W O R L D

77 American soldiers hurt in Afghan truck bombing
Kabul, September 11
Seventy-seven American soldiers were wounded and two Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban truck bombing targeting an American base in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said today, a stark reminder that the war in Afghanistan still rages 10 years after the September 11 terror attacks against the United States.

MISSING YOU: A woman breaks down as she enters the 9/11 Memorial Plaza at the World Trade Centre site. — AFP

Pak reaches out to US through advt in Wall Street Journal
Islamabad, September 11
Pakistan has placed an advertisement in the US media to reach out to America on 9/11. "Which country can do more for your peace," asks the advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. "Since 2001, a nation of 180 million has been fighting for the future of the world's 7 billion."

Families of Indian 9/11 victims still to recover
New York, September 11
It is said that time is the best healer, but not for the Indian families in the US whose kith and kin lost their lives on that fateful September day ten years ago, when the city faced its worst terror attack.

Over 200 dead as ferry capsizes in Tanzania
Stone Town, September
11 More than 200 bodies have been recovered after a crowded ferry sank off Tanzania’s coast. Around 600 persons have been rescued.




Tanzanian policemen with bodies of children at the sea in Zanzibar, Tanzania. — AP/PTI

Egyptian top Gen fails to testify 
Cairo, September 11
Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi today failed to testify before a court in the trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak for his alleged role in the killing of anti-regime protesters.

No role in attacks, say Taliban
Washington: The Taliban have said that their movement had no role in the 9/11 terror attacks and accused the United States of using the incident to invade Afghanistan where they have killed tens of thousands of innocent Afghans. In a defiant statement emailed to media, the Taliban accused the US of using the September 11 attacks as a pretext to invade Afghanistan. It said the international community was responsible for killing thousands of Afghans during the invasion and ensuing occupation of the country.

Cameron thought wife was killed
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose wife Samantha was on a business trip to New York September 11, 2001, faced moments of anxiety to finally hear she had not died in the terror attack. In an interview to mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks, Cameron told Al Jazeera how he spent hours trying to contact Samantha. Cameron was at the family home in Oxfordshire on the day of the attacks while Samantha, who was two months pregnant, was in New York opening a new branch of the upmarket stationers Smythson, where she still works as a consultant. — Agencies

 

 

77 American soldiers hurt in Afghan truck bombing

Kabul, September 11
Seventy-seven American soldiers were wounded and two Afghan civilians were killed in a Taliban truck bombing targeting an American base in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said today, a stark reminder that the war in Afghanistan still rages 10 years after the September 11 terror attacks against the United States.

The blast, which occurred late yesterday, shaved the facades from shops outside the Combat Outpost Sayed Abad in Wardak province and broke windows in government offices nearby, said Roshana Wardak, a former parliamentarian who runs a clinic in the nearby town of the same name. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Eight wounded civilians were brought to Wardak’s clinic, two of them with wounds serious enough that they were sent to Kabul. She said one 3-year-old girl died of her wounds on the way to the clinic.

The attack was carried out by a Taliban suicide bomber who detonated a large bomb inside a truck carrying firewood, NATO said. It was unclear how many foreign and Afghan soldiers were serving on the base.

“Most of the force of the explosion was absorbed by the protective barrier at the outpost entrance,” NATO said, adding that the damage was repairable and that operations were continuing.

Fewer than 25 Afghan civilians were also wounded, NATO said, adding that none of the 77 injuries sustained by the Americans were life threatening. Spokesman Maj Russell Fox said Sunday that all the international troops at the combat outpost are American. — AP 

Pak reaches out to US through advt in Wall Street Journal

Islamabad, September 11
Pakistan has placed an advertisement in the US media to reach out to America on 9/11. "Which country can do more for your peace," asks the advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. "Since 2001, a nation of 180 million has been fighting for the future of the world's 7 billion."

Dawn reported that Islamabad had initially given this advertisement to The New York Times but they refused to carry it.

The advertisement says that since September 11, 2001, 21,672 Pakistani civilians have lost their lives or have been seriously injured in the war against terror.

The Pakistan army also has lost 2,795 soldiers while 8,671 soldiers have been wounded. More than 3.5 million have been displaced while the country has lost $68 billion due to terrorism, the media report said.

The advertisement noted that despite sacrifices the country was still engaged in "the war for world peace". "Can any other country do so? Only Pakistan," it maintained. — IANS

Families of Indian 9/11 victims still to recover

New York, September 11
It is said that time is the best healer, but not for the Indian families in the US whose kith and kin lost their lives on that fateful September day ten years ago, when the city faced its worst terror attack.

New Jersey resident Arjan Mirpuri's 30-year old son Rajesh was among the 3,000 people who died on 9/11 when two airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers.

"My son did not even work at the World Trade Centre. He had gone there that day to attend a trade show. Before that day, Rajesh had never gone to the WTC. 9/11 became the most unfortunate day of our lives," Mirpuri said.

It has been 10 long years since but the pain and sadness in Mirpuri's voice and expression is still palpable. "Whatever happened on 9/11 was wrong. It should never have happened. We still feel miserable and upset about the tragic events of the day," he says.

Meanwhile, the Sikh community in the US solemnly remembered and honoured those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terror attacks.

"On this day, which affected all, we especially remember our obligation to stand together as One," said Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group of the minority community.

Like all Americans, Sikhs lost friends and colleagues on that tragic day. Sikhs were also amongst the first responders to the attacks, it said. — PTI

Over 200 dead as ferry capsizes in Tanzania

Stone Town, September 11
More than 200 bodies have been recovered after a crowded ferry sank off Tanzania’s coast. Around 600 persons have been rescued.

Relatives have claimed 192 bodies while 28 more are still awaiting identification, according to Mohammed Aboud Mohammed, minister for state in the vice-president’s office on the island of Zanzibar.

Survivors said the MV Spice Islanders, which sank near the tourist destination of Zanzibar yesterday, was filled well beyond its official capacity of 600 passengers.

The bodies have been taken to a sports field, where imams are saying prayers and the bodies are being washed and wrapped in white according to Islamic custom. — AP

Egyptian top Gen fails to testify 

Cairo, September 11
Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi today failed to testify before a court in the trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak for his alleged role in the killing of anti-regime protesters.

Tantawi, an ex-defence minister and confidante of the ousted leader, said he is too busy dealing with security issues arising out an attack on Israeli embassy, to testify at Mubarak's trial, the BBC reported.

The court had asked him as well as chief of staff Sami Anan to testify whether the army received orders to open fire on the protesters in particular on the night of January 28 after the police withdrew from the streets and the army was deployed to keep order. The court postponed his appearance until September 24 and 25.

Mubarak is charged with ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that toppled him in February. Nearly 900 people died in the unrest.

The trial comes amid a diplomatic row between Israel and Egypt following the vandalisation of the embassy of the Jewish nation. — PTI