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POPSAngry Pakistani tribesmen attack Taliban after bombing Militants have unleashed a new wave of violence in Pakistan in recent months after the military launched major offensives against them in the rugged northwest including Bajaur and Swat regions. The mounting militant threat prompted the government to convene a closed joint session of the two-chambered parliament for a briefing by intelligence officials on internal security. The parliamentarians are due to begin debate on the situation after Pakistan's newly appointed intelligence chief briefed them this week on the militant threat. The growing violence comes amidst a stepped-up campaign by the United States against militant targets inside Pakistan
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POPSOn Russia suing Bank of NY under US RICO law Then there was the role being played by Miami injury lawyer Steven Marks, who openly pitched the lawsuit to the Russian government; while he's hardly the first stateside lawyer to sell the idea of litigation against U.S. companies to foreign sovereigns, that trend in itself is one that deserves closer attention.
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POPSANC split good for democracy Mr Lekota is a close ally of former South African President Thabo Mbeki who was forced to step down last month. The governing party is divided between supporters of Mr Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, who won a bitter party contest to become ANC leader last year
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POPSBritish bank bailout to make 692 billion available "They've got additional capital now if they want it, they've got an unlimited source of liquidity," said Terry Smith, chief executive of the money brokers, Tullett Prebon. "That certainly should stop the panic in terms of people wondering whether or not the banks are safe."
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POPSEthnic Georgians face citizenship dilemma in Abkhazia Not all Gali residents are concerned with the passport situation. Zura B., an unemployed man who asked not to be identified, said he would probably take an Abkhaz passport since he cannot visit Moscow with his Georgian passport. "They won’t take away my Georgian passport and I won’t swear to anything. There are ways to get around such things," Zura said.
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POPSUN asks ICJ to rule on Kosovo independence
Speaking on behalf of the United States, which was among the first to recognize Kosovo's independence, representative Rosemary DiCarlo called the resolution "unnecessary and unhelpful". Vuk Jeremic ©AFP/File - Dieter Nagl "Kosovo's independence is irreversible," she told the General Assembly. "We are confident that recognition of Kosovo's independence by an ever-increasing number of states is consistent with international law." She added: "We do not think it appropriate or fair to the court to ask it to opine on what is essentially a matter that is reserved to the judgment of member states." Serbia, which aspires to join the European Union, still considers Kosovo one of its provinces, and Russia -- a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council -- has strongly backed Belgrade in the dispute. A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it could take the ICJ up to two years to render its non-binding opinion on the legality of Kosovo's independence. Ethnic
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POPSPolice raid "baby farm" in Nigeria Unmarried mothers face exclusion from society, our correspondent says. Abortion is illegal except in rare cases, and illegally obtained abortions are very dangerous. In May, a Nigerian woman was jailed in the UK for trying to smuggle a baby into the country in order to get on the list for a council flat. Police have not been able to trace the child's real parents.
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POPSNZ youth to be tried as an adult in Hawaii Bartley's lawyer, Jeffrey Hawk, hinted at a possible defense. "Every child is a product of his environment and his family," Hawk said. "And I think, hopefully, we can make that an issue in this case, that no child does these sort of things without good cause or good reason."
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POPSTenn lawmaker's son indicted in Palin e-mail hacking case The indictment against David Kernell alleged that on Sept. 16 he reset the password to Palin's personal e-mail account to gain access to it. Authorities say Kernell then read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information, later posting some of the information to a public Web site. The Justice Department said the case was being prosecuted by section chief Michael DuBose and trial attorney Mark Krotoski of the criminal division's computer crime and intellectual property section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The FBI's Anchorage and Knoxville field offices investigated the case.
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POPSSA unions blast attempt to split ANC "We believe that it would have been possible to resolve differences within the structures of the ANC if there was a genuine will to debate the issues in good faith," Sadtu said in a statement. "We suspect, however, that the decision to exit the ANC was taken long ago, and that the recent pronouncements of Comrade Lekota amount to a publicity stunt to drum up interest in the splinter grouping. "Sadtu leadership is confident that our 235 000 members will not be misled by the lies of the disgruntled elements represented by Lekota." "These elements have cut themselves off from the democratic traditions of the ANC," the union said.
