Musharraf to abdicate army role?
Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf will step down from his position as chief of Pakistani military forces should he be granted a third term as president by the country's parliament in October. Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister due to return from exile to contend for the prime ministership, has demanded that Musharraf drop his army role as part of the deal that paves the way for her re-entry into Pakistani politics.
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Sign up to receive toD's daily security briefings via email by clicking hereOver 50,000 people attended the funeral of Maulana Hassan Jan in Peshawar in Pakistan's restive northwest. Jan was an influential leader in the region, and also believed to be a friend of the Taliban leadership. He was part of a delegation that attempted in 2001 to convince Mullah Omar to expel Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan in order to avoid US attack. He was shot dead by unknown gunmen on Saturday. Mourners at his funeral chanted anti-Musharraf and anti-American slogans.
Pakistani military officials agreed a ceasefire with militants in South Waziristan who are holding over 260 Pakistani soldiers hostage.
Militants killed 18 Pakistani soldiers in North Waziristan in recent clashes.
Abu Risha suspect captured
US military officials claim to have captured a suspected militant linked to the assassination of US ally and Sunni tribal leader Abdul Sattar Abu Risha. American and Iraqi forces have been under a great deal of pressure to show that Abu Risha's death will not derail the strategy of co-opting militant and tribal groups to fight against Sunni extremist insurgents and al-Qaida in Iraq. Over fifty people died in Iraq in violence over the weekend.
China restaurant blast
An explosion in a restaurant in China killed nine people and injured 25. The blast occurred in Wenjiashi in Hunan province. Investigators believe the blast to have been deliberate but were unsure of the motive behind the attack.
Blackwater's Iraq contract dries up
After private contractors from the security firm Blackwater opened fire on civilians in Baghdad on Sunday, killing nine people, US and Iraqi officials have revoked Blackwater's contract. Both contractors and US soldiers are immune from prosecution by Iraqis.
Latest from the Tuareg uprising
Eight people were killed when Tuareg militants attacked a Malian security convoy in north of the country, according to Mali's defence ministry. The ongoing Tuareg rebellion has affected Niger, Mali and Algeria.
Rebels released 14 Niger soldiers as a gesture of good will to mark Ramadan. The deal was brokered with the intervention of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Dagestan clashes
In the village of Novy Sulak in the insurgency-hit region of Dagestan, Russian police engaged militants in gun battles, which left two rebels dead.
Peace on the rocks in Nepal
Nepal's former Maoist rebels dropped out of the unity government after ongoing talks with the prime minister failed. The Maoists want the country to be declared a republic and the monarchy abolished ahead of scheduled elections. Analysts fear that the country may be sliding back towards civil war.
Egypt closes human rights organisation
Human Rights Watch has protested against the closing of human rights organisation the Association of Human Rights Legal Aid by order of the government of Hosni Mubarak, suggesting that Cairo is more interested in "obstructing" than protecting basic rights.
A new HRW report, Shell Shocked: Civilians Under Siege in Mogadishu, presents in detail the suffering of civilians in capital of Somalia, where fighting has raged through 2007.
Banana terrorism
A US court has ordered the Chiquita fruit company to pay a fine of $25 million for its dealings with a terrorist organisation in Colombia. Chiquita paid protection money to right-wing paramilitaries from 2001 to 2004.
