1. Global Terrorism Monitor
2. Political Risk Monitor
3. AML/CFT Monitor
4. Emerging Threat Monitor
5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor
6. Disaster Reduction Monitor
7. Recommended Reading
8. Asset Management Network News

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1. Global Terrorism Monitor

Terrorism is a global phenomenon, and The Global Terrorism Monitor, is the only publication that directly addresses the key transnational issues this represents. Published monthly, it includes expert analysis, statistical trends, and the policies, practices, and technologies that help to mitigate this persistent threat.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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GTM Africa
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The US Embassy in Algiers has warned Americans of a possible terror attack against flights carrying Western workers in Algeria.
http://algiers.usembassy.gov/uploads/images/ooeiesX5YXBqP2-gWK5gWw/Warden_Message___12_March_2007.pdf

Central African Republic (CAR) army and rebels continue to clash, leaving several civilians dead and homes burnt down.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70730
http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/9907

In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the deadline for personal armies of Jean-Pierre Bemba and Azarias Ruberwa have passed without the groups disbanding. Meanwhile, fighting erupted between the national army and a Hutu rebel group, leading some 10,000 civilians to flee.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=302254
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70689

Eritrean authorities are assisting four UK embassy workers and a French citizen kidnapped in Ethiopia on 1 March. Although these five have been released, eight Ethiopians captured at the same time remain in custody. Ethiopia denies that any rebels operate in the Afar region where the abductions occurred. It blames Eritrea, and insists that the eight Ethiopians still held hostage be freed.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391638&a=KArticle&aid=1173560835047
http://allafrica.com/stories/200703130198.html

"Targeting Women: the forgotten victims of the conflict" is a new Amnesty International report that reveals the brutal nature of attacks against women and girls during the ongoing conflict in Ivory Coast, including many cases used by government security forces and armed opposition groups in a deliberate strategy to instill terror in the civilian population.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR310012007

Kenyan human rights activists have accused authorities of capturing more than 150 men, women, and children fleeing the recent war in Somalia and working with US authorities to render the prisoners to secret prisons in Ethiopia and Somalia.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/africa/somalia/usinvolvement.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/40916.html

In Morocco a man with explosives under his shirt killed himself and injured three people at an internet cafe in Casablanca's Sidi Moumen district. Subsequently, eight people suspected of involvement were arrested. Later in the week, a raid targeting weapons and explosives led to four more arrests. Those arrested are believed affiliated with the Salafi Jihadi movement.
http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/210673
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-03-14T110733Z_01_BAN440032_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-MOROCCO-ARRESTS-20070314.XML
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=80470
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6456843.stm

The Nigerian military conducted an operation that freed two Croatians and one Montenegrin oil worker kidnapped from a bar last month in the Niger Delta. Two Italian oil workers with Agip were kidnapped on 7 December, and freed Thursday. A French oil worker held since February was freed on Friday. Nonetheless, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) says it will step up abductions, bombings, and other attacks on facilities throughout the oil-rich Niger Delta.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/march07/13032007/f313032007.html

The Coalition for Militant Action in the Niger Delta issued an online demand that the federal government and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have two months to address eroding shorelines in Kula lest action is taken to close oil flow stations.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/niger_delta/nd412032007.html

A mortar bomb attack on Somalia's presidential palace killed at least eight people on Tuesday. Gunfights between Ethiopian troops and insurgents followed. An internally displaced persons camp was among the targets hit, killing a number of civilians. On Friday a suspected suicide bombing killed seven people.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70690

An increasingly sophisticated insurgency and political intrigue threaten to return Somalia to chaos and spread instability in a volatile region.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20777

South Africa's National Intelligence Coordinating Committee coordinator Barry Gilder reports that an inter-departmental task force has been formed to monitor individuals and organizations that may be involved in international terrorism.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=301867
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=302003

Sudan has been found partly responsible in US court for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. The judge will take more time to determine damages for the families of the 17 sailors killed in the suicide attack against the ship.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2946458
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1598714,00.html
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20769

The UN High-Level Mission to Darfur, Sudan, reports, "With the emergence of armed rebellion in the region, and the recruitment by the Government of proxy militias to respond to the rebellion, civilians emerged as the primary targets and victims. Government forces often acted in concert with Janjaweed/militia, including in violations of human rights. Rebel movements also engaged in human rights abuses. Armed banditry and criminal activities have increased significantly. Numerous efforts by the international community have not been successful in ending the conflict. Rebel movements have become increasingly fragmented and abuses have continued.... Today, millions are displaced, at least 200,000 ate dead, and the conflict and abuse are spilling over the border into Chad. Making matters worse, humanitarian space continues to shrink, and humanitarian and human rights actors are increasingly targeted.... Darfur suffers from longstanding economic marginalization and underdevelopment, and the conflict has resulted in further impoverishment. As violations and abuses continue unabated, a climate of impunity prevails". They called for urgent international intervention. Arab and Muslim states, China and Russia united in their calls for the UN to ignore the report.
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/4session/A.HRC.4.80.pdf
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=93843

Uganda has transferred to Rwanda eight men suspected of links to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a group predominantly of Hutu extremists that participated in the 1994 genocide. FDLR rebel leader Ignace Murwanashyaka is also wanted, but he resides in Germany, and an international arrest warrant as yet has not been issued.

