In Brief

MALI UNREST – Armed men seized two military camps in northeastern Mali, witnesses and military sources said.

They said an unidentified group of several dozen assailants swooped on the Aboulaye Soumare camp, one of two in the Kidal region, at around 6:00am. An officer who witnessed the attack said around 20 Malian soldiers were in the camp near the town of Kidal at the time.* BANGLADESH RIOTS – Angry garment workers set fire to at least seven textile factories in and around the Bangladesh capital, after news that a worker shot in the back during recent protests over better pay and working conditions had died, officials and witnesses said.* NUCLEAR STANDOFF – Oman and the United Arab Emirates said that Gulf Arab states want direct talks with Iran to help resolve the crisis provoked by Tehran’s nuclear programme and strongly backed European efforts for a negotiated settlement.* IMMIGRATION CRISIS – Spain’s autonomous authorities in the Canary Islands, overwhelmed by waves of illegal immigration from Africa, called for reinforcements from Madrid and criticised Brussels for failing to help.* PRO-DEMOCRACY – The United States hailed a surprise meeting between a top UN envoy and Myanmar’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but called on Yangon to release her this week when her house arrest expires.* MILITANT ARRESTED – Jordan has arrested a senior member of the al Qaeda in Iraq militant group whose confessions will be broadcast on state television, a senior official said.* SOMALI UNREST – Somalia’s transitional government has renewed a call for foreign peacekeepers in the lawless nation, setting the stage for a new fight in parliament where members physically attacked each other during debate on the matter last year.- Nampa-AFP-APAn officer who witnessed the attack said around 20 Malian soldiers were in the camp near the town of Kidal at the time.* BANGLADESH RIOTS – Angry garment workers set fire to at least seven textile factories in and around the Bangladesh capital, after news that a worker shot in the back during recent protests over better pay and working conditions had died, officials and witnesses said.* NUCLEAR STANDOFF – Oman and the United Arab Emirates said that Gulf Arab states want direct talks with Iran to help resolve the crisis provoked by Tehran’s nuclear programme and strongly backed European efforts for a negotiated settlement.* IMMIGRATION CRISIS – Spain’s autonomous authorities in the Canary Islands, overwhelmed by waves of illegal immigration from Africa, called for reinforcements from Madrid and criticised Brussels for failing to help.* PRO-DEMOCRACY – The United States hailed a surprise meeting between a top UN envoy and Myanmar’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but called on Yangon to release her this week when her house arrest expires. * MILITANT ARRESTED – Jordan has arrested a senior member of the al Qaeda in Iraq militant group whose confessions will be broadcast on state television, a senior official said.* SOMALI UNREST – Somalia’s transitional government has renewed a call for foreign peacekeepers in the lawless nation, setting the stage for a new fight in parliament where members physically attacked each other during debate on the matter last year.- Nampa-AFP-AP