Shorter Question Everything

China and US
Chinese spies are aggressively stealing secrets to build up China’s military and economic power, a US advisory panel on US-China relations has warned. The report was published in the same week that US President Barack Obama made his first official visit to China. A Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington dismissed the allegations as baseless and irresponsible. The report – which says China’s spying is becoming more intense and sophisticated – was produced by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Canada
Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating local Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released on Friday. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission which measured pollution coming from the plants.

Honduras
De facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti will temporarily step down from power in the days surrounding the scheduled November 29 presidential election, Micheletti said in a speech Thursday. Micheletti said he hopes that by stepping down from November 24 to December 2, Hondurans will focus on the election and not the political crisis that has gripped the country since a coup ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya in June. Micheletti’s cabinet will head the government during his absence, he said. In the event that “peace is threatened” near the election, Micheletti said he would immediately reassume his role as president.

Venezuela and Colombia
Venezuela has blown up two pedestrian bridges on its border with Colombia in the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the Andean neighbours. Soldiers destroyed the walkways because they were being used by illegal militia and drug traffickers, said Eusebio Aguero, an army general based in the border state of Táchira. Colombia denounced the action as a violation of international law that would worsen the diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Serbia
Serbia has officially recognized Macedonia under its constitutional name and that position will not change, Serbian President Boris Tadic’ said. Tadic made the statement Thursday after meeting with his Macedonian counterpart Gjorge Ivanov in Belgrade.

US: S.Korea and Afghanistan
Some U.S. troops stationed in South Korea likely will be re-deployed to Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said while in the Asian country.

Russia
Two Russian Tu-95 MS Bear strategic bombers have accomplished a routine patrol mission over neutral waters of the Arctic and Pacific oceans and the Aleutian Islands, an Air Force spokesman said on Friday. [T]he bombers spent around 16 hours in the air, and were accompanied by two NATO F-22 fighters from an airbase in Alaska. All flights by Russian aircraft are performed in strict compliance with international law on the use of airspace over neutral waters, without intruding in the airspace of other states.

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