Headlines:

• British Terror Suspects Quietly Stripped of Citizenship Then Killed By Drones
• Iraq PM Warns of Syria Crisis Spillover
• US State Dept: Pakistan Should Avoid any Sanctionable Activity
• Thailand Signs Peace Talks Deal with Muslims Militants

Details:

British Terror Suspects Quietly Stripped of Citizenship Then Killed By Drones:

The UK government has secretly ramped up a controversial programme that strips people of their British citizenship on national security grounds - with two of the men subsequently killed by American drone attacks. An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for The Independent has established that since 2010, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, has revoked the passports of 16 individuals, many of whom are alleged to have had links to militant or terrorist groups. Critics of the programme warn that it allows ministers to "wash their hands" of British nationals suspected of terrorism who could be subject to torture and illegal detention abroad. They add that it also allows those stripped of their citizenship to be killed or "rendered" without any onus on the British Government to intervene. Those affected have their passports cancelled, and lose their right to enter the UK - making it very difficult to appeal against the Home Secretary's decision. The leading human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce said the present situation "smacked of mediaeval exile, just as cruel and just as arbitrary". Ian Macdonald QC, President of the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association, described the citizenship orders as "sinister". "They're using executive powers and I think they're using them quite wrongly," he said.  "It's not open government; it's closed, and it needs to be exposed." Laws were passed in 2002 enabling the Home Secretary to remove the citizenship of any dual nationals who had done something "seriously prejudicial" to the UK, but the power had rarely been used before the current government took office.

Iraq PM Warns of Syria Crisis Spillover:

Nouri al-Maliki says most dangerous outcome for Syria is an opposition victory as it will lead to sectarian war in Iraq. Iraq's prime minister has warned that a victory for rebels in the Syrian civil war will create a new extremist haven and destabilise the wider Middle East, sparking a sectarian war in his own country, a civil war in Lebanon and a division in Jordan. Nouri al-Maliki stopped short of voicing outright support for Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled regime. But his comments in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday marked one of his strongest warnings yet about the turmoil that the collapse of the Syrian government could create. "If the world does not agree to support a peaceful solution through dialogue ... then I see no light at the end of the tunnel,'' al-Maliki said. "Neither the opposition nor the regime can finish each other off," he continued, "The most dangerous thing in this process is that if the opposition is victorious, there will be a civil war in Lebanon, divisions in Jordan and a sectarian war in Iraq." Iraq has tried to maintain a neutral stance toward the civil war in Syria, saying that the aspirations of the Syrian people should be met through peaceful means. Washington has criticised Baghdad, however, for doing too little to stop flights suspected of carrying Iranian arms to Syria from transiting Iraqi airspace.

US State Dept: Pakistan Should Avoid Any Sanctionable Activity:

In its latest opposition of Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, the US State Department on Wednesday said it is in Pakistan's interest to avoid any activity that can hit it with sanctions. The State Department said that it was providing Pakistan with alternatives that would avoid any sanctions violation. "We recognise that Pakistan has significant energy requirements but we really think there are other long-term solutions to Pakistan's energy needs," said deputy acting spokesman Patrick Ventrell. "And so we've been assisting as a government to contribute to the alleviation of the energy crisis in Pakistan," he said. "It's in their best interests to avoid any sanctionable activity, and we think that we provide and are providing ... a better way to meet their energy needs in some of the assistance we're providing." Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday urged the visiting Pakistani president to press ahead with a much-delayed $7.5 billion gas pipeline project despite US opposition. "The Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is an important example of Tehran-Islamabad cooperation, and despite hostilities towards the expansion of ties we must overcome this opposition decisively," Khamenei told Asif Ali Zardari, his office reported.

Thailand Signs Peace Talks Deal With Muslims Militants:

Thailand's government has signed its first-ever peace talks deal with Muslim rebels aimed at ending a decades-long conflict in the south. The deal was signed in Malaysia by the National Revolution Front (BRN), one of several groups operating in Thailand. More than 5,000 people have been killed since the conflict reignited in the Muslim-majority region in 2004. Malaysian PM Najib Razak and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra are to meet in Kuala Lumpur. Their annual meeting is expected to include talks on the insurgency in the south as well as cross-border trade, said the Bangkok Post newspaper on Wednesday.  Malaysia has been acting as a facilitator for the negotiations between the Thai government and the Muslim rebels and is likely to host any peace talks. The document signed in Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, will begin a "dialogue process", said officials. More details of the agreement will be made public after the two prime ministers meet; Malaysian officials were quoted by Associated Press news agency as saying.

Abu Hashim