Morning Brief: Desperation in Sri Lanka

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The UN believes that 6,500 civilians have been killed in the recent fighting in Sri Lanka. More than 100,000 people have now fled the war zone, but around 50,000 are still trapped behind Tamil Tiger barricades.

India has dispatched a delegation to Colombo to try to press the government for a ceasefire. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also demanded that international monitors be let in. The military believes that Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is trapped in a small patch of jungle with the last of his forces and the Sri Lankan government is unlikely to halt the offensive until he is killed or captured.

The Sri Lankan government is still blocking reporters’ access to the front lines but the BBC‘s Charles Haviland got close and filed a chilling video report. 

Middle East

• In a second day of major bloodshed in Iraq, sixty people were killed in a bombing outside a Shi’ite shrine in Baghdad. 
• Lebanon has charged a former general and his family with spying for Israel.
• Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said Iran is the main obstacle to Middle East peace.

Asia

• Pakistani Taliban leaders have agreed to pull back to their Swat valley stronghold after occupying the neighboring Buner district. Some hardliners are vowing to stay though. 
• A landmine blast killed five people during India’s elections yesterday. Communist rebels are suspected.
• The U.S. journalists arrested in North Korea last month will face criminal charges.

Africa

• With victory all but assured in this week’s national elections, South Africa’s ANC is now just aiming to beat its results from the last election.
• At an international conference, countries pledged more than $200 million to fight Somali piracy. 
• Two army officers in Guinea were arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup.

Americas

• Congressional Democrats are split over establishing a commission to investigate the use of torture during Bush era interrogations. FP‘s Annie Lowrey has written a useful timeline of events surrounding the interrogations.
• President Rafael Correa is likely to win reelection in when Ecuadoreans head to the polls this weekend.
• Mexico is debating expanding the power of the military to fight drug cartels.

Europe

• U.S. and Russian negotiators have opened talks on replacing the about-to-expire START treaty with a new arms reduction deal.
• President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the head of Russia’s military intelligence service. It’s unclear why. 
• Despite the dire forecasts, German business confidence continues to rebound.

STR/AFP/Getty Images