CONFLICT & TERROR 04/01

Ex-junta man flown to ArgentinaPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 7:42am

Police in Spain say a former Argentine navy commander, Ricardo Miguel Cavallo, has been extradited to Argentina to face trial for junta-era crimes. Mr Cavallo is accused of killing and torturing left-wing activists in the "dirty war" of 1976-1983. Full Story

UN chief condemns anti-Islam filmPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 7:43am

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a controversial film on Islam made by a Dutch politician, calling it "offensively anti-Islamic". Several Muslim countries have also condemned the film, a 15-minute polemic by the far-right MP Geert Wilder, which was posted online on Thursday. Full Story

Police to question McCann friendsPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 7:49am

The friends who were on holiday with Madeleine McCann's parents when the girl went missing are to be reinterviewed by police in the UK. The group of seven will be questioned next week by Leicestershire Police, with Portuguese detectives present. Full Story

Muslim hardliners in Indonesia rally over Dutch filmPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 7:55am

About 50 members of a hardline Indonesian Muslim group held a rowdy protest outside the Dutch embassy on Monday, calling for the death of a Dutch lawmaker behind a film accusing the Koran of inciting violence. Full Story

Dutch MP's film angers IndonesiaPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 7:59am

Dozens of Indonesians have demonstrated outside the Dutch embassy in Jakarta over a Dutch MP's film that has outraged many Muslims. Some protesters hurled eggs and plastic water bottles at the embassy as riot police formed a wall to keep them away. Full Story

Bird flu kills 2 more in IndonesiaPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 8:22am

Two more people have died of bird flu in Indonesia, bringing the death toll in the country worst hit by the virus to 107, the health ministry said Monday. Full Story

Security tight as Olympic torch arrives in ChinaPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 8:23am

The Beijing Olympic flame was welcomed by cheering children in the Chinese capital amid tight security on Monday after attempts by pro-Tibet protesters in Athens to block its path. Full Story

British Airways' Terminal 5 problems at Heathrow spill over to 4th dayPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 8:53am

British Airways canceled 37 flights Sunday and has yet to clear a backlog of about 15,000 pieces of luggage after disruptions at London Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 5 spilled into a fourth day. The carrier has so far abandoned only short-haul and domestic flights, to cities including Amsterdam and Glasgow, representing about 11 percent of all flights. Full Story

Hong Kong schools re-open after flu outbreakPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 8:56am

Hong Kong primary and pre-schools resumed classes on Monday after a temporary closure because of a flu crisis. The longer holiday helped to ease parents' concerns about another possible outbreak. Full Story

Dutch anti-Islam film is greeted with condemnation and reliefPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 8:56am

The release of a controversial Dutch film critical of Islam was greeted Friday with a mix of condemnation and relief as most Muslim organizations in the Netherlands gave a restrained reaction. The film by Geert Wilders, a member of Parliament who campaigns against immigration, was posted on the Internet on Thursday night and combines images of terrorist acts with readings from the Koran. Full Story

Pakistan's Musharraf swears in hostile cabinetPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 9:01am

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf swore in a cabinet formed by his political opponents on Monday, with some members sporting black armbands in protest at his continuing hold on power. Full Story

Two British soldiers killed in AfghanistanPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 9:05am

Explosions killed two British soldiers and wounded five Dutch troopers in Afghanistan at the weekend while a dozen Taliban were killed in security operations, military forces said Monday. Full Story

Thaksin returns to Thailand ahead of court hearing on corrupt chargesPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 9:37am

Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned Sunday to Thailand ahead of a crucial court hearing next month over two corruption-related cases lodged against him. Full Story

Bangladesh party plans hunger strike to free detained ex-PMPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 9:38am

Bangladesh's Awami League party said Sunday it was planning a mass hunger strike next month to pressure the military-backed government to free its leader, a former premier detained on corruption charges. Full Story

Al-Qaeda explosive material sources dried upPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:13am

Some surrendered and arrested terrorists in Jijel and Skikda have recognized that security tightening conducted jointly by Algeria and Tunisia on smugglers of explosives has finished by drying up Al-Qaeda sources of supply with phosphate and concentrated chemical fertilizers, security sources told El Khabar. Full Story

Iranians help reach Iraq cease-firePosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:15am

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

Iraq Green Zone comes under fresh attackPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:16am

The fortified Green Zone came under fresh attack Monday, less than 24 hours after anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr told his fighters to stand down following a week of clashes with government forces. Al-Sadr's order stopped short of disarming his fighters and left the militia intact in a blow to the credibility of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who flew to the southern oil city of Basra a week ago to personally oversee a crackdown on militia violence. Full Story

