1. Australia: Blitz on Illegal Fishing Will Fill Top End Jails
2. UN Security Council Extends Timor-Leste Mission
3. East Timor: Australian Bullet Kills Second Man
4. East Timor Parliament Ratifies Treaties with Australia
5. Solomon’s PM Abandons Plans to Re-arm Police
6. Iraq: The Beginning of the End
7. Afghanistan: Brits to Send 1500 to Fight Taliban

1. Blitz on Illegal Fishing Will Fill Top End Jails, Ashleigh Wilson and Cath Hart, Australian 2007-02-23

   Illegal fishermen caught in northern waters could make up almost a third of the Northern Territory’s prison population within two years, placing “extreme pressure” on its courts and jails. Commonwealth projections given to the Northern Territory Government estimate that 1500 illegal fishing prosecutions annually will come before Top End courts in the next two years. In 2005-06, there were 461 prosecutions.

   • Illegal Foreign Fishing – Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Foreign Fishing (IUU), Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA)

   • Maritime Arrangements between Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia in the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait, Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) [PDF]

   • Maritime Arrangements between Australia and Indonesia in the Timor and Arafura Seas, Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) [PDF]

2. Security Council Extends Timor-Leste Mission until 26 February 2008, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1745 (2007), Press Release, ReliefWeb, 2007-02-22

   With Timorese presidential elections less than two months away, the Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) through February 2008, and approved a temporary reinforcement of the Mission’s police by an additional unit of up to 140 officers to supplement existing law enforcement capacity, particularly during the pre- and post-electoral period.

   • Facts and Figures, United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) 

      

3. Australian Bullet Kills Second Man, Jason Koutsoukis, Lindsay Murdoch, Age, 2007-02-25

   A second East Timorese man shot by Australian soldiers on Friday has died and a third man is still in hospital with serious injuries. The Defence Department said that three men were shot in self-defence by an Australian soldier after they fired steel arrows at a group of Australian military personnel. United Nations Police and East Timor authorities are investigating the matter.

    

4. East Timor Parliament Ratifies Treaties with Australia, MacauHub, 2007-02-23

   The East Timor parliament has ratified the treaties to share oil resources in the Timor Sea with Australia and to postpone the definitive delimitation of the sea border between the countries for 50 years, officials said. There were 48 votes in favour, five against and three abstentions.

   • Entry into Force of Greater Sunrise Treaties with East Timor, Media Release, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2007-02-23

   • Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Relating to the Unitisation of the Sunrise and Troubadour Fields (Dili, 6 March 2003), Australian Treaty Series, DFAT [primary source]

   • Treaty Between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (Sydney, 12 January 2006), Australian Treaty Series, DFAT [primary source]

   • Department Of Foreign Affairs And Trade Timor Sea Treaty (Dili, 20 May 2002) Entry into Force: 2 April 2003, Australian Treaty Series, DFAT [primary source]

      

5. Solomon’s PM Abandons Plans to Re-arm Police, RNZI, 2007-02-26

   Solomon Island’s Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, says he has listened to the people and decided to reverse his plan to re-arm the police. Mr Sogavare alleged in parliament that Australian police officers providing protection at his residence were spying on his movements. He said he had taken up an offer for PNG police serving with RAMSI to provide armed security for himself and the Governor General.

    

6. Iraq: The Beginning of the End, Paul Rogers, OpenDemocracy, 2007-02-22

   Three developments throw light both on the likely outcome of Bush administration’s “surge” policy and the longer-term prospects for US troops in Iraq: i) the recent experience of those troops while in the process of expanding their operations, ii) the loss of helicopters to new insurgent tactics, iii) the British decision to withdraw from the city of Basra.

   • No Such Thing as Victory in Iraq, says Nelson, Brendan Nicholson, Age, 2007-02-23

7. Brits to Send 1500 to Fight Taliban, Michael Evans, Australian, 2007-02-26

   An extra battle group of up to 1500 British troops is to be sent to Afghanistan to take on the Taliban over the next few months. The new battle group will be formed into a reserve force that can be sent to any part of southern Afghanistan, not just Helmand, where 5000 British troops are based.

   • Briefing Maps, Defence Geospatial Intelligence, Ministry of Defence, United Kingdom

      

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