Dozens killed in rare Afghanistan attack / CNN

photo: photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Twin suicide bombings killed dozens Tuesday in Afghanistan, most of them in a mass-scale sectarian attack on Shiite worshippers unlike anything the country has seen in its decade-long war.
The terrorist attacks in the cities of Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif killed 58 people and wounded scores of others, officials said.
A suicide bomber detonated a device at a Shiite shrine in Kabul as worshippers were marking the Shiite holy day of Ashura, Afghan Health Ministry spokesman Kargar Norughli said. Fifty-four people were killed and 150 were wounded, said Afghan Health Ministry spokesman Kargar Norughli.
Four people were killed by an explosion at a roundabout on a busy street in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, police official Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai said. Another 21 were wounded in that attack.
"The enemies tried to spread fear in this important holiday in the city," Ahmadzai said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. The Taliban denied involvement.
Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, a leading Shiite member of Parliament, blamed "foreign criminals."
The attacks showed "that those who claim to be defenders of Islam" are liars, and showed "how far from humanity they are," he said.

The attackers committed "these crimes for the interest of those foreigners who are controlling them so that they could create hatred among Muslims in Afghanistan," he said.
In Iraq, where large scale sectarian attacks have occurred frequently, government officials and analysts have said the goal of extremists was to foment sectarian tensions.
The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan issued a statement Tuesday condemning the "the twin suicide bombings that killed dozens of worshippers, many of them women and children."
The bombs detonated nearly simultaneously, the statement said.
Afghanistan has seen attacks on mosques. In 2006, rioting broke out between Shiites and Sunnis at an Ashura festival in Herat, leading to several deaths. But the country has not seen sectarian attacks of the scale that occurred Tuesday.
The attacks came a day after an international conference in Bonn, Germany, addressed the state of affairs in Afghanistan, and Afghan officials pushed for international support and contributions.
The U.S. Embassy statement Tuesday vowed that the United States "remains undeterred in standing with the Afghan people against the scourge of terrorism in our mutual aim of promoting peace and prosperity."

Gen. John Allen, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said, "An attack against Ashura pilgrims on one of the holiest of days in the Islamic calendar is an attack against Islam itself, and we denounce and condemn these atrocities in the strongest of terms. Our prayers and deepest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of those innocent civilians killed or injured in today's horrific attacks."
Ambassador Simon Gass, NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, called the attacks "horrifying."
"That men, women and children are killed and injured on Ashura is particularly tragic," he said.
Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein's death in battle in Karbala, Iraq, in 680, is one of the events that helped create the schism between Sunnis and Shiites, the two main Muslim religious movements. Shiites are a minority presence in Afghanistan, which is predominantly Sunni.

At the Bonn conference on Monday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned that the Taliban could make a comeback as the country struggles with security a decade after a U.S.-led coalition ousted the hardline militia from power.
"If we lose this fight, we are threatened with a return to a situation like that before September 11, 2001," Karzai said.
In an e-mailed statement to journalists, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said he condemned Tuesday's attacks. He accused NATO forces of playing a role in the attacks "to sow mistrust and hatred among Muslims so they can stay longer."
Karzai, at Monday's conference, said that though there had been progress over the past 10 years, stability remains a distant goal.
"Our shared goal of a stable, self-reliant Afghanistan is far from being achieved," he said.

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RELATED NEWS

• Afghan police say 48 killed in Kabul bombing - Atlanta Journal
• Recent major attacks in the Afghan capital of Kabul-The Washington Post
• Afghan Police Say Almost 50 Killed in Two Separate, Rare Bombings on Shiites-Fox News

»»  read more

Iran claims it downed U.S. drone/ CNN

Unclear whether Iran shot down drone, a U.S. official says

(CNN) -- Iran's military on Sunday claimed it shot down a U.S. drone into eastern Iran.

