June 19, 2008

- Simon Mann, a British soldier who attempted in 2004 to topple Equatorial Guinea president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, completed testimony on Thursday and implicated Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margeret Thatcher. Mann also implicated Lebanese millionaire Eli Calil. The date of the coup would have been March 14, 2004. The trial continues in Malabo.

- President Paul Kagame of Rwanda blamed Africa for not solving the political crisis in Zimbabwe. He said the people of Zimbabwe needed to take the first step, but that the South African Development Community should step in as needed. Kagame expressed doubt about the possibility of free and fair elections.

-Crowds led by the middle-class People's Alliance for Democrascy (PAD) lined the streets in Bangkok and demanded that the government step down. The crowds were small, but still show discontent with the government Samak Sunaravej. The PAD says the government and the People Power Party are a proxy for the disposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Shinawatra has strong support among the rural people but little among elites. The government wants to amend constitutional amendments made by the military. Removing the amendments would protect Thaksin.

-Israel earlier this month conducted an exercise that was a rehearsal for a bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. 100 Isreali F-16 fighters participated. The goal of the exercise was to practice flight tactics, rescuing soldiers, and aerail refueling. Shaul Mofaz, the deputy PM, said earlier this month: "If Iran continues with its program for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack." Israel has prepared plans for triking Iran's nuclear facilities and Iran has taken these plans seriously. Iran is looking to acquire 20 SA-20 missiles from Russia. A National Intelligence Estimate in December said Iran had stopped work on weapons, but had continued to work on uranium enrichment and on developing missiles to deliver a warhead. Israel bombed Iraq's Osirak reactor in 1981 and hit a Syrian nuclear facility in September 2007.