader of the opposition coalition, called the delayed results “inadmissible,” claiming that according to the opposition’s tally, anti-Chavez candidates garnered more than half the popular vote. Areas where the electoral council didn’t release results were dominated by the opposition, Aveledo said, demanding electoral authorities give details on those results.


Mexico: Soldiers Capture Suspected Drug Chief September 27, 2010


Mexican soldiers arrested suspected Zetas drug gang leader Jose Angel Fernandez in Cancun and blamed him for a deadly Aug. 31 bar attack that killed eight people who declined to pay protection money, Reuters reported Sept. 27. The army said Fernandez was in charge of trafficking and enforcement operations in Cancun and the surrounding state of Quintana Roo. Fernandez was caught with three other people, weapons, cash in dollars and pesos, cell phones, vehicles and a list of names of people on the Zeta payroll in Quintana Roo, according to army statements.


A FARC Leader's Death and Colombia's Upper Hand STRATFOR


Mexico Security Memo: Sept. 27, 2010 STRATFOR

MISC


Cuba: Labor Reforms To Increase Production Laborers September 28, 2010


Cuban labor reforms, which will eliminate 500,000 jobs in the next six months, could cause up to 80 percent of all public workers to be directly linked to production, EFE reported Sept. 28. The reshuffling of laborers to other sectors will be based on each person’s “demonstrated ability,” and will be carried out with the aid of advisory committees and the state labor union.


Greece: Ship Searched For Weapons September 28, 2010


Greek authorities were searching on Sept. 28 a cargo ship believed to be hauling weapons from North Korea to Syria, Reuters reported, citing officials. The ship is French-owned and German-flagged; after opening four containers, neither missiles nor weapons have been found, an unnamed official close to the operation said. “Non-military material that could have a dual use,” was found, according to an official, who added that the search was ongoing.

Dispatch: Challenges in Developing the Arctic STRATFORExcept where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com