Newly released videos show Osama bin Laden inside his hideout, watching himself on television and rehearsing for propaganda videos.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Pentagon Releases Videos of Osama bin Laden
Newly released videos show Osama bin Laden inside his hideout, watching himself on television and rehearsing for propaganda videos.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Air Force grounds F-22s over oxygen system concerns
The stand-down order was made Tuesday but is just now becoming public. It's unclear how long the stand down will last.
There are about 165 Raptors in the fleet. Since January, the aircraft already had been kept at altitudes under 25,000 feet during an ongoing investigation into a November crash. Flying above that altitude could cause a pilot to black out from lack of oxygen and lose control.
The stand-down affects all routine training and other missions, Faerrau said.
The Air Force is looking at all the systems on this new-generation fighter jet, but one area of focus is the On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS), according to Ferrau.
The order came from Gen. William Fraser, commander of Air Combat Command, which is based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
Indian state chief declared dead
Indian home ministry spokesman Onkar Kedia confirmed the death of Dorjee Khandu, the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh state, and five others on board the helicopter.
The wreckage was sighted Wednesday after an aerial survey of the difficult terrain in the state's Tawang district, from where it had taken off on Saturday.
Earlier, authorities broadened their search for the missing helicopter into Bhutan. A district in the tiny neighboring kingdom was among three locations that satellites and jets zeroed in on looking for Khandu's helicopter.
Officials said the search operation involved at least 3,500 personnel.
The helicopter belonged to India's state-run Pawan Hans company. Authorities raised the alarm when it did not arrive at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday.
On April 20, at least 17 people were killed as a Pawan Hans helicopter caught fire upon landing in Tawang, officials said.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
President Obama's Speech On Death of Osama Bin Laden
President Barack Obama announced Osama bin Laden's death in a military operation. His death was the result of a U.S. operation launched on May 1st in Abbottabad, Pakistan, against a compound where bin Laden was believed to be hiding, according to U.S. intelligence. After a firefight, a small team of American forces killed bin Laden and took possession of his body, the president said.
The announcement that Obama would speak came at 9:45 p.m., less than an hour before he was initially scheduled to go on the air. The unusual hour, and the fact that the White House gave no details about the topic, set off a flurry of speculation
The State Department is putting U.S. embassies on alert and is warning Americans abroad of possible reprisal attacks from al Qaeda and its affiliates around the world after the killing of the group's leader Osama bin Laden by American forces in Pakistan.
The State Department is putting U.S. embassies on alert and is warning Americans abroad of possible reprisal attacks from al Qaeda and its affiliates around the world after the killing of the group's leader Osama bin Laden by American forces in Pakistan.
Osama Bin Laden is Killed in Pakistan
Ten years after the worst ever terrorist attack carried out in New York that killed close to three thousand innocent US civilians, terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden-the mastermind of the ghastly attack was killed by a special force of the US Army in Abottabad of Pakistan, May 1, 2011.
Some sixty Kilometers from Pakistani Capital of Islamabad, Osama-Chief of the terrorist organization Al Qaida, was suspected to have been living in a fortified multi-million dollar mansion since five years period.
“Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan,” a beaming US President Barrack Hussain Obama said in his late-night statement on Sunday while formally announcing the killing of Osama bin Laden.
President Obama said “A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.”
The military operation lasted for just 40 minutes.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Man opens fire on Americans in Kabul; 9 dead
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said an Afghan military pilot opened fire on international troops, sparking a "gunfight." The Taliban, however, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had been working with the shooter for some time -- an assertion that NATO denied.
Also denying the Taliban claim was the brother of the pilot.
"My brother had no connections with the Taliban, and I deny any claims of his connection by the Taliban," Dr. Mohammad Hosain Sahebi told a local Afghan TV station in a telephone interview.
He said his brother, Ahmad Gull, 48, was in the Afghan Air Force for several years and was injured many times in plane crashes. The Afghan military, however, listed the pilot as being 50 years old.
"My brother had mental sickness as the result of the plane crashes in '80s and also he had economic problems, too," Sahebi told local television.
One witness, Jon Mohammad, a military pilot at Kabul Airport, told CNN that he jumped from a second floor window to the ground during the incident. He saw foreigners laying on the ground inside the first floor, he said.
"He was religious person, but I'm not sure if he had mental illness," Mohammad said of Gull, the pilot.
The shooting started at the Afghan national air force compound at North Kabul International Airport after an argument between the Afghan pilot and an international colleague, officials said. The NATO-led force said the Afghan military pilot opened fire on international trainers and a "gunfight" ensued.
"A 50-year-old man opened fire at armed U.S. military soldiers inside the airport after an argument between them turned serious," said Col. Baha Dur, chief of public relations for the Afghan National Army at Kabul military airport.
NATO said the confrontation took place at 10:25 a.m. at the airport, where a quick-reaction force responded to a "small arms fire incident." The airport is home to NATO Air Training Command Afghanistan.
An initial report indicates the attack occurred in a meeting room at the Afghan Air Force headquarters, a location operated and secured by Afghans, a U.S. military official told CNN. The NATO-led force is investigating, the official said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the killings "by an Afghan military pilot."
