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Risking new EU sanctions, Mugabe seizes cabinet to protect generals

President Robert Mugabe, who unilaterally seized control over the appointment process for all Zimbabwe's ministries except finance, despite a power-sharing deal with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has been urged to shield Zimbabwe's military commanders from prosecution, according to senior government officials. The cabinet positions are seen as a way for Mugabe to protect military leaders from charges that they presided over a campaign of violence designed to deliver the election for Mugabe. The European Union has threatened to reinstate a slate of sanctions against Zimbabwe unless Mugabe backs down and adheres to the terms of the accord with Tsvangirai. The New York Times (free registration) (10/15) , Financial Times (10/15)

• UN program encourages kids to wash up 
• Cutbacks in tuberculosis aid means rollback in fight against AIDS 
• China land reform disappears from proposal after public discussion 
• Memos: White House endorsed CIA interrogation tactics 
• Career Center 
• Former Fatah fighters say Palestinian war with Israel is over 

• UN program encourages kids to wash up
  Millions of children worldwide are expected to participate in Global Handwashing Day, a UN event designed to impress young minds with the importance of basic hygiene in combating disease. The practice, which can cut diarrheal diseases by more than 40% and respiratory infections by 30%, is being highlighted on radio and television across five continents as part of the UN's International Year of Sanitation. BBC (10/15)

• UN seeks homes for 3,000 Palestinians refugees in Iraq
  The UN is appealing to nations on behalf of some 3,000 displaced Palestinians living on the Iraqi-Syrian border, desert region that exposes the refugees to extreme heat and frequent sandstorms. Nearly half of the refugees require urgent medical care. CBC.ca/Reuters (10/14)

• Cutbacks in tuberculosis aid means rollback in fight against AIDS
  Nobel laureate and HIV co-discoverer Francoise Barre-Sinoussi has warned that a cutback in funding to fight tuberculosis will detrimentally affect efforts to fight AIDS and could even substantially roll back progress made against the disease because so many people suffer from both diseases. Some 11 million of the estimated 33 million people worldwide infected with HIV also have tuberculosis. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (10/14)

• China to test additional milk products
  Following its announcement last week of limits for trace melamine in milk products, China recalled all such products made before Sept. 14 to test for the toxic chemical that has sickened at least 53,000 children and resulted in the deaths of three. The move, which will allow for products in compliance to be returned to the shelves, was seen as an attempt to reassure the public that the limits will be enforced. The New York Times (free registration) (10/14)

• Financial crisis may hurt aid-dependent nations worst
  Humanitarian workers and economists are afraid the financial crisis will see shortfalls in foreign aid that will prompt a rise in poverty, unemployment and school dropouts in such places as the Palestinian territory -- where foreign aid accounts for 50% of the government's budget. A final assessment of global foreign aid commitments will come at the end of the year. The Christian Science Monitor (10/15)

• India: IBSA should press for institutional reform
  Although not now directly affected by the world-wide financial crisis, India, Brazil and South Africa should press for reforms of the UN, the Group of Eight and other world institutions in order to ensure that the IBSA's developmental priorities are met, said India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The organization, which promotes cooperation in agriculture, trade and energy, previously took on the rights of developing nations during World Trade Organization discussions. Bloomberg (10/15)

• Other News

• Mexico struggles with drug addiction
  Los Angeles Times (10/15)

• China land reform disappears from proposal after public discussion
  Despite public discussion in China over a reform giving farmers the option to buy, sell, or lease their land -- a drive that featured a high-profile visit by President Hu Jintao to support the reform -- the issue completely disappeared from the report summarizing the proceedings of a conference assembled in part to issue the reform. Critics speculate that hardliners managed to scuttle the reform in favor of the collective ownership status quo, while others say China may yet implement the deal. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (10/15)

• Memos: White House endorsed CIA interrogation tactics
  The disclosure of two classified memos from 2003 and 2004 indicate the Bush administration clearly supported the CIA's use of water-boarding and other methods of interrogating al-Qaida suspects. The memos were issued in response to then-CIA Director George Tenet's requests for "policy approval" of the methods. The Washington Post (10/15)

