September 23:
A news team from South Korea’s Joongang Ilbo’s cable TV channel (jTBC) have been arrested in China for gathering news along the the North Korea-China border. Six jTBC reporters were taken into custody by Chinese soldiers while shooting a video in the Chinese military zone in the Dumen River basin and according to officials are “being detained on espionage charges after being handed over to police.” The reporters were arrested because they carried tourist rather than press visas, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo reports.
September 24:
Nigerian customs agents have seized a large quantity of explosives and bomb components in a container shipped from Haungpu, Shanghai. The Press Trust of India reports that the shipment arrived in Nigeria’s Tin Can Island port on June 14 aboard the MV Seng-Shi marked as “industrial sockets and valves.” According to a Nigerian customs spokesman, the shipment was confiscated because “inconsistencies on the paperwork that accompanied the shipment raised doubts.” Nigeria’s The Guardian reports that that the container’s “contents [were] declared as children's toys” and customs agents intercepted the explosives during a routine inspection. Police had already begun loading their trucks when the Customs Comptroller arrived to prevent them from removing the munitions and a “clash over the items between two sister security agencies” ensured.
September 25:
Nearly 100 officials from about 30 villages “were ordered to settle problems as soon as possible” at an urgent meeting at the government office in Donghai, Guangdong called in response to clashes in several neighboring communities between hundreds of riot police and people stripped of their land. Dozens of locals and riot police were injured and six police cars were overturned in clashes in Wukan. In Longtou residents spent 5000 yuan to hire two bulldozers and an excavator to destroy hundreds of meters of fences enclosing some 600 mu (40 hectares) of farmland and restore their access to lands they used to farm. The South China Morning Post reports that corrupt village-level officials in the region grabbed villagers’ land with the promise of building a hotel or setting up a business. They told locals they would receive dividends from the investments but because of corruption many residents received little or no compensation.
September 26:
The Ogaden National Liberation Army (ONLA) is claiming responsibility for attacks on workers from China’s oil firm PetroTrans and the killing of 30 Ethiopian troops guarding them at Iley, Jerar Province, Ethiopia. Chinese workers, who were conducting oil exploration activity in the region, and the Ethiopian troops escorting them were chased out of the site and rushed to safety in a neighboring town, Ayyaantuu Online News reports. The ONLA claims to have captured a large quantity of provisions and military equipment from Ethiopian troops during the raid, which began on September 18th.
September 27:
In meetings held in Islamabad with Meng Jianzhu, China’s Public Security Minister, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik pledged to crack down on Chinese militants hiding in the country’s restive tribal regions, saying that an “enemy of China is an enemy of Pakistan.” Malik offered Islamabad’s complete support to Beijing in combating Uzbek terrorists and other militant groups trying to spread extremism in China and said Pakistan had killed or extradited several Chinese militants. Meng announced that Beijing will provide another 8 million yuan to Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies to boost their capabilities. Most of Chinese militants in Pakistan are believed to be holed up in the North Waziristan tribal area, where Pakistan has so far refused to launch a military offensive despite American pressure. The two sides also discussed joint efforts to combat narcotics and human trafficking, reports the Press Trust of India.