Good morning/evening, here is my
World Roundup for
December 11, 2003
my apologies - reposted for people in other time zones
Legend:
fr = French language
it = Italian language
ro = Romanian/Moldovan language
es = Spanish language
de = German language
pt = Portuguese language
is = Icelandic language
su = Suomi language (Finnish)
nl = Dutch language
Everything else in English language
Note: That which you can see on your evening news will (usually) not be covered here.
Despite being the home of Nokia, the world's largest and most profitable cell phone maker, and a thriving economy, it seems the suicide rate in Finland is still quite high. Approximately 21.5 people out of every 100,000 commit suicide every year, as opposed to 10.2 in the rest of the European Union. Long winters and high levels of alcoholism are what's to blame say the authorities.
It seems that murderous gangs are overrunning the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. The governments have all recently enacted tough anti-gang laws which has provoked violent outbursts, including a rash of murders and mutilations of women. Warning: story is very graphic. Approximately 250,000 gang members are thought to exist in these four countries.
Things are rapidly getting out of hand in the war-torn African nation of Liberia as rioting has killed at least 9 human beings in the capital Monrovia. The former rebels are angry because they are not being paid to turn in their weapons, as promised. Instead of the 150 bucks (and 150 later) promised to each fighter, the UN is now only paying 75 and promising to pay the rest "later", at an unspecified date. Approximately 40,000 rebels are targeted for disarmament, making the total needed to calm this impoverished country a paltry 12 million dollars. I say "paltry" because the US is spending hundreds of millions per month in Iraq alone. Is peace in Liberia worth 12 million dollars? I mean, either it is or it isn't.
There aren't supposed to be homeless people and beggars in the "worker's paradise" of China but Shanghai police are trying to form a special task force to deal with their "army" of beggars. Oddly enough, in China destitute people can get food, shelter and a little cash at government-run aid stations, but thousands of people beg because they can make a lot of money. Even more bizarre is that Chinese law prevents the police from forcing people to stop begging.
As I've said before, I'll say it again. Truth is stranger than fiction. Hands down.
The head of state in Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, will visit the African nations of Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa from January 18-24, 2004.
Police in Brazil are getting help from the FBI in reconstructing the murders of American Shell Oil executive Todd Staheli and his wife Michelle(pt). Roger Anceloti, Director General of the Brazilian version of CSI, has said that the murders look like the work of a "super-professional".
The Central Asian wacko dictatorship in Turkmenistan has just signed a deal to provide electricity to the Afghani province of Gerat. Turkmenistan has plans to provide electricity to other Afghani cities, including the capital Kabul.
The ground shook and tall buildings swayed to and fro in the country/province of Taiwan as a 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck. Panicked residents at first attributed the tremors to George Bush supporting democracy for their country but then soon realize that was silly and the shaking was due to a natural earthquake.
A 48 year old woman in Madrid, the capital of Spain, was stuck inside of a phone booth for nearly an hour(es). The woman had just completed a call and was reaching into the coin return when a new anti-theft device clamped down on her hand, pinning her in the booth until rescue workers could cut her loose.
You may have read in yesterday's World Update that the majority party (MPLA) in Angola has approved constitutional changes to permit free elections next year. Today, the main opposition party, UNITA, has weighed in support of the move. This oil rich country was the scene of some of the most bitter fighting during the Cold War as the Soviet Union and United States each backed their own proxies in the region.
The BBC has a reporter on the ground (unlike US media) in Dushanbe, the capital of the Central Asian nation of Tajikstan as a major trial has just begun. Accused is a business called "Jamal and Company", which defrauded 60,000 human beings of their life savings in a pyramid scheme similar to the ones that devastated the countries of Albania and Russia a decade ago. A truly heartbreaking story.
In Africa there are three countries with the name "Guinea": Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and what I like to call "plain Guinea". The last Guinea in the list is a tiny West African nation but they're having big trouble as dozens of military and others leaders have been arrested to "prevent a coup" in advance of the December 21 national elections. Dictator President Lansana Conte seized power in the country in 1984 and has changed the constitution so he can keep being "elected" over and over.
It seems a man was arrested outside the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon carrying 5 pounds of explosives.
And Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Massoud Edris Kermanshahi, was in southern Lebanon in support of the political/military party of Hizbullah.
"The road of struggle with this Zionist enemy is a difficult and long one, requiring additional patience and steadfastness," he added.
"The heroic resistance demonstrated by the Lebanese people, forcing the Zionist enemy to ultimately pull out with humiliation from occupied Lebanese territories, will recognize this path and liberate its prisoners," Kermanshahi said.
He later inspected the Sheikh Ragheb Harb Hospital in the Nabatieh village of Toul, which was built with Iranian aid. The ambassador reiterated Iran's support for the Lebanese people and their "gallant resistance against the continuing Zionist aggression."
