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Pakistan and India are at the brink of war! This may be the first all-out nuclear war. Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated since 14 people were killed in an attack on India's Parliament. Musharraf said Pakistan would not initiate a war with its nuclear neighbor.

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AFGHANISTAN

Pakistani paper, Al Jazeera said Bin Laden - who appears in his combat clothes and with a Kalashnikov submachine gun propped up beside him - stated that the video was made to mark three months since the attacks on New York and the Pentagon on 11 September.

A spokesman for US President George W Bush dismissed the tape as "terrorist propaganda". The wording on the tape indicates that it was recorded within the last two weeks. "Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, which kills our people," bin Laden said.

In the excerpt that has been broadcast by the Qatari station, bin Laden condemns the West for excessive bombing of Muslims in Afghanistan, referring specifically to an attack during Ramadan prayers a few weeks ago.  BBC: 1) This one was made for release 2) Osama claims to be a good terrorist

The new prime minister said that ordinary Afghans are happy to have peacekeepers here despite a long tradition of resisting foreign fighters. As a first order for new business, the new government is sorting out a (CNN ) halt to US bombing.

Villagers in eastern Afghanistan say dozens of civilians were killed when a convoy of vehicles carrying tribal elders to the inauguration of Karzai's interim government was bombed by American warplanes. About 10 houses and a mosque were also destroyed, they said. Interim leader, Hamid Karzai, the new prime minister, said he will check reports of the attack... he did not believe tribal chiefs had been bombed.

US General Tommy Franks, said an investigation was under way. He defended the pilots' actions, saying that the convoy fired surface-to-air missiles at US planes. "We have reason to believe it was a good target," he said.

CNN American held Taliban and al Qaida prisoners will head for Cuba.

BRITAIN -- 12/28 -- Muslim leaders warn that Islamic radicals are targeting mosques in Britain as Richard Reid the "shoe bomber" is tracked to Europe and a British Mosque. The British national traveled to several countries since July, including Israel, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Reid, 28, was arrested Saturday in Boston, Massachusetts, after American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami was diverted following an incident in which he was discovered apparently trying to set fire to one of his sneakers with a match and then was subdued and sedated by passengers and crew members.

CNN: Attacks on British Mosques by Islamic Militants

Recently, CNN organized 9/11 related interactives. You can check these out by going directly to: MAPS AND INTERACTIVE INDEX

MIDDLE EAST - After a speech by Arafat earlier this month Islamic Jihad said it would do nothing to damage Palestinian unity, seen as a signal it would stop launching suicide attacks. The Islamic radical group Hamas responded to Arafat's speech by saying it would suspend attacks on Israelis inside Israel.

- 12/28 - The Israeli government lifted a military cordon around the West Bank city of Bethlehem, the Israel Defense Forces said.

- 12/27 - Continuing its offensive against suspected Palestinian militants, about 300 Israeli soldiers raided the West Bank village of Azzoun, which is under joint Israeli and Palestinian control.

Palestinian sources said 18 men were arrested in house-to-house searches. Israel said it arrested 17 Palestinians "suspected of hostile activity", including members of the Islamic militant group Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

IRAQ - T'IS THE SEASON
Unease in Iraq (3:30)
CNN Rym Brahimi reports many in Iraq wonder whether their country will be the next target in the war against terrorism (December 26)

NEW DELHI -- Not taking Pakistan' s reported move to freeze the assets of terrorist outfit Lashkar-e- Taiba (LeT), India asked Islamabad to take "all- round comprehensive action" against the terrorist groups operating from its soil. New Delhi had said that the two terrorist groups, based in Pakistan, were responsible for the parliament attack. India asked Islamabad to arrest their leaders, clamp a ban and freeze their accounts according to what it demanded.

India and Pakistan Talk Tough - WAR!

ISLAMABAD -- President General Pervez Musharraf on Friday declared that Pakistan's armed forces were ready to meet with force any adventurism by India in the wake of the high degree of tension between the two nuclear states.  Musharraf accused India of "arrogance" over its decision to recall its high commissioner in Islamabad and sever transport links between the two countries. When asked if Pakistan would respond in kind, he said it would not.

