US satellite photos released this week show Pakistan has expanded two sites crucial to its atomic program—apparently in an effort to bolster its nuclear arsenal. A report from the Institute for Science and International Security said the images reveal a major expansion of a complex near Dera Ghazi Khan. Photos of a second site near the garrison town of Rawalpindi suggested that Pakistan had added a second plutonium separation plant adjacent to the old one. (Radio Australia, AFP, April 21)

As celebrations break out in Colombo over the Sri Lankan armed forces' taking of the last small strip of coastline controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels, there are ominous signs that the coming "peace" will be a grim one at the very best. AP reports May 18 that three Sri Lankan doctors who treated hundreds of badly wounded civilians in understaffed, makeshift hospitals in the besieged zone were detained on accusations they gave false information about the casualties to the media.

Sri Lankan government forces are accused of shelling a hospital, killing at least 47 people and wounding more than 50 others. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and medical sources said the makeshift hospital in Mullivaikal was hit by artillery fire early on May 12. Civilians who had been injured in attacks over the weekend were among the dead. The claims are impossible to verify as reporters and aid groups are banned from the area of fighting.

Alleged Mumbai terror attack suspect Mohammed Ajmal Kasab pleaded not guilty May 6 in an Indian court to 86 charges stemming from his participation in the November 2008 attack. Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was formally charged at a special court in Mumbai in front of Judge M.L. Tahiliyani, where he denied any involvement in the attacks. Indian authorities have accused Kasab of attacking commuters at the Mumbai central train station during the attack.

The lawyer for the accused gunman on trial for the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks moved April 17 to suppress his client's confession, arguing it was the product of torture. The lawyer also argued that the trial of Mohammed Ajmal Qasab should be moved to juvenile court because Qasab was 17 at the time of his arrest. Judge M.L. Tahiliyani rejected the petition for removal to juvenile court because Qasab asserted at the time of his arrest that he was 21 and because he does not appear to be 17. The court will announce its ruling on the admissibility of the confession on Saturday.

Naxalite guerillas killed 17 and injured several others in the "red corridor" of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa as voters went to the polls in 15 states and two Union Territories in elections for India's Lok Sabha, or lower house of parliament. Five local officials were killed and two others injured in a landmine blast in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh. A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troop was killed and seven others injured in attacks in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. In Jharkhand, nine were killed, including seven Border Security Force (BSF) in a landmine blast. In Gaya district of Bihar, guerillas killed two police and injuring three. (Central Chronicle, Madhya Pradesh, April 16)

At least six paramilitary troops of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) were killed in India's eastern Orissa state after dozens of Maoist guerillas attacked a NALCO bauxite mine April 12. Four guerillas also died in the nine-hour battle in the Panchpatmali area. Police said they rescued 150 people trapped by the fighting. The Naxalite guerillas apparently sought to steal explosives from the mine but fled without them, police said. (One India, BBC News, April 13) On April 10, a Naxalite ambush on a jungle patrol in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh state left 10 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops dead, including a deputy commandant. (PTI, April 10)

The Supreme Court of Pakistan March 31 suspended its February decision barring former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother from holding elected office, pending the high court's final review of the decision. Last week, the government of President Asif Ali Zardari petitioned the court to review the decision after Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan lawyers' movement ended a long march and widespread anti-government protests earlier this month. The court's decision returns Shabaz Sharif to his post as chief minister of Punjab state, but Nawaz must wait until the court's final decision to determine whether he can obtain a seat in the Pakistani parliament.