CONFLICT & TERROR 02/21

At least 27 dead in Pakistan blastPosted on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 9:38am

Government officials say more than 20 people have been killed in a suicide car bombing in northwestern Pakistan. The bombing happened today outside an election office of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, formerly headed by Benazir Bhutto and comes two days before crucial parliamentary elections. Full Story

Attacks in Baghdad fall 80 percent-Iraq militaryPosted on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 9:54am

Attacks by insurgents and rival sectarian militias have fallen up to 80 percent in Baghdad and concrete blast walls that divide the capital can soon be removed, a senior Iraqi military official said on Saturday. Full Story

Russia: U.S. may use satellite blast to test weaponPosted on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 1:32pm

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday a U.S. plan to shoot down an ailing spy satellite could be used as a cover to test a new space weapon. Full Story

Afghan blast kills 80: governorPosted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 8:00am

A suicide blast tore through a crowd of men watching dog fighting in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Sunday, killing 80 people and wounding dozens more, a provincial governor said. Full Story

Kosovo declares its secession from SerbiaPosted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 10:43am

February 17th Kosovo declared that it had become the seventh state to emerge from the wreckage of the former Yugoslavia. According to a plan worked out by Kosovo's leaders with foreign counterparts, recognition of the new country is likely to follow from Monday onwards, by America, many European Union countries and others. Full Story

4 Palestinian Militants Killed in Clashes in GazaPosted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 1:56pm

Four Palestinian militants were killed in clashes with the Israeli Army in southern Gaza on Sunday, and one Israeli soldier was seriously wounded in an exchange of fire. Full Story

Palestinian shot dead in Beirut clashPosted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 1:57pm

A Palestinian man was shot dead during clashes between anti-Syrian Lebanese government supporters and Palestinians close to Hezbollah in Beirut on Sunday, security sources said. Full Story

CCTV database to fight terrorPosted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 4:38pm

Police are stepping up the heat on potential terrorists by seeking access to "tens of thousands" of closed circuit television cameras. Police will store every NSW camera location in a central database so that terrorists and other criminal activity can be speedily tracked. Full Story

US admits it fired on anti-Qaeda fighters in IraqPosted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 4:39pm

The US military acknowledged on Sunday that it fired on a group of its anti-Qaeda allies in Iraq in an attack the leader of the group said killed three people and sparked angry protests. Full Story

Olmert: Israeli Army Has 'Free Hand' to Attack Militants in Gaza StripPosted on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 5:46pm

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday gave his military a "free hand" to hit Gaza militants after a rocket slammed into a house in an Israeli town following a visit there by the new U.N. humanitarian chief, who called for an end to the daily salvos. Full Story

Serbia charges Kosovo leaders with treasonPosted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 7:40am

Serbia charged Kosovo's Albanian leadership with treason on Monday for proclaiming the province independent. Full Story

Ethnic Serbs in Balkans push for 'no' to Kosovo Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 7:52am

Ethnic Serbs in Bosnia and Montenegro reject Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia and will try to block its recognition by their own countries, officials said on Monday. Full Story

India's Army set to double combat helicopters by 2020 Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 7:54am

The Indian Army intends to double its fleet of attack and other types of helicopters to 500 by 2020, a spokesman for the country's Ground Forces said on Monday. Full Story

Germany Mulls Exit from Anti-Terror Mission Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 8:39am

The demands on Germany's Afghanistan mission are increasing. But the current parliamentary mandate does not allow for more troops to be sent. Berlin is considering creative solutions, including outsourcing parts of the mission or withdrawing from the anti-terror effort. Full Story

President of Cyprus eliminated from runoff election Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 8:47am

President Tassos Papadopoulos was eliminated Sunday from the presidential runoff in Cyprus, a major surprise after a cliffhanger campaign in which three candidates ran neck-and-neck until the last minute. The election, which will now be determined in a second round next Sunday, is seen as pivotal to the decades-old search for a deal to reunify the ethnically divided island - a division that has proved a major stumbling block to Turkey's efforts to join the European Union. Full Story