State media cited a military official who identified the aircraft as an RQ-170 Sentinel.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said a U.S. unarmed reconnaissance aircraft was flying a mission over western Afghanistan -- which borders Iran -- last week when operators lost control.

A U.S. official with knowledge of the incident said the crew operating the unmanned drone reported a loss of flight control just before the drone went down.

U.S. officials believe the drone Iran is referring to may be the same one, but the U.S. government has not confirmed that it was shot down, the source said.

The RQ-170 Sentinel is a stealth drone developed for the Air Force to help provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Although the Sentinel was developed for the Air Force, the U.S. official did not say whether it was the U.S. military or the U.S. intelligence community operating the drone at the time of the incident.

The official said the drone's mission was to fly over Afghanistan. American officials over the years have been adamant that U.S. assets do not fly over Iranian air space.

Iranian media reported that the RQ-170 was slightly damaged and in the hands of Iranian forces.

"Armed forces with a dominant control over the country's borders managed to identify and down the invading plane," the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The unnamed Iranian military official called it a "clear example of aggression" and added that Iran is "fully ready to counter any aggression," the report said.

In July, Iran's military made a similar claim, saying it downed a U.S. "spy drone" flying near its Fordo nuclear enrichment plant in Qom province. But Iran backtracked on the statement a few days later, saying the incident was actually part of a training exercise.

RELATED NEWS
Iran Says It Shot Down Unmanned US Spy Plane- ABC News
Iranians claim to down US drone - BBC News

»»  read more

ICC seeks Sudan defence minister arrest over Darfur

Sudan's Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein.

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant for Sudan's defence minister for alleged crimes in Darfur.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein was suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 2003-04.
The Hague-based ICC has already indicted Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir on genocide charges in Darfur.
A senior Sudanese official has dismissed the warrant as "ridiculous".

Rabbie Abdal Attie told the BBC the ICC was a "tool of the West" and was trying to destabilise Sudan but that the warrant would not affect the country.
In another development, Kenya and Sudan have resolved their diplomatic row triggered by a Kenyan court issuing its own warrant for President Bashir after he was allowed to visit Nairobi in August in defiance of the ICC request.

The latest warrant request was made by Mr Moreno-Ocampo's office in a statement on Friday.
It asked the ICC "to issue an arrest warrant against the current Sudanese Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur from August 2003 to March 2004".

The statement added that Mr Hussein was among those who "bear greatest criminal responsibility" for atrocities in Darfur.
At the time, Mr Hussein was both Sudan's interior minister and its representative in Darfur.
Mr Moreno-Ocampo said he was requesting the warrant now "to encourage further public focus" on Sudan's policy and actions, and to "promote cooperation" to arrest the three Sudanese officials the ICC has already indicted.

Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein is very much part of President Omar al-Bashir's inner circle, so for those close to him, this is another attempt to destabilise their man - and the country.
That is not helping matters at a time when Sudan wants its $40bn (£25bn) or so of foreign debt forgiven.
ICC judges will now study the prosecutor's request before deciding whether to issue a warrant.
Together with President Bashir, the court has also indicted another former Interior Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, a suspected leader of the Janjaweed militia, over alleged atrocities in Darfur.

The ICC says that Mr Harun reported directly to Mr Hussein.
They all deny the charges and refuse to surrender to the ICC.
The mainly Arab Janjaweed militia is accused of carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide against Darfur's black African population after rebels took up arms in 2003, accusing the government of ignoring the region.

According to the ICC, attacks followed a pattern, with Sudan's military surrounding a village, the air force bombing it and then soldiers and Janjaweed fighters going in on foot, killing, raping and looting.
The Hague-based court has also indicted two Darfur rebels, who are accused of attacking African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. The suspects surrendered to the court last year.

Despite the warrant, Mr Bashir has visited several countries, especially in Africa, without being arrested.
After the Kenyan court issued a warrant for Mr Bashir's arrest on Monday, Sudan ordered the expulsion of Kenya's ambassador in Khartoum, and threatened to expel Kenyan peacekeepers from Sudan and not to allow planes flying to Kenya to go through Sudanese airspace.

