Army arrests former Thai ministersTHAILAND'S military junta has started its campaign to expose alleged widespread corruption in Thaksin Shinawatra's former government by taking into custody two of its shadiest ministers.
Newin Chidchob and Yongyuth Tiyapairat surrendered yesterday at the army's Chang Wattana headquarters in Bangkok's northern suburbs.
But the main target of the purge by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin's Administrative Reform Council is Mr Thaksin, whose government was overthrown by the... (more)
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Thailand's military coup: Old soldiers, old habitsTHE six-man military junta that seized control of Thailand's government on September 19th appeared before the world's diplomats and press the next day to insist it had no intention of clinging to power. “After two weeks, we step out,” promised Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the army's commander-in-chief, who led the coup. By then they would have chosen a civilian administration to run the country for a year or so. This new cabinet would in turn select a committee to write a new constitution, ... (more)
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Chavez Address to the United Nations: Rise Up Against the EmpireRepresentatives of the governments of the world, good morning to all of you. First of all, I would like to invite you, very respectfully, to those who have not read this book, to read it.
Noam Chomsky, one of the most prestigious American and world intellectuals, Noam Chomsky, and this is one of his most recent books, 'Hegemony or Survival: The Imperialist Strategy of the United States.'" [Holds up book, waves it in front of General Assembly.] "It's an excellent book to help us un... (more)
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No One Dares to HelpBecause this account of daily life in Baghdad reveals where the writer lives, his name is not being used to protect his safety. He is a 54-year-old Iraqi reporter in The Times' Baghdad Bureau.
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BAGHDAD — On a recent Sunday, I was buying groceries in my beloved Amariya neighborhood in western Baghdad when I heard the sound of an AK-47 for about three seconds. It was close but not very close, so I continued shopping.
As I took a right turn on Munadhama ... (more)
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Tourists and tanks on streets of BangkokSumpit Trinarong could not wipe a broad grin off her face, however hard she tried. "This is my happiest day of the last five years," she said as she handed a long-stemmed red rose to one of the dozen heavily armed soldiers on duty outside the army headquarters in Bangkok.
"[Prime Minister] Thaksin [Shinawatra] has been ruining the country for years. Since there appeared no way to get rid of him, I am relieved the army has stepped in."
Ms Sumpit was in a small crowd ... (more)
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Civilian government 'in 2 weeks'BANGKOK: Administrative Reform Council (ARC) leader Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin told foreign diplomats that a civilian government would be appointed to run the country within two weeks and a general election could be carried out by October next year.
In what was billed as an attempt to restore confidence among the international community, Gen Sonthi told about 80 Bangkok-based diplomats that the military continues to stand with the people and that the coup was in line with their w... (more)
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Thai king endorses authority of coup leaderThailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej yesterday endorsed a coup leader to head the new governing council, according to a televized announcement.
"In order to create peace in the country, the king appoints General Sonthi Boonyaratglin as head of the council of administrative reform," according to the announcement on state-run television.
"All people should remain peaceful and civil servants should listen to orders from General Sondhi Boonyaratkalin from now on."
... (more)
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Ahmadinejad: Where is the seat of global justice?Madam President,
Distinguished Heads of State and Government, Distinguished Heads of Delegation,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
I praise the Merciful, All-Knowing and Almighty God for blessing me with another opportunity to address this Assembly on behalf of the great nation of Iran and to bring a number of issues to the attention of the international community.
I also praise the Almighty for the increasing vigilance of peoples across the g... (more)
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Expert: Tactical nukes needed to blast Iranian defensesTactical nuclear weapons would be required to penetrate the defenses Iran has constructed around its nuclear facilities, according to Col. (res.) Shlomo Mofaz, an international consultant on terrorism and intelligence and a research fellow at the Institute of Counterterrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
Mofaz argued that any preemptive action - not necessarily launched by Israel - against Iran's nuclear facilities would need to employ tactical nuclear weapons.
... (more)
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Pope expresses 'deep respect' for Islam VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI said on Wednesday that he has "deep respect" for Islam and that he hoped remarks he made in Germany last week, which sparked angry reactions in much of the Muslim world, can lead to dialogue among religions.
He reiterated that parts of the speech which offended Muslims did not reflect his personal opinion, and hoped they could lead to dialogue between religions. The Pope acknowledged his remarks were open to misinterpretation, but insisted he had n... (more)
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We took over to save country, says army chiefThe military leader who ousted Thailand's prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said today the coup was necessary to end mounting rifts within Thai society and Thaksin's efforts to undermine democracy.
In the country's first coup in 15 years, Army chief General Sondhi Boonyaratklin led a rapid, bloodless, well-orchestrated overthrow yesterday while Thaksin was away in New York.
