IRAQ

Elections Bill in Iraq Stalls On Kirkuk - Raghavan and Mizher, Washington Post

Iraqi lawmakers on Sunday failed to settle a dispute over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and pass a provincial elections bill viewed as vital for national reconciliation, despite intense pressure from the United States and the United Nations. The political stalemate came as a car exploded in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of northern Baghdad, killing 12 and wounding 22, according to police. Later Sunday, a car bombing in front of a coffee shop in the southern city of Hilla killed one person and injured 12, police said. Iraq's parliament called a special session Sunday to vote for the second time on the elections bill, which must be approved before elections can be held in the country's 18 provinces. But the session never convened, because Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on Kirkuk, where their respective ethnic groups are locked in a struggle for land and resources.

No Agreement on Provincial Elections - Robertson and Al-Salhy, New York Times

Iraqi political leaders met Sunday to try to reach a deal that would allow provincial elections to proceed, but they again failed to agree, further dimming prospects that the elections would be held this year. The talks took place on a day of bombings across Baghdad, including an exploding truck that killed 12 civilians. Representatives from the various Iraqi political blocs gathered at the Baghdad residence of Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Regional Government, to try to work out a compromise on the election law. Despite a long afternoon of talks after a flurry of meetings on Saturday, a consensus was not reached by Sunday night.

Lawmakers Fail to Approve Election Law - Parker & Ahmed, Los Angeles Times

The struggle for the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk sabotaged another effort by Iraq's parliament to approve a law Sunday allowing crucial local elections this year, a stalemate that also raised questions about whether major Shiite and Sunni parties were deliberately stalling on sending people to the polls. Despite a meeting of senior Iraqi leaders and US and UN officials seeking a compromise on Kirkuk, members of parliament failed even to muster a quorum for Sunday's emergency session. Iraqi officials vowed to try again today, days after lawmakers were supposed to adjourn for a monthlong summer recess. US officials believe the elections, initially scheduled for October, are necessary for Iraq's long-term stability.

Variety of Factors Contribute to Progress - John Banusiewicz, AFPS

A combination of factors is responsible for the improved conditions in Iraq, the commander of coalition forces in the northern part of the country said today. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of Multinational Division North, appeared on CNN’s “Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer.” Hertling said the coalition’s troop surge, Iraq’s security forces, national and provincial officials and the population’s rejection of violent extremism all have contributed to a sharp decline in violence and economic progress. The surge did much to improve security in Baghdad and other regions, he said, and “Sons of Iraq” citizen groups have assisted coalition and Iraqi forces in the security effort. At the same time, he said, Iraq’s army and police forces have continued to mature.

Bombings Persist Across Baghdad - Agence France-Presse

A series of bomb attacks Sunday in Iraq, most of them in the capital, Baghdad, which has been rocked by violence in the past week, killed 15 people and wounded at least 38, witnesses and officials said. In the deadliest attack, a small truck parked near the passport office on Magreb Street in the north of Baghdad killed 12 people and wounded 23, sources in the Defense and Interior ministries said.

A Major Political Test for Iraq - New York Times editorial

Since the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk has been a political tinderbox-in-waiting that was largely ignored as war-fighting took precedence. Now that violence is way down, Iraqi leaders have no excuse not to peacefully decide the city’s future. Their failure to do so has already raised tensions and could further shred Iraq’s fragile social fabric - and unleash more bloodshed. Kurds who run the semiautonomous region of Kurdistan should not be allowed to unilaterally annex Kirkuk, which they regard as their ancient capital but is also home to Turkmen and Arabs. They were promised a referendum in the Iraqi Constitution, but no durable solution can result without the participation of all groups. Overconfident Kurds and their American supporters have not been looking seriously for compromise.

