Bolivian President Evo Morales flew to Moscow Feb. 14 to discuss cooperation in energy and counter-narcotics efforts with the Russian leadership. The visit comes a week after Russia's Gazprom and the Bolivia's state hydrocarbons company YPFB signed a memorandum on drafting a plan for the joint development of the Bolivian gas industry up to 2030. Construction of hydropower stations in Bolivia by the Russian company Tekhnopromexport is said to be under consideration as well. Before his departure for Moscow, Morales also said that he would discuss with the purchase of Russian planes and helicopters for drug enforcement. (ITAR-TASS, Feb. 15)

Neo-Nazis and anti-fascist counter-demonstrators clashed with riot police and each other in Dresden Feb. 14 as the Hitler-nostalgist National Democratic Party used the 64th anniversary of the 1945 Allied bombardment of the German city to hold a 6,000-strong "mourning march." Counter-demonstrations, led in part by the city's unions, drew almost 10,000. Two police cars were over turned and several arrests were made in the street-fighting. For the last ten years, groups linked to NDP have marked the day with marches, but this year's was their largest yet. (EuroNews, Bloomberg, Feb. 14)

Police clashed with protesters in several Turkish cities as Kurds marched in defiance of a ban to mark the 10th anniversary of the capture of separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence. The biggest protests were in Diyarbakir, where police brought out armored vehicles, tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd of 2,500 that gathered outside the headquarters of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), the only legal Kurdish political party. Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir and lawmaker Aysel Tugluk, both DTP members, were present at the protest, but police barred them from addressing the crowd. Protests were also held in towns across the southeast. In Sirnak, protesters threw fire bombs at police, and authorities in Semdinli near the Iraqi border set up roadblocks to prevent marches, witnesses said. There were also clashes in Istanbul. More than 85 were arrested, and several injured.

A team of British officials flew into Guantánamo Bay Feb. 14 to visit hunger-striking detainee Binyam Mohamed and prepare for his likely return. "The visit will make preparations for his return, should the ongoing US review into Guantanamo Bay detainees confirm a decision to release him," a Foreign Office statement said. "The team includes a doctor, who would take part in any return, so that he may assess Mr Mohamed's condition himself and report back." Mohamed, 30, has been on hunger strike since Jan. 5 and is being force-fed through a tube. He has refugee status in the UK, and Foreign Secretary David Miliband says he wants him back "as soon as possible." (AFP, Feb. 14*)

Yemen's government is denying press reports that it released a large group of al-Qaeda suspects from prison last week. The Yemeni embassy in Washington issued a statement saying the 108 released prisoners are not affiliated with al-Qaeda in any way. Anonymous Yemeni security officials had been quoted saying that authorities were releasing about 170 suspects linked to al-Qaeda after the detainees signed commitments to good behavior. The US has expressed concern about past releases of suspected al-Qaeda militants in Yemen. Al-Qaeda's Yemeni chapter claimed responsibility for an attack on the US embassy in Sanaa last September that killed 13 Yemenis. Six attackers also were killed. (VOA, Feb. 10)

As Russia marks the 20th anniversary of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the BBC Feb. 14 spoke with veterans of the Soviet military campaign there, who had grim words of warning for Washington. "Doubling their forces won't lead to a solution on the ground," said Col Oleg Kulakov, who served twice in Afghanistan and is now a lecturer and historian in Moscow. "The conflict cannot be solved by military means, it's an illusion. No-one can reach any political goal in Afghanistan relying on military force. Frankly speaking, they are doomed to repeat our mistakes."

Two missiles fired from a US drone killed more than 30, reportedly including al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, in Pakistan's Tribal Areas Feb. 14. The missiles struck three compounds, including one used by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and his fighters. Arab and Uzbek militants were apparently among those killed. The compounds were in the village of Shwangai, near the town of Makeen, South Waziristan. (NYT, Feb. 14)

An analysis this week by the Council for Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), "Venezuelan Synagogue Vandalizing Takes New Turn: The Culmination of a Number of Anti-Semitic and Anti-Israel Incidents," accuses President Hugo Chávez and his government of creating a climate that fostered the Jan. 31 attack on the Tiferet Israel Sephardic temple in Caracas.