In the Open: Moldova Trans-Dniester region in Russia missile offer

Moldova's breakaway region of Trans-Dniester has reacted to US plans for a missile defence shield by offering to host new Russian missiles.
The US wants to base elements of its missile defence shield in neighbouring Romania and Bulgaria - much to Russia's concern.
Trans-Dniester leader Igor Smirnov said Russia had not yet asked it to be a host but any request would be approved.
Trans-Dniester is already home to Russian troops and an arms dump.
The Trans-Dniester region declared independence from Moldova in 1991.

Keep reading Nick Thorpe's correspondence on the BBC page, here.

Underworld Gets the Work Done:

[or: who needs caffeine anyway?!]

Joy in Small Things

Yes!, Statistics are actually able to make people happy!. They've done that to me today, thus the existence of this probability.
Without any twitter backup, my flickr stream has registered 223 views today, and 3 favourites.
Yes, I'm happy about it. As for someone who enjoys taking photos, external appreciation is the prize.
Curious? Here's the link.

Genocide charge for Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan: 18 December

A UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia has charged Khieu Samphan, formerly the head of state for the Khmer Rouge, with genocide.
The move came after genocide charges were filed against two other Khmer Rouge leaders, Ieng Sary and Nuon Chea.
All the genocide charges relate to the men's treatment of Cambodia's Vietnamese and Muslim minorities.
All three men had already been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Those charged are already in pre-trial detention although the trial is not expected to begin before 2011.

Denial
Up to two million people are thought to have died under the Khmer Rouge's rule.
Khieu Samphan, 78, has never denied these deaths, but both he and his lawyers insist that, as head of state, he was never directly responsible.
One member of his defence team is the infamous French lawyer Jacques Verges, whose previous clients have included Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Venezuelan hijacker Carlos the Jackal.
Mr Verges, 83, has known Khieu Samphan since they were both involved in left-wing student activities in France in the 1950s.
He says he has lived a life of poverty after the Khmer Rouge regime was toppled.
A court official confirmed that the allegations were related to the treatment of two minority groups: Cham Muslims and ethnic Vietnamese people.
Researchers believe that the Khmer Rouge killed hundreds of thousands of Chams because of their religious beliefs.
The accusation of genocide carries enormous symbolic weight, says the BBC's Guy De Launey in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.
Final arguments were heard last month in the trial of Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, known as Comrade Duch, who has admitted being responsible for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people.
Judges at the tribunal are expected to make a ruling on his verdict early next year.

[from the BBC news here.]