OSAC Daily News To ensure that American corporate and university/college security executives receive timely and up-to-date information on foreign events and/or documents, OSAC's analytical staff will post news items reported in global on-line sources by 8:30 AM (EDT) and update the items throughout each business day. Print Friendly Version. Click on the icon to open a new window with a printer friendly version of the news below. News items listed for Tuesday, 10 February 2004 Afghanistan Hard-Core Taliban Number Less than 1,000 in Afghanistan NATO's top commander says the number of hard-core Taliban and Al Qaida guerrillas in Afghanistan has dropped below 1,000 and that their strength appears to be waning, press agencies reported. U.S.... more  UN Targets Afghan Child Soldiers The United Nations has launched a reintegration and rehabilitation programme for thousands of former child soldiers in Afghanistan. The UN Children's Fund, Unicef, will begin by targeting 2,000 ch... more  Angola Two More Years Before Elections Angola's opposition has reacted with surprise to news reports that the government was considering delaying elections until 2006. "We are surprised and disappointed, especially since we had hoped th... more  Argentina Kirchner Wants Argentina to be 'Normal' Country President Néstor Kirchner has said that he wants Argentina to be a serious and normal country. Wonderful. That seems like a reasonable hope. He did not define what a normal country is, but probably... more  Austria and Turkey Leading Hizbullah Member Arrested Feldkirch--Orhan Ayhan Ozdemir (33), the person responsible for the terrorist Hizbullah organization in southeastern Turkey, has been arrested in Austria. The Interpol had put out a red bulletin for... more  Bolivia Bolivian President has Corrupt Congress, No Political Backing, but Nation's Respect When Bolivian President Carlos Mesa walks into his palace office he can't help but notice a spider web of cracked glass and a hole made by a bullet. "That one wasn't meant for me," he said dryly. I... more  Coca Growers Resist Drug Troops Coca growers are using bombs and booby traps against Bolivian troops trying to raze their crops. The U.S.-funded Andean war on drugs could suffer. U.S.-trained Bolivian antidrug troops are sustainin... more  Brazil Brazil Flood Deaths Reach 119, Epidemics Feared The death toll from the heaviest rains in more than a decade in Brazil has risen to 119 people, the government said on Monday as it began to stockpile medical supplies in fear of epidemics. Sixteen... more  China Dual Outbreaks Force China to Reflect The lessons: Be prepared. Be aggressive. And above all, be open. Faced with back-to-back outbreaks of SARS and avian flu in the past year, China has been forced to examine and reshape its shaky health... more  China and Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China) Talks on HK Reform Waste of Time, Say Cynics Talks began in Beijing yesterday on the pace of Hong Kong's democratic reforms, but China has already made it clear that the territory's residents will have little say in their political future. Fr... more  Colombia Uribe Woos, Hits Militias Colombian paramilitaries are getting captured and killed in record numbers, despite peace talks with the government. More than 3,000 paramilitary fighters were captured last year, even though their l... more  Congo (Democratic Republic) DR Congo Peacekeepers 'Can Leave' Security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is improving so fast that United Nations troops can leave this year, President Joseph Kabila has said. He told the BBC that the peacekeepers should... more  Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Rebel Chief Killed in Ivory Coast A senior member of Ivory Coast's former rebels has been shot dead amid reports of divisions within the New Forces movement. A statement by the rebels said Chief Adams Coulibaly was shot dead by ac... more  Tension Still Runs High in the Wild West Hundreds of Liberian refugees were lining up to receive their first ever ration of food aid in Bin Houye, a small town near Cote d'Ivoire's volatile western frontier with Liberia, when the sound of gu... more  Cuba U.S. Seeks to Close Travel Agencies Arranging Trips to Cuba The U.S. is seeking to close 10 travel agencies that arrange trips to Cuba for Americans, a move to ratchet up economic pressure on Fidel Castro's regime and strengthen the Bush administration's suppo... more  Cyprus Greek, Turkish Cypriots Seek Elusive Unity Deal Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash meet in New York on Tuesday in search of an elusive deal to unify the island before it joins the European Union on ... more  Egypt Tourists Hurt in Cairo Stabbing An Egyptian man has been detained for stabbing two