Arrests on 7th night of unrest across Denmark Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 8:56am

Angry youths who have been setting fires in immigrant neighborhoods across Denmark for seven consecutive nights should expect no sympathy from society, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Sunday. "I think it will be the opposite, that a lot of people will turn their backs on them," the prime minister said in interview with Denmark's TV2 news channel. Full Story

Bush recognizes Kosovo's independence Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 9:17amU.S. President George W. Bush on Monday recognized Kosovo's historic declaration of independence, saying "The Kosovars are now independent." Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership announced the province's independence from Serbia over the weekend, and its citizens on Monday awaited key backing from the United States and key European powers. Full Story

Abkhazia set to ask Russia to recognize its independence Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 9:27am

Abkhazia intends to ask Russia to recognize its sovereignty, the president of the de facto independent Georgian republic said on Monday. Full Story

Police to get portable metal detectors Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 9:35am

Police are to be equipped with portable metal detectors like those used in airports to help the fight against armed crime, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Monday. Police will get 100 portable "knife arches" that can be placed at the entrances of pubs, nightclubs and schools and 400 search wands to conduct searches. Full Story

China kills two "terrorists" in Xinjiang raid Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 9:50am

Chinese police shot and killed two members of a "terrorist gang" and rounded up 15 others during a raid last month in the restive northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. Full Story

Danish MPs refuse cartoon apology Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 10:58am

Danish MPs have canceled a trip to Iran after Tehran demanded they apologize for the republication of cartoons deemed offensive to Islam. Two days before the scheduled trip, Tehran demanded the MPs condemn the cartoon on their arrival in Iran. Full Story

UK tourist found dead in Venice Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 11:25am

A British tourist who went missing in Venice while on a Valentine's trip with his girlfriend has been found dead. The body of Richard John Raynor, 23, from Retford, Notts, was discovered under a bridge linking Venice lagoon to the mainland, the Foreign Office said. Full Story

Britain recognises Kosovo independence Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 11:51am

Britain will recognise the independence of Kosovo, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Monday. Full Story

Spain confirms won't recognise Kosovo Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 11:52am

Spain will not recognise Kosovo's declaration of independence, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos confirmed on Monday. Full Story

Thousands Protest US-Philippines Military Exercises Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 11:52am

Thousands of people protested against U.S. soldiers involved in humanitarian missions in Muslim areas of the southern Philippines on Monday, saying the troops' presence could be provocative. About 6,000 U.S. troops are taking part in annual training exercises with Philippine troops over two weeks but they will only hold humanitarian missions in the south of the archipelago, where Muslim communities are suspicious of their activities. Full Story

Thailand Reports Surge in Dengue Fever Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 11:52am

Dengue fever has sickened more than 2,800 people and killed four in Thailand this year, sparking worries about a possible wider outbreak despite efforts to control the disease, the health ministry said Sunday. A total of 2,824 cases of the mosquito-borne illness were detected in Thailand from Jan. 1-Feb. 9, compared to 1,702 cases with no fatalities reported during the same period in 2007, the ministry said in a statement. Full Story

Soldier kidnap plotter given life Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 12:48pm

A man who planned to kill a Muslim soldier serving in the British Army has been jailed for life. Parviz Khan, 37, from Birmingham, admitted the plot and to supplying equipment to the Taleban last month. Full Story

Germans arrest alleged al-Qaida suspect Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 1:22pm

German prosecutors said Friday they arrested a 45-year-old German-Pakistani suspected of providing financial and logistical support to members of al-Qaida in southern Afghanistan. Federal prosecutors gave the man's name only as Aleem N., an ethnic Pakistani with German citizenship. But he was identified as Aleem Nasir by a relative in a telephone interview from his home in the southwestern German town of Germersheim. Full Story

EU urges Chad government, rebels to negotiate peace Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 1:29pm

