I’m putting the site on temporary hiatus. During the break I hope to re-plan things a little, maybe come back with a new format, features, etc. but no promises for now.

Comments, suggestions, etc. are more than welcome.

-Salim

George Bush says that Iraq still has a hard road to follow and asks Iraqis to make some compromises while forming the new united government. He is, however, confident things will work out. Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr says that the US has been creating the civil war environment. 80 more bodies have been found in Baghdad over a two-day period.

Britain is reducing its number of troops deployed in Iraq to 7000, down 800.

Russia says that Iran has been blocking its diplomatic efforts to sort out the nuclear power debacle and expresses disappointment with Iran’s behaviour. Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that a fresh round of talks between the two nations have started. Iran threatens the US with “harm and pain” for its part in sending the issue to the UN Security Council. The Council remains split on the issue.

Israeli troops surround and raid a Palestinian jail to capture militants it calims are responsible for the assassination of an Israeli cabinet minister. 

As the death of Slobodan Milosevic is reported as being a heart attack, it is revelaed that he had been taking potentially harmful drugs. Russia is sceptical and sends its own team of doctors to The Hague to investigate. Serbia will not let him be buried in Belgrade.

Creation of the proposed UN Human Rights Council is delayed. Oddly enough, the USA and Cuba stand together in opposition of the creation of the council.

Iran states that it is no longer considering the Russian plan to enrich their uranium offshore, saying that “the situation has changed”. Russian proposes fresh talks in Vienna involving the US, China, France and Britain.

Condoleezza Rice says that the US wants to give Palestine financial aid and would like to find a way for it to happen. The US is considering giving funding to aid agencies instead of the Palestinian Authority and asks Indoneisia for help in discussions with the Palestinians.

It is revelaed that before announcing his plans of setting a definite border, acting Israeli PM Ehud Olmert consulted the USA for their opinion. The US “neither approved nor objected to it”.

Two bombs explode in a Shiite area of Baghdad killing 44.

Residents of the Japanese city of Iwakuni vote overwhelmingly against plans to expand the US military presence there. The vote isn’t binding, but acts as a gauge of public opinion towards US military stationed on Japanese soil. Tokyo is going ahead with the move regardless.

Venezula gets a new flag.

A Hamas senior cheif has called interim Isreali PM Ehud Olmert’s plans to establish a permanent border by 2010 a ‘declaration of war‘. People wonder which direction the new Hamas Palestinain PM will take the party and the nation. Hamas has yet to finalise its policy program, but does give information about its basic principles.

The EU threatens to cut aid to Palestine unless Hamas commits to a peace plan and Former US Pres. Jimmy Carter writes that Israel’s colonisation of Palestine is the major inhibitor of peace in the region.

The US rejects the notion that by signing the India-USA nuclear deal it is infact recognising India as a nuclear power. Pres. Bush, meanwhile, pushes a change in laws to enable the deal’s enactment.

Chile has a new President, Michelle Bachelet. Bachelet, the nation’s first female leader, is a former exile who was tortured during Chile’s dictatorship days under the rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Despite comdenation from doctors worldwide, the US defends the force-feeding of Guantanamo Bay inmates on a hungerstrike.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s proposed reforms of the organisation have been met with a vote of no confidence by UN staff.

Former Pres. of Serbia and, later, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević dies in jail in The Hague as his trail nears an end. Prosecutors are upset that he will never be punished for his war crimes.

George Bush says that he is confident there will be no civil war in Iraq.

India and China hold talks to sort out their ongoing border dispute.

I’ve also taken this post about Commonwealth Games traffic changes and made it into a page which is accessible at the top of the site for easy access.

One more thing. Austalian news updates haven’t been published lately due to my rather hectic schedule. If anyone would like to volunteer some of their time to make these updates (I’m guessing ~30 mins/day), please contact me.

First experts said that Iran was still about ten years away from a nuclear bomb, then the experts said that five years was a more accurate timeline, now Britain say that Iran could be nuke-capable by the end of the year.

More criticism of the US-India nuclear deal comes forth as the White House attacks critics saying that the deal will help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The deal being done, India must now convince China that it has no intentions of forsaking their relationship.

The recently published US human rights report details abuses in Iraq much to the irk of the Iraqi gov. who say that the US is neglecting its own abuses including Abu Ghraib. The US says that it will close the Abu Ghraib prison and move detainess to other jails in the country.

Donald Rumsfeld says that in the event of a civil war breaking out in Iraq, the US would not get involved instead leaving the situation to the Iraqis to handle. In Baghdad, a private security company is raided and 50 employees abducted demonstrating the futility of the current authority.

Hamas plan to announce their new cabinet in the coming days and a visit to Saudi Arabia is organised. Hamas also meets with Fatah after revoking some laws made by PM Mahmoud Abbas.

Interim Israeli President Ehud Olmert promises that if elected, he will set permanent borders for the country by 2010.