Five African countries have agreed to assist in resuming peace talks between Uganda and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. LRA leader Joseph Kony set 18 other conditions, including security guarantees and increased allowances. LRA has agreed to resume talks.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/news/news03131.php
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70644
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GTM Americas
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Argentina blames nine former Iranian officials for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center. Interpol has agreed to seek the arrest of Imad Fayez Mughniyah, Ali Fallahijan, Mohsen Rabbani, Ahmad Reza Asghari, Ahmad Vahidi and Mohsen Rezai. They have rejected applications to arrest former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Velayati and Hadi Soleimanpour.
http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2007/PR200705.asp

Alfredo Astiz ("Blond Angel of Death"), Jorge Eduardo Acosta, Raul Vildoza, Antonio Vanek and Hector Antonio Febres have been sentenced to life in prison in absentia in an Italian court, for "Dirty War" deaths of three Italian-Argentines. Astiz is detained in Argentina during an investigation for his role in dissident disappearances in the 1970s. He was convicted in absentia in France for the murder of two nuns. Italy will request extradition.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L14560088.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6481174,00.html

Brazil has arrested Cesare Battisti, a successful crime writer and former member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism, a left-wing Italian extremist group. He was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for four murders, but continues to deny the charges, and was granted asylum in France in 1990.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/18/europe/EU-GEN-France-Brazil-Fugitive.php

Colombia's paramilitary collaboration scandal continues to grow. This week, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant on kidnapping charges for former congressman and minister Alvaro Araujo Noguera. He is also the father of former Foreign Minister Maria Consuelo Araujo, who resigned in February after her brother Senator Sivaro Araujo was jailed. Prosecutors in Colombia also filed electoral fraud charges against Trino Luna, the governor of the influential coastal state of Magdalena.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13470953.htm
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-colombia13mar13,0,3731246.story

On Friday a bomb struck the Pacific port of Buenaventura. Four passers-by were killed and five injured. In the western city of Cajamarca, a bomb exploded on a bus, but there were no casualties. In neither case is responsibility known.

Chiquita Brands International, a US banana company, has agreed to pay $25 million and plead guilty for paying protection monies of some $1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Colombia is considering whether to extradite US officials.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070315/NEWS01/703150350
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17256772.htm

Leftist militant groups the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the
ELN also received some payments from Chiquita. On Tuesday this week, nine Colombian geologists were kidnapped, and four oil workers are missing.
http://www.mineweb.net/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page66?oid=16218&sn=Detail

Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez is joining peace talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

Mexican narco-terrorists have been operating in northern areas near the US border, but their grisly killings have now spread to Tabasco state along the Gulf coast. Following information of police collusion, soldiers have taken over police headquarters and seized police weapons.
http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/miami/23799.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6463477.stm

Peru has asked the National Human Rights Council to make clear that an order to apologize to and compensate Shining Path rebels as victims also makes clear that they were victimizers.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17221873.htm

Ahead of the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, there have been anti-war protests across the US, Europe, Canada and Australia.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/77129AD3-9802-45F4-8EA5-47A3117B76E8.htm

"Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq" is a quarterly report to Congress that for the first time states that "some elements of the situation in Iraq are properly descriptive of a 'civil war''".
http://www.defenselink.mil/home/pdf/9010_March_2007_Final_Signed.pdf

The US Department of Defense has released a list of al Qaeda attacks it says that Khalid Sheikh Muhammad has admitted during a secret Combatant Status Review Tribunal hearing. There is concern that his claims in more than 30 incidents could complicate other cases.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/transcript_ISN10024.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/guantanamo/story/0,,2034561,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2811855.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/us/16legal.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/16/wqaeda116.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_16032007

Human Rights Watch has called for the US to release Exhibit D of Khalid Sheikh Muhammad's statement describing his alleged torture in CIA custody. Two senators who observed the proceedings have also called for an investigation.
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/03/15/usdom15496.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602033.html

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on The Threat of Islamic Radicalism to the Homeland, with testimony from three Department of Homeland Security officials who believe that the threat of homegrown terrorism is growing.
http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=423
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GTM Asia Pacific
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The man suspected of planning to blow up Australia's only nuclear research power station, Willy Brigitte, has been sentenced in French court to nine years for links to terrorist groups.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/jail-for-brigitte-found-guilty-of-plot-to-bomb-nuclear-reactor/2007/03/16/1173722663146.html

Kazakhstan border guards arrested a Russian attempting to smuggle a homemade grenade in a pot of honey.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=414552007

Philippines police have requested that Interpol issue a red notice for exiled Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison and National Democratic Front chairman Luis Jalandoni.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/03/12/rp.seeks.help.in.arrest.of.communist.leader.html

The New People's Army (NPA) is suspected in attacks on three cell phone towers this week, after Globe Telecomm refused extortion demands. NPA leader in Zamboanga Erwin Moli and 13 associates surrendered to police.

Alleged Jemaah Islamiah bomb expert Akmad Salludin was arrested on Tuesday, during a raid on a suspected safe house.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/03/15/ji.bomb.suspect.admits.araw.bombing.plot.html

Abu Sayyaf member Omar Opik Lasal ("Merang Abante", "Criz Lazar", "Amba") was arrested on Friday.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=55483

After the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) warned that peace talks were in jeopardy, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered military restraint. There is no similar reduction in activities targeting the New People's army (NPA). NPA has admitted responsibility for the La Libertad ambush that killed a village chief and six other people on 9 March.

