A bloody tit-for-tat
The Sudanese conflict may be poised to become an international disaster, brining Chad into the scene. An attempted attack on the presidential palace by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on May 10 was blamed by President Omar al-Bashir on Chadian leader Idriss Deby. Last month, Deby had accused Sudan of aiding a rebel attack on Chadian capital N’Djamena. For all the mistrust, JEM may have been acting alone, striking out for being left out of the negotiations between the Sudanese government and Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA). (The Economist, 05/15/08)

Burundi risks new war as peace talks falter
Government and rebel forces have refused to come to terms with one another yet again, and have re-launched campaigns everywhere in the country. Mediators said that any form of reconciliation between the Hutu rebels, Tutsi militia and government would be impossible as long as the three sides continued to completely mistrust one another. (Yahoo! News, 05/20/08)

Amnesty rift widens as Cabinet meets again
In the aftermath of the revolts in Kenya during the presidential elections, the government and opposition are deadlocked on how to deal with those arrested during post-election violence. With over 1,200 dead, the calls for retribution have been heard by many of the ministers, who want to do just that. (Daily Nation, 05/22/08)

A cornered Mugabe strikes back
For weeks he stood calmly by as strikes broke out, and as the opposition got more and more brave. Now Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is triking back, bringing back the brand of iron-fisted rule that he was feared for. After coming in a poor second in the March round of the presidential election, he is beginning a campaign for the run-off poll on the weekend (Yahoo! News, 05/21/08). Already, the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has fled to South Africa following the uncovering of a plot to assassinate him (The New York Times, 05/21/08). Mugabe’s party, the ZANU-PF, is also actively having opposition leaders arrested on the pretext of their involvement in civil unrest (SW Radio Africa, 05/21/08).

Mbeki: Army to help end South Africa violence
South Africa’s President Thobo Mbeki finally asked the army to step in and stop the violence against foreign persons in the country. Poor South Africans have accused African and even Asian immigrants of stealing their jobs; the proceeding riots forced thousands to flee their homes and left 42 people dead.(Reuters, 05/21/08)

A good deal for Hezbollah
Violence in Lebanon had reached monumental levels over the past week, with government opponents invading Beirut outright (The Economist, 05/15/08). With killings, kidnappings and gun-battles raging in the streets of the capital, things looked to be returning to the way they were during the 1075-1990 period of civil unrest. For all it postured, the US administration’s Middle East policy was about to fail again (Asia Times Online, 05/21/08). Instead, the government and opposition met in Doha on Wednesday, and the former agreed to the latter’s key terms (The Guardian, 05/21/08). Both sides even agreed to elect a president on Sunday (Al Arabiya, 05/21/08). Lebanese army chief Michel Sleiman is to have the vital post (AFP, 05/21/08). The deal was a veritable win for Hezbollah since the group now can build up weapons almost with impunity if needed as per the terms of the Doha agreement (Yahoo! News, 05/21/08). Though Hezbollah backers Iran and Syria are already strutting with the air of victory, the U.S. will also try to dig up some semblance of order from the result.

Gulf states rise higher on oil boom
Having learned from their mistakes in the 1970s, Middle Eastern oil-producing nations are using the money they earn from rising petrol prices to build large industrial cities to sustain their economies once the precious black substance runs dry. They build without border, but still refuse to affect the labor and education reforms that could really stabilize their economies in the future. (Yahoo! News, 05/21/08)

“How Cell Phones Have Fueled a Frenzy of “Honor” Killings in Iraq“:http://www.alternet.org/rights/86020/
Cheap cellular phones with built-in cameras are the center of the heated debate in the Middle East over honor killings. Men buy these and use them to record trysts with their girlfriends. Pictures and videos make their way into the hands of friends and eventually the girlfriends’ families, which leads to honor killings. The use of these devices have led to a surge in the number of killings, making victims out of women who could have otherwise escaped the wrath of their families. (Alternet, 05/21/08)

Israel mumbles on all fronts
Israel is having commitment issues with several of Middle Eastern nations, that could all be resolved were it not for the country’s propensity to say one thing whilst doing the opposite. This week Israel opened talks with Syria (Al Arabiya, 05/21/08), mediated by Turkey. The talks were held as a close secret until the last moment, when all sides grudgingly admitted that they were taking place. However, even as the sides met, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned of giving any concession to Syria as they would turn out to be painful (BBC News, 05/21/08). Palestinian officials have been warning that there have been no suitable terms put forward for a truce in Gaza (Reuters, 05/21/08); Israel, on the other hand, has agreed to a truce, but only in principle (Al Arabiya, 05/21/08). The motivation for this was most likely the recent initiative to develop the region economically through investments. A recent report has slammed this idea (Electronic Intifada, 05/21/08), which has been heralded by Israel as a great boon for the Palestinian people. The report said that the economic development would normalize relations with the occupation, run projects that are contrary to international law and allow Israel to entrnech itself into the Palestinian territories.

