An Cosantóir

10 | World Strategic Picture Europe Although not recognising its claim to independence in a breakthrough deal Serbia did concede Kosovo's control of Serb areas in northern Kosovo. The European Commission proposed that membership talks should begin with Serbia after it partly normalised relations with Kosovo. Africa The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the arrest and imprisonment of Ukraine's former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, was illegal and politically motivated. However the ruling may not oblige the present Ukrainian government under, President Viktor Yanukovych, to free her. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Ryan Fogle a US embassy staff member in Moscow for "provocative ac- asia In Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, hundreds of people are believed killed after security forces cracked down on members of an extreme Islamist group, Hefezat, who were demonstrating for stricter Islamic policies. The city is also reeling from the collapse of a clothing factory that killed 900. A tribunal in Pakistan disqualified the countries former military president, Pervez Musharraf, from standing for election in May. The next day another court ordered his arrest on separate charges. North Korea sentenced Kenneth Bae, an American citizen who entered the country as a tourist, to 15 years hard tions". Fogle believed to be a CIA agent was wearing a blond wig and reportedly carrying a large sum of money, technical devices and written instructions for the Russian agent he had tried to recruit. The incident did not contribute to "strengthening mutual trust between Russia and the US", a spokesman for President Putin said. Fogle has been declared "persona non grata" and told to leave the country. The US State Dept confirmed the arrest. labour after convicting him of trying to overthrow the government. Taiwanese authorities admitted a man was in hospital with the H7N9 bird flu virus. This is the first case to be reported outside mainland China where it has killed 22 people since March. After India accused the Chinese army of erecting tents on India's side of the border the government warned China that it would take "every possible step" to defend its interests in their disputed Himalayan border in Ladakh. After eight Chinese ships sailed near disputed islands in the East China Sea, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, warned that he would respond with force if any Chinese people attempted to land on the islands. Libya's proto-parliament passed a law banning any senior official who served under Muammar Qaddafi from holding office for the next ten years. In Nigeria some 200 fighters from the extreme Islamist militia, Boko Haram, launched a series of co-ordinated attacks on army barracks, a prison and a police station in the north-eastern town Bama. 55 people were killed and over 100 prisoners freed. Chad's president, Idriss Déby, said that his country's troops in Mali, now numbering around 2,000, would soon be withdrawn rather than face a protracted war against rebels. This may require France to keep its forces there longer than it had anticipated. middle east The conflict in Syria escalated with Israel launching airstrikes on Syria's capital Damascus. It targeted chemical research facilities and weapons en route from Iran to Hizbullah, Lebanon's Shia partycum-militia. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbullah, hinted that he and his group's Iranian sponsors would strengthen their support of President Bashar al-Assad. In Syria's north-west coastal region at least 100 were killed in two massacres. The region is home to the Alawites, the Shia offshoot to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs. At a meeting in Moscow, Russia's leaders and America's Secretary of State, John Kerry, agreed to set up an international peaceconference on Syria. On state television President Assad accused the West of supporting al-Qaeda in his country, and warned that it would pay a heavy price. Days ahead of national elections, the first since US troops withdrew; a series of bombings across Iraq killed at least 60 people. The Americas A report by the Pentagon accused China's government and armed forces of cyber-espionage by targeting American government computers. The Chinese authorities called the accusations "groundless" speculation. Three friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston Marathon bomber, were arrested for aiding him after the attack and helping dispose of evidence. Haitian lawyers are demanding $100,000 in compensation off the UN for victims of the countries cholera epidemic. The UN admitted that the disease probably originated from its Nepali peacekeepers in 2010. Canadian police arrested two suspected terrorists for planning to derail a passenger train. Police say the men had received instructions from elements of al-Qaeda in Iran, though not support from the Iranian government. An Cosantóir June 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie

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