FP morning post 2/23

Two more suspects identified in Dubai killing after Lieberman meets with EU

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Top news: The United Arab Emirates has identified four more suspects in the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Two of the new suspects held British passports and two Irish passports.

Eleven suspects using EU passports were identified by the UAE last week. Six of them were Britons living in Israel who have denied any involvement in Mahbhouh's killing. Officials say as many as 18 people may have been part of the assassination squad that carried out the hit on Mahbhouh in January, suffocating him in his hotel room.

The hit has been widely blamed on Israel's Mossad spy agency, but the Israeli government has not admitted any role, nor is it likely to. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with EU officials in Brussels on Monday to discuss the matter, but neither confirmed nor denied Israel's role in the assassination or the use of the passports.

In a statement, the EU condemned the use of the false passports as well as the killing itself, saying it “cannot be conducive to peace and stability in the Middle East.”

Business: A deal by General Motors to sell its Hummer brand to a Chinese company is in jeopardy as the Chinese government has refused to grant its approval.

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Middle East Iran has arrested the leader of a major Sunni rebel group. The U.S. has prepared contingency plans for a delay in the withdrawal of U.S. troops following the upcoming Iraqi elections. In a new audio recording, a man claiming to be al Qaeda no. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri rails against the Turkish government. Asia NATO commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal apologized to the Afghan people for an airstrike that killed civilians in a nationally televised video. China announced further restrictions on Internet use. Maoist rebels have offered a ceasefire deal to India's government. Africa Sudan's southern rebels say they were attacked by government forces two days after signing a ceasefire agreement. Eight suspected pirates were arrested by the U.S. Navy after a failed attack in the Gulf of Aden. Two protesters were killed when an opposition rally turned violent in Cote D'Ivoire. Europe Denmark's prime minister changed more than a dozen government posts in a major cabinet reshuffle. A bomb exploded at a courthouse in Northern Ireland. Serbian police raided a house belonging to the family of wanted war criminal Ratko Mladic. Americas A British oil rig has begun drilling of the Falkland Islands, a development likely to further stoke tensions with the Argentine government. Haitian earthquake victims say the government has halted food aid to force them out of a refugee camp near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince. Mexican police have captured a key leader of the Sinaloa cocaine cartel.   -By Joshua Keating

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