The European Union called on Chad's warring government and rebels to negotiate a peace deal, as relief agencies said on Monday a new refugee crisis was developing in the east where EU troops are being deployed. Some 500,000 people, including refugees from Sudan's western Darfur region and Chadians displaced by war and ethnic violence, are sheltering in camps in eastern Chad. Full Story

US, EU powers recognize Kosovo Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 1:47pm

Major European powers and the U.S. recognized Kosovo on Monday, a day after the province's ethnic Albanian leaders declared independence from Serbia. Giddy Kosovars danced in the streets when they heard of the endorsements. Kosovo's leaders sent letters to 192 countries seeking formal recognition and Britain, France, Germany and U.S. were among the countries that backed the request. But other European Union nations were opposed, including Spain which has battled a violent Basque separatist movement for decades. Full Story

Israel readies Patriot missiles in north Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 2:01pm

Israel has deployed U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles near the northern city of Haifa in case of an attack by Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas in response to the killing of the group's top commander, security officials said Monday. Full Story

Cracks start showing in Pakistan election Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 at 2:43pm

Pakistani police arrested an election official on Monday after complaints from voters that hundreds of ballot papers were missing from their polling station, police said. The incident happened in Shikarpur town in southern Sindh province as voting began in the country's crucial parliamentary elections, local police official Ali Mohammad Shahani said. Full Story

Lebanon charges Abssi over bombs Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:38am

Lebanon's state prosecutor has filed charges against the fugitive leader of Fatah al-Islam in connection with a twin bus bombing near Beirut in 2007. Shaker al-Abssi and four Syrian members of his group are accused of planning and carrying out the attack in Ain Alaq in which three people died. Full Story

Castro resigns as president, state-run paper reports Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:38am

Fidel Castro announced his resignation as president of Cuba and commander-in-chief of Cuba's military Tuesday, according to a letter published in the state-run newspaper, Granma. Full Story

Anti-terror pact reached with NW tribesmen Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:39am

The Wazir and Daur tribes on Monday reached an agreement with the North Waziristan (NW) political administration against extremism and terrorism, according to governors office. Full Story

Belgrade pulls ambassadors as nations recognise Kosovo Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:40am

Serbia withdrew its ambassadors from Washington and other major capitals as the United States and several European powers led international moves to recognise Kosovo's independence. Full Story

Amtrak to step up security measures Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:41am

Amtrak will start randomly screening passengers' carry-on bags this week in a new security push that includes officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains. Full Story

Turkey weighing land operation vs PKK in Iraq: TV Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:47am

Turkey is considering a ground operation against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, private broadcaster CNN Turk quoted Foreign Minister Ali Babacan as saying on Tuesday. Full Story

Iran reaches out to Arabs Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:48am

Iran has reiterated that its nuclear programme is not aimed at making nuclear weapons, and stressed that it seeks peaceful coexistence with other countries in the region. This came during talks here yesterday between His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Full Story

Report: Syria to present progress in Mughniyah killing probe within days Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 8:48am

Senior Syrian officials will hold a press conference in the coming days in order to present progress in the investigation into the assassination of Hezbollah's deputy leader Imad Mughniyah, who was killed last week in a Damascus blast, a Lebanese newspaper reported Tuesday. The Hezbollah-linked Al-Akhbar said Syria has decided not to make the details of the investigation public at this time, until the investigation progresses and is able to clarify who was responsible for the attack. Full Story

US, N Korea envoys meet in China Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:10am

The top US nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill has had a meeting in Beijing with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan. The meeting was the first since North Korea missed a year-end deadline to submit a detailed declaration of its nuclear facilities. Full Story

Philippines tiptoes around Kosovo recognition Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:24am

The Philippines shied away from recognising Kosovo's independence on Tuesday fearing it could complicate peace talks with Muslim separatists in the south of the archipelago. "While the Philippines does not oppose the idea of independence for Kosovo, it would prefer a settlement...taking into account the internationally accepted principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity," Alberto Romulo, the country's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement. Full Story

