Hamas militants end truce
Combatants of Hamas' military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have ended their five-month truce with Israel, firing 61 mortars and 30 rockets into Israel on Tuesday. The group described the attack as in response to Israel having failed to respect the cease-fire, having killed nine Palestinians over the weekend.
Palestinian interior minister, Hani al-Qawasmi, submitted his resignation on Monday after the failure of his administration to stem the increasing lawlessness gripping the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh refused to accept Mr. al-Qawasmi's decision, who has agreed to remain in his post for the time being.
Deadline for US troop withdrawal
A Democrat-led congressional panel has agreed to a fiscal bill for the war in Iraq which sets 31 March, 2008 as a deadline for US troop withdrawals from the beleaguered state; if President Bush is unable to provide evidence that the country is stabilising, this process will begin on 1 October. Congress is set to vote on the legislation this week. Mr. Bush had indicated that he would veto such a proviso, and has lambasted the panel's decision.
Meanwhile, nine US troops were killed and a further 20 wounded yesterday in a suicide car bomb attack in the Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. A further 46 people were killed and at least 100 injured in a series of suicide attacks across Iraq.
Anti-Musharraf protests
3,000 Pakistani lawyers and activists demonstrated on Tuesday, during the hearing of former chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry. Protestors chanted anti-Musharraf slogans and burnt images of him. Demonstrators view General Pervez Musharraf's decision to suspend Chaudhry on 9 March, as having infringed on the independence of the national judiciary.
Tamil Tigers launch second air attack
Sri Lankan insurgents, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), have launched their second air raid attack against the national government, striking a military compound in Palaly, on the northern Jaffna peninsula, early on Tuesday. Six people are reported killed. LTTE launched their first air attack only last month.
Sudan's raging violence
A US draft proposal has been submitted to the UN for a further Security Council resolution on the Darfur region of Sudan. The request calls for an extended force to protect civilians threatened by violence, as well as a three-month extension for the southern Sudan force. The draft also requested that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ensures that the proposed hybrid force mandates the protection of "civilians under threat of physical violence" - the mandate for UN forces in Rwanda during the genocide there having famously failed to do so. US draft proposals faced considerable criticism.
Aid agencies in the town of Um Durhun in Darfur have been forced to suspend their work after coming under attack. Among the organisations are UK-based agencies Oxfam and Save the Children, and the US group Mercy Corps. This decision is said to affect the provision of services to some 100,000 people, it was announced on Monday.
Britain to recalibrate relations with Iran
The British government is to formally protest the Shatt al-Arab waterway incident - when 15 sailors and marines were held by Iran - through a "recalibration" of their relations with the Islamic Republic, a diplomat revealed on Monday. There is no desire to "take hasty measures", it was revealed, but there will likely be "repercussions in terms of policy options". A decision on the matter is expected once the review of Anglo-Iranian relations, requested by Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, has been conducted.
The Royal Navy have resumed their boarding operations in the northern Gulf, suspended in the wake of the Shatt al-Arab waterway incident.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Monday that Iran would not accept "double suspension" of its nuclear programme during the forthcoming talks with the European Union in Turkey, which resume on Wednesday.
Violence rages still in the streets of Mogadishu
Mogadishu is in the grips of a seventh day of violence, with heavy shelling and artillery fire strafing the city during fighting between Islamist gunmen and the Somali-Ethiopian alliance forces. Somalia's interim government has vowed to continue its offensive until it successfully eradicates the insurgency beleaguering its rule. Local residents have seen no sign of a strategic advancement being made by either side.
Nine Chinese oil workers are reported to have been killed by gunmen in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, which borders Somalia. Last year a dissident group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, had urged companies not to invest in this region.
Al-Qaeda 'propagandists' in court
Woolwich Crown Court yesterday heard that three men accused of inciting terrorism abroad, had sought to distribute violent al-Qaeda propaganda, including footage of hostage beheadings and 'martyrdom' eulogies, across the globe from their computers in Britain. The individuals are said to have had a "close affiliation" with al-Qaeda in Iraq, and were in possession of large quantities of audio recordings, film and documents promoting the ideologies of Osama bin Laden when police searched their premises.