In southern Thailand on Monday, Narathiwat police raided a village suspected of housing a Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) rebels. In Yala, a man working in a rubber plantation was shot dead, and a bomb exploded in front of a food stall, injuring nine people. There were shootings and arson attacks on Tuesday. A major attack occurred on Wednesday, when gunmen opened fire on a minivan that stopped in front of a fallen tree. Nine people, all Buddhists, were savagely killed, including two children. One passenger was injured, and the Muslim driver also survived. Angry protests across the region followed, and more than a dozen suspects are being questioned. A curfew has also been put in place, and more troops will be mobilized next month. On Friday, drive-by shootings killed three Muslims and injured a Buddhist and two Muslims in two separate incidents. An attack against an Islamic school on Saturday left three teenagers dead and seven injured. Local police accused Muslim separatists of carrying out the attack to instigate villagers.
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GTM Europe
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The European Commission has summarized its anti-terrorism activities:
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/98

Widely varying characteristics of suspected Islamic extremists make profiling unreliable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101618.html
http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/?id=6480&&type=summary

A French court has found Willie Brigitte, a French national from Guadeloupe, guilty of links to Laskhar-e-Toiba. He is suspected of running training camps in France and plotting attacks in Australia, and has been jailed for nine years.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1520123620070315
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/15/europe/EU-GEN-France-Terror-Trial.php
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3224,36-883659,0.html (in French)

French police arrested Xabier Irastorza, Inaki Telletxea and Markos Sagarzazu, all suspected members of Basque separatist group ETA.
http://www.eitb24.com/new/en/B24_39366/politics/POLICE-OPERATION-Three-suspected-ETA-members-arrested-sent/

Germany has rejected threats against two Germans held hostage in Iraq and warnings of terrorist attacks if German troops are not withdrawn from Afghanistan.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2380448,00.html

Italian immigration sweeps after 9/11 led to the wrongful arrest of 15 people accused of plotting to attack the US embassy with chemical weapons. One of those arrested was Abdelmoname Ben Khalifa Mansour, who was detained on charges of belonging to a group linked to al Qaeda and detained for 1.5 years before the case collapsed and all defendants were acquitted. Mansour has now become the first person to win damages ($132,000) for wrongful arrest under an antiterrorism law. Other victims are now pursuing similar legal action.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/world/europe/17italy.html

A speech by Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev reveals that a tenth of the country is under the control of organized criminal organizations.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2359101.ece

Federal Security head Nikolai Patrushev cited achievements of the anti-terror committee. In 2006, they found and arrested 150 terrorist and extremist organizations, 35 gangs, and 501 organized criminal groups. 896 people were imprisoned for terrorist and extremist activities. 546 militants surrendered under the government amnesty.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11335998

Russian-backed president of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, a notorious warlord associated with serious abuses, has now accused federal authorities of torturing detainees. Human rights groups, the Council of Europe, and others have documented widespread human rights abuses in Chechnya, including torture, unlawful detention, and extrajudicial killings. Kadyrov is the first official to support such claims, and an investigation in a detention facility. This is believed an effort to bolster popularity, while deflecting blame from Kadyrov's own paramilitary security force.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-chechnya17mar17,1,1292672.story
http://cpt.coe.int/documents/rus/2007-17-inf-eng.htm

Serbian police arrested four Wahhabi Muslims from the town of Novi Pazar, and uncovered caches of ammunition, explosives, and terrorism-related information, in what they called a terrorist training camp.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/943205DF-09D0-4336-85AB-5791F15AFAAB.htm

In Spain, Basque separatist group ETA will undertake a symbolic surrender of arms.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,,2034155,00.html

Switzerland this week is debating a planned police counterterrorism cooperation treaty with the US.
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/US_anti_terrorism_policy_irks_Swiss_centre_left.html?siteSect=105&sid=7613931&cKey=1173790669000

Toxicology tests conducted by the coroner's office in Istanbul, Turkey, were negative indicating that jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan was not poisoned.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=80399

In a Sky News interview former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said UK Prime Minister Blair of Britain had deliberately embellished the case for invading Iraq, by changing question marks to exclamation marks.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,5,00.html

Andres Rowe was found guilty in September 2005 of having instructions on firing a mortar and a secret code. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and appealed. The sentence was reduced to ten years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6453517.stm

Don Bullman has been jailed for four years for membership in the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0314/bullmand.html

Dissident republicans, possibly with the Continuity IRA, are suspected in the murders of two men in Belfast. The incidents and the investigation have increased tensions in the area.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article2360197.ece
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GTM Middle East
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Egypt arrested a Palestinian wearing an explosive belt at a beach resort and ten Egyptians in the northern Sinai Peninsula.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/838303.html

In Gaza, BBS correspondent Alan Johnston is missing and presumed abducted. An armed attempt to abduct a UN refugee official failed.

Chatham House has joined a growing chorus of analysts that warn that military action against Iran would backfire. It summarizes that:
* Israel sees Iran as an existential threat: while Israel would like the nuclear issue to be resolved diplomatically, it would also seriously consider resorting to military action.
* An Israeli military operation against Iran would hurt Israel's long-term interests. It would be detrimental to Israel's overall security and the political and economic consequences would be dire and far-reaching.
* Iran might retaliate to an Israeli attack by launching missiles against Israeli population centers.
* If diplomacy fails, Israel could consider open deterrence instead of the military option.
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/pdf/research/mep/BPisraeliran.pdf

Iran has turned its Revolutionary Guards into a financial unit that earns at least $1 billion a year.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/52b2bb16-d364-11db-829f-000b5df10621.html

Last weekend Sunni militants in Iraq launched arson attacks against family homes, in what could be a new intimidation tactic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/world/middleeast/12iraq.html

On Monday in Iraq Baghdad police found 15 bodies across the city. Near Kirkuk, a roadside bomb killed four firefighters. Kut gunmen shot and killed an Iraqi translator working for the US military. Mosul gunmen shot and killed water projects director Abdullah Mohammad. A suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into an Iraqi police checkpoint. He died, and injured 11, including four policemen. A tortured and shot body was found in the town of Mahaweel. US forces report arresting 22 suspected insurgents.

