US president Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for the first time since either took office yesterday in Washington. They discussed the middle east peace process and security in the region, but in subsequent public statements there was little sign of a major breakthrough.

The toD verdict: The talks seem to have fundamentally failed to reinvigorate what Obama called the "stalled" progress in the middle eastern peace process. Throughout their public meeting, the two statesmen were seemingly at cross-purposes. While Obama again called for a two state solution, Netanyahu only expressed a desire to "start peace negotiations with the Palestinians" and for Palestinians to "govern themselves", continuing his aversion to the words "Palestinian state". Obama's demands that "settlements have to be stopped" also went unanswered and there was little sign that Netanyahu's Israel would take the "difficult steps" the US claims are necessary.

Accordingly, the talks were coldly received by Palestinian parties. A Hamas spokesman decried Obama's apparently tough call for Israel to halt settlement expansion and commit to a two state solution as an attempt "to deceive the world". Statements by Fatah negotiator Saeb Erekat were predictably less confrontational but equally pessimistic, arguing Israeli policy made impossible a fully functioning Palestinian state. 

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If the talks heralded a single breakthrough it was Obama's indication that he was setting a deadline of the end of the year for talks with Iran. To date, and much to the annoyance of hawks at home and in Israel, Obama has not imposed strict conditions or a time-limit on his offer to negotiate with Iran. By propelling the Iranian threat to the forefront of the US-Israeli relationship, the Nethanyu government may succeed in deflecting criticism of its policies in the occupied territories. Defence Minister Ehud Barak was accordingly critical of calls for a two state solution, which he said would not stop Iran.

Government and Tamil Tigers dispute LTTE leader's death

Following their proclamation of victory in a decades-long civil war yesterday, Sri Lankan forces have broadcast video footage they claim shows the corpse of Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in an attempt to end disputed claims as to whether he was in fact killed. A Sri Lankan military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, said the authorities were "100 percent positive" it was Prabhakaran. However the LTTE's diplomatic representative Selvarasa Pathmanathan had earlier claimed that their "beloved leader is alive and safe".

The news of the LTTE's defeat was met with protest in London where around 5,000 protestors broke out from the centre of Parliament Square and disrupted traffic on the busy junction. Three police and five protestors were hospitalised during violent clashes, which saw ten protestors arrested.     

Pakistani forces close on Taliban Swat capital

The Pakistani army has made further advances into Taliban controlled regions of the Swat Valley.  Street battles raged in the towns of Matta and Kanju, the latter only miles away from the Taliban stronghold of Mingora, the principal city in the region. General Nadeem Ahmed, head of the government's refugee Support Group, optimistically predicted the return of some of the 1,400,000 people displaced by the conflict.

Human Rights Watch criticised Taliban tactics in their defence of the city, accusing them of laying landmines to prevent the escape of around 10,000 civilians in Mingora in an attempt to deter army raids on the city. The NGO also accused the Pakistani government, who claim they will not use heavy weapons in densely populated areas, of taking "insufficient precautionary measures" to prevent the loss of civilian life during recent operations. 

ICC begins trial of Sudanese rebel leader

Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, a Sudanese rebel leader who turned himself in to the International Criminal Court, appeared at The Hague on war crimes charges relating to the killing of twelve African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. He is the first suspect from the Darfur conflict to be tried by the court, and used his appearance to increase pressure on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir to also face trial. Since the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest in April, Bashir, charged with genocide and war crimes, has defiantly flouted the ruling.

Military offensive escalates in Niger Delta

The Nigerian Joint Task Force, at war with militants in the country's oil rich delta region, claimed to have overrun an important Iroko militant camp. Rebel groups meanwhile argued this was only part of a "cat and mouse" game with the army, which had indiscriminately targeted civilians from the Delta's indigenous Ijaw people. The army faced criticism from the Ijaw National Congress for the alleged killing of 1,000 civilians during its campaigns to free oil workers taken hostage by the militants. The Director of Defence Information Colonel Chris Jemitola denied the accusations and defended the necessity of the operations against militants who targeted "innocent civilians". Recent unrest in the Delta helped push crude oil prices up five per cent on the New York exchange on Monday.

