CONFLICT & TERROR 03/31

Iran, Indonesia angry over Dutch Koran filmPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 7:58am

Iran and Indonesia on Friday condemned a film by a Dutch lawmaker that accuses the Koran of inciting violence, while Dutch Muslim leaders urged restraint. Islam critic Geert Wilders launched his movie on Thursday evening. Titled "Fitna", an Arabic term sometimes translated as "strife", it intersperses images of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and other Islamist bombings with quotations from the Koran. Full Story

Dutch MP posts Islam film on webPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 7:59am

Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders has posted a controversial film critical of Islam's holy book, the Koran, on the internet. The opening scenes show a copy of the Koran, followed by footage of the attacks on the US on 11 September 2001. Full Story

Second day of baggage chaos at T5Posted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:02am

Further chaos is expected at Heathrow's Terminal 5 after its opening day was marred by a catalogue of errors which left many stranded overnight. So far, more than 30 departures have been cancelled, queues are building and frustrated passengers have missed flights - blaming lack of information. Full Story

Former IRA leader set to join DPPPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:04am

A former IRA leader is to join Fermanagh District Policing Partnership (DPP). Sean Lynch, who was jailed for 12 years for attempting to bomb an Army patrol, survived an SAS ambush. The appointment has angered Ulster Unionist councillor and MLA Tom Elliott. Full Story

Gunmen kill two Pakistani counterterrorism agentsPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:32am

Gunmen shot dead two Pakistani counterterrorism intelligence agents in Karachi late on Thursday in an apparent "target killing", police said. "Both men were working for the Intelligence Bureau," said Niaz Ahmed Siddiqi, the city's police chief. Full Story

Scotland flights axed in T5 chaosPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:38am

Several flights to and from Scotland have been cancelled in the second day of chaos at Heathrow's newly-opened Terminal 5. British Airways has drafted in extra staff to try to ease the problems that hit the launch of the #4.3bn terminal on Thursday. Full Story

North Korea test launches missilesPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:43am

North Korea underscored its anger over South Korea's tough new stance toward the communist country with the test-firing of short-range missiles. Full Story

Italy murder fuels 'mafia' fearsPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:46am

The murder of a man in southern Italy has fuelled concern about an escalation of a blood feud among the Calabrian mafia or 'Ndrangheta. Police say the victim, Francesco Capicchiano, 33, was carrying a pistol but did not even have time to draw it as two gunmen opened fire. Full Story

France bans some mozzarella salesPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:47am

The French agriculture ministry has told shops to withdraw some Italian mozzarella cheese from sale amid a scare over dioxin contamination. The affected cheese is made from buffalo milk in the Campania region, near Naples. Full Story

Sri Lanka bombs LTTE basesPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 8:50am

Sri Lankan war planes carried out sorties against two rebel targets in the north on Thursday, as ground clashes left eight guerrillas and six soldiers dead, the government said on Thursday. Full Story

Tibetan students enter UN compound in NepalPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 9:00am

About 20 Tibetan high school children scaled a brick wall surrounding the United Nations compound in Katmandu on Friday morning, carrying a small home-made sign that read "Free Tibet" and asking for the United Nations to help their cause, according to a United Nations spokesman. Full Story

Thai PM warns of coup plotPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 9:06am

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Friday he had been warned of a coup plot against his government, but refused to say who was scheming against him. Full Story

Philippine communist rebels vow attacksPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 9:12am

Philippine communist rebels marked their insurgency's 40th anniversary with a vow Friday to take advantage of rising food prices to stir up public discontent and intensify attacks on government troops. Full Story

Baghdad under curfew amid clashesPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 10:31am

Authorities in Baghdad have imposed a three-day curfew on the Iraqi capital while the country's prime minister pledged "no retreat" against Shia militia forces. More than 130 people have been reported killed in four days of nationwide violence as the government struggles to contain the conflict - set off by a military crackdown in Basra. Full Story

Maliki Makes Cash-for-Arms Offer to End Iraq FightingPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 10:33am

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki offered Shiite militants a cash for weapons deal on Friday in an attempt to end violent clashes across Iraq that have killed more than 120 people. US-led coalition warplanes, meanwhile, bombed Shiite militia positions in Basra, directly entering the fray for the first time since the Iraqi army began the crackdown in the southern city, a British military spokesman said. Full Story