Building on Progress in Iraq - Biddle, O'Hanlon & Pollack, Foreign Affairs opinion

The Iraq war has become one of the most polarizing issues in American politics. Most Democrats, including Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), want large, early troop cuts; most Republicans, including Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), want US troops to stay until Iraq's stability is guaranteed. Years of bad news from the front have hardened these divisions along partisan lines and embittered many on both sides. Today, however, there is reason to believe that the debate over Iraq can change. A series of positive developments in the past year and a half offers hope that the desire of so many Americans to bring the troops home can be fulfilled without leaving Iraq in chaos. The right approach, in other words, can partly square Obama's goal of redeploying large numbers of US forces sooner rather than later with McCain's goal of ensuring stability in Iraq. If the prognosis in Iraq were hopelessly grim, it might make sense for the United States to threaten withdrawal, hold its breath, and hope for the best. But the prognosis is now much more promising than it has been in years, making a threat of withdrawal far from necessary. With a degree of patience, the United State can build on a pattern of positive change in Iraq that offers it a chance to draw down troops soon without giving up hope for sustained stability.

AFGHANISTAN / PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS

Ragtag Taliban Show Tenacity - Carlotta Gall, New York Times

Six years after being driven from power, the Taliban are demonstrating a resilience and a ferocity that are raising alarm here, in Washington and in other NATO capitals, and engendering a fresh round of soul-searching over how a relatively ragtag insurgency has managed to keep the world’s most powerful armies at bay. The mounting toll inflicted by the insurgents, including nine American soldiers killed in a single attack last month, has turned Afghanistan into a deadlier battlefield than Iraq and refocused the attention of America’s military commanders and its presidential contenders on the Afghan war. But the objectives of the war have become increasingly uncertain in a conflict where Taliban leaders say they do not feel the need to control territory, at least for now, or to outfight American and NATO forces to defeat them - only to outlast them in a region that is in any case their home.

Pakistani Governor Confirms Peace Deals With Tribal Leaders - VOA

The governor of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province has confirmed that Pakistan's federal government signed a peace agreement with about 300 tribal leaders in North Waziristan in January. The agreement, which has not been officially acknowledged before, is one of several controversial deals that have been blamed for worsening violence in neighboring Afghanistan. North Waziristan has long served as a hub for several Taliban militant groups as well as al-Qaida fighters. In 2007, the tribal agency was the scene of fierce battles between militant groups and Pakistani security forces. But since January this year, North Waziristan has experienced relatively few clashes with Pakistani troops - leading to rumors that the government had signed a peace agreement.

Pakistan to Probe Embassy Bombing - Bruce Loudon, The Australian

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will launch an independent investigation into last month's bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul after New Delhi confronted him at the weekend with evidence that weapons from his country's major armaments factory were used in the attack. The move is a humiliating backdown for Mr Gilani after his repeated denials that Pakistan's ISI spy agency had any connection with the July 7 bombing, which killed 54 people, including two senior Indian diplomats. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is understood to have presented Mr Gilani with new evidence of Pakistani involvement in the blast at a meeting on the sidelines of the weekend summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Colombo. The evidence is understood to show that three landmines and a tank shell with the markings of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory at Wah, near Islamabad, were used in the embassy bombing. This comes after reports that US intelligence agencies had telecommunications intercepts leading them to conclude ISI officers had aided militants in the attack.

4 Police Killed by Militants in Afghanistan - Associated Press

A government official says militants have killed four police and wounded seven others in central Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the US-led coalition says its troops have killed several militants and captured one they had sought. Sayed Ismail Jahangir, spokesman for the governor of Ghazni province, says the police casualties happened during a militant ambush of a two-vehicle police convoy in the Zana Khan district Sunday night.

RAF Sends Air Rescue Crews to Afghanistan - Michael Smith, The Times

The RAF is being forced to pull a fifth of its helicopter crews out of Britain’s search and rescue service and send them to Afghanistan in an attempt to stop soldiers being killed by roadside bombs. The move will drastically reduce the number of RAF Sea King helicopters available to rescue people in trouble at sea or caught in disasters such as last year’s floods. The RAF crews respond to an average of 1,000 emergency calls a year, varying from rescuing holidaymakers in difficulties to the 2004 floods that devastated the Cornish village of Boscastle. Cutting one of the five crews from each of the six RAF search and rescue stations around Britain will put at risk the current ability to respond to any emergency within an hour.

