India - Pakistan - Crisis

Until today in recent developments, India and Pakistan have announced tit-for-tat sanctions against one another as fears intensify that the two nuclear powers may be moving towards serious conflict.

India was the first to impose the punitive measures, including a ban from 1 January on Pakistan's national airline from flying in Indian air space and a reduction by half of India's diplomatic staff in Islamabad and Pakistan's diplomats in Delhi. Pakistan retaliated almost immediately, with similar restrictions.

India extended until January 5 the time it is giving for half of Pakistan's diplomatic corps in New Delhi to leave the country. India announced the sanctions on the 27th , ordering the diplomats out within 48 hours.

The Indian sanctions were aimed at forcing Pakistan to take action against two Kashmir militant groups blamed for a suicide attack on India's parliament two weeks ago.

Vijay Dutt, London-based journalist with the Hindustan Times has India's perspective on the row

1.7 MBs / 2 mins 40 secs

CNN:   India's Perspective report

Tensions between the two neighbors have risen dramatically since the attack, which Delhi alleges was backed by Pakistani intelligence. Pakistan denies any involvement. New Delhi blames the December 13 parliament attack on two Pakistani-based militant groups, which it says are supported by Pakistan's intelligence agency.

The latest showdown followed the US decision to place the two militant groups blamed for the Indian parliament attack on a list of proscribed terrorist organizations. The designation freezes the US assets of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad groups.

Pakistan has already frozen the groups' assets and arrested the founder of the Jaish group. New Delhi said those actions as meaningless, reiterating demands that Islamabad must shut down the two groups for good!

Pakistan says it is doing all it can to rein in those responsible, but measures taken so far against the groups have been dismissed by India as merely "cosmetic."

Troop deployments

The BBC's Fiona Werge "Politicians continue to make war-like noises"

Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes said earlier that a new deployment of Indian troops along the entire border with Pakistan would be complete in the next few days.

Pakistani military spokesman General Rashid Quereshi countered that India's decision to move large numbers of troops to the frontier was a matter of serious concern.

He said that Pakistan's armed forces had also taken what he termed appropriate measures, and there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Pakistan was capable of defending itself.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Friday that he is willing to meet with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during a summit of South Asian nations in Nepal next week.

Speaking at a dinner organized for international journalists and the diplomatic community, Musharraf also said Pakistan would not initiate a war with its nuclear neighbor.

CNN Interactives

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

Afghan Government

BBC: Hamid Karzai is sworn in as leader of Afghanistan's new interim government to replace the defeated Taliban regime.

The interim government is tasked with uniting a country that is fragmented along ethnic, religious and political fault lines.

Afghanistan's newly-created International Security Assistance Force will demonstrate the global community's backing for the new government, and its interest in ensuring a peaceful transfer of power in the post-Taliban era. The British Royal Marines will be the first visible elements of the international presence in Afghanistan, which was agreed at talks in Germany, in parallel with plans for the interim government. Ultimately, the contingent could comprise as many as 5,000 troops, from several nations.

The cabinet is drawn from representatives of the Northern Alliance, the Rome group loyal to former king Zahir Shah, and the smaller Cyprus and Peshawar exile groups.

Chairman: Hamid Karzai (Pashtun)

Women's Affairs: Sima Samar (Rome group, Hazara)

Defense: Mohammad Fahim (Northern Alliance, Tajik)

Planning: Haji Mohammad Mohaqqeq (Northern Alliance, Hazara)

Water and Electricity: Shaker Kargar (Northern Alliance, Uzbek)

Finance: Hedayat Amin Arsala (Rome group, Pashtun)

The new Foreign Minister will be Dr Abdullah Abdullah (Northern Alliance, Tajik).

Where in the World is bin Laden?
There was no word on where bin Laden might be following Sunday's capture of the mountain caves of Tora Bora where his terrorist network made its last major stand in Afghanistan. Where is bin Laden. Nowhere and everywhere. He's been reportedly seen by dozens of people in several different places at the same time. CNN: video report

Abdullah Tawheedi, a deputy head of intelligence in Afghanistan, says he has received "reliable information" that the terrorist leader paid a "large amount" of money to buy his way out of Afghanistan. It was the second time in as many days that a Afghan government official said bin Laden was in Pakistan.

The report could not be independently verified. Tawheedi named Haji Zaman -- a well-known independent military commander -- as the man responsible for taking bin Laden across the border to Pakistan.

Ironically, Zaman had recently been fighting against bin Laden and his al Qaeda organization. But Tawheedi says he believes Zaman was apparently persuaded by money to help the terrorist leader.

Tawheedi said Zaman handed bin Laden over to the protection of an Islamic group with links to Pakistan's intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The agency helped establish and supported the militant Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan for five years.

Tawheedi said that Zaman had recently requested a cease-fire in the Tora Bora region of southeastern Afghanistan, where bin Laden was believed to be hiding.

Tawheedi said he believes Zaman wanted hostilities stopped so he could steal bin Laden out of the danger area to safety. Tawheedi said his information is that bin Laden paid Zaman a "large amount" of money for safe passage to Pakistan.

al Qaida Is Done In Afghanistan
Intelligence experts suspect that bin Laden may have a group of as many as 1000 al Qaida with him, perhaps still in Afghanistan, more likely having escaped. About 2000 al Qaida had thought to have been in the area of Tora Bora at the start of fighting there. Several local fighters said women and children were among the Al Qaeda dead, adding credence to reports that some foreign fighters had brought their families.

