Barack Obama proposes the US deploy 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan to fight insurgents even as he pledges to remove troops from Iraq, plugging the proposal in a New York Times op-ed, "My Plan for Iraq." (NYT, July 14) Meanwhile, relations are fast deteriorating between Afghanistan and key US ally Pakistan. In an official statement calling Pakistan's security forces the "world's biggest producers of terrorism and extremism," Afghanistan announced it is suspending participation in three meetings with Pakistani officials scheduled for the next few weeks. Afghanistan charged Islamabad with "direct interference in its internal affairs." (Newsday, July 16)

The European Parliament approved 336-220 a resolution branding Italy's fingerprinting members of the country's Roma community a direct act of racial discrimination, and called on Rome to bring the program to an immediate halt. Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the move was "politically motivated and based on prejudices" against the country. He said the program "does not target ethnic groups and is not inspired by racism but by the elementary need to identify anyone who does not have a valid document."

An Italian court July 15 found 15 officials guilty of brutalizing protesters at the Genoa G8 summit in 2001. Sentences ranged from five months to five years. The accused include police, prison officials and two doctors. Another 30 were cleared of charges. Protesters report they were beaten after being strip-searched by police. The prosecution charged they were tortured. However, all of those convicted are expected to appeal—and the statute of limitations will have expired by the time appeals are exhausted, meaning it is unlikely any prison time will be served. The plaintiffs are likely to receive a large settlement from the Italian government.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme submitted his resignation July 14, citing the inability of his coalition government to successfully divide powers between the Flemish and French-speaking communities. Leterme had set a deadline of July 15 for the four-month-old coalition to agree on constitutional reforms to grant greater autonomy to the two regions. Belgium's King Albert II is said to be "weighing" the resignation.

The Chinese Railway Engineering Company is rebuilding 2,050 miles of roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo, abandoned in the jungle after the Belgian colonialists pulled out 48 years ago and further shattered by years of war. The vast project, which will triple Congo's current paved road network, is part of China's largest investment in Africa, a $9 billion infrastructure-for-minerals deal signed in January. Beijing has also pledged to repair 2,000 miles of railways, build 32 hospitals and 145 clinics, expand the electrical grid, construct two hydropower dams and two new airports. In return, China wins the rights to five copper and cobalt mines in Congo's southern mineral belt. (The Telegraph, July 14)

BBC's Panorama TV crew claims to have uncovered the first evidence that China is providing military aid to Sudan's Darfur counter-insurgency operations, in violation of an international embargo. The crew, traveling deep in Darfur's desert with a rebel faction, reportedly found a Chinese Dong Feng army trucks the insurgents had captured from government forces. Plates on one truck show it was imported after the embargo. Rebels also told the crew that China was training Sudanese fighter pilots who fly Chinese A5 Fantan fighter jets in Darfur. (BBC, July 13)

Is this satire? Please tell us this is satire. From AsiaOne News, July 12:

Japan's fishing industry, one of the world's largest, will stage a mass strike July 15 to protest soaring fuel costs. Some 200,000 fishing boats will cancel their trips for one day to demand government action. "Many fishermen cannot make ends meet. The industry as a whole is falling apart," said an official of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations. "We are asking for emergency measures from the government, just for one or two years, to help us pull through this difficult period." Fuel now accounts for up to half of the fishermen's operating costs, compared with just 10% a few years ago, he said. (Thomson Financial, July 14)