Friday, October 02, 2009

10/02/09

* Marching to world domination: Why the West should be worried about China The bunting is out, the streets have been cleared, the troops are making their final preparations, and even the massive portrait of Mao on the Tiananmen Gate seems to wear a more self-satisfied expression than usual

* Obama in Iran inspection demand US President Barack Obama says Iran must give UN inspectors "unfettered access" to its second uranium enrichment facility within two weeks.

* US relinquishes control of the internet After complaints about American dominance of the internet and growing disquiet in some parts of the world, Washington has said it will relinquish some control over the way the network is run and allow foreign governments more of a say in the future of the system.

* Clinton Issues Holiday Greetings to Muslims, Not Jews Both Jews and Muslims celebrated holidays in September 2009. However, the United States Consulate in Jerusalem – America's representative in Israel's capital – chose to focus entirely on Islam this year.

* Irish hold crunch EU treaty vote Irish voters are heading to the polls in a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty - a vote that may decide the future of long-delayed EU changes.

* New post-Soviet force begins military exercises Thousands of troops from Russia and four other ex-Soviet nations began military exercises in southern Kazakhstan on Friday.

* Brussels welcomes US move toward global governance of internet The body responsible for managing the development of the internet, Icann, has cut its umbilical cord to the US government, a move the European Union has been demanding for four years.

* The U.S. Backs Afghanistan's Karzai, for Better or Worse The acceptance by the U.S. and NATO of a second term of office for Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has raised concerns among many Afghans skeptical of the legitimacy of his re-election.

* Indonesia awaits world quake aid International rescue teams are heading to Indonesia in a last-ditch effort to free trapped earthquake survivors.

* Herschel scans hidden Milky Way A remarkable view of our Galaxy has been obtained by Europe's billion-euro Herschel Space Observatory.