Egypt's former first lady said to have suffered a heart attack

May 13, 2011 

Suzanne Mubarak, 70, was reportedly in good health before the uprising

The incident came shortly after Suzanne Mubarak was ordered detained for 15 days in a corruption case, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported.Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Suzanne Mubarak, wife of toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, suffered a heart attack Friday after being questioned in a corruption investigation, the manager of the Sharm el-Sheikh Hospital said.

The manager, Mohamed Fatah Allah, said she had been taken to the intensive care unit.

Assem al-Gohary, the assistant justice minister for the Illicit Gains Authority, ordered her detained for "obtaining illegal wealth using her husband's position and political authority."

Muammar Gadhafi Says NATO Cannot Reach Him

 May 13, 2011

Photo: Reuters

Muammar Gaddafi speaks at a Tripoli hotel in this still image from Libyan TV ,released May 11, 2011

Libyan state television has broadcast an audio message from Moammar Gadhafi in which the Libyan leader assures his people that he is alive and in a place where NATO bombs could not reach him. 

Threat of regime collapse in Syria creates uncertainty in region

A girl held a poster critical of Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, outside the Syrian embassy in London yesterday. (Andrew Winning/ Reuters)

 May 8, 2011

BEIRUT — The toppling of the presidents in Tunisia and Egypt precipitated a tumult of revolutionary fervor that promises to transform the Middle East, but the potential collapse of the Syrian regime could wreak havoc of a very different kind.

Four dead as Taliban hold out in Afghan city

By Mamoon Durrani (AFP) – 2 hours ago

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The death toll from a wave of Taliban attacks on government buildings in the key Afghan city of Kandahar has risen to four as militants held out into a second day, officials said Sunday.

Violence in the city, seen as the Taliban's birthplace, broke out on Saturday at around 1:00 pm (0830 GMT) when militants with guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the governor's office from nearby buildings.

It spread to sites including the local offices of the intelligence service and several police offices as a total of ten explosions including six suicide blasts rocked the city.

Nearly 50 people have been wounded in the standoff, the first major incident since the Taliban announced the start of its annual spring offensive just over a week ago.

HUNDREDS of Syrian soldiers stormed a Damascus suburb early today, breaking into houses and making dozens of arrests

The raids came after thousands of people marched in a demonstration in the area last Friday, demanding the removal of President Bashar al Assad.

Residents who witnessed the raids said the strong-arm tactics were over-the-top because the protests had been peaceful, The (London) Times reported.

"They cut off communications before they came in. There is no resistance. The demonstrations in Saqba have been peaceful. Scores of people have been arrested," said one local, who did not want to be named.

The Syrian opposition has vowed to continue peaceful protests despite a security sweep by the authorities in which thousands of people have been arrested.

IMF, EU to work on realistic deficit reduction: Expert

Greece got a bailout of 110 billion euro a year ago. Ireland signed 85 billion euro bailout last November. Now, Portugal has agreed to 78 billion euro of a bailout in May 2011.

Sarah Hewin, Head of Research-Europe at Standard Chartered Bank, in an interview with CNBC-TV18's Menaka Doshi, discuss implications of the bailout package, whether that number will be enough and what it means for the peripheral countries in the EU.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: Does this look like a good number? Do you think that if we manage to get the political consensus in Portugal post elections to back this bailout, will it put to rest the fear of Portugal defaulting on debt?

Hamas and Fatah may have reunited, but their work is just beginning

It is also not yet clear whether the unity government, if finally established, will adopt the Quartet’s demands that it recognize Israel and honor the agreements already signed with it.

By Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel

Yesterday’s signing was delayed by, among other things, a sharp disagreement that broke out over Meshal’s desire to give a speech to those present. Abbas objected, and after an hour and a half, Meshal agreed to give a shorter speech than Abbas. Nonetheless, Meshal is the one who supplied the event’s main headline, by offering more moderate stances than his organization’s traditional positions.

Osama's death: What next for al-Qaeda?

Bin Laden dead

The killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is a huge blow to the organisation but as guest columnist Ahmed Rashid reports, its decentralised nature means it has the potential to carry out attacks on any number of targets.