But on his return from an emergency trip to Khartoum, Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula on Friday said relations were now "back to normal" and that no diplomats would be expelled.
He said that while the government respected the court, he said he would guarantee that Mr Bashir would not be arrested on Kenyan territory.

Mr Wetangula said Kenya would not withdraw from the ICC but, like other African countries, it was concerned that the court was unfairly targeting the continent.

"We have voiced concerns about the manner in which the ICC has been pursuing African leaders and leaving leaders with much, much heavier responsibility of human rights and murderous actions," he said, pointing to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The African Union has urged the UN Security Council to defer the warrant against Mr Bashir in order to help the search for peace in Darfur.

Mr Moreno-Ocampo is set to be replaced as ICC chief prosecutor by his deputy, Fatou Bensouda, from The Gambia.

She is the only candidate in the 12 December election and is to take up her new duties in June 2012, the ICC says.

Some 2.7 million people have fled their homes since the conflict began in Darfur in 2003, and the UN says about 300,000 have died - many from disease.

Sudan's government says the conflict has killed about 12,000 people and the number of dead has been exaggerated for political reasons.
(Story : BBC)
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RELATED NEWS

ICC prosecutor seeks Sudan defense minister's arrest - REUTERS
ICC prosecutor seeks warrant for Sudan's defence minister- AFP
Sudan's defense minister accused of war crimes - CNN

»»  read more

We will kill Americans, JuD spews venom over NATO strikes

Spewing venom, leaders of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a banned group blamed for the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, have vowed to convert Pakistan into a "Taliban state" and to train youths to wage jihad against the United States and India.

Image: Supporters of Jamaat-ud-Dawa hold placards while shouting ant-American slogans during a demonstration in Lahore on Tuesday

Addressing a protest meet outside the Lahore Press Club on Tuesday against the recent NATO strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, senior JuD leader Ameer Hamza said the Pakistan army chief should know he had the full support of the group, which would turn its followers into skilled fighters.
"JuD will make all of its fighters into Taliban. There will be Taliban in Punjab University, in Government College, in Agriculture University Faisalabad," Hamza said, referring to several leading educational institutions of Punjab province.

Photographs: Mohsin Raza/Reuters

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Three women in Zimbabwe Charged With Raping Men (weird)

Three women in Zimbabwe accused of raping at least four men to get their sperm for traditional rituals.
The women, who have been charged with 17 counts of aggravated indecent assault, go on trial today in a case that has shocked the country.

Police officials in Zimbabwe believe the alleged perpetrators are part of a nationwide syndicate that may be using the sperm for a traditional ritual claiming to make people lucky and wealthy.

They were apprehended in a town about 170 miles outside of the capital city of Harare after police found 31 used condoms in their car. At least nine men have come forward with similar stories of being attacked.
One of the alleged victims told his story on a popular national talk show called Maichiamba. He said he was raped after accepting a car ride from the women.

"One of the women threw water in my face and they injected me with something that gave me a strong sexual desire. They stopped the car and made me have sex with each of them several times, using condoms," he said. "When they had finished they left me in the bush totally naked."
The man said he went to the hospital to be treated for the drug's effects and called the police. After facing ridicule and scorn over the attack, he said he came forward publicly because he wanted to help other victims.
Female Rapists Go On Trial Today

"I've noticed that the men who have come forward are really traumatized after seeking medical assistance of these rapes and need counselling," Kelvin Hazangwi, National Director of the Padare Menâ's Forum on Gender, tells ABC News. "Some of them, their partners left them and they could not go back to their families. Their social networks have broken down."

Hazangwi says that male rape is still a taboo subject in a society that has very clear definitions of masculinity. For example the women have been charged with aggravated indecent assault rather than rape because a man being sexually assaulted by a woman is not recognized under Zimbabwean rape laws.

