Pop star's family wants answers, Jesse Jackson says

Michael Jackson's family suspects that the singer's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, knows more about Jackson's death, but they have been unable to contact him, the Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN on Saturday.The parents need to know what happened in the last hours of their son's life, according to Jesse Jackson, a civil rights activist and Baptist minister unrelated to Michael Jackson.Murray is believed to be the last person to see Michael Jackson alive."The routine inquiry is now an investigation," Jesse Jackson said. "They [the Jacksons] didn't know the doctor. ... He should have met with the family, given them comfort on the last hours of their son."Police, who met briefly with Murray after the singer's death, have been able to reach him and are trying to set up an interview, Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Charlie Beck told the Los Angeles Times on Friday. Police said the doctor has been fully cooperative.

Tape of 911 Call Released as Michael Jackson Autopsy Under Way

The recording of a 911 call made shortly before Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital Thursday that reports a 50-year-old man is "not breathing" was released Friday as authorities conducted an autopsy on the pop music icon.The autopsy began Friday morning in an attempt to clear up the mystery surrounding Jackson's untimely demise, including whether prescription drugs played a role."We have a personal doctor here sir, but he's not responding to anything," a man's voice can be heard telling the dispatch during the call."He's not responding to CPR or anything."Meanwhile Friday, law enforcement officials were looking to speak with Jackson's personal live-in physician, who was briefly interviewed by detectives at the scene Thursday.LAPD Spokeswoman Karen Rayner told FOX News that police hope the physician — who has yet to be identified by police — can help with the investigation.Rayner stressed that he was not under criminal investigation, but coroner's investigators wanted to contact him for more information. His car was impounded last night by police.

Pop legend Michael Jackson dies in Los Angeles

UCLA Medical Center

Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s brother says it’s believed that the pop star died of cardiac arrest. He cautioned at a hospital press conference Thursday that the cause of his death would not be known until an autopsy was performed.He said Michael Jackson’s personal doctor and paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his rented home in Holmby Hills. A team of doctors at UCLA Medical Center also tried for more than an hour.Los Angeles police Lt. Gregg Strenk said at a separate news conference that police robbery-homicide detectives have been ordered to investigate, which is common in a high-profile case. Strenk says the coroner’s office, which will handle inquiries into the type of death, is taking possession of the body.Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the ‘King of Pop’ and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday. He was 50.Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.The circumstances of Jackson’s death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m. local time, Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

Troops kill 34 militants in latest Swat, Dir clashes: ISPR

Security force in action good for nation

Security forces have secured the areas around Kabbal and Kotlai in Swat and have commenced a clearance operation in Shamozai area.According to ISPR, 34 terrorists were killed and seven were apprehended in Malakand while five security personnel received injuries on Wednesday and Thursday.Security forces carried out a clearance operation around Mingora and recovered 15 rifles, while five suspected terrorists were also apprehended including Mohtamum Madrassa Fiaz during search operation at Shahpur. During a consolidation operation at Tutan Banda, six terrorists were killed.In Dir, the security forces apprehended two suspected terrorists at Shewa and also recovered 1 light machine gun, 60 rounds, a TT pistol and one pair of binoculars.Security also forces conducted a search operation at Nimazgai area of Upper Dir. During an exchange of fire between terrorists and security forces, six terrorists were killed.So far the Army has distributed 4,517 tons rations including relief items collected from all Corps Headquarters, Civilians and NGOs amongst the IDPs of Malakand.21,587 cash cards amounting to Rs. 539.675 million have been distributed among the IDPs.A new camp for IDPs named ‘Fameelo’ is being established at Jalozai.

Somali minister killed in attack

Somalia's security minister has been killed in a suicide bombing at a hotel in Beledweyne, just north of the capital, Mogadishu, according to the country's information minister and witnesses.Somalia's ambassador to South Africa and at least nine other people were also thought to have been killed in the blast on Thursday, reports said.Farhan Ali Mohamud, the information minister, announced the death of Omar Hashi Aden, the security minister, but declined to give any other details.Hashi had moved to Beledweyne at the beginning of June with heavily armed troops in an attempt to regain territory from fighters of the al-Shabab group.Al-Shabab, which Washington claims has ties to al-Qaeda, has vowed to topple the Somali government led by of Sharif Ahmed, the president.A doctor from a nearby hospital said that most of the dead have been burnt beyond recognition.

Pakistan to bat first in World T20 Semi-final

Pakistan captain Younis Khan Pakistan: 149/4 (20.0 Ovs)

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to bat first on what is expected to be slow and low wicket during the first world T20 semi-final.Younis Khan, the Pakistan skipper said that the ‘Dry surface will make it hard to chase,’ adding that the team must play well, since ‘two more games and the World Cup is ours.’South African Captain Graeme Smith said that he would have ‘preferred to bat first,’ but that the Proteas would now have to bowl well to limit the Pakistan batting to ‘as small a total as possible.’Pakistan will play an unchanged side from the one which beat the Kiwis and Ireland to secure a place in the semis, while South Africa have made one change from the team which beat India, with the dangerous Kallis coming in for fast-bowler Morne Morkel.