Iraq refuses to endorse summit statementPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:17am

Iraq refused to endorse the final declaration of the Arab summit on Sunday because it did not condemn terrorism in the country, a divisive end to a gathering marred by disputes and boycotts. Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has long accused Sunni-led Arab governments of not taking a strong enough stance against Sunni Arab fighters who made up the backbone of Iraq's insurgency. Full Story

Force ready to defend oil and power plantsPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:18am

The newly set up Facilities Security Force has taken all necessary measures to protect oil and power installations, and water desalination plants throughout the Kingdom in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the National Guard, and the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, said Maj-Gen Saad Al-Majed, Chief of the Facilities Security Force in Makkah Saturday night. Full Story

Denmark: Cartoonist to sue Dutch MP for use of drawing in anti-Koran filmPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 10:57am

The Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who produced a controversial drawing of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb, has said that he plans to use all legal means to block the use of his cartoon in the anti-Koran film produced by Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders. Full Story

2 charged in Denmark with preparing terror attackPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 11:17am

Danish prosecutors filed terror charges Tuesday against two alleged Islamic militants accused of preparing explosives for a terrorist attack in Denmark or abroad. A third man was charged in the case for allegedly urging the kidnapping of Danes abroad as a way to force Danish authorities to release the other two. Full Story

Trial opens under Norway's strengthened anti-terrorism lawsPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 11:21am

The first trial under Norway's strengthened anti-terrorism laws opened here Monday, with three men facing charges related to a shooting at an Oslo synagogue or plotting attacks on the capital's U.S. or Israeli embassies in 2006. All three men deny the charges, and their defense attorneys have described the evidence against them as weak. Full Story

German hackers threaten to publish Merkel's fingerprintsPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 2:20pm

A German hacker group on Monday threatened to publish Chancellor Angela Merkel's fingerprints as part of a campaign against the government's use of biometric data in new passports. The Chaos Computer Club (CCC), one of Germany's oldest and largest hacker organisations, on Saturday published Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble's fingerprints in its own magazine. Full Story

Eyes of world on Zimbabwe: BrownPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 2:22pm

The next few days will be "critical" for Zimbabwe, former colonial power Britain said Monday, adding that the eyes of the world were on the African country ahead of election results. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there were two priorites: "That the results come forward soon...and secondly that the election is seen to be fair and representative." Full Story

French extremists dream of jihad in IraqPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 2:46pm

Boubakeur el Hakim traded his Paris neighborhood of boulangeries and halal butcher shops for the insurgent camps of Iraq. When he came home, he told his war stories to other young men on the forgotten edges of French society, allegedly persuading some to follow in his footsteps. His younger brother did, and died fighting U.S. forces. Full Story

Brown tries to steady Labour MPs' nervesPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 2:51pm

Gordon Brown will today attempt to steady the nerves of Labour MPs after a run of poor opinion polls raised fears in the party that David Cameron could be on course for victory at the next election. The prime minister will use an appearance at the weekly meeting of the parliamentary Labour party to assure MPs that the government remains on course for what he has described as the "tough decisions" of 2008. Full Story

Rasmussen Says He Isn't Candidate for EU PresidencyPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 2:55pm

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he isn't a candidate to become president of the European Union and has no plans to cut short his term as the Nordic country's premier. "My political ambition is to fulfill my task as a prime minister of Denmark," Rasmussen, 55, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in his office in Copenhagen March 28. "I have a lot to do in Denmark and I am not a candidate for international posts.'' Full Story

Puppet Show From Hamas TV Shows Child Stabbing BushPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 4:08pm

A children's puppet show featured on Hamas TV shows a child stabbing President Bush to death. Full Story

Argentina poised to act on farmsPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 4:10pm

The Argentine government is expected to announce a series of measures to try to end a crippling strike by farmers over rises in taxes on agricultural goods. Full Story

Ecuador sues Colombia over anti-drug sprayingPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 4:15pm

Ecuador said on Monday it had sued Colombia in international court over drug crop fumigation along its frontier in reaction to a Colombian raid that killed a rebel leader across the border earlier this month. Full Story

Bangladeshi with alleged link to HuJI held in AgartalaPosted on Monday, March 31, 2008 at 4:17pm

A Bangladeshi national suspected to have links with terrorist organisation HuJI has been arrested here on charges of indulging in anti-India activities and arms trafficking, police said on Monday. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.