Officials discuss anti-piracy strategy

A two day conference in Kuala Lumpur has brought together notable military and diplomatic figures to help combat the scourge of piracy. French national security advisor Captain Christophe Pipolo called for an economic stimulus to rejeuvenate Somalia's fishing industry and thus provide alternative incomes to piracy. Echoing Pipolo's warning that the "answer is neither at sea nor military but on land", Captain Christopher Chambers, the director of the international Combined Maritime Forces, reiterated the necessity of a "stable Somalia". Further proposals issued at the conference centred on investing in Somali security forces to help build a robust coast guard and land-based police force.     

Ethiopian troops re-enter Somalia as Islamists close on capital

Claims that Ethiopian forces are re-entering Somalia two years after their departure under a UN ceasefire have emerged from the country's borderlands. While the Addis Ababa government upheld their right to carry out operations on Somali territory, communications minister Ermias Legesse denied Ethiopian troops had crossed the border.

If verified, the incursion suggests Ethiopia might be planning to bolster Somali government forces and help secure Mogadishu from an escalating Islamist offensive. Hizbul Islam fighters seized the town of Mahady on Monday after the government lost control of the town of Jowhar to the militant group Al-Shabab on Sunday.

With renewed fighting comes the prospect of the flight of many more refugees from the country. Over 270,000 Somalis are already inadequately provided for in refugee camps in neighbouring Kenya, a situation decried by Medicins Sans Frontiers representatives in the country as "scandalous".

A spokesman for Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters on Friday that she supports an independent inquiry into the violence in Sri Lanka. The call comes on a day when Sri Lankan military forces continued their relentless bid to end the 25-year war with the Tamil Tigers. Remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resist desperately from a tiny strip of land, in the midst of thousands of civilians.

The ToD verdict: It is over a month since Walter Kaelin, the UN Secretary General's representative for the rights of internally displaced persons, warned of a "blood bath" if the Sri Lankan military moved in against the Tamil Tigers without first allowing the civilian population to flee. As the Sri Lankan military continues to drive the LTTE into the sea, it is becoming increasingly apparent that his prediction has come true. Although both sides have engaged in a vigorous propaganda war and journalists have been forbidden from entering the war zone, it is nonetheless clear that thousands of civilians have been killed in the cross fire between government and rebel forces.

Those who survive face increasing hardship as the International Committee for the Red Cross has been forced by the continuing combat to suspend the delivery of aid, with ICRC operations director Pierre Krahenbuhl referring to the situation as "an unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe".

The suspicion on the part of many commentators and analysts, including Pillay, is that human rights abuses have been committed on both sides. Her call for "clarity" not "impunity" would make a probe into suspected offences a necessity. At this point, however, with the Sri Lankan government so far brushing off calls for a ceasefire, it is uncertain when such an inquiry will ever be held. 

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Thousands more flee Pakistan town as military lifts curfew

As the Pakistan military lifted the curfew around the town of Mingora in the Swat valley today, tens of thousands of civilians fled to swell the already vast numbers of people displaced from their homes by the ongoing war against the Taliban. According to a military statement, at least 55 Taliban militants and three Pakistani soldiers have been killed during this, the twentieth day of the Pakistan army's operations against Taliban positions in the districts of Swat, Buner and Lower Dir in the country's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). A total of over 834,000 people have registered as displaced persons with the UN since the beginning of the fighting, with Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, saying that there would be a humanitarian crisis if a massive deployment of aid is not forthcoming.

Nuclear watchdog warns nuclear weapons states set to double

Mohamed ElBaradei, the outgoing director general of the IAEA, has warned that international agreements restricting the proliferation of nuclear weapons are on the verge of collapse and that, without drastic action by nuclear weapons states, the number of potential nuclear weapons states could double in a few years. Citing the inequity of the system, designed around the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty which compels signatories to refrain developing nuclear weapons while, theoretically, obliging nuclear states to disarm, he said that in this respect the middle east is a "ticking time bomb".

He made the prediction that the next wave of proliferation would result in the emergence of 10 to 20 "virtual" weapons states. Such states would not actually have nuclear weapons, but would have sufficient technical knowledge and raw materials to be able to weaponise rapidly. He noted that there were sweeping steps that could be taken immediately to prevent this, observing that of the 27,000 nuclear weapons in existence, the vast majority of them are possessed by the United States and Russia.

Aung San Suu Kyi charged in run up to Myanmar elections

On Thursday, the Burmese opposition leader was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest in what many analysts are saying is a political move by the Myanmar military junta. The ostensible reason for the charge was a recent incident in which an American man swam across a lake and spent a night at her home, where she has been under house arrest for thirteen years.

