IRAQ: Iraqi authorities say a car bomb in Baghdad has killed at least 22 people and wounded 50 others. They say the explosion occurred near a Shi'ite mosque in central Baghdad. The attack came two days after authorities lifted a city-wide curfew put in place to stop sectarian
attacks after last week's bombing of a revered Shi'ite shrine in Samarra. Meanwhile, the U.S. military launched a major operation against al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists operating northeast of Baghdad. It says 10-thousand soldiers are taking part in the offensive in and around Baquba. Twenty-two militants were killed in the early hours of the operation.
LEBANON: Two more Lebanese soldiers have been killed in fighting between government forces and al-Qaida-inspired militants at a Palestinian refugee camp. The two died early today (Tuesday) as the army resumed shelling Fatah al-Islam militants in the Nahr al-Bared camp near Tripoli. More than one month of fighting there has killed at least 140 people, including 73 soldiers. Meanwhile, the United Nations has agreed to allow U.N. investigators to help Lebanon probe last Wednesday's car bombing death of a leading anti-Syrian lawmaker.
NOKOR NUCLEAR: The top U.S. nuclear envoy has confirmed that North Korean funds at the center of a dispute that held up a nuclear disarmament deal have been deposited in a Pyongyang bank account in Russia. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill made the announcement today (Tuesday) in Seoul. North Korea had refused to shut down its main nuclear reactor as part of a February agreement until it received access to 25 million dollars that had been frozen in a Macau bank.
THAILAND POL: Officials in Thailand have charged former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife with concealing assets, and have ordered the exiled leader to return to Thailand by next week. Authorities said today (Tuesday) that Mr. Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, are charged with making fraudulent filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the listing of a property company owned by his family. Mr. Thaksin has been living abroad since his government was toppled in a coup last September.
INDONESIA-TERRORISM: The lawyer for Indonesian militant Abu
Dujana says he plans to file a lawsuit against Indonesian police for shooting him as he was being arrested. Authorities in Indonesia believe Dujana heads the military wing of the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah. He was captured June ninth during a police raid in Central Java.
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