tourists, a Norwegian and an Australian, in Cairo on Sunday. Police said Hussein Ahmed Hassan attacked a group of tourists in the city's historical... more  Estonia Most Bribes Taken by Traffic Police in Estonia - Survey The Tallinn Eesti Paevaleht reports the following on February 10, 2004: [The Estonian Market Research Institute found in a survey that 12 per cent of the people surveyed had been asked for a brib... more  Ethiopia Renewed Fighting Reported in the West Renewed fighting has erupted in the western Gambella region bordering Sudan, claiming as many as 40 lives, according to UN and humanitarian sources. The clashes broke out just weeks after fighting had... more  Europe and Latin America Colombia Gets Support in Terror Fight European Commisssion Backs Colombia's Fight Against Terrorism, Despite Concern Over Human Rights European Commission President Romano Prodi gave new political backing Tuesday to Colombian President A... more  European Union (EU) and Russia EU Sets Out Tough Terms on Relations with Russia BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) - The EU formally set out its policy toward Russia Monday with a strongly worded statement saying the bloc would press Moscow on human rights and Chechnya while boosting ti... more  France French Law to Also Hit Pupils Denying Holocaust France's coming ban on religious emblems in state schools will also affect pupils denying the Holocaust or refusing to take part in biology or physical education courses, Education Minister Luc Ferry ... more  Georgia and Russia Georgia Leader in Key Moscow Talks Russian military bases and the Chechnya conflict are set to top the agenda of talks between Russia's leaders and the new president of Georgia. Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili arrived in Moscow... more  Tbilisi: Russia Was Warned of Attack A man showed up at the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi a day before the metro blast and warned that Chechen rebels planned to carry out a "huge" terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday, Georgia's state securi... more  Germany Terror Trial in Duesseldorf - Second Al-Tawhid Tribunal Another trial of suspected members of the Islamist terror group Al-Tawhid has started at the Higher Regional Court in Duesseldorf on Tuesday [10 February 2004]. Three of the four defendants -- two J... more  Greece Athens Ends Olympic Security Test The Greek security forces and emergency services have just completed one of the biggest anti-terrorist exercises ever held in Europe. The exercise, watched by more than 100 observers from around t... more  ELA Trial Commences The trial commences on 9 February 2004. Five defendants will answer charges of participating in a terrorist organization and perpetrating/instigating a number of crimes, including murder in the first ... more  Gas Canister Arson Attack Occurs in Thessaloniki 'Faction' With Gas Canisters" Two parked cars and the window of a National Bank branch were damaged early yesterday morning, due to six gas canisters ignited by the "Metropolitan Guerilla Facti... more  Oympics Security Planners to Receive Support From Russian Authorities All plans, even comprehensive security plans for a global event like the Olympic Games, have vulnerabilities. Their vulnerabilities are enhanced as a result of the new forms of global terrorism, nam... more  Parliament to be Dissolved on February 11 Parliament will be dissolved on February 11, general elections will be held on March 7 and the new parliament arising from the elections will convene on March 18, the cabinet formally decided on Febru... more  Unions Anounce Post-Election Strike for March 31 Greece's largest trade union umbrella group, GSEE, on February 5 announced that it will 'welcome' the next government after the March 7 elections with a nationwide strike on March 31. Trade unioni... more  Haiti Aristide's Forces Attack as Revolt Spreads Violent resistance to Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide engulfs more towns and villages, and police move to retake St. Marc, a key city. A bloody revolt against President Jean-Bertrand Aristid... more  At Least 42 Killed in Haitian Uprising Death Toll in Haiti Rises to at Least 42 As Anti-Aristide Rebels Go on Rampage Across 11 Towns In the strongest challenge yet to embattled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, rebels in nearly a dozen t... more  Haitian Police Take Back Rebel Town Haitian police took back a city from armed gangs on Monday, delivering the government its first victory in a 5-day-old armed revolt that has presented President Jean-Bertrand Aristide with his most da... more  India Delhi Police Claimed Major Success with Arrest of Militant Delhi Police today claimed to have thwarted attempts by