IRAN

Iran Ignores Deadline - Daragahi & Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times

Over the weekend, Iran failed to respond to an informal two-week deadline to give a yes-or-no answer to negotiations on dismantling crucial parts of its nuclear program. It was instead busy in a flurry of diplomatic and military activity to bolster its position. On Saturday and Sunday, Tehran received a Syrian delegation led by President Bashar Assad, an important Iranian ally, in an apparent effort to coordinate diplomatic strategy and fend off any possible US or Israeli attack. Last week, Iran rallied foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement gathered in Tehran to support its nuclear program. In recent days, Iranian commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps met at a base outside the capital to plan defensive maneuvers in case of an attack.

US: UN Council Must Increase Sanctions on Iran - Reuters

The United States said on Sunday that Iran has left the UN Security Council no choice but to increase sanctions on the Islamic Republic for ignoring demands that it halt sensitive nuclear activities. The US declaration came a day after an informal deadline lapsed for Iran to respond to an offer from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia for talks on its disputed nuclear program.

Report: Iran Tests Naval Weapon with 300 km Range - Reuters

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had tested a naval weapon that could destroy any vessel in a range of 300 km (190 miles), Iranian media reported. The comments are likely to stoke tensions over Iran's disputed nuclear program after Tehran failed to meet Saturday's informal deadline to respond to a package of nuclear incentives offered by six world powers to defuse the row. The West accuses Iran of seeking to build an atomic bomb, a charge Tehran denies. The United States has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to end the row, prompting Iran to warn it would target US bases if attacked.

'Bomb Bomb Iran'? Not Likely. - David Ignatius, Washington Post opinion

Analysts speculate about the danger of a US or Israeli military attack on Iran before the Bush administration departs office next January. But if you read the tea leaves carefully, the evidence is actually pointing in the opposite direction. One sign that the diplomatic track is dominant for now is that the administration plans to announce late this month that it will open an interest section in Tehran, a senior official disclosed Thursday. This will be an important symbol, as it will be the first American diplomatic mission in Iran since the US Embassy there was seized in 1979. The official described it as an effort to "reach out to the Iranian people." The Iranian government has long had an interest section in Washington.

THE LONG WAR

Al-Qaida: Explosives Expert Wanted by US Killed - Associated Press

Al-Qaida confirmed Sunday the death of a top commander accused of training the suicide bombers who killed 17 American sailors on the USS Cole eight years ago. Abu Khabab al-Masri, who had a $5 million bounty on his head from the United States, is believed to have been killed in an airstrike apparently launched by the US in Pakistan last week. An al-Qaida statement posted on the Internet said al-Masri and three other top figures were killed and warned of vengeance for their deaths. It did not say when, where or how they died but said some of their children were killed along with them.

Karadzic Stirred Global Islamic Terror - Robin Harris, The Times opinion

Radovan Karadzic's demeanour at The Hague is unlikely to satisfy his remaining admirers. A fantasist who entertained ideas above his station, he will be easily broken by the prosecution. Yet if Karadzic, the poetaster and quack healer, seems absurd, the ideology that he embodied was serious enough to have catastrophic and continuing effects. The early 1990s were formative in the rise of global Islamic terrorism, including what would be al-Qaeda, and Bosnia was central to this. In despair, the largely Muslim Sarajevo Government turned for support to Islamic groups and countries. Money and arms poured in - from among others, it seems, Osama bin Laden. There also arrived several thousand mujahideen, initially from Iran and Afghanistan, later from North Africa and the Middle East. Distinguished by their bloodthirsty tactics rather than their military effectiveness, these foreign recruits were employed first against the Serbs and then against the Croats of central Bosnia in 1993, after the two former allies fell out. Their numerous crimes are still coming to light. In different ways, both Karadzic and bin Laden now share an interest in propagating the idea that the wars in former Yugoslavia represented a titanic clash of civilisations.