BBC: Anver Mehmoud, Pakistani government spokesman "If a war is imposed on us, we will fight it out"

The two countries traded fire across the frontline in Kashmir on Saturday - although there were no signs that this represented a departure from the normal exchanges of artillery fire in this area. Both countries are reported to have moved troops closer to the border in recent days. Both nations are reported to have moved ballistic missiles to their frontiers. India-Pakistan border tense

Pakistan has insisted that India present it with evidence that the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups were involved in the parliament attack.

India is refusing to do so, and insists the groups received support from the Pakistan intelligence services.

The US has been trying to defuse the rising tensions between the countries. President Bush froze the assets of Lashkar-e-Toiba on Thursday. He accused the group of "trying to disrupt relations between India and Pakistan". A spokesman for the Lashkar said the US action would have no impact, as it had no assets in Europe or America.

MOSCOW -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said here Saturday that Moscow hoped the U.S. will keep its promise to remove its military bases from Central Asian countries after military action in Afghanistan is over.

PHILIPPINES -- Troops and police in the Philippines free a Canadian, Pierre Belanger, held by Islamic rebels for over six weeks, killing two of his captors in a gun battle.  after a gunfight which left two of his alleged kidnappers dead. The government says there were no casualties among its own forces in the clash on Mindanao Island in the south of the country. Rebels of the Abu Sayyaf are continuing to hold two American missionaries, Martin and Gracia Burnham.

AFRICA -- One of the former employees of the United Nations tribunal which is investigating the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is himself being accused of involvement in the massacres. Belgian police arrested Joseph Nzabirinda on Friday on four charges of genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity, extermination and rape, the tribunal said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) accuses Mr Nzabirinda, then a youth leader, of helping to kill thousands of ethnic Tutsis in the southern province of Butare.

In particular, he is accused of being involved in the massacre of Tutsis who sought refuge in the hills near the town of Ngoma, and of the rape of three women.

Rwanda's Government said earlier this month that many investigators at the tribunal were suspected of involvement in the genocide. An estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed in three months during the 1994 slaughters.

 -- Zimbabwe's opposition leader says President Mugabe is resorting to violence against his own people in an effort to retain his post.

"I handed him over to the school to learn the Qu'ran, not to handle guns. He is too young to fight in a war." -father of 13 year old Maroof Ahmad Awan, sent by his local Jamia Islamia school to fight in Afghanistan. 

New Security Council Resolution - November 2001
The UN Security Council, in its annual debate on children and armed conflict on 20 November, adopted Resolution 1379 including strong measures to stop the use of child soldiers. A former Sierra Leone child soldier addressed Council members and appealed for international action.

Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
PO Box 22696, London N4 3ZJ
United Kingdom
Telephone number: +44 20 7226 0606
Facsimile number: +44 20 7274 0230
Email: info@child-soldiers.org

Trafficking People
The trafficking of women for forced prostitution into Greece is a serious problem and a grave human rights abuse See: anti-trafficking policy in Greece.

Genocide Conviction Forthcoming?
The chief prosecutor of the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague has said she is convinced there is now enough evidence for the former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic to be convicted of genocide. Milosevic says the court is prejudiced against him.

Milosevic left behind him frightened men in Yugoslavia and the Bosnian Serb Republic. These include five Yugoslav co-accused on the Kosovo indictment. Two men were indicted for genocide over the worst single atrocity in Europe since the end of World War II. They are Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb president, and Ratko Mladic, his former military commander. Mladic is reported to be in the mountains of Montenegro. Karadzic was flush with money, able to surround himself with a substantial guard.

Milosevic indictments

Bosnia: Genocide, Crimes against humanity, Grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, Violations of the laws or customs of war Croatia: Crimes against humanity, Grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, Violations of the laws or customs of war Kosovo: Crimes against humanity, Violations of the laws or customs of war

Malaysia
In Malaysia's immigration detention centers, Human Rights Watch found young unaccompanied boys detained with unrelated adult men in camps where detainees were robbed, beaten, inadequately fed, and denied medical care. Girls in immigration detention camps were sometimes sexually solicited and touched by male guards. Girls as young as thirteen were separated from their parents and detained for extended periods with little or no contact. Children were also deported separately from their parents to the Thai-Malaysia border.

