Month: January 2010

Beijing, January 30: China announced Saturday that it would freeze the military exchange with United States, in response to US plans to sell arms to Taiwan, state media reported.

“China decided to suspend scheduled visits between the Chinese and US armed forces, in response to Washington’s plan to sell a package of arms worth about 6.4 billion US dollars to Taiwan,” the state run Xinhua news agency reported.

Washington, January 30: Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have announced that their foundation will commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research in developing and delivering vaccines for the world’s poorest countries.

The couple said that increased investment in vaccines by governments and the private sector could help developing countries dramatically reduce child mortality by the end of the decade.

“We must make this the decade of vaccines,” said Gates.

Washington, January 30: US President Barack Obama’s national security adviser is citing a heightened risk that Iran will respond to growing pressure over its nuclear program by stoking violence against Israel.

The adviser, retired Marine Gen. James Jones, said history shows that when regimes are feeling pressure they can lash out through surrogates.

He said that in Iran’s case that would mean facilitating attacks on Israel through Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Iran helps arm Hezbollah and Hamas.

Washington, January 30: Terror groups may be planning attacks in India, the US State Department has warned in its latest advisory and asked its nationals to be alert while visiting the country in the coming months.

“The Department of State alerts US citizens to ongoing security concerns in India. The US government continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India,” the State Department said.

Beijing, January 30: China angrily warned the United States on Saturday that a plan to sell $6.4bn in arms to Taiwan would seriously harm already-strained ties. One Chinese expert said the sale would give Beijing a “fair and proper reason” to accelerate weapons testing.

The US is “obstinately making the wrong decision,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website.

Haiti, January 30: US soldiers halted a violent confrontation on Friday between looters and a private security guard who shot and killed one man inside an appliance store and appeared poised to shoot others.

The chaotic scene unfolded in front of several journalists in a commercial district of downtown Port-au-Prince that was largely destroyed by the January12 earthquake. Bands of young men have been scavenging through the debris for anything of value, occasionally battling Haitian police.

Washington, January 30: A Continental Airlines jetliner flying from Newark, New Jersey, to Bogota, Colombia, was diverted to Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday over suspicion that a passenger was on the government’s watch list of suspected terrorists banned from commercial flights. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

The passenger – one of 75 on board – was cleared by the FBI at Jacksonville International Airport and permitted to continue on the flight to Colombia, the Transportation Security Administration said.

Nigeria, January 30: Nigeria’s main militant group has postponed a three-month-old ceasefire in the Niger Delta, threatening more attacks on the country’s oil and gas industry.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), responsible for years of attacks on Nigerian oil facilities, said it could no longer trust the government to negotiate demands for greater control of the region’s natural resources.