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伊拉克警方说，星期六在伊拉克西部的一座关键桥梁上，一名自杀炸弹手引爆了一辆卡车，另外路边一枚炸弹爆炸，导致四名伊拉克士兵死亡。这次爆炸的目标是，距离巴格达以西40公里的费卢杰附近的伊拉克巡逻队。至少超过十名士兵在袭击中受伤。在西部城市拉马迪附近，一名自杀炸弹手引爆桥上一辆载满炸药的卡车。这座桥连接著贯穿叙利亚和伊朗的高速公路。没有人在爆炸中受伤。这次爆炸发生前一天，伊拉克北部城市摩苏尔附近一个逊尼派清真寺发生大规模爆炸，造成至少15人死亡，大约100人受伤。

美国曾与意大利讨论允许意向塔利班行贿

美国政府的一名高级官员16日证实，双方去年的确曾讨论过驻阿意军向塔利班武装行贿事宜。负责为奥巴马制定阿富汗政策的官员雷德尔说，他在9月份的最后一周访问巴黎，在那里听说意大利军队向塔利班武装行贿。北约军方的官员说，美国情报机构曾截获了一些秘密电话内容，发现意方在暗中收买阿富汗塔利班武装人员。他说，“尽管美国情报部门截获了证据，但意方坚决不承认。这件事此前没有被公开，理由是怕公开后会制造外交噩梦。”

美重新评估“先发制人”军事战略

美国国防部正在评估布什政府时期的“先发制人”军事打击战略，国防部正在斟酌是否要调整或废除此策略。美国国防部负责策略的常务副部长希克斯说，现今的国际环境比布什在2002年宣布此策略要复杂得多，“我们真的要更新我们的策略，以便把这些因素考虑在内。”“确切地说，我们评估的是使用武力和调动部队的事宜。”她说：“我们正在研究如何列明军事手段的使用，如何利用军事力量来达到国家的目标。”

奥巴马改变对苏丹政策

美国总统奥巴马将出台一个针对苏丹的新政策。这项政策不同于奥巴马竞选期间的主张，而是采取更和缓的方式和苏丹政府接触。美国政府官员说，星期一公布的新计划将主张对苏丹政府采取“激励和压力”并用的方式。新政策的目标在于说服喀士穆停止在动乱的达尔富尔地区践踏人权，解决与苏丹南部半自治区的争议，并更加全力配合打击恐怖主义。

台湾总统马英九就任国民党主席

台湾总统马英九在10月17日的国民党十八次全会上宣誓就任党主席，他在就职讲话上表示珍惜国共平台，将继续推动与对岸交流。

奥巴马：医改若失败将摧毁美国经济

美国总统奥巴马继续推动医疗改革计划，他说，如果不采取行动将“摧毁美国的经济”。奥巴马在每周例行讲话中抨击了反对医改的人，特别是那些为医疗保险公司游说的人。他说，保险公司通过不诚实的广告误导美国民众，企图破坏改革努力。共和党人拒绝认同全面改革美国医疗体制能够降低成本并为纳税人省钱的说法。在共和党的每周例行讲话中，凯文.布雷迪众议员说，医改将会增加成本，并让政府过多干预患者的治病过程。

创业板将于本月23日开板将加大监管力度

10月17日上午，在2009创业板与中小企业投融资论坛，证监会主席尚福林表示，经国务院同意证监会已经批准深圳证券交易所设立创业板，并于10月23日举行开板仪式。深圳证券交易所今日发布施行《创业板上市公司规范运作指引》，对诸如超募资金的使用、防范占资等问题作出了明确规范。超募资金应同样存放于募集资金专户，而且应投资于公司的主营业务，不能用于开展证券投资、委托理财、衍生品投资、创业投资等高风险投资以及为他人提供财务资助等；公司最晚应当在募集资金到账后6个月内，作出超募资金的使用计划并提交董事会审议通过后及时对外披露。

Obama Drops Plan to Isolate Sudan Leaders

The Obama administration has formulated a new policy for Sudan that proposes working with that country’s government, rather than isolating it as President Obama had pledged to do during his campaign. On Friday, Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration said the policy, to be announced Monday by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, would make use of a mix of “incentives and pressure” to seek an end to the human rights abuses that have left millions of people dead or displaced while burning Darfur into the American conscience. General Gration said the administration would set strict time lines for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan to fulfill the conditions of a 2005 peace agreement that his government signed with rebels in southern Sudan. Under that agreement, independence for southern Sudan is to be put to a vote in 2011.

UK army 'providing' Taliban with air transport

The British army has been relocating Taliban insurgents from southern Afghanistan to the north by providing transportation means, diplomats say.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said insurgents are being airlifted from the southern province of Helmand to the north amid increasing violence in the northern parts of the country.

The aircraft used for the transfer have been identified as British Chinook helicopters.

The officials said Sultan Munadi, an Afghan interpreter who was kidnapped along with his employer, New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, was killed by a “British sniper” as commandos executed a rescue operation to free Farrell.

They said Munadi was targeted for possessing documents and pictures pointing at the British military's involvement in the transfer operation.

The Afghan journalist also had evidence of the involvement of the foreign forces in Afghanistan in the tensions that rocked China's Xinjiang autonomous region in July, the diplomats said.

American forces have also invigorated the insurgency in the war-ravaged country by outfitting the Taliban with Russian-made weaponry used during the 1979-89 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which was fought against by the Afghan Mujahedeen, the diplomats said.

The US forces are assumed to have gathered the armaments during a campaign to "collect weapons from irresponsible people," after the 2001 invasion.

Diplomats said Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, a Pashtun who has received his higher education in the UK, was still operating under the British guidance.

The Interior Ministry is accused of enabling the provision of arms and ammunition for the north-based militants by the Pashtun police force.

Earlier in the week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was quoted by the BBC Persian as having ordered an investigation into reports of 'unknown' army helicopters carrying gunmen to the north.

The Afghan president said based on unconfirmed reports, the helicopters have been taking gunmen to Baghlan, Kunduz and Samangan provinces overnight for about five months now.

In early 2008, Karzai expelled two British diplomats for allegedly planning to “turn” senior Taliban commanders. According to the Times Online, the British officials had sought to persuade militant chief Mullah Mansoor Dadullah to cooperate with the UK.

Afghanistan is currently witnessing the highest level of violence since the invasion, despite the presence of more than 100,000 foreign troops.

Russia still has concerns over US missile system

Russia says it still has some 'unanswered questions' regarding the Obama administration's four-stage plan to deploy an alternative missile defense system.

In remarks published on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin still has some serious doubts over Washington's missile program, regardless of the Obama administration's decision to shelve Bush-era plans to deploy an anti-missile system in Europe.

Lavrov said he is particularly concerned over a newly-announced four-stage plan to install an alternative US missile defense shield in Europe by 2020.

The Russian Foreign minister urged Washington to address Moscow's concerns and clarify its missile plans no later than 2018.

“By giving up on missile defense plans, the US has worked out an alternative system that will not create any difficulties linked with the third positioning area at the initial stage," said Lavrov.

"We, nevertheless, want more clarity on the further stages,” Lavrov noted. "We expect to receive a full version [of the pattern] from our American partners."

The US ballistic missile defense (BMD) plan in Eastern Europe has been a subject of fierce debate in recent months, pushing Washington-Moscow relations to the lowest ebb since the Cold War.