The charges have been introduced two weeks before the statutory end of her latest six year term of house-arrest and have resulted in her transfer to the harsher conditions of Insein prison. Next year the military clique, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, will hold its first multi-party elections since 1990. That election resulted in Aung Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, winning a sweeping victory which was promptly rejected by the military.   

Obama brings back Guantanamo trials

Having suspended them within hours of taking up office, US officials revealed today that President Barack Obama will bring back the highly controversial military tribunal system at Guantanamo Bay. The officials have said that the system, which is expected to apply to fewer than twenty of Guantanamo's 241 inmates, will be amended so that it restricts the admissibility of evidence based on hearsay and bans altogether evidence gleaned from such practises as "waterboarding". These provisions have not allayed critics, however, who point out that during his presidential campaign, he vowed to reject the Military Commissions Act.

Policemen killed in Chechnya

On Friday, two policemen were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the restive Caucasus republic of Chechnya. The attack comes weeks after Moscow ended its decade long counter-terrorist operation in the region, and is symptomatic of continued unrest. The attack occurred near the entrance to the regional interior ministry building.

Pakistani ground forces entered Taliban-held areas of the Swat Valley on Sunday, after a warning was issued to hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate the area. Yousaf Raza Gilani, the country's prime minister, called the mission a war for "the country's survival".

The toD verdict: The strict curfew usually in place over the Swat Valley was temporarily lifted on Sunday to allow the mass exodus of residents before the entry of government troops. The operation was approved the previous day by the Federal Cabinet, who declared that military action was the last possible option after the failure of efforts to reach a peaceful solution. According to Pakistani officials, the war will not be fought conventionallly, focusing instead on countering the militant's guerrilla tactics. Troops in the Swat Valley now number between 12,000 and 15,000, against a suspected 5,000 Taliban insurgents. An estimated half a million civilians will be displaced by the fighting in the Swat Valley, with as many as 1.3 million left homeless.

The decision to invade the Swat Valley was taken by the Pakistani government during a trip by President Asif Ali Zardari to the US to meet with his American and Afghan counterparts, Barack Obama and Hamid Karzai. The Pakistani government has been quick to dispel claims that they reacted in response to international pressure. Washington's representatives, keen for more action from Zardari's government, have expressed their concerns that the Swat Valley could turn into a base for Islamist militants, destabilising both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Indeed, last week US General David Petraeus voiced his concern that the Pakistani government could fall to the Taliban in just two weeks. However, the US military has restated their refusal to send troops into Pakistan.

A session of the National Assembly began on Monday to assess the situation and gain parliamentary approval for the operation in the Swat Valley. 

Right-wing rally overwhelmed by peaceful protestors in Cologne

A "Stop Islam" rally was organised by the far-right movements Pro Koeln and Pro NRW in Cologne on Saturday following their opposition to plans to construct a large mosque on the outskirts of the city. The mosque will attempt to remedy the current lack of space for Turkish-speaking Muslim congregations. Nationalists from across Europe were invited to attend the demonstration, which Islamic countries such as Iran had urged the German government to forbid. However, numbers at the right-wing rally only reached around 300 and paled in comparison to the thousands of peaceful protestors who had gathered to oppose the "anti-Islam" rally. After bouts of violence between police and left-wing protestors, the rally was declared illegal on grounds of public safety to the praise of, amongst others, Cologne's mayor Fritz Schramma. Germany's Muslim community numbers around three million and accounts for four percent of the total population.

Fifteen die in mortar attack in Mogadishu

The weekend saw outbreaks of violence in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, with a mortar attack on a mosque on Sunday resulting in at least 15 fatalities. The attack came after the deaths of around 50 people, and the wounding of 100 more, in fighting that took place across the city between government troops and al-Shabaab insurgents. Heavy artillery and anti-aircraft weapons were used by both sides in a dispute that shows the government's increasing powerlessness in the capital and southern regions of Somalia. The rebel group al-Shabaab, for whom al-Qaeda have declared their support, have in recent weeks intensified attacks on government targets in an attempt to overthrow those in power.

