Sri Lanka bombing kills nine, 27 wounded

A bomber appearing as a pregnant woman blew herself up near military headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least nine people.


Sri Lanka forces stand watch as helicopters fly overhead in Colombo (Feb. 4, 2006). Reuters photo from Yahoo News

The blast further brought a 2002 ceasefire near the brink as government aircraft attacked rebel positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Violence escalated recently in the most serious challenge to the Norway-mediated truce.

The Tamil Tigers are fighting for a homeland in Tamil-dominated areas. They claim that the original inhabitants of the country, the Naga kingdom, were related to present-day Tamils.

Many Sinhalis, the majority population, claim that Tamils came only in relatively recent times, mostly during the medieval period.

Sri Lanka defends strikes against Tigers


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Doubt over deal between Nepal King and opposition

Katmandu continued to witness massive protests despite an apparent deal between King Gyanendra and leaders of the opposition Nepal Congress party.

Although many proclaimed victory over the breakthrough, just as many appeared apprehensive over any agreement with the monarch.

Many insisted on the creation of a new assembly to rewrite the constitution, and called for stripping the monarchy of any true political power.

Maoists, who had for the first time entered into coalition with Nepal's political parties, rejected the negotiations as a "sham" and threatened a blockade of Katmandu and other centers unless a constitutional convention is called. They also demanded that the monarchy should be written into history.

Sher Bahadur Deuba, prime minister when Gyanendra dissolved Parliament in 2002, has reportedly nominated another former prime minister, his one-time protege and foe, GP Koirala, to take the helm.

Over the next few days or weeks, we will have to see how well the opposition coalition holds together. According to early reports, all seven political parties in the coalition have agreed to Koirala resuming as prime minister.

Power to the People -- Nepali Times

Bin Laden releases new tape

Osama bin Laden appears to have released a new audio tape Sunday urging his followers to continue fighting against "crusader plunderers."

The tape was aired on the Sunday broadcast of the al-Jazeera television network. News analysts believe the voice and mannerisms on the tape are authentic. Previously al-Jazeera has released what world intelligence agencies believe were real messages from the al-Qaeda leader.

Bin Laden last released a taped message on January 19 when he offered a "truce" to Western powers without specific conditions. In the latest message, he urges his fighters to resist Westerners working in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaeda's second in command addressed followers less than two weeks ago praising the resistance in Iraq. Tapes of bin Laden, al Zawahri and other al-Qaeda operatives are routinely posted on Internet sites.

In the Sunday broadcast, bin Laden accused the West of meddling in Sudan's affairs to "steal the region's oil" and to aid the south in breaking away to form its own government. He also condemned the blockade of the Hamas government in Palestine.

Hamas responded saying that it had a very different ideology than al-Qaeda, but agreed that isolation of Hamas would cause tensions in the region.

Interview with Osama bin Laden's bodyguard

Discuss the issues at Table Talk