Paul Adams
World News from the BBC
A Polish court has ordered the release of an exiled Chechen separatist leader, Akhmed Zakayev, who's wanted in Russia on terrorism charges. He's been detained earlier on Friday, and the court said he was now being released until a decision was made on whether he should be extradited to Russia. Mr Zakayev denies involvement in terrorism.
The White House has said there are serious security concerns over Afghan parliamentary elections, which are being held on Saturday. The US special envoy to Afghanistan said the elections were likely to be flawed, but it was significant that they were taking place at all. There have been a number of kidnappings of people involved in the elections in recent days, with the latest victim, a candidate in the eastern Laghman province.
The head of intelligence for the Somali government, Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, has warned that militant Islamists trained in Somalia pose a great threat well beyond the country's own borders. Sheikh Hassan was responding to concern expressed by the head of Britain's domestic security service that it was only a matter of time before Britain suffered an attack
at the hands of
Somali-trained militants. Sheikh Hassan said he had proof that about 2,000 recruits from the United States, Europe and other foreign countries were fighting alongside the Somali insurgent group, al-Shabab.
"There are Somali people fighting alongside al-Shabab who have relations with them including people who are residents, students, who work among Somalis from America, Europe or other foreign countries. I cannot say it on air, but those things do exist."