Thousands more civilians surged out of Sri Lanka’s war zone on Wednesday, while soldiers and Tamil Tiger rebels fought the apparent endgame of Asia’s longest-running war despite calls to protect those still trapped.
In the third day since troops blasted through a massive earthen wall built by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and unleashed the exodus, the military said 81,420 people had been registered for onward transit to refugee camps.
The massive civilian presence in a 17 square km (6.5 sq mile) area had been the last crucial defence for …

Somali pirates in speedboats opened fire Monday on two cargo ships in the latest hijacking attempts in the notorious Gulf of Aden. Another band of brigands freed a food aid freighter but only after receiving a $100,000 “reward” from Somali businessmen. The latest attack occurred at midday when pirates fired shots at a Chinese-owned, Panama-flagged cargo ship, the MV New Legend Honor, said Cmdr. Chris Davies, from NATO’s maritime headquarters in England.
Two NATO warships — one Canadian, the other British — scrambled helicopters in defense, Davies said. No damage was …

Somali pirates seized ships from France, Britain, Germany, Taiwan and Yemen, defying world naval powers by prowling further out in the Indian Ocean to target victims.
Ransom-hunting pirates equipped with skiffs, guns and grapnels took five ships in 48 hours, the two latest on Monday targeting a British cargo ship and a Taiwanese fishing vessel.
At least 17 ships and more than 250 hostages are now in pirate hands.

Eight Pakistanis, mostly policemen, were killed when commando-style gunmen attacked the convoy with rocket-propelled grenades and AK47 machine guns.
The poor security for the visitors and the ease with which the terrorists were able to target the team, has further isolated both Pakistan as a global hub of terrorism and a venue for international cricket.
President Asif Zardari was forced to apologise to his Sri Lankan counterpart yesterday for the lack of protection, while the International Cricket Council officials said it was unlikely that international cricket matches could be played in Pakistan …

Pakistan offered a reward of $125,000 this morning for information about the 12 masked gunmen who ambushed Sri Lanka’s cricket team, as conspiracy theories multiplied about who was behind the Mumbai-style attack.
While police continued to scour the eastern city of Lahore for the gunmen, all of whom escaped, the government of the eastern province of Punjab appealed for help from the public in most national newspapers.
Officers announced today that they had arrested “some suspects” behind the attack, but the gunmen were still at large.
“The dignity of the country has been …

Russia is prepared to fight for the highly lucrative arms market of India. Delhi will assign $35 billion for the five-year program to completely rearm the national armed forces. A third of this amount falls for aviation. About $10.4 billion is to be spent on purchasing 126 up-to-date fighter jets. Several other billion dollars will be used to acquire 197 light helicopters.
ndia has become one of the largest arms importers during the recent years due to the nation’s complicated relations with Pakistan. A third Indo-Pakistan war may break out …

Hamid Karzai is the current President of Afghanistan, since December 7, 2004. He became a prominent political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

On Thursday, Pakistan admitted for the first time that last November’s terrorist attacks on Mumbai were planned, at least partly, on Pakistani soil, signaling perhaps a new willingness to bring those responsible to justice after months of delays. But the government also seemed keen to dispel the notion that there was any official link between the attackers and any government agencies, instead portraying itself, along with other countries, as a hapless victim.
Pakistan’s Interior Ministry Adviser Rehman Malik told a press conference that “some part of the conspiracy has taken place …

Security forces killed up to 25 people in Madagascar on Saturday when they opened fire on an anti-government protest outside the presidential palace, a senior police officer at the scene said.
Two weeks of civil unrest stoked by a power struggle between President Marc Ravalomanana and the sacked mayor of the capital, Andry Rajoelina, have killed some 125 people and worried multinational firms investing in the giant Indian Ocean island.

Mounting violence between rebel fighters and government troops along northern Sri Lanka has prompted U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to call for the safety of civilians as humanitarian groups try to provide aid to some 250,000 people trapped in the region.
“The secretary-general is deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of civilians caught in intensified fighting in the Vanni region of Sri Lanka,” a spokesman for Ban said in a statement Monday.