US - AFGHANISTAN: The White House says President Barack Obama will announce his new
strategy for Afghanistan on Tuesday night in a speech at the U.S.
military academy at West Point in New York.
The announcement follows several weeks of deliberations and meetings with members of the president's national security team.
News reports say Mr. Obama is most likely to call for the deployment of
at least 30,000 more U.S. troops. Mr. Obama has vowed to "finish the
job" in Afghanistan.
But the Taliban's reclusive leader Mullah Omar says the U.S. and its
allies will face failure, and the "defeat" cannot be "averted by
reinforcements."
PHILIPPINES - MASSACRE: Philippine authorities say the prime suspect in Monday's massacre of 57
people in Maguindanao province has turned himself in.
An Army official (Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer) says
Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of the town of Datu Unsay, surrendered to
presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza in the provincial capital on
Thursday.
On Monday, about a hundred armed men blocked a convoy led by the wife
of Buluan Vice Mayor Ismael Mangudadatuas it made its way to a nearby
(Shariff Aguak) town to file his certificate of candidacy for the
gubernatorial post in the 2010 polls.
CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE: China has set its first target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions, a
day after the United States made a similar commitment ahead of a U.N.
climate change summit.
China's State Council said Thursday that China will reduce its "carbon
intensity" by 2020 by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 levels. Carbon
intensity is the amount of greenhouse gases emitted for each unit of
national income.
China's State Council, or Cabinet, described the target as a voluntary
action and predicted it will make a "major contribution" to global
efforts to tackle climate change.
CAMBODIA - TRIBUNAL: The lawyer of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge jail chief has urged a U.N.-backed
war crimes court to consider his client's remorse, and accused
prosecutors of making him a scapegoat for the horrors the regime
committed.
French defense lawyer Francois Roux says the prosecution's demand for a
40-year prison term for Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch (pronounced DOIK),
does not take into account his repeated apologies. Roux urged the court
to reconsider the sentencing demand in the interest of national
reconciliation.
INDIA - PAKISTAN - MUMBAI ATTACKS: Indian police showed off upgraded equipment, and residents held silent memorials in Mumbai a year after devastating attacks by militants paralyzed the country's financial hub for 60 long hours and killed 166 people. Police commandoes rappelled (descended) down buildings, brandished new weapons and drove new armored vehicles in a parade through the city in a show of force and security as part of anniversary ceremonies marking the attacks. The new equipment is part of Mumbai's $27-million (1.3 billion rupees) plan to improve security after being criticized for being poorly trained and inadequately armed to protect the city against the terror attacks.
VIETNAM - CURRENCY: Vietnam has devalued its currency and raised interest rates in an effort to control inflation. The country's central bank devalued the dong by 5.4 percent against the dollar Wednesday, and raised interest rates from 7 to 8 percent. The bank said on Thursday it will devalue the dong another 3 percent. Inflation spiked to 4.4 percent in November, a six-month high. At the new rate , the dong trades at 17,961 to the dollar in official markets and more than 19,500 dong to the dollar on the black market.
US - THANKSGIVING: U.S. President Barack Obama has granted a pardon to a turkey, saving
the bird from becoming part of a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast.
At an annual White House ceremony Wednesday, Mr. Obama granted the 20
kilogram turkey - named "Courage" - a "full and unconditional"
presidential pardon.
Courage and another turkey named "Carolina" will be flown the
Disneyland amusement park in California where they will be the honorary
grand marshals in Disneyland's annual Thanksgiving Day parade Thursday.
President Obama joked that the turkey had his daughters, Sasha and
Malia, to thank for the pardon because he said, in his words, "I was
planning to eat this sucker."
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