Haji Zaman, top military commander in the eastern Jalalabad region, told reporters that the remnants of bin Laden's al Qaida forces had been virtually wiped out in the eastern Tora Bora mountains after days of fierce fighting, but the Saudi-born militant himself was no longer there. He says "This is the last day for al Qaida in Afghanistan.'' He said bin Laden had fled, but this would not stop Afghan mujahideen warriors from completing a mopping-up operation. Already there are hundreds of captured Taliban being brought in to "justice." The anti-Taliban forces are reportedly brutalizing Arab and other foreign fighters.

If confirmed, the report that bin Laden is missing would be a disappointment for Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. US defense chief Donald Rumsfeld paid a surprise visit to a base near Kabul where Afghan fighters told him Osama bin Laden, main quarry of the Pentagon's campaign in Afghanistan, had evaded capture.

Rumsfeld said that US forces had found materials and documents at a former al Qaida base in southern Afghanistan, and were testing them for chemical, biological and radiation content. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has warned NATO it must prepare for terrorists who will use everything from computers to cruise missiles to wreak havoc.

Rumsfeld addressed troops, giving a message of mission to the military.

The BBC's Stephen Sackur "Rumsfeld warned against complacency" CNN report 12/19: Rumsfeld warns NATO of new threats

Right, a large crowd becomes difficult as food and water are in extraordinary short supply. Rumsfeld met with interim leader, Hamid Karzai. There is much to do to ready bases and operations for a UN Peacekeeping Force. Relief, food and water, medical supplies, and transportation to mention a few are still problems too.

For multimedia presentations, use the MSNBC Battlefield Interactive.

Peace Keeping

The BBC's David Loyn profiles Afghanistan's new leader Hamid Karzai

	The BBC's Caroline Wyatt reports from Kabul "The sheer number of weapons on the streets here is frightening"
	The BBC's Andrew Gilligan "Three things with this peacekeeping force need to be sorted out"
	General Wesley Clarke, former Nato commander "To control a city the size of Kabul, you want three to four batallions"

Experts Assess bin Laden Videotape Statements
PBS 12 minute Audio: A reporter and an Arab expert examine the international reaction to the Osama bin Laden tape.

The original translation of the Osama bin Laden videotape misses the fact that bin Laden identifies nine of the hijackers, a Saudi dissident says and an independent translator hired by CNN confirmed Thursday.

One more striking example of detail left out of the government translation, according to Al-Ahmed and the independent translator: Bin Laden's description of exactly what he said to others just before the radio announcement that the first of the attacks had succeeded. They quoted him as saying he told followers, "When you hear a breaking news announcement on the radio, kneel immediately, and that means they have hit the World Trade Center." CNN: New information found on bin Laden tape.

Next Move?
In Washington, war councils and the military is turning to the next targets in the global war against terrorism. Top officials are talking, with circumspection, about using the military to track down and eliminate key terrorists among Al Qaida’s terror cells (Newsweek 8.57 minute audio report).

Palestine First

The Palestinian Authority announced Thursday it had arrested 15 of its own security officers in a crackdown on terrorism following weeks of pressure from the United States, Israel and Europe.

As part of the crackdown, Palestinian security forces raided a house belonging to a senior Hamas leader, triggering a gunbattle with Hamas supporters in which one Palestinian was killed and 23 others were wounded, five seriously.

The Palestinian Authority said it arrested the officers on suspicion they participated in attacks on Israelis. Israel has long maintained Palestinian security officers are among those carrying out the attacks.

Arafat has been under intense pressure to crack down on terrorists in territory under Palestinian control since a string of December attacks killed 35 Israelis. Terror bombings prompted the Israeli Cabinet to cut ties with Arafat and sanction retaliatory strikes on the West Bank and Gaza.

Israel has maintained Arafat bears responsibility for the attacks because he failed to take steps against the groups which claim to have carried them out.

The December attacks were the latest upsurge in 15 months of violence in which hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians have died. Five of those wounded in the raid on the Gaza City home of Abdel Rantisi were Palestinian police, hospital sources told CNN.

Rantisi was the leader with the highest profile the Palestinian Authority has tried to arrest in its moves against terrorist suspects.

In the West Bank, Israeli Defense Forces officials said tanks in Nablus and deep inside Palestinian-controlled territory near the West Bank city of Ramallah had moved in a "tactical repositioning" but had not been withdrawn. The army took the positions after suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa two weeks ago.

A leading member of Hamas on the West Bank denied reports the group was considering suspending its suicide bomb attacks.

A senior Palestinian representative, Saeb Erekat, says the next move towards halting the conflict in the region is now up to Israel, after Palestinian militants announced they were suspending attacks. US Secretary of State Colin Powell met in Washington with his special Mideast envoy, Gen. Anthony Zinni, to discuss strategy, but Boucher said there are no immediate plans to send Zinni back to the region.

BBC: Words - Meanings?

Richard Reid, the "shoe-bomber" visited Israel for 10 days

Israeli Security Services, in conjunction with the FBI, are looking into what the shoe-bomber, Reid did during a 10-day trip to the country in July.