Jerusalem—Israeli officials played down reports
on Friday that a deal was close with Hamas that
would include the release of an Israeli soldier
held captive in the Gaza Strip in exchange for
Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Israeli and
Palestinian political sources and Western
diplomats confirmed, however, that Egyptian
mediators were still working on a package of
meas-ures that could combine exchanges of
prisoners, ceasefire agreements, an easing of
Israel’s blockade on Gaza and rapprochement
between rival Pales-tinian factions.
Colombo—The first elections since the end of Sri
Lanka’s war will take place in two parts of the
war-ravaged north on 8 August, the government
has confirmed. The municipal polls in Jaffna and
Vavuniya will be their first local vote in more
than a decade. They are being billed as another
step towards normal life, but there are still
many security problems there.
THE UK’s top commander in Afghanistan has denied
that the battle against the Taliban is “a losing
campaign”. General Jim Dutton told the BBC there
had been “a stalemate” in the south of the
country, but US forces were now being brought in
to boost “capacity”. “I am convinced that the
addition of those troops is going to improve the
security situation,” he said. The Ministry of
Defence said extra troops were now “being
deployed where they are needed the most”. US
President Barack Obama has announced an
additional 21,000 American troops will be sent
to Afghanistan.
TENSIONS are rising in Honduras after President
Manuel Zelaya ignored a court order to reinstate
the army chief. Mr Zelaya fired Gen Romeo
Vasquez after he refused to help with a
referendum on constitutional change that could
allow the president to seek a sec-ond term. Both
Congress and the courts have already deemed the
planned referendum unlawful. The Supreme Court
ordered Gen Vasquez reinstated but Mr Zelaya
told crowds he refused to comply. “We will not
obey the Supreme Court,” the president told
cheering supporters in front of the presidential
offices.
Washington—A top US diplomat hailed Bangladesh’s
efforts to rein in Islamic extremism and said
the new US administration hoped to step up
engagement with the South Asian nation. But
Robert Blake, the assistant secretary of state
for South Asia, also encouraged Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina to reach out to her arch-rival
Khaleda Zia, saying the time was ripe for
Bangladesh to end chronic deadlock.