The UN Can End These Wars - Helena Cobban, CSM opinion

After long and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how can the United States plan to win in either country? What would an achievable victory look like? This question has new urgency, given the recent upswing in violence in Afghanistan and the sense emerging among many US leaders – from both parties – that military resources need to be speedily diverted there from Iraq. One thing is clear. Neither of these victories will look like your grandfather's victory in the Pacific in 1945. Back then, Japan's army chief and top-hatted foreign minister traveled to the USS Missouri to sign a surrender document and hand it with full pomp to Gen. Douglas MacArthur. But victory in Iraq and Afghanistan will not depend, as in Japan, on defeating a standing national army. Instead, in each country, it will depend on defeating or defanging antigovernment insurgencies and helping midwife a governing system.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Anthrax Blend Led FBI to Ivins - David Willman, Los Angeles Times

Federal investigators cinched their case against alleged anthrax mailer Bruce E. Ivins after sophisticated genetic tests by a California firm helped them trace a signature mixture of anthrax spores, the Los Angeles Times has learned. Well before the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings, Ivins, through his work as a government scientist, had combined anthrax spores obtained from at least one outside laboratory, people familiar with the evidence said.

Anthrax Evidence Primarily Circumstantial - Scott Shane, New York Times

The evidence amassed by FBI investigators against Dr. Bruce E. Ivins, the Army scientist who killed himself last week after learning that he was likely to be charged in the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, was largely circumstantial, and a grand jury in Washington was planning to hear several more weeks of testimony before issuing an indictment, a person who has been briefed on the investigation said on Sunday. While genetic analysis had linked the anthrax letters to a supply of the deadly bacterium in Dr. Ivins’s laboratory at Fort Detrick, Md., at least 10 people had access to the flask containing that anthrax, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

Researcher Kept Security Clearance as FBI Closed In - Washington Post

As an FBI investigation increasingly focused on him as a suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks, Fort Detrick scientist Bruce E. Ivins enjoyed a security clearance that allowed him to work in the facility's most dangerous laboratories, to handle deadly biological agents, and to take part in broad discussions about the Pentagon's defenses against germ warfare. On July 10, the day he was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, for example, Ivins spent part of the afternoon at a sensitive briefing on a new bubonic plague vaccine under development at the Army's elite biological weapons testing center, according to a former colleague who talked with him there.

AFRICA

Kenyan Police: US Embassy 'Bomber' Escaped Raid - Associated Press

A man accused of masterminding the bombings of two American embassies in East Africa ten years ago escaped a police raid early Sunday, a senior Kenyan policeman said. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he could lose his job for making unauthorized statements to the press. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed has a US$5 million bounty on his head for allegedly planning the 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 225 people and injured more than 5,000. Police say they discovered two of his passports and have arrested two men accused of aiding him in the Kenyan coastal town of Malindi.

At Least 20 Killed in Somalia Explosion - Voice of America

Witnesses in Somalia's capital say a roadside bomb explosion has killed at least 20 people, mostly women. Sunday's early morning blast ripped through a group of female street cleaners. Witnesses counted 15 bodies at the scene, while five other people died after being taken to Mogadishu's Medina Hospital. More than 40 others were injured. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. In a separate incident, Islamist insurgents attacked Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu's Towfiq neighborhood early today. Witnesses say at least three soldiers were killed.

Bomb Blast Kills at Least 15 in Somalia - Gettleman and Ibrahim, New York Times

More than 15 women cleaning the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, were killed Sunday by a large bomb buried in a pile of garbage, witnesses and hospital officials said. Mogadishu, the country’s bullet-pocked capital, has seen more than its share of carnage lately as Islamist insurgents wage an intense urban battle against government and Ethiopian forces. But witnesses described an especially grisly and panicked scene on Sunday after a street sweeper accidentally tripped a large roadside bomb.

AMERICAS

Chavez: Russian Jets Can repel Attack on Venezuela - Associated Press

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says 24 Sukhoi fighter jets have been delivered to Venezuela - and are ready to defend his country from "imperialist" aggressions. Chavez claims the US Navy's Fourth Fleet poses a threat to Venezuela, and he's vowing to push forward with a multibillion-dollar arms buildup aimed at dissuading a possible US military strike.