terrorists to set up base in the National Capital by arresting a Pakistan-trained activist of the Al Jehad outfit. The militant, Peer Abdul H... more  No Bird Flu in India There are no cases of bird flu or the highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country, contrary to the alleged sporadic reports from Haryana and the North-East, the Centre announced today. It also un... more  India and Nepal India 'Hands Over' Nepal Rebels India has handed over two senior Nepalese Maoist rebel leaders to Nepal, reports from Kathmandu say. Matrika Prasad Yadav and Suresh Ale were arrested in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh... more  Indonesia Bali has Become a Haven for Foreign Pedophiles: Report Pedophile rings of Australians, Europeans and Americans are operating freely on the resort island of Bali and pretend to adopt or foster poverty-stricken children to abuse them, a new report claimed T... more  Government Assures Public of Timely, Peaceful Elections Amid fear of possible widespread chaos in the run-up to, during, and after the upcoming elections, the government assured the public on Monday that it had prepared contingency plans to anticipate any ... more  Iran and United Arab Emirates 43 Killed As Iranian Plane Crashes in UAE By ADNAN MALIK SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates - An Iranian plane carrying mostly foreign workers renewing their visas crashed Tuesday as it approached Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates, ki... more  Iraq 50 Killed in Car Bombing South of Baghdad By MARIAM FAM ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq - A car bomb exploded Tuesday morning at a police station south of Baghdad as dozens of would-be recruits lined up to apply for jobs, and a hospital official said a... more  US Captures Ex-Saddam Regime Man US forces in Iraq have captured one of the remaining most-wanted officials in Saddam Hussein's toppled government, American defence officials say. Muhsin Khadar al-Khafaji was a Baath party chairm... more  Israel and West Bank/Gaza Israeli Court to Rule Quickly on Barrier By STEVE WEIZMAN JERUSALEM - Israel's Supreme Court promised a speedy ruling on a petition filed by human rights groups to halt work on the West Bank barrier, a case seen as a dress rehearsal for a... more  Italy Intelligence Report Says Italy "Point of Departure" for Islamist Terrorists Our country is no longer a place of transit where would-be suicide bombers can stock up at logistic bases. It has become a point of departure for Islamist terrorism. The alert was raised by the intel... more  Italy Urges NATO, South Europe Pact Against Terror Italy will propose a pact between NATO and southern Europe against terrorism, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini was quoted as saying Tuesday. "Italy will ask the Atlantic Council on March 3 to trans... more  Palermo: Investigators Outline Recent Changes in Mafia Structure, Policy The White-Collar Dome The "Dome" [Mafia decisionmaking board] is no more, a ghost from the past. The relationship with the world of politics has been turned upside down. Special directors, ... more  Kenya Kenya Plans to Redistribute Idle Land to Poor Kenya's minister for land on Monday threatened to repossess tracts of idle land and redistribute it to thousands of landless people. Land ownership is an explosive topic in Kenya, with successive g... more  US Lauds Security, Keeps Travel Ban The lifting of the US travel advisory against Kenya remained unclear yesterday, as its envoy remained ambivalent over the matter. Ambassador William Bellamy said he could not predict when the trave... more  Kyrgyzstan Restructuring of Kyrgyzstan Government Begins Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev chaired an expanded session of the government on 7 February to present changes he is making in accordance with the law on government structure that was adopted by the parl... more  Laos and Vietnam Vietnam to Train Lao Forces to Ensure Security Vietnam will train and work together with Lao forces to maintain security along their common border, state media said. The pledge was made during a meeting in Hanoi on Monday between Vietnamese Pri... more  Liberia LURD Leader Hands Over Heavy Weapons, Supports Disarmament Amidst cheers and singing by his fighters, Sekou Conneh, the chairman of the LURD rebel movement, handed over a substantial cache of weapons to United Nations peacekeepers Monday, eager to show his su... more  Libya Blair Set for Talks with Gaddafi UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is set to meet Libyan President Colonel Gaddafi, it has emerged after "milestone" talks in London on Tuesday. The news came as Mohammed Abdulrahman Shalgam became the ... more  Libya and United Kingdom