Thailand: 'The United States has imposed sanctions against Thailand in response to the military coup which ousted civilian Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.' (BBC).

Pakistan: 'Pakistan has been accused of detaining hundreds of alleged terror suspects without legal process by human rights organisation Amnesty International.' (BBC).

Turkey: 'The jailed Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan, wants his guerrilla fighters to declare a ceasefire, his lawyer said, amid international criticism of a wave of rebel attacks, some on civilians and foreign tourists' (Independent).

Iraq: 'A man identified as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq said on an audiotape Thursday that more than 4,000 foreign fighters have died battling the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi troops.' (CNN).

Kyrgyzstan: 'Kyrgyzstan’s government is allowing domestic violence and the abduction of women for forced marriage to continue with impunity' (Human Rights Watch).

Pakistan: 'British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Pakistani counterpart are set to meet in London amid fallout from a leaked intelligence report that says the war on terror is acting like "a recruiting sergeant for extremists."' (CNN).

Iraq: 'A quarter of a million Iraqis have fled their homes and registered as refugees in the past seven months, data released on Thursday showed, amid an upsurge in violence that has accompanied the Ramadan holy month.' (Reuters).

Bangladesh: 'At least 200 people have been injured in pitched battles between police and thousands of protesters in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, reports say.' (BBC).

Kyrgyzstan: 'Mob goes unpunished as intolerance of religious freedom rises' (Forum 18).

India: 'Hindu extremists severely beat two pastors on September 24 in Madhya Pradesh, India, before dragging them to a police station and accusing them of “forcing” conversions. Two days earlier, extremists had attacked and injured two evangelists in the same state, later accusing them of “hurting Hindu sentiments.”' (Compass Direct).

Afghanistan: 'At least 18 people have been killed in an explosion near a governor's office and mosque in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials say.' (BBC).

Nepal: 'Nepalese officials say they hope to retrieve the bodies of all the 24 people who were killed in a helicopter crash as soon as the weather improves.' (BBC).

Lebanon: 'A "considerable number of new leads" have emerged in the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to the latest report released Monday by a commission of U.N.-appointed investigators.' (CNN).

Pakistan: 'A Pakistani Christian jailed last week on suspicion of ripping book pages containing Quranic verses appealed to Punjabi police through his lawyer yesterday (September 21) for his case to be cancelled for lack of evidence.' (Compass Direct).

Vatican: 'Pope Benedict XVI has met envoys from Muslim nations in an attempt to defuse a crisis in relations between the Catholic Church and Islam.' (BBC).

Afghanistan: 'Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed skepticism Sunday that a pact signed between his Pakistani counterpart and tribal elders across the border will reduce the incidents of terrorism in his country.' (CNN).

India: 'Separatist rebels have shot dead a tea estate manager in India's north eastern state of Assam, jolting an uncertain peace process in the troubled state.' (BBC).

Iraq: 'The New York Times newspaper has published what it says are the findings of a classified US intelligence paper on the effects of the Iraq war.' (BBC).

Lebanon: 'Hizbollah still has 20,000 rockets, Nasrallah tells 300,000 at rally' (Telegraph).

Palestine / Israel: 'Palestinian hopes for a unity government and renewed international funding appeared to be in tatters yesterday after the ruling militant group, Hamas, insisted that it would not recognise Israel's right to exist.' (Telegraph).

Iran: 'The scheduled executions in Iran this week of two juvenile offenders – and their last-minute reprieve – highlight the country’s status as the world leader in juvenile executions' (Human Rights Watch).

Pakistan: 'Radical Muslim clerics and scholars in Pakistan have demanded the removal of Pope Benedict XVI for what they called "insulting remarks" against Islam.' (BBC).

Indonesia: 'Thousands of protesters took to the streets of eastern Indonesia after three Christian militants were executed in religiously divided Sulawesi.' (BBC).

India: 'Christians in Amritsar, in India’s Punjab state, will stage a rally on Friday (September 22) to protest last week’s attack on a 200-year-old church in their city.' (Compass Direct).

