Attack on Harry Potter foiled
Police in the coastal Pakistani metropolis of Karachi defused a car bomb outside a shopping centre just hours before the last installment of the Harry Potter heptology was due to be launched there.
US military officials have conceded that al-Qaida has dug itself so deeply into the northwest of Pakistan that it remains largely inaccessible to both US and Pakistani military forces. "Eliminating" the terrorist network's safe-haven in the country will be impossible, but US officials believe they can make the restive northwest of Pakistan "less safe" for Pakistan.
To receive our daily security briefings, click here.Pakistan tested the Babur Hatf VII missile today, which can carry a nuclear payload and has a range of 700km.
The rendition of Abu Omar
In the London Review of Books, Jon Foot follows the trail of Osama Nasr (aka Abu Omar), an Egyptian refugee in Italy illegally detained and deported to Egypt to be tortured in 2003.
Save Iraqi Kurdistan from itself
Neoconservative commentator Morton Abramowitz demands that the United States diffuse the escalating tension between Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey lest it become a source of catastrophic instability in western Asia.
Sheth Jerjis argues against the planned referendum over the future of the disputed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on toD.
Europe's uneven counterterrorism policy
Michael Jacobson speaks to the Council on Foreign Relations' website about the uneven development of European counterterrorist policy. While states like the UK and Spain have taken great strides in creating a more sophisticated and effective approach to combating Islamist terrorism, newer members of the European Union are lagging behind.
Five British Muslim students, all either 19 or 20, have been sentenced to total of 13 years in jail for amassing al Qaida propaganda and planning to travel to Afghanistan to fight coalition forces there.
Communal violence flares in Nigeria
Hundreds of people have fled their homes as communal violence flares in central Nigeria in fighting between the Tiv and Kuteb communities.
Market security restored
Somali security forces have managed to re-open the main business centre in Mogadishu, Bakara market, which has been plagued by violence in recent weeks.
Opposition politicians in exile in Eritrea have slammed the ongoing peace conference in Mogadishu as insincere and a weak attempt by the current government to curry the favour of the Somali people.
Basra doctors on strike
Doctors in the southern Iraqi city of Basra have gone on strike for three days as they demand that the government better protect them and their families. Unidentified gunmen have killed twelve doctors in the city since the 2003 invasion.
Broader review in Haneef case
Australian legal authorities have launched a "a broader review" into the handling of the case of Indian doctor Mohammed Haneef after extensive protests from Indian officials and human rights activists. Haneef has been linked inconclusively to the attempted bombings in London and Glasgow.
Two militants have been killed in clashes with police forces in Kashmir.
Christian mob jailed under terrorism law
An Indonesian court has sentenced 17 Christians to jail terms of up to 14 years for their parts in the murder of 2 Muslims last year in the divided region of Poso on Sulawesi. The rulings were made under the country's anti-terrorism legislation which includes such hate crimes within its jurisdiction.
Economic pressure on Uighurs
Eurasianet reports on how the rapid economic development of western China and the region of Xinjiang has placed increasing strains and pressures on Uighur society.
A bit too diplomatic?
The Counterterrorism blog critiques Thailand's policy of nominating Muslim "ambassadors of peace" to attempt to soothe tensions in the restive south of the country, which remains in the grip of a Muslim separatist insurgency.
Arab League in Israel
Representatives of the Arab League met with top officials to propose their regional peace initiative in discussions dubbed "historic" by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Israel has shipped 1,000 rifles to the West Bank in a bid to strengthen the hand of Fatah in the divided politics of Palestine. Gaza remains under the control of an isolated Hamas.
