Security forces, militias clash in Basra
BAGHDAD – Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite militias in the southern oil port of Basra on Tuesday as a security plan to clamp down on violence between rival militia factions in the region began.

Green Zone shelling mirrors militia ire
Rocket attacks on the U.S.-protected Green Zone may carry a message with implications across Iraq: rising anger within the Mahdi Army militia. The latest rumblings in the Mahdi Army are provoked by the belief that the Americans and their Iraqi allies abused the cease-fire by conducting raids that have targeted hundreds of al-Sadr’s backers and aides.

2 Iraq hostages’ bodies found; other families fear worst
BAGHDAD — U.S. authorities have recovered the remains of two American contractors who were kidnapped separately in predominantly Shiite Muslim southern Iraq more than a year ago, the FBI announced Monday.

Five members of mine-removal team are killed in Afghanistan
In one of the bloodiest attacks in months on a nongovernmental organization in Afghanistan, gunmen killed five members of a mine-clearing team and wounded seven more in a relatively peaceful northern province, officials said Monday.

In slap to Musharraf, Pakistan frees deposed chief justice
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Minutes after he was confirmed in office Monday, Pakistan’s new prime minister ordered the immediate release of the chief justice, whom President Pervez Musharraf had deposed and held under house arrest since November.

‘Mush[arraf] approved US attacks on Qaida’
The Musharraf regime has indirectly approved the US Drone attacks on al-Qaida targets in tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Since January, missiles have been fired from Central Intelligence Agency operated Predator drones and have hit at least three suspected hideouts of Islamic militants.

U.S. ship fires to deter Egyptian boat in Suez
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) – A cargo ship chartered by the U.S. Navy opened fire when approached by an Egyptian motorboat late on Monday near the Suez Canal, and Egyptian and US officials gave conflicting reports on Tuesday on casualties.

US, Bahrain sign nuclear energy deal
The US and Bahrain have signed a deal to cooperate in the development and sharing of nuclear energy, the US State Department says.

Lock and Unloaded: India Offers Gun Permits in Exchange for Vasectomies (by Jonathan Turley)
India has come up with a novel idea to lure men into free vasectomies: give them guns. Indian officials have been struggling with the perception that vasectomies reduce manhood, so they have matched vasectomies with gun permits to balance out the manliness quotient in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

S.Lanka conflict raises human trafficking risk: U.N.
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s protracted and increasingly bloody civil war is making the country more vulnerable to human trafficking, a senior United Nations official said on Tuesday.

Taiwanese moderation lauded by US
WASHINGTON – After eight years of often strained U.S.-Taiwan relations, the United States is welcoming with relief Taiwan voters’ choice of a president committed to engage, not antagonize, rival China.

No extra troops for Afghanistan, minister insists
(AU) The Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, says there is no argument “whatsoever” for Australia to increase its troop commitment in Afghanistan, even after it withdraws more than 500 soldiers from southern Iraq in the middle of the year.

Ecuador: FARC raid death harms relations
QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador on Monday sought the aid of the Organization of American States in condemning the killing of an Ecuadorean citizen in a cross-border military raid on a Colombian guerrilla camp that has strained relations between the Andean neighbors.

Algerian accused of training 9/11 pilots can claim millions in damages
(U.K.) An Algerian man who was wrongly accused of training five of the 9/11 hijackers today won the right to claim millions of pounds in compensation. Lotfi Raissi, who lives in Chiswick, was held in jail for four and a half months shortly after the New York attacks as the US authorities tried to extradite him for questioning over his alleged terrorist links. He was freed after a judge ruled there was no evidence to support the allegations, despite objections from prosecutors acting on behalf of the American government.

Zimbabwe police to crush premature election celebrations
HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s police vowed on Tuesday to crush any premature victory celebrations ahead of the official release of results from this weekend’s general elections.

Comoros claims control of rebel island
MORONI (Reuters) – Troops from the Indian Ocean archipelago nation of Comoros seized control of the rebel island of Anjouan on Tuesday after a seaborne assault backed by the African Union, government officials said.