"This case is shocking not only for the men but also for the society as a whole," says Hazangwi. "Many people drove to the police station just to get a glimpse or a view of the women that would rape men."
The women have denied the charges, claiming they are prostitutes and did not have time to dispose of the condoms. Cousins Rosemary Chakwizira, 24, and Sophie Nhokwara, 26 told local media that since being out on $300 bail, they've been in hiding after having their lives threatened.

"Are we not suspects until proven guilty? It's as if people have already made their judgments and found us guilty," Nhokwara said in an interview with New Zimbabwe.com.
Regardless of the outcome, the case has started a dialogue in the country about attitudes and treatment of sexual violence against men
"We are realizing that rape whether it happens to grandmother, a child, or a man is wrong," Hazangwi says.

Story : ABC News

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Pakistan's prime minister issues a warning to U.S./ CNN

No 'business as usual' with U.S.

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Tensions among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States jumped a notch Monday, with Pakistan's prime minister warning there would be "no more business as usual" with Washington after NATO aircraft killed two dozen Pakistan troops.

The Pakistani Taliban urged Pakistan to respond in kind to the airstrike, which NATO called a "tragic unintended" event.

The Pakistani military insisted Monday it had not fired first in the incident, and it said it had told NATO its aircraft were firing on friendly troops.

Meanwhile, a top adviser to Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned that Afghanistan and Pakistan could be on a path to conflict.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in an exclusive interview with CNN Monday that Pakistan was re-evaluating its relationship with the United States.

He said the South Asian nation wanted to maintain its relationship with the United States as long as there was mutual respect and respect for Pakistani sovereignty.

But Gilani highlighted incidents such as the killing of the Pakistani troops and a U.S. raid into Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden as violations of his country's sovereignty.

The prime minister also said Pakistan had not yet decided whether to boycott next month's Bonn conference on the future of Afghanistan.

Pakistan turned back 300 trucks carrying NATO supplies and fuel into Afghanistan Monday, government officials Syed Ahmed Jan and Mutahir Zeb told CNN.

Pakistan is a vital land supply route into Afghanistan for the United States and its allies.

Separately, Pakistani military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas denied the reports that Pakistani troops opened fire first on the NATO helicopters.

Speaking by phone to Pakistan's Geo TV News, Abbas said NATO helicopters opened fired first on the Pakistani military checkpoints.

Abbas said the soldiers notified Pakistan military headquarters, which informed the NATO authorities immediately.

The spokesman said Pakistani soldiers fired at the NATO aircraft in retaliation.

NATO's secretary-general earlier said it was a "tragic unintended" incident, and pledged to ensure such attacks don't reoccur.

"NATO remains strongly committed to work with Pakistan to improve cooperation to avoid such tragedies in the future," Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement.

The Pakistani Taliban appeared Monday to try to widen the rift between Pakistan and the United States.

Pakistan Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said in a phone call to CNN that America will infringe on Pakistan's sovereignty and continue operations on Pakistani soil in the coming days.

Ihsan said Pakistan must respond in kind to the NATO attacks, and he warned that the Pakistani Taliban will continue their jihad as long as Pakistan remains an ally of the United States.

In Kabul, meanwhile, a senior adviser to Afghan president Hamid Karzai said Afghanistan and Pakistan may be on a course toward military conflict.

Ashraf Ghani said the link between Pakistan and the assassination of a former Afghan president had united his country "against interference."

Ghani accused Pakistan of harboring and assisting the insurgency in Afghanistan, and said his country's neighbor probably helped the suicide bomber who killed Burhanudin Rabbani in September.

"You need to talk to Pakistan and Pakistan needs to choose," Ghani said. "Does it want to slide down a path of three generations of conflict with Afghans?"

"The assassination of President Rabbani has gelled the nation together against interference. And one or two more actions could put us in an irreversible course [towards] conflict. And we've shown through our history that we are a match for any invader," he said.

