'CIA bomber' video indicates Taliban's reach

The Jordanian "double agent" who killed himself and seven American Central Intelligence Agency officials in Afghanistan's Khost province last month must have been very sure of the success of his mission.

"This… attack will be the first of revenge operations against the Americans and their drone teams outside the Pakistani border, after they killed the Amir [chief] of Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Baitullah Mehsud, may God's beneficence be upon him," he apparently said in a video broadcast released on Saturday.

The video shows the purported Jordanian suicide bomber sitting next to Baitullah Mehsud's successor and the new Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, and reading from written text.

"We [the Jordanian himself and the Taliban, whom he describes as Mujahideen or the holy warriors] arranged together this attack to let the Americans understand that our belief in Allah… cannot be exchanged for all the wealth in the world," he says.

It would appear that he had already set the trap for the CIA agents at the time he made the video.

The father of Humam al-Balawi says his son is the man in the video

But is this really the man who carried out the 30 December bombing of Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, which is believed to be the nerve-centre of suspected US drone strikes into Pakistani territory?

The authenticity of the video is not yet established, neither is the identity of the man in the video - although the father of the accused Jordanian has said that the man who appears on the video is definitely his son.

The Americans say the Jordanian who killed the CIA officials in Khost was named Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi.

But the man in the video introduces himself as Dr Abu Dujana al-Khorasani.

He also does not specify as to where "outside the Pakistani borders" he is going to carry out his revenge attack.

Some observers even suspect the video may have been doctored by the Pakistani Taliban - who are believed to have released it - to show their leader at the side of the bomber who greatly embarrassed both the American and Jordanian intelligence services.

Training camps

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the Khost attack, alongside similar claims by the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Baitullah Mehsud's tribal stronghold was in South Waziristan

All of them said that the attack was planned to avenge the 6 August 2009 killing of Baitullah Mehsud in a drone strike.

A Pakistani Taliban leader, Qari Hussain, who is known to run training camps for suicide bombers in Pakistan's Waziristan tribal region, near the border with Afghanistan, had in an audio message last week promised that they would soon release a video of the Khost bomber.

If the video is found to be authentic, then it apparently shows the level and the extent of collaboration between the al-Qaeda core, the Afghan Taliban and their Pakistani counterparts.

This is not to say that there has ever been any real divergence of views over ideology, tactics or strategy among these three entities.

Analysts say that the Taliban movement in Pakistan is essentially an offshoot of the so-called Haqqani network, which is an Afghanistan-focused organisation with close links to the al-Qaeda core and sanctuaries in Pakistan.

The network has deep reach inside Afghanistan and is believed to be behind several high-profile attacks in eastern and south-central Afghanistan, including Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

'Holy warriors'

An Afghan war veteran from the days of Soviet invasion, Jalaluddin Haqqani, is said to have carved out the Taliban sanctuaries in Waziristan through his close links with the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI.

aqqani is now believed to be an ailing man, and the leadership of the network has passed into the hands of his son, Sirajuddin Haqqani.

The Haqqanis hail from Khost region, and have been based in the nearby Pakistani tribal region of North Waziristan since the Soviet invasion in 1979.

In the post-9/11 period, the Haqqanis have organised Afghan resistance from three distinct bases in Pakistan's North and South Waziristan region.

The fighters in North Waziristan are led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, those in the western region of South Waziristan are led by Maulvi Nazir, while those in eastern parts of South Waziristan are led by Hakimullah Mehsud.

Over the years, the groups in North Waziristan and in the west of South Waziristan have struck peace deals with the Pakistani forces and have focused on Afghanistan.

The group led by Hakimullah Mehsud has, meanwhile, trained its guns on Pakistan.

The strategy is in keeping with al-Qaeda's view that both Pakistani and Afghan governments are siding with the "infidels" and deserve the wrath of the holy warriors.

If found authentic, the video released on Saturday would show that any distinction between the militants of Afghanistan and Pakistan has no value beyond academic interest.

snowing in florida

Freeze warnings covered nearly all of Florida with temperatures expected to drop into the 20s. Freezing iguanas were seen falling out of trees in Florida; experts say the cold-blooded reptiles become immobilized when the temperature falls into the 40s and they lose their grip on the tree. Parts of the state, including Orlando, are seeing snow flurries.

Snow was piled so high in Iowa that drivers couldn't see across intersections and a North Dakota snowblower repair shop was overwhelmed with business as heavy snow and wind chills as low as 52 below zero blasted much of the Midwest on Thursday.

Frigid weather also was gripping the South, where a rare cold snap was expected to bring snow and ice Thursday to states from South Carolina to Louisiana. Forecasters said wind chills could drop to near zero at night in some areas.

Dangerously cold wind chill levels hit the Midwest early Thursday including 52 below zero in northern North Dakota, negative 40 in parts of South Dakota and minus 27 in northeast Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service. Equally disturbing chills were expected overnight Friday.

"Temperatures are going to be nose-diving," said Billy Williams, a weather service meteorologist in Sioux Falls, S.D. "Winds are slowing dropping off but will be more than compensated for."

An additional 10 inches of snow was expected in Iowa, already buried by more than 2 feet of snow in December, while up to 9 inches could fall in southeast North Dakota that forecasters warned would create hazardous zero-visibility driving conditions. Wind gusts of 30 miles per hour were expected in Illinois, along with a foot of snow, while large drifts were anticipated in Nebraska and Iowa.

Joe Dietrich said he had to turn away dozens of customers this week from his snowblower repair shop in Bismarck, N.D.

"My building is only so big and I can only take so many," Dietrich said.

The weather hasn't let up since sweeping into the eastern U.S. earlier this week. Five straight days of double-digit subzero low temperatures, including negative 19, were recorded by the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen, Minn., a Twin Cities suburb.

"It's brutally cold, definitely brutal," meteorologist Tony Zaleski said.

Several recent deaths have been blamed on the cold. An 88-year-old woman died of hypothermia in her unheated Chicago home, an Alzheimer's sufferer died after wandering into his yard in Nashville, Tenn., and a homeless man was found dead in a tent in South Carolina, authorities said. Kansas City police said a man involved in a multi-car pileup Wednesday died after jumping a barrier wall in the dark, apparently to avoid sliding cars, and falling about 80 feet.

Slick roads were blamed for scores of accidents. In Indiana, a driver was reported killed in a crash with a school bus near Delphi on Thursday. In Iowa, a driver died Wednesday when slamming into the back of a semitrailer that had slowed for an accident near Des Moines.