Britain Plans Blair Meeting with Gaddafi Britain said on Tuesday it is planning a meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. "We've discussed that, we are hoping very much that a visit can be arranged as ... more  Mozambique Feature on Cholera Outbreak The Mavalane Cholera Treatment Center is a collection of tents and improvised shelter in the grounds of one of the main hospitals in the Mozambican capital, Maputo. It is in the front line of the gove... more  Nepal Maoists Escalate Attacks Prior to Anniversary Maoist rebels have escalated their attacks in various regions across the country prior to their anniversary. In the latest series of Maoist attacks, one Police head constable was killed in a Maoist... more  Suspected Maoists Bomb Major Shopping Complex in Nepal's Capital Suspected Maoists exploded a bomb at Bishalbazaar shopping complex in the heart of the Nepalese capital today morning, police and eyewitnesses said. The explosion partially damaged the basement of ... more  Netherlands Dutch MPs Split Over Asylum Bill The Dutch parliament has begun debating a controversial new bill aimed at clearing a backlog of asylum cases. The bill grants residence rights to 2,300 asylum seekers, but allows for the forceful ... more  No Action Against Imams For the time being, the cabinet declines to take tough measure against radical Islamic imams who come from abroad to preach in the Netherlands. Most political groups in the Second Chamber are disapp... more  New Zealand Bomb Threat Sparks Scare at NZ Parliament A man disgruntled about the possible closure of a school sparked a major security alert at New Zealand's parliament today. After a bomb threat was received by police around 11am (0900 AEDT), offic... more  Nigeria Armed Robbers Killed Dikibo President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that preliminary reports showed that Chief A.K. Dikibo, the PDP chieftain was killed by a gang of armed robbers. Speaking on the Presidential Media Chat Su... more  North Korea N. Korea Touts Support From China North Korea said Tuesday that it has received support from China for its proposal to freeze its nuclear weapons programs in return for free oil and other economic concessions from the United States. ... more  Pakistan Powell Takes Stern Line on Pakistan Colin Powell, US secretary of state, said he had told General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military leader, that the country's nuclear proliferation network had to be completely eradicated. Abdul Q... more  Peru Terror Threat Shut Embassy in Peru The British embassy in Peru was closed yesterday because of a threatened terrorist attack, the Foreign Office confirmed. The threat applied only to the embassy and there has been no change to trav... more  Philippines Philippine Campaign Kicks Off with Glitz and Music Philippine politicians burst onto the campaign trail Tuesday, keeping the issues to a minimum as they turned up the theatrics and rhetoric full blast. About 17,000 posts at all levels of government... more  Russia 3 Suspects Admit Participation in Yushenkov Murder at Trial Three of the six suspects on trial in the high-profile murder of Liberal Russia co-leader and State Duma Deputy Sergei Yushenkov acknowledged in a Moscow court on Monday that they had participated in ... more  Boris Berezovskiy Ready to Work 'Even with the Devil Himself' To Find Rybkin The Moscow Kommersant reports the following on February 10, 2004: Boris Berezovskiy, one of Ivan Rybkin's closest associates, has told Dmitriy Kamyshev that he is prepared to collaborate even with ... more  Russian Skinheads Believed To Have Killed Tajik Girl in St Petersburg The Moscow Russia TV RTR reports the following on February 10, 2004: [Presenter] A violent attack on a Tajik family took place in St Petersburg last night [on 9 February]. A nine-year-old child wa... more  Serbia-Kosovo (Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) Djindjic Judge Faces Mafia Claim Lawyers defending the suspects on trial for the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic have called for the presiding judge to be dismissed. Four defence lawyers say Judge Maarko Kl... more  Slovakia TIS Report Sees Absence of Political Will To Combat Corruption in Slovakia The Bratislava Hospodarske Noviny reports the following on February 10, 2004: Bratislava -- There has been no improvement in the perception of corruption in Slovakia in the last three years. We [... more  Spain Spanish Police Fire Rubber Bullets to Break Up Protest by Stevedores [Presenter] Stevedores from the Izar shipyards in Cadiz [Province in southern Spain] have been blocking several roads and railways throughout the course of the morning in a new day of protests in whic... more  Sri Lanka Tamil Politicians Risk