Pilot dies flying plane to the US

The captain of Continental Airlines flight 61 has died while flying the plane from Brussels to New York.The plane made an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport shortly before 1200 (1600 GMT).Two co-pilots were in control of the plane - a Boeing 777 carrying 247 passengers - said Federal Aviation Authority spokeswoman Arlene Salac.The captain apparently died of natural causes, a Continental Airlines spokesman told CNN.He was a 61-year-old man with more than 20 years of service to the airline, a spokesman for the airline said.

Iran's Mousavi addresses protesters

Thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the man they consider the true winner of Iran's disputed presidential election, have held a rally in Tehran to mourn the recent deaths of protesters.Thursday's gathering took place at the capital's Imam Khomeini Square in spite of a statement by the highest legislative body that it would meet the candidates to discuss their complaints about the vote.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent president, was declared the winner of the June 12 election, but his challengers said that it had been rigged.Mousavi had issued a statement on his website calling for Thursday to be observed as a day of mourning for those killed during the protests against the election result.Chanting "Peace be upon (Prophet) Muhammad and his family", the opposition supporters, many dressed in black, marched in south Tehran, the witnesses said.Mousavi had urged his supporters to wear black as a sign of remembrance and remain peaceful.

Yemen: 9 Foreigners Kidnapped by Shiite Rebels

Yemen accused a Shiite rebel group Sunday of kidnapping nine foreigners in the country's rugged north.The Interior Ministry said the foreigners were kidnapped Friday by a rebel group led by Abdel Malak al-Hawthi while on a picnic in northern Sada province.The nine foreigners reportedly were mostly women and children, including a Briton, seven Germans and a female South Korean teacher.The state news agency Saba said the foreigners worked in a hospital in Sada.Tribesmen in Yemen frequently take foreigners hostage to pressure the government on a range of demands and generally release them unharmed.Tribesmen on Friday freed 24 local and foreign medics working at a Saudi-funded hospital in Sada less than 24 hours after their kidnapping, which was not carried out by the al-Hawthi group.Thousands of people have been killed in Saada since a Shiite rebellion erupted there in June 2004. The rebels say the government is corrupt and too closely allied with the West. The government has charged al-Hawthi with sedition, forming an illegal armed group and inciting anti-American sentiment.The group negotiated a fragile cease-fire with the government last year, but serious tension remains.Meanwhile, a Yemen security source said Sunday that a man described as the lead financer of Al Qaeda in Yemen and Saudi Arabia had been arrested.Reuters reported the source said Hassan Hussein Alwan, a Saudi national, was seized two days ago in Marib province in the east of Yemen.

Herschel telescope 'opens eyes'

Europe's new billion-euro Herschel space observatory, launched in May, has achieved a critical milestone.The telescope has opened the hatch that has been protecting its sensitive instruments from contamination.The procedure allowed light collected by Herschel's giant 3.5m mirror to flood its supercold instrument chamber, or cryostat, for the first time.The observatory's quest is to study how stars and galaxies form, and how they evolve through cosmic time.The command sent on Sunday to fire two pyrotechnic bolts holding down the hatch was arguably the key moment in the European Space Agency (Esa) mission since the 14 May launch from Earth."We need the lid open or we can't see the sky, so it's a really important event," said Professor Matt Griffin, the principal investigator on SPIRE, one of three instruments inside the cryostat.

Deaths in Pakistan market bombing

An explosion has taken place at a market in Pakistan's northwest, killing at least eight people and wounding about 50, according to a government official.Police arrested one person on suspicion of involvement shortly after the blast in the city of Dera Ismail Khan in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on Sunday.The explosion occurred as fighting between the military and Taliban fighters continued in the Swat valley, in another part of NWFP.

PM backs 'demilitarised Palestinian state’, offers few concessions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday for the first time endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state, saying such an entity would have to be demilitarised and recognise Israel as a home of the Jewish people."If we have the guarantees on demilitarisation and if the Palestinians recognise Israel as a state of the Jewish people, then we arrive at a solution based on a demilitarised Palestinian state alongside Israel," he said."Each will have its flag, each will have its anthem," he said. "The Palestinian territory will be without arms, will not control airspace, will not be able to have arms enter."

Iran election dispute fans unrest

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's incumbent president, has defended his disputed re-election at a public rally in Tehran, insisting that the vote was not "distorted" as claimed by his rivals. The speech was delivered amid reports of arrests of several reformist politicians who supported Mir Hossein Mousavi, Ahmadinejad's main challenger, and a formal appeal by Mousavi for the cancellation of Friday's vote.Supporters of the conservative Ahmadinejad, waving Iranian flags and his portraits filled the capital's Valiasr Square on Sunday to listen to his speech after the authorities declared that he had won a second four-year term by a huge margin over Mousavi."Elections in Iran are the cleanest. But some inside or outside Iran have come out and said the elections have been distorted. Where is the distortion in the election?" Ahmadinejad said as the crowds shouted "Bravo Ahmadi!"

