· Haiti: US Missionaries Attempted to Take Children out of Country
o Haiti’s Prime Minister criticized missionaries for attempting to take 33 children
o Some of the children have parents, which they are attempting to locate
o A Haitian judge will decide whether the 5 men and 5 women missionaries were acting in good faith or if they were child traffickers
· Somalia: Somali Islamists Join Al-Qaeda
o Rebel group al-Shabab has confirmed this partnership for the first time
o Group said it is trying to unite all Islamist forces to create a Muslim state under hard-line interpretation of Sharia law
o Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991
· Sri Lanka: Group of Senior Military Officers Dismissed
o Defense officials claim that they were being a threat to national security
o National Security Director says they were involved in “party politics” (during the recent election) and they were dismissed to maintain impartiality of the armed forces
o A military source says they were let go to prevent a coup by General Fonseka’s (the unsuccessful candidate) supporters inside the military
· Sri Lanka: Country Prepares to Choose its Next President
o Election is the first since the Tamil Tigers were defeated (after 25 years of war)
o President Mahinda Rajapaksa faces tough reelection against his former army chief, Gen. Sarath Fonseka
· Iraq: Female Suicide Bomber Kills Dozens
o Female set off explosive vest among Shia pilgrims who were marking Arbaeen (end of 40 days of mourning death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson)
o This pilgrimage has been target of similar attacks blamed on Sunni extremists
o There are currently heightened tensions between the religions factions due to the parliamentary elections scheduled for March
· China: China Accuses US of Arrogance over Taiwan Deal
o China accused US of double standards in pursuing arms sales to Taiwan
o China also threatened retaliation for US actions
o US says it will go ahead with the sale anyway
o The US is Taiwan’s biggest ally and is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to help in the island’s defense
No comments:
Post a Comment