General Jones on Afghanistan: "We can't fight with one hand tied behind our back"

The Afghan president Hamid Karzai has once more spoken out against the air strikes used by the US military in his country, blaming them and not his government's purported corruption for the gulf that exists between the two countries. President Karzai indicated that his relationship with US President Barack Obama had not matured to the same level as that of Obama's predecessor, with whom Karzai had had "seven years of a relationship. Tensions have been on the increase with the continued unilateral strikes carried out by the US military in Afghanistan and their high civilian casualties, but on Sunday General James L. Jones, the top US security adviser, said that US airstrikes would continue. American troops in Afghanistan are expected to number more than 60,000 by the end of the year.

Claims that white phosphorus was used during a battle between the US and Taliban insurgents last week in Farah Province are being investigated by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. The American military denies the use of the chemical, saying that the death toll of 147 is an exaggeration.

In other news, at least nine people died in two successive suicide attacks in Helmand province which took place near a police station on Monday. Zemarai Bashary, an interior ministry spokesman, blamed the attacks on "the enemies of Afghanistan's people, the terrorists", a euphemism which generally refers to Taliban fighters. The attacks came just one day after the death of seven people at the hands of suicide bombers in the town of Gereshk, also in Helmand province.

Suicide bomb detonated in crowded Baghdad market

A market explosion in Baghdad resulted in the death of 11 people and injured 30 last Wednesday. The suicide bombing took place after a pick-up truck was abandoned at the al-Rasheed market, which is located in the southern Dura area and is one of the largest co-operative produce markets in the Iraqi capital. This attack was the latest in a string of suicide bombings that have been on the increase in the lead-up to US withdrawal from the country. April saw an increase in violence to levels matching those of last September, and indications have come from both American and Iraqi officials that troops may remain in some particularly restive areas even past the withdrawal date.

Hundreds of civilians die as Sri Lanka conflict rages on

Doctors in Sri Lanka tending to the wounded on Sunday reported that over 370 civilians had died after an all-night raid laid waste to areas in the northeastern conflict zone. Attacks on hospital and civilian targets are increasing in this long-enduring conflict, and over the weekend Human Rights Watch condemned the Sri Lankan army for its strikes on hospitals in the conflict zone. Both government officials and representatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have blamed Sunday's attack, which left an additional 1100 people injured, on the other party. Whilst the LTTE accused the state military of launching attacks on designated no-fire zones, the government has denied this and turned accusations around on the LTTE who, they say, are responsible for the shelling of Tamil civilian areas in an attempt to implicate the government. Reliability of such claims remains difficult to gauge due to the banning of journalists and humanitarian organisations from the conflict zone.

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Afghan president Hamid Karzai met US president Barack Obama and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari today, voicing angry protest at the "unjustifiable and unacceptable" US airstrike in Farah province suspected to have killed over 100 people, mostly civilians. In Farah itself, shots were fired and the government offices stoned, wounding several people including local officials. In the Swat Valley neighbouring Afghanistan, meanwhile, Pakistan's own airforce has provoked criticism and fears of a major humanitarian disaster following continued bombing raids.

The toD verdict: Since its inception, the use of airpower for ground assault has divided opinion on its political and military effectiveness. This latest phase in its application, to the so-called "Af-Pak war" with Taliban and other militants, has done little to allay the controversy.

The attacks at Farah are only the latest and grandest in a series of US airstrikes which the UN estimated to have caused the vast majority of the 828 civilian deaths at the hands of US forces in 2008. US military representatives claimed the attack was ordered by Afghani forces and vetted by their command, but an on-the-spot enquiry was launched and Secretary of State Clinton announced that US officials "deeply regret" civilian deaths.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, which had also criticised US use of airstrikes, has employed similar tactics on a huge scale. Thousands of people fled the Swat Valley after army ground operations were joined by air-raids after the local truce with Islamist militants in the region brokedown on Wednesday. Aid agencies fear that up to 800,000 people, half the Swat population, may be forced to flee the region, numbers sufficient to prompt a humanitarian crisis and induce further strains on the country's fragile economy. The UN High Commission on Refugees has already begun dispatching aid to the region and cooperated with Pakistani authorities in establishing camps for those escaping the fighting.

The greatest fallout of the airstrikes however may be political; the Taliban will try to capitalise on any impression that Zardari has bowed to US pressure. Civilian suffering at government hands may increase sympathy for the insurgents.   

Presidents Karzai and Zardari are trapped between pressure from the US and domestic public opinion. Their survival in office depends on a dangerous tightrope walk, faced with either losing crucial US military support against enemies of their regimes and alienating popular opinion and empowering violent opposition. Despite US claims that meetings in Washington today were a success and that the parties had "reaffirmed their commitment" to a common plan, these fundamental tensions seem inescapable without a radical change in the tactics of the Af-Pak counter-insurgency.

