TOP STORIES
Modern Day Somali Pirates: Scarier than Johnny Depp
Why’s the Rum Gone?
October 3, 2008: SOMALIA- Somali pirates have refused to lower their $20 million ransom on the Ukrainian arms-heavy MV Faina, anchored off the central Somali coast. The international community fears that the weapons, which include 33 Soviet-made tanks, could end up in the hands of terrorists. Kenyan maritime official, Andrew Mwangura, was charged for making inflammatory statements when he stated the arms were to be sent to Sudan. Currently, the ship is surrounded by the U.S. Navy so as to prevent weapon transference, and on Wednesday, the EU agreed to lend support. The crisis reflects a near double increase in piracy since 2007, and Somali pirates alone have taken in almost $30 million in ransom since January. Although the pirates claim that they did not know the weapons were aboard, past ransoms are suspected of funding the war with Islamic Insurgents. And rum, of course.
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Beefing Up
October 3, 2008: AFGHANISTAN-The commander of NATO forces has called for more troops in Afghanistan, due the increasing threat to American soldiers by militants from nearby Pakistan. Both American presidential candidates support a surge in Afghanistan, but have been reluctant to up the number of American troops. NATO forces have also recently stepped up attacks on drug lords and narcotic traffickers, and the trade is an increasingly important funding outlet for the insurgency. NATO commander, General McKieran, has stated that the war in Afghanistan is against more than just the “Taliban and Al Qaeda,” but “a very broad range of militant groups that are combined with criminality, with the narco-trafficking system, and with corruption.” The Taliban will take in more than $100 million in heroin proceeds this year.
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The Nuclear Club
October 3, 2008: INDIA - The Senate has voted 86-13 to overturn a three-decade long ban on atomic trade with India. The vote will allow American businesses to sell nuclear fuel and technology to India in exchange for UN inspections of civilian plants. The move is hailed as a major victory for both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush. Supporters are citing increased jobs, environmental progress, and the opening of India’s multi-billion dollar nuclear market to U.S. firms. Critics however, have argued that the deal could spark an Asian arms race, and believe that the trade does not distinguish between weaponry and energy. American Democratic Sen. Bryan Dorgan has stated: “the U.S. is telling the world that you can misuse nuclear technology and secretly develop nuclear weapons… what message does that send others who want to join the nuclear club?”
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BRIEFS
North Korea denounces Southern propaganda, threatens to remove South Koreans from popular mountain resort.
Suicide bombs strike Shi’ite worshippers as they gather for prayers to celebrate the end of Ramadan in Baghdad, 20 dead, 60 wounded.
Hugo Chavez has continued his trend of kicking Americans out of Venezuela by evicting two employees of Human Rights Watch after their documentation of widespread political discrimination.
Canada offers compensation for several people wrongly convicted of murdering children.
And finally, every single New Yorker feels the need to write to the New York Times about Mayor Bloomberg’s quest for a third term
Quote of the Week:
“Rice, meat, spaghetti, you know, normal human being food.”
-Sugale Ali, Somali Pirate spokesman, on what they’ve been eating while waiting for a ransom (telephone interview)
By Dana Liebelson
