Monday morning roundup

Gregg Carlstrom | July 20, 2009 7:27 AM | 0 | recommend (0) |   |      

At least three people were killed by a car bomb in Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar province. The bomb was inside a parked car near the local government offices on Ramadi's main street. Two of the victims were police officers.

It's the second attack on Ramadi in a week: A suicide bomber drove a minibus into a police checkpoint on Wednesday, killing six people.

The sole surviving suspect in last November's Mumbai terror attacks has pleaded guilty in an Indian court. Mohammad Ajmal Kasab accepted 86 charges of murder and "waging war" against India. He pleaded not guilty to those same charges in May; Indian police say they're not sure why he changed his mind.

The November 26 attacks killed 166 people in Mumbai, India's financial capital.

The U.S. military wants to revamp its Afghan prison system, according to the New York Times. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent a report to senior military officials that outlines a plan for building new prisons. The plan calls for separating "extremist militants" from more moderate detainees, and offering vocational skills and classes to the latter group.

The NYT reports that the prison overhaul is a response to concerns that the Taliban is using Afghan prisons as a recruiting ground.

A poet sentenced to jail for insulting Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was acquitted on appeal Saturday. The appeals court ruled that the poet, Mounir Saied Hanna, "had no intention of offending the president," and that the poems were never meant to be published.

Mounir Saied Hanna was arrested in May; in June, he was sentenced to three years in prison and a LE100,000 ($17,940) fine. The court's decision was appealed, though, because Hanna did not have a lawyer during the investigation.

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Categories: Afghanistan, Egypt, Life and Culture, News Roundups, Pakistan, Regional News, War and Terrorism, War in Afghanistan, War in Iraq

Tags: Afghanistan, Anbar province, Hosni Mubarak, insurgency, Mumbai bombings, Pakistan, poetry, Taliban

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Abu Risha and the threat of sectarianism

Ahmed Abu Risha, a key Sunni Awakening militia leader in Anbar province, says the simmering insurgency in his province isn't motivated by a desire to restart sectarian warfare.

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Peace Processing

Fallout from Biden's visit: West Bank sealed off; proximity talks appear stalled

Gregg Carlstrom | March 12, 2010 8:56 AM | 0 | recommend (0)
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas greets U.S. vice president Joe Biden in Ramallah. (Photo: AFP)
As Joe Biden wraps up his Middle East tour, Palestinian officials say they're unwilling to move forward with proximity talks unless Israel cancels its new construction in East Jerusalem; and the Israeli Defense Forces have sealed off the West Bank for 48 hours, reportedly for security concerns. Several people were injured and arrested in fighting at the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning.

Peace Processing

Biden arrives in Israel amid serious Palestinian doubts

Gregg Carlstrom | March 9, 2010 4:56 AM | 1 | recommend (0)
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife arrived in Israel on Monday.
As Joe Biden lands in Israel, the Israeli government -- obviously keen to demonstrate that it's serious about restarting peace talks -- announced Monday that it will violate its West Bank settlement freeze and build 112 new homes in Beitar Illit, a settlement west of Bethlehem.

Iraqi Elections

Polls close in Iraq; media reports suggest strong turnout, relative calm

Gregg Carlstrom | March 7, 2010 9:27 AM | 0 | recommend (0)
An Iraqi man on a bicycle displays his ink-stained finger after voting in Baghdad on March 7, 2010. (Photo: AP)
A handful of insurgent attacks around the country killed two dozen people, but Iraqi security forces seemed generally confident; the vehicle ban in Baghdad, scheduled to last all day, was lifted before noon. Anecdotal reports suggest a strong turnout across the country.

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