Tanks rolled and fighter jets roared over India's main ceremonial avenue in an annual Republic Day military parade Jan. 26—hours after Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged heavy fire in disputed Kashmir. A spokesman for the Indian border force said Pakistani troops fired to provide cover to militants trying to infiltrate into Indian-controlled Kashmir. But a Pakistani official said Indian forces used automatic weapons and mortar rounds in "unprovoked firing" that hit Bijhwat village near the Pakistani city of Sialkot. No casualties were reported. (Reuters, Jan. 26)

The leaders of one of the largest Pashtun tribes in the Taliban stronghold of eastern Afghanistan announced Jan. 27 that they had agreed to support the US-backed government, battle insurgents, and burn down the home of anyone who harbored insurgents. Elders from the Shinwari tribe, which represents about 400,000 people, also pledged to send at least one military-age male in each family to the Afghan army or the police in the event of a Taliban attack. In exchange for their support, US commanders agreed to channel $1 million in development projects directly to the tribal leaders and bypass the local Afghan government, widely viewed as corrupt. (NYT, Jan. 27)

Two Iranians were executed Jan. 28 and nine others have been sentenced to death for their roles in last summer's post-election protests, according to the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA). The two executed men, identified as Momammed Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour, were convicted on charges of mohareb, or enmity against God, and had earlier been appeared in televised show trials. Amnesty International condemned the executions, saying, "[t]hese shocking executions show that the Iranian authorities will stop at nothing to stamp out the peaceful protests that persist since the election." (Jurist, Jan. 28)

US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp said Jan. 28 that no US president is likely to present the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the US Senate for ratification in the "foreseeable future." Speaking at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Rapp said that while the US has an important role in international criminal justice, it is unlikely to join the ICC anytime soon. Rapp cited fears that US officials would be unfairly prosecuted and the United States' strong national court system as reasons it would be difficult to overcome opposition to ratification. Rapp also said that the US has a role to play in a three-part system for ending international impunity. The US must work to strengthen national court systems, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the US must work with countries that exercise universal jurisdiction when there is some relation between the country and the crime, and the US should continue to support the work of international criminal tribunals.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Jan. 27 cited costs and potential disruptions to the lives of New Yorkers in urging the federal government not to try accused 9-11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile terror suspects in New York City. Bloomberg suggested a military base may be a more appropriate venue for the trial. Earlier this month Bloomberg claimed that providing security for the trial in New York would cost the city more than $216 million in the first year and $206 million in any additional years. Bloomberg originally backed the idea of trying some of the terror suspects currently held at Guantánamo Bay in Manhattan due to its proximity to Ground Zero and the symbolic significance of convicting the suspects there. (Jurist, Jan. 28)

A Sana'a government official said Jan. 27 that Yemen will build a rehabilitation center for transfered Guantánamo Bay detainees. According to the anonymous official, Yemen will begin building once it receives funding for the $11 million project promised by the US. The project will presumably be discussed this week at a London meeting intended to garner international support for counter-terrorist efforts in Yemen. (Jurist, Jan. 27)

The US Department of Justice announced Jan. 26 that an Uzbek Guantánamo Bay detainee has been transferred to Switzerland. The detainee's identity will not be disclosed in order to facilitate his transition into life in Switzerland. The Swiss government agreed to accept the detainee for resettlement "on humanitarian grounds" after reassurances from the US that the man was not convicted of any crime and will not be a threat to public safety. The detainee was originally cleared for release in 2005, but could not return to Uzbekistan for fear of persecution.

Four explosions rocked Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula in the wee hours on Jan. 26, the day slated for the first national election since the government declared victory in the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May. At least two bombs went off outside the home of a ruling party activist in the Jaffna peninsula, but there were no reports of casualties, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said.