Kashmir: 'In Azad Kashmir, a region largely closed to international scrutiny until a devastating earthquake hit last year, the Pakistani government represses democratic freedoms, muzzles the press and practices routine torture' (Human Rights Watch).

China: 'China has failed to live up to its promise to improve its human rights record ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, Amnesty International has said.' (BBC).

Indonesia: 'Three Indonesian Christian militants facing execution for attacks against Muslims in 2000 have been visited by relatives for probably the last time.' (BBC).

Jordan: 'A Jordanian military court sentenced a failed female suicide bomber and six others to death on Thursday for planning attacks that killed 60 people in Amman last year.' (CNN).

Thailand: 'Thailand's coup leader has said civilian rule will be restored "within a year" amid growing international disquiet over Tuesday's military takeover.' (CNN).

Pakistan: 'Bush should press Musharraf to end military rule' (Human Rights Watch).

India: 'On Monday (September 11), Muslim militants attacked the Good Shepherd Mission School in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir state, destroying the boundary wall and damaging the school building and equipment.' (Compass Direct).

Middle East: 'President Bush challenged world leaders to do more to build democracy in the Middle East in an address at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday.' (CNN).

Lebanon/Israel: 'The discovery of hundreds of US-made cluster bombs among the tens of thousands of unexploded munitions carpeting the south of Lebanon, has led to calls on Washington to impose a moratorium on sales of the weapons to Israel.' (Independent).

Thailand: 'Thai military leaders have begun consolidating their hold on power after staging a coup while Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was abroad. (BBC).

Vietnam: 'Church leaders in Vietnam expressed surprise at U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom John Hanford’s statement at a briefing on Friday (September 15) that “Vietnam has turned the corner and made enormous progress on religious freedom.”' (Compass Direct).

Iran: 'French President Jacques Chirac has said referring Iran to the UN Security Council is not the best way to resolve a crisis over its nuclear programme.' (BBC).

North Korea: 'Japan and Australia have announced new financial sanctions against North Korea, stepping up pressure on the secretive state over missile tests.' (BBC).

Iraq: 'A Chaldean Catholic priest taken hostage nearly a month ago was set free by his captors in Baghdad on Monday night' (Compass Direct).

Kashmir: 'Shops, businesses and most schools closed in Kashmir's main city on Monday in response to a strike call by separatists to protest over comments Pope Benedict made about Islam.' (Reuters).

Lebanon: 'Lebanese villagers must risk death in fields 'flooded' with more than a million Israeli cluster bombs - or leave crops to rot' (Independent).

Thailand: 'A series of bombs have exploded in the southern Thai town of Hat Yai, in the province of Songkhla, killing at least two people and injuring dozens.' (BBC).

Vatican / Muslim world: 'Muslims leaders around the world demanded a more personal apology from the Pope last night after the Vatican said he "sincerely regrets" the offence caused by remarks which they claimed had insulted Islam.' (Telegraph).

Myanmar / Burma: 'The UN Security Council has voted to put Burma on its formal agenda, a move that will allow council members to examine the situation in the country.' (BBC).

Vatican: 'Pope Benedict XVI has said he is "very upset" that his speech on Islam offended Muslims and expressed his respect for their faith, according to the Vatican.' (CNN).

India/South Africa: an interesting analysis of the historical links between the two countries (BBC).

Yemen: 'Four suicide attackers have been killed in Yemen attempting to blow up oil installations with bomb-laden cars, Yemen's interior ministry says.' (BBC).

Pakistan: 'Pakistan's credibility as a leading ally in the war on terrorism was called into question last night when it emerged that President Pervez Musharraf's government had authorised the release from jail of thousands of Taliban fighters caught fighting coalition forces in Afghanistan.' (Telegraph).

Egypt: 'Muslim leaders have condemned Pope Benedict XVI over comments he made about Islam on a visit to Germany and demanded he apologize.' (CNN).

China: Would a religion law help promote religious freedom? (Forum 18 analysis).

