Afghanistan's election commission, which is due to release Tuesday the first results from contested polls, has come under fire for bias and allegedly colluding in fraud to the advantage of President Hamid Karzai. Suspicion emerged two years before the election with a presidential decree appointing Azizullah Lodin, a former academic and Karzai advisor in the western province of Herat, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC). His appointment was announced on January 3, 2007 and Karzai repeatedly ignored calls from political opponents for Lodin to be approved by parliament. On election day, Lodin went before the media to congratulate the country on "massive" turnout despite reports from independent observers that participation was the worst of any election in recent memory. The commission predicted turnout at 50 percent. Monitors put participation as low as 10 percent in some Taliban strongholds -- a dubious achievement even for the first election organised by Afghans themselves since the 2001 US-led invasion. One Western diplomat slapped aside 50 percent as a "joke," pointing to weak turnout in the south and southeast, where Taliban insurgents are strong and where they threatened death for voters who went to the ballot box. The IEC has yet to publish official turnout figures. It should start trickling out partial results from Tuesday but the final result is not expected for another two weeks. Analysts have raised concern about the length of time before the results are announced, warning this might further raise suspicions against the IEC. Experts say Karzai needs to secure a large number of the votes in the south, his native Pashtun region torn apart by Taliban insurgency, to clinch victory at the first round and avoid a divisive second round... click here for more on this story from The AFP.

Firefighters claimed victory Tuesday over a devastating, wind-swept wildfire that ravaged the outskirts of Athens over four days, enabling them to redeploy waterbombers to other blazes in Greece. "The situation has greatly improved, we currently have no active fronts in greater Athens," a fire department spokeswoman said. "Firefighting forces remain on location to watch out for possible areas of resurgence." Waterbombers were diverted to Mount Kithaironas, west of Athens, and to Karystos on the island of Evia to tackle fires in both places that did not, however, pose a threat to inhabited areas. More than 500 firefighters -- joined by counterparts from Austria, Cyprus, France, Italy and Turkey -- battled the wildfire northeast of Athens that scorched more than 20,000 hectares and destroyed scores of homes... click here for more on this story from AFP.

Pakistan must exploit rifts among Taliban commanders jostling to inherit the brutal legacy of rebel chief Baitullah Mehsud, analysts say, or risk the power vacuum being filled by Al-Qaeda. An heir apparent, Hakimullah Mehsud, has emerged in the battle to succeed Mehsud after his reported death near the Afghan border, but analysts and officials told AFP that infighting continued despite the claims and swirling rumours. On August 5, a missile from a US drone slammed into a house deep in the mountains of South Waziristan where Mehsud was said to be receiving medical treatment, with Pakistani officials certain the feared warlord died. Desperate to salvage unity among Taliban footsoldiers, the Islamist militia insists he is simply ill, but that has not stopped a fierce battle breaking out for the reins of power and command over his fighters. "There is a possibility they (the Taliban) could split if the government and the military and the intelligence agencies exploit the situation. It is a window of opportunity," defence analyst Talat Masood told AFP. The infighting also comes after a military operation against the Taliban in northwest Swat valley, where the army claims to have "eliminated" extremists. But the consequences of not taking further action could be dire, analysts say, with either a new militant boss emerging and staging spectacular attacks in a show of strength, or a dangerous power void opening up in the tribal belt... click here for more on this story from, AFP.

President Barack Obama is trying to make positive changes in the United States, but is being fought at every turn by right-wingers who hate him because he is black, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday. In an unusually conciliatory column in the state-run media, Castro said Obama had inherited many problems from his predecessor, George W. Bush, and was trying to resolve them. But the "powerful extreme right won't be happy with anything that diminishes their prerogatives in the slightest way." Obama does not want to change the U.S. political and economic system, but "in spite of that, the extreme right hates him for being African-American and fights what the president does to improve the deteriorated image of that country," Castro wrote. "I don't have the slightest doubt that the racist right will do everything possible to wear him down, blocking his program to get him out of the game one way or another, at the least political cost," he said. Castro, who writes regular commentaries for Cuba's state-run media, has criticized Obama, complimented him occasionally and said that he is watching him closely to see if he means what he says about changing U.S. policy toward Cuba. His latest column comes during a visit to Cuba by New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson that has stirred speculation that he may try to push U.S.-Cuba relations forward... click here for more on this story from Reuters.

Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano, his ruling bloc facing likely defeat in an election less than a week away, sought to lure back voters with a warning on Tuesday that a big opposition win risked one-party "despotism." In the latest survey to forecast a ruling bloc loss, the Sankei newspaper said the opposition Democratic Party was expected to win 300 seats in parliament's powerful 480-seat lower house, ending more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). That was in line with other media forecasts, though analysts have cautioned that an opposition win may be less overwhelming. The Nikkei business daily said an LDP internal survey last week had shown the Democrats winning just under 260 seats while the LDP would get around 160 from Sunday's election. "The situation is tough. The angry waves of the Democratic Party are attacking all over Tokyo," said Yosano, who himself faces a fight to hold onto his constituency in the capital. "If this momentum continues, there is a risk of one-party despotism," he told a news conference. An opposition win of the magnitude forecast would be almost the mirror image of the results of the last general election in 2005, when charismatic leader Junichiro Koizumi led the LDP to a huge victory with promises of market-friendly reforms. Since then, Japan has had three more prime ministers and support for the ruling party has sagged due to scandals, policy flip-flops and a perception that the party has failed to address the deep-seated problems of a shrinking, fast-aging population... click here for more on this story from Reuters.

Xu Zhiyong was freed from the detention centre where he had been locked up since July and told that he may escape prosecution if he pays a fine for alleged tax evasion by the group he co-founded. Last month the Chinese authorities levied a fine of 1.42 million yuan (£127,000) on Gongmeng, Xu’s legal organisation which specialised in non-mainstream causes unpopular with the government. Then they shut it down. “If Xu pays the fine for tax evasion, it’s likely that he will not face prosecution,” Zhou Ze, Xu’s lawyer said, after Xu walked free from Beijing detention centre on Sunday. Gongmeng, whose English name is the Open Constitution Initiative, is an association of lawyers and academics who advocate the rule of law. Its lawyers have established a reputation for taking on compensation cases in the fields of labour rights and pollution, including some involving the tainted milk scandal last year, in which 50,000 babies were taken ill and four are known to have died as a result of drinking milk adulterated with melamine, a chemical used in the production of plastics. Xu’s profile was further raised when an interview with him appeared in this month's Shishang Xiansheng, the Chinese edition of Esquire magazine – whose title translates as "Mr Fashion" - alongside a glamorous photograph. The article was called “Sixty people with dreams of China” and positioned him as a mover and shaker in the legal world. “I wish our country could be a free and happy one,” the article read, according to a translation by the China Digital Times. “Every citizen does not need go against their conscience and can find their own place by their virtue and talents; a simple and happy society, where the goodness of humanity is expanded to the maximum, and the evilness of humanity is constrained to the maximum; honesty, trust, kindness, and helping each other are everyday occurrences in life; there is not so much anger and anxiety, a pure smile on everyone's face.” After levying the fine, Beijing police raided the Gongmeng research unit before closing it down, saying that it was an unregistered illegal entity... click here for more on this story from, The Telegraph. 

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is holding talks with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on the future of the Middle East peace process.Brown is likely to push for a halt to Israeli settlement building, having warned this is an obstacle to peace. Downing St meeting starts at 2pm with newser at 2:45pm. Netanyahu is also due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and on Wednesday, US Middle East peace envoy George Mitchell.

Rescue workers Wednesday sifted through the rubble of the deadliest bombing in Afghanistan for a year as signs of poor election turnout pointed to the success of Taliban intimidation. With the Taliban-led insurgency at record levels, the Islamist rebels were blamed for setting off a truck bomb in the heart of the southern city of Kandahar, killing at least 40 people and wounding 65, almost all civilians. The force of the explosion shattered windows and brought down buildings, trapping people under the rubble as they were breaking their Ramadan fast, General Ghulam Ali Wahdat, the southern police zone commander, told AFP. The Taliban denied involvement in the attack. The militia, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the 2001 US-led invasion, are known to exaggerate their claims as well as deny attacks involving civilian casualties. "It was a truck bomb. In total 40 to 41 people have been killed and over 65 other people have been wounded," Wahdat told AFP. Afghan and foreign forces sealed off the site in the troubled city, which was an old Taliban regime powerbase, as they searched through the rubble from over 10 buildings destroyed in the explosion, an AFP photographer said. The bomb blew up near a Japanese construction company, a guest house used by foreigners and government offices. Kandahar is the province of President Hamid Karzai, who is narrowly leading the race for re-election after polls last week. The explosives caused massive damage, set a wedding hall ablaze and trapped people under the rubble, officials said. Dazed and panicked Afghans, some covered in blood, joined security forces to search for victims in the debris, the AFP photographer said. Afghanistan, like the rest of the Muslim world is observing the holy month of Ramadan with fasting from dawn to dusk, when people generally go home to eat and so the district was less busy than normal. The killings made it the deadliest explosion in Afghanistan since a suicide car bomber killed more than 60 people, including two senior diplomats, in an attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008... click here for more on this article from AFP.

