American al-Qaida suspect nabbed

An American member of al-Qaida was picked up in a raid in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi, Pakistani officials said Monday, but reversed earlier assertions that the detained man was the terror network's U.S.-born spokesman. They identified the suspect as Abu Yahya Majadin Adam, but gave no details on his background or role within al-Qaida. A name very close to that is listed on the FBI's Web site as an alias for Adam Gadahn, the 31-year-old spokesman who has appeared in several videos threatening the West since 2001. The resemblance created confusion among officials Sunday, leading them to believe that the suspect was Gadahn, an army officer and a senior intelligence officer said. "The resemblance of the name initially caused confusion but now they have concluded he is not Gadahn," said an intelligence officer, who like all Pakistani intelligence agents does not allow his name to be used. "He feels proud to be a member of al-Qaida." U.S. Embassy spokesman Rick Snelsire said the embassy had not been informed of any American being arrested. A senior U.S military intelligence official said Monday the man arrested does not appear to be Gadahn. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive Pakistani operations. On Sunday, two intelligence officers and a senior government official identified the detained man as Gadahn and said he was arrested in recent days. They, too, spoke on condition of anonymity. The government official said his name could not be used because of the sensitivity of the information. None of those officials were available for comment Monday. Pakistan is under intense U.S. pressure to arrest al-Qaida and Taliban leaders living on its soil.

Turkey: Earthquake death toll reaches to 57

At least 57 people have been killed in Turkey due to a strong earthquake measuring 6.4 on Richter scale. According to the MET office the center of the earth quake was province of Karkason. Officials said the nearby village of Okcular had been almost destroyed and several others badly damaged. Rescue workers were trying to pull out other people from debris in Okcular village. People spent the night out in the open due to fear from aftershocks. The officials feared rise in the number of causalities.

US drone strike kills five in NW Pakistan

Three missiles fired by US drone aircraft killed five militants on Monday in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt, a bastion of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked fighters, security officials said. The latest in a series of US drone attacks targeted militants in the centre of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, a rebel stronghold near the Afghan border. "Five people have been killed and three wounded in the attack. It was an American drone attack," an intelligence official in Miranshah told AFP by telephone. A security official in Peshawar confirmed the strike saying missiles from two drones hit a compound in Miranshah, while residents said the missiles struck two different buildings close to each other in the main bazaar. "I was in the mosque when I heard three huge explosions. The electricity was disconnected after the explosions," one resident told AFP by telephone requesting anonymity.

Oscars 2010: Hurt Locker rules the roost

The Iraq War drama "The Hurt Locker" won best picture and five other prizes at the Academy Awards, besides best director for Kathryn Bigelow, becoming the first woman in the 82-year history of the Oscars to earn Hollywood's top prize for filmmakers. Sandra Bullock went home with best actress award for ‘The Blind Side’; Jeff Bridges as best actor for ‘Crazy Heart’; Mo'Nique as supporting actress for ‘Precious’ and the first black actress to win an Oscar; and Christoph Waltz as supporting actor for ‘Inglourious Basterds’. ‘Precious’ also won the adapted-screenplay Oscar for Geoffrey Fletcher. ‘Avatar’ won three Oscars, for visual effects, art direction and cinematography, beating ‘The Hurt Locker’ for the latter. ‘The Hurt Locker’ also won out over ‘Avatar’ for film editing, sound editing and sound mixing. ‘Hurt Locker’ screenwriter Mark Boal, won the Oscar for original screenplay. ‘Up’ earned the third-straight feature-animation Oscar for Disney's Pixar Animation, which now has won five of the nine awards since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences added the category. Argentina's ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ pulled off a surprise win for foreign-language film while ‘Crazy Heart’ also won for original song with its theme tune ‘The Weary Kind’. ‘The Cove’, an investigation into grisly dolphin-fishing operations in Japan, was picked as best documentary. Oscar hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin opened the show with playful ribbing of nominees.

Arrests made over Nigeria attacks

Nigerian authorities say they have arrested scores of people in connection with attacks near the central city of Jos that left more than 200 people dead. "We have been able to make 95 arrests but at the same time over 500 people have been killed in this heinous act," Dan Manjang, an adviser to the Plateau State government told the AFP news agency. State radio also reported that 500 people had been slaughtered in Sunday's raid on three villages on the fringes of Jos, although there has been no independent verification of the death toll. Yvonne Ndege, at least 19 Muslim Hausa-Fulani men had been arrested 30km from Jos, where Sunday's three-hour systematic orgy of violence took place. "They were found to be carrying hunting guns, axes, spears and knives and the feeling is that they were linked to this attack," she said.

Obama in final healthcare bill push

The US president has criticised health insurance companies in the country for raising their premiums and denying coverage to the critically ill. Addressing a rally in Philadelphia on Monday, Barack Obama called on the Democratic Party to back his healthcare bill, accusing some companies of dropping "more people's coverage when they're sick and need it most". "The other day, on a conference call organised by Goldman Sachs, an insurance broker told Wall Street investors that [health] insurance companies know they will lose customers if they keep raising premiums," Obama said. "But since there's so little competition in the insurance industry, they're OK with people being priced out of health insurance because they'll still make more by raising premiums on the customers they have. "They will keep doing this for as long as they can get away with it."

Lahore: 3 women among 13 killed in suicide attack

Three women among 13 killed while 60 others injured as a suicide bomber struck outside an intelligence office in Block K, Model Town, Lahore. DCO Sajjad Bhutta confirmed that it was a suicide attack, and added that the intelligence office was targeted. The intelligence office building got completely damaged, while a 15 feet wide and 7 feet deep crater has been emerged. The blast was so powerful that its bang was heard miles away from the site, whereas many cars parked over there damaged and glasses of nearby building also got shattered. Smoke engulfed the whole area. According to sources, the adjacent Dr Israr Ahmed’s mosque and academy also damaged. Rescue efforts have been kicked off and ambulances rushed the scene and the injured are being shifted to hospitals. Security forces threw cordon around the area. Talking to media, DCO Bhutta said that the toll could not be ascertained, adding that the injured are being retrieved from the rubble. He said that around 70 people were present at the blast site, while 600kg explosives were used in the incident. It merits to mention that two years ago on March, 11 2008, a suicide bomber struck the same Model Town besides two other places in the city. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the incident. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik sought report from IG Punjab in this regard.