There have been cheers and jubilation in the US and elsewhere in the West, but capital cities around the world are already bracing for the repercussions of Bin Laden's killing.
Hundreds of dedicated and would-be jihadis will be mourning and swearing to give their lives in revenge for his death at the hands of a joint US-Pakistani special forces team in the city of Abbotabad.
There is little doubt that the death of Bin Laden is a huge blow to al-Qaeda.
But at the same time the network has moved over the years from a highly centralised hierarchy - with recruiting, training and orders all scrutinised by its top leaders - to something much more loose and amorphous.

Royal Wedding Web Buzz by the Numbers

Prince William and Kate Middleton stand on the steps of City Hall during a visit to Belfast, March 8, 2011 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Indigo/Getty Images

April 29, 2012

Prince William and Kate Middleton may aspire to leave their imprint on history, but they've already left their mark on the Web.

Chatter about the couple -- and the dress, and the guests, and the church, and every other detail related to the big event -- spiked across all corners of the Internet. Experts say that as the festivities get underway, it will likely be one of the biggest "two-screen" events ever.

Russia calls on Syria to investigate death

MOSCOW — Russia urged Syria Thursday to punish those responsible for deadly violence during a crackdown on anti-government protests but said an international investigation sought by the United States was not necessary.

The U.N. Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Syria Friday at Washington's request and is due to consider a draft resolution submitted by the U.S. delegation.
A close vote was expected on the text in the 47-member forum, with China and Cuba expected to join Russia in opposing the resolution, western diplomats in Geneva said Wednesday.
Russia said Syrian authorities should investigate and bring those responsible for deadly violence to justice but indicated it could carry out an investigation on its own.

Yemen opposition warns bloodshed may derail deal

 

By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohamed Sudam
SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's opposition warned the government on Thursday that violence against street protesters demanding the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh could derail a deal aimed at ending the political standoff.
Plainclothes gunmen killed 12 people and wounded dozens more in Yemen's capital on Wednesday when they opened fire on anti-government marchers just days before a Gulf-mediated deal to end the crisis was due to be sealed. "In the event of your inability to protect protesters, we will find ourselves unable to pursue an agreement that the regime seeks to use to shed more blood," the opposition coalition said in a statement.
A deal to end the crisis by easing Saleh out within a month was expected to be signed on Sunday in Riyadh, three months after Yemenis took to the streets, inspired by revolts that toppled autocratic rulers in Egypt and Tunisia.

Barak: We won't talk to Palestinian gov't with Hamas in it

  Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday evening that Israel would not speak to a Fatah-Hamas government as long as Hamas continues terrorist attacks against Israel.

“This is an organizations that there is nothing to talk to about,” Barak said. “There is no chance that we will talk to this type of government, if it is established and we demand that our friends in the world refrain from speaking to it as well unless Hamas undergoes a substantial and deep change by stopping terrorism, dismantling terrorist infrastructure and accepting the Quartet’s conditions which are recognizing previous agreements with Israel and entering negotiations.”

Alabama, Southern states pounded by 'catastrophic' storms; at least 250 dead

Officials in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky begin an intense search-and-rescue effort and massive cleanup in the wake of the violent weather. The death toll is expected to rise.

"It was just the force of the storm," the governor told reporters. "It's hard to move that many people."

Officials estimate the intensity of the storm at F4 or F5, meaning winds in excess of 150 mph.. Whole neighborhoods were flattened.

One of the hardest-hit areas was Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 and home to the University of Alabama. The city's police and other emergency services were devastated, Mayor Walter Maddox said. At least 36 people were reported dead and more than 600 injured.

Targeting Pak intelligence agencies

British newspaper, The Guardian, has once again come up with WikiLeaks cables, targeting the premier Pakistani intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

In a shocking revelation, the paper stated the US authorities describe the top Pakistani

to interrogators at Guantanamo Bay rank the ISI alongside al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon; being linked to any of these groups is an indication of terrorist or insurgent activity,” said the report. So, what is the truth behind the shocking report?

UPDATE 1-Q+A-What's going on at Japan's damaged nuclear power plant?

Japanese engineers are struggling to gain control of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, which was seriously damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Two of the six reactors at the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), are considered stable but the other four are volatile.
Following are some questions and answers about efforts to end the world's worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl accident:

WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Workers are trying to fill the reactors with enough water to bring the nuclear fuel rods inside to a "cold shutdown", in which the water cooling them is below 100 degrees Celsius and the reactors are considered stable.