The two nations have been trading accusations in the border regions in the past few months, with Pakistan accusing the Afghans of harboring militants and Afghanistan claiming Pakistani shells have hit their territory.

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Baghdad suicide bomber kills 11 at prison/The Associated Press

Iraqi soldiers search a car at a Baghdad checkpoint on Sunday, but they were unable to prevent a deadly suicide bombing on Monday. Iraqi soldiers search a car at a Baghdad checkpoint on Sunday, but they were unable to prevent a deadly suicide bombing on Monday. (Saad Shalash/Reuters )

A suicide bomber slammed a car packed with explosives into the gate of a prison north of Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 11 people, Iraqi officials said.

The attack in the town of Taji, about 20 kilometres north of the capital, is the third major attack in about a week in Iraq, and raises questions about the ability of the nation's security forces to protect the country after U.S. troops leave in just over a month.

A police officer said the attacker struck the main gate of al-Hout prison at 8 a.m. local time, when many employees and guards were on their way to work. Six policemen were among the dead and the rest were civilians, he added. At least 21 people were wounded.

Two health officials in nearby hospitals confirmed the causality figures.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Violence has ebbed across Iraq since the height of the fighting, but deadly bombings and shootings still occur almost daily as U.S. troops prepare to leave.

Vehicles destroyed by a suicide car bomb explosion are towed away in the town of Taji, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. A suicide bomber slammed a car packed with explosives into the gate of a prison north of Baghdad on Monday, killing and wounding scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Last Saturday a string of explosions hit a market in Baghdad and an area on the city's western outskirts, killing at least 15 people. Three days earlier, a triple bombing in the southern city of Basra killed 19 people.

Iraqi security officials maintain that they are fully prepared for the American withdrawal, which is required under a 2008 security pact between the U.S. and Iraq. About 15,000 U.S. troops remain in the country, down from a one-time high of about 170,000.

Many Iraqis, however, are concerned that insurgents may use the transition period to launch more attacks in a bid to regain their former prominence and destabilize the country.

© The Associated Press, 2011
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RELATED NEWS

• Suicide attack outside Iraq prison kills 11/CNN
• Explosion inside Bagdad's Green Zone kills 11 /MSNBC

»»  read more

Football team in Togo involved in fatal bus crash/ BBC News

Nothing much was left of the bus after the crash outside Atakpame/ Images credit: Daily Mail

Six people died when a bus carrying a Togolese football team plunged into a ravine and caught fire.

The accident happened 100 miles (160km) north of the capital, Lome, as the Etoile Filante [Shooting Star] team was travelling to a match.
In addition to the six technical staff who were killed, 25 people were admitted to hospital with serious injuries or severe burns.

Tragedy: The remains of the bus were smouldering on Sunday morning /Images credit: Daily Mail

Among those killed was former Togo national goalkeeper Charles Balogoun.

Reports said that a tyre burst before the bus toppled over and fell down the ravine. The accident happened on Saturday near the city of Atakpame.
"We do not know how we managed to get out of the bus," said one of the survivors, goalkeeper Mama Souleyman, according to Associated Press.

"Most of the players got out because they were all in the front row of the bus."

Images broadcast on Togolese national television showed the smouldering wreckage of the bus, almost completely burnt.
Those injured were reportedly ordered to be taken to a military hospital in the capital, Lome, by President Faure Gnassingbe.
Last year, two members of the Togo national football squad, and an Angolan bus driver, were killed after the team bus was attacked by separatist rebels in Angola.
In 2007, Togo Sports Minister Richard Attipoe was among 22 people who died when a helicopter carrying Togolese soccer fans and officials crashed in Sierra Leone after an African Cup qualifying match.

