sparks and spirals

africa
LAT: violence in Kenya along ethnic lines spreads to Naivasha
"The violence in Naivasha appeared to be in response to clashes last week in the nearby city of Nakuru, where as many as 50 Kikuyus were killed and hundreds of homes burned."
Gdn: death toll reaches 800; violence in Kisumu as well
NYT: Kenyan military deployed for first time to stop the fighting, but don't succeed

BBC: EU will deploy in Chad, Central African Republic to protect Darfur refugees, relieve UN forces
"Known as Eufor Chad/CAR, the force will be deployed in four areas - three in Chad and one in the Central African Republic. The mission is among the hardest undertaken by the European Union and will involve at least 11 member states."

middle east
LAT: Pakistani forces clash with militants near Peshawar
Gdn: militants take over 200 children hostage at a school in northwest

Salon: the border breach in Gaza: beneficial to Israel?
"In Jerusalem the opening of the border with Egypt is even being greeted with some relief. 'Cairo now has to solve the humanitarian problem that we have been dealing with until now,' said an Israeli official."
BBC: Egypt trying to seal off the border
Gdn: Fatah wants Hamas out of border regulating role

NYT: seven shot by Lebanese Army during Sunday opposition protest/riots; worst violence in a year
Econ: the bombings in Beirut: contextualizing the assassination

NYT: Yemen deals with Islamists differently, "worries" US

LAT: recruiting contractors in Latin America
"About 1,200 Peruvians are in Iraq, mostly guarding sites in Baghdad's Green Zone. Chileans, Colombians, Salvadorans and Hondurans have also served as part of the polyglot assemblage providing "conflict labor" in U.S. war zones."
WP: gov't officials testify that the US can't 'manage' contractors in Iraq

SWJ: new topics at the US Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute
SWJ: new intelligence units in the Marines
"Today’s irregular warfare, with its lack of a uniformed enemy, makes intelligence gathering vital for enemy identification. To adapt to the emerging threat, infantry companies often create their own versions of ad hoc intelligence cells, said Vince Goulding, director of experimentation plans at the Warfighting Laboratory. But those individual efforts have been piecemeal, because the Corps had no standard training or equipment available, he said.
The new initiative for pushing intelligence analysis know-how down to the lower echelons, however, is about to change all that. Rifle companies will now be able to assess, analyze and disseminate information that they typically had relied on battalion or regimental command to produce…"

SWJ: essays on lessons learned in Iraq from the American Security Project
SWJ: interview with Brigadier General Edward Cardon, on progress in Iraq
Ind: key US ally threatens to defect with his 13,000 men if jobs aren't provided in 3 months
Ind: check-up on Fallujah

americas
BBC: killings in Guyana gang-related, raise concerns of ethnic conflict; villagers protest for more police aid

BBC: Chávez calls for anti-US security block

NYT: real estate on the black market in Havana

NYT: closing prisons in rural NY, shifting priorities in the penal system
"Closing those prisons, [the state's corrections commissioner] said, would save the state millions of dollars, free up money for the treatment of sex offenders and mentally ill inmates, and finance programs like anger management and vocational training, meant to prepare prisoners for their release."

asia
BBC: tens killed in Sri Lanka fighting over the weekend

BBC: clashes continue in Assam between separatists (ULFA) and Indian forces

NYT: Thailand chooses new prime minister, moves away from military control

NYT: Indonesians mourn Suharto

misc
Gdn: Australia will apologize for its treatment of Aborigines, especially taking children
Gdn: children also stolen, given to different families in Argentina; DNA testing linking families
BBC: French NGO workers sentenced to 8 years in prison for attempting to kidnap 103 Chadian children

Ind: hip-hop in Iran, where rap is illegal

New Yorker: God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe 570 to 1215 (book review)

WP: is this thing on? Bush to give State of the Union tonight (his last one!)

New Yorker: "Boxing Rebellion" in China