Israel says It's Talking to SyriaPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 10:35am

A Cabinet minister said Friday that Israel was trying to bring Syria back to the negotiating table eight years after talks between the two countries broke down. The disclosure of Israeli efforts to engage Syria in negotiations comes at a time when Israeli attempts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians are making no visible progress despite intense U.S. involvement. Full Story

U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr MilitiaPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 10:36am

U.S. forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday in the vast Shiite stronghold of Sadr City and U.S. aircraft bombed militant positions in the southern city of Basra, as the American role in a campaign against party-backed militias appeared to expand. Full Story

Tuareg politician says hostages not in Mali-reportPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 10:37am

A Malian Tuareg politician said in an interview published on Friday that two Austrian tourists held captive by al Qaeda in the Sahara were not in the country, as previously suspected. Assarid Ag Imbarcaouane, a member of the National Assembly, told Austrian daily Oesterreich that nomadic Tuareg tribesman who roam the isolated swathes of northern Mali would be aware if the hostages were present. The kidnappers would need fuel for vehicles and would get it from smugglers, who would tell the Tuaregs, he said. Full Story

New UN envoy arrives to boost teamwork in AfghanistanPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:05am

The new U.N. envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, arrived in Kabul on Friday with a pledge to improve coordination with President Hamid Karzai's government. Full Story

Politkovskaya killer 'identified'Posted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:22am

Russian investigators have identified the killer of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, an aide to the prosecutor-general has said. The suspect was not named, but the official, Vyacheslav Smirnov, said "all measures are being taken to find and detain him". Full Story

Economy slowed in 2007Posted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:25am

The economy grew by less than expected last year, official data showed Friday, as analysts warned of a harsher slowdown in 2008 because of the global credit crunch. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Friday in a third and final estimate that the economy grew by 3.0 percent in 2007, which is less than the previous estimate of 3.1 percent given in February. Full Story

BA cancels flights in continuing Heathrow T5 chaosPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:26am

British Airways Plc cancelled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6 billion terminal at London's Heathrow airport on Friday as chaos from its opening spilled into a second day. BA said it dropped the short-haul flights to ease congestion as it attempted to recover from the mess left by Thursday's opening when nearly 70 flights were cancelled, leaving passengers distraught. Full Story

Brown to visit Bush in April: White HousePosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:30am

Prime Minister Gordon Brown will visit Washington with his wife on April 17 for talks with US President George W. Bush, the White House said Friday. The two leaders will discuss "our shared goals of advancing freedom and strengthening security and democracy" in Afghanistan and Iraq, efforts to stop Iran's nuclear program and counter-terrorism, it said in a statement. Full Story

Less concern for riots after release of FitnaPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 11:41am

Now that Fitna is online, fewer Dutch people are worried there will be riots than before the release of the film. A survey by television programme EenVandaag indicates that 20 percent of the Dutch expect there will be riots, while more than half of the population expected this before the film was released. Full Story

Indonesia denounces Dutch lawmakers' film critical of IslamPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 12:29pm

Islamic community leaders and Indonesian politicians on Friday condemned a film by a Dutch lawmaker that is critical of Islam, saying it was misleading and would hurt interfaith dialogue. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Legowo said the contents of the film were "misleading and full of racism" and called the production of the film an "irresponsible action done under the blanket of freedom of the press." Full Story

EU - Barroso calls for 'urgent delivery' of Mediterranean Union plansPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 12:31pm

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Friday called for "urgent delivery" of plans for a Mediterranean Union aimed at strengthening cooperation with countries from Morocco to Turkey. "The Mediterranean is an absolute priority for Europe, a priority on which delivery has now become urgent," Barroso told an Athens meeting of parliament presidents from the 37 member states of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Full Story

Maglev trains -- transport tech that simply won't flyPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 12:38pm

The magnetic levitation (maglev) idea was patented as long ago as the 1930s. For the past four decades, Germany's best engineers have been working out the technical details. But the Transrapid -- the monorail maglev system developed by Siemens and ThyssenKrupp that has trains speeding on a magnetic cushion at 500 kilometers an hour -- simply won't fly. Full Story

