The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Antonio Guterres, has appealed to the international community for "genuine solidarity and unstinting aid to displaced Iraqis and to the states housing them." Nearly 4 million Iraqis have been forced from their homes during the conflict. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have appealed for 18.2 million Swiss francs (almost £7.5 million [or $15 million]) to assist some 100,000 displaced Iraqi families. [Reuters, April 17] UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked neighbouring countries to continue to provide sanctuary to Iraqi refugees. [AlJazeera, April 17]

Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the group the Islamic State of Iraq, has described Iraq as "the university of terrorism." According to al-Baghdadi, his al-Qaeda-associated group has used the war in Iraq as a training ground for jihadists, commenting that the "largest batch of soldiers for jihad in the path of God in the history of Iraq are graduating, and they have the highest level of competence in the world." He also expressed confidence in the future success of the insurgency. The statement was released as an audio clip on the Internet on Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. [AlJazeera, April 17]

A US soldier has today been put on trial in absentia, accused of shooting dead the Italian intelligence operative Nicola Calipari. Mario Lozano [of the 69th infantry regiment] opened fire on a vehicle carrying Calipari and Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena [of the communist Il Manifesto], at a checkpoint near Baghdad Airport, Iraq, in March 2005. The US military officially exonerated Lozano of the killing. [London Times, April 17]

A UN vehicle has been hit by a remote-controlled bomb blast in the southern city of Kandahar, Afghanistan [April 17]. Four Nepalese contractors working with the UN Office for Project Services were killed, along with their Afghan driver. The vehicle was part of a UN convoy. Taliban forces have claimed responsibility for the act. It comprises one attack among many in a campaign which has targeted those seen to be supporting foreign forces. "We'll target all individuals or organisations that are either cooperating with coalition forces or working under their supervision," remarked the Taliban commander responsible for the act. [Reuters, April 17]

British International Development Secretary Hilary Benn has announced an end to the use of "war on terror" phraseology among the UK government. "What these [terrorist] groups want," he observed, is to "force their individual and narrow values on others without dialogue, without debate, through violence." Thus, in its conveyance of tackling a monolithic "enemy," the "war on terror" term has only served to strengthen the "terrorist" resolve, he critiqued. Benn also advocated increased use of ideational and value-based "soft power" policies, having called for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, and emphasizing Britain’s ascription to the International Criminal Court. [AlJazeera, April 16]

Khartoum has agreed to an interim deployment of 3,000 UN peacekeepers in support of the African Union (AU) in Darfur. UN officials, however, have announced that enacting this measure may take as long as six months, while Sudan is yet to condone the third phase of peacekeeping operations, which would involve deployment of a further 20,000 personnel in support of the overstretched AU teams already on the ground. Although described by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as "a very positive sign," US Ambassador Alejandro Wolff has expressed scepticism. After all, this path has been stymied before. US-British intensions to enact sanctions against the Khartoum government remain on the table. [Reuters, April 17]

The conflict in Darfur is an early sign global security threats prompted by climate change, a senior representative of the British government warned April 16 on the eve of a special United Nations debate. "Like most conflicts, it's complex. It results from an interplay of a lot of social and political and possibly ethnic factors," said John Ashton, Prime Minister Tony Blair's special ambassador on climate change. "But there is absolutely no doubt that it's a more difficult conflict to deal with, because on top of all that, you've had a 40% fall in the rainfall in northern Darfur over the last 25 to 30 years, again in a way that's entirely consistent with what the climate models would have told you to expect."

Hundreds of rural workers occupied the offices of the National Agrarian Reform Institute in Brasilia, and thousands more invaded farms and blocked roads on April 16, demanding the government speed up moves to give land to small farmers and peasants. Protesters stormed the building at dawn and shut the doors to staff. They moved to the cellar by early evening, after authorities agreed to dialogue.