BBC video below:

Israeli army and Palestinian militants exchange fire

Sporadic violence broke out today in Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli air force wounded four people in strikes on smuggling tunnels in the Gaza strip after mortar bombs launched from Gaza struck a field in Israel. Meanwhile, in the West Bank town of Bir Zeit, an Israeli soldier was killed in a raid, possibly in a friendly fire incident. In Israel itself, a Palestinian was shot dead approaching a shrine holy to both Muslims and Jews in Hebron. Israeli military police claimed he had defied orders to halt and evaded a checkpoint but they could not report whether he was armed.

Israeli military measures have been subject to UN criticism in recent days, blaming its occupation for economic stagnation and restrictions to Palestinian freedom of movement in and around Bethlehem, and criticising attacks on UN buildings during Israeli operations in Gaza last December.      

US will not waver, Arab allies told

US defence secretary Robert Gates visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia in recent days to reassure the longstanding allies that detente with Iran will not damage either nation's privileged partnership with the US. Gates dismissed the idea of a comprehensive settlement with Iran as "very remote", but the Gulf Cooperation Council still found it necessary to plead that US peace feelers "will not come at our expense". Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are particularly anxious at the prospect of increased Iranian power, fearing the possibility of Iranian-instigated subversion among their Shia populations as well as Iran's more traditional military threat.

Attempts to improve Russia-US relations founder on Georgian rocks

Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov meets US president Barack Obama today in attempt to patch up the countries' frayed relations, but in Georgia a proxy conflict still smoulders. Today a scheduled meeting between Georgia and representatives of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia was cancelled. Yesterday, Russia and NATO engaged in tit-for-tat measures with the expulsion of two NATO diplomats from Moscow and two Russians from NATO HQ in Brussels. On Tuesday Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili triumphantly claimed to have crushed an allegedly Russian-backed army mutiny, dispatching a tank regiment to a military base twenty miles east of Tbilisi.

Last night, the US-supported government was again on the defensive as opposition groups mounted a violent protest outside a police station in the capital in which dozens of protestors and six police officers were wounded. Around 3,000 opponents of the government later reconvened in parliament square, protesting at the continued detention of three fellow activists. The actions coincide with controversial NATO military exercises held in the country, which Russia had denounced as an unnecessary provocation.   

Rare US critique of Israeli nuclear capacity   

Rose Gottemoeller, an Assistant Secretary of State and the US's chief nuclear negotiator, included Israel in roll-call of states whose adherence to the Non Proliferation Treaty is "a fundamental objective of the United States". The speech breaks with traditional ambiguity from both sides in the Israeli-US partnership. Shimon Peres meanwhile stoked fears of a pre-emptive Israeli strike if Iran defies its commitment to the NPT. Speaking to Jewish leaders in New York, he promised not to "cross out any other options" should talks fail to halt Iranian nuclear activity.

Government intensifies public relations offensive in Sri Lanka conflict

The Sri Lankan military posted a video on its website today purporting to show Tamil fighters in civilian dress forcing civilians to help in their war-effort. Independent reporting from the war zone is hampered by the barring of journalists from areas of intense fighting. The posting seems to be an attempt to deflect criticism for heavy civilian casualties, estimated at 6,500 in the last three months alone. The government has come under international fire for the alleged artillery bombardments of civilian safe-zones, with the most recent demands for an immediate ceasefire coming from the UN, a request so far ignored. Trading in accusations and recriminations has done little to help the estimated 200,000 people displaced by the conflict.

Gordon Brown is in Pakistan today amid expanding military operations against Taliban-controlled areas of the country, which somewhat fulfill his claim that the region is the "crucible of terrorism". Despite rumours that President Asif Ali Zardari snubbed the British Prime Minister by delegating today's press conference to his premier Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, both emphasised unity in the face of a common threat. Brown pledged £10 million in military aid and training for Pakistani forces and highlighted the security concerns arising from Britain's large Pakistani population.