Pakistani Taliban leaders acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday that their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was dead, confirming claims of American and Pakistani officials.The acknowledgment of Mr. Mehsud’s death came as rights groups were demanding an inquiry into reports of extrajudicial killings in the Swat Valley, where dozens of bodies have surfaced in execution-style killings in areas where the Pakistani military has conducted operations to push out Taliban militants. The Pakistan Army denies any involvement in extrajudicial killings and says the deaths could be acts of revenge by local residents who suffered when the Taliban controlled the area. American and Pakistani officials had said they were all but certain that Mr. Mehsud, who had accepted responsibility for a string of deadly terrorist attacks across the country in recent years, had been killed in a missile strike by an American drone on Aug. 5. Pakistani intelligence officials also said there were indications of violent infighting over who would succeed him, and reported briefly that one of his possible successors, Hakimullah Mehsud, had been killed... click here for more on this story from, The New York Times.

A blonde woman who helped Ryan Jenkins check into the Canadian motel room where he was found dead on Sunday has been identified by the police and had a "past history" with Jenkins, police have said. Sgt. Duncan Pound of the Federal Border Integrity Program said police know the identity of the woman - described as a pretty blonde in her twenties - but are not disclosing her identity. "We do believe that they knew each other," Sgt Pound told the Calgary Herald. "There's a past history, but we don't want to go into detail."Jenkins, 32, was the subject of an international manhunt after he was charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Jasmine Fiore. He met Fiore, 28, in Las Vegas and married her after a two-day romance. Kevin Walker, the manager of the hotel where Jenkins body was found told the website TMZ that the property developer had been dead for some time when he discovered the body. "When I opened the door, I did smell the smell of death. And once I swung the door open, it was almost like he was pruning up, the cheekbones were sucked in. Death is not a good scene. "Yeah, he was gray. I could tell rigor-mortis was setting in because his hands were clenched." click here for more on this story from, The Telegraph.

Iran’s prosecutors moved Tuesday to shut down the nation’s two largest reform parties during a mass trial of former officials, journalists and academics all arrested and charged with conspiring to orchestrate a so-called velvet revolution in Iran.In the nationally televised hearing, the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought to repudiate not only individuals charged with crimes but also the entire record of the reform movement. Prosecutors called on the judge to ban the two reform parties, the Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Islamic Revolution Mujahedeen Organization. The accusations portrayed senior members of the reform movement, as well as journalists and academics, as counterrevolutionary secularists who were leading astray “young people who were experiencing politics for the first time,” according to Iranian news services. Tuesday’s proceedings were the fourth of what human rights groups and reform leaders have described as Soviet-style show trials, complete with defendants issuing apologies to the state and scripted confessions. The trial was yet another sign that Mr. Ahmadinejad and his hard-line allies had already neutralized the reform movement as an organized force and were moving to consolidate power... click here for more on this story from, The New York Times.

Iraq has accused Syria of sheltering terrorists blamed for masterminding last week's massive truck bombings in Baghdad, that killed nearly 100 people. The row has deepened longstanding tensions between the two countries. The diplomatic row has erupted since a former Iraqi policeman confessed to the bombing but also named two Syria-based men. Iraq then accused Syria of harbouring terrorists and demanded the men be handed over. When it refused, Iraq recalled its ambassador to Damascus in protest. Syria retaliated in kind by recalling its own ambassador in Baghdad. Relations between the two countries have been rocky for decades, but had started to improve. The row comes as a group linked to Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bombings, saying its aim was to kill government officials in Baghdad... click here for more on this story from ABC.

Red Cross officials from South Korea have crossed into the North for talks which could allow families divided by the border to begin meeting again. The reunions have been suspended for almost two years, because of the worsening ties between the two nations. This new round of negotiations reflects a recent improvement in relations between the two sides. If the three-day talks are successful, family meetings could resume as early as October. The BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says that for hundreds of thousands of Koreans, separated from their relatives by war in the 1950s, time is running out. The North and South are still technically at war, as a peace treaty was never concluded at the end the inter-Korean conflict... click here for more on this story from, The BBC.