In preparation for worsening conditions, more than 500 flights were grounded at Chicago's airports. The Chicago Department of Aviation reported more than 400 canceled flights at O'Hare International Airport and more than 100 canceled flights at Midway International Airport. Frost on planes' wings delayed seven early flights in Tampa, Fla.

Just one day into the 2010 legislative session, the Missouri Senate canceled its Thursday session because of weather. The House planned only a technical session, which allows bills to be processed without the attention of most lawmakers.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear declared a state of emergency in Perry County on Wednesday after water line breaks left areas without water.

Schools in parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia canceled classes because of the weather. Major roads were closed in South Dakota, Minnesota, North Carolina and Virginia.

Salt had no effect on the Twin Cities' ice-rutted streets, and the deep snow left over from a Christmas storm has hardened into rock-hard blocks. The conditions helped business at Roger's Master Collision, an auto-body repair shop in Plymouth, Minn.

"A lot of people sliding on the ice, then hitting the snowbanks. They're frozen up pretty hard," said store manager Kirk Suchomel, estimating the shop is averaging 15 repair estimates a day. "I'm sure we're going to stay busy."

In Iowa, officials in Des Moines warned that a $3 million annual snow removal budget would likely be exhausted with this week's storm. Another 10 inches of snow was forecast overnight %uFFFD%uFFFD" on top of the more than 28 inches of snow that fell there in December.

Public Works Director Bill Stowe said the city would tap a $6 million road maintenance fund to cover snow clearing for the rest of the season. Snow that had been plowed into tall piles at intersections was set to be dumped into a lake.

Is Osama Bin Laden dead or alive?

The face of Bin Laden has become instantly recognisable around the world Osama Bin Laden died eight years ago during the battle for Tora Bora in Afghanistan, either from a US bomb or from a serious kidney disease. Or so the conspiracy theory goes. The theory that has developed on the web since 9/11 is that US intelligence services are manufacturing the Bin Laden statements to create an evil bogeyman, to justify the so-called war on terror in Afghanistan, Iraq and back at home. So is the world's most wanted man still alive? For a decade, Osama bin Laden has managed to evade the world's superpower and the biggest manhunt in history. Bruce Riedel, who chaired President Barack Obama's Afghanistan/Pakistan policy review, and who has seen the intelligence on Bin Laden, says the trail has not so much gone cold as "frozen over". "We don't have a clue where he is," he says. In the absence of any concrete intelligence, Bin Laden has become shrouded in myth and rumour. 'Certainly fake' Numerous audio and video statements purporting to be from Bin Laden have been released, but their authenticity has been continually questioned. The veracity of all of the videos is questioned by David Ray Griffin, a former theology professor and member of the 9/11 Truth Movement, which also questions mainstream accounts of the attack on the World Trade Centre. "None of them can be proven to be authentic," he says. "At least three of them can be shown to be almost certainly fake. "And if somebody is faking Bin Laden videos, then that leads to the suspicion that all the videos and audio tapes have been faked." Experts have examined many different images of Osama Bin Laden His first example is a video released by the US Department of Defense in December 2001. In it, Bin Laden confesses to 9/11, yet Mr Griffin points out that al-Qaeda has only rarely admitted responsibility for terrorist attacks. He also maintains that the Bin Laden figure looks very different to previous footage - fatter, with shorter fingers, and that he is even writing with the wrong hand. Most of Bin Laden's statements are audio only. Only two that show Bin Laden speaking have been issued since 2001. Griffin claims both are fakes. He argues that a video released in October 2004 - just days before the presidential election - lacks the religious rhetoric contained in previous statements. This video, he says, helped George W Bush secure a second term. But it is the last video, released in September 2007, that has attracted most attention. 'Western conspiracy' Mr Griffin calls it "Blackbeard: the terrorist tape". Bin Laden's trademark grey beard has been replaced with a neat, jet-black beard, and there are a number of frames in the video, where Bin Laden carries on speaking but the picture of him freezes. One former CIA agent also questions its authenticity. Robert Baer dismisses the suggestion of a conspiracy by Western intelligence but thinks that al-Qaeda may have faked the video. "[al-Qaeda has] an interest in manipulating it to look like current tapes," he says. "You can digitally manipulate voice to say anything. You can change months, years, you can tape vowels and syllables and put it into a recording and change it." I think those conspiracy theories that he is dead are pretty much laughable Art Keller, former CIA agent Andy Laws, a former military imaging analyst for the RAF, was asked by the BBC to forensically test an undisputed Bin Laden tape from 1998 against the 2001 so-called "confession tape" and the 2007 "blackbeard tape". He says the fact that Bin Laden appears fatter in the 2001 tape is down to the editing process, when subtitles were added and the image was squashed. His conclusion is that all the videos are of the same person - Bin Laden. Furthermore, Mr Laws says it is not realistic to think that the US military would fake such tapes. "Technologically in this day and age, those kinds of things can be done, but not quietly," he says. If you stop the war, then that is fine. If you choose not to stop the war, then we have no other option but to continue the war of attrition against you on all possible axes Audio statement attributed to Osama Bin Laden, 13 September 09 Read Mike Rudin's blog Afghan warlord 'paid $2m by UK' "There would be a number of people involved and word of it would have spread by now." Bin Laden has issued around 40 statements since 9/11, and many include clear contemporaneous date references. Two recent statements released last year mentioned US President Barack Obama. Mike Scheuer, the former CIA officer who set up and ran the agency's Bin Laden unit, thinks Bin Laden is still alive. 'Difficult reality' "Whenever he speaks on audio tape, he always says something in there that's fairly current. Also, the US National Security Agency (NSA) and UK Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) are very good at voice prints," he says. Mr Scheuer concludes that if it was not Bin Laden's voice, these organisations would make sure governments were well aware that the tapes were fakes. Another former CIA agent, Art Keller, is more damning: "I think those conspiracy theories that he is dead are pretty much laughable," he says. "It's easier to explain things away with a conspiracy than to face up to the difficult reality. "In this case, the difficult reality is that we're trying to operate in possibly the worst area in the world and track someone who's very crafty and elusive and putting considerable effort to stay off our radar."

Heavy snow brings travel chaos in Germany

Some passengers had to stay overnight in Frankfurt airport

More than 150 flights from Germany's largest airport, Frankfurt, have been cancelled as snowfall continues.

Many passengers were left stranded in the airport as snow ploughs attempted to clear runways. In Nuremberg, one plane slid off the runway.

A blizzard is forecast to hit the country soon and people have been advised to stock up on enough essential supplies to last up to four days.

