Iraq parliamentary election 'not possible in January'

Iraq will not be able to hold parliamentary elections before the end of January as required by the country's constitution, electoral officials say. The head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, Faraj al-Haidari, said the possibility was now "over". Iraq's Sunni Arab vice-president had vetoed a draft of the electoral bill passed by parliament this month. Tariq al-Hashemi has now indicated he will also oppose an amended version agreed on Monday. The latest version would see more seats allocated to Kurds and fewer to Sunnis. The vote is seen as a prerequisite to the US meeting its goal of pulling out combat troops by August next year, and withdrawing fully by 2011... click here for the rest of this article from, BBC News.

Aiding North Korea defectors: A high-stakes spy mission

A recent operation offers a peek inside the 'underground railroad,' a network of safe houses and secret border crossings that assists in the escape of North Korean refugees.As he cased the security at the foreign embassies in Hanoi, the 78-year-old retiree was seized with sudden self-doubt. He was certainly no John le Carre. Who was he to play spy?But this wasn't a game. Waiting in nearby safe houses were nine North Korean defectors whom Kim Sang-hun had helped spirit into Vietnam from China -- among them a young doctor and his wife, a mother and daughter, and a woman who'd been sold as a sex slave in Beijing."I thought, 'What am I doing here? I'm not a spy. Espionage takes resources and support,' " recalled the activist, who has devoted his retirement to helping refugees escape the repressive Stalinist regime. " 'I have no training. Is the mere will to succeed enough?' "Days earlier, Kim had received devastating news. Five other defectors, including a woman and her 6-year-old son, had been captured at the Chinese border en route to joining the other nine in Hanoi."They were almost there, and now they were gone, being sent back to North Korea to prison and perhaps death," he said. "I remember saying to someone, 'I wish I was dead.' "He thought about the defectors under his care: For months, they had lived under the constant threat of being caught by Chinese officials and returned to North Korea. Now in Hanoi, the activists' goal was to find the right embassy -- one away from a busy street and out of the steely gaze of Vietnamese secret police -- and then shepherd the defectors inside.Once within the embassy compound, the refugees could request sanctuary, taking another step toward freedom in South Korea. Click here for more information on this story.

 

Congolese 'warlords' deny slaughtering entire villages

The attack came at first light. The village of Bogoro was turned into a slaughterhouse where "some were shot dead in their sleep, some cut up by machetes to save bullets", the International Criminal Court (ICC) was told yesterday. "Others were burned alive after their houses were set on fire by the attackers," the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, recounted. Scores of women were raped, children were killed and young girls marched away to become sex slaves. When it was all over, one of the two suspects, Germain Katanga, was allegedly heard to boast: "Nothing was spared. Absolutely nothing. Chickens, goats, everything... was wiped out." Mr Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui were in the dock yesterday in The Hague – in only the second trial to get under way at the permanent ICC (as distinct from the temporary courts judging war crimes in the Balkans and Liberia) – as prosecutors described the horrors of civil war in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo... click here for the rest of this article from, The Independent.

Madeleine businessman arrested at hotel

A businessman once hired to help look for Madeleine McCann who is wanted by US authorities over an alleged fraud was arrested at a hotel, according to sources. Kevin Halligen, 48, was arrested yesterday afternoon at the Old Bank Hotel in Oxford, following a discrepancy over his hotel bill and is currently in custody in the county, it is understood. The US Department of Justice issued an indictment for the Briton two weeks ago alleging he tried to defraud a London law firm of more than two million dollars (£1.2m). His firm, Oakley International, was used by Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry for around six months last year to look for their missing daughter. Thames Valley Police said in a statement: "We arrested a 48-year-old man yesterday morning at the Old Bank Hotel in Oxford. It was a discrepancy over his hotel bill." He is being held in custody in the city, and it is understood a court hearing relating to an extradition matter could take place later today. Earlier this month the US Department of Justice issued an indictment for Halligen, who is from Surrey, alleging he conned a London-based law firm out of 2.1m dollars. It is alleged he claimed the money was to help secure the release of two business executives from the Dutch company Trafigura, who were arrested in the Ivory Coast. Halligen is accused of using the funds for his own benefit including buying a mansion in Virginia. Washington-based Oakley International was paid around £300,000 by backers of Madeleine McCann's parents to help look for the child after she went missing from an Algarve resort in May 2007... click here for the rest of this article from, The Independent.

