CONFLICT & TERROR 07/18

Four Madrid bomb convicts clearedPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 7:30amSpain's Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of four people found guilty of involvement in the Madrid train bombings in 2004. The four were among 21 people convicted last year over the attacks, which killed 191 people. The court also upheld the acquittal of an Egyptian suspected of masterminding the attacks, because he had already been convicted of the offence in Italy. Full Story


Thai rebels agree "ceasefire", analysts skepticalPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 8:59amA group claiming to be the leaders of a four-year-old separatist insurgency in Thailand's Muslim south said on Thursday they had agreed to a ceasefire, but analysts were very skeptical. Full Story


Argentinian Senate rejects farm votePosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:01amArgentina's Senate narrowly rejected a grain-export tax package early Thursday, a government-backed proposal that has led to nationwide farm strikes and regional food shortages. Lawmakers rejected the bill by 37 votes to 36 after 17 hours of debate. Full Story


Mexico seizes drug submarine in PacificPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:03amMexico's navy seized a homemade submarine carrying a drug shipment off the Pacific coast on Wednesday and arrested its four-man crew. Similar vessels carrying cocaine have been discovered off Colombia and Central America, but navy spokesman Capt. Benjamin Mar said the seizure is a first for Mexico. Full Story


Angry investors storm Karachi exchangePosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:05amHundreds of angry investors, upset by plunging Pakistani share prices, smashed windows of Karachi Stock Exchange and scuffles broke out during a protest on Thursday to demand a temporary closure of the market. Full Story


New kidnapping in southern PhilippinesPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:08amSuspected Muslim extremists abducted two telecom servicemen in the southern Philippines in the latest in a rash of such kidnappings in the area, police said Thursday. Full Story


UK ratifies the EU Lisbon TreatyPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:28amThe UK has officially ratified the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. The documents were deposited with the Italian foreign affairs ministry in Rome on Wednesday. The move came despite doubts over its future after the "no" vote in the Irish referendum. All EU states must ratify the treaty for it to come into force. Full Story


Jihadist Agreement In Pakistan Leads To Surge Of Violence In AfghanistanPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:31amAP reported this week that rival jihadist groups in Pakistan have agreed to work together to fight against NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The meeting of some 300 jihadist fighters took place in early June in Rawalpindi -- a military garrison city where the headquarters of the Pakistani army is based. Full Story


Afghanistan troop build-up alarms Pakistan tribalsPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:43amPakistani tribal elders yesterday raised the alarm over a build-up of hundreds of NATO-led troops on the Afghan side of the border, but the military downplayed fears of any intrusion. Full Story


Indonesian man dies of bird fluPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:47amAn Indonesian cargo worker died of bird flu, relatives confirmed Thursday, raising the unofficial toll in the world's hardest hit nation to 111 in three years. Full Story


Recorded crime figures show fallPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 9:50amPolice-recorded crime in England and Wales fell 9% in the 12 months to March, latest figures suggest. The first reliable figures for knife crime showed there were 22,000 offences last year. The statistics also show that while the risk of being a

victim is at its lowest ever level, people still think that the rate is going up. Full Story


NATO claims Taliban commander killedPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 10:05amNATO reported Thursday that a senior Taliban commander has been killed and Afghan officials said an airstrike left at least 10 insurgents dead and four civilians wounded. Full Story


Nigerian activists reject UK planPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 10:17amHuman rights activists in Nigeria's Delta have condemned an offer from the UK government to provide military training to secure oil supplies. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered military training to Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua to help fight militants and oil smugglers. Full Story


Police 'to be freed from targets'Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 10:27amPolice are to be given greater freedom from red tape and targets under a government "new deal" launched by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. All but one of the national targets imposed on forces will be scrapped under the Green Paper reforms, allowing officers more time to tackle crime. Ms Smith said removing "top down" targets was "a significant mark" of her trust in senior police chiefs. Full Story


