International News for Jan. 26 - Feb. 8

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

Chad

Feb. 3 - A rebel army entered the capital of Chad, resulting in gun battles surrounding the president's palace. The attack was linked to the arrival of a European Union force attempting to protect refugees from bordering Sudan.

India

Jan. 30 - A team of doctors running an illegal transplant organization stole the kidneys of over 500 Indians. Several of the donors were day workers in India who were picked up off the streets with offers of work, then taken to private clinics and sometimes held at gunpoint.

Iran

Feb. 5 - Iran launched a research rocket into space to commemorate the opening of its new space center. The United States immediately condemned this move stating that "the kinds of technologies and capabilities that are needed in order to launch a space vehicle for orbit are the same kinds of capabilities and technologies that one would employ for long-range ballistic missiles."

Iraq

Feb. 5 - Turkish fighter jets bombed northern Iraq in the fifth major strike against the Kurds this year. The bombing run lasted over 12 hours and was part of an ongoing bombing campaign against Kurdish military rebels.

Japan

Feb. 2 - At least 75 people in Tokyo became ill from eating insecticide-tainted dumplings that came from China. Supermarkets in Japan were prompted to refrain from selling Chinese-made meat products. All the dumplings came from the same company in China, Tianyang Food Processing, and the company's sales were immediately halted.

Kenya

Jan. 28 - Nineteen people, 11 of them children, were burned to death in a house by a mob during another outburst of ethnic violence in Nairobi. Over 100 people were killed since Jan. 24, as a result of a disputed December election.