Many other countries across Europe have also been hit by the bitter conditions.

Nearly 140 people have frozen to death in the past few weeks in Poland, and in Switzerland, heavy snow has cut the flow of lorries through Alpine tunnels.

The Eurostar service between Britain, France and Belgium was expecting to run a limited service on Saturday.

Passengers have been urged to cancel or postpone their journeys if they can.

'Paralysed'

Germany's Civil Protection Office (BBK) said heavy snowfalls over the weekend could trigger local power cuts and severely disrupt public transport.

Heated tents were set up in some cities for people sleeping rough

On Friday evening, Nuremberg airport was closed briefly after an Air Berlin flight with 133 people on board skidded off the runway and became stuck in snow. No-one was injured in the incident.

Gale-force winds and drifting snow are expected to bring traffic to a standstill in many parts of Germany, a situation exacerbated by shortages of grit.

"What is being forecast for the weekend could lead to chaotic traffic conditions and potentially leave large parts of Germany completely paralysed," warned the Auto Club Europa.

Airports have called in extra staff and rail operators have warned of delays.

The snow is already more than 30cm (1 ft) deep on the isle of Ruegen, off Germany's Baltic coast, ZDF TV says.

German households have been advised to keep three or four days' worth of provisions, including alternative cooking fuel in case of power cuts. Among the essential items listed by the BBK is a battery-powered radio, for checking weather reports.

In cities like Duesseldorf, Red Cross workers were setting up heated tents for emergency accommodation as up to 10 homeless people have frozen to death in recent weeks because of the cold weather.

The busy Gotthard and San Bernardino tunnels under the Alps were temporarily closed to heavy goods vehicles on Friday, the Swissinfo news website reported.

Icebreakers

In the UK, the worst winter for decades has led to a fear for energy supplies as temperatures dropped as low as -22C (-8F) in some parts.

Much of Europe is feeling the effects of the cold weather

Local authorities have agreed to cut their use of salt by 25% in an attempt to preserve dwindling supplies.

British Airways cancelled 54 flights from Heathrow on Saturday. Delays were expected at other airports and low-budget airline Easyjet said it was cancelling some flights.

In the Netherlands, icebreakers have been deployed to clear shipping routes such as the Twente canal, the harbours of Almelo and Enschede and the Ijsselmeer inland sea.

Northern Spain is expecting more heavy snowfalls while the country's south has been hit by severe floods.

France is also braced for more snow. Meteo France warned: "The amount of snow expected is significant, exceptional even."

Parts of France - notably the south-eastern region of Provence - are without power and suffering transport delays after up to 20cm of snow fell in recent days.

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Microsoft and HP show off 'slate' PC

icrosoft and HP have teamed up to introduce a slate computer ahead of Apple's much rumoured device launch.

The firms unveiled the Windows 7 powered touchscreen machine, also known as a tablet, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The aim of the device is to bridge the gap between laptops and smartphones.

Apple are also reported to be gearing up to launch a slate device in late January to go on sale in March, according to the Wall Street Journal।

The HP device is also expected to go on sale later this year.

"It's a beautiful little product," said Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer.

During his keynote address at CES, Mr Ballmer demonstrated the machine in front of an audience of over 3,500 press, bloggers, analysts and industry peers.

He also showed off two other tablet computers - one made by Archos and the other by Pegatron Corp.

Muted reaction

Reaction to the as yet unnamed device was somewhat subdued.

"What we saw confirmed my worst suspicions that this is your standard Microsoft software in a slate form," Paul Miller, senior associate editor of technology website Engadget, told BBC News.

"It's an interesting product in itself but Microsoft could have gone further. It's not anything new in terms of software and that is what you really need to make a device like this make people want to buy it."

Analysts warn that a glut of these products will confuse consumers

However, technology blogger Devin Connors of Tom's Hardware did not agree.

"It looked really good given the short amount of time we saw it for and it has Windows 7. Everyone loves Windows 7 and putting it in a device the size of an e-reader is probably going to be a winning combination."

The lack of enthusiasm for the product was in part due to speculation about what - if anything - Apple may launch.

Rumours of a Apple slate - dubbed the iSlate - has dominated the blogosphere in recent weeks, although there has been no formal announcement by the Cupertino-based company.

"Apple tends to change the game and this Microsoft/HP tablet didn't blow them out of the water," said Dean Takahashi of tech blog VentureBeat.com.

"How successful it will be is up in the air, but HP is the biggest technology company in the world and can certainly put a lot of muscle behind the device," he told BBC News.

Microsoft is the world's biggest software company.

Market boost

This is not Microsoft's first attempt to introduce a tablet or slate-like computer.

Back in 2002, the company introduced a tablet PC version of Windows XP, which failed to take off.

The form factor is around 10 years old.

Windows 7 replaced the much hated Windows Vista

Analysts however believe these new entries should give the middling $950m (£597m) US market for tablets a much needed jolt.

"Apple could do for the tablet market what it did for smartphones with the iPhone," analyst David Daoud of IDC told USA Today.

Other industry watchers fear that consumers might be a little wary with so many companies all rushing at once to bring out new devices.

"With this market awash in products, customer confusion is what we have for certain," said Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.

In his address, Mr Ballmer also focused on new PCs, software and the success of Windows 7 which was released last October.

"The biggest hit of the year was Windows 7," said Mr Ballmer.

"Windows 7 is by far the fastest selling operating system in history."

The software boss cited figures from the market analysis firm NPD that said that since the launch of Windows 7, sales of consumer PCs in the US over the latest holiday period were up more than 50% from the year before.

Somali militants force WFP to halt aid work

Hundreds of thousands of Somalis rely on food aid from the WFP

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has pulled out of large parts of southern Somalia because of threats from powerful Islamist rebel groups.

The WFP says the suspension is its biggest shut-down in years and will affect about one million people.

The al-Shabab militant group has repeatedly threatened the WFP - who it accuses of ruining local farming by forcing Somalis to rely on imports.

The WFP says without help, Somali farmers cannot supply enough food.

Drought and war have left more than 109,000 young children and many more adults dependent on the feeding centres run by the WFP.

But late last year al-Shabab, which controls large parts of southern Somalia, gave the WFP a deadline of 1 January to halt all of its operations in the area.

Staff evacuated

The group also issued a string of demands for aid agencies working in the region.

The WFP's Peter Smerdon said these included removing women from their jobs and a demand for a payment of $20,000 (£12,400) every six months for security.

"WFP's humanitarian operations in southern Somalia have been under escalating attacks from armed groups, leading to this partial suspension of humanitarian food distributions in much of southern Somalia," the agency said in a statement.