Colombia: Painstaking Effort at Closure - Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times Staff

When Maira Martinez graduated from college in Bogota, she had dreams of being a female Indiana Jones, excavating ancient burial sites and unlocking secrets to Colombia's rich pre-Hispanic past. These days, she's sifting through a much more recent, and grisly, past. The 27-year-old forensic anthropologist is a member of one of 12 exhumation teams working to recover and, they hope, identify the remains of thousands of victims of Colombia's civil war.

Poll: Morales' Popularity Up Before Bolivia Recall - Reuters

Bolivian President Evo Morales' approval rating rose to 59 percent in July, according to a poll published on Sunday, a margin that would see him survive a recall vote next week if voters poll accordingly. Morales and a group of opposition governors face a recall vote on August 10 that the leftist leader proposed last year in a bid to undermine right-wing opponents who have challenged his economic and constitutional reforms. Pushing for autonomy, they have forced him to put on hold his plan to redistribute land to poor farmers.

Land Reform: New Paraguay Leader's First Challenge - Associated Press

Just outside the rickety wire fence that guards the rich, red soil of this vast hacienda, dozens of peasants have camped for weeks under a patchwork of thatched shelters and tarpaulin-covered tents. They are demanding a slice of the wealthy landowner's property to grow food for their families. And if Paraguay president-elect Fernando Lugo doesn't help them get it, they plan to swarm the private property, just as thousands of other landless farmers have done throughout the country.

ASIA PACIFIC

China Orders Highest Alert for Olympics - Wong and Bradsher, New York Times

Surface-to-air missiles take aim at the sky above the Olympic stadiums here. Surveillance cameras mounted on light poles scan sidewalks. Police officers search thousands of cars and trucks entering the city. Even civilians have been called on to strengthen the motherland: Tens of thousands of middle-age and elderly residents wearing red armbands, reminiscent of the zealous Red Guard youth from decades ago, now patrol neighborhoods looking for even a slightly suspicious act or person. Chinese officials have thrown an almost smothering blanket of security across this capital of 17 million in preparation for the start of the Olympic Games on Friday. Above all else, Chinese leaders say, these Olympics will be “safe.”

Report: China Border Station Raided by 'Rioters' - Associated Press

Attackers rammed a dump truck into a patrol station in China's restive Central Asian border province Monday morning, tossing grenades in a raid that killed 16 officers and wounded others, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The attack in Xinjiang province was in an area where local Muslims have waged a sporadic rebellion against Chinese rule. It came just four days before the start of the Beijing Olympics - an event that at least one radical Muslim group has vowed to attack.

Dissident Warns Bush of Chinese Spying - Bill Gertz, Washington Times

A Chinese democracy activist not only urged President Bush last week to defend dissidents during his Olympic trip to Beijing but also took the less usual step of raising the issue of Chinese spying in the US. Harry Wu, director of the Laogai Research Foundation, a Washington group that monitors Chinese human rights abuses and the political prison system in China, said in an interview that he raised the issue of Chinese intelligence agents at a meeting Tuesday at the White House. Mr. Bush will make a brief statement in China in support of human rights and religious freedom after attending an officially sanctioned Chinese church service, said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman. Mr. Johndroe also confirmed that Mr. Wu raised the issue of Chinese intelligence gathering during the meeting involving four other democracy activists.

Hawaii Man Accused of Helping China Fesign Missile - Associated Press

Cheryl Gowadia couldn't figure out why FBI agents in riot gear, guns drawn, were storming her home on Maui's tranquil North Shore. At first, she thought they might be after the man building a pond in her back yard. Instead, she was stunned to learn they wanted to question her husband, a former B-2 stealth bomber engineer. "This came out of nowhere," Mrs. Gowadia said. A week later, on Oct. 13, 2005, agents arrested Noshir Gowadia, a native of India who received a doctorate at 15, on suspicion he sold military secrets to China.

Great Expectations - Los Angeles Times editorial

Seven years ago, when Olympic organizers awarded the 2008 Summer Games to Beijing, there were high hopes that the event would force China to open its society and foster greater respect for human rights. "This is a very important step in the evolution of China's relationship with the world," said former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, architect of another important step in that evolution in the 1970s. Yet on the day of the announcement in July 2001, CBS News reported that government officials in Beijing had forbidden the network from transmitting video footage for a news story on the Falun Gong religious movement. That should have been taken as an omen. Contrary to the fondest hopes of the likes of Kissinger and former International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch, China is not moving forward. If anything, Beijing's paranoia about foreign and domestic threats to its power has only been heightened by the international spotlight cast by the Olympics.

