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Defense Policy / Programs

• Bush Says U.S. Considers Thailand "Major Non-NATO Ally" Washington File 19 Oct 2003 -- In a joint photo opportunity with Prime Minister Thaksin of Thailand October 19, President Bush thanked Thailand for its strong support in Iraq and in the war on terror and said the United States considers Thailand a "major non-NATO ally."

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- Palestinian gunmen have ambushed an Israeli army patrol in the West Bank, killing three soldiers and wounding several others. The attack (Sunday) was the most serious of its kind in recent months against Israeli troops.
• PALESTINIAN POLITICS VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has ordered preparations to begin for general elections by the middle of next year. The Palestinian parliament and presidency have exceeded their elected terms by more than three years.
• ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- Israel is calling up hundreds of reserve soldiers to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, amid warnings that Palestinian groups are planning more terror attacks.
• CHECHNYA/INAUGURATION VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- In Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, has been sworn in as president. He was appointed by Moscow to rule the province three years ago, and was the landslide winner of an election that critics say was neither free nor fair.
• Chechnya: Kadyrov Sworn In As President RE/RL 19 Oct 2003 -- Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov (pictured) was sworn in today as the new president of Chechnya, despite various security concerns.

• NIGERIA/TERRITORY VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- President Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria only narrowly avoided war with neighboring Cameroon over ownership of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula.

News Reports

• Bosnia-Herzegovina: Former President Izetbegovic Dies RFE/RL 19 Oct 2003 -- Alija Izetbegovic, Bosnia-Herzegovina's wartime president, has died aged 78.
• CHINA U-S HEALTH VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- The United States is asking China to be more open in its reporting of disease figures, including those on AIDS and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
• U-S / CAMBODIA KILLING VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- The United States is deploring the killing of a Cambodian journalist whose death Saturday has further stalled talks on forming a new government in Phnom Penh. U-S officials are warning against a "culture of impunity" in the Southeast Asian country.
• THAILAND/APEC PROTESTS VOA 19 Oct 2003 -- About one-thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Bangkok Sunday to protest the war in Iraq and globalization, as world leaders convened for the summit meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.