G8 support further measures against Iran
The Group of Eight (G8) will back "further appropriate measures" if Iran endeavours to elude United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1747, demanding the suspension of Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme. Iran refuses to suspend such activity, which it insists is designed to generate electricity.
A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, has said that the Iran-US bilateral talks concerning security in Iraq cannot be separated from discussions of Tehran's nuclear programme.
Turkish authorities have allegedly seized weapons off a train bound for Syria from Iran. The haul was recovered after the train was attacked on Friday near the town of Genc. Iranian embassy officials have denied that the weapons belonged to Iran.
NATO helicopter shot down in Helmand
A NATO Chinook helicopter crashed in the Kajaki district of Helmand on Wednesday, killing five American crew members and two military passengers. Reminiscent of events in Iraq two days ago, a rescue patrol was ambushed en route to the crash site, and forced to call for an air strike. The Taliban have taken responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, a Saudi Arabian prisoner at the United States detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has purportedly committed suicide.
US raids in Sadr City
US forces have conducted two raids in Sadr City. Two men of a kidnap gang were arrested, along with a six-strong "terrorist cell". The raids have not been officially linked to the kidnapping of five British contractors snatched from the Finance Ministry building on Tuesday.
A suicide bomber has killed at least 20 people in Falluja at a police recruitment centre.
Iraq is the epicentre of a conflict between the US and global jihadism, but only one side is thinking long-term, writes Paul Rogers on openDemocracy.
15 dead after Yemeni army operation
Fifteen are reported dead after the Yemeni army bombarded a village in the territories housing Shia Zaidi minority insurgents.
Fatah al-Islam members charged with terrorism offences
Nineteen Lebanese and one Syrian member of Fatah al-Islam in custody in Lebanon have been charged with terrorism offences - which carries the death penalty. The charges are said to be linked to recent fighting around the Nadr al-Bared refugee camp.
A Lebanese soldier is reported dead after fighting at Nadr al-Bared on Thursday. At least eight members of Fatah al-Islam have also been killed.
The establishment of an international court has been approved by the UN Security Council in trying those accused of murdering former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri and 22 others were killed on 14 February 2005 by a car bomb in Beirut.
Israel considers releasing Palestinian tax revenues
Israeli officials announced on Thursday that they are prepared to release withheld tax revenues to the Palestinians, as long as funds are transferred through a mechanism which prevents its use by either the Hamas-led Palestinian government or militants.
Turkish military downplays border manoeuvres
The head of the Turkish army's General Staff has downplayed military manoeuvres near the Iraqi border as routine, and designed to deter Kurdish separatists, after suspicion of a cross border incursion abounded when Ankara dispatched tanks to the area earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Turkish police have arrested eight people suspected of belonging to a militant religious group. On Wednesday, the state Anatolian news agency reported that 11 suspected members of al-Qaida had also been arrested in Istanbul.
Switzerland a hub for Islamist militants
A national Federal Police Office report has described Switzerland as comprising "a place for retreat, preparation, logistics and propaganda" for Islamist militants, owing to its legal system and strategic location.
Litvinenko a British spy
Former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoy, charged with the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, has disclosed that Litvinenko was working for the British secret service, and has pointed the finger at the latter for his death.
Seven jailed for Mumbai bombing
Two people have been sentenced to life in prison for the Mumbai bombing in 1993. Five others were sentenced to between five and ten years in jail by the Indian court.
Police in India have shot dead two ethnic Gujjar protestors in the western state of Rajasthan, two days after 13 members of the community were killed by police amid violent clashes.
Government-Tamil Tiger truce to die a death?
A Sri Lankan defence spokesperson has said that the government may decide to abandon the "flawed" 2002 ceasefire with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) within weeks, the truce only holding up on paper alone.
Canberra-Manila security pact
Australian forces are to train Philippine troops to tackle Islamist militants and Communist rebels in the region. The two states are also due to conduct joint counter-terrorism exercises, according to a new security pact signed by Canberra and Manila.
State of emergency in Fiji to end
Fiji's military leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, is to lift the state of emergency he imposed on the South Pacific archipelago after a bloodless coup in December 2006.
Read Sami Ben Gharbia's discussion on the anti-military Fijian Freedom Bloggers.