Poll results prompt Iran protests

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Tehran to protest the outcome of the country's elections, the biggest unrest since the country's 1979 revolution.Riot police were deployed in the capital after supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated reformist candidate, took to the streets on Saturday.Up to 3,000 Mousavi supporters took part in the protests after Mousavi was defeated by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent president.Protests intensified following a televised speech by Ahmadinejad in which he said the vote had been "completely free" and the outcome was "a great victory" for Iran."Today, the people of Iran have inspired other nations and disappointed their ill-wishers," he said."This is a great victory at a time when the ... propaganda facilities outside Iran and sometimes inside Iran were totally mobilized against our people," he said.He praised the country's youth, but made no direct mention of the protests.

Afghanistan election list released

Afghanistan's electoral authority has unveiled a final list of 41 candidates for the country's August 20 presidential poll.The number of candidates is less than the 44 people who had registered after two men were disqualified and one dropped out, Azizullah Lodin, the Independent Election Commission president, said on Saturday.David Chater, "There is only one person on this list that will get the vote, and that is Hamid Karzai [the Afghan president]."He only has 15 per cent in the opinion polls, but no one else is near him."There are only two women on the list, but the electoral commission is very proud of the high number of candidates,"."But there is a down side to that. Just to print the ballot papers, it is going to cost $123m, and each candidate must have 20 policemen to protect them."On the final list is Ashraf Ghani, the former finance minister, and Abdullah Abdullah, the former foreign minister, seen by many observers as the strongest challengers to Karzai who is going for a second term.

Afridi sends Dutch spinning to defeat

Younis Khan was a relieved man at the end of the must-win match — AP photo.

Shahid Afridi starred for Pakistan with the ball as the Test side ensured the end of theNetherlands’s fairytale performance at the World Twenty20 at Lord’s here on Tuesday.Leg-spinner Afridi took four wickets for just 11 runs in his four overs — the fourth best return in all Twenty20 internationals — as 2007 finalists Pakistan won by 82 runs to book their place in the second phase Super Eights.The Dutch, shock four-wicket winners over England at Lord’s in Friday’s tournament opener and with a better run-rate at the start, needed to make 151 to get through and so deny Pakistan the minimum 25-run margin of victory they required.But Afridi, well supported by fellow spinner Saeed Ajmal (three for 20), sparked a collapse that saw the Dutch decline from 42 for one to 93 all out.Victory saw Pakistan, beaten by 48 runs by England at the Oval on Sunday, join the hosts in the second phase after they had made 175 for five with wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, who later made four stumpings, top-score with 41.By contrast, no Dutch batsman made more than Alexei Kervezee’s 21.‘Afridi was outstanding and we struggled on this wicket,’ said Dutch skipper Jeroen Smits.‘We talked about Afridi and that we had to play him straight, but we didn’t do it.‘However, it’s still been a privilege to be here even if we didn’t make it to the Super Eights.’Pakistan captain Younus Khan was relieved that his team had avoided suffering the fate ofAustralia who lost both their matches and were eliminated.‘We were much better today and the partnerships were important,’ said Younus. ‘Our spinners bowled very well.’ The Dutch chase started briskly with Darron Reekers striking fours off left-arm quicks Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Aamir.But Afridi struck with his first ball when he bowled former Sussex batsman Bas Zuiderent for 13.That left the Dutch 42 for two in the eighth over.It was the start of a collapse from which they never recovered.Tom de Grooth, who made 49 against England, could not repeat his heroics this time and was bowled by Afridi, better known as a hard-hitting batsman, who took three wickets in the space of 10 balls.

Army sends helicopters to back villagers' revolt against Taliban

Pakistan's military sent helicopter gunships to a northwest region Tuesday to support armed villagers who have risen up against Taliban to avenge a deadly mosque blast, an official said.Hundreds of tribesmen in Upper Dir district took up arms Saturday, a day after 38 people were killed in a mosque suicide bombing there, and have stormed villages where extremists are holed up killing 14 fighters, the army has said.The militia -- known locally as a lashkar -- were on Tuesday surrounding Shatkas and Ghazigai villages, where militants are believed to be hiding.Upper Dir borders Swat valley, the centre of a fierce six-week military offensive aimed at crushing a Taliban insurgency."Lashkar men are positioned on surrounding mountains and keeping a vigil on the movement of Taliban militants," said a military official who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.He said army helicopter gunships and artillery pounded suspected militant hideouts in Upper Dir, adding: "The shelling was in support of the lashkar."Pakistan's government has in the past encouraged the formation of lashkar militias to help the official armed forces in their fight against militants, and say they want to build up and arm such community forces in the northwest.Up to 1,200 villagers carrying firearms are reported to have taken on about 200 Taliban in a handful of remote Upper Dir hamlets.Friday's mosque bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on civilian and security targets -- attacks widely seen as retribution by Islamist extremists for a blistering offensive by the Pakistan army. Pakistan launched its northwest push after the Taliban advanced to within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of Islamabad in early April, violating a deal to put three million people under sharia law in exchange for peace.The offensive has the backing of the United States and enjoys broad popular support among Pakistanis exasperated by worsening Taliban-linked attacks, which have killed more than 1,960 people since July 2007.

