After days of tension, fighting broke out along a disputed stretch of the Thai-Cambodian border on Wednesday, leading the Thai Foreign Ministry to urge Thai nationals in Cambodia to leave the country as soon as possible. On Monday, after accusations that Thailand was mobilising an increasing number of troops at the border between the two countries, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen had threatened to turn the area into a "death zone" unless Thai forces retreated by midday Tuesday.Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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The toD verdict: The amassing of Thai troops on the border territory near to the ancient temple of Preah Vihear caused the Cambodian government to issue the ultimatum to Bangkok. Thailand had promised "peaceful negotiations" with Cambodia over this tense border dispute, but continued to deploy troops. On Tuesday morning, the Cambodian prime minister said Thai troops had tried to advance into Cambodia's territory but that Cambodian soldiers had "waved them back", though Thai officials denied this. Talks were set to continue between the two governments on Wednesday, but the countries have so far exchanged more fire than words.
At the centre of the dispute is Preah Vihear, an 11th century Hindu temple which the UN listed as a World Heritage Site in July, a ruling that re-ignited a decades-old feud. Both countries have long claimed the temple but the World Court awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, and sovereignty over parts of the surrounding land remains unresolved.
It is thought that this is the first time the two sides are believed to have actually shot at each other, except for a brief gun battle which broke out this month, leaving one Cambodian and two Thai soldiers wounded.
White House endorsed torture techniques
Reports have emerged that the White House explicitly endorsed the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods against al-Qaida suspects in a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004. The memos, previously undisclosed, were requested by George Tenet, the CIA Director at the time, due to growing fears that the Bush administration might later distance itself from the agency's actions regarding the handling of al-Qaida suspects and leaders. These concerns were especially strong after the allegations surfaced regarding the mistreatment of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Only last month, government officials were continuing to deny that policymakers knew about the specific techniques employed. Administration officials confirmed the existence of the memos, but neither they nor former intelligence officers would describe the still-classified documents in detail.
Colombian unrest at free market policies
Violence erupted between indigenous protestors and riot police in southwest Colombia on Tuesday, leaving at least one person dead and 50 more injured. An estimated 7,000 "Indians" from different ethnic communities blocked the main Pan-American highway in at least four spots between Cali, Colombia's second largest city, and the city of Popayan. They are protesting against the Colombian government's free market economic policies, which they say have left them worse off than ever before. Cartagena, commander of the police's riot squad ESMAD, said that seven of his men had been hurt and also that the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had infiltrated the demonstration and were pushing the protest. Indian organisers deny these allegations, which are frequently used by the Colombian government to denounce social protests across the country.
Riots in Zimbabwe
Two hundred students protesting peacefully over the failure of most of Zimbabwe's universities to open at the start of the new academic year were charged by riot police yesterday, in a move which indicates that Robert Mugabe's government has returned to policies of violent suppression. Three students were arrested in the first such heavy-handed action by police since President Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing agreement on 15 September. Yesterday, the two leaders were locked in discussions over the distribution of cabinet posts. At the weekend Mugabe handed all but one ministry to his own Zanu (PF) party, effectively reneging on the deal. Tsvangirai has threatened to walk away from the power-sharing deal unless his party is granted some significant ministries.
Six dead in Pakistan attacks
Security forces killed four suspected militants on Tuesday night in a northwest Pakistani tribal region where the military has waged an offensive against insurgents since early August. Areas such as the Bajaur tribal region have been called a "mega-sanctuary" for militants. Threats to government security are strongest in the northwest, where al-Qaida and Taliban militants have established bases from which to plan attacks on American and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan. These deaths came on the same night as attacks on a security post near Darra Adam Khel, another area of the northwest, which killed two paramilitary troops and wounded three others.
Worries over Taliban expansion in Afghanistan
Reports have emerged that, after fighting the Taliban for the past seven years, many working for the Afghan security forces are now switching sides. The change is said to be primarily for ideological reasons, particularly due to the perceived "anti-Muslim" behaviour of international soldiers. The evident switch in allegiances comes as the UN special envoy to Afghanistan warned on Tuesday that the Taliban's influence continues to spread beyond traditional strongholds in the south and east to provinces around the capital Kabul.
The UN Security Council was also told that Taliban attacks, which are at a six-year high, would probably grow in the coming weeks instead of diminishing as they have in previous winters. The increased flow of insurgents from outside Afghanistan has also contributed to the heightened intensity of the fighting here this year. To combat the growing Taliban propaganda, the UK government has announced that it is developing a "new media" plan using devices like mobile phones and the internet to empower ordinary Afghans to counter the prevailing Taliban message. Non-governmental organisations would distribute mobile phones to Afghans for them to make their own video diaries.
In news of other incidents in Afghanistan, a total of 22 Taliban insurgents and six Afghan policemen were killed in two separate incidents on Tuesday night in the south of the country.
42-day detention rejected
The UK government has been defeated in the House of Lords on a bill to extent pre-charge detention from 28 to 42 days. However, the government said on Tuesday that it had drafted a new law to permit the police to hold terrorism suspects for 42 days without charge which would be held in reserve and only put in place in the eventuality of a terrorist attack in Britain.
