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The IAEA has asked Iran to explain evidence that it has tested a sophisticated design for a nuclear warhead. Saudi Arabia continues its assaults on Yemeni militants. The agreement that ended the Honduras political crisis has collapsed. All this and much more in today’s update.
Mousavi supporters clash with police in Tehran. Afghan policeman kills five British troops in Helmand province. The US delegation to Burma meets Aug San Suu Kyi. The US Congress rejects Goldstone Report. All this and more in today’s security briefing.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai wins tarnished election. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton sparks criticism for praise of Israeli concessions. Suicide bombing kills dozens in Rawalpindi. South Sudan leader calls for independence. UN chides Congolese army for civilian massacres. All this and more in today's update

China launches crackdown in Xinjiang region. Iran urged to accept nuclear proposals. Karadzic attends trial for first time. Fiji lashes out at Australia and New Zealand. All this and more in today's update.

Iran seeks alterations to an international agreement over its nuclear programme. The political stand off in Honduras appears to have been solved by an agreement between Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti. Presidential hopeful Abdullah Abdullah withdraws his candidacy from the Afghanistan electoral run off. All of this and more in today’s security briefing.
Eight boats in the hands of Somali pirates following spate of hijackings. Zimbabwe calls UN human rights experts a gatecrasher. US officials seek resolution prior to Honduran elections. Venezuela accuses Colombia of US-backed espionage. India will withdraw troops from Jammu. All this and more in today's update.

 

A powerful bomb blast in Peshawar leaves ninety dead, hundreds wounded. Six UN employees killed in Kabul. Guinea’s September massacre pre-planned according to Human Rights Watch. The political crisis deepens in Zimbabwe. The Hague hears how Karadzic ‘ordered’ ethnic cleansing. All this and more in today’s security update.

Two consecutive suicide bombs near Baghdad's Green Zone kill 155 people and wound more than 500. Fourteen die in helicopter crashes in Afghanistan. Palestine rules out immediate return to peace talks. Iran indicates openness to UN deal. All this and much more in today's security briefing.

The extreme right has harnessed the power of Britain's twenty-first century connectivity, revolutionising the threat to our multicultural society.
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Following the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan promised to go after Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists on its own soil. Yet despite cosmetic successes against the militants, the group's ability to recruit and foment violence remains unruffled
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The challenges faced by the new Obama administration in Afghanistan and Pakistan are too big to be tackled alone
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The recent terrorist attack in Mumbai is not a continuation of politics by other means, but part of an exclusivist, modern project that sees human freedom as superfluous.

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The lesson of the serial blasts against Indian cities is that the danger to life and security in the country also lies in the infirmity of its institutions, says Ajai Sahni.

(This article was first published on 26 July 2008)

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Pakistan’s military and intelligence services are involved in a different power-play to that of their ostensible United States and Nato allies. The implications for western strategy are grave, says Shaun Gregory.

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The political sclerosis in Bangkok is distracting Thailand's leaders from the urgent need to find creative solutions to the insurgency in the south, says  John Virgoe.

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An underfunded and undermanned operation creeps towards disaster on the frontline of the "war on terrorism"

The United States responded to the attacks of 11 September 2001 by launching a global "war on terror". Two weeks after 9/11, Paul Rogers began to track that war in a weekly openDemocracy column. In the first of a two-part retrospective, the author reflects on these seven years: mistakes made, lessons learned and paths not taken.

(This article was first published on 25 September 2008)

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At the urgings of Sen. Joseph Lieberman and other warriors of the "war on terrorism", internet video sites will have to remove potentially radical material. Should governments wade into cyberspace? 
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