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- UN seeks access to deported Hmong
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called on Laotian authorities to grant the agency access to the more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong asylum-seekers deported from Thailand on Monday. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the deportations "despite the availability of third-country resettlement solutions for those recognized as refugees." The New York Times/Reuters (12/29)        - Zimbabwe battles measles outbreak
A measles outbreak in Zimbabwe has affected dozens and claimed 22 lives so far, mainly children, Zimbabwean authorities say. The outbreak comes despite a measles vaccination campaign sponsored by the World Health Organization. CNN (12/29) - Quebec establishes stricter fuel-efficiency standards
Environmental and consumer groups are applauding a decision by Quebec provincial authorities to introduce strict fuel-efficiency standards on cars and light trucks sold or leased in the province beginning Jan. 14. Authorities hope the move will prompt automakers to invest in the development of more environmentally friendly vehicles. The Gazette (Montreal) (12/30) - Eureka: Light-emitting wallpaper could replace the bulb
The Carbon Trust has awarded a prize to a company pursuing an organic light-emitting diode technology for wallpaper -- an invention that is seen as a possible replacement for the light bulb. The light-emitting wallpaper would illuminate all parts of a room with an even, adjustable, low-voltage glow. The Times (London) (12/30) - EU considers acting to raise the price of carbon
European Union regulators are looking at options for shoring up falling carbon prices -- which have never risen high enough to force utilities to invest in green technology, according to this article. European Commission regulators are considering buying surplus credits to increase prices or establishing a minimum "floor price" to protect against market volatility. The New York Times/Green Inc. blog (12/28) - China sentences living Buddha
A Chinese court has convicted Tibetan living Buddha Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche of illegally occupying government land and weapons possession. He has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison. He was arrested in March 2008 after deadly ethnic riots in Tibet. The Times (London) (12/30) - Israeli court orders an end to road restrictions
Israel's Supreme Court ordered authorities to open Highway 443, which connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and runs through the West Bank, to Palestinian traffic within five months. Israeli authorities restricted use of the highway -- dubbed "apartheid road" by critics -- in 2002 after attacks on Israeli vehicles. AlertNet.org/Reuters (12/30) - Putin ups the ante on weapons talks
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says Russia plans to build new weapons to counter a planned U.S. missile shield defense system, and he called on the U.S. to share data on its plans in exchange for information on Russian weapons development. Putin's comments may complicate efforts by Russian and American officials to negotiate a successor agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expired on Dec. 5. The New York Times (12/29) , The Toronto Star/The Associated Press (12/29) - Former Guantanamo inmates help to lead Yemeni branch of al-Qaida
Former detainees at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay -- Saudi nationals Said Ali al-Shihri and Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish -- are among the leaders of the growing terrorist cell that claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attempt to bomb a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. Both Shihri, deputy leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, and Rubaish, the group's chief theological adviser, were released from Guantanamo Bay during the Bush administration -- as was another Yemeni who was killed in a government raid and was suspected in a plot against the British Embassy. The Washington Post (12/30) - Kashmiris are frustrated by lack of action from Obama
Kashmiris have expressed frustration with what they perceive as U.S. President Barack Obama's failure to live up to campaign pledges for a more robust approach to stability for Kashmir. The Obama administration has sought a fine balance between pushing Pakistan to take a leading security role in combating Islamist extremists and in pursuing closer ties with India. The Washington Post (12/30) - Yemeni al-Qaida branch grows in profile
The branch of al-Qaida operating in Yemen and known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has supplied radicals to fronts in Iraq, Afghanistan and other theaters for years -- and is now drawing them as well. The group took credit for the attempted bombing of a trans-Atlantic flight and has improved its strategic capacity with a merger this year with the Saudi branch of al-Qaida. Los Angeles Times (12/29)
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