Bitter fighting continues in Ethiopia's troubled southeast as a humanitarian crisis looms, with government troops battling separatist rebels of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). The Ogaden, Ethiopia's “Region Five,” is a poor desert land about the size of Britain with some 4.5 million people,... MORE

An agreement reached on December 2 in Kirkuk between Kurdish and Arab councilmen will end a year-long political boycott by Sunni Arabs in favor of greater power-sharing in the governorate. The Sunnis have long been unable to find political footing in Iraq since the fall... MORE

TURKISH ARMED FORCES MOVE MISSILES UP TO IRAQI BORDER Following limited cross-border attacks using artillery, helicopter gunships and Special Forces detachments, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) appear to be preparing for a new phase in their battle against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) guerrillas based... MORE

MOROCCAN-GERMAN TERRORISM SUSPECT EXPLAINS ISLAMIST INTERNET CODE A man holding dual Moroccan and German citizenship has discussed the code used by Islamist militants on the internet chat rooms during his trial on terrorism charges in Schleswig, Germany. Identified only as Redouane al-H., the suspect was... MORE

If government claims are to be believed, the Pakistan army has restored the state’s writ in parts of the volatile Swat valley, located in the picturesque North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Militants loyal to a local radical cleric, Maulana Fazlullah, are reported to be on... MORE

TURKISH ARMY ORDERS SNIPER RIFLES FOR USE ON PKK LEADERS The Turkish daily Hürriyet reports that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have purchased 350 Finnish “Lapua” sniper rifles at a cost of $15,000 each (November 24). The weapons are intended for use against the PKK... MORE

On the evening of November 13, a remote control bomb attached to a motorcycle was detonated at one of the entrances of the Philippine Congress in Manila, killing Congressman Wahab Akbar and three other staffers. A Philippine National Police spokesman said: “It looks like Congressman... MORE

DANISH INTELLIGENCE OFFERS HASHISH BUSINESS TO TERROR SUSPECT The Danish Security Intelligence Service (DSIS) has come under fire for its questionable approach to intelligence work. A 22-year old Muslim man of Turkish descent was offered the opportunity to purchase and resell several pounds of hashish... MORE

Maulana Fazlullah, who is now leading an extremist Islam-oriented insurgency in the valley of Swat in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan, is the son-in-law of Maulana Sufi Mohammad, founder of the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM - Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Laws), which he... MORE

INTERPOL ISSUES WARRANTS FOR IRANIAN BOMBING SUSPECTS On November 7 the Interpol General Assembly issued warrants for one Lebanese and five Iranians suspects in connection with the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Argentine prosecutors... MORE