September 1st, 2009
World Links: Turkey and Armenia Agree to Open Borders, Iran Offers New Nuclear Proposal

Turkey and Armenia agree to re-establish diplomatic ties and reopen their borders. Relations between the two countries have been strained for decades over the mistreatment and death of hundreds of thousands of Armenians under Turkish rule during World War I.

The Iranian government offers an updated nuclear proposal ahead of talks in Frankfurt, Germany by members of the U.N. Security Council. The five countries and Germany are meeting Wednesday to discuss Iran’s nuclear aspirations.

Libya celebrates the 40-year anniversary of the military coup that brought Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to power. The celebrations come amid widespread controversy over the early release of Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person ever convicted in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

A court in Guatemala sentences an ex-paramilitary officer to 150 years for the disappearance of six civilians during the country’s 36-year civil war. The officer is the first person to be jailed for complicity in such disappearances, which a U.N. truth commission estimates at over 45,000 civilians from 1960 to 1996.

The North Korean government relaxes restrictions on border traffic with South Korea. Officials in Pyongyang had severely limited the flow of South Korean workers to the Kaesong industrial estate in the North to protest the policies of South Korea’s conservative government.

Pakistani troops kill 15 Taliban militants in fresh fighting in the Swat Valley. The army began an offensive in April that it claims has killed over 2,000 militants. It estimates that 312 soldiers have died in the fighting.

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