The toD verdict: Brown's arrival in Pakistan could hardly have been better timed, as a major confrontation intensifies between government and Taliban forces. Pakistan escalated its offensive today launching air strikes against suspected hideouts in the Buner district that killed over 70 people while heavy fighting in Lower Dir caused 30,000 people to flee their homes. Although military officials claimed operations were enforcing breaches in its peace treaty with Pakistani Taliban, there is an obvious danger that fighting will spread and develop into an all-out civil war. A spokesman for the militant group Tehrik-e-Nifaaz Shariat Muhammadi, which suspended peace negotiations yesterday in protest, warned of a "storm" across Pakistan if the government did not halt its offensive.

While the action has been welcomed in many quarters in Britain and answers continued US calls for tougher domestic policy, Pakistan may find itself facing criticism akin to accusations it levelled against the US for its repeated aerial assaults against suspected Taliban targets in the northwestern border regions. Pakistan may, instead of pacifying its frontiers, embroil itself in a heightened conflict while losing the vital support of the population among which the Taliban militia operate. Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle. Sign up to receive toD's daily security briefings via email by clicking here

Three killed in Turkish police raids across Istanbul

Sixty separate raids against radical leftist and Islamist groups conducted across Istanbul last night left one militant, a senior police officer and a 16-year-old bystander dead. The casualties occurred as one police raid against Revolutionary Headquarters, a far-left organisation, degenerated into a six-hour-long firefight. Turkish media criticised the operations for a lack of preparation and for delays in cordoning off or evacuating the surrounding area, resulting in the shooting of a TV journalist who strayed too close to the fighting. Seven police officers were also injured in the raid, which marks the latest instalment in a violent struggle with the Turkish left going back to the foundation of the modern state in 1922. 

Hospital patients fall victim to Fatah-Hamas rivalry

Gazans with serious illnesses are some of the most recent victims of rivalry between Hamas and Fatah. The West Bank's Fatah government have withheld funds from a medical referral committee since it was taken over by Hamas officials on 22 March. The committee was responsible for arranging medical treatment abroad for sick Gazans, and its suspension has so far resulted in the death of eight Palestinians awaiting treatment in Israel and Egypt and the continued suffering of the approximate 1,000 patients referred abroad every month.

An Egyptian crackdown on smuggling into the Gaza strip has placed further strain on the war-torn territory. Reuters' sources estimate that up to 4/5 of crossborder activity has been curtailed since Israeli operations in Gaza began in December 2008 and shortages of consumer and goods and fuel are now reported.

Gaza's economic and physical health now depends on ongoing unity talks between Fatah and Hamas which were resumed in Cairo on Monday. Mushir el-Masri, a senior Hamas official, indicated in a press statement today that Hamas would "listen carefully to all suggestions and ideas that might end the current rift".  Meanwhile, the US appeared to be sending mixed messages regarding the possibility of a unity government. Secretary of State Clinton promised on Thursday that no "entity controlled by Hamas" would receive US aid just as the Obama administration proposed legal changes to Congress which conditionally permit the distribution of aid in the event of a coalition government.

Aid workers released by Somali captors

A Belgian doctor and Dutch nurse working for Medecins Sans Frontiers were released on Tuesday after nine days in the captivity of Somali gunmen. Their captors are thought to be local residents, unaffiliated with the Islamist al-Shabab group that controls the area where they were captured and ordered their unconditional release. The incident confirms Somalia's place as one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian work, with 35 aid workers killed in 2008 and 26 abducted. Nevertheless, the country remains in desperate need of support, with half the population thought to require food-aid. 

Tide turns against Somali pirates

Yemeni special forces yesterday succeeded in retaking a hijacked oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, capturing nine pirates and killing three others. Yemeni raids successfully recaptured two further vessels in a series of rare victories against piracy in the region. In a separate incident, pirates who launched a failed bid to capture an Italian cruiseship were fought-off by private security guards before being captured by a Spanish war ship and detained on the Seychelles islands.

Snub to Swedish foreign minister provokes EU diplomatic clash with Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan government prevented Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt from joining his British and French counterparts in a peace mission to the conflict stricken country. The mission signalled growing international pressure for a ceasefire, supported by the UN and EU since Monday. Europe has protested angrily at the measures, which were labelled "lamentable" by the Foreign Minister of Czech Republic, currently holding the EU presidency. Sweden has a long history of brokership in international conflict and helped monitor the now lapsed ceasefire between the government and Tamil Tigers from 2002 to 2006. The nation has withdrawn its ambassador from Colombo in response to the diplomatic affront.