Calling China's Human Rights Bluff - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post opinion

Every aspect of life under totalitarian governments is political, from sports to culture to business. President Bush and other world leaders attending the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics this week should stop pretending otherwise, especially to the Chinese people. Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and their peers will be at the games precisely because they are ruling politicians, not javelin throwers or sprinters. Their protestations that politics and sports should not mix on this occasion are exercises in denying their own identities.

What Bush Should Ask for in Beijing - Sasha Gong, Washington Post opinion

I was one of five "Chinese freedom activists" - as the White House press release called us - who met with President Bush last week as he prepared to depart for the Olympics in Beijing. I did not tell him not to go. I did not tell him to poke the Chinese government in the eye by meeting with dissidents. What I did tell him was that he ought to use this opportunity to push for an agreement with the Chinese on the free exchange of information. I was a political dissident in China for many years and suffered the consequences, including a year in jail. But after living in America for more than two decades, I have made it my mission to educate the Chinese public about my adopted country, its people, its values, and its political and social institutions. I do this through my writing, some of which is published in China. I also do it through my Chinese-language blog, which has had 1.3 million hits since I started it last year. In that spirit, I gave the president a suggestion: How about proposing a free information exchange agreement with China?

Beijing Under Wraps - Jen Lin-Liu, New York Times opinion

While eating dinner at a packed Spanish restaurant one recent evening, I found myself sitting next to two scorekeepers for the International Olympics Committee who had just arrived here. They remarked that they found Beijing, with all its recent construction projects, to be a very modern place. They were able to surf the Internet freely from their hotel rooms. Apart from the crazy drivers, the city didn’t seem that different from the ones in their countries, New Zealand and Canada. That’s the Beijing many visitors coming for the Olympics will see. But unrestricted Internet use is a rarity, even for foreign reporters covering the Games, who this week discovered that the Chinese government is limiting their access to the Internet. Even as China projects a new air of openness and tolerance as it rolls out the welcome mat for Olympics visitors, the government is cracking down on citizens.

EUROPE

Solzhenitsyn, Literary Giant, Dies at 89 - Michael Kaufman, New York Times

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose stubborn, lonely and combative literary struggles gained the force of prophecy as he revealed the heavy afflictions of Soviet Communism in some of the most powerful works of the 20th century, died late on Sunday at the age of 89 in Moscow. His son Yermolai said the cause was a heart ailment. Mr. Solzhenitsyn outlived by nearly 17 years the Soviet state and system he had battled through years of imprisonment, ostracism and exile. Mr. Solzhenitsyn had been an obscure, middle-aged, unpublished high school science teacher in a provincial Russian town when he burst onto the literary stage in 1962 with “A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.” The book, a mold-breaking novel about a prison camp inmate, was a sensation. Suddenly he was being compared to giants of Russian literature like Tolstoy, Dostoyevski and Chekhov.

Kurdish Militants Held over Bombings - Agence France-Presse

Separtist Kurdish militants carried out the two bomb blasts in Istanbul last week that killed 17 people, Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay said at the weekend as he announced several arrests. "This was an inhumane act by the bloody separatist terrorist organisation," Mr Atalay told reporters, using the official description of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Ten suspects were handed over to the judicial authorities, he said, adding that they comprised most of those involved in last Sunday's blasts, including those who "personally took part" in the attacks. Eight of the suspects were latercharged with membership in the PKK and held in detention, while the remaining two were released, the Anatolia news agency reported. The police consider the incident to be resolved as the findings leave "no room for hesitation", Mr Atalay said at the Istanbul police headquarters, where weapons and other implicating material seized in the suspects' houses were displayed.

