Israel closes in on Gaza
Israeli military raids on the Gaza Strip have killed 11 Palestinians in the last 24 hours. Since Israeli officials declared the Hamas-led Gaza Strip an "enemy entity", a military offensive against the strip has seemed inevitable.
On the Guardian's Comment-is-free, the first step to peace in west Asia is healing the divide between Palestinians, and ending the Hamas-Fatah feud.
Pentagon asks for more
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 hereRobert Gates, the US defence secretary, has asked for $190 billion more for funding the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the fiscal year. The amount is a third more than the initial projections of the Bush administration.
Bomb attacks today in Iraq have killed at least 57 people across the country. Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki cautioned that there was a long way to go before Iraq achieved anything approaching stability.
As part of a widespread counterinsurgency tactic of galvanising local support, tribal groups are organising police units to combat al-Qaida, even in the town of Tikrit, the heart of support for the late Saddam Hussein.
Read al-Qaida in Iraq's latest propaganda statements on the Counterterrorism blog.
The terrorist threat in the Maghreb
Violence is on the rise in north Africa, where Islamist militant groups have regrouped under the banner of "Al Qaida in the Maghreb". Alertnet provides a chronology of recent radical activity in the Maghreb, particularly in troubled Algeria.
Iranian academics condemn Bollinger
Presidents of Iran's universities have written a letter to Columbia University president Lee Bollinger, denouncing his "insulting" remarks to Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was delivering a speech at the Ivy League school. The letter includes a list of ten questions on US dealing with Iran, past and present.
Violence in Turkey's east
A mine planted by alleged Kurdish separatists killed two Turkish security officers as Ankara steps up its crackdown on Kurdish fighters in the restive southeast of the country. Several Kurdish militants were killed on Tuesday in a gun-battle with Turkish troops.
A German court has sentenced an Iraqi Kurd, identified as Burhan B., to a jail term of two and a half years for transferring 8,000 euros to the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al Islam.
Danish deaths in Afghanistan
Two Danish soldiers were killed in fighting with the Taliban in the restive southern Afghan province of Helmand. Denmark is set to increase its garrison in the country from 400 to 550 this month.
Taliban fighters have kidnapped four workers of the International Committee for the Red Cross, but will release them soon, according to a spokesman for the militant group.
Philippines crisis
The Philippine army and the separatist group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have accused each other of ending a four year ceasefire and jeopardising planned peace talks after a recent flare-up of violence.
