China’s security forces fire again into crowd of protesters in Tibet

*Tibetan exiles burn a Chinese flag and an effigy representing a Chinese official during a protest in New Delhi, January 17, 2012 (Reuters)*

China’s security forces fired into a crowd of protesters in China’s southwestern Sichuan province, killing one man and wounding three others, according to a Tibetan rights group, the third such incident this week. Witnesses say security forces killed at least six protesters Monday and Tuesday in separate incidents in Sichuan, which is home to many ethnic Tibetans. They said at least 60 people were injured. The protests have been spurred by activits who were posting leaflets declaring self-immolations by Buddhist monks and others would not stop until Tibet is free. VOA

Poverty and crime feed a growing Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria

Gunmen suspected of being members of the terror group Boko Haram attacked a police station in Kano, Nigeria’s second largest city on Friday, police and witnesses said, leading to more than an hour of running gun battles. This comes one week after a series of coordinated gun and bomb attacks, mostly on police stations, killed 186 people in Kano. Boko Haram’s purported leader, Abu Bakar Shekau, said in an audio message: “We’re killing police officers, we’re killing soldiers and other government people who are fighting Allah; and Christians who are killing Muslims and talking badly about our Islamic religion.” Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is offering to negotiate with Boko Haram, apparently after concluding that the terror group cannot be stopped by force. Poverty is increasing in Nigeria’s north, and poverty has fed Boko Haram’s ranks. It is no longer a sect of Islamic fanatics but has the support of disgruntled politicians and their paid thugs. One source says young men are being paid as little as $2 a day to take part in the group’s attacks. Reuters and CNN

Faltering Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) turns to Boko Haram

The Nigerian government’s war on Boko Haram may not be stopping Boko Haram, but it’s disrupting the supply lines of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM – Northern Africa). As a result, AQIM is forced to use Boko Haram as a rear base and supply source for weapons and young recruits. This comes as there are a growing number of proven links between BH and AQIM, especially when the deteriorating situation in Libya in 2011 caused an exceptional increase in the flow of arms and explosives in the region. Boko Haram members from Nigeria and Chad had received training in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb camps in Mali during the summer of 2011. Magharebia (Magharebia, a news web site covering the Maghreb region (northern Africa), is sponsored by the United States Africa Command)

Russia rejects Morocco’s U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria

Anti-Syrian regime protesters in Homs on Friday. The Arabic banner reads, ‘No God only God, Mohammed Prophet of God.’ The same day, regime forces with mortars barraged residential buildings, killing 30 people in their homes. (AP)

Morocco, the only Arab member of the U.N. Security Council, on Friday submitted the Arab League’s draft resolution aimed at ending the violence in Syria. Russia’s Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that the text has “red lines” for Moscow, but he’s willing to “engage” with the resolution’s sponsors. Churkin said those lines include any indication of sanctions, including an arms embargo. “We need to concentrate on establishing political dialogue,” he said. However, the British ambassador pointed out that the text contains no mention of an arms embargo and other sanctions, suggesting the Russia was looking for an excuse to reject any resolution aimed at its ally, president Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Russia claims that NATO misused last year’s Security Council’s resolutions on Libya as a pretext for regime change in that nation. AP

Survey: Record number of Israeli Jews believe in God

I wrote two days ago that arund the world, anxious and frightened people are turning to religion for comfort in this generational crisis era. A survey shows that this is true for Israeli Jews. Fully 80 percent of Israeli Jews believe that God exists – a record high. The survey also found that 70 percent of respondents believe the Jews are the “Chosen People,” 65 percent believe the Torah and mitzvot (religious commandments) are God-given, and 56 percent believe in life after death. It found that only 46 percent of Israeli Jews now define themselves as secular, down from 52 percent in 1999, while 22 percent define themselves as either Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox, up from 16 percent in 1999. The remaining 32 percent term themselves traditional, virtually unchanged from 1999. Haaretz

The U.S. may deploy spy planes in the Philippines to counter China

Twenty years after the Philippines ejected huge American naval and air bases, both countries are responding to the growing threat from China in the South China Sea with a proposal to deploy surveillance aircraft in the Philippines. This follows a recent announcement of plans to set up a Marine base in northern Australia, and possibly to station warships in Singapore. These moves are part of the Obama administration’s “pivot” to Asia. However, there are no plans for any new U.S. bases in the Philippines. Reuters

Spain’s unemployment rises to 22.9%, a 15 year high

Spain’s unemployment rate in the fourth quarter rose to 22.9%, the highest in 15 years, from 21.5% in the previous three months. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy took office after a November 20 election in which he promised policies to increase jobs. At the same time, the country’s huge public debt requires additional austerity measures to prevent bankruptcy. The fact that these two objectives are completely contradictory is obvious to everyone, so politicians are hopin’ and prayin’ that some miracle will save them. The all comes on the day when Fitch Ratings Service downgraded Spain’s debt, along with Italy, Belgium, Cyprus and Slovenia. Bloomberg and Reuters

28-Jan-12 World View: The U.S. May Deploy Spy Planes in the Philippines to Counter China