United States: A federal judge ordered the release Tuesday of 17 Guantanamo detainees. The men are all Chinese Muslims, known as Uighurs, who have been held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for nearly seven years. Bush administration lawyers have suggested that once the Uighurs are transferred to the U.S. the administration could again imprison the men, but it is expected the judge will forbid that. In past decades, the U.S. government has treated the group as Chinese nationalists. In 2003, however, in an effort to accommodate the Communist Chinese government, the Bush administration listed one of the Uighur groups as a terrorist organization, using this designation as a rationale for the Uighurs’ continued detention.
Great Britain: The British government announced a multibillion-dollar rescue package for British banks Wednesday. The emergency plan will partially nationalize Britain’s banking industry. According to Minister Gordon Brown, the plan is meant to stabilize banks so that they can resume normal lending and other operations, rather than trying to buy up bad assets as the United States is doing. The government also offered up to 200 billion pounds (350 billion dollars) in short-term lending support. The move came one day after some of the country’s biggest banks lost nearly 40 percent of their share value.
Pacific Asia: Markets opened heavily down Thursday, with South Korea, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong all crashing 7 percent in early trading. This happened despite the efforts of seven central banks around the world that cut interest rates in an effort to calm financial markets. The crash comes in the wake of a plunge by U.S. stocks to their lowest level for five years.
Morocco: A boat carrying around 50 economic migrants capsized in rough seas off the coast of Morocco Thursday. The boat was reportedly attempting a dangerous open-sea journey from Morocco to Spain, often used by illegal migrants trying to reach Europe. The body of one man has been found, and at least one male survivor has been rescued: both were Moroccan. Aerial searches are being conducted by helicopter over the area; the fate and nationalities of the other passengers remains unknown.
Somalia: At a meeting in Hungary this week, NATO defense ministers agreed to send warships to help combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. Pressure for action against the pirates has intensified since a ship carrying 33 tanks was seized last month, and warships from several countries are already patrolling the waters. The force will also escort United Nations ships delivering aid to Somalia, where more than three million people—almost half of the population—are in need of food aid.
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