Dick Cheney today entered the political fray over the US use of torture, demanding the CIA release classified information proving the "success" of interrogation techniques, which, he claimed, yielded "good" intelligence. These demands follow President Barack Obama's declassification of memos proving Bush administration approval of several methods, including waterboarding, which it did not classify as illegal torture because it was not "cruel, inhuman or degrading", a release Cheney has condemned as partial and "disturbing". Recent revelations have unearthed that one suspect, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was subjected to waterboarding 183 times and another, Abu Zubayadah, 83 times.

The toD verdict: Obama attempted to minimise controversy and put the American debate on the use of torture behind him, offering concessions such as granting amnesty to CIA operatives and refusing moves to prosecute members of the previous administration, but these efforts now seem certain to fail. Obama wanted to "acknowledge" mistakes and then "move forward", he reassured the CIA during a visit yesterday.

Republicans meanwhile seem likely to continue playing the patriot card. The claim that Democrats and other left-leaning Americans are unpatriotic and do not stand behind the country's armed forces and intelligence services is age-old. Cheney continued the tradition, calling on Obama "to stand up and aggressively defend America's interests". They may find further ammunition should the release of information lead to foreign moves to prosecute US nationals or bring further intelligence to light on the issue, a development which would seemingly set in opposition US interests and outside pressure, which Obama may be accused of kick-starting. 

The White House clearly foresaw the potential of a Republican backlash, but its measures to allay the fears of the American right, such as the call for "reflection, not retribution", have provoked accusations of a whitewash from many of the president's supporters on the left. Thankfully, however, it seems that no matter what the future intensity of the debate in the US, the country will discontinue the abhorrent practice of torture.

Dozens killed as vigilantes tackle Kenyan mafia

Vigilante groups armed with machetes, stones, axes and clubs killed over 24 people in pursuit of the Mungiki religious sect across central Kenya last night. The Mungiki, a religious turned criminal organisation, was banned in 2002 for extortion and its own brand of rough justice; a series of beheadings that prompted a police crackdown now taken into public hands. The night of violence follows days of vigilante action in the region during which one hundred alleged Mungiki members have been publically lynched. Three students and an 83-year-old man were among the victims of the man-hunt which vigilantes claim is endorsed by local police.   

South and North unite for Korean talks

South Korean envoys arrived in North Korea today for the first formal talks after President Lee Myung-bak took office over a year ago with the promise of a hard-line stance against North Korea. Since then, the situation in the region has deteriorated considerably, particularly with the internationally-condemned launch of a test missile by North Korea on 5 April. The two delegations were due to meet at Gaeseong industrial plant, a rare cooperative project between North and South and one threatened by worsening relations. The delegates, however, were forced to postpone negotiations following a dispute over where to convene the meeting, an indication of the far greater uneasiness these talks intend to allay.

Victory for Turkish nationalists threatens Cypriot reunification

The victory of the hard-line National Unity Party in Northern Cyprus polls on Sunday has upset recent progress towards the reunification of the divided island. The party's leader Dervis Eroglu, said that a unified Cyprus should not be the North's only goal. Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan today warned the new government against breaking off or changing the terms of the ongoing reunification talks, which were in turn precipitated by the victory of the Communist Greek Cypriot president Demetris Christofias last year.

Russia threatens walkout of NATO talks

Russia's relations with the west are again under strain over Georgia and the breakaway region of South Ossetia. The Russian-backed South Ossetian authority today detained two of the twenty OSCE monitors patrolling the Georgian side of the border for a "provocative" and illegal incursion into South Ossetian territory, it claimed. After several hours the pair were released. A similar incident occurred last February during which two monitors were also captured and later released.

The tensions parallel developments on the international stage where Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday condemned NATO's "dangerous decision" to hold military exercises in Georgia next month. Russia escalated their protests yesterday threatening to call off a forthcoming summit of senior military figures if NATO did not adequately respond to Russia's objections.

China revives gunboat diplomacy

The Chinese Navy's deputy in command, Vice Adm. Ding Yiping, promised to reveal the nation's latest sea-borne military hardware on Thursday as part of the fleet's 60th anniversary celebrations. The newly unveiled vessels will include its latest generation of nuclear submarines, so far hidden from public view, and possibly newly acquired aircraft carriers, all of which are feared to be part of a Chinese bid for technical parity with the US and Russia. China disputes the control of several islands, not least Taiwan, in neighbouring waters and has clashed on the issue with the Philipinnes, Vietnam and Japan. The admiralty and Chinese state media have, however, stressed international cooperation as China's goal, highlighting its recent contribution to policing the Somali coast.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said on Thursday that the United States is ready to talk to Cuba. Speaking the day before the Summit of the Americas, which will be attended by the representatives of 34 nations, excluding Cuba, Clinton went on to say that any such dialogue is likely to be dependent on improvements in openness and democracy in the one-party island state. Earlier in the week, President Barack Obama eased certain restrictions of the embargo on the island, in place now for 47 years.