Blast at Luxury Pakistan Hotel Kills at Least 5

Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Peshawar, then set off a huge blast that killed at least five people and wounded dozens more Tuesday in the latest of a string of suicide attacks in Pakistani cities, officials said.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the largest city in Pakistan's restive northwest, but it fit with Taliban threats to stage a campaign of assaults in retaliation for a military campaign against militants in the Swat Valley region.Local television networks showed a scene of pandemonium outside the hotel, with armed police rushing around and Pakistani men standing by looking stunned. One man held a bloodied rag to his head.An Associated Press reporter at the scene said he saw several foreigners being walked out of the hotel with injuries.Police official Liaqat Ali said an unknown number of gunmen ran into the Pearl Continental Hotel in downtown Peshawar on Tuesday night just before "a big bomb went off." He said it was a suicide attack.Sahibzada Anis, a top government official in Peshawar, said at least five people were killed and 25 wounded.The Pearl Continental, affectionately called the "PC" by Pakistanis, is relatively well-guarded and set far back from the main road and overlooking a golf course and a historic fort. It is located just over a mile from the city's airport.Parking in front of the structure is heavily restricted, and to get to the front doors of the building, a car has to undergo security checks and travel around concrete and metal barriers.The hotel is a favorite place for foreigners and elite Pakistanis to stay and socialize, making it a high-profile target for militants.Last year, a massive bombing at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel killed more than 50 people and wounded dozens, rattling the nation.

Several die in Thai mosque attack

At least 10 people have been killed and 19 injured after armed men opened fire on a mosque in southern Thailand.Men armed with assault rifles entered the mosque in the Cho-ai-rong district of Narathiwat province during evening prayers on Monday and opened fire, the army and police said."They opened fire indiscriminately at about 50 worshippers inside the mosque," a police official said on condition of anonymity. The dead included the local imam, he said.The attack in the Muslim-majority south comes amid a recent spike in violence in a five-year insurgency that has left at least 3,700 people dead.Police have said at least five gunmen carried out the attack, one of the deadliest single incidents since the insurgency began in 2004.

Federer claims historic Paris win

Roger Federer beat Robin Soderling in straight sets to win his first French Open and equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles.World number two Federer becomes only the sixth man to have won each of the four Grand Slam tournaments.The 27-year-old Swiss produced a near-faultless display in testing conditions to dominate Sweden's Soderling, a shock finalist, from start to finish.He wrapped up a 6-1 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 victory in one hour and 55 minutes.Federer joins Fred Perry, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Andre Agassi as the only men to have won all four Grand Slam titles and was presented the Coupe des Mousquetaires by Agassi."It was probably my greatest victory, I was under big pressure," said Federer. "I did it and it's phenomenal. It was great to be on the podium as a winner for a change.

More Bodies Found in Desperate Ocean Search for Air France Crash Wreckage

Three more bodies were found Sunday in the ocean near the spot where an Air France jet is believed to have crashed a week ago, bringing the total number of bodies plucked from the water to five, Brazil's military said.Authorities said pilots searching the mid-Atlantic also spotted an undetermined number of additional bodies from the air and are sending ships to recover them, Navy Capt. Giucemar Tabosa Cardoso said.Flight 447 disappeared in turbulent weather May 31 during a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people aboard — all now presumed dead.The investigation is increasingly focused on whether external instruments may have iced over, confusing speed sensors and leading computers to set the plane's speed too fast or slow — a potentially deadly mistake.The French agency investigating the disaster said airspeed instruments on the plane had not been replaced as the maker had recommended, but cautioned that it was too early to draw conclusions about what role that may have played in the crash.

Counting under way in Lebanon poll

Counting is under way after Lebanese voters flocked to the polls in an election in which a Hezbollah-led coalition was aiming to seize the parliamentary majority from a Western-backed alliance.The first results from Sunday's general election were expected within hours of polls closing at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT).Long queues had formed outside polling stations during the day, with some people complaining that they had to wait for up to three hours to cast their ballots.Lebanon's interior ministry said turnout had reached 46 per cent shortly before the close, exceeding the 45 per cent total recorded in the 2005 election."Such voter turnout is unheard of in the history of Lebanese elections," Ziad Baroud, Lebanon's interior minister, said.Reporting from Beirut, said that the high turnout was "surprising and extraordinarily encouraging"."You have the sense here that people really felt like their vote was going to count for the first time in a long time," he said.It is the first time that a Lebanese election has been held on a single day rather than over a month.