In a sign of improvement after years of war, "traffic wardens" are now back on the streets of Freetown, the capital of the west African nation of Sierra Leone. "Traffic wardens" are human beings who direct traffic and are used in many countries that cannot afford expensive technological methods such as traffic lights.
Some local officials are in hot water in the nation of Ghana, accused of stealing the chemical pesticides used to spray on the cocoa crop, the precursor to chocolate. Makes you think, doesn't it, about just what nasty chemicals are sprayed on that food you enjoy so much. Do you think Ghana has the same environmental laws as the west? Think again!
More trouble in the island nation of Sri Lanka as the President and Prime Minister continue to fight over who controls what departments of the government. The latest obstacle is that the Prime Minister wants control over the military, which he says is essential if he is ever going to repress those rebellious Tamil Tigers. The infighting between the President and the PM have permanently delayed the peace talks between the government and the Tigers because the mediators (mostly Norway) have said they don't know who is authorized to commit to any deals that are negotiated.
The British Commonwealth had suspended the African nation of Zimbabwe from its organization, disinvited it from its recent meeting in Nigeria, Britain wants to "de-knight" President Mugabe and Mugabe just went to the UN and said, in essence, "eff-you, whiteys!". Most of Zimbabwe's African neighbors are more or less supporting Zimbabwe, including Nigeria, while most of the white(r) countries are backing the decision to kick Zimbabwe out. Now, the issue has gotten the Zimbabwean parliament all fired up as well.
Uproar broke out in Zimbabwe's parliament on Wednesday as government and opposition MPs debated the country's withdrawal from the Commonwealth.
Through a barrage of interjections from MPs of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and repeated demands for order from speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa, Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge opened debate by dismissing criticism of issues of human rights and democracy and declaring that the decision was taken in preference "to being treated as a lackey."
He called Australian prime minister John Howard "the butcher of Baghdad" and Commonwealth foreign secretary-general Don McKinnon "the liar."
The US-supported dictatorship of Uzbekistan also wants a piece of that Afghani pie and new business deals have just been signed between the two countries. Ethnic Uzbeks form a significant portion of the people of Afghanistan.
If you read the lead story in yesterday's World Update, you know that the US is pushing very hard for a peace deal to be signed in The Sudan by the end of 2003. The BBC has opened up a comment page on what people think about this, and some of the entries are very interesting:
Yes, i am pretty optimistic this time that a peace deal will be signed and respected. The main reason behind my hopes is that the US is putting large amounts of pressure on both sides. Whether the US motives are entirely human is to be contested however. Oil is explored by mainly Chinese and Russian companies, and the US is considering with great interest every spot which might stop the dependence on the Middle East for oil.
O. Almalik, Netherlands/Sudan
The peace plan in Nairobi is the best chance yet for peace in Sudan. But I am worried about the oil, oil and more oil. This resource may prove to be more of a curse than a blessing in Sudan.
David Monda, Kenya
Forgotten wars: Two people shot to death and two injured in fresh fighting in the Indian provice of Manipur.
Elsewhere, a school teacher was shot to death in the city of Saidpur.
And you will be pleased to learn that Ms. Sheila Dikshit has just been selected to be the Congressional Legislature Party minister again. Again, truth stranger than fiction :)
Nigeria has just handed over 1 village to the nation of Cameroon and will soon hand over 32 more as part of a brokered peace deal. The residents of the first village went to bed last night as Nigerian citizens and woke up this morning as Cameroonians without even leaving their homes.
More tragically however, is that the two nations continue to squabble over a shitty little piece of land called the Bakassi Peninsula. Oh did I mention that it's loaded with oil? And that the two have fought actual wars over this piece of marsh? My fault.
The democratically-elected president of Iran was in the US-supported dictatorship of Egypt to meet with despot President Hosni Mubarak as the two nations normalized diplomatic relations after breaking them off in 1980. Why did Iran get upset with Egypt in 1980? Because Egypt gave refuge to the US-supported former dictator of Iran, "Shah" Reza Pahlavi after he was thrown out during the revolution.
Meanwhile Iran has urged Ireland and Germany not to pay the 6 million dollar ransom for its kidnapped citizens, captured while bicycling on the border of Afghanistan. The Iranian government says it will not negotiate for hostages unless you are the President of the United States.
The arrogance of the United States continues as it has just informed Russia "not to worry" about all the new US military bases it is building in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
"Any plans to bring the NATO infrastructure closer to our borders prompts an absolutely understandable, explicable concern," [Russian] Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said, according to the Interfax news agency. He stressed that "the security of some must not come at the expense of others."
