News from South Asia to Asia

This first article is about the chaos over the assassination of Hariri.

BEIRUT: In an official letter to the United Nations on Monday, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora requested help with the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri "as a matter of urgency." "We called on the UN Security Council to establish the court as soon as possible after all possible means to ratify it in Lebanon have failed," Minister of Information Ghazi Aridi told reporters after a Cabinet meeting late Monday. [Continue reading.]

This next article is about a crazy man, Ahmadinejad, who believes that America will 'repent' after Iran attacks us.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday threatened "severe" retaliation if the United States attacked his country - a tough response to recent comments by the US vice president that Washington would prevent Iran from dominating the region. Ahmadinejad also said Iran had agreed for the benefit of the Iraqi people to meet with the US in Baghdad to discuss security in Iraq. [Continue reading.]

This article is quite ironic. The Minister of the Interior has resigned.

The Palestinian interior minister resigned on Monday, rocking a two-month-old unity government after the biggest surge in factional fighting in months revived fears of civil war.

Despite an Egyptian-brokered truce, two Palestinian gunmen and two civilians caught in crossfire were killed in clashes between the Hamas and Fatah groups in in Gaza. Nine people have been shot dead since a new round of violence erupted on Friday. [Continue reading.]

I'm not sure what to make of this article. If Egypt is truly only going after the Muslim Brotherhood, then this is a good thing. On the other hand, however, if they are going after anyone who disagrees with the government, this is NOT good.

CAIRO: Egypt upheld a decision Monday by President Hosni Mubarak to have some 40 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood group tried by a military court, a judicial source said. Supreme Administrative Court Judge Issam Abdel-Aziz reversed a May 8 ruling in a lower court which declared invalid the president's decision, the source told AFP.

The military trial of the men, charged with money laundering and financing a banned organization, is now scheduled to resume on June 3. [Continue reading.]

Even the Prime Minister of Japan has a comment on the war in Iraq.

TOKYO: Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe on Monday strongly defended the invasion of Iraq, calling Saddam Hussein a dictator who posed a threat to the region. Abe is seeking parliamentary approval to extend an air-force mission in Iraq amid growing international criticism of the war, with Britain's likely next premier Gordon Brown promising a new approach. [Continue reading.]

Last, but not least by far, is an article about an Iranian newspaper being placed back on the market after being banned for nine months. It has agreed not to 'embarrass' the government, so I don't know how much 'news' we will receive.

TEHRAN: Shargh (East), the flagship newspaper of Iran's moderates, returned to newsstands Monday after a nine-month ban to join a diverse range of other moderate titles. The return of Shargh, a newspaper with a 100,000 daily circulation that was known for its criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, came a day after the like-minded Ham Mihan republished after a seven-year ban. Continue reading.]

I hope I was able to bring you some news that you did not already know. You can also find news like this in The Daily Star. It comes from Lebanon. Have a great day.