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POPSKenya deports US author of anti-Obama book An invitation to the book launch said the event would expose Obama's "deep secret ties" to mafia-like groups in Kenya. "During his stay, Corsi also plans to meet Sen. Obama's brother, George Hussein Onyango Obama, who lives on $12 a year in the sprawling Huruma slums and hand him a $1,000 cheque," said the invitation, published in local papers. Some right-wing U.S. commentators have said the case of George Obama, who is a half-brother, shows Barack Obama's double standards. But George Obama has told media he is happy with his life and that his case has been exaggerated for political ends. One Obama fan in Nairobi, Jack Okinyi, applauded Corsi's expulsion. "His actions were highly provocative, that he dared bring such a book here. He was lucky that the authorities got him before Kenyans got their hands on him," he said.
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POPSParents charged in death of 16 yr old Their case has focused attention on some laws that let parents rely on prayer to heal their children. Marci Hamilton, a professor at Cardozo Law School, who writes about religious issues, said the case may test Oregon's religious freedom laws and may prompt other states to re-examine their spiritual healing laws. "There was a time when we were willing to permit these children to be lost, but there are increasingly more prosecutions and lawsuits," she said. "Children should not be permitted to be the testing ground for their parents' faith or secular views if it's going to result in their death."
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POPSNew Brit TV show debuts-Torture as entertainment The show's presenter, the explorer Benedict Allen, admitted that he himself had been concerned about some participants' state of mind at times. "We knew we couldn't afford to kill anyone but yes, there were times when I was seriously worried. It got pretty hairy. Two hours into filming on the first day, one of the contestants collapsed on the floor and suffered convulsions. We were stuck in the depths of the jungle in Guyana and we had to get him out. It didn't start well."
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POPSNew "currency" big in US prisons Mackerel is hot in prisons in the U.S., but not so much anywhere else, says Mark Muntz, president of Global Source, which imports fillets of the oily, dark-fleshed fish from Asian canneries. Mr. Muntz says he's tried marketing mackerel to discount retailers. "We've even tried 99-cent stores," he says. "It never has done very well at all, regardless of the retailer, but it's very popular in the prisons." Mr. Muntz says he sold more than $1 million of mackerel for federal prison commissaries last year. It accounted for about half his commissary sales, he says, outstripping the canned tuna, crab, chicken and oysters he offers. Unlike those more expensive delicacies, former prisoners say, the mack is a good stand-in for the greenback because each can (or pouch) costs about $1 and few -- other than weight-lifters craving protein -- want to eat it. So inmates stash macks in lockers provided by the prison and use them to buy goods, including illicit ones such as stolen food and home-br
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POPSArab League to meet over Sudan ICC issue Sudan’s appointment of a special prosecutor was seen as concession that would provide leverage to the Arab League and African Union (AU) when requesting a resolution from the UN Security Council (UNSC) deferring Al-Bashir’s indictment under Article 16 of the ICC Statute. Sabdarat said today that the prosecutions have made some progress with some suspects in detention and being investigated. He also lashed out at Ocampo saying that he crossed his limits as a prosecutor by discussing his case on “satellite TV’s”. The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I headed held a closed meeting with Ocampo this week regarding his application for the first time. It is expected that they may take up to three months to issue a decision. Sudan has not ratified the Rome Statute, but the UNSC triggered the provisions under the Statute that enables it to refer situations in non-State parties to the world court if it deems that it is a threat to international peace and security.
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POPSTajikistan asks Russia to extradite activist Tajik officials have long been interested in muzzling Atovullo, but Moscow had not been receptive to the idea of shipping him back to Dushanbe - at least until very recently. Conditions have changed dramatically in the weeks following Russia’s incursion into Georgia, the Vremya Novostei article suggested. Seeking as much diplomatic support as possible for its diplomatic positions in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Russia now seems much more interested in making sure Rahmon is happy. Observers in Moscow have noted that, to date, the Tajik government has remained silent on Russia’s decision to recognize the independence of the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Dushanbe’s reticence could be a ploy to extract maximum political and economic benefits from the Kremlin
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POPSCenturies old code survives in remote Albanian village The code covers everything from inheritances and the rights of the church to the treatment of livestock. In Theth, nobody will sell land to an outsider, or even to another villager. Brides must come from outside the valley, a tradition that follows along the lines of the Kanun's rule that marriage within the same clan is forbidden. "The Kanun is the law. Just like the state law," explains Gjovalin Lokthi, 39, a gruff "kryeplak," or elected chief of the village.
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POPSGeorgia better be careful who they trust During a recent trade mission to Georgia, Ambassador John K. Veroneau, stressed the American government’s commitment to helping the Georgian economy regain traction. " he I spoke with are very bullish on Georgia’s future," Veroneau told EurasiaNet. "I think they see Georgia as a very strong market to be in for the long term."
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