Taiwan has invited the Dalai Lama to visit the island in a move that could endanger its fragile relations with China. Ma Ying-jeou, the President of Taiwan, announced today his government had agreed to allow Tibet's spiritual leader to meet victims of Typhoon Morakat which devastated parts of the island, insisting the invitation was for humanitarian rather than political purposes. The president, under fire for a slow response to the typhoon, told reporters today: "We have decided to (agree to) the Dalai Lama's visit to pray for the souls of the deceased and seek blessings for the survivors of the typhoon." The visit could happen as early as next week, a mbmer of the president's office said...click here for more on this story from, The Times.

Iran's supreme leader says he has seen no proof that opposition leaders blamed for the post-election unrest were agents of foreign powers. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments contradict accusations which have frequently been made by hardliners. A number of senior opposition figures are currently on trial in Tehran accused of conspiring with foreign powers to organise unrest. But the ayatollah appears to be trying to reduce tensions, say correspondents. "I do not accuse the leaders of the recent incidents to be subordinate to the foreigners, like the United States and Britain, since this issue has not been proven for me," said Ayatollah Khamenei, in a statement read out on Iranian television. But he said there was "no doubt" the mass demonstrations, in which at least 30 people died, had been planned in advance, "whether its leaders know or not". "This plot was defeated, since fortunately our enemies still do not understand the issue in Iran," he said. "Our enemies were given a slap in the face by the Iranian nation, but they are still hopeful and they are pursuing the issue."click here for more on this story from, The BBC.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma will confront "deviant behaviour" in Zimbabwe on his first presidential visit to his country's northern neighbour, one of his top officials said.Mr Zuma's visit comes amid rumours that Zimbabwe's Presdient Robert Mugabe is ill. Zimbabwean officials denied reports that the 85-year-old had received urgent treatment in Dubai following a "serious health scare", saying he had taken a week-long trip to the Far East and had now returned to prepare for Mr Zuma's visit. Mr Zuma's predecessor Thabo Mbeki was long criticised for taking a soft line on Mr Mugabe and the trip, starting on Thursday, will be a test of the new president's willingness to bolster his more critical rhetoric with action. A unity government was formed earlier this year between Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change, but reform has been slow, with Mugabe loyalists seeking to obstruct change... click here for more on this story from, The Telegraph.

South Korea is proposing regular reunions of families separated by the Korean War during meetings between officials of the two Koreas held this week amid signs of easing tension on the peninsula, a spokesman said Thursday. The three days of talks, which opened at North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort on Wednesday, come as the communist regime adopts a more conciliatory stance toward South Korea and the U.S. after months of animosity over its nuclear and missile programs. Earlier this month, the North said it would restart some joint projects including temporary reunions of separated families, which have been stalled since the inauguration of a conservative government in South Korea about 18 months ago. Seoul officials said they considered the moves "positive" but that government-level talks were necessary before implementing them. On the first day of talks, officials expressed hope that their meeting would help improve inter-Korean relations, though they were still at odds over the timing of the reunion, according to South Korean media pool reports. Seoul wants them to be held in two stages in late September and early October, while the North demanded that both stages be held in early October, close to the Chuseok autumn harvest holiday, the reports said... click here for more on this story from, AP.

 Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho was criticised by an Italian Muslim leader on Tuesday for comments the Portuguese made about Ramadan. Inter midfielder Sulley Muntari was substituted in the first half of Sunday's 1-1 Serie A draw with Bari and Mourinho said the Ghanaian was possibly lacking energy because of the fast he is observing for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "I think Mourinho could talk a little less," Mohamed Nour Dachan, president of the Union of the Islamic community and organisations in Italy, told Sky television. "A player who believes in Christianity, Judaism or Islam will definitely have a very calm psychological disposition and it will help him more." click here for more on this story from The New York Times.

Militants ambushed troops on a dusty road in a volatile tribal region of Pakistan, triggering an intense firefight that killed at least nine attackers and four soldiers, two officials said Thursday. The clash took place Wednesday in the stronghold of a senior Taliban commander, Waliur Rehman, in the South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border. Troops backed by helicopter gunships targeted militant hide-outs in the region, an intelligence official and an army officer said. The officials, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, provided no further details of the fighting, but said troops were still hunting for the attackers. The incident came two days after two Taliban commanders acknowledged their chief, Baitullah Mehsud, died following an Aug. 5 U.S. missile strike in the North Waziristan tribal region. Taliban members say they selected Hakimullah Mehsud as the group's new leader, while Rehman was appointed Taliban leader in South Waziristan, where most of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's fighters — believed to number as many as 25,000 — are based... click here for more on this story from, The AP.