• U.S. breaks up spam gang responsible for one-third of spam
  A lengthy U.S. investigation has resulted in the interruption of a criminal spam network responsible for approximately one third of spam traffic worldwide. U.S. officials froze the assets of New Zealander Lance Atkinson and U.S.-based Jody Smith, who are associated with the HerbalKing spam empire, which utilizes a botnet of 35,000 hacked computers to send 10 billion unsolicited messages every day. The Guardian (London) (10/15)

Director of Security American Refugee Committee International Minneapolis, MN, USA Director, Gender, Women and Health World Health Organization (WHO) Geneva, Switzerland Finance and Accounting Officer (Reforming Family Law Program) - Kuwait Freedom House Kuwait Program Officer (Reforming Family Law Program) -- Kuwait Freedom House Kuwait Project Director (Reforming Family Law Program) -- Kuwait Freedom House Kuwait General Manager CHF International Afghanistan Director of Development Freedom House Washington, DC Chief of Party, Iraq Community Action Program III International Relief and Development (IRD) Iraq Assistant Country Director CARE USA Kabul, Afghanistan Administrative Assistant Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation Washington, DC IDIQ Program Manager, USA International Relief and Development (IRD) Arlington, VA IDIQ Program Manager International Relief and Development (IRD) Iraq Project Director, Cultural Heritage Project International Relief and Development (IRD) Arlington, VA Project Coordinator, Cultural Heritage Project International Relief and Development (IRD) Erbil, Iraq Senior Program Officer, Infrastructure International Relief and Development (IRD) Arlington, VA

• Former Fatah fighters say Palestinian war with Israel is over
  Former Palestinian fighters associated with Fatah who received partial amnesty from Palestine -- some currently serving prison sentences in Palestinian jails, others using the amnesty to try to build new lives -- say that the era of armed resistance is finished. Today, the Palestinian Authority even arrests men wanted by Israel on request. Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv, Israel) (10/15)

• Shiite cults pose security hazard in Iraq
  Splinter factions of the Shiite faith believe they can hasten the promised return of Imam Mahdi, the Shiites' 12th imam, by sowing chaos through violence. Members have approached women, in particular distressed widows who have lost their husbands to violence in Iraq, offering solace but requiring these women to have sex with male members of the cult. Los Angeles Times (free registration) (10/15)

• Another Gulf of Aden hijacking prompts urgent warning
  A bulk carrier en route from the Middle East to Asia has been commandeered off the Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden, making it the 11th ship to be held by pirates. The International Maritime Bureau urgently warns vessels to take additional measures to hinder the pirates, who have hijacked 29 ships this year despite an international crackdown in the gulf. The Guardian (London) (10/15)

• Improvements in Iraq security usher fighters toward Afghanistan
  U.S. military victories in Iraq, prompted by the Sunni Awakening and the "surge," have ushered fighters toward Afghanistan, where Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak says fighting is at its worst since U.S. forces forcibly ejected the Taliban in late 2001. U.S. commanders say foreign fighters operating in Afghanistan hail from Pakistan, Arab countries, Muslim countries in Central Asia, and Chechnya -- though the majority of insurgents are Afghans. The New York Times (free registration) (10/14)

• Inquiry: Politicians, businessmen responsible for Kenya election violence
  A commission of inquiry appointed to investigate the ethnic violence following Kenya's December elections found that politicians and businessman planned and organized the mayhem, which brought the nation to the brink of civil war. The commission, which was set up following a peace-making mission by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, was also charged with finding ways to prevent similar violence in the future. BBC (10/15)

• Other News

• South Africa premiere Mbhazima Shilowa quits ANC to back new party
  The Guardian (London) (10/15)

• Trial in murder of Russian journalist Politkovskaya set to begin
  The Guardian (London) (10/15)

• Soldiers exchange fire over Thai-Cambodian border
  BBC (10/15)

• Conservative Harper hangs on in Canada
  The Washington Post (10/15)

• Sarkozy decision not to extradite former terrorist angers Italians
  The Boston Globe/International Herald Tribune (10/15)

• Observers fear for Moroccan democracy under powerful king
  Financial Times (10/15)

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