Peruvian police arrest 15 suspected guerrillas Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:31am

Peru has captured 15 suspected rebels in a new push to weaken the Shining Path guerrilla group before a summit meeting of leaders from 21 countries later this year, police said on Monday. Full Story

Kosovo violence shows risk of partition Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:40am

Kosovo Serbs sacked two border posts in the north of the newly independent republic on Tuesday, chasing off Albanian and U.N. police and forcing NATO troops to intervene. Full Story

Mounting calls for Arroyos resignation may lead to another "people power" uprising Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:45am

In the Philippines, there's talk that mounting calls for President Gloria Arroyo to resign might lead to another people power revolution. Growing outrage among middle class Filipinos over a corruption scandal on a telecoms deal that broke out last year, as well as a call for communal action by the influential Catholic Church, were the main reasons behind the rallies against President Arroyo. Full Story

Reports: Algeria wants to return jets Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 9:54am

Algeria has demanded that Moscow take back several MiG fighter jets supplied under a major arms deal because of quality concerns, dealing a painful blow to Russian pride, news reports said Tuesday. Full Story

Protesters torch Kosovo border posts Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 12:41pm

Angry Serbs torched checkpoints between Serbia and Kosovo and triggered explosions Tuesday to protest Kosovo's independence declaration and international recognition of the breakaway state. Border crossings in northern Kosovo, staffed by U.N. and Kosovo's multiethnic police and customs service, were set on fire by Kosovo Serbs as a symbol of their desire to rejoin Serbia. Full Story

'Mafia boss' arrested in Italy Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 2:34pm

Italian police have arrested the leader of one of the country's most powerful mafia groups, officials have said. Pasquale Condello, 57, was held in a house in Reggio Calabria, on mainland Italy's southern tip, police said. Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said Mr Condello was the "number one boss of the 'Ndrangheta" crime syndicate. Full Story

London shares close higher Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 3:00pm

UK blue chips closed higher, with the FTSE 100 going through the 6,000 barrier briefly, helped by a bullish conference call at Barclays prompting a turnaround in the banking sector, and a strong start on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 index rose 20.3 points to close at 5,966.9, off a high of 6,033.7 and compared with a low of 5,884.8. The FTSE 250 index rose 124.6 points to close at 10,208.6. Full Story

Armenians vote in presidential election Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 3:03pm

Armenia's main opposition candidate alleged widespread violations in a presidential election Tuesday shadowed by tension with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.The two top contenders among nine candidates were powerful Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian and former President, Levon Ter-Petrosian, vying to lead this poor South Caucasus nation, where more than a quarter of the population lives in poverty despite some economic progress over the last decade. Full Story

Teachers, police among Moroccan jihadist suspects Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 6:36pm

Teachers, lecturers, a police officer and a journalist were among 32 people arrested by Morocco's security services in an operation to break up a suspected jihadist cell, the government said on Tuesday. Full Story

Philippine Military Finds Body Believed to Be Bali Bomber Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:09am

The Philippine military says it has found what it believes to be the body of Dulmatin, an Indonesian militant wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people. Douglas
Bakshian reports from Manila. Full Story

Hamas arrests suspect in 'plot' to kill Haniya Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:35am

The Hamas-run interior ministry in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday said it had arrested a former Palestinian intelligence agent involved in a plot to assassinate dismissed prime minister Ismail Haniya. Full Story

Palestinians 'may declare state' Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:42am

A senior Palestinian official has said the Palestinians ought to unilaterally declare a state if peace talks with Israel do not succeed.Yasser Abed Rabbo is a top aide to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and a member of the team currently negotiating with Israeli officials. He said the Palestinians deserved independence more than Kosovo. Full Story

Al-Sadr threatens to end cease-fire Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:42am

Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr may let a six-month cease-fire expire as soon as Saturday, a move that could send his Shiite militia fighters back out on the streets and jeopardize recent security gains that have led to a sharp decline in violence. Full Story

