Turkey refutes incursion claims
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyib Erdogan has reiterated that parliamentary approval would be sought prior to any military incursion into northern Iraq, while Turkey's foreign ministry and military refuted reports on Wednesday that any such incursion had been carried out in pursuit of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists.
Iraqi parliament to determine future of US-led forces
Iraq's government must request permission from parliament prior to asking for an extension of the United Nations (UN) mandate for United States-led forces in Iraq, it was declared on Tuesday. Sunnis joined Muqtada al-Sadr loyalists, along with another Shia party, in voting for the bill.
Workers from the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU) struck on Monday at the pipeline company in Basra, Iraq, demanding that the Oil Ministry take action against the pipeline's general manager, and that the company be managed locally. The strike brought the flow of oil products to Baghdad to an immediate standstill.
Osama bin Laden alive and well
Mansour Dadullah, the new military leader of the Taleban in Afghanistan, has said that Osama bin Laden is alive and well, and continues to issue orders to his commanders, having sent a letter of condolence to the new leader after the death of his brother Mullah Dadullah, who was killed by coalition forces in May.
Najib Manalai, an adviser to Afghanistan's minister of culture and youth affairs, has described the Taleban as a composite of different components, "hijacked by Pakistani intelligence services and by international terrorist groups". Where there exists de facto leadership, its interest is with international terrorism, rather than a national agenda.
Human rights groups condemn "disappearances"
Six human rights groups have issued a list of 39 people purportedly imprisoned by the United States in secret, the whereabouts of whom are unknown, and have called upon the Bush administration to suspend its policy of "disappearances". US officials defend these measures, saying that it is often essential that terrorist networks do not learn of such detentions ahead of planned operations.
A suspected al-Qaida member, Abdullah Sudi Arale, has been transferred to the US military prison in Guantánamo Bay, after being detained in the Horn of Africa. He is accused of smuggling arms and explosives to al-Qaida operatives in East Africa and Pakistan. The Pentagon alleges that he was also a member of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in Somalia, although the UIC denies any links to al-Qaida.
Crackdown on liberties in Pakistan
Pakistani police have arrested 312 political party workers during the last few days in the Punjab province, in advance of a planned protest against new government restrictions on the news media.
Corporate lawyer, journalist and talk show host, Ayesha Tammy Haq, discusses the perplexing nature of censorship in General Pervez Musharraf's Pakistan. The Glasshouse also provides an interesting assessment of such censorship.
International Crisis Group insists that Western friends of Pakistan must deliver a clear message that emergency rule is unacceptable, and that Pakistan should return to democratic government, with free, fair and democratic elections by the end of the year.
Zia investigated on murder charge
Police in Bangladesh are to investigate allegations that former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, along with 27 others, were involved in a grenade attack on a rally hosted by Zia's political rival, Sheikh Hasina, which killed 23 members of the Awami League on 21 August 2004. About 150 people were also wounded in the attack.
Fatah man dies amid factional fighting
A Fatah member has been killed by Hamas fighters, after the latter reportedly encircled the house of Fatah men, threw explosives and exchanged gunfire. He is the first casualty in two weeks, with a truce between the two factions looking ever shaky.
The Lebanese army conducted another night of bombardment on the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp on Thursday, with helicopters and tanks deployed.
BAE systems paid-off Saudi prince
Ex-Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, was paid hundreds of millions of pounds by the United Kingdom's largest arms dealer, BAE Systems, for his role in securing the 1985 arms deal to sell more than 100 warplanes to Saudi Arabia. The UK Ministry of Defence were aware of the payments.
Eleven suspected Islamist militants have been detained in Saudi Arabia during the last 48 hours, the state news agency reported on Thursday.