Six of its offices - in Wajid, Buale, Garbahare, Afmadow, Jilib and Belet Weyne - have been shut temporarily, which the agency said would affect more than a third of the people it feeds in Somalia, most of whom are women and children.

The WFP said it would continue food distribution in other parts of Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu.

Its staff who have been evacuated from the south will be redeployed in other parts of the country, preparing to help people who might start moving away from areas where feeding programmes have been suspended.

Somalia has been in turmoil since 1991 when its central government collapsed.

The transitional government, helped by an African Union peacekeeping force, runs only parts of Mogadishu.

Groups such as al-Shabab want to impose a hard-line interpretation of Islamic law on the country.

CIA bomber was al-Qaeda double agent, US media say

The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan was an al-Qaeda double agent, US media reports say.

He is said to have been a doctor from Jordan, arrested there a year ago.

He was then reportedly recruited by the Jordanians and CIA, who wrongly thought they had turned him, and given a mission to find al-Qaeda leaders.

The reports came as the top US military intelligence officer in Afghanistan issued a scathing assessment of the state of the intelligence effort there.

In a report, Maj Gen Michael Flynn said that US intelligence in Afghanistan was still "unable to answer fundamental questions about the environment in which US and allied forces operate and the people they are trying to protect and persuade"

he study, published by the think tank Center for a New American Security, cites one officer's remarks that the US was "clueless" due to its lack of useful intelligence about the country.

However the report's findings were rejected by Mike Hurley, a former member of the US 9/11 commission and a former CIA chief in Afghanistan.

He told the BBC: "Nowhere in the report does the group... suggest that there is not a significant role for intelligence to play in finding and fixing and finishing off enemy leaders in Afghanistan. That's precisely their job, that's what they're trying to do."

Changing sides

The attack at Forward Operating Base Chapman was the worst against US intelligence officials since the US embassy in Beirut was bombed in 1983.

The Washington Post quoted two former US government officials as saying that the alleged attacker had lured the CIA officers into a meeting with a promise of new information on al-Qaeda's top leadership.

The reports named him as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a 36-year-old al-Qaeda sympathiser from Zarqa, Jordan, arrested by Jordanian intelligence over a year ago.

CIA DEATHS: 1965-2009 2009: Seven killed in suicide attack on CIA base in Afghanistan 2003: Two CIA contractors die in Shkin, Afghanistan; CIA officer killed during training exercise in Afghanistan 2001: Officer shot during prison uprising in Afghanistan 1993: Two CIA employees killed at the agency's Virginia headquarters 1989: Six CIA employees die when a plane carrying military equipment from DR Congo to Angola crashes 1985: CIA Beirut station chief killed after having been kidnapped and tortured 1983: Eight CIA employees killed in US embassy bombing in Beirut 1965: Seven CIA employees die, most of them in Vietnam Source: Washington Post

His specific mission was thought to be tracking down al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The CIA has declined to comment on the reports.

Jordanian intelligence believed they had brought Humam al-Balawi over to their side and sent him to Afghanistan to infiltrate al-Qaeda, US network NBC says.

According to Western intelligence officials quoted in the reports, Humam al-Balawi called his handlers last week to arrange a meeting at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, where he said he would relay urgent information about Zawahiri.

Once inside the base, the reports say, he blew himself up killing seven CIA employees and his handler, whom Jordanian media have named as Ali bin Zeid.

Questions were raised after the bomb was detonated in the base's gym last week about how the attacker could have managed to pass through security.

The Washington Post says he was picked up in a car outside the base and driven in without being thoroughly searched.

A US official, also a former CIA employee, told the Associated Press news agency that such people were often not required to go through full security checks, in order to help gain their trust.

"When you're trying to build a rapport and literally ask them to risk [their lives] for you, you've got a lot to do to build their trust," he said.

Drone base

A Taliban spokesman quoted on al-Jazeera's website said Humam al-Balawi was a double agent who had misled Jordanian and US intelligence services for a year।

Forward Operating Base Chapman, a former Soviet military base, is used not only by the CIA but also by provincial reconstruction teams, which include both soldiers and civilians.

The airfield is reportedly used for US drone attacks on suspected militants in neighbouring Pakistan.

The CIA has not released the names of the officials killed nor details of their work because of the sensitivity of US operations.

But the head of the base, reported to be a mother-of-three, was among those killed.

The BBC's Mark Mardell in Washington says the CIA will be deeply embarrassed that the bomber was able to work so closely with the agency and with such high level officials.

Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, told the BBC it was important to find out why the CIA had not discovered the bomber was an al-Qaeda agent.

He said there was "clearly a breakdown" in security, but added: "I think more and more though when you're dealing with Afghanistan and even Iraq you have double agents and people working both sides."

FOB Chapman operates from Khost Airfield 32km from Pakistan border Former Soviet base is reportedly used for launching US drones Airfield extended to allow C-130 transporter planes to land Named after Nathan Chapman, first US soldier killed in Afghanistan in 2002 Enlarge Image

Tuna hits highest price in nine years at Tokyo auction

A tuna has been sold at auction in Tokyo's fish market for 16.28 million yen ($175,000, £109,000), the highest price paid in Japan for nine years.

The bluefin tuna weighs 232 kg - nearly four times as much as the average Japanese man.

It was caught off the northern tip of Japan's main island of Honshu, in waters famed for high quality fish.

Tuna is prized in Japan, where people eat it raw in sushi, but there is concern that stocks are dwindling.

The record-breaking tuna was put on the block in the first auction of the new year at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.

The tuna was bought jointly by one of the city's most upmarket restaurants, and an entrepreneur from Hong Kong who runs a chain of sushi bars.

Last year a similar fish made less than 10 million yen.

Bluefin tuna is known as the king of sushi and the Japanese eat more of it than any other nation, according to the BBC's correspondent in Tokyo, Roland Buerk.

Conservationists are calling for a moratorium on fishing to save the bluefin tuna from extinction in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Giving up smoking 'raises diabetes risk'

Smoking is known to raise the risk of type-two diabetes

Giving up smoking sharply increases the risk of developing type-two diabetes, a US study suggests.

Researchers found quitters had a 70% increased risk of developing type-two diabetes in the first six years without cigarettes compared with non-smokers.

This is because they tend to put on weight.

However, the Annals of Internal Medicine study stressed that this should not be used as an excuse to carry on smoking।

The Johns Hopkins team also stress that smoking is a well known risk factor for type-two diabetes - as well as many other health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Researcher Dr Jessica Yeh said: "If you smoke, give it up. That's the right thing to do.