The U.S. plans could see tens of thousands of troops transferred from Cold War-era bases in Germany and other NATO nations to new bases closer to potential trouble spots like the Middle East, the Balkans or Central Asia. U.S. officials believe the realignment will enable better respond to new threats such as terrorism.
Russia also believes that the US is trying to sell some oceanfront property in Arizona. Pushing the Russians around is not a very smart strategy and will lead to some very unpleasant consequences.
[Russian President] Putin said Moscow would provide free training to military personnel from members of the CIS Collective Security Treaty and sell them weapons at domestic Russian prices -- a clear effort to maintain military influence among Russia's neighbors.
Russia meanwhile has its hands full as the Caspian autonomous region of Kalmykia is agitating for a "Georgia-style" revolution. I've never heard of Kalmykia in my life, so I will do some research and it will be on the old blog so that you and I can stay informed.
Elsewhere, Russian gangs are tearing apart the ex-Soviet Navy ships to sell the precious metals inside for scrap.
Much of the trade takes place around the northern city of Murmansk, the homeport of the ill-fated submarine Kursk, which sank with the loss of all hands following an explosion during a naval exercise.
The port has become the scene of fierce turf wars between rival gangs which has claimed more than 10 lives this year alone, says its police chief Viktor Pesterev.
If you save your pennies and live in Uganda, you can now legally marry more than one wife:
The man, the bill says, must show proof that he is economically capable of maintaining his wives and children before he can take on another woman.
The man will have to show that he will provide for a separate matrimonial home for the subsequent wife, except in exceptional circumstances where the parties including the current wife or wives, have agreed to live together in the same home.
The bill says that the man will also show that he is capable of giving the same treatment to all the wives.
Seems fair enough, doesn't it? I report so many awful stories from Uganda I thought I'd report one about a law that could never pass in the "freedom-loving" country called the United States.
The best newspaper in Uganda, the Monitor, has conducted a humorous poll about people's favorite and least favorite public bathrooms. Worth at least a chuckle.
Not so many chuckles abound in the oil rich nation of Nigeria as the local ethnic government is warning the central government to pay them 43 million dollars (6.2 billion Nigerian) or else "face the unprecedented wrath of the people":
According to the people, the untreated and unclean waste oil, water, chemicals and other effluents which are continuously discharged and dumped into their environment since 1996 through drainages, ditches, creeks, air and land due to WRPC - NNPC faulty waste treatment facilities have led them to untold hardship.
They warned the oil companies of the consequences of not meeting their demands as they could not predict what their reaction would be. Said they, "we have reached the end of our tolerance and patience in this matter and having known that the consequences of our pent up fury will be unpleasant, we, therefore, hope that WRPC and NNPC will do the right thing, because any further delay may be disastrous, because we are now prepared to use our last blood to fight for justice.
If you read yesterday's World Update, you'll be perplexed as the Nigerian Navy is now saying that the Ijaw rebels did not hijack a Navy vessel.
Captain Hungiapuko [of the Navy] cautioned the press to continue to promote peace and national security especially through their numerous write-up emphasising the fact that incorrect stories would be misleading to the citizenry of a country.
He advised that reporters should check the authencity of their stories before it is published as this he said would enable them to balance their stories and help them become accurate and objective reporters.
Good advice. Fox News, are you listening to Captain Hungiapuko?
And, after a minor delay of "only two years", local elections will be held throughout the country. Why the 2 year delay? Nobody knows.
The breakaway republic of Adjara in Georgia is reporting that acting-Georgia President Burdzhanadze and Autonomous Head Abashidze have had a closed-door meeting in the Adjarian capital of Batumi.
According to Nino Burdjanadze, all problematic issues accumulated during the last years between the center and the region were discussed and they are not easy to be solved at once. The start of the dialogue is essential and must have positive results. "Zurab Zhvania and I will come to Adjara if necessary. We must start the process of the problems solution and bring the country to the normal way", said Nino Burdjanadze. "The two sides have different view points concerning the reality, but the essential thing is not just the start of the dialogue but also the problems solution and vote of confidence restoration.
We must find the ways of contiguity while solving the problems", said the Head of Adjara Autonomous republic Aslan Abashidze.
The problem is that Adjaria is populated by ethnic Georgians who speak Georgian language, but still want their independence from what they see as the corrupt government in Tblisi. If you want to do something cool, watch Adjara television by clicking here.
Elsewhere, crime reigns supreme in the Georgian capital of Tblisi as four gunmen stole 25,000 dollars from the local university. Elsewhere, automaker Peugeot had to put bicycles in its store window after criminals stole the cars from the dealership.
A picture of Planet Earth, where we all live, and hope to live in peace with one another.
Peace on Earth!