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Al-Qaida chief Zawahiri still in Pakistan: Pentagon
NATO-Taliban war on Twitter |
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26 killed as bomber targets funeral
prayers of tribal elder in Pak
Now, ‘sex and love’ compulsory course
in China colleges
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Al-Qaida chief Zawahiri still in Pakistan: Pentagon
Washington, September 15 "We have no information to indicate that he is anywhere else than in Pakistan," Pentagon spokesman George Little was quoted as saying about the 60-year-old Egyptian physician-turned-militant leader who succeeded Osama bin Laden. Little's comments came after Zawahiri apparently posted a new message coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The hour-long video, posted on Monday on jihadi websites, includes an audio broadcast purportedly from Zawahiri and a video message from Laden, recorded before his death in May in Pakistan. Zawahiri's speech lauds the Arab Spring as having "liberated thousands of the members of the Islamic movement, who were imprisoned by direct orders from America." "The popular revolutions are a form of defeat for the US, just as the 9/11 attacks and its alleged lack of success in Afghanistan and Iraq were also defeats," said Zawahiri, who was elevated as the chief of the Al-Qaida in June this year. The uprising in a number of Arab nations, including Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, has also "liberated the Arab people from handcuffs of fear and terror," the message says. The Laden video is apparently the same footage that was released by the US government after he was killed in a raid by American commandos in Pakistan, but this one includes his audio as well. The version issued by the Pentagon, after it was found in Laden's Abbottabad compound, was silent. — PTI
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NATO-Taliban war on Twitter Islamabad, September 15 The Taliban and NATO may be shying away from a peace process, but they had no inhibition to trade in barbs and indulging in no hold barred spat, in a burst of virtual conversations. The first salvo was fired by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), whose spokesman tweeted, "Re: Taliban spox on #Kabul attack: the outcome is inevitable. Question is how much longer will terrorist put innocent Afghans in harm's way?" The Taliban - which barred modern technology, including television and music players, when in rule - fired back. Taliban tweeter Abdulqahar Balk (@ABalkhi) wrote: "@ISAFmedia i dnt knw.u hve bn pttng thm n 'harm's way' fr da pst 10 yrs.Razd whole vllgs n mrkts.n stil hv da nrve to tlk bout 'harm's way'" In plain English, it means: I didn't know. You have been putting them in harm's way for the past 10 years. Razed whole villages and markets. And still have the nerve to talk about harms way. @ISAFmedia, which generally provides dry updates in military language on the security situation in Afghanistan, wrote back, "Really, @abalkhi? Unama reported 80% of civilians causalities are caused by insurgent (your) activities." But the Taliban tweeter questioned the statistics, sarcastically pointing out that ISAF, an organisation established by the UN security council, was using figures from another UN body - UNMA (the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan) to try to win the argument. "@ISAFmedia Unama is an entity of whom? mine or yours?" For a while, the war of words cooled down. However, the Taliban kept on instigating referring to a CNN article headlined "Pentagon: Afghan insurgency 'less effective' this year". Taliban wrote 'LOL' which, in chat language, means Laughing out Loud. @ISAFmedia later renewed hostilities, linking to a YouTube video of the commander of NATO-led forces, General John Allen, checking on his troops after the attacks on the US embassy and ISAF headquarters. — PTI
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26 killed as bomber targets funeral Islamabad, September 15 The bomber detonated the bomb as the 'namaz-e-janaza' of Safeer Sultan Khan was underway in the Jandol area of Lower
Dir district in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province this afternoon, police officials and witnesses said. The injured were taken to hospitals in nearby towns. Police said the attack was directed against the relatives of the tribal elder, who had formed an anti-Taliban militia and played
a role in combating militancy. The elder, whose funeral was targeted, was the nephew of Malik Muhammad Zareen, a prominent tribal leader who was himself killed in a suicide attack in Kunar province of Afghanistan in April, the channel reported. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. However, such incidents are usually blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The militants have, in the past, carried out suicide attacks on funerals of pro-government tribal elders and police officers. — PTI
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Sarkozy, Cameron offer help to hunt Gaddafi Tripoli, September 15 Just three weeks after the rebel forces backed by NATO bombers overran Muammar Gaddafi's capital, French President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister were met by the smiling leaders of the disparate coalition which overthrew him and took impromptu cheers from medical staff while visiting a hospital. At a news conference held under heavy security and the eyes of attack helicopters overhead, interim premier Mahmoud Jibril spoke of "our thanks for this historic stance" taken by the two European leaders, whose backing for the February uprising drew a hesitant United States and some Arab governments into a war that did not always look set to end well for the rebels. Both offered continued military support against Gaddafi loyalists, holding substantial parts of the country, as well as in the hunt for the fugitive strongman and others wanted for crimes against humanity. Sarkozy said he would raise the issue with neighbouring Niger, a former French colony where some of Gaddafi's senior aides and one of his sons have sought refuge. "This is not done. This is not over," Cameron said in pledging further military aid. "There are still parts of Libya that are under Gaddafi's control. Gaddafi is still at large and we must make sure that this work is completed," he said. “We will help you to find Gaddafi and bring him to justice," he added. He said a Franco-British move at the United Nations on Friday could mean London alone unfreezing
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Now, ‘sex and love’ compulsory course Beijing, September 15 A psychological course, including sex and love, will be compulsory for university students starting from this September. The ministry asked universities nationwide to develop a compulsory mental health course for students in all grades in June this year, a senior official of the ministry, told state- run 'China Daily' today. "Such college courses have been developed for several years in fact, but they have been optional courses," he said. "The reason why the ministry decided to make the courses compulsory was that most university students are advised to seek psychological guidance because of the heavy pressure on them," he said. Besides the sections about sex and love, it also involves curriculum to deal with psychological problems such as how to deal with pressure and frustrations in life and studying. The move however evoked mixed reactions.Gao Chang (18), a medical science freshman at Peking University, said such courses were very popular among new students. "The psychological courses in our school are popular, but they have been optional up till now," she said. Some students, however, think that there is no reason to make it compulsory.— PTI
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