"But people have to also watch their weight."

The study, based on 10,892 middle aged adults who were followed for up to 17 years, found the risk of developing type-two diabetes was highest in the first three years after giving up smoking.

Around 1.8% of people giving up smoking developed type 2 diabetes each year during that period.

If quitters avoided developing the condition for 10 years, then their long-term risk returned to normal.

People who made no effort to give up smoking had a constant 30% increased risk of type-two diabetes compared with non-smokers.

Blood sugar

Type-two diabetes means the body either fails to make enough of the hormone insulin, or cannot make proper use of it, leading to uncontrolled blood sugar levels.

Untreated this can cause serious disease, and complications such as blindness, kidney failure and nerve damage.

One of the major risk factors for the condition is being overweight, and the rise in obesity across the developed world has been blamed for a big increase in type-two diabetes.

The researchers found those who smoked the most and those who gained the most weight had the highest likelihood for developing diabetes after they quit.

On average, during the first three years of the study, quitters gained about 8.4lb (3.8kg).

The researchers said doctors should keep in mind the importance of weight control when counselling people about giving up smoking.

Quitters tend to put on weight because smoking acts to suppress appetite.

The use of nicotine replacement therapy has been shown to blunt the weight gain associated with giving up smoking.

Martin Dockrell, of the anti-smoking charity Ash, said: "The researchers are clear that smokers should quit but - especially if you are a heavy smoker or are already overweight - you might want to gently increase your exercise when you quit.

"If you are a smoker who is also overweight you should talk to your doctor about how to get the best from quitting.

"A little more exercise could help improve your sense of well being, reduce weight gain and undo some of the harm done by smoking leading to a healthier, happier you."

Natasha Marsland, of the charity Diabetes UK, said: "On no account should people use the theoretical results of this study as an excuse not to give up smoking.

"The health benefits of giving up smoking far outweigh the risk of developing type-two diabetes from modest, short-term weight gain."

Obama set to tighten air security

President Obama ordered two reviews after the alleged bomb attempt

US President Barack Obama is set to announce tightened airline security, after his officials update him on reviews prompted by a plane bomb plot.

Reviews of airport screening and of the US watch-list system were ordered after a Nigerian man known to US officials allegedly got on a plane with a device.

He tried to blow up the plane on 25 December as it prepared to land in the US city of Detroit, investigators say.

It has prompted changes to airport screening around the world.

Fourteen countries, including Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen, have been singled out by Washington for enhanced security measures for travellers.

On Tuesday at the White House, President Obama is expected to outline steps to improve watch-lists and deter future attacks, after his meeting with about 20 security and intelligence officials.

Prosecution investigation

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, CIA Director Leon Panetta and FBI Director Robert Mueller are among those expected at the meeting, the Associated Press news agency reported.

Mr Obama will be updated on the investigation focusing on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian who remains in custody, charged with attempting to destroy a plane.

Mr Abdulmutallab began his journey in Lagos, Nigeria, and changed planes at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

His name was in a US database of about 550,000 suspected terrorists, but was not on a list that would have subjected him to additional security screening or kept him from boarding the flight.

Since the incident, officials have moved dozens of names on to "watch-" and "no-fly" lists, as they seek to overhaul security, White House spokesman Bill Burton said earlier.

Watch-list update

Those on the watch-list are subject to extra security checks, while those on the no-fly list are not allowed to board flights to the US.

Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said last week it had trained and equipped Mr Abdulmutallab for the plane plot.

The US re-opened its embassy in Yemen on Tuesday, following what it called successful counter-terrorism operations by government security forces on Monday north of the capital.

A BBC correspondent in the Yemeni capital Sanaa says the embassy was referring to a strike that reportedly killed two al-Qaeda operatives.

The embassy had closed on Sunday in response to what it said were al-Qaeda threats. The British and French embassies have resumed operations, but remain closed to the public.

Yemeni authorities have tightened security measures at Sanaa's airport, as well as around several other embassies.

German anti-Nazi leader Freya von Moltke dies in US, 98

Freya von Moltke's group supported the 1944 attempt to kill Hitler A prominent member of Germany's anti-Nazi resistance during World War II has died, aged 98, at her home in the US. Freya von Moltke, who had lived in Vermont since 1960, died last Friday after a viral infection, her son said. She had belonged to a group of aristocrats, clerics and diplomats who backed a failed attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb in 1944. The group, known as the Kreisau Circle, was led by her husband, Helmuth, who was later executed for his activities. She told an interviewer in 2002: "To object and then to stand for what you believe in is one of the most important human activities to this day." Resistance meetings Von Moltke was born Freya Deichmann in Cologne in 1911 and met her husband when she was 18. Both she and Helmuth received law degrees and were married in 1931. They were opponents of Hitler from the start of the Nazi regime and assisted Jews and other victims of Nazism through Helmut's international law practice in Berlin. In 1942 and 1943, Von Moltke hosted meetings at the family estate, Kreisau in Silesia, at which the resistance group discussed plans for the democratic Germany they hoped would follow the collapse of Nazism. The Kreisau Circle supported the failed attempt on Hitler's life in July 1944. Treason Von Moltke said later that she had fully supported her husband: "I never advised him to stop, but rather encouraged him, because I was convinced that that was the right way for him to fulfil his life." Helmuth von Moltke was executed for treason in January 1945. After the war, Von Moltke and her two sons escaped to South Africa where she worked as a social worker. She returned to Germany in 1956 where she began her work in publicising the Kreisau Circle. She settled in Vermont in 1960, where she published several books about resistance to the Nazis during the war. The former family estate in Silesia, located in current-day Poland, is now used as a centre for reconciliation between Germany and Poland and as a meeting place to promote European integration.

China water warning as oil spill hits Yellow River

Pollution from a broken oil pipeline in northern China has now reached one of the country's major water sources - the Yellow River, state media say.

Hundreds of workers had battled to contain the oil upstream, but officials discovered traces in the river itself.

The traces were found about 200km (124 miles) upstream from Zhengzhou.

Three counties in neighbouring Shaanxi province have warned people not to take supplies from the river or drink river water.

Correspondents say local towns and cities get some of their water from the river, the rest from underground water sources.

Floating dams

The official Xinhua news agency said: "At present, cities along the river in Henan province have sufficient water resources."

About 150,000 litres of diesel poured into the Wei river in Shaanxi province after a construction accident on Wednesday, state media reported.