Pentagon Quietly Sending 1,000 Special Operators to Afghanistan in Strategy Revamp

The Pentagon is sending 1,000 more special operations forces and support staff into Afghanistan to bolster a larger conventional troop buildup, and is revamping the way Army Green Berets and other commandos work to rid villages of the Taliban.While much of the public focus has been on 24,000 additional American troops moving into the country this year, U.S. Special Operations Command is quietly increasing its covert warriors in what could be a pivotal role in finally defeating insurgents, military sources tell.The movement comes as Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, a special operator who led successful manhunts in Iraq for Al Qaeda terrorists, is about to take command in Afghanistan.McChrystal, who underwent a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing Tuesday, is expected to put more emphasis on using commandos in counterinsurgency operations and on finding or killing key Taliban leaders.Underscoring that theme, McChrystal has asked two veteran special operators on the Pentagon's Joint Staff, which he directs, to accompany him to Afghanistan once he wins Senate approval for a fourth star. The two are Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn, who headed intelligence for the chief terrorist hunting unit in Iraq; and Brig Gen. Austin Miller, a Joint Staff director for special operations.Military sources say Brig. Gen. Ed Reeder, who commands special operations in Afghanistan, went in-country earlier this year to revamp the way Green Beret "A" Teams, Delta Force and other special operators conduct counter-insurgency.Green Berets, the same group that led the 2001 ouster of the Taliban from power, now primarily work out of fire support bases, often independently of conventional forces. They fight to control the Taliban-infested border with Pakistan, and train the Afghan army.Critics within special operations have said the A Teams need to work more closely with conventional forces and with NATO counterparts. "This would give us a needed one-two punch," said a former operator who served in Afghanistan.Reeder heads the new Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command. It is a mix of the more open Green Berets and Marine commandos, and the super-secret Delta Force and Navy SEALs who conduct manhunts.The covert side works in task forces that are only identified by a secret three-digit number. They are aided by Army Rangers and a Joint Interagency Task Force made up of the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other intelligence units.McChrystal is a former commander of Joint Special Operations Command, the home of Delta Force. He led the hunt in Iraq that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, one of Al Qaeda's leading terrorists in the Middle East, in 2006.Those who worked with him talk of a tenacious warrior who worked to link his direct-action fighters with the intelligence operatives who provided crucial information on terrorist locations. McChrystal allowed Delta operatives at the troop level (akin to a conventional platoon) to call in Predator spy drones during a mission."We need a Predator on that house," is the way the former operative in Iraq described Delta's freer rein.The increase in special operations forces is an attempt to rebalance commando presence there, after the demands of the Iraq War stripped some of its manpower in Afghanistan. The influx will bring the total special operations forces in Afghanistan to about 5,000, a spokesman at special operations command confirmed.Usama bin Laden is believed to be hiding across the border in Pakistan, where U.S. ground troops are forbidden. But intelligence sources say if bin Laden is located, American commandos may be dispatched to kill or capture him.

At least 30 killed in Upper Dir mosque blast

The blast occurred during Friday prayers in the

Haya Gai area of Upper Dir, Peshawar

A suicide bomber ripped through a mosque packed with worshippers in Upper Dir Friday, killing 30 people and wounding dozens more in the deadliest such attack in more than two months.The bomb exploded at the mosque in the remote, mountainous village of Hayagai Sharqai in Upper Dir.Police said the bomb attack occurred during weekly Muslim prayers, which convene Friday afternoon and generally see mosques packed with worshippers.At least 30 people died in the blast. More than 40 were wounded, Atifur Rehman, the top government official in Upper Dir, told AFP.‘We fear the death toll may rise to 45 because people are still trapped under the debris. Rescue work is under way and there are body parts scattered in the courtyard of the mosque,’ Rehman said.‘The suicide attacker managed to enter the mosque and was trying to get into the middle of the crowd,’ he added.‘Villagers, even women, came out of their homes and they're having to identify their dead relatives through their clothes.’ Meanwhile, a police official Ataullah Khan said 32 dead had been identified and put the number of wounded at 70.‘Still we are pulling out dead bodies and body parts,’ he said, describing the mosque as ‘severely damaged’ in the explosion.Meanwhile, three soldiers were killed and two wounded Friday when a roadside bomb struck a patrol in South Waziristan tribal area between Jandola and Spinka Raghzai, a military official said.—AFP

Brown shakes up cabinet amid crisis

Gordon Brown, Britain's prime minister, has reshuffled his government amid a leadership crisis following the resignation of four cabinet ministers in the past week.The main change saw Alan Johnson, widely seen as a rival to Brown's position, promoted from health to interior minister, while Alistair Darling, finance minister, retained his role despite rumours he would lose his job.John Hutton, defence secretary, announced on Friday he was stepping down, although would stay loyal to the prime minister, just hours after James Purnell, work and pensions secretary, quit the cabinet and called on Brown to resign.The reshuffle comes a day after Britain went to the polls in European and local elections, in which voters were expected to express their anger over a scandal regarding the expenses of several politicians.