Tuesday, Baghdad police found 17 bodies across the city. An armed assault targeting Judge Omar Abdul Nabi killed him and two others in his car, and injured another. Gunmen in a drive-by shooting in southern Baghdad killed five people as they left a small Sunni mosque, injuring another. A Katyusha rocket on Karrada street in central Baghdad killed four and injured four. Gunmen in eastern Zayuna district fired on a police vehicle, killing three policemen and injuring two. A roadside bomb in northern Baghdad killed one and injured two. Diwaniya police found a body, tortured and shot. They were also involved in a drive-by shooting that killed two policemen and injured a third. Iskandariya gunmen killed mechanical industries director Hatam Muhsin. A Sunni mosque in Iskandariya was badly damaged by bombs planted within. A Kirkuk police patrol was fired upon, leaving one policeman dead and three injured. Police near Kut retrieved two bodies from a small waterway: tortured then shot. Mosul police found 17 bodies across the city on Monday and Tuesday. Five mortars in central Mosul killed one and injured four. Iraq's army reported killing two insurgents and arresting 58. Among those arrested were 20th Revolutionary Brigades leaders Ahmed Faraj and Ali Jassim. A US marine was killed in combat in Anbar province.

Iraqi troops raided a complex in eastern Baghdad occupied by Palestinian refugees after receiving information that a car bomb was inside the compound. Shooting broke out, killing three men. 25 Iraqis and Palestinians were arrested. The UN refugee agency is increasingly concerned over the fate of Palestinian refugees in Iraq after the ouster of Saddam Hussein, and voiced deep concern over Wednesday's raid.
http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/45fa703ab.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/16/iraq.main/index.html
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR646035.htm

Other incidents on Wednesday included the discovery of four decapitated heads in Baguba, belonging to unknown victims. Sixteen bodies were found across Baghdad. A roadside bomb in Baghdad's southern Saidiya district killed two. Baghdad gunmen killed Adhamiya Municipality leader Mudhafer al-Ybaidi and one of his guards. His son was injured in the attack. A car bomb near an Iraqi army checkpoint in western Yarmouk district left one dead and four injured. Two tortured and shot bodies were found near Falluja. Dhuluiya police found three bodies. Diwaniya police found the tortured and shot body of a man kidnapped from a cafe earlier in the day.. Gunmen near Hilla killed three off-duty policemen. In Kefil gunmen set fire to offices of Moqtada al-Sadr's political movement. A roadside bomb on the main road south of Kirkuk killed one motorist. Kirkuk gunmen killed a storeowner and kidnapped his brother. Police found two bodies that had been blindfolded, handcuffed, and tortured, before being set on fire. Mosul gunmen killed two policemen and mortar rounds in a residential district killed a man and his child, and injured four. A car bomb killed two and injured 11 in Mosul. A suicide bomber in Tuz Khurmato market killed 10 people and injured 15. In Diyala province, two separate explosions killed two US soldiers, a third was shot and killed, and nine were injured. A US soldier was killed in combat in Anbar province.

On Thursday a suicide car bomb targeted a joint Iraqi army and police checkpoint in central Baghdad. The explosion killed eight policemen and soldiers and injured 25 others. Another suicide car bomb in western Yarmouk district targeted an Iraqi army checkpoint, killing one soldier and injuring two civilians. Gunmen wounded Sadr City mayor Sheikh Raheem al-Darruji, and shot dead a senior police officer and their driver. In Dhuluiya police clashed with insurgents attacking a police station. Five insurgents, including Syrian and Saudi fighters, were killed. One police officer was killed and a second injured. In Iskandariya, a car bomb exploded as a bus carrying state employees passed by. Seven people were killed and 35 injured. Mosul gunmen killed a policeman and a police cook, and a car bomb targeting a police patrol injured one. US forces operating near Balad report killing two insurgents and detaining eleven. In a "friendly fire" incident US forces killed one Iraqi soldier and injured three. A US soldier was killed in an explosion when his patrol was attacked in Salahaddin province. A roadside bomb south of Baghdad killed another US soldier.

British officials discovered that ten Iraqis detained in Basra switched places with visitors over the course of several days, allowing their escape.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6458173.stm

On Friday Baghdad police found nine bodies across the city. Mortar bombs in southern Baghdad killed four and injured five. In Hilla, a roadside bomb in a market killed one and injured five. A roadside bomb next to a Kirkuk police patrol killed two policemen and injured three. Mosul police found the bodies of two men and two women, as well as two live infants next to the dead women. A roadside bomb killed one policeman and injured another.

On Saturday Baghdad police found 19 bodies across the city. Explosives destroyed a Sunni mosque in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Doura. There were no reported casualties. One man died in a roadside bomb in western Baghdad. Diwaniya police found the body of a man tortured and shot. A roadside bomb in Hilla killed one and injured five. Mortar rounds in the town of Madaen killed two and injured 15. Two shot and tortured bodies were found in Mahmudiya. A Mosul policeman died and a second was injured when a roadside bomb exploded. Suwayra police found two bodies, tortured, in the Tigris River. Four US soldiers died in a roadside bombing in western Baghdad. One was injured and a second hurt in the subsequent gunfight. A US soldier was shot dead during operations in Baquba. Another US soldier died from injuries sustained in combat in Diyala, in an incident that injured five others.

Today, a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad killed a policeman and injured four people, including two civilians. A drive-by shooting in central Baghdad killed one man and injured two. A roadside bomb near a Hilla hospital injured one man. In Kirkuk, a roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol injured three policemen. US forces report capturing 12 suspected insurgents in raids across the country.

