Here is the Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 edition of what’s making news and interesting reads from around the world.
Ten French Soldiers Dead in Afghanistan
French troops head toward a battle in the Sarobi district of Afghanistan’s Kabul province today. Insurgents ambushed French paratroopers near Kabul, sparking fighting that killed 10 of the soldiers. More on the battles raging in Afghanistan from the Los Angeles Times. The ten dead French soldiers were the largest loss of life for France in a single day in over a quarter century.
Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will fly to Kabul tomorrow to visit with French soldiers.
Political Divisions Remain In Pakistan Post-Musharraf
Pakistan’s ruling coalition, fresh from ending a six-month standoff by forcing President Pervez Musharraf to resign, failed to resolve a festering dispute over reinstating judges he fired. More from Bloomberg News.
The British Labour Party in Serious Trouble
The British Conservative party has a solid advantage over the governing Labour party, according to a poll by YouGov. 45 per cent of respondents would vote for the official opposition party in the next election to the House of Commons, down three points in a week. The Labour party is second with 25 per cent, followed by the Liberal Democrats with 18 per cent. 12 per cent of respondents would vote for other parties. More from Angus-Reid Global Monitor.
Suicide Bomber Kills 43 in Algeria
At least 43 people were killed and 38 wounded when a suicide bomb exploded today at an Algerian police college at Issers, 40 miles east of capital Algiers. More from Afrol News.
Cross-Border Co-operation in Europe
Euregio Meuse-Rhin is an experiment in cross border co-operation. Emergency services from the three countries that meet there – Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands – have pioneered extraordinary levels of co-operation. A video report from Euro News.
Iran’s Satellite Missile Test Failed
An Iranian missile test aimed at putting a dummy satellite into orbit has failed, a US defence official has said.
“We detected a missile launch from Iran on August 16 and our reports indicated it was unsuccessful,” said the official on Tuesday, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It did not reach orbit.”
Iran announced on Sunday that it had successfully launched into space a missile with a dummy satellite. There were conflicting accounts by Iranian officials as to whether the missile was carrying a satellite or simply capable of carrying one. More from NDTV.