URGENT OPEC: Nigeria, Venezuela to slash oil production from Sunday
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/09/29/afx3055391.html
UPDATE 2-Strong quake jolts Venezuela, Trinidad
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-09-29T221045Z_01_N29402073_RTRIDST_0_QUAKE-VENEZUELA-UPDATE-2.XML
****** long but good read...
SAVING AFGHANISTAN
The Wild East
By Susanne Koelbl
Sheer desperation is driving many Afghans back into the arms of the fanatical Taliban movement. Once again, the holy warriors have taken control of entire regions and are seeking to ensnare the Western allies in a bloody guerilla war.
The two Western intelligence agents in Kabul can finally breathe a sigh of relief. This day, this bloody, violent day, is finally drawing to a close. It seems like the beginning of the end.
Bombs went off at hourly intervals in the Afghan capital. The first struck a military bus ferrying young Afghan soldiers downtown. Screaming, the blood-soaked officers scrambled through the shattered windows, flames licking at their uniforms. In all, 39 people were hurt. The next exploded beside a bus filled with employees from the Trade Ministry. Six civilians were seriously injured; one didn't make it to the hospital. A third blast in the eastern part of the city ripped apart another army transporter.
snip
The militias still receive infusions of cash from sponsors in Saudi Arabia and Egypt; both rich private donors and religious foundations generously fund their cause. But the poppy fields remain the Taliban's biggest money spinners. The spokesman for the one-eyed Mullah Omar announced the summer offensive to a British reporter via satellite telephone: "When the foreigners arrive, we will turn the country into a river of blood."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,440017,00.html
6 wounded in grenade blast in southern Philippine university, police rule out terrorism
The Associated Press
Published: September 28, 2006
MANILA, Philippines An unidentified man tossed a grenade during a concert at a university in the southern Philippines, wounding six people, police said Friday.
The grenade went off late Thursday, about 200 meters (yards) from an area where more than 5,000 students at the state-run university in Kabacan town in North Cotabato province, about 900 kilometers (560 miles) southeast of Manila, where watching a band play, police said.
The town's police chief, Senior Superintendent Abello Junggaya, ruled out terrorism, but didn't elaborate.
Muslim and communist rebels are active in the area.
MANILA, Philippines An unidentified man tossed a grenade during a concert at a university in the southern Philippines, wounding six people, police said Friday.
The grenade went off late Thursday, about 200 meters (yards) from an area where more than 5,000 students at the state-run university in Kabacan town in North Cotabato province, about 900 kilometers (560 miles) southeast of Manila, where watching a band play, police said.
The town's police chief, Senior Superintendent Abello Junggaya, ruled out terrorism, but didn't elaborate.
Muslim and communist rebels are active in the area.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/29/asia/AS_GEN_Philippines_Grenade_Blast.php