PARIS: Four of six Muslims being held in France on suspicion of recruiting Islamist fighters for Iraq were remanded in custody on Sunday, a police source said.
The men were among a group of seven men and a number of wives who were detained for questioning this week as part of a Franco-Belgian operation against a group suspected of having links with al Qaeda.
Excerpted
http://www.stuff.co.nz/3967289a12.html
Four dead, 49 injured as bombs rip through Thai Muslim south
19/02/2007
YALA, Thailand - At least four people were killed and 49 injured when a series of coordinated explosions, arson attacks and shootings hit Thailand's restive Muslim-majority south, police said.
Fifteen explosions injured 26 people and killed one in Yala province, one of three insurgency-torn southern provinces bordering Malaysia, while in nearby Narathiwat province, one person was killed and 23 injured in seven bombings. An unknown number of arson attacks and blasts hit Pattani province, one of which temporarily cut the provincial capital's electricity. Two villagers in Pattani were also shot dead in an ambush Sunday night.
Excerpted
http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=33693
Delegates from Arab states are meeting at an arms fair in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), embarking on huge military spending in a bid to contain a perceived threat from Iran. Gulf leaders will use billions of dollars in oil revenue to buy the arms, with many of the deals to be finalised at the Idex arms fair which began in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia is thought to have ordered almost $50bn in military hardware, including fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, attack helicopters and more than 300 new tanks.
Saudi Arabia's military power
Army, air force and navy manpower: 200,000
Tanks: 1055
Combat aircraft: 300
2005 defence spending: $25.4bn
It follows concern from Gulf states that Iranian military influence has grown across the wider Middle East region.
Massive spending
Tim Ripley, Middle East analyst with Jane's Defence Weekly, said: "The Gulf states have a shopping list of arms worth more than $60bn if all the deals under discussion go through."
Saudi Arabia's purchase of 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from BAe Systems is the largest deal to be made. The deal is yet to be finalised but appears to be back on after Britain's serious fraud office dropped an investigation into the company's accounting.
Meanwhile, the UAE has set aside $2bn for a rapid reaction brigade and has earmarked a further $6bn for missile defence batteries, airborne early-warning systems and aircraft. Both countries are members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) established in 1984. Other members of the GCC, including Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, are also expected to invest heavily in arms.
Iranian influence
Gulf leaders have watched with growing alarm as Iranian influence has spread throughout the Middle East. Marc Lee, the organiser of a conference on defence in the region, said: "People are concerned that if there is a complete breakdown in Iraq, it may wash over to them. "They are acutely conscious of the instability threats on the other side of the Gulf and the threat from Iran."
Last week, the Pentagon alleged that tank-piercing roadside bombs were being provided to Iraqi Shia fighters by the Iranian government. Iran is also suspected of using its influence in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, most notably towards the Hezbollah (Party of God) political party and resistance movement.
Warnings
Iran has warned that any attempt to halt its nuclear programme would result in attacks on US interests around the world.
Iran's military power
Army, air force and navy manpower: 545,000
Tanks: 1600
Combat aircraft: 300
2005 defence spending: $6.2bn
American plans for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear sites are reported to be well advanced, despite public denials. Against this backdrop, many Sunni Arab states are boosting their own defences.
"There are some people who are wary about Iran, but the Americans are running a very successful public-relations campaign against Tehran," said a senior Saudi diplomatic source. "A lot of Saudis fear that the US will come and make mischief then go away, but we have to live here afterwards." At the last Idex exhibition, in 2005, $2bn of deals were done in five days but this year is expected to break all records.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/884C6F3B-846E-4E7B-A140-31D8828C2A0C.htm