Afghan Refugees
The worst fighting may be over in Afghanistan but aid agencies warn that the refugee crisis will not be solved for years to come. Three and a half million Afghan refugees are fighting to survive in bordering countries, and the number has been increasing every day since the U.S. vowed retaliation for the September 11 attacks.

Afghan women who fled the ruling Taliban's oppressive regime comprise more than 70 percent of those in refugee camps; many are already starving. The primary obstacle to large-scale repatriation now is security as tribal warlords continue to fight over the spoils of war.

Does the West need to do more to help the Afghan refugees? What should the new interim government do to help the Afghan people repatriate?

You can call the US Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected with your senator’s office. Urge your senators to:

1. Expand humanitarian aid for the people of Afghanistan by supporting Senator Biden’s proposal for $1 billion in aid.

2. Urge aid for the smaller indigenous nonprofit organizations, especially the women-run groups, that will continue their assistance long after our aid dollars are gone.

	CNN: Some refugees are heading home.
	BBC: A Bittersweet return home.

US Highlights

--  US Planned for Terror but Failed Action! According to the NY Times, dozens of interviews with current and former officials demonstrate that even as the threat of terrorism mounted through eight years of the Clinton administration and eight months of President Bush, the government failed to act.

• Defensive work of tightening the borders and airport security was studied but never acted upon.
• The rising threat of the Islamic jihad movement was first detected by United States investigators after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. The inquiry into that attack revealed a weakness in the immigration system used by one of the terrorists, but that hole was never plugged.
• In 1996, a State Department dossier spelled out Mr. bin Laden's operation and his anti-American intentions. And President Bill Clinton's own pollster told him the public would rally behind a war on terrorism. But none was declared.
• By 1997, the threat of an Islamic attack on America was so well recognized that an F.B.I. agent warned of it in a public speech.
• In 2000, after an Algerian entered the country with explosives, a White House review recommended a crackdown on cells in the United States. That plan remained incomplete.

--  Court TV is asking permission to broadcast the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the first person indicted in the Sept. 11 terror attacks. ALTHOUGH MANY state courts allow trials to be broadcast, federal rules explicitly prohibit TV cameras in courtrooms. But lawyers for Court TV say that prohibition is unconstitutional. Four federal circuit courts have upheld the constitutionality of the federal rule barring the broadcast of criminal trials. The cable network also wants to broadcast pretrial proceedings. A hearing on Court TV’s request is scheduled for January 11. Moussaoui is set for arraignment January 2.

--  Is California Congressman Darrell Issa assisting terrorists organizations? CNN: ?!?

Two leaders of the Jewish Defense League were charged with conspiring to bomb Muslim institutions in Southern California. Is California Congressman Darrell Issa involved?

-- The Pentagon said on Friday that the U.S. military is sending a new weapon to Afghanistan which is designed to deal with caves and tunnels in the mountains.

The laser-guided bomb uses a delayed, high-pressure explosion to suck the air out of caves and tunnels where the Taliban or al Qaida forces may hide, according to Edward Aldridge, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

-- The U.S. ambassador and envoy to Afghanistan James F. Dobbins said on Friday that the United States will officially recognize the interim administration as the government of Afghanistan on December 22 after a power-transfer ceremony.

-- The United States has asked Yemen to allow U.S. Marines to take part in a hunt for members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, officials said Tuesday.

-- President George W. Bush said that the country is safer than it was before the September 11 terrorist attacks, but it would remain alert over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

"The country is more secure today and less vulnerable to attack than before Sept. 11, because the enemy has made it clear that we are a target, and we've responded," Bush said as he gathered reporters in the Oval Office for an end-of-the-year review.

Arizona
The best stories are told in the voices of people who lived them. From oral history to performances, these are first-hand accounts of Arizona's heritage.

California
LA Times - "While their leaders were still bombing Yugoslavia, two teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed classmates, a teacher and themselves in Colorado. In the immediate wake of the Columbine shootings in April 1999, former President Clinton urged Americans to teach our children to resolve conflict "without resorting to violence.'" A recent article, Stop the Violence, Kids Are Watching got some California letters to the editor attention.

Florida
ST. PETERSBURG - A St. Petersburg police chief takes a stand with his officers that some perceive as racially motivated.