Australia's job in southern Iraq completed, says military chief Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:43am

Australian troops in southern Iraq have completed their mission, clearing the way for them to return home mid-year, the country's military chief said Wednesday. Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said the pullout would likely have occurred even without a change in government late last year, when the centre-left Labor Party was elected partly on a platform of withdrawing Australian troops. Full Story

Ahmadinejad in new attack on 'savage animal' Israel Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 8:43am

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday called Israel a "dirty microbe" and "savage animal", as Iran stepped up its rhetoric against the Jewish state after the murder of a top Hezbollah commander. "World powers have created a black and dirty microbe named the Zionist regime and have unleashed it like a savage animal on the nations of the region," Ahmadinejad told a rally in the southern city of Bandar Abbas broadcast on state television. Full Story

EU Kosovo mission branded illegal Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 9:29am

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has declared the EU's police and justice mission to Kosovo illegal. He told reporters that Brussels' "unilateral decision... is in breach of the highest international law".A 2,000-strong civilian mission will take shape soon. EU special envoy Pieter Feith began work on Wednesday.Serbian protesters ransacked two border crossings on Tuesday, forcing UN officials to withdraw and prompting

Nato troops to seal the frontier. Full Story
Armenia PM wins presidency poll Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 9:37am

Armenian Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian has won fiercely-contested presidential polls in the former Soviet republic, official results show. Mr Sarkisian won 52.9% of the vote, with his nearest rival, ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian, trailing on 21.5%. But Mr Ter-Petrosian said Tuesday's vote had been rigged, calling for a protest rally in the capital Yerevan. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said the poll broadly met democratic standards. Full Story

East: In Post-Soviet Breakaway Regions, Eyes Look Longingly To Kosovo Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 9:45am

The ink has hardly dried on Kosovo's independence declaration. The celebrations have barely abated in the streets of Pristina. And already, reactions are flowing from frozen conflict zones in the former Soviet Union as if on cue.

Eduard Kokoity, the leader of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, said he intended to petition the United Nations and the CIS for independence from Georgia, arguing that his separatist enclave had "a stronger case" for statehood than Kosovo.Sergei Bagapsh, president of a second Georgian breakaway region, Abkhazia, said he plans to make a similar appeal, adding "the situation with Kosovo is a precedent."Full Story

TURKMENISTAN: GAS RATIONING STIRS RARE PUBLIC OUTRAGE Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 9:49am

The honeymoon appears to be over for Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. After raising gasoline prices in a painful move toward liberalizing the economy, the 50-year-old leader faces an angry public at home, one year into his first term.The Turkmen people are known for being patient. Decades of dictatorship and isolation has a way of doing that. So reports that some Turkmen reacted to higher prices at the pump by torching gasoline stations came as something of a surprise, to say the least. Full Story

South Ossetia's leader says recognition may come "this year" Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:30am

The leader of the de facto independent breakaway Georgian republic of South Ossetia said on Wednesday that some countries may recognize the republic's sovereignty later this year.Eduard Kokoity also said that a number of countries would also recognize Abkhazia, another breakaway Georgian republic, before the end of the year."Some countries will recognize our republics [South Ossetia and Abkhazia]. I cannot rule out that some of them may do so later this year. Russia, however, will not necessarily be the first to recognize our independence," Kokoity told the press after a meeting with Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the International Affairs Committee at the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. Full Story

Floods Ravage Towns in Central Philippines Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:44am

Floods caused by continuous rains have caused widespread destruction in some 20 towns in the central Philippines, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported yesterday. At least were reported killed in landslides and drowning over the past days in flooded towns, officials said. Full Story

Australian urges East Timor rebels to surrender Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:46am

Australia's top military commander on Wednesday urged rebel East Timorese soldiers to surrender as Australian commandos continue hunting them following an attack last week on the country's leadership. Full Story