MIDDLE EAST

Sectarian Tensions Heat Up in Lebanon - Simon Roughneen, Washington Times

The banner draped across one of downtown Beirut's plush ice-cream parlors reads "taste the reconciliation." The specialty of the house is a multiflavored melange that includes all the colors of the parties of Lebanon's political spectrum, now ostensibly united after three years of discord. But sweet sloganeering aside, a political chill is in the air, as uncomfortable as Beirut's summer heat. Tensions between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims are rising, and Syria is reasserting its political clout three years after it was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in the aftermath of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Renewed fighting last week in the northern city of Tripoli, a Sunni-dominated region, underlined the precariousness of the peace agreement reached in Qatar in May between the Hezbollah-led opposition backed by Syria and Iran and the Western-supported March 14 movement, named for the start of the Cedar Revolution triggered by the Hariri assassination in February 2005.

Fatah, Hamas Rift Widens - Frankel & Mitnick, Christian Science Monitor

At least nine people were killed and 80 wounded in a Saturday gun battle in Gaza between Hamas and Fatah after a week of violence escalated the conflict amid the rival Palestinian factions. Saturday's fighting started when Hamas security forces moved into a Gaza City neighborhood to arrest members of the Hilles clan who were apparently suspects in a July 25 bombing in Gaza that killed seven people. The crackdown sparked intense fighting with the pro-Fatah Hilles and caused many members of the heavily armed clan to escape to Israel.

Fatah Loyalists Flee Islamists - James Hider, The Times

The tensions between the two main Palestinian factions erupted into open violence as hundreds of Hamas gunmen stormed a tribal bastion loyal to the rival, Western-backed Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip. The fighting, which left at least 11 people dead and almost 100 wounded, was the worst since Hamas took control of the overcrowded coastal territory a year ago and marked a new low in efforts to resolve the increasingly complicated conflict. The deterioration came days after Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, who had revived peace talks with the Fatah leadership in Ramallah, was forced to resign over widening corruption allegations. With hatred flaring between Palestinians as never before, routed Fatah loyalists fled to the nearby Israeli border to seek refuge from the Islamists.

180 Palestinians Flee to Israel - Associated Press

The majority of more than 180 Fatah supporters who fled into Israel from the Gaza Strip were in Israeli custody yesterday after a dramatic escape from a Hamas crackdown that left nine people dead in fierce fighting in Gaza. Wary Israeli troops allowed the Gazans to cross the heavily guarded border on Saturday, stripping them first to make sure none was wearing explosives. Mortar shells hit near the crossing as the Palestinians fled their homes for the territory of their long-time enemy. The Israeli soldiers prepared stretchers, and ambulances rushed the badly wounded to nearby hospitals. The incident punctuated one of the new realities of the conflict: Palestinian infighting has become so bitter that some fear Israel less than they do each other.

Bloodshed in Gaza - The Times editorial

The violence in Gaza over the weekend was the worst since Hamas seized power a year ago after routing Fatah loyalists. Some 180 Palestinians fled into Israel after a Hamas crackdown on a clan linked to Fatah left 11 people dead and around 90 wounded (see page 29). Most were sent back. But their flight is likely to make the already fraught attempts to negotiate a peace settlement with the Palestinians more difficult. The animosities that now divide the rival factions in Gaza and the West Bank make any Palestinian independent state comprising both entities unrealistic. The flight of so many Gazans into Israel, the enemy they have long opposed, recalls a similar flight after the Palestinians' defeat by the Jordanian Army during the Black September confrontation in 1970, and underlines the despair of those who fear revenge, torture and death at the hands of their rivals.