Bollywood star Salman Khan is interested in buying a team in the India Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, IPL authorities say. The actor met IPL chairman Lalit Modi and showed interest in a "new team", Mr Modi said. Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty already own or jointly own IPL teams with partners. IPL will expand the competition from eight to 10 teams for 2011, when a fresh player auction will take place. Mr Modi told reporters that Khan had been in talks about buying a team for a number of months... click here for more on this story from, The BBC.

Phillip Garrido's neighbours and clients knew him as a religious zealot who made bizarre claims about being able to to control sound with his mind but no one suspected him of one California's oldest unsolved crimes. The 58-year-old lived quietly with his wife, Nancy, and what neighbours believed to be their children in an unremarkable house in Walnut Avenue in Antioch, California. To some of those around him he was a friendly but eccentric man, with a love of opera, and strong – if unusual – religious views. But reportedly nicknamed him "creepy Phil". They did not know he was a convicted sex offender and rapist on lifetime federal parole. Neighbours were vague about basic facts such as how many children he had, and even his parole officer who visited him inside the compound never guessed at the existence of a network of tents and sheds concealed behind shrubs in which Jaycee Lee Dugard spent the last 18 years, alongside her two children... click here for more on this story.

South and North Korea agreed Friday to restart a reunion programme for families divided by their 1950-53 conflict, in the latest sign of an easing of tensions after more than a year of hostility. The reunions will be held from September 26 to October 1, the two sides said in a joint statement on their third day of talks. They will be the first for two years. The hardline communist North suspended the programme after a conservative South Korean government took office in February 2008 and announced a tougher line on cross-border relations. "The South and the North will continue to cooperate on the issue of separated families and other humanitarian issues involving the Red Cross," the statement said after talks at the North's Mount Kumgang resort where families will meet. In a programme organised by each side's Red Cross, families will meet just before Korea's Chuseok (Thanksgiving) day, one of the year's two most important holidays... click here for more on this story from AFP.

The body of a revered Shiite leader arrived Friday for burial amid tight security that saw portions of the Iraqi capital sealed off, signaling fears the funeral procession may be targeted by insurgents to stoke sectarian tensions. The body of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim was met by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and hundreds of political and religious officials, marking the second half of a two-day funeral procession through the Shiite heartland that began in Iran and has seen thousands take to the streets in mourning. Al-Hakim, who died Wednesday of lung cancer in Tehran, was a symbol for many of the re-emergence of Iraq's Shiite political majority after decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime. He worked with Americans following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion even while maintaining his ties to Iran where he lived in exile for 20 years. "We have lost you while we are undergoing a delicate and sensitive period, and in a time when we are in need of strong men with experience and who have made great sacrifices," al-Maliki said, speaking to al-Hakim's casket shortly after it was lowered onto the tarmac at Baghdad International Airport. "We are still confronting the remnants of a dictatorship and terrorism by those who want to hurt Iraq. ... You stood firm like a mountain in the face of the tyrants who to this day want to bring back the days of dictatorship and injustice." click here for more on this story from The AP.

The Dalai Lama will arrive in Taiwan on Sunday for a trip that will include praying for victims of Typhoon Morakot, his spokesman told CNN. While in Taiwan, the Tibetan spiritual leader is also expected to give a public talk on compassion and religious harmony, spokesman Tenzin Taklha said Friday. The Dalai Lama, who will return to India on September 4, will also comfort and offer prayers for typhoon victims, Taklha said. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said earlier Thursday that he had approved a visit by the Dalai Lama to pray for the victims of the typhoon-battered island. The Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan seems certain to anger mainland China, which accuses the spiritual leader and the island nation of separatism.Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of advocating for Tibetan independence from China, and considers Taiwan to be a renegade province... click here for more on this story from, CNN.

A Swiss jet returned from Libya without two businessmen who have been prevented from leaving the North African country due to a diplomatic spat, Switzerland said on Friday, adding to pressure on the country's president. The Falcon aircraft, used by Switzerland's cabinet, had waited in Tripoli since Tuesday for Libyan authorities to issue the men's exit visas and return their passports. "The two Swiss businessmen are still in Tripoli. The preparations for their return are continuing," the government said in a statement. "The Swiss delegation returned in the Falcon." The failure to secure release of the businessman adds to pressure on Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz, who has been heavily criticised after apologising to Libya over the arrest of the son of Muammar Gaddafi and surrendering banking secrecy in a U.S. case against bank UBS... click here for more on this story from, Reuters.