Uighurs in China are fearful after Tiananmen Square attack
Uighurs in Beijing say police look at them suspiciously after a deadly car attack in Tiananmen Square that authorities blamed on Islamist militants.
By Barbara Demick
BEIJING — At a restaurant with an arbor of green plastic grape leaves out front and a grill inside for skewers of roast lamb, police have been popping in regularly the last two days to check residency documents of ethnic Uighurs.
In the same neighborhood, a Uighur family who had moved into their apartment a few days ago were told to leave immediately, although they paid their rent a month in advance.
The midday attack this week at Tiananmen Square has made the Uighurs the least favored ethnic minority in Beijing for the moment. On Monday, a family of three Uighurs drove their sports utility vehicle onto a crowded sidewalk, killing two tourists and injuring 40, before setting the car on fire and killing themselves. Authorities have called it a "terrorist act" and described the perpetrators as Islamic militants.
Busted: The Rotterdam drug cafe for Europe’s Mr Bigs
Paul Peachey reports on the quiet coffee shop where huge narcotics deals were on the menu
It boasts a wealthy but shadowy clientele, an invitation-only door policy and public reviews on the quality of the coffee are definitely not encouraged. The secrets behind one of the most exclusive cafes in Europe was revealed after police kicked down the door of what they claimed was a members-only club for drug cartel leaders where they would swap ideas over coffee and organise their illicit trade.
In the raid, on what police described as a one-stop shop for trade expertise, knowledge and contacts, officers discovered a cache of weapons, hundreds of thousands of euros, a cash-counting machine and dozens of mobile phones. A radio scanner and jammer and high value watches were also found inside the cafe in Rotterdam.
Despite the cafe sign hanging outside, a buzzer system and security cameras ensured that only established and known gang members were allowed inside. Officers believe that drug traffickers from Spain, Holland, South America and Britain all used the café, in a busy residential area, to thrash out financing deals and to organise the transport of drugs.
SYRIA
Assad eyes victory even without military success
It seems as though neither side can win Syria's civil war. And the military stalemate indicates the difficulties facing an upcoming peace conference in Geneva. Each side remains committed to its position.
The fronts in Syria's civil war have largely solidified since June 2013 when government forces, backed by fighters from the Hezbollah militia, conquered the city Al-Qusayr. Since that time, neither the rebels nor the government have booked major gains.
In Deraa, located in southern Syria, rebel troops made it into the city center, but failed to drive out pro-Assad forces. A similar situation emerged in the eastern district of Deir ez-Zor. The only advances appear to have been made by radical Islamist groups, which have evidently expanded their spheres of influence at the cost of other rebel factions.
Joshi Shashank, an expert on Syria with the British security think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), believes a military stalemate has been reached.
Japanese ships disrupt Chinese military exercises
November 1, 2013 - 11:18AMBeijing: China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday it has lodged a formal diplomatic complaint over what it called "dangerous provocation" by Japan for shadowing Chinese military exercises in the western Pacific.
Sino-Japanese ties have been strained for months by a dispute over tiny islands in the East China Sea believed to be surrounded by energy-rich waters. They have also been overshadowed by what China says is Japan's refusal to admit to atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in China between 1931 and 1945.
Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said that a Japanese naval and air patrol disrupted a Chinese live ammunition military drill last Friday, without giving the precise location.
Mr Yang also said Japanese patrols of ships and aircraft were gathering information about the exercises.
Congo rebels retreat, but unclear if rebellion near end: U.S. envoy
Recent military advances by U.N.-backed Congolese troops in crushing a 20-month rebellion in the east are a major step, but it is too soon to say if the M23 rebels are on the brink of defeat, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
In an interview with Reuters, Russ Feingold, U.S. special envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa, said a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and rebels from the M23 group may be reached as soon as this weekend.
But he cautioned that a peace pact would not end the decades of instability in the region until the root causes of the conflict, including ethnic tensions, are resolved.
"There is every reason to believe that the parties are getting ready to finalize the agreement," the former U.S. senator said.
Payment overdue: Can Mercosur make Venezuela pay?
Brazil may have wanted Venezuela in the South American trade bloc to protect its companies. But will it work?
In December 2011 I wrote about Mercosur's economic rules and how they could apply to Venezuela. My analysis was that Brazil wanted Venezuela in Mercosurbecause it would boost trade and provide legal protections to Brazilian companies working, investing, and trading with Venezuela. The big question was whether Venezuela would follow Mercosur's rules when push came to shove.
The first significant test is now occurring. Venezuelan companies and the Venezuelan government are late on payments to Brazilian companies, mostly companies that are exporting food to Venezuela. In some cases, payments are up to four months late. (Folha, El Universal) There have been several meetings with top Brazilian officials trying to get the Venezuelan government to release the dollars necessary to pay for the food (because no smart Brazilian company will accept Bolivars these days).
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