The leak occurred on the fuel pipeline operated by the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) that connects Lanzhou in the north-west province of Gansu with Zhengzhou in central Henan province, according to the China Daily newspaper.

The diesel first went into the Chishui river, a tributary of the Wei.

Around 700 emergency workers are said to be labouring round the clock, using floating dams and solidifying agents to contain the spill.

Their task has been helped by the current cold weather in the region

Dubai to open world's tallest building

The world's tallest building is set to be opened in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.

More than 800m (2,625ft) high and clad in 26,000 glass panels, Burj Dubai has 160 floors and more than 500,000 sq m of space for offices and apartments.

Construction began in 2004, at the height of an economic boom. The opening comes after a financial crisis which has seen Dubai bailed out by Abu Dhabi.

The exact height of the $1.5bn tower is secret, but it far exceeds that of the previous record holder, Taipei 101.

It will also lay claim to the highest occupied floor, the tallest service lift, and the world's highest observation deck - on the 124th floor. The world's highest mosque and swimming pool will meanwhile be located on the 158th and 76th floors.

Technical challenges

Though not complete on the inside, Burj Dubai will be officially opened by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, at 2000 (1600 GMT) on Monday, 1,325 days after excavation work started.

At a ceremony to be attended by 60,000 guests, Sheikh Mohammed will also reveal the exact height of the tower that dwarfs the 508m Taipei 101 and the 629m KVLY-TV mast in the US, the tallest man-made structure. Its spire can been seen from 95km (60 miles) away.

"We weren't sure how high we could go," said Bill Baker of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the building's structural engineer. "It was kind of an exploration... a learning experience."

Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, the developer behind Burj Dubai, told the BBC that the building's design had posed unprecedented technical and logistical challenges, not just because of its height, but also because Dubai was susceptible to high winds and was close to a geological fault line.

"We have been hit with lightning twice, there was a big earthquake last year that came across from Iran, and we have had all types of wind which has hit us when we were building. The results have been good and I salute the designers and professionals who helped build it," he said.

BURJ DUBAI IN NUMBERS 95: distance in km at which its spire can be seen 504: rise in metres of its main service lift 57: number of lifts 49: number of office floors 1,044: number of residential apartments 900: length in feet of the fountain at the foot of the tower, the world's tallest performing fountain 28,261: number of glass panels on the exterior of the tower

The design incorporates ideas from traditional Islamic architecture, while the open petals of a desert flower were the inspiration for the tower's base.

Burj Dubai will be home to 1,044 luxury apartments, 49 floors of offices and eventually a 160-room Armani-branded hotel. Around 12,000 people are expected to live and work in the tower, which is part of a 500-acre development.

However, investors are facing losses even before the tower is completed because property prices in Dubai have slumped amid the global economic crisis.

Some apartments were selling for $2,700 per sq ft, but are now going for less than half that. Analysts say it will be particularly hard to lease office space because few companies can justify paying premiums for luxury.

Emaar's government-owned parent company, Dubai World, meanwhile recently had to request a suspension in debt repayments, and Dubai had to turn to Abu Dhabi last year for bail-outs worth $25bn.

The BBC's Malcolm Borthwick in Dubai says developers are holding back on new flagship projects, so Burj Dubai could mark the end of an era for skyscrapers in the Gulf - at least in the short term.

Five foreign soldiers killed in Afghan blasts

Four US soldiers and one UK serviceman have been killed in two separate bomb blasts in southern Afghanistan, officials say.

The American soldiers died after an improvised explosive device went off, a statement by Nato-led forces said.

The British soldier was killed in a separate blast in Helmand province, officials said.

The deaths on Sunday are the first attributed to hostile action in Afghanistan in 2010.

An unnamed Afghan police official was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying the attack on the US servicemen took place in Panjwayi district in Kandahar province.

It also reported that Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack.

He called from an unknown location and gave the same location of the strike as the police official, the agency said.

Troop surge

Violence in Afghanistan has escalated sharply in recent months as UK and US forces continue their offensive against Taliban militants in the south.
US President Barack Obama announced last month he would send 30,000 new US troops to Afghanistan, with a view to finally defeating the Taliban.

Nato countries followed suit by pledging another 7,000 troops.

But the the Taliban have vowed to respond with force and step up their fight in Afghanistan. A Taliban commander told the BBC that if more US troops came, more would die.

More than 900 US soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

Parliamentary setback

The violence comes days after Afghan MPs rejected the majority of Hamid Karzai's proposed new cabinet.

The move was described as a political setback by the UN's mission chief in Afghanistan, Kai Eide. But some Afghan MPs have been lauding the move as a sign of a vibrant democracy.

Parliament approved just seven of 24 ministers nominated by Mr Karzai including five of the highest-profile ministers thought to have Western backing.

It rejected a former warlord and the only woman nominated for the cabinet.

Mr Karzai ordered parliament to suspend its 45-day winter recess, which was to begin on Tuesday. Under the constitution, rejected nominees cannot be proposed for the same post again.

A spokesman for President Karzai said ministries were still functioning.

But some analysts argue the delay in augmenting key ministries could hamper attempts to bolster civilian institutions, which is part of US President Barack Obama's wider Afghan strategy.

Mr Karzai is due in London for an international conference on Afghanistan at the end of January.

France follows Britain and US in shutting Yemen embassy

France has become the third Western nation to shut its Yemen embassy, after threats from an al-Qaeda offshoot, the foreign ministry in Paris announced.

The US and UK missions, which closed on Sunday, remain shut.

Yemeni security forces, meanwhile, shot dead two militants north of the capital, Sanaa, said officials.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula last week said it planned an alleged plane bomb attempt on Christmas Day and urged attacks on "crusaders" in embassies.

From Monday all travellers flying to America are being subjected to new security measures, introduced by the US government.
Airport staff will now carry out extra screening of people from 14 countries, including those the US considers to be state-sponsors of terrorism - Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.

Yemen and Nigeria - through which the alleged bomber travelled - also face the new restrictions.

Passengers travelling from other countries will be checked at random.

On Monday in Paris, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters their Yemen ambassador had decided a day earlier to suspend public access to their embassy.

French citizens in the country had been warned to remain vigilant and to limit their movements, he added.

The US was the first to announce the closure of its embassy on Sunday, citing "ongoing threats" by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and the UK followed suit.
A US diplomat told the Reuters news agency on Monday: "The embassy is still closed again today... We are continuing to make the security review."

The Yemeni authorities have tightened security measures at Sanaa's airport, as well as around several other embassies.