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RELATED NEWS

• More Tragedy strikes Togo as six die in bus crash / Sydney Morning Herald
• At least 6 Togolese soccer players dead, 28 critically injured.../ Washington Post
• Six dead in football team bus crash / MSN UK

»»  read more

Pakistan official: NATO attack kills 26 Pakistani soldiers /CNN

NATO helicopter. Hazir Reka/Reuters

(CNN) -- NATO helicopters opened fire on a Pakistani checkpoint early Saturday, killing 26 soldiers, a provincial governor said.

At least 14 soldiers were wounded in the attack in the Mohmand Agency area, said Syed Masood Kausar, governor of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Mohmand Agency is one of seven districts of the volatile region bordering Afghanistan.

"It's a huge incident; the reaction is obvious," he said at a news conference in Islamabad.

The death toll could rise as many of the injuries are critical, military officials said. The officials did not want to be named because they are not allowed to talk to the media.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has called an emergency meeting of military services chiefs to formulate his country's response, his spokesman said. The Defense Committee of the Cabinet will meet later Saturday.

In a statement, Gilani said he "strongly condemned the NATO/ISAF attack on the Pakistani" checkpoint.

The matter is being taken up by the Foreign Ministry "in the strongest possible terms" with NATO and the United States, the statement from his office said.

NATO's commander in Afghanistan said he is committed to a thorough investigation.

"This incident has my highest personal attention and my commitment to thoroughly investigate it to determine the facts," Marine Gen. John R. Allen said Saturday.

He also offered his "sincere and personal heartfelt condolences" to the families of any Pakistan Security Forces members killed or injured.

U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, said: "I regret the loss of life of any Pakistani servicemen, and pledge that the United States will work closely with Pakistan to investigate this incident."

The incident on Pakistani soil is likely to damage already strained relations between Pakistan and the United States.

Pakistan closed both NATO's supply routes into Afghanistan Saturday in response to the attack, Pakistani military and intelligence officials said.

NATO trucks use the routes, in Khyber Agency and Balochistan, to supply U.S. and international forces fighting in Afghanistan.

About 50 containers and trucks carrying supplies for NATO were stopped at the town of Jamrud in Khyber Agency on Saturday morning, said Jamil Khan, a senior government official in Khyber Agency, bordering Afghanistan.

They were ordered to turn back toward Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, he said.

A second route from Pakistan into Afghanistan, the Chaman border crossing in Balochistan province, was open to NATO supply trucks earlier Saturday but was then shut in the afternoon, the military and intelligence officials said.

Roughly 40% of nonlethal NATO supplies and fuel go through Pakistan, with hundreds of supply trucks using the two routes into Afghanistan.

About 130,000 troops are deployed in Afghanistan with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, 90,000 of them American, according to NATO figures.

Pakistani politicians responded angrily to the incident in Mohmand.

Ahmed Khan Bahadur, a provincial lawmaker from the Awami National Party, the ruling party of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told CNN that people had had enough.

"This is the time to be united as a nation and to punch NATO with a fist," he said. "NATO could never dare if we were united."

Former international cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, who heads the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, condemned the incident and said it was time for Pakistan to pull out of the U.S.-led "war on terror."

If confirmed, the incident could be the deadliest for Pakistani soldiers involving NATO since a U.S. airstrike in June 2008, which Pakistan said killed 11 of its forces who were cooperating with the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

That airstrike, also in Mohmand Agency, prompted the government in Islamabad to summon the U.S. ambassador and lodge an official protest.

NATO's Allen met with the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Thursday, the Pakistani military said.

"The visiting dignitary remained with him for some time and discussed measures concerning coordination, communication and procedures between Pakistan army, ISAF and Afghan army, aimed at enhancing border control on both sides," a Pakistani military statement said.

Meanwhile, a commander of Afghanistan's eastern border police said an operation in the area bordering Mohmand Agency on Friday night killed 10 insurgents.

"Last night, there was an operation there inside Afghanistan," he said. "Pakistani and Afghan Taliban have got a broad presence there as there are forests and difficult terrain. That's why there was an operation."