Army confirms TNSM leaders detention

Pakistan Army has confirmed the detention of some top leaders of banned Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM).The ISPR in a statement said here Thursday that four top leaders of banned TNSM, including Naib Amir Maulana Muhammad Alam, TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad’s spokesman Amir Izzat Khan and Salman Wahab were detained by the security forces.Meanwhile, Information Minister NWFP Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that the government has no news regarding the whereabouts of Maulana Sufi Muhammad.However, he also confirmed the detention of Amir Izzat Khan and Maulana Muhammad Alam, saying that the two leaders were arrested by the security personnel along with several militants accompanied by them.

Obama seeks new start with Muslims

Barack Obama, the US president, has called for a "new beginning" with the world's 1.5 billion Muslims. Laying out his vision on Thursday for a new US partnership with the Muslim world during a visit to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Obama said the "cycle of suspicion and discord" must end."I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect and based on the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition," Obama told a crowd of invited guests at the Cairo University."Instead, they overlap, and share common principles, principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."But Obama, who is on a visit to the Middle East and reached Cairo from Saudi Arabia, cautioned against expecting immediate change."No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point," he said."But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors."

Twitterers Break Silence on Tiananmen Square's 'Tank Man'

Twenty years ago he was the ultimate symbol of a peaceful democratic protest that went terribly, fatally wrong: a lone Chinese man in a simple white button-down shirt, carrying two plastic shopping bags, staring down a column of tanks.Tank Man — his identity has never been determined — shot to worldwide fame that day for stopping those tanks, hours after they had brutally crushed student-led protests on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Hundreds — possibly thousands — died in the early-hours protest on June 4, 1989, an event that still remains a forbidden topic in Communist-governed China.Pictures of Tank Man's courageous efforts and other information about the crackdown are still officially censored in China. But now, 20 years on, modern technology and the wide reach of social networking sites like Facebook are providing curious students with the information they were previously denied."In this, 20 years ago, China strove for democracy and freedom. The government killed our compatriots, university students and citizens," wrote a woman identifying herself as Bonnie Wong on the Facebook fan site Tank Man, one of several forums that have popped up ahead of the 20th anniversary of the crackdown."For 20 years, more than a few have entered the political arena who are the real villains, hypocrites who put on a false show of great peace and bury their consciences in a fiery pit. They control the government, they control media, they hold on to education, they control writing," wrote another Facebook member who calls himself Jonathan Siew.The vast majority of Chinese youth show no outward knowledge of what happened 20 years ago, a fact that pains the still-mourning relatives of those who were killed."This is a cruel reality — young people do not know the truth," said Ding Zilin, a retired professor whose 17-year-old son was shot dead that night. "The government hides the truth from children and keeps it as a sort of forbidden zone. It isn't taught in classrooms."But in the anonymity of the online world, Internet-savvy youths use mirror sites and proxy servers to explore alternative versions of the official history and to discuss their own frustrations with their government's clumsy efforts at censorship.China's censorship of Web sites deemed harmful to its government and security is known as The Great Firewall; this week it blocked access to Twitter, Bing.com, the photo-sharing Web site Flickr and, briefly, Hotmail. Other sites, including YouTube and blog providers like Blogspot and Wordpress, are routinely barred.But frequent Twittering and Facebooking from Chinese users on the eve of the June 4 anniversary proved there are many ways around the censors' efforts.One Twitterer, identified as freemoren, posted regular updates of what was happening exactly 20 years ago on the square; others shared links to Western documentaries and newspaper articles about the Tiananmen massacre; some even speculated about how many packages Tank Man held in his hands as he faced down the tanks.As in the West, there are few to no clues about Tank Man's identity and fate. Chinese users are reluctant even to express their opinions on his actions, or to reveal their real identities, in case they are tracked down and questioned by police."Everyone, be very safety conscious!" a Chinese Twitterer identifying himself as flypig warned. Code words abound; the government censors are known as "river crabs," and the anniversary itself is referred to as "TAM" or "ATM" or "8964."While information is available to those who seek it out, the next generation is still a long way from being able to express opposition to the Tiananmen massacre publicly. The square was under heavy security this week, and news crews were chased away. At least one prominent university's student association was reported to be advising students to stay home and resist any temptation to protest."Most people are certainly affected by the public opinion control. The effect is obvious," tweeted a Chinese user identifying himself as Hosven. "Few in our generation of people know about 8964. Those who understand its seriousness are less."