Three dead, 25 seriously wounded in Indonesia's quakePosted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:52amA strong 7.5-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia's Aceh province Wednesday, killing three people, seriously injuring 25 others and briefly sparking a tsunami alert, officials said. The US Geological Survey said the undersea quake struck at 3:08 pm (0808 GMT) some 312 kilometres (194 miles) west-southwest of the North Sumatra capital Medan, at a depth of 34 kilometres. Full Story

Pakistani refugees fleeing to eastern Afghanistan rises to about 10,000 Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:53am

The number of Pakistanis fleeing to eastern Afghanistan to avoid violence in their country has risen to about 10,000 in recent weeks, a U.S. military official said Tuesday. Commanders had reported last month that the number was only between 300 and 400 families. But Army Col. Jeffery Johnson, the U.S. command surgeon in eastern Afghanistan, said thousands more had crossed over the border and been taken into the health care systems in Khost and Paktika provinces. Full Story

Fuel convoy breaks blockade in Nepal Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:

convoy of oil tankers arrived in Kathmandu yesterday under armed police guard, the first major delivery of fuel to Nepal's capital since a blockade led to shortages of petrol and food, officials said. The strike and blockade, which began last week in Nepal's fertile southern plains bordering India, has been called by ethnically based protest groups to demand greater autonomy for the Terai region, home to half the country's population. Full Story

Three arrested for threatening candidates in E Sri Lanka Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:54am

At least three people have been arrested for issuing threats to candidates ahead of local elections in eastern Sri Lanka, police said Tuesday. A police spokesman in the Batticaloa district told Xinhua by phone that three people, all Muslims from the Kathankudy area were arrested alongside printed material which had been used to issue death threats on candidates. Full Story

LTTE attack on guard post kills three soldiers in Sri Lanka Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:54am

Suspected Tamil Tigers attacked an Army guard post at Dambekote in the Buttala area this morning and killed three soldiers who were guarding the post, the military said. The small guarding unit was along the Kataragama - Butthala main road. Full Story

Malaysia's opposition mounts campaign in cyberspace Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 10:57am

Malaysia goes to the polls next month and this time the campaign is going online, as opposition parties turn to blogs, SMS and YouTube to dodge a virtual blackout on mainstream media. Major newspapers and television stations -- many partly owned by parties in the ruling coalition -- are awash with flattering stories on the government and its achievements ahead of March 8 general elections. Full Story

Merkel to meet Liechtenstein PM over tax-fraud investigation Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 12:10pm

German Chancellor Angel Merkel is to meet with Otmar Hassler, the prime minister of Liechtenstein on Wednesday to discuss the growing tax-fraud investigation in Germany. German tax authorities are chasing as many as 1,000 wealthy Germans in one of the largest tax investigations in the country's history. Full Story

No added NATO security in Kosovo Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 12:13pm

The commander of NATO forces in Kosovo said Wednesday he does not plan to step up security in the tense north despite violent attacks by Kosovo Serb protesters on two boundary crossings between Kosovo and Serbia. Full Story

MI6 denies assassination of Princess Diana Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 12:35pm

The former head of MI6 denied Wednesday that the British intelligence agency was responsible for killing Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, in 1997. Sir Richard Dearlove, who was MI6's director of special operations at the time of Diana's Paris death, testified at the inquest into the pair's death that he also believed an operation by rogue agents would have been impossible. Full Story

Thousands protest Armenian vote result Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 12:37pm

Thousands of opposition supporters marched through Armenia's capital Wednesday after an election official said complete results showed that the prime minister had won the presidential election. Allegations of fraud and threats of mass protests have raised concerns about the stability of the volatile, strategic country, located at the juncture of the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe and bordering Iran. Full Story

Spain opens new bullet train link Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 2:31pm

Spain's first high-speed rail link between Madrid and Barcelona has become operational, after years of delay. Hitting speeds of 300km/h (186mph), the first AVE train took 155 minutes to cover the 550km (342 miles) to Madrid. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.