The US embassy was the target of an attack in September 2008 in which 19 people died, including a young American woman. The attack was blamed on AQAP.

On Sunday, the US deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counter-terrorism said there were "indications that al-Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy".

John Brennan told ABC the group had "several hundred members" in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and was posing an increasing threat.

Last week, AQAP urged Muslims to help in "killing every crusader who works at their embassies or other places" and said it was behind the failed attempt to destroy the Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 on Christmas Day.

Speaking to CNN, Mr Brennan said there were "indications" a radical US cleric of Yemeni origin had links both to the Nigerian charged with the bomb plot, and the man accused of the Fort Hood shootings in November.

He said the preacher, Anwar al-Awlaki, had had direct contact with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, while he was allegedly being trained by AQAP operatives last year.


Anwar al-Awlaki
Mr Brennan said Anwar al-Awlaki seemed to be linked to the bomb plot

Profile: Anwar al-Awlaki

It was clear, he said, that Mr Awlaki had also been in touch with Nidal Malik Hasan, the US Army major charged with shooting dead 13 people at Fort Hood.

On Saturday, the head of US Central Command, Gen David Petraeus, visited Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Saleh to pledge support for its fight with al-Qaeda, after Washington doubled its counter-terrorism aid.

Yemeni officials last week said they had sent more troops to hunt down al-Qaeda militants in the provinces of Abyan, Baida and Shabwa.

Correspondents say the security situation in Yemen is complicated by an abundance of firearms, an insurgency in the north and a secessionist movement in the south.

But the prospects of re-asserting central government authority over the lawless areas where al-Qaeda is based look, in the opinion of some analysts, remote - even with beefed-up American support.
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Doctors Hospital killed my 3 Year Old Daughter (Johar Town Lahore,Punjab, Pakistan)

On November 29, 2009 at 3 am in the morning my 3 year old daughter, Imanae, spilt hot water on her wrist. My wife and I immediately took her to Doctors Hospital and Medical Center in Johar Town, Lahore. Although it was a very small burn, we chose to go to the hospital as our baby was in a lot of pain and we wanted her hurt to go away as quickly as possible.

At the hospital we were met by the emergency ward staff, who applied an ointment on her hand and gave her an injection to soothe the pain. When Imanae continued to cry because of the pain, the nurse called the doctor on duty. I noticed when he walked into the room that he had obviously been asleep and had just been woken up.

The doctor instructed the nurse to give Imanae another injection. Imanae however continued to cry. Fifteen minutes later, the sleepy doctor instructed the nurse to inject Imanae with the 3rd injection. All in all, 5mg of this anesthetic/pain killer was given. This was the moment when my little baby went silent and started losing consciousness. Just before she totally passed out, she started calling out my name and saying that everything was getting blurred and she couldn't see clearly. Little did I know that these were the last words my daughter would ever say.

I asked the doctor what was happening to my daughter, he assured me that she was FINE and was just SLEEPING, and left the room. I however wasn’t satisfied and checked Imanae myself to see if I could feel her breath or hear her heartbeat.

When I couldn't feel either of the two, I immediately informed the nurse. She called the doctor again who used a Heart Beat Monitor to examine Imanae. There was no reading on the monitor. I asked the doctor what that signified and he told me that since the monitor was intended for adult use, it could not detect my baby's hear beat. I WISH I HAD ASKED HIM THEN WHY HE WAS USING IT ON MY HELPLESS AND UNCONSCIOUS CHILD AND WASTING PRECIOUS TIME!!!

At this point, some other doctors present on duty at the hospital joined him as well. They connected Imanae to an ECG machine, but that too also only reported a straight line. My wife asked why the line was straight but the doctors did not reply. They kept on stating that she was fine and was just having some breathing problems. All the doctors present on the scene, started conferring between themselves as they continued to examine her. They continued to ignore our repeated pleas on what was happening to our daughter.

They then started giving her CPR and it was at this point I realised that my baby's life was in danger. The doctors however kept reassuring us that she was fine. They continued conferring between themselves and I was certain that something had gone horribly wrong. Another 20 or so minutes passed in this torture and confusion. They continued to reassure us that she was ok!! IF SHE WAS OK, WHY WAS THERE NO PULSE ON THE ECG...WHY WAS THERE NO HEARTBEAT...WHY WERE THEY GIVING HER CPR, IF SHE WAS OK.....WHY WHY!!!

Finally, one of the doctor told me that she was having difficulty breathing and because Doctors Hospital did NOT HAVE a baby Ventilator we should take her to some other hospital before her condition worsened. They suggested we take her either to Ittefaq hospital or to Fatima Memorial, or that we take her to Ward 23 of the Children's Hospital.

I asked them for an ambulance because she was connected to all kinds of machines, but they told me that the ambulance was not available. However, if we still wanted one...we would have to WAIT for half an hour!!! My baby was not breathing and they wanted me to wait for half an hour!!

I decided to take my dying Imanae in my own car and pleaded with them to give me a doctor to accompany us to Children's Hospital. I did not know what was wrong with her and wanted someone to come along and explain what exactly her condition was. I wanted a list of injections and other medicines given to her, to give to the doctors at Children's Hospital. I wanted a copy of her ECG report.....

Nothing was given......and a WARD boy asked to go along.

It took us 15 minutes to reach Children's Hospital.....where we were told that my 3 year old daughter...my only child...the light of my life...my reason for living...was DEAD!!

Apparently, I am not the only one who has had his life shattered by this hospital. There are several similar incidents where Doctors Hospital have dumped patients whose treatments they have botched, on to other hospitals.


With your help, I have discovered several other cases that strongly indicate malpractice and gross negligence by this hospital.

If you are a victim of Doctors Hospital or know of someone who suffered at their hands, please let us know so that we can put it forward and bring the culprits to justice.

Late-night teens 'face greater depression risk'

Going to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts, New York research suggests.

Of 15,500 12 to 18-year-olds studied, those who went to bed after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went before 2200.

And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.

It is estimated 80,000 UK children and young people have depression.

The researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York looked at data from 15,500 teenagers collected in the 1990s.

One in 15 of those studied were found to have depression.

As well as the higher risk of depression, those who were set a bedtime by their parents of after midnight were 20% more likely to think about suicide than those whose bedtime was 2200 or earlier.

Those who had less than five hours sleep a night were thought to have a 48% higher risk of suicidal thoughts compared with those who had eight hours of sleep.

Teenagers who reported they "usually get enough sleep" were 65% less likely to be depressed.

Depression and suicidal thoughts were also more likely in girls, older teenagers and in those who had a lower self-perception of how much parents care about them.

