IRAN

• Another week, another announcement that Iran will not give up its nuclear program.

• Chirac: maybe if we gave them something, to prove how nice we are?

• Israel: maybe we should bomb them?

• Germany: maybe we should meet with them?

• Bush: don't worry, we're not ruling anything out.

• Germany and the U.S. demand that Iran cease its nuclear quest.

• Kurds have clashed with Iranian security forces in three towns.

• A report that Osama Bin Laden has been captured by Iranian forces has been denied.

• Iran boosts ties with Pakistan, to the tune of $1 billion in trade per year.

THE MIDDLE EAST

• Union of Good - a Middle Eastern charity funneling cash to Hamas.

• "So, what should the PA do if the confiscate heavy weapons?" A fair question, given Israel's willingness to hand over security to the PA, a question to which the Ministry of Defence has no answer?

• In another move to calm tensions and boost moderate, reformist democrat Abu Mazen, Israel has released 500 terrorists. More specifics here.

• An Israeli-Arab who aided Hezbollah and other terrorists has been sentenced to ten years.

• Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has informed delegates at a Jewish conference in the U.S. that the ad-hoc fleeing from Lebanon is the model he wants Israel to follow in Gaza. He also said that, post-retreat, he expects the situation around Gaza to be similar to the Lebanon-Israel border. 28 Israelis, most of them civilians, have been killed along the Lebanese border in the last four years.

• Shabak sneak dummy-bombs in to three of four hospitals 'targeted' in an exercise

• NATO offers to send troops to Israel after a peace-treaty is signed.

• Two senior PA 'officials' must have been chatting, when one of them said you know, we haven't killed anyone in a while.

THE GULF

• Concerns are mounting that al-Qaeda may turn to attacking 'soft-targets' in Kuwait.

• The Carnival of the Liberated is, as ever well worth your time.

• Yemen has foiled an attack on Western embassies.

• Yemeni authorities are also about to put 13 more A-Q terrorists on trial.

• Good news about the Marine who shot a terrorist playing dead in a jihadi stronghold in Fallujah - he won't be charged.

THE AMERICAS

• An FBI informant who set himself on fire says he did it to get more money from the Feds.

• A TV and radio advertising campaign has given the U.S. new leads in the hunt for terrorists in Pakistan.

• The Saudis are handing over a wanted American terrorist.

• Nearly half of those killed on September 11th, 2001, cannot be identified.

• B. Raman looks at the challenges facing John Negroponte.

EUROPE

• Interpol says we are not prepared for bio-terrorism.

• The Madrid skyscraper fire - arson?

• Dutch intelligence is keeping an eye on six suscpicious Islamic groups. The Interior Ministry from August 2004 describes the groups and/or mosques as "associations with an outspoken Salafist character originating from a mission and finance from Saudi Arabia".

• Samir Azzouz, a member of the Hofstad Group, was charged today with plotting to blow up various targets in the Netherlands.

• Dan Darling: The Murder of Theo Van Gogh, Part 2.

• An interesting look at Italy's lack of success in convicting suspected terrorists.

• CAMERA looks at the Mohammed al-Dura scandal. More from CNS News.

• Two al-Qaeda men who tried to buy uranium for a suicide attack are on trial in Germany.

• A jihadi, who converted in prison after setting someone on fire, has been found hanged by his own belt. Oh well.

• The FSB says they've killed a senior al-Qaeda financier in Russia. The spokesman said he was involved in the Beslan slaughter late last year. SITE has a nice picture. Pravda (yeah, I know) describes him as the organizer of terrorist act in Beslan.

• Shamil Basayev marries again, and took the opportunity to discuss killing people.

• Nine Russian soldiers have been killed in an attack on a military base in Grozny.

• RFE has a good analysis of the jihadis' plans for the Northern Caucasus.

• Tightening al-Qaeda's European grip. Read the whole thing. Conclusion: the death of Hattab means GSPC attacks in Europe are more likely.

• The U.K. seeks closer ties with Saudi Arabia.

• The Hindustan Times has a brief, though interesting, look at the British jihadis, who avoid mosques and keep a low profile.

ASIA & AUSTRALASIA

• Pakistani soldiers have been ordered to fire on U.S. troops who cross the border from Afghanistan.

• The case against Abu Bakar Bashir is wrapping up.

• The UN warns that a lack of development in Afghanistan could lead it to becoming a terror-haven once again. A lot has been said about the UN report showing Afghanistan being 173rd of 178 countries (Arthur Chrenkoff has a rebuttal here), but the change from 'could' to 'is' is progress not to be scoffed at.

• Captain Ed looks at the possibility that the Taliban is giving up.

• A Talibaddie has been captured in Baluchistan.

• Warnings of a terrorist attack in Aceh have been given an unfortunate boost in credibility by sightings of two known JI operatives.

• In the Phillipines, police believe that the arrests of two JI terrorists thwarted several major attacks.

• An Australian terrorist just sentenced in Lebanon is wanted for a shooting at a New South Wales police station.

• Another Aussie is to be tried for training with Lashkar e-Taiba.

AFRICA

• The proposed UN peace-keeping mission to southern Sudan is expected to cost $1 billion. Expect news of the UN's child-sex ring in Sudan to be featured on Winds of War soon.

• The Sudanese government bombs eight more villages, but in better news, Darfur rebels have ambushed a government convoy.

• Three men arrested in connection with the murder of a BBC journalist in Somalia may be trained suicide bombers.

• The GSPC has ambushed an Algerian army patrol, killing ten soldiers.

• Algeria puts the number of dead in the civil war at 150,000. On the plus side, they think the GSPC number at something like 300-500.

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