Fresh sanctions for Iran
Condoleezza Rice announced fresh American sanctions against Iran, principally targeted against the country's Revolutionary Guard and associated entities. Washington has accused the Guard of "proliferating weapons of mass destruction" and its Quds force of "supporting terrorism".
Iran dismissed the sanctions as an a play towards the American public an attempt to distract attention from the crisis in Iraq. Iranian officials also accused Washington of setting up "terrorist" camps in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has objected to the new US sanctions on Iran.
More bloodshed in Pakistan's northwest Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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At least twenty people were killed and 34 injured when an explosion tore through a Pakistani military convoy in the restive northwest. The blast occurred in the valley of Swat, where the military has just dispatched 2,000 troops to counter growing militant activity.
Terrorist list mushrooms
The US terrorist watch list has blossomed from fewer than 20 before the 9/11 attacks to over 755,000 names.
A new war in Iraq's north
Iraqi authorities have urged Turkey to consider a non-military solution to dealing with Kurdish militants hiding out in the Kurdish autonomous region in the north of the country. Turkish troops have already pushed at least ten kilometres into Iraq in the campaign against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Turkish military officials claim to have killed 30 PKK rebels near the border.
Gulay Gokturk in Bugun argues that the European press consistently provides favourable coverage of the PKK.
The Counterterrorism blog suggests that Turkey is clamping down on coverage of military operations along the border with Iraq.
More Danish controversy Countries mentioned in today's security brief:
- Russia
- Iraq
- Turkey
- Afghanistan
- USA
- Iran
- India
- Pakistan
- Denmark
The right-wing Danish People's Party has included a depiction of the prophet Mohammed in an advertisement ahead of next month's election. DPP spokespeople have defended the move as an expression of "free speech" and "Danish values". Critics, including a leading Danish Muslim group, have described the advertisement as deliberate provocation, and as an exploitation of the bitter passions stirred by last year's cartoon controversy.
Muslim protests in Mumbai
Thousands of Muslims jointed protests in the Indian city of Mumbai, demanding justice for the killing of hundreds of their co-religionists in riots in 1993. An Indian court recently sentenced dozens of Muslims in connection with the bombing of the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1993.
