The following is a list of key events from around the globe monitored by ThreatsWatch.

Links, updated as warranted, to these and other reporting are included below the listing.

1. Lebanese Brig. Gen. Francois Hajj and his driver were killed by a car bomb in Beirut. The General was considered a candidate to become chief of the Lebanese military.

2. Three car bombs kill at least 41 in Amarah, Iraq. The bombs, timed to maximize the carnage, have not been claimed as of yet.

3. Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) orders Pakistani media to stop “airing live coverage and taking live telephone calls from public which contain baseless propaganda against Pakistan and incite people to violence.”

AFGHANISTAN
Britain Lays Out Afghanistan Policy - AP
Gates Wants NATO to Reorganize Afghanistan Mission - Bloomberg
US general: We’re Working 24/7 to Catch bin Laden - Jerusalem Post

ALGERIA
Al-Qaeda Group Says It Carried Out Algeria Bombings - Bloomberg
See Details Reported at ThreatsWatch

BOLIVIA
Will Bolivia’s splits widen in 2008? - BBC
Bolivia Divided Over Constitution and Autonomy Plans - FT

IRAQ
Iraq Bombs Kill, Injure at Least 60 in Southern City of Amara - Bloomberg
Government to Allocate 150 Billion Dinars to Volunteer Security Forces’ Salaries - Aswat Aliraq

LEBANON
Car Bomb Kills Lebanese General - AP

NIGERIA
James Ibori Arrested in Nigerian Graft Probe

PAKISTAN
Pakistan’s Government Places New Curbs on Media - VOA
Taliban militants impose rule in wild Pakistan region - Chicago Tribune

SINO-US RELATIONS
US, Chinese Officials Begin Trade Talks - VOA
Paulson Indicates China Won’t Heed Calls for Faster Yuan Gains - Bloomberg

SOMALIA
Pirates Release Tanker and Crew Seized Off Somali Coast - AP
Officials Report 13 Killed in Somalia Attacks - AFP

SUDAN
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), from Darfur, Attacks Chinese Run Oil Field in central Sudan - BBC’

US
US Repatriates 15 From Guantanamo - AP

VENEZUELA
Chavez Calls For a Battle of Ideas to Combat U.S. Interference in Latin America - VenezuelAnalysis
Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay launch Banco del Sur, a development bank for South America - FT
Analysis: Venezuela bolsters Belarus ties - UPI

ZIMBABWE
Mugabe claims Zimbabwe ‘defeated’ Britain at summit: report - AFP
Berlin Summons Zimbabwe Envoy Over Harare’s Anti-Merkel Language - VOA