6 Malaysians nabbed in Cambodia for disrupting flightPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 12:46pm

Six drunken Malaysian men were arrested and set to be deported from Cambodia on Friday, after they shouted at flight attendants and scared passengers on a flight from Kuala Lumpur, officials said. Full Story

Three day Tube strike announcedPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 1:19pm

A 72-hour strike on London Underground is planned by rail unions in a row over safety. A strike from 1830 BST on 6 April to 9 April is planned by the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA). Full Story

Danish creator of Muhammad cartoon to sue Dutch lawmakerPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 3:01pm

The Danish Union of Journalists said Friday it will sue Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders for copyright infringement for using a Danish cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in his anti-Quran film. The union said it will file a lawsuit on behalf of Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist who made a controversial drawing in 2005 depicting Islam's prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. Full Story

New divisions arise in NATO over 2 bids for membershipPosted on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 3:02pm

New trans-Atlantic divisions have emerged over whether to confront Russia's next president, Dmitri Medvedev, by offering Ukraine and Georgia a clear path to NATO membership at a meeting next week, alliance diplomats said Thursday. Full Story

European Union looks to close ranks on RussiaPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:32am

European Union (EU) foreign ministers pushed Friday for a joint stance on relations with Russia as they moved closer to agreeing the basis for a new relationship with the bloc's giant Eastern neighbor. Full Story

Muslims unhappy at German "Satanic Verses" stagingPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:33am

German Muslim group said on Friday protests were likely against the first ever staging of a dramatized version of Salman Rushdie's controversial book "The Satanic Verses" in Potsdam near Berlin on Sunday.Nurhan Soykan, spokeswoman for the central council of Muslims in Germany, told Reuters Muslims believed in a free press and freedom of opinion. Full Story

4 held in Mumbai for attacking N IndiansPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:34am

Four people were arrested for allegedly damaging five taxis, owned by North Indians, in the wee hours on Saturday in Central Mumbai, police said. Efforts were on to ascertain whether the arrested belonged to Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which had run an anti-north Indian campaign last month, they said. Full Story

Ukraine hopes for NATO at summitPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:35am

If it weren't for Ukraine's drive to join NATO, army conscripts here might still be peeling potatoes and wrapping their feet in cloth instead of socks, as their predecessors had done for centuries. Ukrainian officials will showcase these and other reforms at the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, next week, in hopes the Western military alliance will risk angering Moscow and invite this former Soviet country to start the process of membership. Full Story

Al-Sadr wants Arabs to back 'resistance'Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:36am

Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on Arab leaders meeting in Syria to voice their support for Iraq's "resistance" to what he calls foreign occupation. Al-Jazeera television has shown a brief clip of an interview with the Mahdi Army militia leader. It says the full interview will be shown later Saturday. Full Story

75 killed in Baghdad Shiite bastion in four days of clashesPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:37am

clashes between Shiite gunmen and Iraqi and US troops in Baghdad's Sadr City have killed at least 75 people and wounded nearly 500 over the past four days, an Iraqi health official said on Saturday."Seventy-five people have been killed and 498 wounded in clashes in Sadr City in the last four days," Qassim Mohammed, a spokesman for Baghdad health directorate, told reporters in the sprawling Shiite bastion on Saturday. Full Story

'Terror attack on 2006 World Cup was averted'Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:37am

German security forces had scotched possible terrorist plans to attack the Munich stadium on the occasion of the opening game of the 2006 football World Cup, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has claimed. Full Story

Russia's NATO envoy condemns US military aid to KosovoPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:46am

Russia's envoy to NATO has said the US decision to supply arms to Kosovo is a direct violation of a UN Security Council resolution. US President George W. Bush authorised March 19 arms supplies to Kosovo, saying it would 'strengthen the security of the US and promote world peace'.Security Council Resolution 1244 prohibits weapon supplies to the region, except to UN peacekeeping forces. Full Story

Pakistani parliament to hold confidence vote on new prime ministerPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:47am