Most of the parents of the adolescents in the study set a bedtime of 2200 or earlier.

A quarter set a bedtime of 2400 or later.

On average the teenagers were having seven hours and 53 minutes sleep a night - less than the nine hours recommended at that age.

Study leader Dr James Gangwisch said although it it was possible that youngsters with depression struggle to sleep, the fact that parental set bedtimes were linked with depression suggests that a lack of sleep is somehow underpinning the development of the condition.

He said a lack of sleep could affect emotional brain responses and lead to moodiness that hindered the ability to cope with daily stresses.

This moodiness could affect judgment, concentration and impulse control.

Regular exercise

"Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression," he added.

Sarah Brennan, chief executive at the mental health charity YoungMinds, said: "Enough sleep, good food and regular exercise are all essential to stay emotionally healthy.

"Nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer with depression, yet we are still failing to provide our young people with the help and support to cope with it and prevent it.

"Providing parents with information about how to look after your body, for example by getting enough sleep, and how to get help if they are worried about their teenager, will ensure problems are tackled early and prevent serious mental health conditions such as depression."

Somali charged over attack on Danish cartoonist

A Somali man has been charged with trying to kill a Danish artist whose drawing of the Prophet Mohammed sparked riots around the world.

The suspect, who was shot by police outside cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's home in the city of Aarhus on Friday, was carried into court on a stretcher.

Police say he broke into the house armed with an axe and a knife.

The suspect, who denies the charge, was remanded in custody. Police say he has links with Somali Islamist militants.

The radical al-Shabab group in Somalia hailed the attack.

Al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Muhamud Rage told AFP news agency: "We appreciate the incident in which a Muslim Somali boy attacked the devil who abused our prophet Mohammed and we call upon all Muslims around the world to target the people like" him.

The suspect, who cannot be named for Danish legal reasons, was charged with attempted manslaughter.

The BBC's Julian Isherwood in Copenhagen says he was wearing bandages on his arm and leg and a cloth over his head to conceal his identity as he was carried into court for a remand hearing in Aarhus.

Police say the 28-year-old suspect broke into Mr Westergaard's home and shouted in broken English that he wanted to kill him. He is also alleged to have attacked police with an axe when they arrived at the scene.

The 74-year-old cartoonist, who was in the house with his five-year-old granddaughter, raised the alarm from a specially designed panic room.

Afghan MPs reject most Karzai cabinet nominees

The Afghan parliament has turned down 17 out of President Hamid Karzai's 24 nominees for his new cabinet.

Energy minister nominee Ismail Khan, a former warlord, was among the rejected.

Nominees for justice, health, commerce, economy and women's affairs were among others rejected, but Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was re-appointed.

Mr Karzai has been under pressure from Western allies to name a cabinet committed to tackling corruption, after his controversial re-election.

Correspondents say parliament's rejection of so many nominees shows the depth of the political challenge he now faces.

Held to account

Women's Affairs Minister Husn Bano Ghazanfar - the only female in the cabinet - also failed to win approval in Saturday's secret ballot of more than 200 MPs.

But along with the defence minister, Interior Minister Hanif Atmar was another key name whose nomination was confirmed.

The vote is one of the few occasions when parliamentarians have genuine power to hold the executive to account, say analysts.

Among the most well-known names to be rejected was Mr Khan, a Soviet-era guerrilla leader and anti-Taliban commander who was also energy minister in the last cabinet.

Accused of human rights abuses and corruption, he is also unpopular with some because of his role as a warlord in western Herat province during Afghanistan's civil war.

No-one has been nominated foreign minister so far and the post is not expected to be filled until a conference on Afghanistan in London later this month.

"Of the 24 nominees introduced to parliament, seven have succeeded in getting your vote of confidence," parliamentary speaker Mohammad Yunus Qanoni said, after the counting had finished, reports AFP news agency.

Mr Karzai presented his new cabinet to parliament two weeks ago.

Western officials have repeatedly emphasised that tackling corruption in President Karzai's administration is key to stabilising the country.

President Barack Obama announced last month he would send 30,000 new US troops to Afghanistan, with a view to beating the Taliban.

Nato countries have followed up by pledging another 7,000 troops so far.

Mr Obama said he wants to begin handing over to Afghan security forces by mid-2011.

President Karzai was returned for a second five-year term after last August's election, despite investigators discovering more than a quarter of votes were fraudulent.

Pakistan volleyball crowd 'hit by suicide bomber'

At least 40 people have been killed after a suspected suicide bomb attack at a volleyball pitch in the troubled north-west of Pakistan, officials say.

Officials said the bomber drove a vehicle onto the field as people gathered to watch a match. Emergency workers put the toll as high as 70.

The attack took place in Lakki Marwat, close to North and South Waziristan.

The Pakistani army has been conducting a campaign against the Taliban in the tribal areas since October.

Dozens of people were reported to be injured in Friday's attack. Several buildings collapsed, trapping people under rubble.

"The villagers were watching the match between the two village teams when the bomber rashly drove his double-cabin pick-up vehicle into them and blew it up," district police chief Mohammad Ayub Khan told AFP news agency.

'Soft' target

Mr Khan told reporters the attack may have been in retaliation for attempts by locals to expel militants.

"The locality has been a hub of militants," he said.

"Locals set up a militia and expelled the militants from this area. This attack seems to be a reaction to their expulsion."

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports from Islamabad that among those killed were members of a local peace committee who have been campaigning for an end to the violence.

Mushtaq Marwat, a member of the group, told Pakistan's Geo TV that the attack occurred as the committee was meeting in a nearby mosque.

"Suddenly there was a huge blast. We went out and saw bodies and injured people everywhere," he said.

Some initial reports about the attack said the vehicle that exploded was stationary, or that a bomber had walked towards the volleyball pitch.

North and South Waziristan form a lethal militant belt from where insurgents have launched attacks across north-west Pakistan as well as into parts of eastern Afghanistan.

Our correspondent says it had been feared that while the army was congratulating itself on its campaign, militants had simply escaped to neighbouring areas such as the one where Friday's attack happened.

The number of people killed in militant attacks in Pakistan is fast approaching 600 in just three months, with no apparent end to the violence in sight, he adds.

Militants have attacked both "hard" targets, including army or intelligence offices, and "soft" ones such as markets or the crowd that was hit in Friday's bombing.

The attack came as a general strike was held in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial capital, in protest against a bombing there on Monday and riots that followed.

The bombing, which killed at least 43 people, targeted a Shia Muslim march and was claimed by the Taliban.