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Militant attacks in Afghanistan leave 13 dead

Security forces and emergency services attempt to enter the Justice Ministry in Kabul.
Taliban militants carried out attacks on two government buildings in Afghanistan Wednesday, killing 10 civilians and three officials.

The militants targeted the justice ministry in Kabul and a prison near the Khair Khana district, north of the capital. The Taliban claimed they were retaliating against poor treatment of prisoners in Afghan jails, the interior ministry said. In the attack at the justice ministry, two gunmen burst in and killed three government employees before police overpowered them, Zemarai Bashary of the interior ministry said. Police swarmed in, looking for more assailants. Witnesses who had gathered outside heard intermittent bursts of gunfire from deep within the building. Shortly before 1 p.m. (9 a.m. GMT) Wednesday, police dispatchers said officers found a third gunman holed up in one of the rooms. He was killed in a gun battle.

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In the second attack, a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the prison near the Khair Khana district, north of Kabul, the interior ministry said. Ten civilians died in the attack. A fifth militant was shot and killed in front of the education ministry in Kabul, Bashary’s office said. Authorities were still looking for three others who were thought to be hiding in the city.

Second Swiss bank loses billions

Guards at a Brussels roadblock last December, at the start of a European Council summit.
Switzerland’s Credit Suisse has joined the list of banks revealing disastrous results for 2008 after it reported losses of $7.1 billion (8.2 billion Swiss francs).

The officials told CNN that the alleged cell had connections to a senior al Qaeda operative who helped orchestrate the 2006 “Airline Plot,” widely recognized as al Qaeda’s most serious terror attempt since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The source could not reveal the operative’s name to CNN because of the ongoing investigation. The 2006 plot involved plans to simultaneously blow up U.S.-bound passenger jets with liquid explosives hid in carry-on luggage. A senior counterterrorism source with detailed knowledge of the investigation told CNN the alleged cell was connected to the top ranks of al Qaeda through Moez Garsallaoui, a Tunisian Islamist militant who left Belgium for the tribal areas of Pakistan in late 2007. Garsallaoui, 41, is the husband of Malika el Aroud, 49, a Belgian-Moroccan who was one of those charged in December. When she was arrested, Belgian authorities publicly described her as an “al Qaeda Living Legend.” El Aroud’s former husband, al Qaeda operative Abdessattar Dahmane, helped assassinate Ahmed Shah Massoud, the head of Afghanistan’s anti-Taliban Northern Alliance group, in a suicide bombing operation two days before 9/11.

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One Woman’s War »

Belgian investigators told CNN that a pro-al Qaeda Web site administered by el Aroud helped radicalize the members of the alleged Brussels terrorist cell. El Aroud is the subject of a half-hour documentary, “One Woman’s War” which airs this week on CNN International. Garsallaoui and el Aroud were interviewed by CNN in February 2006 in Switzerland, where they were then living. During the interview, el Aroud said, “Most Muslims love Osama (bin Laden). It was he who helped the oppressed. It was he who stood up against the biggest enemy in the world, the United States. We love him for that.” She showed CNN how she administered her Web site, which included postings of attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and a section dedicated to the unabridged speeches of top al Qaeda leaders. Belgian counterterrorism sources told CNN that el Aroud’s status as the widow of an al Qaeda hero and her defiant promotion of bin Laden’s jihad has made her a “magnet” to radical jihadists across Europe. El Aroud’s lawyer, Alexandra Tempels-Ruiz, told CNN that her client denies being a member of a terrorist group and that she is not liable for the actions of those who read her postings. “People sent Malika private e-mail messages through [her Web site] asking her how to go to fight in Afghanistan,” Tempels-Ruiz said. “But Malika never gave these people instructions.” In June 2007, el Aroud and Garsallaoui were convicted by Swiss authorities for running pro-al Qaeda Web sites. But their sentence was relatively light: el Aroud escaped jail time altogether and Garsallaoui spent only three weeks in prison. After his release, Garsallaoui moved to Belgium to join his wife there. In Brussels they carried on their online work, building up their Web site to what it says has more than 1,400 subscribed members.

