ONS: 18 September 2012

by TRG Alerts Admin on September 18, 2012

KEY STORYLINES

AFRICA: AQIM urged Muslims to kill representatives of the US government in the region in retaliation for a film that mocks Islam.
AMERICAS: In Mexico, at least 132 convicts escaped from a prison near the US border through a tunnel they dug in the old carpentry workshop.
ASIA: Chinese DM Liang Guanglie said his country reserved the right to take “further actions” to resolve a territorial dispute with Japan.
EUROPE: Russian President Putin urged an increase to defense capabilities amid the “growing use of force in international affairs.”
MIDDLE EAST: Foreign Ministers from the regional “contact group” on Syria agreed at talks in Cairo to hold more consultations in New York later this month.
TECHNOLOGY: Microsoft urged users of Internet Explorer 9 and earlier versions to deploy a toolkit that could help protect against a new zero-day exploit.

TOP STORY

A suicide car bomber killed 12 people, nine of them foreigners, in an attack claimed by a militant group insurgent group Hezb-i-Islami.
The group said the attack was in retaliation for the anti-Islam film.
Several hundred Afghan university students clashed with police and set fire to photographs of US President Obama in another protest in Kunduz.
NATO scaled back operations with Afghan soldiers and policemen to lower the risk of insider attacks and reduce local tensions over the anti-Islam film.
Protests continued in other countries in the region, with clashes between police and protesters in Kashmir.
Coverage: AP, AP-2, AP-3, AFP, NYT, Reuters

AFRICA

Region: AQIM urged Muslims to kill representatives of the US government in the region in retaliation for a film that mocks Islam. (Reuters)
Region: An ECOWAS envoy to the UNSC said West African nations need fighter jets and other international military support to beat the Islamists who seized northern Mali. (AFP)
Libya: A State Department official refused to call the attack on the US mission in Benghazi “an act of terror,” saying a full investigation had to be completed first. (AFP)
Mali: The UN human rights commissioner said Islamists in northern Mali have committed serious human rights violations and possibly war crimes. (AP)
Somalia: Forces battling Islamist fighters advanced on the key insurgent bastion of Kismayo. (AFP)
South Africa: Negotiators seeking to end a damaging South African miners’ strike have hopes of a solution by the end of the week. (AFP)

AMERICAS

Mexico: At least 132 convicts escaped from a Mexican prison near the US border through a tunnel they dug in an old carpentry workshop. (AFP)
Peru: The National Police seized a Bolivian-flagged light aircraft loaded with 349 kg of cocaine. (Xinhua)
United States: Authorities isolated and searched two planes at John F. Kennedy International Airport after receiving hijack threats, but found no explosives. (Xinhua)
United States: Louisiana State University was temporarily evacuated yesterday after a bomb threat was called in. (AP)

ASIA

Afghanistan: NATO said it arrested a Taliban leader wanted for an attack on Camp Bastion in Helmand province. (AFP)
China: DM Liang Guanglie called for more efforts to promote improved military ties between China and the US. US Defense Secretary Panetta invited China to send a ship to participate in the RIMPAC 2014 exercise. (Xinhua, Xinhua-1)
China: DM Liang Guanglie said his country reserved the right to take “further actions” to resolve a territorial dispute with Japan. (AFP)
Korea, South: The military will host a multinational navy drill aimed at curbing trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. (AFP)
Myanmar: About 60 political prisoners have been freed a day after the government announced amnesty for hundreds of detainees. (AFP)
Philippines: The government and the MILF insurgents are drafting a preliminary peace agreement that can be signed this year, but the insurgents say they won’t disarm until a final pact is concluded in a few years. (AP)

EUROPE

Region: Russian DM Serdyukov will discuss prospects for military cooperation with Armenian DM Oganyan. (Itar-Tass)
Region: The IMF acknowledged the rules of the EU currency zone created “serious challenges” for designing bailout programs. (Reuters)
Macedonia: The EU cautioned Macedonia to build constructive and compassionate relations with its neighbors in order to aid its accession to the 27-member bloc. (Xinhua)
Moldova: PM Filat will meet with President Shevchuk of the unrecognized Trans-Dniester republic before the end of the week to discuss the Dniester conflict. (Itar-Tass)
Romania: EC President Barroso called on PM Ponta to “remove all doubts” on his government’s commitment to judicial independence. (AFP)
Russia: President Putin urged Russia to increase its defense capability amid the “growing use of force in international affairs.” (Xinhua)

MIDDLE EAST

Iran: The country proposed it, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey dispatch observers to its ally Syria in an effort to quell the violence. (AFP)
Lebanon: The leader of the militant Hezbollah group exhorted hundreds of thousands of supporters to keep up the campaign against an anti-Islam video. (AP)
Syria: Foreign Ministers from the regional “contact group” on Syria agreed at talks in Cairo to hold more consultations in New York later this month. (AFP)
Yemen: Hundreds of citizens demonstrated against an anti-Islam film and rejected the arrival of an extra 50 US Marines for embassy protection. (Xinhua)

TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS

Cybersecurity: Microsoft urged users of Internet Explorer 9 and earlier versions to deploy a toolkit that could help protect against a new zero-day exploit. (Mashable)

WORLD

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (19SEP)

Asia: Russian President Putin visits Kazakhstan to participate in the 9th Russian-Kazakh Inter-Regional Cooperation Forum.
Mexico: Anniversary of 8.0 earthquake in Mexico City – 1985.

END