Pakistan's parliament was set on Saturday to hold a vote of confidence on the newly elected Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani. Gillani, who was a top aide of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, was elected earlier this week by the parliament, which is packed with rivals of embattled President Pervez Musharraf after his party was badly weakened in February elections. Full Story

Troops destroy two LTTE bunkers; dominate 700m neck of landPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:48am

Troops in a pre dawn attack have destroyed two fortified bunkers manned by LTTE terrorists this morning (March 29). According to the defence sources at Mannar battlefront, Sri Lanka army infantrymen have launched the surprise attack around 4.a.m at the LTTE bunker defence located in Elanthivan area, South of Admapan. Ground troops have confirmed that 10 LTTE cadres were killed in this incident. Also, a 700m stretch of land has been dominated, sources further said. The soldiers are consolidating their positions, the sources added. Full Story

Pakistani PM vows to fight terrorPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:49am

Pakistan's new Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gillani, has told parliament in Islamabad that his top priority will be the fight against terrorism. Setting out plans for the first 100 days of his coalition government, he told MPs that "terrorism and extremism" were the country's "greatest problems". Full Story

Taliban attack Afghan power plant, 2 dead, 8 hurtPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:50am

Taliban insurgents blew up a power station in the southern Afghan province of Helmand on Saturday, killing two people and wounding eight, police said.The power station, in the district of Girishk, is the main source of electricity for people in the area. Full Story

U.S. offers to restore ties with SudanPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 5:51am

The U.S. is offering to gradually normalize relations with Sudan if the government in Khartoum settles issues such as the Darfur crisis and carries out elections next year, U.S. and Sudanese diplomats said Friday. Sudan would have to remove obstacles to the deployment of a U.N.-led peacekeeping force, stop violence against civilians in Darfur, release U.S. shipping containers stuck in customs and carry out the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between north and south Sudan, including elections in 2009, officials said. Full Story

Turkish army says kills 15 PKK in N IraqPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2:03pm

Turkey's armed forces killed 15 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on Thursday using long-range land weapons, and then followed up with air strikes, they said on Saturday. Full Story

Maliki says Sadrist foes "worse than al Qaeda"Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2:05pm

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the stakes in his five-day-old crackdown on Shi'ite militants on Saturday, describing his foes as "worse than al Qaeda." Full Story

US military says kills 48 militants in BaghdadPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2:16pm

U.S. forces said on Saturday they had killed 48 militants the previous day in gun battles and air strikes across Baghdad, a sign of deeper involvement in a government crackdown on militia loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Full Story

Threats Prompt LiveLeak.com To Pull Out Anti-Koran FilmPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2:18pm

The anti-Koran film has been removed from U.K.-based video-sharing site on Friday, following serious threats received by the site's staff, a day after it was posted. The controversial film, Fitna, produced by anti-Islamic Dutch MP lawmaker, Geert Wilders was replaced with an official statement from LiveLeak.com, emphasizing the need to prioritize the safety of its employees. Full Story

Australia to seek UN Security Council seat in 2013: PMPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 8:30pm

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced here Saturday that his country would seek a non-permanent seat on the the UN Security Council for 2013-2014, after an absence of 27 years. Full Story

'Schalit negotiations semi-deadlocked'Posted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 8:31pm

Efforts to release kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit are "semi-deadlocked" because of Israel's refusal to release Palestinian prisoners who are serving life sentences, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said Saturday. Full Story

Bomb attack at mosque in Nepal kills twoPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 8:33pmA mosque in eastern Nepal was bombed, killing two people and seriously wounding two others in an attack claimed by a group that wants the country declared Hindu. Full Story

'Divided' Arab summit continuesPosted on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 9:27pm

An annual summit of the Arab League is continuing in Syria's capital Damascus but key leaders are staying away amid signs of a growing regional rift. Full Story

U.S. says special forces fight in BasraPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:40am

The United States confirmed on Sunday that U.S. special forces units were operating alongside Iraqi government troops in Basra, where the government is battling militants loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. A U.S. military statement described a joint raid by Iraqi and U.S. special forces units which killed 22 suspected militants, including "16 criminal fighters" strafed in an air strike on three houses. Full Story

US jittery over Pakistan terror efforts: analystsPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:41am