The military activity was in Afghanistan's Kunar province, he said, adding he was unaware of any NATO attacks on the other side of the border.

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RELATED NEWS:

NATO helicopters "attack Pakistan post, eight killed"/ WN.com - Photown News

Pakistani officials say alleged NATO attack kills at least 24 /Washington Post

Pakistan outrage after 'Nato attack kills soldiers'/ BBC News
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At least 3 dead and scores injured as Indonesia's 'Golden Gate Bridge' collapses

Report says 100 people taken to hospital; bus, cars and motorcycles went into water

People search for victims after a bridge collapsed in the town of Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Indonesia's Borneo island Saturday. Spot Community  /  AFP - Getty Images

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A busy bridge collapsed Saturday in central Indonesia, killing at least three people and injuring many more as a bus, cars and motorcycles crashed into the river below, police and witnesses said.

Capt. Syafii Nafsikin said search and rescue teams rushed to the scene.

The death toll could climb, he said, adding that many people were believed to be injured.

The bridge linking the towns of Tenggarong and Samarinda in East Kalimantan province was clogged with traffic when the accident occurred, Syaiful, a witness, told local TV station TVOne.

'Screaming'
He said he saw at least one bus and a dozen motorcycles plunge into the Mahakam river and survivors swimming to the shore in panic. Several cars were mangled.

"Everyone was screaming," said Syaiful, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

It wasn't immediately clear why the 10-year-old bridge collapsed.
The Indonesia Today website reported about 100 people were taken to hospital.

It carried a photograph that showed how a section of the large suspension bridge had fallen into the water.

The website said that the 0.6-mile bridge was known locally as "Kalimantan's Golden Gate Bridge."

Indonesia Today reported the bridge was built between 1995 and 2001 by state-owned construction firm PT Hutama Karya.
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RELATED NEWS

* Indonesia's 'Golden Gate Bridge' collapses; 3 dead

   msnbc.com

* 3 dead, 17 injured in Indonesia bridge collapse

   The Hindu News

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'Lost' Russian Mars Probe Phones Home

The Russian Mars mission Phobos-Grunt has made a surprise announcement: she's alive.

ESTRACK station in Perth, Australia (ESA/SpaceTerra)

According to the European Space Agency's (ESA) Twitter feed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a tracking station in Perth, Australia, picked up a signal from the ailing spacecraft:

ESA's ESTRACK station in Perth, Australia, receives signal from Russia's Phobos-Grunt. Breaking news in ESA web shortly esa.int
Within minutes, the promised news appeared on the agency's website:
 On Tuesday, 22 November at 20:25 UT, ESA's tracking station at Perth, Australia, established contact with Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft. This was the first signal received on Earth since the Mars mission was launched on 8 November. ESA teams are working closely with engineers in Russia to determine how best to maintain communications with the spacecraft. More news will follow later.

This is obviously a surprise, especially as the 13-ton probe hasn't signaled ground stations at all since its launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Nov. 8.
Soon after launch, it became clear that the upper stage engine had malfunctioned and the probe was stranded in low-Earth orbit rather than coasting its way to Mars.
For a long period, Russian space officials remained silent, and the only news on the fate of the spacecraft came from other space agencies, amateur astronomers and leaks from individuals within the Russian space industry.

On Tuesday (Nov. 22), Roscosmos broke its silence and confirmed that there was "little chance" of salvaging the mission. But after Wednesday morning's dramatic turn of events, is there a tiny glimmer of hope that if communications with the probe can commence, perhaps the mission isn't doomed after all?

That might be a bit of a stretch -- after all, no one is sure what the problem is; whether it's a software glitch or complete hardware failure. There is no way to know if communications will continue, or whether the Perth ground station was lucky.
But one thing is for certain, something is ticking inside the onboard electronics of Phobos-Grunt, perhaps it's the leverage Russian engineers need to gain access and correct the problem.

