Iran supported Britons' kidnap
United States commander in Iraq General David Petraeus has accused a "secret cell" of Jaish al-Mahdi [al-Mahdi Army], which he says has been trained, funded and armed by Iran, of having abducted five British civilians - four security guards and a consultant - in Baghdad last month. The same cell of this Shia militia, loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, is thought to have slain US soldiers in Karbala in January.
Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi submitted his resignation last week, after the second bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra on 13 June. He described the destruction of the two minarets as being as "important to us as September 11", and accused corrupt police of abetting Sunni insurgents. Yet, Abdul Mahdi has said he will remain as VP for the time being at the promise of progress by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
At least 30 alleged fighters have been killed by US and Iraqi troops in operations to the northeast of Baghdad, during the second day of joint action against suspected al-Qaida bases near the city of Baquba in Diyala province.
China cancels Iraq debt
Beijing has pledged to "reduce or forgive Iraq's debt [to China] on a large scale", and said that it will help to rebuild the country's shattered economy, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry announced on Thursday.
Taleban replicating tactics of Iraqis
A spokesperson for the Taleban in Afghanistan has told the BBC that the group is to heighten efforts in the capital, Kabul, where "foreign troops are concentrated". The group, which are said to be recovering well after recent NATO infiltration and attacks, has also vowed to replicate the suicide tactics employed by Iraqi insurgents, with more people now volunteering to carry out such attacks.
As many as 35 people were killed on Sunday when a police bus was bombed, marking the deadliest attack in the city since 2001.
PLO calls for dismantling of militia groups
A governing body of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) has called for the rival factions of Hamas and Fatah to dissolve their militias - the Executive Force and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades respectively. The PLO central council's decision was taken on Thursday, though it is unclear how this step - a longstanding proviso demanded by the US and Israel for pursuing a "road map" to peace - might be implemented.
Hamas' victory in Gaza has drawn new political lines of division across the region. What now? Yossi Alpher considers two options on openDemocracy.
Abbas rejects dialogue with Hamas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to converse with Hamas, who he accuses of carrying out a coup in the Gaza Strip. He also lambasted Hamas' leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal for plotting to assassinate him, and described their members as "murderous terrorists" in a television address on Wednesday. Hamas labelled these comments as "disgusting".
Meanwhile, Abbas is to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week in Egypt, along with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah. It will be their first meeting since Hamas seized power in Gaza. Olmert's spokesperson has said that the talks will be aimed at reaching a "mutual cooperation and ways to go forward on the Israeli-Palestinian track".
Bin Laden honoured amid Rushdie affair
Amid the flurry of controversy at Queen Elizabeth II awarding Salman Rushdie with a knighthood for his services to literature, a group of hardline Pakistani Muslim clerics, the Pakistan Ulema Council, have bestowed the religious title of "Saifullah" (a sword of Allah) on Osama bin Laden.
Yet, the author of Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses deserves his mark of public esteem, says Lisa Appignanesi on openDemocracy.
EU cautions against Kosovan unilateralism
The European Union (EU) has cautioned Kosovo against making any "irresponsible" declaration of independence in the wake of a further rejection by Russia of a Western-backed United Nations (UN) resolution, which would effectively grant Serbia's breakaway southern province with self-determination. EU Kosovo envoy Stefan Lehne noted that such a move would build many more obstacles in the way of independence for the territory.
War crimes charges against Sierra Leone rebels
Three senior members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), allied to the notorious Revolutionary United Front (RUF), have been convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a Sierra Leonean war crimes tribunal in Freetown.
Nigerian forces to dislodge oil platform captors
Troop reinforcements and four gunboats have been despatched to an oil platform in the Niger Delta, seized by militants on Sunday. Around 28 people are held captive on the platform run by Italian firm Eni. Freed militant leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari has urged against taking hostages, proclaiming that "We are fighting injustice, we should not do injustice to other people".
Initial reports from Reuters AlertNet disclose that 12 militants have been killed amid clashes with Nigerian forces at the oil facility, while 11 of the suspected 16 Nigerian oil workers have been found.
UNSC urge Rwanda and DRC to cooperate
UN Security Council ambassadors have called on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to engage in cooperation with neighbouring Rwanda in order to find a political solution to violence in its eastern border region. The Tutsi-dominated Congolese army have sought to drive out Rwandan Hutu dissidents from the eastern Kivu provinces, in the midst of which civilians have been targeted with murder, rape and displacement.
Darfur rebels say Khartoum attacked forces
Darfur dissidents have said that government troops have attacked their forces near the Chadian border, claiming that three civilians were kidnapped. African Union (AU) forces were also attacked, though the allegiance of their attackers is unknown.
In grappling with the conundrum of ‘What drives Khartoum?', on the Social Science and Research Council blog, Alex de Waal contends that the government of Sudan "consists of multiple competing power centers, and that most of its policies are incoherent or dysfunctional". This serves to heighten the cost and process of making peace.
Six Guantanamo Bay prisoners extradited
Six Guantanamo Bay prisoners have been transferred back to their home countries, though US officials have not disclosed their identities. Four of the men are to return to Yemen, while the other two are to be sent to Tunisia. Lawyers for one detainee, a 50-year old identified as Abdullah bin Omar, fear that he could face abuse on his return for his political activities.
The long, brutal story of the United States' physical violation of detainees in the name of the 'war on terror' is far from finished, says Aziz Huq on openDemocracy.
TamilNet blocked in Sri Lanka
TamilNet, a popular pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) website, accessed by supporters, diplomats and journalists alike, has been blocked in Sri Lanka. All the major internet service providers have blocked the site at the behest of the government, claim media rights group Free Media Movement. Officials deny the accusation.
ICT for Peacebuilding explores the story.
South Korea incurs Pyongyang warning
Pyongyang has accused South Korea of sending naval vessels into its territorial waters off the west coast and warned of retaliatory action, on Thursday. Seoul denies this accusation. North Korea says it has repeatedly warned Seoul about "such reckless intrusion", and will not continue to allow these misdemeanours to go unabated.
Meanwhile, US chief nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill has arrived in North Korea on a surprise two-day visit designed at speeding up six-nation talks aimed at finally dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programme.