This week chemical weapons made another appearance. On Wednesday, the Iraqi army found 1,600 liters of nitric acid in 64 small containers prepared as roadside bombs in Baghdad's northern district of Adhamiya. On Friday, the US military report three incidents involving chlorine gas. In Falluja, two suicide bombings left eight dead and more than 350 people ill. A smaller bomb struck near Ramadi. In these cases, truck bombs were rigged with tanks of chlorine gas. Prior chlorine attacks had occurred on 28 January, and 19-22 February.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9DDB5758-2725-4E24-AC4C-32CD8EC80046.htm
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2036590,00.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL17222609._CH_.2400
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=80601
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6488488,00.html

Israel's Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee heard from Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin, who said that Hamas has sent hundreds of men to Iran for prolonged training
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/837038.html

Jordan's military court has sentenced four Iraqi al-Qaeda militants to death for attacking Jordanians in Iraq. Three were tried in absentia but the fourth is in custody.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15722617.htm

Lebanese security arrested four Fateh al-Islam members, all Syrians, in connections with twin bus bombings last month that killed three people. These arrests came a day before commemorations of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The UN International Independent Investigating Commission into the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, headed by Serge Brammertz, submitted the latest report to the UN secretary general. Brammertz links the assassination to election law and said that ten states had not cooperated with the investigation. He also asked for the mandate to be extended to ensure there is a thorough investigation of the political motives behind Hariri's death.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=80534
http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/03/full_text_of_br.php
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=110&Body=Leban&Body1=

Al Qaeda affiliates are emerging in Lebanon.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/16/africa/web-0316profile.php
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GTM South Asia
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In Afghanistan's Farah province a roadside bomb exploded on Monday, killing at least nine policemen. Responsibility for the remote-controlled detonation is unknown, but Taleban operate in the province. On Tuesday in the southern Helmand province a suicide attacker blew himself nest to an international aid convoy, killing himself and one civilian, and injuring another. Soon after, a second man was shot at and his explosives detonated, killing him. A third bomb was planted under a pile of rags. It killed three and injured eight. On Wednesday a suicide bomber in eastern Khost province killed five and injured 41. Late on Thursday a shooting in Helmand left six policemen missing. There was an apparent friendly fire incident on Saturday, when NATO troops opened fire on a police patrol, killing five. On Saturday a suicide bomber targeted a Canadian military convoy, killing a child and injuring four, including a Canadian soldier.

Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) joint forces reported that in the 24 hours between Friday and Saturday they arrested 1,525 on various charges, and recovered 20 homemade bombs and seven weapons.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/03/17/d70317012819.htm

In the Indian state of Assam the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) is using "army day" to launch protests and attacks in furtherance of their separatist cause. On Thursday, a militant was killed when his bomb exploded at a market, injuring four. In a second incident, a bomb under the seat of a bicycle exploded and injured nine people. Army Day is marked on 16 March, the day its military wing was raised.

In central Chhattisgarh state on Thursday, Maoist rebels launched one of the worst attacks of the insurgency in the rebel stronghold of Dantewada. At least 55 people were killed, most members of a state supported civilian militia.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/25821.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,2034485,00.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/specialcoverage/1724817.cms

Overnight fighting at the beginning of the week took place in eastern Batticaloa district, including heavy artillery and rocket fire. Government soldiers report they found fourteen bodies of suspected Tamil Tigers. Air strikes during the week killed Tigers and civilians. Today Sri Lanka's navy says it sank two cargo vessels believed to be carrying weapons for the Tigers.

Amnesty International reports that armed groups, some identified as part of a breakaway group of Tamil Tigers known as the Karuna faction, are infiltrating camps for newly displaced people and abducting residents.
http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGASA370072007

---

2. Political Risk Monitor

What may appear to be a small local event, like publishing a cartoon, can often turn out to have a surprising international impact. Your subscription to the Political Risk Monitor provides this analysis, as well as detailed profiles of individuals and other entities. Each monthly issue also includes quick tips for executives managing multinational operations.
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=TP
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PRM Africa
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Angola has sent human rights and anti-corruption worker Sarah Wykes back to the UK, on condition that she will return if asked to do so. She had been accused of espionage, following meetings in the oil-rich Cabinda region.
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-03-16T073508Z_01_BAN627287_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-ANGOLA-BRITON-20070316.XML
http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/511/en/angola_anti_corruption_campaigner_still_unable_to_

Benin's President Yayi Boni was ambushed on an election campaign tour. He was unharmed but several in the entourage were injured. Those responsible are unknown.

Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has signed a decree creating an integrated military command center with equal numbers of government and rebel troops, with the goal to demobilize both sides.

Mauritania's presidential election will go to a second round after the two top candidates each obtained about 25 percent of the vote. A winning candidate must have more than 50 percent of the vote. International observers declared the election free and fair. It is the first after 19 months under a military junta.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70651

Political tensions mounted across Nigeria on Thursday with the announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the 24 candidates cleared to run in April's presidential election do not include Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who fell out with outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo and is currently being indicted on charges of corruption. Top election officials have gone into hiding, and security forces are on full alert.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70728
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/headline/f115032007.html

In Nigeria, UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak reports that torture, ill treatment, and impunity for the perpetrators are widespread against those in police custody, though apparently not in the prison system. He calls on the government to take decisive steps to implement its obligations under international law to criminalize these practices. Nigeria has made progress in other areas.
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/DC4834AE01D70CADC125729C003F776A?opendocument

Rwanda plans to withdraw its troops from the African Union mission in the Darfur region of Sudan unless equipment shortages and other logistical problems are addressed. Sudan continues to refuse a joint AU-UN peacekeeping force, and sanctions for this intransigence are likely to follow.

