Around the World

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

INDIA

Mission to Moon Launched Successfully

India launched its first lunar mission Wednesday, joining four other nations and the European Space Agency in going to the moon.

Chandrayaan-1 blasted off from the Sriharikota space center in southern India shortly after dawn. Barring any technical failure, the cuboid spacecraft will reach the lunar orbit and spend two years scanning the moon for any evidence of water and precious metals.

The Chandrayaan project cost $79 million, considerably less than did the Chinese and Japanese moon launches in 2007.

SAUDI ARABIA

Al-Qaeda Trials Set

Saudi Arabia indicted 991 al-Qaeda suspects alleged to have carried out 30 attacks since 2003, Saudi news media reported Tuesday.

"Saudi Arabia has faced in recent years an organized terrorist campaign that struck at society, its way of life and the economy . . . and it was directly linked to the organization called al-Qaeda," an Interior Ministry statement said.

The group called al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula began a campaign to destabilize the U.S.-allied government in 2003, but security forces cooperating with foreign experts ended the violence.

CANADA

Torture Panel Reports

Canadian security services probably contributed indirectly to the torture in Syria of three Arab Canadians who had been suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, an official inquiry found Tuesday.

The probe covered the cases of Canadian-Egyptian Ahmad Abou El-Maati, Canadian-Syrian Abdullah Almalki and Canadian-Iraqi Nureddin Muayyed Nureddin, who were arrested separately when entering Syria between 2001 and 2003.

AFGHANISTAN

Coalition Air Raid Kills 8

A U.S.-led coalition airstrike hit an Afghan army checkpoint early Wednesday, killing eight soldiers and wounding four, Afghan officials said.

The attack occurred in the Sayed Kheil area of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, said Arsallah Jamal, the province's governor.

The potential friendly-fire incident could further strain relations between the government of President Hamid Karzai and its foreign supporters.

Col. Greg Julian, the chief spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, said there was an incident in the area but did not provide details.

From News Services