The political crisis in Thailand worsens with a bomb exploding in Bangkok. The target appears to be the cheif advisor to the country’s king.

The fallout from the Prophet Muhamamd cartoon saga is examined by two leading muslim commentators.

In a recently published human rights report, the US harshly critisices China and Iran as being the ‘most systematic’ human rights violators. China releases its own report critical of US human rights abuse. An interesting conclusion of the US report is that democracy does not guarantee human rights.

The US say that North Korea fired two short-range missiles in testing earlier during the week which, it is claimed, is further proof that N. Korea is a real security threat. Independent analysts, however, disagree. N. Korea, meanwhile, announce their terms for more nuclear talks with the US.

Russian announces that it will not support sanctions against Iran, sighting that sanctions don’t really work. The US call for Iran to be referred to the UN Security Council right away. Iran says that the West will suffer more than it.

Germany announces that it is behind Israel all the way with regards to its stance on Hamas. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas seeminlgy throws his weight behind Israeli PM Ehud Olmert’s Kadima Party in upcoming elections, which damages the party’s standings.

It is argued that Australia’s refusal to sell uranium to India demonstrates that India must still do a lot of work before the benefits of the recent US-India nuclear deal become apparent.

US CENTCOM Commander General John Abizaid meets with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in an attempt to calm increasing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Kofi Annan’s planned UN restructuring outrages staff and many Third World countires. Part of the plan includes 1000 redundancies.

It is argued that bringing democracy to the world wont bring about world peace. The US and Israel’s opinions of Hamas’ democratic victory is used as an example.

Australia’s new Defence Minister Brendan Nelson visits troops in Iraq while it is announced that Australian troops will remain in Iraq into next year. England, meanwhile, says it well start withdrawing its troops from Iraq in the next few weeks and plans to be completely out of the country by summer 2008. Depending on which US official you beleive, Iraq is either going great or the US have opened a ‘Pandora’s Box’.

There is further criticism of US President George W. Bush’s deal with India and ex-Pakinstan PM Benazir Bhutto believes that the US is ‘selectively applying‘ its foreign policy. It is argued that India’s refusal to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty should not deter Australia from selling them uranium.

THE IAEA contiunes to debate over the nuclear Iran issue with Russia and the US wanting to do things quite differently while the UN looks at streamlining its bureaucracy.

The Japan-China negotiations regarding territorial boundries and gas deposits in the East China Sea ends without any real outcome, but they have agreed to meet again.

With the recent drowning of more that 40 African migrants heading to Europe, it is revealed that more than 1000 Africans have met a similar fate in the past four months.

In Iraq, snipers have killed a military commander and car bombs kill five as the new parliament prepares to meet. The question of national leadership looms large and the Shiite bloc asks for the meeting to be delayed ‘a few days’.

Australian PM John Howard discusses India’s proposal to buy uranium from Australia during their recent meeting. Howard doesn’t rule out the possiblity, but says Australia’s formal position remains ‘no’.

The US urges the international community to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear-capable and says that no level of uranium enrichment is acceptable. A senior US official, Nicholas Burns, scoffs at India-Iran nuclear comparisons stating that India is “the responsible one“. Some argue that the deal must be stopped by US Congress to prevent fanning the flames in the already volatile region. India states that it will form its own stance on Iran, away from the opinions of other nations.

As protests against the Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra continue, yet bigger ones are planned. Shinawatra remains unmoved, again saying that he will not step down. All the leadership problems may have dire effects on the nation’s economy.

Maoist rebels in Nepal raid a town, bombing government buildings and releasing prisoners from jail. Seven are killed.

More than 40 African immigrants headed for the Canary Islands die when their boat sinks off the west coast of Africa.

The US approve of the recent Hamas-Russian talks, calling them ‘useful’. Hamas come away from the talks saying that they’ll have to ‘change their manners‘ now that they’re playing in the big league.

The Interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is planning on withdrawing some West Bank settlements if he wins the upcoming election. Doubts are raised over Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ ‘al-Qaeda in Palestine’ claims.

As calls for the Iraqi PM to quit grow, the Iraqi President has joined in the chorus, saying that a resignation would help the attempt at national unity. Amnesty International say that prisoner abuse in Iraq is still going on.

Part of the India-US nuclear deal guarantees India uninterrupted nuclear fuel from the US, Russia, France and the UK.

Pakistan may not have gotten a similar deal, but Pres. Musharraf is keeping his ‘strategic options open‘ by negotiating with China. Bush agrees to an Iranian pipeline supplying natural gas to India and Pakistan.

The US and Iran threaten eachother at a recent IAEA meeting. Iran warns that it may stop exporting oil if referred to the UN Security Council and the US promise ‘painful consequences’ if Iran resumes large-scale enrichment. The IAEA, meanwhile, are beginning to doubt Iran’s claims of peaceful intent for the nuclaer program.