Somalia's parliament voted unanimously to return to the capital Mogadishu, starting next week. They have been meeting in the temporary location of Baidoa.

The African Union is concerned over a trend in the Darfur region of Sudan, where inter-communal violence has been added to attacks perpetrated by outsiders. Numbers of displaced civilians continue to rise, and aid operations across the region are seriously impaired. Sudan President Omar Hassan Al Bashir told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he had made no decision on deployment of a hybrid UN-AU force, a response Ban deemed unsatisfactory.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70665
http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=993

Ugandan troops who served under Idi Amin and Milton Oboto were improperly dismissed, and now the appeals court has ruled that about 45,000 soldiers are entitled to back pay, which would amount to over $60 million. The army is appealing the ruling.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200703160770.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/17/africa/AF-GEN-Uganda-Courts.php

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and five colleagues were arrested on Sunday after riot police violently broke up a prayer meeting. Tsvangirai has been badly beaten in custody, and suffered a skull fracture. This incident, and police refusal to meet judicial demands, has led African governments openly to criticize the situation in Zimbabwe. The US and other countries are considering further sanctions, and Mugabe says he will expel Western diplomats who support the opposition, and said they can "go hang". The African Union broke its silence to urge Zimbabwe to respect democratic principles and human rights and resolve its issues with constructive dialog.
http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=16223&cat=1
http://www.guardian.co.uk/zimbabwe/article/0,,2032803,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6443109.stm
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=302021
http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=16332&cat=1
http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGAFR460012007
http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=16409&cat=1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/6462117.stm

Zimbabwe police have blamed the "armed wing" of the opposition Movement for democratic Change (MDC) for two gasoline bomb attacks, in which three policewomen were injured. MDC denies any involvement.
http://www.herald.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=16405&cat=1
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70720
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2362776.ece
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PRM Americas
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The Bush-Chavez competition continued this week, on their rival tours through Latin America. US President Bush promised personal support for Colombia's fight against drugs, and discussed security, trade and immigration in Guatemala. In Mexico, the dispute over the border fence and other immigrations were major issues. He encountered massive protests at each stop. Venezuelan President Chavez held massive anti-Bush rallies in Argentina, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Haiti and Jamaica.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/latinamerica/
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8B585539-8A2E-49DC-AB7F-D9D5BA88C181.htm
http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={F15D2745-B3C9-4803-9A44-0E6E99B5686F}&language=EN
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6436899.stm
http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/miami/23789.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031602753.html
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Mar07/Whitney15.htm

In Montreal, Canada, a rally against police brutality turned violent. Rocks were thrown, and there were several incidents of vandalism and arson. Fifteen people were arrested.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=fc484fa6-0dd8-4804-b6b2-9996f9b44b84&k=40740

According to the head of Cuba's National Assembly, President Castro will be ready to run for re-election in nest year's elections.
http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_cuba/fidel031607.htm

Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa is pursuing a constitutional referendum regarding new limits to the powers of traditional political parties, which he and a majority of the public blame for corruption and poverty. Opposition legislators and judges are opposed to such changes. Last week Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal dismissed 57 legislators, who were trying to block the referendum. Twenty tried to regain their seats by forcing their way in, when they clashed with police. They took their seats but lacked a quorum so left to face a pro-government crowd. Unidentified gunmen fired at anti-government protesters, injuring two people. The constitutional tribunal rejected an appeal against the lawmakers' dismissal, but has left the door open for other appeals.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070313-0718-ecuador-congress.html
http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={BE268664-8511-4FEB-AE8B-DCAEA7C8E167}&language=EN
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-03-13T171202Z_01_N13445300_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ECUADOR-CONGRESS.xml
http://www.tse.gov.ec/ (in Spanish)
http://www.presidencia.gov.ec/ (in Spanish)

US Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus has requested another Army brigade in addition to five en route. The original "surge" called for 21,500 additional troops. Another 4,500 were announced 10 March, and this latest request would add another 3,000. Although the military expansion is continuing, President Bush's political targets for Iraq have not been met.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/16/america/web-0316troops.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/15/washington/15policy.html

The US House Oversight and Government Oversight Committee held a hearing regarding the exposure of covert CIA operative Valerie Plane. The committee has asked for additional information from Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and has called on White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton to explain why they failed to conduct an investigation in line with the steps prescribed by Executive Order 12958. In a serious breach of national security, Plame's identity was revealed in 2003 to discredit her husband for criticizing the Iraq war.
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1205
http://oversight.house.gov/investigations.asp?Issue=Disclosure+of+CIA+Agent+Identity
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1213
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6460053.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/washington/17testify.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/17/wbush17.xml&DCMP=EMC-new_17032007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031600276.html

The Anti-Defamation League released its 2006 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents in the US. There is an overall decline, but there have been shootings, beatings, and other violent incidents that raise concerns.
http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Semitism_Domestic/Audit_2006.htm
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PRM Asia Pacific
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Australia's mufti Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali announced plans for form a new political party to contest this year's federal election, to better represent Muslim interests. The top Muslim cleric has caused uproar with a string of controversial remarks.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/state-election-2007/political-party-hilalys-next-step/2007/03/12/1173548110040.html

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has signed a security cooperation agreement with Japan. Australia has previously signed such an agreement only with the US. The US and Japan have asked Australia to include India in a quadrilateral agreement.
http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/japan/aus_jap_security_dec.html
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/abephoto/2007/03/13australia_e.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21385659-663,00.html
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/13/content_5842308.htm