On television today he repeated earlier statements that the newly-created Council of Administ... (more)
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A Festive Coup in Thailand It was near midnight on Tuesday, tanks had rolled up to Bangkok's Government House and the monsoons were drenching the crowds. But the mood during Thailand's first military coup since 1992—the previous one ended with protesters gunned down in the streets—was remarkably festive. Women in mini-skirts posed for pictures in front of tanks, while elderly men in pajamas jabbered on cellphones. Last spring, hundreds of thousands of Thai citizens had organized daily peaceful protests on Ban... (more)
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Local Thai community not worried about coup in homelandThai Calgarians said after years of corruption, they welcome news of a military overthrow in their homeland.
Despite declarations of martial law and images of tanks surrounding the offices of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Calgary restaurant owner Sam Chanhao said he doesn’t think violence will erupt.
“We knew this was coming,” he said.
“Nobody wanted a coup, we wanted the government to step down peacefully but ultim... (more)
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Text: Thai coup-leaders' statementsLeaders of Thailand's military coup have released a series of statements. The initial statement and communiques 1 to 4 were read out on army television and a sixth statement appeared in English on the website of The Nation newspaper. The texts of the four statements follow:
INITIAL STATEMENT
Now the Administrative Reform Group under the Democratic System with the King as the Head of State, comprising commanders of the armed forces and the National Police Bure... (more)
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Thai PM deposed in military coupMilitary leaders in Thailand have staged a coup, suspended the constitution and declared martial law.
Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin said the military leadership had formed a council for political reform and ousted the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.
The coup leaders say the cabinet and parliament have been abolished, but power will be returned to the people.
Mr Thaksin cancelled a speech he was due to give at the UN. It is unclear whether he int... (more)
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Riots tear Budapest apartMore than 10,000 demonstrators clashed with police and stormed the state television headquarters in Budapest in the early hours today in protest against the government.
Watch the dramatic video footage
Police fired tear gas and used water cannon after being showered with bottles and stones. Cars were set alight with petrol bombs. More than 50 demonstrators and 100 policemen were injured in riots ... (more)
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Clashes in Budapest as crowds call for PM to quit Demonstrators try to storm the headquarters of Hungarian state television in Budapest. Photograph: Bela Szandelszky/AP
Protests against the Hungarian government turned violent last night as police used water cannon and tear gas on crowds demanding the resignation of prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany after he admitted his government had lied repeatedly about the state of the economy.
The second day of protests had been peaceful until late last night when cars we... (more)
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Military Orders Suggest Iran AttackTwo recent orders by the American military have led some observers to conclude that the U.S. is preparing for an attack on Iran.
One order was a "Prepare to Deploy" command sent to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters, telling the ships’ commanders to be ready to move by Oct. 1.
The other was a request from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) for a fresh look at long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on... (more)
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Deadly harvest: The Lebanese fields sown with cluster bombsThe war in Lebanon has not ended. Every day, some of the million bomblets which were fired by Israeli artillery during the last three days of the conflict kill four people in southern Lebanon and wound many more.
The casualty figures will rise sharply in the next month as villagers begin the harvest, picking olives from trees whose leaves and branches hide bombs that explode at the smallest movement. Lebanon's farmers are caught in a deadly dilemma: to risk the harvest, or to leav... (more)
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Time: This is how US will attack IranIt will take a few days, with thousands of sorties, satellite and laser-guided bombs will be aimed at targets – 1,500 already planned by Pentagon – and will try to infiltrate armed concrete, under which some of nuclear sites are hidden. Meanwhile, Washington launches diplomatic blitz in attempt to promote sanctions on Tehran
WASHINGTON - The US government is planning to launch a diplomatic blitz on Monday regarding the Iranian nuclear issue at the United Nations headqu... (more)
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Russia sees no alternative to new collective leader in world, Sergei Lavrov said LISBON, September 18 (Itar-Tass) - Russia does not see a reasonable alternative to the creation of a new collective leader comprising key, highly industrialized countries in the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an article published in the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias over his two-day visit in Lisbon that will begin on Monday.
According to the minister, these key countries should be “representative in terms of geography and civilisation.&rdquo... (more)
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Mexico's leftists elect leader of parallel gov'tMEXICO CITY, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of thousands of supporters of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador elected him as "legitimate president" of a parallel government on Saturday in protest against the allegedly flawed July presidential elections.
The vote of a show of hands took place in the capital's Zocalo square, just hours after a military parade marked Mexico's Independence Day on Sept. 15-16.
The supporters, whose number was estimated by organize... (more)
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False Reports on Iran a Replay of Run-Up to Iraq WarNEW YORK A report today by veteran McClatchy (formerly Knight Ridder) reporters John Walcott and Warren P. Strobel warns that some of the same type of shaky intelligence that proved false in the run up to the Iraq war may be rearing its head again in regard to Iran.
"U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials say Bush political appointees and hard-liners on Capitol Hill have tried recently to portray Iran's nuclear program as more advanced than it is and to exaggerate Tehran... (more)
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