Life in Sri Lanka Elections Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka who do not back the island's Tiger rebels in snap elections in April may be risking more than their seats in parliament. Some might get a bullet in the head before th... more  Sudan Sudan's Western Rebels 'Crushed' Rebels fighting in western Sudan have been defeated, President Omar al-Bashir has said. A military communique put out by his office said the state of Darfur was entirely in government hands, altho... more  Switzerland Swiss Back Tougher Laws on Violent Crime Swiss voters approved a measure on Sunday that would require the country to put into effect some of Europe's harshest laws on violent criminals and pedophiles. The proposals won 56 percent of the n... more  Thailand Thai Young Face Night Curfew Thailand's cabinet has approved a night-time curfew on all people under 18, in a bid to stop criminal violence. Young people found on the streets without their parents between 10pm and four am wil... more  Thailand to Maintain Martial Law in South Thailand is to keep martial law in the Muslim south, ensuring soldiers can continue to detain civilians without charge despite an outcry from religious leaders, the army said Tuesday. General Pongs... more  United Kingdom New 'FBI' Unit to Tackle UK Crime Plans for an elite new agency to tackle organised crime have been unveiled by the government. It will merge the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and investigative bra... more  Security Scares Hit BA Bookings British Airways reported its biggest third-quarter profit in 12 years on Monday, at the top end of forecasts, but Europe's largest airline warned security issues were having "some impact" on forward b... more  U.K. Holds 7 in Death of Chinese Immigrants The police said Monday that they had arrested seven people on suspicion of manslaughter in the deaths of 19 Chinese workers who drowned as they searched for shellfish in a notoriously dangerous Englis... more  Venezuela Venezuela Devalues Ahead of Poll Venezuela populist president, Hugo Chavez, has devalued the country's currency ahead of a possible referendum on his administration. The move, a 16% cut which values the bolivar at 1,920 to the US d... more  Vietnam More Tests Needed to Rule Out Human Spread of Bird Flu: WHO The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday more tests must be run on two Vietnamese sisters who died last month to ensure the bird flu virus sweeping Asia could not be transmitted directly fr... more  Cyber Crime and Terrorism Con artists go 'phishing' for personal information Last month, thousands of Internet users got an urgent message: Update your bank account information now or your federal deposit insurance may lapse. The message was accompanied by a link to what lo... more  Cyber Crime Adds Weight to Union Calls for Government Action over Offshoring London (ots)  Amid revelations surrounding cyber crime amongst British financial services firms in India. Amicus tell a Trade and Industry select committee inquiry today 10/02/2004 that the DTI needs... more  DHS launches trio of IT security groups The Homeland Security Department has formed three new organizations to strengthen federal IT defenses and coordinate responses to systems threats. In an exclusive interview, DHS National Cyber Sec... more  Leniency may encourage more hackers A UK-based hacker found guilty of breaching the systems of a US government web site was given a community service sentence rather than a fine or imprisonment this month, leading experts to warn that s... more  MyDoom.C Slams Into Microsoft.com A new version of the MyDoom worm appears to be circulating on the Internet and may be responsible for some disruptions to Microsoft Corp.'s Web site Sunday night and Monday morning, researchers said. ... more  Network security specialists seek seamless defense Day and night, the war of attrition rages in the beleaguered world of network security. Defenders throw up firewalls, download patches, and scramble to fend off the hundreds of thousands of attempted ... more  Security experts work to prevent hacker infiltration of Athens Olympics ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Olympic security experts are working on ways to prevent computer hackers from infiltrating or attacking electronic equipment that will be used during the Aug. 13-29 games, it was... more  VeriSign says online fraud growing fast A report released Monday by VeriSign, the company that maintains the Internet's .com and .net domain registry, indicates that attempted site hacks, online fraud and identity theft are growing rapidly,... more  Daily News Search Use this form to search through our archived list of daily news stories. 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