commemoration and conflict

LAT: Ashura has started; 80 have died in clashes between Shia cult and police in Basra and Nasiriya
"The Supporters of the Mahdi is named after a figure most Muslims believe will appear with Jesus and establish peace and justice worldwide. Most Shiites believe the Mahdi is their 12th imam, a descendant of the prophet Muhammad who they say went into hiding in 878 and is still alive and will return.

Southern Iraq, which is overwhelmingly Shiite, is home to a number of small doomsday-style cults whose leaders either claim to be the Mahdi, or who believe they can hasten his return by spreading chaos."

NYT: has an upbeat take on the same violence, says police protected pilgrims to Karbala.
"Government troops in southern Iraq fought with a millennial religious militia group on Friday in clashes that left more than 40 people dead, but the troops successfully protected millions of pilgrims on the first day of Ashura, the largest religious holiday for Iraq’s Shiite majority and one frequently marred by violence."

also, Sadr might "allow his militia to become active" at end of February

Econ: progress on the political front?

BBC: Pakistan arrest 5 men allegedly planning Ashura attacks in Karachi
LAT: including a 15-year-old accused of involvement in assassination of Bhutto
Gdn: military gains upper hand in South Waziristan, claiming 90 insurgents killed

BBC: Nasrallah commemorates Ashura by announcing Hezbollah has Israeli soldiers' body parts
Ind: attacks, funerals in Gaza

BBC: 14 arrested in Barcelona, accused of terror plot

BBC: ICG reports that security force reforms badly needed in East Timor

BBC: convictions in 2002 Gujarat riots

BBC: Ethiopian official says Westerners held for aiding rebels in Ogaden region, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)

Gdn: weeks before carnival, samba school in Rio under investigation for ties to drug traffickers
"This year...its preparations [for carnival] have been disrupted by a police investigation into its relationship with Brazilian drug traffickers, who control the neighbourhood where Mangueira is located."

Gdn: Kosovo independence on hold, international interests weighing in
LAT: on Serbian side, candidates for president differ on almost everything (except Kosovo independence)

Econ: more on Mugabe's rival
Ind: Zimbabwe prints $10 million bill

Econ: South Africa's policing problems

Econ: US military in space

Econ: "change" the buzzword in Barbados elections too; at least they only lasted a few weeks