Discovery News

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20 people killed in Cairo clashes

A general view shows Tahrir Square as Egyptian riot policemen try to disperse protesters in Cairo November 20, 2011. Police backed by the army used batons and teargas on Sunday to charge protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square demanding Eygpt's ruling generals swiftly hand power to civilians, in some of the worst violence since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Health Ministry says 20 people have been killed since Sunday in clashes between police and protesters demanding the country's military rulers quickly transfer power to a civilian government.

The ministry also said Monday some 1,750 people have been wounded in the clashes since they began Saturday. The ministry did not specify whether the dead and wounded were protesters, or whether the figures included policemen and army soldiers.

The military has floated a timetable that places the transfer of power late in 2012 or early 2013, but the protesters want it to announce a precise date. A growing number, however, wants the military to immediately step down in favor of an interim civilian council.

Police are clashing for a third day in Cairo's central Tahrir Square with stone-throwing protesters demanding the country's military rulers quickly transfer power to a civilian government.

About 3,000 protesters are on the square, facing off with hundreds of black-clad riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

Monday's clashes are also taking place near the Interior Ministry, which is close to Tahrir Square — the epicenter of the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in February.

The protests have spread across much of Egypt. At least 13 protesters have been killed since Saturday, all but one are in Cairo. Hundreds have been wounded.

The military has floated a timetable that places the transfer of power sometime late in 2012 or early 2013.

© (AP)
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14 killed in eastern China chemical plant explosion

BBC map

An explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has killed fourteen workers.

It happened at a melamine production unit in Xintai in Shandong province where a condenser was being maintained and repaired, local officials say.
The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
Industrial accidents are common in China and are often blamed on widespread disregard for basic safety measures.
The state news agency Xinhua reported that the explosion happened on Saturday afternoon.
The plant belongs to Shandong Liaherd Chemical Industry Co Ltd, according to a statement issued by the Xintai city government.

Four workers were killed outright and ten more died in hospital, while another five injured were in a stable condition, said the statement.
An investigation into the cause of the blast is under way.

Melamine is a nitrogen-rich chemical used to make plastics and other products: however, Xinhua said no poisonous or harmful substances were released by the explosion.

China has a notoriously poor workplace safety record, with rules widely flouted as companies chase contracts and profits.
Accidents in factories and on construction sites are common - and China's coalmines are the most dangerous in the world, despite the government's efforts to improve safety standards.

Chinese internet-users have questioned whether China's rush to build a modern industrial economy has jeopardised workers' safety.

BBC NEWS

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Gaddafi slept with 4-5 women daily says his close aide

Former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was a sex addict who had a penchant for young women -- many of whom were his bodyguards, his close aide has revealed.

"There were four or sometimes five women each day. They had just become a habit to Gaddafi. They would go into his bedroom, he would have his way with them and then he would come out like he had just blown his nose.
"They all had sex with Gaddafi. The more canny of them became wealthy from his gifts of villas or large sums of cash," Faisal, Gaddafi's chef of seven years, told 'The Sunday Times' newspaper.
Faisal claimed that some of the women his former master bedded suffered so badly that "they went immediately from his bedroom to the hospital" to be treated for internal injuries.
In fact, Gaddafi, who once bedded at least four women just hours before meeting Britain's Prince Andrew for trade talks in Tripoli, was so addicted to anti-impotence pills that his Ukrainian nurse urged to him to reduce the number of drugs he swallowed every day, the 29-year-old chef said.
The former Libyan despot even picked up victims at his former alma mater, Tripoli University, where he gave lectures and then led the young women to a nearby room whose only furniture was a double bed, he said.

Faisal claimed that another aide was once sent to a sex district of Paris, to buy a machine that Gaddafi used to apparently lengthen his penis.
Gaddafi was particular about his looks and used make- ups and treatments with green tea to hide his wrinkles, said Faisal, who was captured along with his former master by the National Transitional Council forces Sirte last month.Gaddafi was killed after his capture.
PTI

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