Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries of current events around the globe.
India Launches First Nuclear Submarine [BBC]
- India has launched its first nuclear-powered submarine, becoming only the sixth country in the world to do so
- It was built entirely in India with Russian assistance and a second one is due to be constructed shortly
- It will undergo trials over the next few years before being deployed and will be able to launch missiles at targets 700km (437 miles) away
World’s Top Diamond Producer De Beers Reports 99% Drop in First-Half Profit [Wall Street Journal]
- De Beers SA, the world’s top diamond producer, posted a 57% decline in sales of rough diamonds in the first half, evidence of the recession’s impact on the $77.5 billion global retail market for diamond jewelry
- De Beers posted a second-quarter profit of $189 million on sales of $1.3 billion, following a first-quarter loss of $186 million on sales of just $400 million
- De Beers produces and markets 40% of the world’s uncut and unpolished diamonds by value, extracting them from 14 mines in Canada, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia
Gambling Hub Macau Gets New Leader [Reuters]
- Fernando Chui was the sole candidate in the race for the former Portuguese colony’s chief, but he still required the formal backing of a 300-member election committee. The territory’s half million people have no direct say on who their next leader will be
- Revenues from Macau’s $15 billion gaming industry overtook those of Las Vegas in 2006 thanks to the liberalization of the casino sector
- Neighboring Hong Kong, a former British colony which returned to China in 1997, held a contested chief executive election in 2007 and is inching toward universal suffrage in 2017. Macau has no such timetable
Ex-Boxing Champ Vernon Forrest Killed in Georgia [New York Times]
- Vernon Forrest, a former two-division champion who gained stardom when he became the first boxer to defeat Shane Mosley, was shot to death in what police are calling an attempted robbery
- Forrest’s 11-year-old godson was with him, but had gone into the convenience store and did not witness the shooting
- This is the third high-profile death of a boxing champion in recent weeks. Hall of Famer Alexis Arguello, the mayor of Managua, Nicaragua, was found dead at his home on July 1 in an apparent suicide. Two weeks ago, popular brawler Arturo Gatti was found dead in a condominium in Brazil. Gatti’s wife remains the prime suspect in that case.
Moldova to Decide its Future Direction in Election [Reuters]
- Moldovans vote in a snap parliamentary election on Wednesday, facing a choice between the ruling communists advocating Russia as a strategic partner or their liberal opponents seeking better ties with the West
- Also at stake in Moldova’s second election in less than four months are ties with Romania, which shares a common language and history with the ex-Soviet state. Relations sank to an all-time low under outgoing Communist President Vladimir Voronin
- Ten parties are contesting the election, with 2,000 polling stations polls open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (0400 GMT to 1800 GMT) throughout Europe’s poorest country
Nigeria to Hunt Down Islamic Radicals, President [Reuters]
- Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua said Tuesday that security forces would hunt down remnants of a radical Muslim sect behind days of clashes which killed at least 150 people and displaced thousands
- The violence was triggered when members of the group called Boko Haram, which wants a wider adoption of Islamic sharia law across Africa’s most populous nation, were arrested Sunday in Bauchi state.
- The group’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf, is radically opposed to Western education — Boko Haram means “education is prohibited”
- iPhone App Pulls in $1 million in First Six Weeks [CNET]
- Russian Mafia Boss Yaponchik Shot [BBC]
- IBM Buys Analytics Company SPSS for $1.2 Billion [Reuters]
- Three Escape Jail in Hijacked Helicopter [Reuters]
- Kuwait Financier Facing U.S. Fraud Suit Found Dead [Reuters]
- Baghdad Bank Robbers Kill Eight [BBC]
- Why China Can’t Create Brands [Newsweek]
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