Al Jazeera’s Inside Story looks at the recent escalation in violence in Iraq.

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Probably, because it can. Despite the global economic crisis, the United Arab Emirates, a country of under a million people, is set to see its total defence spending for this year soar to over $7bn.

Al Jazeera’s Owen Fay reports on the reasons behind the tiny Gulf nation’s increased defence spending, which has seen it become the world’s third largest importer of American weapons.

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“Apologies are not sufficient, so we do try to compensate families and communities where we’ve made mistakes. But that’s not sufficient either. In fact, there is nothing I could do or say that would replace the loss of a loved one. There’s not enough money in the world to replace the loss of a family member.” — General David McKiernan

A week ago General David McKiernan, the senior US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, apologized for civilian casualties caused by international forces, saying there is not enough money in the world to replace the loss of an Afghan life. General McKiernan made the remarks a week ago Sunday, following repeated calls from President Hamed Karzai for explanations of civilian deaths. In his remarks, General McKierman acknowledge that NATO forces did make mistakes – “and for that I apologize” – but that the international forces were working hard to minimize civilian casualties during military operations against the Taliban.

Taliban attacks in Afghanistan have increased to the highest levels seen since the group was driven from Kabul in 2001 so it is tempting to see a correlation between civilian deaths and the resurgence of the Taliban. That such a relationship does exist would be hard to deny but I question that if every civilian death translates into broader support for the Taliban. The above Al Jazeera report suggests that as civilian deaths mount, the Taliban gains wider support.

The immediate impetus for the McKiernan apology was a report that three civilians were killed by international forces in Helmand province on April 17th. The Karzai government demanded an apology. A spokesman for NATO said three people were killed when its forces fired on a vehicle as a man who was “posing a threat” stepped out of it. Two people inside the vehicle were also killed according to the report from Al Jazeera. Karzai’s office also said three civilians were killed in Logar province on Saturday, but the Nato-led force said it had been attacked with machine guns and grenades, and that the people killed were not civilians.

We have now arrived at a point in Afghanistan where is there no margin of error. In Afghan eyes, one civilian death is one too many. Somehow, the fact there is a war going on is lost on President Karzai. No doubt, it is his job to protect the lives of Afghans. He might do better by controlling rampant corruption in his government and especially in his police force and he might redouble his efforts to provide jobs for the various peoples of Afghanistan. It is the hopelessness of economic prospects more than anything right now that is driving the Taliban insurgency.

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An outbreak of human swine flu has killed a suspected 149 people in Mexico and infected people in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and other countries.

The World Health Organization has said the deadly flu has pandemic potential. Governments the world over are racing to find and contain pockets of swine flu. The European Union is advising against unnecessary travel to the U.S. and Mexico.

Dr. Andrew Garrett, the director of planning and response at Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness and the Mailman School of Public Health, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the threat posed by swine flu, how the disease spread from Mexico and how long it might be before it is brought under control.

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Lebanon is preparing for elections that could dramatically alter the leadership of the moderate country. One of the expected big winners is Hezbollah, which commands a huge and growing influence in Lebanon.

Some call it a state within a state; a movement that is all too willing to fill any gaps it perceives left open by the government. Hezbollah, with its close ties to Iran, has become very influential — and though the U.S. government considers them terrorists, they are heroes to their many followers.

Worldfocus special correspondent Kristen Gillespie reports on Hezbollah.

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