A group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers will be moved from Australia, where they were intercepted last month, to Nuaru. Only one Tamil, with health problems, will be able to get Australian assistance.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/asylum-seeker-solution-detention-in-nauru/2007/03/15/1173722657919.html

China's National People's Congress wrapped up its annual session by passing a law to increase private property rights, and end preferential tax treatment for foreign firms. Other measures during the meeting included economic and military measures and plans for space travel.
http://www.10thnpc.org.cn/english/2007lh/199939.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/03/15/china.tax.reut/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6484864,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6429977.stm

In China's Hunan province 20,000 residents of Zhushan demonstrated against bus fares doubled during the Chinese New Year. The army went in to control the unusually violent and large protest, leaving one person dead and several people injured. Heavy security is in place following the incident, and prices have gone back down.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/china/article1511799.ece
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/14/content_5847076.htm

Foreign ministers from the Pacific Islands Forum met to discuss the situation in Fiji. They described last December's military as unconstitutional and unacceptable and called for a return to democracy within 18 months.
http://www.forumsec.org/pages.cfm/newsroom/press-statements/2007/forum-foreign-ministers-meeting-outcome.html
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s1874258.htm
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10429238

Japan's government has again insisted there is no evidence that Asian women were coerced into World War II military brothels. The diplomatic furor provoked by this assertion is unlikely to fade, and will continue to have an adverse affect on regional relations and with the US. Japan's chief cabinet secretary said that the country would continue to honor the Kono statement acknowledging and apologizing for "comfort women"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/16/news/japan.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6485255,00.html
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/12/content_5837694.htm

Philippines Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr said that although the military can contain killings perpetrated by soldiers, they have little impact on extrajudicial killings by communist rebels or other groups. Meanwhile, the US - the major donor to the Philippines - held a hearing on "Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines: Strategies to End the Violence". The Senate demanded an end to extrajudicial killings, insisting that they do not want blood on their hands.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/03/16/gov.t.can.t.stop.extrajudicial.slays.ebdane.html
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070314p.html

Philippines congressional representative Satur Ocampo was arrested on murder and other charges, shortly after he filed a court petition to stop proceedings in connection with an alleged communist party purge.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/03/17/militant.lawmaker.facing.multiple.murder.raps.arrested.html
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=55263

South Korea is resuming aid shipments of fertilizer to North Korea.

The International Crisis Group released "Southern Thailand: The Impact of the Coup". The report finds:
"Six months after the coup which overthrew Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawata, Thailand still faces a serious security threat in the Muslim South and a real risk of communal violence. Despite its limited mandate, the interim government should take a number of steps to undercut militant claims it is trying to destroy Malay culture and Islam, by reforming the education system and allowing the local dialect to be used as the language of instruction. Without engaging in the kind of indiscriminate crackdowns favored by Thaksin, the government must also reinforce security by patrolling the areas controlled by militants."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4697&l=1
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PRM Europe
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Finland is holding elections today, while celebrating 100 years of democracy.
http://web.eduskunta.fi/Resource.phx/parliament/ek100/sessions.htx

French President Jacques Chirac announced that he would not seek re-election. Instead, he is retiring from frontline politics after a 45-year career.

French resistance hero Lucie Aubrac has died, aged 94.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/15/europe/EU-GEN-France-Obit-Aubrac.php
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0,36-883219,0.html (in French)

Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia has started a second round of general elections.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11347223

In "Islam and Identity in Germany", the International Crisis Group suggests:
"Germany?s leaders should concentrate on the practical problems that undermine social cohesion ? political alienation, over-zealous policing and economic inequality ? and avoid the temptation to score domestic political points with hard-line rhetoric about Turkish and other Muslim immigration. Several new steps are necessary: the Lander governments should revise naturalization procedures; German national political parties should promote the integration of Turks and other Muslims into the national political community; and the Federal Government should permanently upgrade the post of commissioner for migration refugees and integration to that of a cabinet-level deputy minister and reinforce it while making publicly funded pre-school language courses available and mandatory."
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4693&l=1

Germany's Federal Court of Justice has ruled that crossing out swastikas for anti-Nazi protests is legal, overturning a lower court ruling against Juergen Kamm, The initial verdict confiscated the merchandise of his internet store and imposed a fine. Now his merchandise will be returned and he will receive legal costs and compensation for damages.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2385967,00.html

UN special envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, has drawn up proposals for the future status of Kosovo. These represent Ahtisaari's "realistic compromise" between Serbia's rejection of independence, which is a goal sought by many ethnic Albanians who outnumber others in the province by nine to one. UN Secretary General Ban will study the proposals and send them on to the Security Council.
http://www.unmikonline.org/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6422183.stm

Moldova has reversed a decision to allow Romania to open two new consulates, previously planned to ease a backlog of visa applications.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6454841.stm

Poland now has in force a law requiring people to confess if they informed for the communist-era secret police, lest they be barred from working for a public company for ten years. The secret police files have been opened to the public. This is a massive expansion of communist purges, reminiscent of the loyalty pledges common in Soviet times.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL0713409920070313
http://jurnalo.com/jurnalo/storyPage.do?story_id=23407

Ahead of Russia's parliamentary and presidential elections next year, the chairman of the Central Electoral Committee, Alexander Veshnyakov, has been dismissed, in another example of political expediency superseding judicial independence.
http://www.kommersant.com/p749632/r_527/Veshnyakov_step_down/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6449225.stm

Russian-backed Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov proposes to amend the March 2003 constitution to comply with Russian federal laws, using a referendum. Kadyrov's inauguration is scheduled for 5 April.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070315/62069684.html
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11336422