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Alain Winants, the Head of Belgian State Security, the country’s domestic intelligence arm, told CNN el Aroud “was one of the leading jihadist persons on the Internet.” “Her site attracts very much interest,” Winants said, “and that’s of course why she is a target for intelligence services.” Belgian security services, which had monitored the couple since their marriage in 2004, stepped up surveillance when they moved back to Belgium, according to Belgian counterterrorism sources. Those sources say that it was during this period that the couple moved from radicalizing to recruiting. Belgian police told CNN that el Aroud and Garsallaoui acted in tandem to encourage individuals, including several of those arrested in Brussels in December, to leave Belgium to fight in Afghanistan. El Aroud, it is alleged, inspired young men to volunteer for Jihad through her incendiary Web postings. Garsallaoui, the police say, went out to the streets to physically recruit people. “I intensely hope and pray everyday that our fighters massacre those American pigs and their allies,” el Aroud stated in one posting on her Web site in December 2007. “Wherever [Malika] goes she touches people,” Glenn Audenaert, director of the Belgian federal police, told CNN, “and wherever people are touched by this message that this starts a process of radicalization, and hence of thinking of a terrorist act or preparing a terrorist act.” Hicham Beyayo, one of those arrested last December, says that it was Garsallaoui who recruited him to fight Jihad in Afghanistan. Christophe Marchand, Beyayo’s lawyer told CNN that his client was approached by Garsallaoui in a mosque in his neighborhood and that el Aroud’s husband persuaded him to volunteer for jihad in Afghanistan. “Garsallaoui had an answer for every question,” Marchand said his client told him. Before leaving Belgium, Beyayo had become an site administrator on el Aroud’s pro-al Qaeda Web site, according to Marchand. According to Belgian counterterrorism officials, Beyayo traveled to the tribal areas of Pakistan with a small band of wannabe European jihadists in early 2008, traveling through Turkey and Iran to reach Pakistan. Beyayo, through Marchand, claims that he was given travel advice by Garsallaoui, who had left Brussels for the tribal areas of Pakistan several weeks before. Belgian counterterrorism sources told CNN they believe Beyayo and others received some form of group training in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Beyayo’s lawyer says his client denies receiving any terrorist training or had any connections to al Qaeda and that he did not have enough money to purchase guns. “It was not that organized,” said Marchand. “It was sort of a jihad vacation, I would say.” Beyayo told his lawyer he never crossed into Afghanistan, but instead remained within the tribal areas of Pakistan. During his time there, Beyayo claims he had to move around a lot, said Marchand, to avoid being targeted by U.S. Predator drones. Those strikes, Beyayo told his lawyer, had a reputation in jihadist circles of being “very efficient.” Garsallaoui, meanwhile had managed to cross the border into Afghanistan, according to intelligence source and Beyayo’s lawyer. In the first half of 2008 Garsallaoui sent el Aroud a picture of himself holding a rocket launcher. Counterterrorism sources say that the message was intercepted by U.S. counterterrorism agencies. According to a lawyer briefed on the legal dossier in the Belgian case, el Aroud’s reply was, “You’re so beautiful.” In June, Garsallaoui sent el Aroud an e-mail claiming to have killed five Americans. His wife congratulated him, according to the legal source. In one intercepted e-mail to el Aroud in 2008, Garsallaoui claimed to have narrowly missed being hit by a missile strike in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is unclear if the attack came from a Predator drone. A senior counterterrorism source with detailed knowledge of the investigation told CNN that sometime during this period Garsallaoui developed close connections with a senior al Qaeda operative who orchestrated the 2006 airline plot. The source could not reveal the al Qaeda operative’s name to CNN because of the ongoing investigation. On September 26, 2008, Garsallaoui raised the stakes by urging attacks in Europe in an online statement. “The solution my brothers and sisters is not fatwas but boooooooms,” the posting stated. The posting was discovered by CNN on his wife el Aroud’s Web site. In the second half of 2008, members of Beyayo’s travel group started to return to Europe. Beyayo was the last to return, arriving in Belgium in early December, according to police accounts. Their return deeply concerned Belgian security services, who were all too aware that several recent terrorist plots in Europe, such as the 2005 London bombings, involved European operatives who had trained in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. “When these people come back from those war scenes they present a potential danger,” Audenaert, director of the Belgian federal police, told CNN. According to counterterrorism sources, the trigger for the Brussels arrests was an alarming email sent by Beyayo in early December shortly after returning to Belgium from the tribal areas of Pakistan, widely considered to be al Qaeda’s current base of operations. The e-mail, which CNN has learned was intercepted by U.S. counterterrorism agencies, suggested that Beyayo had been given the green light to launch an attack in Belgium. Not wanting to take any risks, Belgian authorities ordered police to round up suspected cell members, several of which, counterterrorism sources told CNN, had been under surveillance for more than a year. Belgian counterterrorism investigators told CNN that around a hundred police officers were involved in the investigation. When police raided several properties in and around Brussels, they found little evidence that an imminent plot was in the works, Belgian counterterrorism investigators told CNN. No explosives or fire arms or attack blueprints were recovered. Beyayo’s lawyer, Marchand, told CNN that the e-mail that triggered the arrests was just tough talk designed to impress an ex-girlfriend who left him after he cheated on her. “He wanted to re-seduce her,” Marchand said. “He wanted to impress her by sending an e-mail saying the organization could do an operation in Belgium.” Despite the lack of clear evidence that an attack was imminent, Belgian police are adamant that the alleged cell had ties to al Qaeda and represented a potential national security threat. “We knew we were in the presence of an organization that was part of al Qaeda,” said Audenaert, the Belgian federal police director. “We knew these people were in contact with the highest levels of al Qaeda in Afghanistan, so we considered it sufficiently serious to apprehend these people.” El Aroud, Beyayo and four other alleged members of the terrorist cell are expected to be face trial in the next year. Garsallaoui is still at large, believed by intelligence agencies to be in the tribal areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan. His continued presence there is deeply concerning to Belgian security services.