Israel to Send Gazans who Fled Hamas to West Bank - Reuters

Israel said on Monday it would transfer to the occupied West Bank dozens of pro-Fatah Palestinians who fled the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip after clashes with the Islamist group, reversing a decision to send them home. About 180 members of the pro-Fatah Helles clan were granted temporary refuge in Israel after a fierce assault by Hamas on the family's Gaza City neighborhood on Saturday. Eleven Palestinians were killed and more than 90 were wounded in the fighting, the fiercest since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip a year ago after routing secular Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

SOUTH ASIA

UN Endorses India-US Nuclear Pact - The Australian

Officials in New Delhi at the weekend welcomed the UN atomic watchdog's approval of an inspections agreement with India that is key to completing a nuclear deal with Washington, despite fears the landmark pact may fall at the final hurdle. The board of governors of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency unanimously approved an inspections agreement with India on Friday, thus shunting the deal on to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a collection of nations that monitor sales of civilian nuclear technology. But India still needs a waiver from the NSG - 45 states exporting nuclear fuel and technology - and ratification by the US Congress before the deal can go through. The rules of the NSG, which is expected to hold its next meeting on August 21 in Vienna, ban trade with states, such as India, that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

India Temple Stampede Leaves 145 Dead - Jeremy Page, The Times

A stampede at a Hindu festival yesterday left at least 145 people dead, including 40 children, in the mountainous north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, according to local police. The stampede was triggered by the collapse of iron railings along a narrow path leading to the hilltop Nainadevi temple, where tens of thousands of people had gathered for a festival that began on Saturday, police said. Hundreds of people - mostly women and children - were trampled to the ground and many others fell down a steep slope as the panicking crowd tried to flee to safety, police and local officials said. Most of the victims died from suffocation, they said.

Sri Lankan Forces Close in on Rebels, Fighting Kills 23 - Reuters

Sri Lankan government forces killed at least 18 Tamil Tiger rebels and lost five of their own soldiers as they bombarded guerrilla-held areas in the north of the island from land, sea and air, the military said on Sunday. The action took place as leaders of South Asian nations met in the capital Colombo to sign a pact aimed at combating terrorism and fighting hunger. The navy attacked a Tiger camp on Iranathivu Island on Saturday, destroying a boat and killing four rebels, Navy spokesman Commander D.K.P Dassanayake said. The military said ground troops killed 14 rebels in fighting in several northern districts also on Saturday. Five solders were killed, it said.

EVENTS OF INTEREST

11-15 August - Counterinsurgency Leaders Workshop (Official Event - Workshop). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The US Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency (COIN) Center is hosting a five-day program for prospective counterinsurgency leaders, 11-15 August 2008, at the Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The program is focused on equipping leaders with an understanding of the insurgency and counterinsurgency environments, as well as close consideration of the kinds of persons and organizations that usually emerge from insurgencies in contrast to those of conventional conflicts. This event will be held at the Battle Command Training Center (BCTC) Training Facility on Fort Leavenworth. Seating is limited. However, registration is open to any person who serves in any official capacity with regard to dealing with insurgencies, with priority is given to those applying from invited organizations. Other applicants will be reviewed for eligibility on a space-available, case-by-case basis. The duty is uniform/business casual. Application must completed on-line at the link above. The deadline for application is 1 August 2008. For more information, contact the COIN Center at 913-684-5196.

11-12 September - DNI Open Source Conferece 2008 (Public Event - Conference). Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The Office of the DNI is pleased to announce the "DNI Open Source Conference 2008" to be held on Thursday, 11 September and Friday, 12 September, 2008 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC. The conference is free; however, all who wish to attend must register online in advance (deadline 31 July). The two-day conference will explore a wide range of open source issues and open source best practices for the Intelligence Community and its partners. We invite participants from the broader open source community of interest including academia, think tanks, private industry, federal, state, local and tribal entities, international partners, and the media to attend. The conference will include speakers from across the broader open source community participating in panel discussions and focus group sessions. Information about the agenda and break-out sessions is now available. The DNI Open Source Conference 2007 was held 16-17 July 2007 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. More than 900 registered participants and speakers attended. Presentations made at the conference break-out sessions are available on the DNI Open Source Conference 2007 website.

16-18 September 2008 - The U.S. Army and the Interagency Process: A Historical Perspective (Public Event - Conference / Call for Papers). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute. The symposium will include a variety of guest speakers, panel sessions, and general discussions. This symposium will explore the partnership between the U.S. Army and government agencies in attaining national goals and objectives in peace and war within a historical context. Separate international topics may be presented. The symposium will also examine current issues, dilemmas, problems, trends, and practices associated with U.S. Army operations requiring close interagency cooperation.