International News for the first week of October

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from the BBC News and New York Times. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.

Somalia
Somalia's Islamists have vowed a "holy war" on Ethiopia after accusing its troops of entering the town Bur Haqaba. The town lies on the road from the government in Baidoa to Mogadishu, an Islamists held town.

North Korea
North Korea's claims on Sunday of successfully conducting an underground nuclear weapons test has stirred international unease. Countries such as the United States and Japan are urging immediate UN involvement.

Iraq
Gunmen dressed in police uniforms killed Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi's brother. The brother, Ahmed al-Hashimi, was at home in Sulaikh district when ten police cars drove up to his house. The drivers stormed into his room and shot him to death.

Sudan
A UN report has stated that hundreds of Sudanese have been killed in an attack on Darfur with the apparent knowledge and support of the government. Since 2003, some 200,000 people have died and 2 million have been displaced.

UN
The UN Security Council has nominated South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to succeed Secretary General Kofi Annan. The vote will take place later this week.

Denmark
Members of the anti-immigration party's youth group have drawn new cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called the new cartoons "tasteless" and "unacceptable."

Germany
The German Foreign Ministry has drafted a new policy that aims to tighten the relationship between Russia and Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin likes the idea and will travel to Germany on Tuesday for a meeting with the Petersburg Circle, a group established five years ago that promotes economical, social and youth links between Russia and Germany.

Georgia
Georgia's struggle to control the mountainous region south of Russia, including the two separatist republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, has sparked a building boom. The Georgian government is using a new tactic to appeal to the residents of these republics by building new hospitals, school, homes and government buildings.

Russia
Veteran Russian journalist, Anna Politovskaya, who made her name for her outspoken criticism of the Kremlin and its policies in Chechnya, was found dead in her apartment building. As a correspondent for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Politovskaya always maintained her outspoken stance even with intensifying pressure on the media under President Putin's administration. Detectives believe her death was a direct result of her journalistic activity.