Alain Grignard, who heads counterterrorist operations for the Belgian Federal Police, told CNN that the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan have replaced Iraq as the destination of choice for wannabe jihadists from Belgium and other countries on the European continent. “Not since the year before 9/11 have we seen as many people travel towards the Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict region,” Grignard said.

China kills 13,000 birds to control ‘epidemic’

Since the end of 2003, the H5N1 virus has infected birds in over 60 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.
China has killed 13,000 birds in the country’s far northwest to control what it called an epidemic of bird flu, state media reported Tuesday.

Five hundred fowl that had died in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region tested positive for the H5N1 virus, according to China’s Ministry of Agriculture. In late January, China confirmed its sixth case of bird flu in a human. The ministry said at the time that, although further human bird flu cases were possible throughout China, there wouldn’t be a large-scale outbreak, state run news agency Xinhua and CCTV reported. The country also announced it was setting up a nationwide network to test for the H5N1 virus. Following a bird flu outbreak in late January, India culled more than 4,000 birds in the remote northeastern state of Sikkim. Health officials also detected dozens of cases of upper respiratory infection among humans, but none of the patients had any history of handling sick poultry, a government spokesperson said. Sikkim borders Nepal and China.

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Since the end of 2003, the H5N1 virus has infected many species of birds in more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. It has not been found in birds in North or South America or the Caribbean, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Human-to-human transmission of avian flu is rare, but the virus has passed from poultry to humans in some cases. It has killed more than 200 people since 2003. China reported its first human-to-human infection case in 2005. Of the 34 cases confirmed to date in the country, 23 had been fatal, the World Health Organization said in late January.

Tsvangirai to be sworn in as Zimbabwe PM

The streets in many parts of Zimbabwe wore a festive look Wednesday morning as the nation prepared to swear in opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister.

The post was specifically created for Tsvangirai as part of a unity government that Zimbabweans hope will signal an end to the political and economic crises that have gripped the nation for months. The swearing-in is to take place at 11 a.m. (4 a.m. ET), with several regional leaders in attendance. With two hours to go, police presence was heavy, but the air was light. A group of riot policemen sat in a truck singing songs in one city. Elsewhere, people crowded newspaper stands to buy up the last remaining copies of the day’s edition. The headlines spoke of a brand-new day full of promise. The unity government is the result of a power-sharing agreement reached in September between Tsvangirai — the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) — and President Robert Mugabe after months of squabbling about the results of elections earlier in the year. As part of the deal, Mugabe retains the presidency.

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Zimbabweans and outsiders alike are hopeful the new government will help heal the country’s crippling economic crisis and eroding humanitarian situation, both seen as the worst since the once-prosperous nation gained its independence from Great Britain in 1980. A cholera epidemic has claimed close to 4,000 lives and infected about 65,000 people since August, aggravated by a lack of water treatment chemicals and a problem with waste disposal in much of the country. The United Nations says more than 5 million people are in need of food aid, in a country that has shortages of all essentials, including fuel, electricity and cash. The shortages have created a fertile environment for inflation. The country recorded the highest level of inflation in the world in July, at 231 million percent. Zimbabwe has had no Cabinet since presidential elections in March created the political impasse. Tsvangirai won the most votes in that election, but not enough to avoid a runoff, according to the government’s official count. He withdrew from the June 27 runoff days before the vote, saying Mugabe’s supporters had waged a campaign of violence and intimidation against opposition supporters. The two sides tried to end the stalemate with a series of talks that kept stalling when they couldn’t agree on how much power Mugabe would retain. Tsvangirai had said he would sign a deal only if Mugabe gave up some power. The leaders reached a power-sharing agreement in September, with the position of prime minister created for Tsvangirai. The various ministries will be shared between the MDC and Mugabe’s ZANU-PF, with the former given 13 and the latter 15.