Barack Obama's Sensitive Blackberry Messages To Be Released

The president's Blackberry has been hacked! Cyber terrorist Kasper Hauser has accessed President Barack Obama's encrypted Blackberry messages and reprinted them in a new book being published by the complicit book publisher Little Brown on June 8, 2009. "Obama's Blackberry" features sensitive Blackberry messages from the Commander in Chief to Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger - even Nuclear Command Control itself. The future of Western Civilization could be jeopardized by the information enclosed in these sensitive electronic missives. Unless it's all ... a joke. Upon closer inspection, it turns out Kasper Hauser is not a cyber terrorist, but the name of a comedy group. And these text messages to and from the likes of the First Lady, Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter — even former President George W. Bush — are not in fact breaches of national security. They are just quite funny.

Bin Laden Tells America to Be Ready for Revenge Against U.S. Policy

Usama bin Laden threatened Americans in a new audio tape Wednesday, saying President Barack Obama inflamed hatred toward the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in Swat Valley and block Islamic law there.Bin Laden claimed U.S. pressure led to a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" that prompted the exodus of a million Muslims from Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan.The message was broadcast for the first time on pan-Arab Al-Jazeera Television around the same time Obama touched down in Saudi Arabia at the start of a Mideast visit. He is trying repair relations with the Muslim world frayed under the previous Bush administration."Elderly people, children and women fled their homes and lived in tents as refugees after they have lived in dignity in their homes," bin Laden said. "Let the American people be ready to reap what the White House leaders have sown," he added."Obama and his administration have sown new seeds to increase hatred and revenge on America," bin Laden said. "The number of these seeds is equal to the number of displaced people from Swat Valley."

Race on to reach Air France wreck

Brazilian navy divers are on their way to reach the wreckage of an Air France jet in order to start the job of pulling debris from the Atlantic Ocean after the plane carrying 228 people went down.Four navy ships with recovery equipment and a tanker are headed for a 5km strip of water strewn with parts from the plane about 1,200km northeast of the coastal city of Recife.Three merchant vessels are already in the area after being diverted to help with the operation.Flight AF 447 was heading from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it went down early on Monday, in the worst loss of life in Air France's 75-year history.France held religious ceremonies to remember the missing on Wednesday, including one in Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral attended by Nicolas Sarkozy, the country's president. Three days of national mourning began in Brazil on Tuesday.

Obama on Mideast tour to improve ties with Muslim world

President Barack Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on a Middle East mission featuring a historic address to the Muslim world and a new US drive to invigorate regional peacemaking.Obama flew in aboard Air Force One to a red carpet welcome ahead of talks with King Abdullah as he seeks backing for an emerging US strategy of binding Arab states into a wider search for Israeli-Palestinian peace and to defuse regional tensions.He will then travel on Thursday to Egypt, another pillar of the Arab world, to deliver a personal appeal for reconciliation to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, and hold his first talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.King Abdullah has been seeking to relaunch a 2002 Arab-backed Middle East peace initiative, which has been praised by the Obama administration.But it was unclear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tough stand on settlements would scupper US hopes of convincing the Arab world to make concessions towards Israel to inject momentum into the process.Obama signalled in an interview with National Public Radio before leaving Washington that he would keep pressing Israel on the issue, despite an emerging rift between the two close allies."I've said very clearly to the Israelis both privately and publicly that a freeze on settlements including natural growth is part of those obligations."The Saudi initiative calls for full normalisation of relations between Arab states and Israel, a full withdrawal by Israel from Arab land, the creation of a Palestinian state and an "equitable" solution for Palestinian refugees.Obama was also expected to use the talks with King Abdullah, whose country is OPEC's top exporter, to push for stability in oil prices and production.

81 Razmak students, teachers rescued, 37 still missing

Freed students from the Razmak cadet college jump from an army truck 

as they arrive in Bannu

Security forces rescued on Tuesday morning 81 students and teachers of the Razmak Cadet College after an exchange of fire with militants in Garyom area of North Waziristan, according to a senior government official. But, 35 students and two teachers are still missing.There were conflicting reports about the number of students and teaching staff kidnapped by the Taliban in Bakkakhel of the Bannu Frontier Region when they were going home on Monday.Bannu police put the number at 540, basing their claim on statements by students and teachers who had managed to escape the militants’ dragnet. But a senior official of the tribal administration told Dawn that 300 students and 50 teachers and members of their families had left the college.‘This confusion was because of the unknown number of family members who were accompanying the faculty members. Our guess is that the total number was 400 plus,’ Additional Chief Secretary of Fata Habibullah Khan said.He said that in the melee, many cadets and teachers had managed to escape and reach home. ‘It took us the whole day to call homes and try to locate individuals in Peshawar, Bannu and other places. Many of them managed to reach home on their own.’Mr Habibullah said that 37 people remained unaccounted for and the administration believed they were held somewhere on the border between North and South Waziristan. ‘We think that they have not yet been taken to Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan,’ he added.The authorities have asked tribal elders in Janikhel, Bakkakhel and North Waziristan to hold talks with the militants and ensure early recovery of the hostages.

