The WIP

Should Egypt Embrace Iran's Overtures?

2008-03-03T13:35:55Z

by Claudia Schwartz, The Daily Star, Lebanon - Egypt must hedge its bets when it comes to Iran. In the short term, it cannot rely on the US to contain the Islamic Republic, particularly after the release last year of a US National Intelligence Estimate asserting that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. At the same time, the Egyptians are uncertain that better relations with Iran will push it to reduce its meddling in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, or help resolve the Lebanese crisis.

Church, rail workers join Serb boycott in Kosovo

2008-03-03T13:07:34Z

PRISTINA (Reuters) - The influential Orthodox Church and railway workers on Monday joined a widening Serb boycott of Kosovo following its declaration of independence from Serbia last month.

Saudi says arrests Qaeda suspects planning attacks

2008-03-03T12:44:57Z

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Monday it has arrested 28 people suspected of seeking to regroup al Qaeda's wing in the oil-exporting kingdom to carry out a "terror campaign".

Afghanistan says U.S. control estimates baseless

2008-03-03T12:43:21Z

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan said on Monday it was stunned by a U.S. intelligence assessment that the Afghan government controlled only 30 percent of the country and Taliban insurgents held 10 percent, calling the report totally baseless.

Western observers criticize Russian election

2008-03-03T12:42:01Z

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Western observers criticized Russia's weekend presidential election on Monday as neither free nor fair, but said its outcome broadly reflected the will of the people.

Violence spirals as Pakistan awaits new government

2008-03-03T11:52:52Z

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A spate of suicide attacks by Islamist militants could spark a war of revenge among ethnic Pashtun tribesmen in Pakistan's northwest just as moderate, secular political parties appear poised for power, analysts say.

US-led foreign forces must quit Iraq: Ahmadinejad

2008-03-03T11:29:00Z

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on a landmark visit to Iraq, called on Monday for US-led foreign forces to leave the war-ravaged country.

China's reform anniversary stirs political debate

2008-03-03T08:35:03Z

BEIJING (Reuters) - As China readies for the Olympics and an anniversary of landmark reforms, officials and intellectuals have intensified calls for democratic change they say is needed to fight corruption and misrule.

Hamas claims Gaza "victory" as Israel pulls back

2008-03-03T06:02:23Z

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday after a U.S. appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians, and rescue peace talks.

Indonesian street scavengers brace for crackdown

2008-03-03T05:07:10Z

JAKARTA: By day Indonesia's scavengers pile rubbish into their carts and by night they creep inside them to sleep on the streets, ever fearful of capture by public order officials whose patrols are escalating.

Clinic closed in Las Vegas in health scandal: city officials

2008-03-03T04:59:00Z

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The city of Las Vegas has shut down a clinic where up to 40,000 people may have been exposed to hepatitis C and the HIV virus through the reuse of syringes and vials, officials said on Sunday.

Japan says its whaling ship attacked by activists

2008-03-03T04:19:00Z

From Current Headlines: TOKYO: Militant environmentalists hurled a stinging acid onto a Japanese whaling ship off Antarctica, hurting four crew members, the Japanese government said Monday....

Wounded Timor Leste president 'forgives' rebel leader

2008-03-03T02:36:26Z

DARWIN, Australia: Timor Leste's President Jose Ramos-Horta has forgiven the rebel leader who led an attack on his home in which he was shot, the country's interim president said Monday.

Gunmen destroy mobile phone tower in Afghan south

2008-03-02T23:03:50Z

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Gunmen have destroyed two mobile telephone towers in southern Afghanistan, a police officer said on Sunday, after Taliban insurgents warned operators to shut networks at night or face attacks.

Obama scorches Clinton as Democratic 'D Day' looms

2008-03-02T23:00:00Z

CLEVELAND (AFP) - Barack Obama fired off a scathing foreign policy counter-attack on Hillary Clinton, just one frenzied day before momentous nominating contests he hopes to use to end her White House quest.