Geopolitical Monitor - News

November 19, 2008 (AFP) - The Pentagon said Wednesday a military approach was not the answer to a surge of piracy off the Horn of Africa and suggested that shipping companies do more on their own to protect their vessels.

WASHINGTON November 19, 2008 (McClatchy) — The Syrian facility bombed last year by Israel had features similar to a nuclear reactor and chemically processed uranium particles were found at the site, but a full assessment cannot be done until Syria provides "the necessary transparency," a new U.N. International Atomic Agency report said Wednesday.

NEW YORK November 19, 2008 (AP) — Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark amid a dour economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and worries over the fate of Detroit's three automakers.

WASHINGTON November 19, 2008 (Reuters) - Bolivia's left-wing president, Evo Morales, accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday of trying to tap his telephone conversations instead of going after cocaine traffickers.

MEXICO CITY November 19, 2008 (Reuters) - Mexico arrested its head of Interpol on Tuesday for allegedly working for a powerful drug cartel and sent the military to take over police duties in the city of Tijuana in another step to flush out corrupt law enforcement.

November 18, 2008 (AFP) - Senior US and Iraqi officials differed on Tehran's role in stalling a military accord that will allow US troops to remain in Iraq until 2011, as Iran on Tuesday sent mixed signals on the deal.

November 18, 2008 (AFP) - Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov on Tuesday warned Georgia that any efforts to strengthen its military would be punished more severely than during the countries' brief August war.

 

BEIJING November 18, 2008 (Reuters) - China Tuesday denied it had illicitly sought technical data for space launch vehicles from the United States, after a physicist from Virginia pleaded guilty to illegally exporting the information to China.

McALLEN, Texas November 18, 2008 (AP) — A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.