Japanese exports fall at slowest rate in a year

Japan's exports fell at their slowest annual rate in a year in October, providing further evidence of the country's emergence from recession. Exports from the world's second largest economy totalled 5.3tn yen ($60bn; $36bn), a fall of 23.2% from the same month a year earlier. The main reason for the improvement was higher demand in Asia, analysts said. Last week, Japan posted figures showing it had grown between July and September for the second straight quarter. "Japan is clearly participating in the global rebound, and its Asian neighbours in particular are lending a helping hand," said Adrian Foster at Rabobank. But while demand for Japanese products overseas improved, domestic demand for goods made outside Japan remained weak, falling by 35.6% in October... click here for the rest of this article from, BBC News.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits Brazil - 2009-11-23

Forward planning source, FENS: The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is scheduled to visit Brazil. The two sides are expected to discuss economic and cultural issues, expansion of bilateral ties and cooperation between Tehran and Brasilia at international and regional levels, according to an Iranian government spokesman.

Indian PM Manmohan Singh visits US - 2009-11-24

Forward planning source, FENS: The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, is scheduled to visit the US. His trip will be the first state visit of the Obama administration. Talks are expected to focus on moving forward on civil nuclear cooperation with India, including non-proliferation issues, India-Pakistan relations, Iran, and the Copehnagen climate change talks due in December.

Trial of two Congolese warlords Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolobegins at International Criminal Court in The Hague - 2009-11-24

Forward planning source, FENS: The trial of two Congolese warlords, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo, are scheduled to begin at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. They are accused of war crimes. Germain Katanga first appeared before the court on 22 October 2007, accused of massacring villagers, using child soldiers and sexually enslaving women in the northeastern Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo in early 2003. Mathieu Ngudjolo was arrested on 6 February 2008 by the Congolese authorities and surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to stand trial on six counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity. The charges include murder, sexual slavery and using children under the age of fifteen to participate actively in hostilities.

Trial of four people charged in connection with 2005 Helios Airways plane crash resumes in Nicosia - 2009-11-27

The trial of four people charged in connection with a plane crash in 2005 is scheduled to resume in Nicosia. The craft from the now-defunct Helios Airways was travelling from Larcarna, Cyprus, to Prague, when it crashed north of Athens on 14 August 2005. It killed all 121 people on board, and was described as 'Cyprus's worst air disaster'. The four people beign tried are charged with manslaughter and causing death through a reckless, careless and dangerous act. Under Cyprus law, manslaughter can lead to a maximum life sentence while causing death through negligence or reckless behaviour carries a four-year sentence.A court in Cyprus has begun the trial of defunct airline Helios and four managers over an air disaster in Greece. The five are facing a total of 1,190 charges after Flight 522 went down near Athens in 2005, killing 121 people.All defendants entered not guilty pleas, and are alleged by prosecutors to have operated their business in an unsafe manner. It is alleged that the flight should never have been allowed to take off. As well as the company, executive chairman Andreas Drakos, managing director Demetris Pantazis, operations manager George Kikkides and head pilot Ianko Stoimenov will face a full trial when proceedings are resumed on November 27. They will return to the Nicosia court then. The charges include manslaughter and causing death via a careless act.The unresponsive Boeing 737, supposed to be flying between Lanarca to Prague, had entered Greek airspace, where it was intercepted by two F-16 fighter jets on August 14, 2005. The F-16 pilots reported the airliner's pilots were slumped over the controls. After flying on autopilot for two hours the aircraft crashed near Athens despite the efforts of a flight attendant, who was training to become a pilot, to take control and save the jet. Click here for more information on this story.

 

Romania holds presidential elections - 2009-11-28

Forward planning source, FENS: Romania is scheduled to hold its presidental elections. The president is elected by absolute majority vote to serve a five-year term. Presidential elections take place under a two-round majority run-off system. On 2 October, the Social Democratic party left the governing coalition, in protest over the sacking of one of its ministers. This left a centre-right minority caretaker government. The Social-Democrats left the governmet after their vice-premier and minister of the interior was sacked over allegations of preparations being made to rig the presidential election. The Social Democrats protested over the move and claimed this was a proof that the Democratic Liberal party (PDL) was planning to rig the elections in favour of the incumbent president Traian Basescu.