CONFLICT & TERROR 03/19

Nine-month crisis over in BelgiumPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 8:34am

The political deadlock that threatened to split Belgium in two has ended with a coalition deal under Christian Democrat Yves Leterme. After a night of negotiations, five Dutch- and French-speaking parties agreed to form a government. Full Story

Trial of Chinese activist beginsPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 9:53am

A prominent activist who publicised human rights abuses across China has gone on trial in the capital, Beijing. Hu Jia, 34, is accused of "inciting subversion of state power and the socialist system". Full Story

UN warns of 'critical' bird-flu situation in IndonesiaPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 10:02am

Indonesia's bird-flu or avian influenza situation remains "critical" and a high circulation of the virus that causes it could lead to mutations and threaten humans, a United Nations agency said Tuesday. Indonesia remains the nation worst hit by avian influenza despite efforts by the government and the international community to contain the disease, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement. Full Story

Judicial showdown looms in PakistanPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 10:14am

Pakistan's top court met on Tuesday amid a looming showdown between the country's new parliament and President Pervez Musharraf concerning his sacking of dozens of judges last year. Full Story

12 Tamil rebels, three soldiers killed in Sri Lanka clashesPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 10:22am

Fighting across the dense jungles of northern Sri Lanka has killed 12 Tamil Tiger rebels and three government soldiers, the military said on Tuesday. Full Story

Bomb attack injures 2 in southern ThailandPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 10:26am

Suspected insurgents threw a handgrenade at a mosque in Thailand's southernmost province of Yala on Tuesday morning, injuring two local people. Full Story

New technology triggers battle for information from TibetPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 10:46am

Blogs, chatrooms and mobile phones have helped information about Tibetan protests to stream out faster than ever, but China is also harnessing technology, as well as fear, to stem the flow. Full Story

NKorea, US to hold more nuke talksPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 10:48am

North Korea has agreed to hold further talks with the United States in a bid to end the deadlock over its nuclear disarmament, the communist state's official media said Tuesday. Full Story

Fresh typhoid outbreak in Philippines, about 150 hospitalisedPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 10:49am

A second outbreak of typhoid has left about 150 people hospitalised in the central Philippines, health officials said Tuesday. The latest outbreak is on the island of Zumarraga, off the eastern half of Samar island, said Aura Corpuz, medical specialist with the National Epidemiology Centre in Manila. Full Story

Transport strike in Karachi todayPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 11:25am

Countrys biggest city and commercial centre, already facing a power crisis, is bracing for another torrid day today in the wake of strike announced by transporters yesterday. Full Story

Man faces Canada's first charge of financing terrorismPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 11:58am

For the first time in Canadian history, a man has been charged with terrorist financing for allegedly raising money for the Tamil Tigers, police said Monday. Full Story

UK consumer inflation hits 2.5%Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 12:51pm

UK consumer inflation reached its highest level in nine months last month, due to a new method for calculating energy bills. The Office for National Statistics said the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) hit 2.5% on an annual basis in February, up from 2.2% in January. Full Story

Four facing paramilitary chargesPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 12:52pm

Four men arrested by police in Donegal are expected to appear in court later. They will appear at a sitting of the Special Criminal Court in Dublin as part of Garda investigations into paramilitary activity in the county. Full Story

Tibet protest hits warriors showPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 12:54pm

Protesters have hung pro-Tibet slogans around the necks of China's Terracotta Warriors at a London exhibition. Placards stating "boycott the Chinese Olympics" and "stop killing Tibetans" were put on the British Museum models. Martin Wyness, 50, and Mark Trepte, 47, hung the signs on the 2,200-year-old exhibits. Security guards stopped the pair and they were cautioned by police. Full Story

Early warning for bad behaviourPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 12:56pm

Troublemakers as young as 10 years old are to be asked to sign a good behaviour contract to stop them going off the rails. About 1,000 of the "most challenging" children will be expected to stick to the order, or risk a criminal record. Children's Secretary Ed Balls will unveil a #218m expansion of Family Intervention Projects in projects across England. Full Story

Greek Supreme Court orders fugitive drug smuggler to be extradited to AustraliaPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 1:12pm

Greece's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that fugitive drug smuggler Tony Mokbel must be extradited to Australia to face murder charges. The decision still must be formally approved by Greece's justice minister, a process which officials say can take up to one month. Defense lawyers also have said they may appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Full Story

Beijing shrouded in dust as sandstorm besieges capitalPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 1:36pm

Air pollution in Beijing reached its highest level on Tuesday as a sandstorm from the north shrouded the capital in dust, choking pedestrians and delaying flights, the government and reports said. Full Story

U.S. Embassy in Yemen closes after blastPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 3:20pm

The U.S. Embassy in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, closed Tuesday after three mortar rounds detonated near the embassy compound, according to an embassy statement. No embassy personnel were injured in the incident, which happened around 12:40 p.m. local time, it said. Full Story

U.N. police officer dies after Kosovo clashesPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 3:21pm

A Ukrainian policeman has died of injuries sustained in clashes between Serbian demonstrators and U.N. forces in Kosovo, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday. The policeman died late Monday in a French military hospital, U.N. spokesman Alexander Ivanko said from Pristina. Full Story

Belgians agree government after 9-month standoffPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 3:22pm

Belgium's political parties announced Tuesday they had reached a deal to form a new national government, ending a nine-month political stalemate that had threatened to split the country along linguistic lines. Prime Minister-designate Yves Leterme, whose Flemish Christian Democrats won elections last June, announced an accord after all-night talks. Full Story

London police seek Yemeni man over Norwegian's deathPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 3:30pm

Murder squad detectives in London on Tuesday named a man they want to speak to in connection with the death of a Norwegian student whose body was found at a block of flats. Farouk Abdulhak was with 23-year-old Martine Vik Magnussen last Thursday night, before she was reported missing after visiting a nightclub in central London, Scotland Yard said. Full Story

Biggest passenger jet flies to LondonPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 3:31pm

A Singapore Airlines A380 touched down at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday afternoon, completing the first commercial flight to Europe by the world's largest passenger jet. Flight SQ308 touched down at 2:51 p.m., about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, with 449 passengers on board. Full Story

Russia, U.S. fail to agree on missile shieldPosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 3:32pm

Russia and the United States failed on Tuesday to find common ground over U.S. plans to deploy parts of a missile defence shield in eastern Europe. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had agreed with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after six hours of talks in Moscow to study further U.S. proposals aimed at allaying Russian concerns about the shield. Full Story

UN accuses Serbs of encouraging violencePosted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 3:33pm

The United Nations accused Serbian officials Tuesday of complicity in the violence in northern Kosovo that left a U.N. policeman from Ukraine dead and dozens of people hurt. Larry Rossin, the deputy U.N. administrator for Kosovo, told reporters in Pristina that "it is clear to us that the violence ... was orchestrated." Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc