29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
The UAE got behind domestic and foreign banks in troubled Dubai today, with its central bank setting up a “liquidity facility” on the eve before battered global markets were to re-open after a holiday break. The move was widely seen as countering the perception that Dubai might be the first…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
The Iranian government approved a plan today to build 10 industrial scale uranium enrichment facilities, a dramatic expansion of the program in defiance of UN demands it halt enrichment. The decision comes only days after the UN nuclear watchdog agency censured Iran over its program and demanded it halt the…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
Pakistan’s main opposition party demanded today that President Asif Ali Zardari relinquish much of his power amid calls for the unpopular leader to assume a ceremonial role or resign. Zardari inherited sweeping powers from military dictator Pervez Musharraf, and had promised to return them to the prime minister—but has…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
Swiss voters approved a move to ban the construction of minarets in a vote today on a right-wing initiative that labeled the mosque towers as symbols of militant Islam, early projections showed. The Swiss looked to have swung from only 37% supporting the proposal a week ago to 59% in…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
The body count in southern Bangladesh has hit 58 in the wake of a ferry that capsized as hundreds of holiday travelers disembarked yesterday. MV Coco hit a river shoal as it approached the terminal, breaking the hull and allowing water in. As passengers scrambled to disembark, the vessel then…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
Though a new report concludes that doing away with Osama bin Laden eight years ago “would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat,” that hardly downplays its finding that the terror leader could have been captured by US forces in December 2001. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s report says that…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
Just days after Obama unveils his new Afghan war strategy, as many as 9,000 Marines will ready themselves to deploy to Afghanistan’s Hemland province as part of phased reinforcements approach. They’ll double the Marine force in a bloody southern region that has seen US gains but, due to a…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
An environmental activist from New Jersey who faces arson charges in the US has been sentenced to 3 years in prison in China on drug charges. Justin Solondz, 30, had been hiding out under a pseudonym in the mountainous town of Dali, which the New York Times describes as a…
29 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
A massive rise in demand for garlic is making plenty of people in China stinking rich. Prices in China—the world’s largest garlic producer by far—have risen 15-fold in big cities and even more in far-flung regions. Two key factors seem to be behind it: garlic’s reputed powers to…
28 November 2009 | Marc Nongmaithem
Russian authorities suspect terrorism is behind a train derailment that killed at least 22 people last night. Dozens of others were injured when the Moscow-St Petersburg train came off the tracks, the Guardian reports. A crater was found beside the tracks, leading officials to believe a bomb could have been…