The making of a neo-KGB state
ON THE evening of August 22nd 1991—16 years ago this week—Alexei Kondaurov, a KGB general, stood by the darkened window of his Moscow office and watched a jubilant crowd moving towards the KGB headquarters in Lubyanka Square. A coup against Mikhail Gorbachev had just been defeated. The head of the KGB who had helped to orchestrate it had been arrested, and Mr Kondaurov was now one of the most senior officers left in the fast-emptying building. For a moment the thronged masses seemed to be heading straight towards him.
Africa ‘needs strict terrorism, money laundering laws’
African governments need to implement stringent laws to combat money-laundering and terrorism, the head of a anti-money laundering body meeting in Botswana said on Friday.
“Consistent application of recognised international standards is essential if we are to ensure that criminals and terrorists do not have access to the financial system and to the resources they need to survive and grow,” said the president of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).
James Sasson told finance ministers from 14 countries in the region that the links between abuse of the financial system by criminals and its potential impact on economies were well understood.
“The very recent events in London, Glasgow and elsewhere emphasise the global nature of the threat we face from terrorism. We need only look back to (bombings in) Kenya and Kikambala bombings of 2002 to see that Africa is exposed to this threat.”
13 killed as US troops battle Baghdad militants
US soldiers battled Shiite fighters in Baghdad on Friday, killing 13 people, a day after a fierce clash between Al-Qaeda militants and a rival Sunni group left dozens dead.
US attack helicopters fired on Shiite militants in Baghdad’s northwestern Shuala neighbourhood in the pre-dawn firefight, killing 13 people, including two women, a medic and security officials told AFP.
Shuala is one of the main strongholds of the Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Doctor Mohammed Abbas from the Al-Noor Hospital in Shuala said the facility had received 13 corpses.
Iraqi city under curfew after attacks
The Iraqi city of Samarra was under curfew Friday, a day after gunmen in more than 50 vehicles attacked police stations and checkpoints in the area, police said.
Samarra police had to call in U.S. air support to help fight the insurgents.
The clashes went on for about four hours, killing at least three gunmen and three civilians and wounding six civilians.
There were Iraqi police casualties, but authorities did not release any details.
Top Gen. To Advise Iraq Troop Cuts
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to suggest a reduction in the U.S. troop level in Iraq next year by almost half, according to a Friday report in the Los Angeles Times.
Gen. Peter Pace will make the recommendation to President Bush, the report says, a move that could pit the top military commander against the thinking of many senior White House officials as to how the Iraq war should be carried out.
