In the image above, armed Taliban militants move to take up positions in the Swat district of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. The Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Mashriq reported that the Pakistan army on Wednesday launched a decisive military operation against the Taliban fighters in the Swat district.

According to the report, 25 Taliban fighters, including a senior commander, were killed during the fighting on Wednesday. Five Pakistani security men, including two officers of the Pakistan army, were also killed. According to the report, the Taliban claimed to have killed 30 Pakistani security men.

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During a meeting with 50 clerics, Bahraini King Hamid bin 'Isa Al-Khalifa proposed establishing a national oversight center to direct the religious discourse, to draw Sunnis and Shi'ites closer together, and to actualize national unity in Bahrain.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, July 31, 2008

Yemen President Ali Abd Allah Salih has called on Al-Houthi rebels to return home, after declaring an end to the war in Sa'da province between the government and the Al-Houtis (see "Yemen President Declares End Of War With Al-Huthi Followers In Sa'da") .

Salah said that the Al-Houthis would enjoy security and all constitutional rights.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, July 31, 2008

Libya has renewed its shipments of oil to Switzerland, after stopping them a week ago to protest against the arrest of Hannibal Qaddafi, son of Libyan leader Mu'ammar Al-Qaddafi (see "Libya Stops Oil Exports To Switzerland Following Arrest Of Qaddafi's Son").

Libya has also released two Swiss citizens, who were arrested in Tripoli.

It was reported that a Libyan oil tanker was already en route to Europe.

Source: Al-Hayat, London, July 31, 2008

In an unusual move, Sayyef Al-Islam Al-Qaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Mu'ammar Al-Qaddafi, has posted video clips of Libyan oppositionists accusing senior regime officials and describing torture and other human rights violations in prison. The accusations included the names of those allegedly responsible for the actions.

The clips were posted by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, which Sayyef Al-Gaddafi heads.

An oppositionist residing Libya stated that the regime officials who were criticized in the clips have been dead for a long time.

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, July 31, 2008

Cartoonist: Naji Kamal

Source: Al-Ahram, Egypt, July 30, 2008

A spokesman for the Iraqi security forces in Najaf announced that on July 27, two men in a village in Najaf province were apprehended with 12 explosive devices in their possession, some of them containing a substance suspected to be uranium, and other explosive devices with another banned substance.

The spokesman said that the substances had been sent to the multinational force for testing.

Source: Irakna.com, July 29, 2008

The Iraqi government has announced that it is determined to enforce the law in Diyala province and to clear it of illegal weapons, in the framework of the "Bashaer Al-Khair" ("Omens of Prosperity") operation that began July 29.

An Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said that dozens of wanted men had already been arrested, many weapons stockpiles had been found, and many explosive devices had been dismantled.

One hundred tribal heads from the province expressed their support for the operation.

Source: Al-Mada, Iraq, July 30, 2008

Sudan security forces sources have reported that searches for weapons at the Kalma refugee camp in southern Darfur have turned up large quantities of heavy weapons.

In response, refugee representatives condemned what they termed an attack on the camp aimed against innocent people, women, and children, and aimed at emptying the camp by force.

Source: Sudaneseonline.com, July 31, 2008

In a communiqué marking the israa wal-mi'araj, the night the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from Jerusalem, Hamas called on the armed Palestinian factions to intensify jihad operations in the West Bank and Jerusalem, in order to "save Al-Aqsa Mosque" and teach the enemy a painful lesson.

Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, July 31, 2008