An Cosantóir

10 | world strategic picture EUROPE European Court of Human Rights agreed that Abu Hamza, an Egyptian born Muslim cleric based in Brit- ain, and four other suspected Islamists could be sent to the United States to face terror- ist charges. National unity was called A landmark ruling in the by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, after a gunman opened fire outside a Jewish school in Toulouse, killing three children and a teacher. The shooting followed the killing of three French soldiers by the same gun- man, Al-Qaeda sympathiser Mohammed Merah. Mali's president, Ama- dou Toumani Touré, was overthrown by rebel forces in protest of his handling of an insurgency by Tuareg rebels. Mali's neighbours imposed a trade ban in response. Talks were held in Addis AFRICA Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, between Sudan and South Sudan after heavy fight- ing broke out between the two. Oil is at the centre of the dispute. The African Union told South Sudan to remove its forces from the Heglig oilfields, which are controlled by Sudan. FARC guerrillas were killed by Colombian troops after attacking one of the guerrilla's camps. The Minister for Defence called it 'one of the biggest blows' against FARC in recent years. The group released four soldiers and six police officers whom it had kept hos- tage for up to 14 years. Colombia's president, Juan Manuel Santos, welcomed the move but said it was not enough to start peace talks. AMERICA'S 39 members of the MIDDLE EAST sary of the Falklands War, Argentinean president, Cristina Fenádez, called the British presence on the Malvinas 'absurd'. The trail of Khalid $10m was put up by the United States for Hafz Mohammad Saeed, a founder of a terrorist group that struck Mum- bai in 2008. On the 30th anniver- A cash reward of Sheikh Mohammed and four others accused of planning the 9/11 at- tacks will resume next month in a military tri- bunal in Guantanamo. An Cosantóir May 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie 10th deadline to start implementing a UN/Arab League peace plan. It will not pull its forces out of cities until opposition forces disarm. Turkey protested to Syria after its forces fired on refugees trying to cross the Turkish border. Over 24,000 refugees have entered Turkey since the unrest began. The ceasefire began on April 12th but observers are sceptical. were set off across Iraq on a single day leaving at least 52 killed. It has been described as an attempt to block an Arab League summit in Baghdad on March 29th. Syria agreed to an April the FC of UNIFIL peace- keeping force in Lebanon met with senior officials from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) at UN Position at Ras Al Naqoura crossing as part of ongoing efforts to reduce tensions and boost security along the countries' border. The IDF presented their plan to construct a wall to replace the existing Israeli technical fence along the Blue Line. The technical details of the works are yet to be carried out. Some 30 separate bombs Maj Gen Paola Serra, sion in Pakistan called on America to stop all drone attacks on its territory and to apologise for the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. Myanmar's National A parliamentary commis- ASIA League for Democracy won most of the seats it contested in by-elections that were held in 45 con- stituencies. The leader of the democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, won a seat just outside Yangon. It was the first time the NLD had participated in elec- tions since 1990, in which the result was over thrown by the army. Bomb attacks in two cities in southern Thailand killed 13 and injured more than 300. An Islamic insur- gency group is suspected. After rumours of a coup in China the government suspended micro blogging sites, shut down websites, and arrested six people. the International Institute for Strategic Studies, de- fence spending in Asia this year will overtake Europe. China announced it would raise its budget by 11%, In- dia by 17%, raising it to $110 and $38 billon respectively. According to a report by

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