NightWatch
For the Night of 6
April 2008
North Korea: The
Korean Central News Agency reported details of a visit by Kim Chong-il to a
military unit, apparently recently, but the North almost never publishes the
dates so as to prevent western intelligence from tracking the dear leader’s
movements.
Kim regularly visits military units and does so more
frequently than civilian facilities because of safety and security
considerations. He feels safer among the military than in the general public.
The timing of the new report reinforces the image that the nation is prepared
for a crisis. It is not, but the propaganda machine operates on its own rules.
China: Authorities admitted Tibetans caused more
disturbances over the weekend in Sichuan
Province. The significant
point is that the Chinese have not yet suppressed the unrest.
Sri Lanka: A suicide bomb attack at the scene of a
marathon race in Colombo
killed a government minister and 13 others and injured over 100 others. The
government is blaming the attack on the Tamil Tigers. This was the second
suicide attack of the year.
Last week the Sri Lankan government placed an order with Pakistan for large amounts of ammunition needed
in the continuing offensive in northern Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka buys from Pakistan defense industries because
Indian aid is limited humanitarian and non-combat related supplies. Most
importantly India patrols
the Palk Strait to deter Indian Tamils from Tamil Nadu State from providing covert aid by sea
to the Sri Lankan Tamils just across the Strait.
Zimbabwe:
The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) won
30 senate seats in parliamentary elections, and the combined opposition parties
also won 30 seats, Reuters reported over the weekend. The High Court in Zimbabwe announced
it will rule on 7 April on an opposition petition demanding the immediate
release of the presidential poll results. A Justice said he would first consider an
argument by the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) that the court did not
have jurisdiction.
Food and Stability:
Pakistan: Nearly
half of Pakistan's
160 million people are at risk of going short of food due to a surge in prices,
the World
Food Program said on Friday. The WFP survey covering the year to March
showed the number of people deemed "food insecure" had risen 28
percent to 77 million from 60 million in the previous year.
The WFP estimates
that anyone consuming less than 2,350 calories per day is below the food
security line. Prices for rice, vegetables and cooking oil have risen
sharply.
Haiti: At
least four people died and 20 were wounded last week in Haiti when
demonstrators protesting high food prices and living costs clashed with UN security
forces, Reuters reported over the
weekend. Officials say the
protesters set cars on fire and tore down the front gate of the UN base. The UN
also says its peacekeepers were shot at. More than two dozen people were
injured and at least nine treated for bullet wounds.
Food prices have soared in Haiti over recent months. Prices for
rice, beans, fruit and condensed milk have risen 50 per cent over last year,
while the cost of pasta has doubled.
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