Illinois
U.S. Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) filed a motion in court Friday to force a Robbins man of the same name to reveal whether anyone put him up to run against the congressman in the March 19 primary and said the campaign may seek criminal charges if evidence of fraud is found.

Passengers and crew subdued Reid, 28, after an attendant on the flight, bound from Paris, France, to Miami, Florida, noticed him trying to use a match to set fire to his shoes. American Airlines Flight 63 -- a Boeing 767 carrying 185 passengers and 12 crew -- was diverted to Boston's Logan International Airport after the mid-air drama over the Atlantic. Reed was sedated while still onboard.

The British national was under suicide watch in a Massachusetts jail Wednesday, charged with interfering with a flight crew.

	Director of Aviation at Logan Airport, Tom Kinton "The passenger became violent and fought with two flight attendants"
	Authorities in France are looking into how Reid could board a plane with explosives in his shoes.
	Shoe bomb suspect linked to mosque CNN's Jim Boulden reports shoe bomb suspect Richard Reid attended the same London mosque as suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui (December 26).

Officials say Richard Reid hid 10 ounces of PETN-based material, a version of the plastic explosive C4 that is very sensitive to heat and friction, in each of his shoes when he boarded Flight 63 in Paris on December 22. The plastic explosive was sophisticated, indicating that Reid had an accomplice.

New Hampshire
Editorial: Senator Scrooge (Union Leader)

New Jersey
In front of the library in Pequannock, NJ, a tree whose former home was the World Trade Center is helping residents connect to the tragedy.

Recently, CNN organized 9/11 related interactives. You can check these out by going directly to: MAPS AND INTERACTIVE INDEX

CNN: What is the future of New York? Where is the good news?

New York
- Brash, outspoken, indefatigable Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, whose composure and compassion rallied New York and the nation after the 9/11 attacks, was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

- Whereas the rest of the city seems to have moved on in its quest for closure, the areas around ground zero still seem mired in shock (NY Times).

- The federal government is providing 8.2 million to help restore television service to viewers in the New York region (NY Times).

Pennsylvania
YORK, PA - York Mayor Charlie Robertson was charged with murder in the 1969 slaying of a black woman during race rioting in the city. Seven other white men also are charged. Despite the media frenzy over the case, it's still a little unclear why the wheels of justice are spinning in 2001 - or why they stalled 32 years ago.

As the story goes:

On July 17, 1969, a black youth who'd been playing with lighter fluid lied to the cops and said white gang members tried to set him afire - touching off rumors, then a riot.

On July 20, several dozen whites held an impromptu rally in a city park off Newberry Street. Flickinger, who was present, said the youths thought cops were there to break up the rally when police, led by Robertson, showed up in armored cars.

The next night, Allen - a 27-year-old mother of two who was up from South Carolina visiting relatives - was with relatives headed to a grocery store when the Cadillac stalled on the railroad tracks. She opened the door to seek help but was cut down in a volley of bullets.

MORE: Story Index

Texas
Dallas News: Many moments defined by 1 terrible day

Washington (State)

The chronic struggle between Palestinians and Jews over land they both claim as their religious and historic home has ebbed and flowed, but there has never been lasting peace. As the battle again grows acute during this season of worship, Seattle Times reporters Kimberly B. Marlowe and Janet I. Tu seek perspective from neighbors with a vested interest. Read their views and stories.

For 4 years, CIA tracked bin Laden

Ebola Contained
The Ebola outbreak in west Africa that has killed 15 people is believed to have peaked, the World Health Organization says. WHO spokesman Ian Simpson said 27 cases have been reported in Gabon and neighboring Congo and 25 of them have been confirmed.

The virus has killed 11 people in small villages in a forested region around Mekambo in northern Gabon and four victims in the Congo. International health teams, including seven from WHO, are tracing and monitoring 227 people who may have had contact with the blood or other body fluids of a victim.

Ebola is one of the most deadly viral diseases known to humankind, causing death in 50 to 90 percent of those who become infected. It is passed through contact with bodily fluids, such as mucus, saliva and blood, but is not airborne. More: Haemorrhagic Fevers (WHO)

There is no vaccine or known cure for Ebola, whose victims bleed to death within days after early symptoms similar to flu.