Devastation mounts in Misrata after heavy shelling on port

Libyan forces attack Misrata

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Structures along a major thoroughfare in Misrata are damaged or destroyed
• Witnesses say three people died after shelling near a refugee camp in coastal Misrata
• The Libyan government claims Western forces are trying to assassinate Gadhafi
• The British defense secretary says NATO has been targeting capabilities, not individuals

Chernobyl: 25 and Barre

The nuclear disaster in Ukraine was one of the key reasons for the USSR’s downfall
The tragic events in Japan have reminded mankind about the most terrible nuclear disaster in human history — the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine. The world will remember its 25th anniversary on April 26. While this disaster has been gradually forgotten, it has had a lasting impact on the lives of millions of people, the fate of the Soviet Union and on the nuclear industry around the world. The 30-kilometre zone around the Chernobyl plant is still deserted.

Over 500,000 workers have taken part in the heroic attempt to stop further contamination — and have been subject to radiation. Many more — including those living in Kiev, a two-million-people capital city of Ukraine, situated just a hundred kilometres away — had received a substantial dose of radiation before they knew what was going on. The disaster cost about 2.5% of Soviet GDP — exceeding the fiscal cost of the war in Afghanistan. But the most important effect of Chernobyl was the lost credibility of the Soviet state and of the ruling Communist party. Everybody saw that the Soviet system was built on lies. And that the Party could not stop lying even if its own people’s lives were in grave danger. This is why Chernobyl was one of the key events leading to the end of the Soviet Union.

Eight NATO troops killed as Afghan pilot opens fire

KABUL — Eight NATO troops and a contractor were killed when an Afghan pilot opened fire on Wednesday after a row at a Kabul training centre in one of the deadliest such attacks since the US-led invasion in 2001.
The killings appeared to stem from an argument rather than terrorism, but served to highlight the prevailing insecurity in Afghanistan, 10 years after foreign troops ousted the Taliban from power.
They were also likely to raise questions over a massive NATO-led effort to expand and train Afghanistan's military and police so they can take over when foreign combat operations are scheduled to end in 2014.
The NATO-led training mission in Afghanistan confirmed that eight international troops and a contractor died in the shooting but did not reveal the nationality of the troops killed in line with policy.
Afghan defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi earlier gave further details of the clash, which is now over.
"At around 11:00am (0630 GMT) within the air force compound, an argument took place between an (Afghan) air force officer and foreign colleagues," he said. "An exchange of fire followed. A number have been killed and injured."

Panetta and Petraeus in Line for Top Security Posts

WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected this week to name Leon E. Panetta, the director of central intelligence, as defense secretary and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, as director of the C.I.A., administration officials said Wednesday.

 The appointments, set in motion by the impending retirement of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, are part of a significant rearrangement of Mr. Obama’s national security team that will include several new assignments within the closest circle of his diplomatic, military and intelligence advisers.
Mr. Gates is expected to step down this summer.
The changes at the top of Mr. Obama’s national security team have long been expected.
Not long after Mr. Gates leaves, the term will expire for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, who, like the defense secretary, was appointed by President George W. Bush. And Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg has announced that he is leaving for an academic job — removing one of the crucial players in Mr. Obama’s efforts to manage China’s rise.
But Mr. Gates’s role is the most critical. He often allied with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton — who has said that she intends to leave the administration when this term ends — including persuading Mr. Obama to start the military buildup in Afghanistan in 2009. Together they won many other battles, but they visibly split last month on the military intervention in Libya.

India to set up independent nuclear watchdog

At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, top government leaders also decided to go ahead with the nuclear power plant in Jaitapur. -File Photo

NEW DELHI: India has decided to set up an independent watchdog to oversee all of its nuclear reactors in view of mounting concerns about the safety of such installations.
Those concerns have intensified since an earthquake-spawned tsunami knocked out cooling systems at a Japanese nuclear power plant, unleashing massive amounts of radiation into the environment.
But discontent over the country’s atomic energy has been simmering for some time: Residents of a western Indian town have complained about the safety of a plant planned for their community and demanded more compensation for moving.
V. Narayanswamy, a minister in the prime minister’s office, said Tuesday, that the government is preparing a bill to be introduced in the next session of parliament to create an autonomous nuclear regulatory authority.
At a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, top government leaders also decided to go ahead with the nuclear power plant in Jaitapur.
”The government is satisfied with the safety aspects of the Jaitapur nuclear plant,” Narayanswamy said.