Pakistan's new premier has vowed to tackle Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, but the United States will remain nervous about the commitment of this frontline state in the "war on terror", analysts say. With the power of stalwart US ally President Pervez Musharraf eroding fast, Washington sent two special envoys to Islamabad last week in a bid to woo new Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his government. Full Story

Chechen police search for Internet extremistPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:42am

Police in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Chechnya are searching for a Chechen resident suspected of spreading calls for terrorist attacks through the Internet, a police source said on Sunday. Full Story

Malaysian leader urges release of Hindu activistsPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:43am

The leader of Malaysia's ruling ethnic Indian party called on Sunday for the release of five Hindu rights activists who were jailed without charge late last year after organizing a big anti-government protest. Full Story

Arabs Denounce Dutch Anti-Islam FilmPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:44am

Islamic and Arab leaders denounced a Dutch film Saturday that portrays Islam as a ticking time bomb aimed at the West, demanding international laws to prevent insults to religions. The 15-minute film entitled "Fitna," or "ordeal" in Arabic, by Dutch anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders brought condemnations from Muslim capitals and street protests in Pakistan after it was posted on a Web site Thursday. Full Story

Turkish warplanes hit rebel targets in N IraqPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:45am

Turkish military warplanes hit rebel targets of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)) in northern Iraq, a military statement said on Saturday. Full Story

Ten former Indian envoys in Islamabad for informal Indo-Pak talksPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:46am

Islamabad, Mar.30 : Ten former Indian ambassadors have arrived here to discuss bilateral relations with a group of former Pakistan envoys. The moot has been jointly arranged by the Association of Indian Diplomats (AID) and the Association of Former Ambassadors of Pakistan (AFIP). Full Story

Malaysia's Mahathir urges Muslims to boycott Dutch productsPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:47am

Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad urged the world's 1.3 billion Muslims to boycott Dutch products following the release of an anti-Islam movie by a maverick anti-immigrant lawmaker, a news report said Sunday. Full Story

Bomb blast in Nepal mosque, two killedPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:48am

A mosque in eastern Nepal was bombed, killing two people and seriously wounding two others in an attack claimed by a group that wants the Himalayan nation declared a Hindu state. Full Story

Abbas seeks Arab, World protection for PalestiniansPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:50am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday called on the Syrian-hosted Arab summit to help the Palestinians getting an Arab and international protection in their territories. "Amid an ongoing Israeli escalation in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, we are seeking Arab and international protection of our people," Abbas said in a speech during the Arab summit hosted by Syria. Full Story

LTTE should denounce violencePosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:51am

Former military commander of the pioneer Tamil militant organization Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students (EROS) in the east, Rajanathan Prabhakaran said that the armed struggle of the LTTE would not fulfill the political aspirations of the Tamils in the North and East and the LTTE leadership should denounce its violence and concentrate on achieving the rights of the Tamils politically. Full Story

Barak says talks with Syria a 'central objective'Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:52am

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the revival of peace talks with Damascus is a key foreign policy objective, according to a statement released on Sunday. "Israel considers the launching of negotiations with Syria and its departure from the circle of extremists to be a central objective," Barak told a closed meeting of European ambassadors on Friday, the statement said. Full Story

Strong earthquake strikes off western coast of Indonesia's Aceh Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:54am

strong undersea earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale struck early Sunday off the western coast of Indonesia's Aceh province, but there have been no reports of injury or damage, officials said. The quake jolted at 12:30 am (1730 GMT Saturday) with epicenter at 113 kilometers north-west of Sinabang, the main town on the remote Simeulue island off the western coast of Aceh , about 30 kilometers beneath the seabed, said an official of the country's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency. Full Story

Two Gaza militants killed in Israeli air strike: medicsPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:57am

Palestinian medics said on Sunday they had recovered the bodies of two Palestinian militants killed in an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip. The two men were identified as Murad Khader, 24, and Rabia Mohsin, 23, were fighters from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an armed group loosely tied to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, they said. Full Story

Eight Taliban killed in southern AfghanistanPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:58am

Eight Taliban fighters were killed in an operation by Afghan and Western troops after the rebels ambushed a civilian supply convoy in troubled southern Afghanistan, police said on Sunday. Full Story