Air France jet wreckage found

Brazil's military has found the wreckage of the Air France passenger jet that disappeared with 228 people on board, the country's defence minister says.Nelson Jobim said on Tuesday that there was "no doubt" that Flight AF447 had crashed into the Atlantic after Brazilian military aircraft found debris along a 5km stretch of the ocean.Speaking in Rio de Janerio, Jobim said that the find "confirms that the plane went down in that area", hundreds of kilometres from the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.No bodies have yet been spotted among what was said to be metallic and non-metallic debris.

Obama sets off on Middle East trip

Barack Obama has set off for the Middle East where he is expected to reach out to the Muslim world in a speech in Cairo.The US president left Washington DC on Tuesday and will visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday before continuing on to Egypt on Thursday, where he is expected to address Muslims directly.But even before he began his four-day trip to the Middle East, al-Qaeda's deputy leader urged Muslims not to listen to the US leader.Calling Obama a "criminal", Ayman al-Zawahiri told Muslims not to heed the "elegant words" of the US president whose speech in Cairo is aimed at repairing ties with the Islamic world damaged by his predecessor's "war on terror" policies."His bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words," said an audio recording purportedly by al-Zawahiri posted on an al-Qaeda-linked website on Tuesday.The recording could not be verified.Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said Obama's speech "will outline his personal commitment to engagement, based upon mutual interests and mutual respect"."He will discuss how the United States and Muslim communities around the world can bridge some of the differences that have divided them."

CCTV footage released of Rescue-15 building attack on 27 May 2009

Obama hopeful on Mid-East peace

US President Barack Obama has told the BBC he believes his country can help to get serious Middle East peace negotiations back on track.Mr Obama's first interview with a UK broadcaster comes on the eve of a trip to the Middle East and Europe.On Iran, he said he hoped to see progress by the end of the year, through "tough, direct diplomacy".But he said, rather than imposing its values on other countries, the US should act as a role model.Speaking to BBC North America Editor Justin Webb, Mr Obama said he believed the US was "going to be able to get serious negotiations back on track" between Israel and the Palestinians.

India 'unhappy' over Hafiz Saeed release

Indian Home Minister

The Indian government said Tuesday it was ‘unhappy’ over a court decision to release the head of an Islamic charity India says was linked to last year's Mumbai siege.‘We are unhappy that Pakistan has not shown the degree of seriousness and commitment it should have to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks,’ Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters.Lahore High Court on Tuesday declared the detention of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and three other members of his party unlawful.An Indian foreign ministry official told AFP that New Delhi was carefully watching to see ‘whether the government in Pakistan will appeal against the court order.’India says the charity is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for a 2001 raid on the Indian parliament and last November's Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed.Pakistan had sealed offices of the Dawa within weeks of the Mumbai attacks after a UN Security Council resolution described the charity as a terror group.Islamabad had frozen the group's assets besides placing Saeed  —also the founder of LeT —under house arrest.Pakistan has however refused to hand over Saeed or ‘any fugitives from Indian law’ named in a list of 42 wanted men India says are being sheltered by Pakistan.

Finding downed jet in open ocean is a tall order

Though searchers believe that they have found debris from an Air France jet that disappeared off Brazil's coast Monday, finding the entire plane and learning exactly what downed it could be a tedious, years-long process.Many factors can complicate a search effort. Tradewinds and ocean currents can quickly scatter wreckage across several square miles, and the plane's altitude -- almost 7 miles, in the case of Flight 447 -- can make it difficult to pin down where the aircraft hit the water."It's a big ocean," said John Hansman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International Center for Air Transportation. "Once you're offshore, you're no longer in direct radar contact."It varies from airline to airline, but passenger jets generally send location reports every few hundred miles when they're over open water, Hansman said.They also send out maintenance reports via satellite that provide the plane's location at a specific time. Some maintenance reports are routine; others are sent when a problem or malfunction is detected, Hansman said. 

Chinese curbs before anniversary

China has blocked several websites ahead of the 20th anniversary of the suppression of the Tiananmen protests.Chinese internet users were unable to connect to the social networking service Twitter, their Hotmail accounts and the photo-sharing service Flickr.Meanwhile veteran dissident Wu Gaoxing, who was jailed for his part in the 1989 pro-democracy movement, was held at the weekend, a fellow activist said.China bans discussion of the events in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.Thursday 4 June is the 20th anniversary of the crackdown, when troops quelled weeks of protest by students and workers.China has never released a death toll from the suppression on what it says was a counter-revolutionary conspiracy. Hundreds are believed to have died in and around the square.