Iran protests to U.S. over mosque blast: agency
Via a Swiss intermediary, Iran made an official complaint to the U.S. Regarding its alleged support for a group that recently bombed an Iranian mosque. Britian and Israel were also accused of being part of the the plot. (Reuters, 05/21/08)

Georgia’s Saakashvili claims victory in election
President Mikhail Saakashvili on Thursday claimed victory in Georgia’s parliamentary election, even though no official results had been released. Exit polls showed President Saakashvili’s party to be in the lead. The opposition has already accused the leader and his party of rigging the vote. (Reuters, 05/21/08)

Pakistan in the middle
Pakistan’s ruling coalition is holding on by a thread (The Economist, 05/15/08), having almost come to blows over how to reinstate several Supreme Court judges that President Pervez Musharraf had thrown out during his glory days. The coalition, comprised of deceased former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League, has promised to keep going in order to avert Musharraf’s hold on the Parliament. Pakistan is trying to cut down the number of problems on its plate – it has recently decided to vacate troops from the Swat valley (Al Jazeera, 05/21/08), where it has been fighting Taliban forces. The Taliban in return returned several prisoners (The New York Times, 05/17/08). Especially with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad haranguing the international community (UPI, 05/21/08) to set a deadline for American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, NATO forces are not enthused with the decision by the Pakistani Parliament to withdraw from the Swat Valley. Pakistan has also reopened dialog with India about prisoner exchange, though there is little talk about the disputed Kashmir region (Al Jazeera, 05/21/08). Recent bomb attacks in Jaipur, Rajastan, may set these talks back since Muslim militants have shown themselves to be active once again (The Economist, 05/15/08).

Sri Lanka launches attacks after top rebel’s death
Sri Lankan armed forces have been performing air and ground attacks on areas of Weli Oya, Vavuniya and Mannar in the hopes of routing out members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The campaign is said to have been launched to take advantage of the emotional and organizational state of the rebels following the death of LTTE ground forces commander Brigadier Balraj, supposedly from a heart attack. (Yahoo! News, 05/21/08)

Nepal’s leaders for abolishing monarchy
Top Nepalese leaders are conferencing about ending the 240-year old monarchy in the country in favor of a republic. Maoist leaders have particularly been in favor of this initiative, though they have been warned to stop supporting acts of intimidation by the Young Communist League (YCL) of Maoist youths. (The Times of India, 05/21/08)

From tragedy to PR gold
The recent earthquake that took as many as 50,000 lives in Sichuan province may be turned into a public relations opportunity by the Chinese government. Even as the military continues to rescue and rebuild, and as government officials worry about the usual blight of public officials stealing from the relief fund (The Times of India, 05/21/08), Beijing may already be seeing the silver lining ahead (Asia Times Online, 05/22/08). The Dalai Lama has officially requested Tibetan protesters to cease their activities for a month in reverence to the disaster (The Guardian, 05/21/08). Many protesters have adhered; though some have cheekily organized mock Olympics ahead of the official games in order to remind the world about their cause (Yahoo! News, 05/20/08). Nevertheless, China is in a batter position politically today than any time in the last four months. Taiwan’s new leader Ma Ying-jeou has decreed that his country will not pursue an arms race against its neighbor, even though an effort in the other direction would be laughable (Yahoo! News, 05/21/08). China has even been proactive in its continued bullying, with few repercussions – Beijing has ordered that visas not be issued to Hindu pilgrims vying for their traditional pilgrimage to the home of Lord Shiva in Tibet (International Herald Tribune, 05/21/08).

.........

For more from GNN’s columnists, read Charles Mostoller’s Native News Roundup, NatterJack’s Prison News Roundup and Nathan Coe’s Labor News Roundup.