The toD verdict: A key plank in Obama's foreign policy in his first term will be the rescuing of relations between the US and the other American nations from the nadir reached during the Bush administration. The Summit of the Americas due to be held on 17-19 April could be a pivotal moment in this process. In the days leading up to the conference, however, it has become clear that the lifting of the Cold War-era trade embargo will be a vital step in the rehabilitation of Cuba.

Speaking after talks with Clinton on Thursday, Haitian President Rene Preval may well have been speaking for many other stakeholders when he called for the lifting of the embargo and the inclusion of Cuba at subsequent summits between the American countries. Clinton's caveats at this point make it uncertain whether a breakthrough in this key area is imminent. However, the decline in recent years of the anti-Castro lobby's influence in Washington's halls of power, combined with the more conciliatory approach taken by the Obama administration in regards to foreign policy, may make this summit the best chance in nearly fifty years for Cuba to be brought in from the cold. 

Foreign nationals implicated as Bolivian assassination plot thwarted

According to Bolivian security forces, an attempt on the life of Bolivian President Evo Morales was foiled on Thursday. Three alleged conspirators were killed and two arrested in a gun battle with police that took place in a hotel in the city of Santa Cruz. According to Bolivian police Chief Hugo Escobar, the dead included two Hungarians. Speaking in Venezuela, where he is holding talks with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, President Morales also said that an Irish citizen may be involved. Alvaro Garcia, the vice-president, and another cabinet minister were also reportedly targets of the plot.

Thai crisis continues as "Yellow Shirt" leader shot

Sondhi Limthongkul, the leader of the People's Alliance of Democracy, has been shot and injured in Bangkok while travelling in car in the early hours on Friday. Nick-named the "Yellow Shirts" because of their apparel, the PAD's demonstrations in 2006 led to the downfall of then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his replacement by Abhisit Vejjajiva. Shinawatra's own "Red Shirt" supporters have been behind the recent demonstrations against Vejjajiva, though he himself has denied actively instigating the unrest.

The attempted assassination of Limthongkul, who is now out of danger after a successful operation, will almost certainly spark fears that the violence in Thailand, which looked to be abating with the surrender of red shirt leaders to police on Tuesday, may soon be rekindled.

China to stress "naval preparedness"

In an interview with China's Xinhua News Agency, People's Liberation Army Navy commander Wu Shengli has said that China's Navy needs to boost its ability to fight in regional seas. Listing plans to acquire "large surface ships" and "supersonic cruise aircraft", Wu also said that plans are in place to incorporate "non-military" options into the PLAN's abilities, including large scale rescue and off-shore construction.

The mention of "large surface ships" may be a reference to China's acquisition of its first aircraft carrier, long postponed for budgetary reasons. The acquisition of an aircraft carrier is considered by many military analysts to be a sine qua non for the defence of China's interests in the contested waters of the South China Sea, including its disputes with Japan over the Ryuku Islands and several other nations over the potentially oil-rich Spratly archipelago.   

Indian voters undaunted by terrorist violence

In the first day of voting in the Indian elections, Naxalite insurgents have killed at least eighteen people, including seven paramilitary troops and a policeman. The attacks took place in three restive states: Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Despite this, voter turnout has been steady with millions of Indians going to the polls. The overall turnout rate is estimated to be over 50 percent. In this, the world's most populous democracy, 714 million people are eligible to vote.

Amnesty for CIA operatives implicated in torture

On Thursday, the US Justice Department made public memos detailing so-called "enhanced" interrogation methods used on suspected members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations during the Bush administration. These techniques, which many authorities, including current US attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr, consider to constitute illegal torture, included sleep deprivation, placing detainees in stress positions and waterboarding.

However, Obama has resisted calls for an independent inquiry into the CIA's activities, saying that "nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past." Although he has banned the use of such measures, the president has said that CIA operatives who carried out such activities in the past will be exempt from prosecution.

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