Pakistani forces in heavy clashes in S.Waziristan

Pakistani forces in heavy clashes in S.Waziristan


Pakistani forces in heavy clashes in S.Waziristan

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:37 PM PDT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct 18 Reuters) - Pakistani forces fought fierce battles with Taliban militants on Sunday, a day after launching a long-awaited offensive aimed at bringing the writ of state to lawless tribal lands on the Afghan border.


Diplomatic wrangling delays Afghan vote decision

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:37 PM PDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Global pressure mounted on President Hamid Karzai on Sunday to accept a possible runoff in Afghanistan's disputed election as extended diplomacy delayed the announcement of official results from the August poll.


Pakistani forces in heavy clashes in S.Waziristan

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:32 PM PDT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Oct 18 Reuters) - Pakistani forces fought fierce battles with Taliban militants on Sunday, a day after launching a long-awaited offensive aimed at bringing the writ of state to lawless tribal lands on the Afghan border.


Diplomatic wrangling delays Afghan vote decision (Reuters)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:15 PM PDT

Afghan President Hamid Karzai gestures during a news conference in Kabul in this September 17, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood/FilesReuters - Global pressure mounted on President Hamid Karzai on Sunday to accept a possible runoff in Afghanistan's disputed election as extended diplomacy delayed the announcement of official results from the August poll.



Biggest economies try again to strike climate deal (AP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:10 PM PDT

AP - Representatives of the world's 17 biggest and most polluting nations gather Sunday to search for a breakthrough on financing efforts to contain climate change and reduce gas emissions causing global warming.


Leftist LatAm bloc rejects Honduras election (AP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:20 PM PDT

Bolivia's President Evo Morales, left, greets Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega at the VII Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, ALBA, summit in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)AP - Leaders of a bloc of leftist Latin American governments urged the international community Saturday to reject the presidential election planned by Honduras' interim government next month.



Guinea junta leader wants election mediator: FM (AFP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:11 PM PDT

Guinea's military ruler Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has told the African Union he wants the question of his standing in presidential polls to be discussed as part of international mediation, his foreign minister told AFP(AFP/File/Seyllou)AFP - The head of Guinea's military junta has told the African Union he wants the question of his standing in presidential polls to be discussed as part of international mediation, his foreign minister told AFP.



Pakistan army faces black hole in Waziristan (AFP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:20 PM PDT

An internally displaced Pakistani family crosses a security post as they flee from military operations against Taliban militants in South Waziristan, in Dera Ismail Khan on October 17. Pakistan's military faces near impossible odds to smash Taliban networks in South Waziristan, analysts say.(AFP/Mohammad Kashif)AFP - Pakistan's military faces near impossible odds to smash Taliban networks in South Waziristan on impenetrable terrain infested with some of the most dangerous militants in the world, analysts say.



Pakistani forces in heavy clashes in S.Waziristan

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 09:42 PM PDT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani forces fought fierce battles with Taliban militants on Sunday, a day after launching a long-awaited offensive aimed at bringing the writ of state to lawless tribal lands on the Afghan border.


Pakistan army strikes Taliban bases

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 10:01 PM PDT

Troops and fighters reported killed as ground offensive in South Waziristan gets under way.


Hurricane Rick builds to Category 5 off Mexico (AP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 09:46 PM PDT

This image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Rick taken at 11 p.m. EDT Saturday Oct. 17, 2009. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Rick turned into an 'extremely dangerous' Category 5 storm on Saturday with sustained winds reaching 180 mph (285 kph). At 11 p.m. EDT Saturday (0300 GMT Sunday), the storm's center was located about 295 miles (475 kilometers) south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Forecasters say Hurricane Rick is the strongest hurricane in the eastern north Pacific Ocean in more than a decade. (AP Photo/NOAA)AP - Hurricane Rick grew Saturday into the strongest storm in the eastern North Pacific Ocean in more than a decade.



Froch holds on to his WBC super-middleweight title (AFP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 09:25 PM PDT

Carl Froch (pictured in April) needed a split decision to hold on to his World Boxing Council super-middleweight title and overcome an elusive Andre Dirrell at the Trent FM Arena Nottingham on Sunday.(AFP/Getty Images/Nick Laham)AFP - Carl Froch needed a split decision to hold on to his World Boxing Council (WBC) super-middleweight title and overcome an elusive Andre Dirrell at the Trent FM Arena Nottingham on Sunday.



Pakistani forces in heavy clashes in S.Waziristan (Reuters)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 09:41 PM PDT

A child looks out of the front windshield of a vehicle while fleeing a military offensive against Taliban militants in Dera Ismail Khan, located in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province October 17, 2009.REUTERS/Mustansar BalochReuters - Pakistani forces fought fierce battles with Taliban militants on Sunday, a day after launching a long-awaited offensive aimed at bringing the writ of state to lawless tribal lands on the Afghan border.



Key dates in collapse of communism across Europe (AP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 09:01 PM PDT

AP - For four decades, the communist regimes of Eastern Europe seemed unshakeable. Yet when the end came, it unfolded with stunning speed:


Churches denounce African children as "witches" (AP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 09:01 PM PDT

This Aug. 18, 2009 photo shows children accused of witchcraft carrying water at the Children's Rights and Rehabilitation Network in Eket, Nigeria. The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)AP - The nine-year-old boy lay on a bloodstained hospital sheet crawling with ants, staring blindly at the wall.



Too early to send more US troops to Afghanistan: Kerry

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 05:30 PM PDT

WASHINGTON -Senator John Kerry says it is "irresponsible" to send more US troops to Afghanistan at this time, amid a deepening election crisis that has placed the Kabul government's legitimacy at stake.

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Botswana polls results trickle in

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 12:53 AM PDT

GABORONE - Botswana municipal poll results trickled in Saturday ahead of a parliamentary outcome expected to return President Ian Khama's ruling party to the helm of the world's biggest diamond producer.

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Criminal charges to be filed in case of balloon boy

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 09:02 PM PDT

DENVER (Reuters) - Criminal charges will soon be filed in the case of a 6-year-old boy who spurred a frantic search for fear he was inside a wayward helium balloon, but who was later found safe at home, officials said on Saturday.


Afghan president under pressure over fraud rulings (AP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:35 PM PDT

Former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, speaks to reporters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Khalilzad said he has been meeting with both President Hamid Karzai and his chief rival Abdullah Abdullah to urge them to consider the fate of the country as they try to resolve the political crisis triggered by the fraud-marred presidential election last August. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)AP - Afghanistan's election crisis deepened Saturday as President Hamid Karzai resisted international pressure to accept fraud rulings that could force him into a runoff with his main challenger.



Japan's labour unions eye resurgence (AFP)

Posted: 17 Oct 2009 08:45 PM PDT

Labour union members rally in front of the headquarters of Keidanren, Japan's largest business group in Tokyo in April. After decades of decline, Japan's labour unions are looking to flex their new-found muscle in the wake of a historic power shift that handed them unprecedented close ties with the government.(AFP/File/Yoshikazu Tsuno)AFP - After decades of decline, Japan's labour unions are looking to flex their new-found muscle in the wake of a historic power shift that handed them unprecedented close ties with the government.