ECN 11/1/07

Iraq tries to thwart Kurdish rebels with more checkpoints
From wire reports
BAGHDAD — Iraq's government said Wednesday that it had set up more checkpoints to restrict the movement of Kurdish rebels in response to Turkey's demands for firm action against the rebels.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the checkpoints would stop fuel, food and other supplies from reaching the Iraq-based Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has killed dozens of people inside Turkey over the past month.

Will this be enough to hold off Turkey?


Japan ends Afghan naval mission
Japan has ordered the withdrawal of its two ships supporting US-led operations in Afghanistan.
The move follows the government's failure to agree a deal with the opposition to extend the mission beyond the end of its mandate on 1 November.

Hurricane season goes easy on USA
By Patrick O'DriscollUSA TODAY
The 2007 hurricane season, with a month to go, is on track to leave the coastal USA relatively unscathed for a second straight year.

As a result, parts of the Gulf Coast and Florida still recovering from the deadly batterings of a dozen hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 have had more time to rebuild and prepare for next time. The severe drought in the Southeast, made worse by 2006's mild tropical season, was prolonged this year by similar conditions.

Iraq's Christians Face Extinction, Advocacy Group SaysBy Patrick GoodenoughCNSNews.com International EditorNovember 01, 2007(CNSNews.com) - An international organization supporting Christian minorities in Islamic societies has launched a new campaign to draw attention to the plight of Iraq's Christians, a community which it says "faces extinction."

The U.K.-based Barnabas Fund, a charitable and advocacy group, said this week that Islamic extremists in Iraq are telling Christians to convert, leave or face death.