The way to go in Iraq
American foreign policy analyst Peter Galbraith argues in the New York Review of Books that the "way to go" in Iraq is by allowing the country to fragment, preserving the largely functioning democracy of Kurdistan, and guarding against the influence Iran extends into the Shia-dominated south.
In a toD debate, Kurdish activist Kani Xulam responds to Sheth Jerjis' case against the planned Kirkuk referendum.
To receive our daily security briefings, click here.Iraq casualties rise
Four separate bomb blasts have left at least 70 people dead in Baghdad. At least 1,652 civilians were killed in Iraq in July, one-third more than the number of civilians killed in June.
Six ministers from Iraq's Sunni bloc have left the Shia-led Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki after growing dissatisfaction with the government's inability to crackdown on Shia militias. The bloc's 44 parliamentarians will return to parliament after the summer recess, but warned they would reconsider their participation in the political process should further progress not be made.
According to Oxfam, nearly 8 million Iraqis are in need of emergency aid, while nearly half the population is living in "dire poverty".
The American carrier USS Enterprise has arrived in the Red Sea en route to the Persian Gulf, where US naval forces have been strengthened to intimidate Iran.
A new Red Mosque
Pro-Taliban militants in the northwest of Pakistan have taken over a shrine and dubbed it the "Lal Masjid" as a rallying cry for Islamist fighters across the country. The original Red Mosque in Islamabad was the scene of a divisive and bitter siege in July that has left Pakistan enormously divided.
On openDemocracy, Irfan Husain argues that the Lal Masjid affair has clarified Pakistan's battle-lines.
In custody
After killing two South Korean hostages, Taliban officials have announced that the remaining 21 are all alive.
Afghan special forces are rumoured to have launched an operation to rescue the hostages, while South Korean officials have beseeched the US to intervene aggressively in securing the release of the abducted church workers.
Haneef takes legal recourse
Released terrorism suspect Mohammed Haneef has filed an affidavit seeking the release of an internet chat transcript between him and his brother on the basis of which Australian immigration authorities cancelled his work visa in the country. The 27 year-old Indian doctor , who repeatedly tried to contact British police ahead of the failed London and Glasgow bombings, is convinced that the full transcript will show that his words were taken out of context.
A special court found 53 out of 60 defendants guilty of involvement in a series of blasts in the south Indian city of Coimbatore in 1998 that left 58 people dead. The five year trial examined over 1,300 witnesses.