Zaher Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said the killings upset Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and that "he shares the pain with the families of the victims."
Despite the account by international troops, a Taliban spokesman said a man named Azizullah was responsible.
"One suicide attacker ... managed to attack an Afghan military unit and has managed to kill many Afghan and international soldiers," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.
The Taliban said the man killed nine foreigners and five Afghans before being killed by the Afghan army.
"We had worked hard on this plan for a long time," Mujahid told CNN. "He was cooperating with us since long time and he was providing us information about military air operations for a long time."
NATO disputed the Taliban claim.
"We do not know why it started but there is no indication that a suicide bomber was involved and there are no reports that someone managed to get into the base to do this," the NATO-led force said in a statement.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for previous conflicts between NATO service members and members of the Afghan military. CNN could not independently verify the group's claims.
The Taliban said the man was once a pilot in an Afghan regime in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"Since the current Afghan air forces have no planes, he was just going to Kabul airport to show up and earn his salary for a long time," Mujahid told CNN.
The man "was holding the rank of colonel at the time and he had an AK-47 with him. After his bullets were finished, then he was shot to death by armed forces," Mujahid told CNN.
There was confusion about the death toll. The NATO-led force initially said six service members were killed. It raised that toll to nine but backed away temporarily before saying again that the shooting killed nine people -- eight international service members and a civilian contractor. The Pentagon confirmed that all were Americans.
Later Wednesday NATO announced that two additional service members were killed in attacks elsewhere in the country, bringing the day's total number of NATO casualties to at least 11.
Violence between Afghan forces and NATO troops is a matter of extreme concern for NATO officials, and it is growing in frequency.
There have been 36 NATO deaths in the past two years attributed to attacks by people perceived to be Afghan soldiers or police. Officials fear that the increasing frequency of the attacks could undermine trust between NATO troops and the Afghans they are working hard to prepare so they can eventually take over security in the country.
The Taliban's claim that the Afghan gunman was their recruit follows a now-familiar pattern of the insurgency stating that attacks are theirs, even though NATO later suggests the gunman was acting out of personal motivation.
Out of 16 incidents of Afghan forces shooting NATO personnel that NATO has investigated, eight have been determined to be motivated by combat stress on the part of the Afghan attacker. The other eight investigations are undetermined.
UEFA to probe Madrid-Barca controversy
UEFA said on Thursday that Real coach Jose Mourinho could be punished for being sent to the stands after Pepe was sent off, and then making an "inappropriate statement" after his team's 2-0 home first-leg defeat.
His club could also be in trouble due to missile-throwing by fans and a pitch invasion at the Santiago Bernabeu, as well as Portugal international Pepe's dismissal for a lunge at Barcelona's Daniel Alves.
Barcelona may also be charged at the May 6 hearing -- which comes after Tuesday's second leg in the Catalan capital -- due to the sending-off of reserve goalkeeper Jose Pinto during a halftime scuffle between both sets of players.
Barca later said on Thursday that the club would report Mourinho to UEFA for his astonishing tirade, which came despite the European body delaying the post-match interviews in order to give both teams time to calm down.
Lionel Messi's double saw Barca plant one foot in the final, with both goals coming after makeshift midfielder Pepe was sent off by German referee Wolfgang Stark.
Mourinho, who was sent to the stands after the red card for his ironic applause at the match officials, suggested that UEFA shows favoritism towards Barcelona.
He claimed Barca's relationship with world children's charity UNICEF, and with Spanish football federation president Angel Maria Villar, contributed to their "power" and that the return leg next week was "mission impossible."
Barcelona's official website reported Mourinho as saying: "Josep Guardiola is a fantastic football coach, but he has won one Champions League which would embarrass me after the scandalous goings on at Stamford Bridge and this year if he wins it again it will be after the scandalous goings on at the Bernabeu.
"I don't know if it's the UNICEF publicity or the friendship of Villar at UEFA, where he is vice-president, I don't know if it's because they are so nice, but they have got great power. The rest of us have no chance."
After an extraordinary meeting of the club's board of directors, Barcelona spokesman Tony Freixa said a complaint would be made to UEFA's disciplinary committee.
"We want to defend the history, prestige and reputation of our members, fans, players, coaches and directors, who with their hard work and their effort succeeded in winning the Champions League in 2009," Freixa said.
"It's unacceptable that someone questions our titles and our links with UNICEF."
The build-up to the match had been dominated by a war of words between Mourinho and Guardiola.
Barca's players have been criticized for the pressure they put on the referee during the match but Guardiola refused to be drawn on Mourinho's outburst, telling reporters: "I have nothing to say."
Mud-slinging continued between the players, however, with Real striker Emmanuel Adebayor telling Spanish newspaper AS: "Whenever you play against Barca, whenever you touch them, they are on the floor crying like a baby."
Madrid also claimed that Barcelona players Pedro and Sergio Busquets overly reacted when challenged by Alvaro Arbeloa and Marcelo during the game.
The website published quotes from England footballers Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen condemning Alves for diving, along with Irish golf star Rory McIlroy and NFL player Chad Ochocinco -- who also plays soccer.
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