In a new audio statement posted on the Internet, Osama bin Laden called on Somali militants to overthrow the country's new President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed—himself a former leader of the Islamic Courts Union. In the 12-minute tape, which could not be immediately verified, bin Laden said: "This Sheik Sharif...must be fought and toppled... He is like the [Arab] presidents who are in the pay of our enemies." (News Hour, March 19)

Israel's ambassador to Ethiopia, Oded Ben-Haim, in an interview with Ethiopia's Walta Information Center, charged that Eritrea is trying to destabilize the peace process in the Horn of Africa, and serving as a save haven for terrorist groups. Ben-Haim especially accused Eritrea of supporting and arming al-Shabab, the insurgent group in Somalia, and also asserted Eritrean ties to the Palestinian Hamas. He called upon Ethiopia to "continue bringing stability in the Horn of Africa and to the whole continent." (WIC, March 19)

President Barack Obama broadcast a speech to the people and leaders of Iran early March 20, offering greetings for a Persian new year holiday of Nowruz, stressing the potential for peaceful cooperation. A video of the speech was distributed to news outlets in the region, subtitled in Farsi:

Seven sharia courts opened this week in Pakistan's northwest Swat Valley as part of a peace agreement signed between tribal leaders and the government last month. Authorities said two qazis, or judges trained in Islamic law, reviewed some 30 minor cases in Mingora, the largest city in Swat.

Opposition parties this week called for protests across Kyrgyzstan on March 27, amid worsening economic conditions and mounting accusations of government repression. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's government has authorized the rally—but Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev issued a grim warning. "At the slightest breach of the law, the police will take every measure to restore law and order and the security of our citizens," Kongantiyev said.

Protests in China's Tibetan regions continue to be met with harsh repression one year after the Lhasa uprising—now reported on only by the Tibetan exile media. Chinese police in Nyarong County, Sichuan Province, arrested three Tibetans March 12 and paraded them in a marketplace after they pasted protest letters in front of a local government office and hoisting of Tibetan national flag in a school, according to a report on the Tibetan exile government website. (Phayul, March 16)

In a major setback for Pentagon plans to install a US military radar base in the Czech Republic, the Prague government March 17 temporarily withdrew its proposal to ratify an agreement on the installation. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek halted the ratification process when it appeared that the Chamber of Deputies would likely reject the agreement. According to Jana Glivicka, a leader of the grassroots No Bases Initiative, this is a significant retreat, since the radar has been promoted as one of the key accomplishments of the current government.

The Bolivian government has applied for approval from the US State Department to purchase six L-159 light warplanes from the Czech Republic. Defense Minister Walker San Miguel told the daily La Prensa the planes, to be bought for $58 million, contain electronic parts made in the US, and their sale to a third party therefore requires US authorization. San Miguel said the planes would be used for drug enforcement. (AFP, March 11)