Lebanon: 'Amnesty International has accused Lebanon's Hizbollah movement of committing war crimes by deliberately targeting Israeli civilians with its rockets.' (Independent).

Iraq: 'U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said leaders of Middle Eastern nations believe the Iraq war has "been a real disaster" for the region.' (CNN).

Iran: 'Tehran prison authorities sent Iranian Christian Hamid Pourmand home in late July, informing him that he would not be required to serve the remaining 14 months of his three-year prison sentence.' (Compass Direct).

Turkey: 'A bomb blast in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir Tuesday evening killed 11 people and injured at least a dozen more, hospital officials said.' (CNN).

Iraq: 'Police recovered 60 bodies over the past day across Baghdad, most bound and tortured, officials said on Wednesday, highlighting how sectarian death squads are still plaguing the Iraqi capital despite a major security drive.' (Reuters).

Syria: 'The US has thanked Syria for foiling an attack on its embassy in Damascus.' (BBC).

Afghanistan: 'The US has warned that Afghanistan is at risk of becoming a failed state unless Nato countries support its path towards democracy.' (BBC).

Apologies to our readers for the recent lack of updates. I have been away from the office on compassionate leave and will now recommence updating the blog. Thankyou for your patience and continued support of the ministry of Interserve.

With blessings,

Matt Vaughan
Publications Manager

Turkey: 'A percussion bomb exploded next to the ruling AK Party's offices in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Tuesday, but caused no injuries, the state news agency Anatolian reported.' (Reuters).

Nepal: 'Hundreds of people protested in the Nepali capital for the second straight day on Tuesday demanding information about friends and relatives they say disappeared during a decade-old fight against Maoist rebels.' (Reuters).

Iran: 'An Iranian court has temporarily released an Iranian man who Christians say may be executed for converting from Islam to Christianity, reports said Monday, September 4.' (Worthy News).

Lebanon: 'A bomb blast near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon has seriously wounded a senior intelligence officer and killed two members of his bodyguard.' (BBC).

Indonesia: 'A Indonesian Islamic militant has been jailed for eight years for his role in the October 2005 triple suicide attacks on the island of Bali.' (BBC).

Qatar/Lebanon: 'The Gulf state of Qatar has become the first Arab country to commit troops to the U.N. international peacekeeping operation in Lebanon.' (CNN).

Afghanistan: 'Tributes were paid yesterday to the British service personnel who died when their reconnaissance aircraft crashed in Afghanistan on Saturday.' (Independent).

Jordan: 'A gunman has opened fire on a group of foreign tourists in the Jordanian capital Amman, killing a British man.' (BBC).

North Korea: 'North Korea has accused the US of threatening war by conducting a missile defence test and vowed to strengthen its self-defence in response.' (BBC).

Myanmar/Burma: 'The military government in Burma says it will resume talks on a constitution.' (BBC).

India: 'A court in Jammu and Kashmir state today granted bail to two pastors and five Bible students who had been detained by police yesterday on charges of “concealing identity” and “forced conversion.”' (Compass Direct).

UK: 'Thousands of British Muslims are being watched by police and MI5 under suspicion of possible terrorist involvement, a Scotland Yard chief has disclosed.' (Telegraph).

Syria: 'U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Syria has pledged to step up border patrols and work with the Lebanese army to stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah.' (CNN).

Iran: 'An Iranian passenger plane skidded off the runway and smashed its wing on the ground, sparking a fire as it landed in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Friday, killing 29 people, Iran's aviation chief said.' (CNN).

Malaysia: 'Malaysian PM faces acid test on corruption' (Reuters).

Australia: 'Australian Prime Minister John Howard has called on migrants, particularly Muslims, to integrate into Australian society by quickly learning English -- sparking warnings his comments may lead to race riots.' (Reuters).

Saudi Arabia: 'Saudi Arabia deported four East African Christians last month after they were detained while leading a prayer service in Jeddah.' (Compass Direct).

UK: 'Oxfam has called for better financing of basic public services by rich and poor countries' governments as a way to end poverty in the developing world.' (BBC).