Serbia may reinstate withdrawn ambassadorPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 10:27amSerbia's government may reinstate ambassadors it recalled from countries that recognized an independent Kosovo, a policy shift that senior Serbian officials said Belgrade was considering to show its firm commitment to the West. Full Story


Suspect wins libel case over missing British girlPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 10:29amA British suspect in the disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann in Portugal last year won 600,000 pounds ($1.2 million) in libel damages on Thursday for "the utter destruction" of his life. The 10 British newspapers involved in the case had accused Robert Murat, who lived in the resort where McCann vanished last May, of being involved in the girl's disappearance. Full Story


Turkish court adviser backs AKPPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 11:34amAn adviser to Turkey's Constitutional Court has recommended that it should not shut down the ruling AK Party for anti-secular activities, officials say. In a non-binding report, Osman Can said the AKP's decision to lift a ban on Islamic headscarves had only been intended to expand freedoms, they add. Full Story


Turkey's steps reciprocated by Armenia, says BabacanPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 11:40amForeign Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday that Turkey has taken unilateral steps to normalize bilateral ties with neighboring Armenia and the recent offer by Yerevan to the Turkish president to watch a football match was a result of Ankara's efforts. Full Story


German FM Pushes Abkhazia Peace Plan During VisitPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 11:42amGerman Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is in Tbilisi at the start of a three-day trip intended to jump-start the peace process in breakaway Abkhazia. Steinmeier is acting as the coordinator for the five-member UN Friends Group, a grouping of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States that is trying to resolve the conflict. Full Story


Spain's supreme court clears four convicted Madrid bombersPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 12:04pmSpain's supreme court Thursday overturned the guilty verdicts on four of the 21 people convicted over the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people in 2004. It also upheld a lower court's decision to acquit one of the alleged masterminds of the Al Qaeda-inspired attacks, Rabei Ousmane Sayed Ahmed, known as "Mohammed the Egyptian". Full Story


Greek police station attacked with firebombs; no injuriesPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 12:06pmA police station west of Athens came under firebomb attack early Thursday, police said, leaving several vehicles damaged but causing no injuries. A group of youths drove past the police station in the Perama district, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the Greek capital, throwing several firebombs at the building, police said. Full Story


Council workers' strike continuesPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 12:08pmCouncil workers are staging the second day of a 48-hour strike, hitting services such as schools, libraries and rubbish collections. The Unison and Unite unions expect more than 500,000 staff to walk out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The unions say rising prices make the employers' pay offer of 2.45% effectively a wage cut, and want 6%. Full Story


Car bomb kills 12 in northern IraqPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:50pmA car bomb exploded in a market in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar on Wednesday, killing 12 people and wounding 30, a police officer and a medic told AFP. Full Story


Three documents of security agreement with USPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:51pmNext few hours seem decisive for many local issues, because its political developments, as PM Noori Almaliki provides his candidates to fill vacant ministries to Parliament today while the political council of national security will hold emergency session tomorrow to discuss three important documents about the security agreement. Full Story
Iraq's al-Qaida fighters now `furtive terrorists'Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:52pmIt's quiet around here in farm country, south of Baghdad where al-Qaida once held sway. Just months ago U.S. foot patrols through the wheat fields nearby would regularly draw fire  if the soldiers managed first to elude al-Qaida-planted roadside bombs. Full Story
Sleiman presides over inaugural meeting of new Cabinet, urges unityPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:53pmPresident Michel Sleiman said on Wednesday that the new government's ministerial statement would be based on six main pillars. These include the Taif Accord, international resolutions, Arab foreign ministers' decisions made in January 2008, Lebanese national dialogue decisions in 2006, the Doha agreement, and the president's inaugural speech on the day of his election. Full Story
Six wounded as gunman attacks bus in JordanPosted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:53pmA teenaged Palestinian gunman overnight raked a bus with gunfire in Amman, injuring six people, before turning the gun on himself as police tried to subdue him, officials said Thursday. Full Story


Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.