Thousands of Serbs protested in front of the US embassy in Belgrade Feb. 27 against independence for Kosova, which has been under United Nations control since 1999. The protest, organised by the Serb National Council of Kosovo (SNV), drew some 40,000 people. Many came by bus directly from Kosova, carrying banners reading “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia”, "We won't give up Kosovo" and "Russia, help!" Some carried pictures of Vladimir Putin or signs calling for Moscow to veto Kosova's independence at the Security Council.

Anti-war marchers took to the streets in London and Glasgow Feb. 24 to demand the return of all troops from Iraq, and an end to plans to replace the UK's Trident nuclear missile system. Organizers from the Stop the War coalition said 60,000 people turned out in London's Trafalgar Square. In Glasgow, around 2,000 gathered in George Square. The protests, jointly organized with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the British Muslim Initiative, also opposed any military action against Iran. Marchers carried "Don't attack Iran" banners and posters calling US President George Bush a "terrorist." (BBC, Feb. 24)

Oil rose above $61 Feb. 26 as UN Security Council plus Germany met in London to discuss tightening sanctions on Iran, the world's fourth largest exporter. Oil prices reached a high of $78.40 on the Lebanon fighting last July, and dropped to a 20-month low of $49.90 in January. Prices have risen steadily since late January. Analysts cite a tightening supplies—OPEC has twice cut output since November—and concerns over a possible disruption of Iran's supplies. (Gulf News, UAE, Feb. 27) The US is calling for further pressure following the expiration of the Feb. 21 deadline established by December's UN Security Council Resolution 1737 for Tehran to halt its nuclear program. Iran says the resolution is illegal since it violates its right to peaceful nuclear technology under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). (Press TV, Iran, Feb. 26)

In the last weeks of 2006, just before Washington's new escalation of the propaganda offensive against Iran, the Tehran government announced it is shifting its foreign currency reserves from the dollar to euro—and switching to the euro for oil deals—in response to US-led pressure on its economy. In the long-expected move, Tehran said it would use the euro for all future commercial transactions overseas. Tehran had been steadily shifting its foreign-held assets out of dollars since 2003. "There will be no reliance on dollars," said Tehran spokesman Gholam-Hussein Elham. "This change is already being made in the currency reserves abroad." (BBC, Dec. 18)

Archeologists warn that if the Sivand Dam in Iran's southern Fars Province is completed, precious relics from antiquity will be lost. The dam is projected to flood a gorge and an archaeological area called the Tangeh Balaghi. By increasing humidity in the environs, experts say the floodplain could also damage the nearby Pasargadae plain, which includes the sixth century BCE tomb of Cyrus the Great, founder of the first Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty. Supporters of the Sivand project point to the hydroelectric power that the dam will generate for the area and possibilities for economic growth. The dam is slated to be completed this month, and the floodplain will take one year to fill. Teams of Iranian and foreign archaeologists are working feverishly to finish excavations at sites due to be flooded. A letter of protest against the project was has been issued by 30 organizations and parties—including the Association of Qom Seminary Researchers and Teachers, a reformist clerical grouping. The statement points out that the project would also flood traditional grazing grounds for nomadic tribes, and drown at least 8,000 trees—some of them 500 years old. Protests were held against the project Feb. 12 at the Energy Ministry in Tehran, and in front of parliament two days later. (RFE/RL, Feb. 23)

Iran's successful launch of its first space rocket Feb. 25 made global headlines. Iran's Space Research Center said the rocket returned to earth by parachute, and did from where in Iran it had been launched or where it landed. The space agency's chief, Mohsen Bahrami, said the rocket was carrying "material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defense." The state news agency IRNA today quoted Science and Technology Minister Mohammad Soleimani saying, "investment in space is very serious and requires time, but we are trying to speed this up."

US military officials displayed another cache of "explosively formed penetrators" (EFPs) to reporters at a base outside Baghdad Feb. 26, saying the weaponry was clearly made in Iran. They admitted, however, there was no way to know if the Iranian government was involved in supplying the weapons. US officials make much of claims that the Quds Force, a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, is supplying weapons to Shiite militia groups in Iraq—charges denied by Tehran. (Gulf News, UAE, Feb. 25) A day earlier, two people were killed and four wounded when an explosives-laden bus exploded in a parking lot in front of the Iranian embassy in central Baghdad, according to initial reports. However, Iran's official news agency quoted anonymous officials in Tehran's Foreign Ministry saying the blast "was not near Iran's embassy." The official stressed that no Iranian diplomats or embassy were wounded. (IRNA, Feb. 25)

Religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq are facing unprecedented levels of violence, and in some cases risk being eradicated entirely, according to a new report from the London-based Minority Rights Group International. In a major survey of the plight of Iraq's minorities, the report finds that these groups—some of whom have lived in Iraq for over two millennia—are being targeted by Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish militias as the battle for power and territory in Iraq intensifies.