IRAN: Supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein
Mousavi are planning another rally Wednesday after Friday's disputed
presidential election.
The reformist movement has asked Iran's Interior Ministry for
permission to hold the rally, but, to this point, Iranian authorities
have banned such gatherings.
Mr. Mousavi issued a statement Wednesday calling on his supporters to
stage peaceful demonstrations or to gather in mosques Thursday to honor
those killed in post-election violence. In related news, Iran's Press TV reported Wednesday that
the nation's Intelligence Ministry has briefed parliament about
post-election unrest which, it says, has left eight people dead.
NOKOR-NUCLEAR: Japanese and South Korean news reports say North Korea appears to be
preparing two sites from where a long-range missile could be launched. South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper quotes an unidentified
government official as saying that a special train used to carry a
long-range missile has been spotted on the move.
The report says the train has been seen moving from a missile launch sites on North Korea's northwestern coast (Dongchang-ni) to its northeastern coast (Musudan-ni). A similar report was carried by Japan's Sankei newspaper.
South Korean intelligence and defense officials said they could not confirm the reports.
BURMA-SUUKYI :Lawyers for jailed Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi made a
final bid in court Wednesday to reinstate two witnesses in her delayed
trial. Kyi Win, the main lawyer on the Nobel Laureate's legal team, tells
reporters that a decision is not expected until later Wednesday local
time. Kyi Win says he is optimistic the court will accept the request to reinstate the witnesses.
INDONESIA-CORRUPTION: A court in Indonesia has sentenced a relative of Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to four-and-a-half years in prison for
embezzling millions of dollars from the country's central bank. Indonesia's corruption court handed down the sentences Wednesday for
former Bank of Indonesia deputy governor Aulia Pohan and three other
former bank officials. Pohan is the father-in-law of Mr. Yudhoyono's
eldest son.
Chinese President Hu Jintao says relations with Russia are a foreign policy priority for his country.
RUSSIA-CHINA: Mr. Hu told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that
boosting cooperation between Russia and China is particularly important
during the global economic crisis. The Chinese leader held talks with Mr. Putin in Moscow, after taking
part in two international summits in the Russian Ural Mountain city of
Yekaterinburg on Tuesday. During the BRIC summit, leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China
demanded greater say in the global financial system and a more stable
and diversified international monetary system.