Britain's request for US rules of engagement for operating in Iraq was refused, despite a court order.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2032568,00.html

The US has also dismissed a UK coroner finding that the "friendly fire" killing of a British soldier was unlawful and an act of criminality.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/17/nirq17.xml
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2007/mar/81838.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6458567.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,2034688,00.html

The House of Lords has thrown a wrench into attempts to reform the second chamber, by overwhelmingly backing an all-appointed house rather than one that is elected, the reverse of that approved in the House of Commons.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2359100.ece

The Guardian has launched a series examining Prime Minister Blair's involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process over the past decade.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/northernirelandassembly/story/0,,2032230,00.html
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/northernirelandassembly/story/0,,2034248,00.html
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PRM Middle East
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Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has unveiled a national unity cabinet, which parliament overwhelmingly endorsed on Saturday. Israel's Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman called for an emergency Zionist coalition and extensive military operations in Gaza over the weekend to torpedo the Palestinian unity government. Israel and the US are dubious over the government's claim of the right to resist. However, Norway has recognized the new unity government and will resume. At least some other European countries are likely to follow.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/533F372C-E2A5-4A00-A95F-154B791C43B3.htm
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879091942&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/838366.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3312A043-6678-4D2D-ABBB-2613D215D623.htm
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/838690.html

Prior to this agreement, clashes between Fatah and Hamas continued, including an incident in Gaza on Wednesday that injured nine people, including two children.

An Egyptian administrative court has ordered President Hosni Mubarak and his interior minister to pay more than $5,000 in compensation to Hamed Yassin Hamed, who was jailed for seven years without charge. The government is appealing the decision.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=80445

Egyptian security forces continued arrests of Muslim Brotherhood members periodically during the week. By Saturday, 47 had been detained since they said they would boycott a parliamentary vote on constitutional amendments starting on Sunday.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7FA81812-1D82-4631-96CD-14D08FD602DC.htm

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi unveiled a reform package to a UN conference, including sharing oil revenues among the regions. Speakers expressed continued support, especially through dialog with its neighbors, while warning of the danger posed by any additional conflicts in the volatile region.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/03/17/un.iraq.ap/index.html
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm10912.doc.htm
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc8971.doc.htm

On Tuesday, Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki made his first visit to Ramadi, the heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency fighting his US-backed government.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B69E5717-2807-4382-B079-F00E7B2040CC.htm

More than a thousand unarmed protesters in Sadr City demanded the removal of a US military base stationed there.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3C79CEFC-0CA7-46A3-8C7C-F5ABC23815CF.htm

Former Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan has lost his final appeal against a death sentence over the killing of 148 Shias in the village of Dujail. Human rights group, the UN, EU and others have opposed the hanging, pointing to many of the same legal and procedural difficulties that put into question the justice of the legal process that executed Saddam Hussein.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO551863.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2333287.stm
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=962527
http://uruknet.info/?p=m31462&s1=h1

The Observer's Foreign Affairs editor Peter Beaumont reflects on life for ordinary Iraqis on the fourth anniversary of the start of the war.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2036446,00.html
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2036447,00.html

Israel's ambassador to El Salvador was recalled after being found outside the embassy, drunk and wearing only bondage gear. Israel's comptroller has criticized the diplomatic service for inadequate examination of candidates and lack of transparency. This is yet another in a seemingly unending series of corruption and misconduct scandals affecting the highest levels of the government.

UNESCO called on Israel immediately to stop work near the al-Aqsa mosque since work already undertaken was deemed sufficient to assess structural conditions for the pathway to the Mughrabi Gate after a partial collapse in 2004 due to heavy rain and snow.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Eurovision has approved Israel's submission "Push the Button", by the Teapacks.

Syria met with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and US assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration Ellen Sauerbrey, representing the first direct meetings for some time, part of an effort to engage Syrian cooperation in ending violence in Iraq. The EU supports Syria's goal of regaining the Golan Heights, taken by Israel in 1967.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=80421
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=80401
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/837805.html
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PRM South Asia
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a controversial bill that provides sweeping amnesty for war crimes committed over more than two decades of conflict in the country.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70637

In the Indian state of West Bengal, fighting erupted on Wednesday when armed police tried to enter a village and were attacked. Farmers armed with sickles, machetes, and homemade bombs are fighting a government order that their land be turned over to a special economic zone where an Indonesian petrochemical complex is planned. In a scene reminiscent of similar protests in China, 14 villagers were killed and more than 70 injured. Hundreds of people have been arrested. Following two days of violence and a general strike, West Bengal has dropped its plan for an industry zone.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Spontaneous_wave_of_support/articleshow/1773984.cms
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Spontaneous_wave_of_support/articleshow/1773984.cms
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200703162001.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6457147.stm

Nepalese Prime Minister Girja Prasad Koirala said that the nation was headed down a republican path because of the king's destabilizing actions, and recommended that the king and crown prince abdicate. In an initial step, the coalition government has cut King Gyanendra's staff in half.
http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?nid=103433
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-03-15T234657Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-291108-1.xml

A Madhesi political party on Tuesday called off its indefinite strike and road blockades in Nepal's southern Terai region after considering the severe impact it was having on civilians.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=70663

Escalating fighting between Sri Lankan forces and the Tamil Tigers has forced some 130,000 people from their homes. Human Rights Watch reports that Sri Lankan government and military officials are threatening to cut aid and withdraw security for displaced persons who refuse to return. The UN, with similar findings, has urged Sri Lanka to end forcible returns.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21825&Cr=sri&Cr1=lanka
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2007/03/16/slanka15497.htm
http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/45fa70394.html