South Korea calm on North's threat to suspend dialoguePosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:59am

South Korea on Sunday reacted calmly to North Korea's threat to suspend all inter-Korean dialogue in protest over remarks by Seoul's top general. In a first official reaction, the South's defence ministry said it had no plans to respond immediately to the North's message. Full Story

AQ Khan seeks end to solitary confinementPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 5:10am

Pakistan's incarcerated nuclear scientist Dr. A Q Khan has requested the government to end his solitary confinement by allowing his friends to meet him.The Nation quoted sources as saying that the request to the government was made through his doctors on Saturday. According to Khan's wife, Henny, he is suffering from chronic depression and has requested the government to release him at least from the torture of loneliness and allow his friends to pay regular visits to him. Full Story

China mounts new attack on Dalai LamaPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 5:11am

Chinese state media accused the Dalai Lama of slamming the door on talks over Tibet's future, an apparent response to rising international calls for Beijing to negotiate with Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader. Full Story

Opposition claims early lead in Zimbabwe votePosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 5:12am

Opposition supporters took to the streets in Harare's dormitory town of Chitungwiza Sunday, singing and dancing as their Movement for Democratic Change claimed an early lead in Zimbabwe's elections. "The sun has set and the old man is going," sang a group in a reference to independent presidential candidate Simba Makoni's symbol of the rising sun and veteran President Robert Mugabe. Full Story

Pakistan continues to train terror outfits: IndiaPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 5:13am

The presence of terror camps in Pakistan continues to haunt the security establishment in India, which still feels that ISI-sponsored outfits like JeM, LeT and Al-Badr are responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks in different parts of the country. Full Story

Zimbabwe opposition claims early leadPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 4:02pm

Zimbabwe's main opposition party claimed an early lead Sunday in elections, including in some of President Robert Mugabe rural strongholds  an apparent effort to thwart any government attempt to skew the results. Full Story

CIA: Pakistan border 'clear and present danger'Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 6:26pm

The situation in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan where al-Qaida has established a safe haven presents a "clear and present danger" to the West, CIA Director Michael Hayden said Sunday NBC's "Meet the Press." Full Story

Iraq fighting a reality checkPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 7:29pm

The Iraqi capital locked down by curfew. U.S. diplomats holed up their workplaces, fearing rocket attacks. Nearly every major southern city racked by turmoil. Hundreds killed in less than a week. Full Story

Ethiopia claims arresting suspects in China oil field attack: reportPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 7:46pm

Ethiopia said on Sunday its security forces had arrested eight men suspected of involvement in last year's deadly raid on a Chinese oil venture, state media reported. Full Story

Al Qaeda recruiting "western" fighters: CIA bossPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 8:12pm

Al Qaeda is training fighters that "look western" and could easily cross U.S. borders without attracting attention, CIA Director Michael Hayden said on Sunday. Full Story

Russian ties, Afghan war at stake for NATO summitPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 8:14pm

The largest summit in NATO's history starting next Wednesday could mould the West's relations with Russia for years to come and show whether the U.S.-led alliance has the resolve to win the war in Afghanistan. Full Story

British forces move closer to BasraPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 8:15pm

British forces moved closer to Basra on Sunday, witnesses said, but a spokesman said they had no plans yet to retake Iraq's second city, scene of a government crackdown on Shi'ite fighters. Full Story

Death toll from Mogadishu market blasts hits 17Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 8:16pm

Hospitals in Mogadishu overflowed with the wounded on Sunday and the death toll from mortar strikes on the city's sprawling main market reached at least 17. Full Story

Sources: Spain to extradite suspect Argentine officerPosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 8:31pm

Guards took former Argentine officer Ricardo Miguel Cavallo from a Spanish prison Sunday because he will likely be extradited to Argentina to face charges of human rights abuses Monday, sources told CNN. Full Story

Global arms shipments reportedly fell in 2007Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 9:21pm

Global arms deliveries fell 8 percent in 2007, but there is little evidence of a long-term decline in the weapons sector, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday. Full Story

Iranians help reach Iraq cease-firePosted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at 9:50pm

Iranian officials helped broker a cease-fire agreement Sunday between Iraq's government and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, according to Iraqi lawmakers. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.