Kadima, Likud claim mandate to govern

Kadima's Tzipi Livni won more support than was predicted in the Israeli elections.
Israel’s two largest parties each claimed a mandate Wednesday after elections that saw a surprise first-place finish by the ruling Kadima party and dramatic gains by its conservative rivals, according to unofficial returns.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s failure to assemble a ruling coalition for Kadima last year triggered Tuesday’s elections. But she told supporters after the vote that the narrow edge Kadima appears to have held over the conservative Likud shows her party is “the common denominator of Israeli society.” Livni called on Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu “to respect the choice of Israel’s citizens … and to join a unity government, led by us, that will be based on the large parties in Israel, left and right.” But Netanyahu said the showing by Likud — which appears to have more than doubled the number of seats it holds in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament — show voters have rejected Kadima’s leadership, and he said conservative parties could form a majority when the results are in. “With God’s help, I shall head the coming government,” he said. “I am sure that I can manage to put together a good, broad-based and stable government that will be able to deal with the security crisis and the economic crisis.” Unofficial returns gave Kadima a narrow lead over Likud, with the right-wing Yisrael Beytenu in third place and Labor — Israel’s founding party and Kadima’s current coalition partner — in fourth. “It’s a typical Israeli election in that you might have two winners,” Israeli political analyst Chemi Shalev told CNN. “The clear-cut winner, in the sense that she did much better than any expectations, is Tzipi Livni and Kadima. But we have to judge elections by the bottom line, and if it turns out that in the Benjamin Netanyahu will be the the prime minister, he will be judged to have been the winner.”

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The campaign was dominated by the recent war with Palestinian militants in Gaza, which was popular within Israel despite widespread international condemnation. Netanyahu was a harsh critic of Kadima founder Ariel Sharon’s 2005 withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza, and his supporters say he has been proven right. Livni took control of Kadima in September, when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stepped down as the party leader amid several corruption investigations. Her campaign touted her role in the Gaza campaign and tough statements about not allowing Hamas to decide Israel’s fate. Netanyahu served as prime minister from 1996 to 1999. He has supported the expansion of Israeli settlements on the West Bank and has opposed further territorial concessions in order to end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to Israeli media, with all precincts reporting and more than 99 percent of the vote counted, Kadima was on track to win 28 seats in the 120-member Knesset, the same as it currently holds. Likud was forecast to win 27 — a dramatic jump from its current 12. Shalev suggested a Kadima-Likud-Labor coalition is possible — but it was not clear who would lead it. Yisrael Beytenu was on track to win 15 seats, up from 11 currently, while Labor appeared to have slid from 18 seats to 13. A fourth-place finish would be an unprecedentedly weak showing for Labor, now led by Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The results still need to be certified by the Israeli central election committee. Will a new leader make any difference » Yisrael Beytenu is led by Avigdor Lieberman, a polarizing figure whose party has been accused of racism against Palestinians and Arab citizens of Israel. But he said early Wednesday that his party “is not only the key to the next coalition, it will also set the agenda for the next government.” And Likud member Reuven Rivlin, a former Knesset speaker, said voters decided “to change the ideas of the former government.” iReport.com: See photos of the scene as voters head to the polls “We have to continue the negotiations with the Palestinians, but under mutuality and under the idea that it is a give and take — that after the agreement, we will find ourselves at peace,” Rivlin said.

Israelis have become increasingly skeptical of unilateral withdrawal from Palestinian-controlled territories. After the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, the Palestinian militant group Hamas gained control of Gaza and intensified rocket attacks on Israel, prompting the three-week conflict that ended in mid-January. Despite rain and strong wind, Israel’s central election commission reported a turnout of about 65 percent Tuesday — about 2 percentage points higher than the country’s last elections, in 2006. Polls closed at 10 p.m. (3 p.m. ET).

Caylee’s uncle at memorial: ‘Our family is incomplete’

Lee, Cindy and George Anthony occupy a front row pew at a memorial for slain toddler Caylee.
Relatives of slain toddler Caylee Anthony spoke at her public memorial service Tuesday, recalling a little girl who was full of life and love and expressing their grief at her death.

“Sure, Caylee might be in God’s heaven right now, but her presence is still at home with me every day,” said George Anthony, the girl’s grandfather. “I can close my eyes and I can see her coming from her bedroom with her silly little glasses on, her beads, whatever it might be, to make me laugh. “She was a comedian to me,” he said. Watch the grieving grandfather’s eulogy » An estimated 1,100 mourners — many of whom have never met Caylee — gathered at the First Baptist Church of Orlando to honor her. Absent, however, was the girl’s mother, Casey Anthony, 22, who faces first-degree murder charges in the toddler’s death. Jail officials said Casey Anthony was meeting with her attorney while the service was taking place and did not ask to watch it on television. Watch why she opposed the public service » Both the Anthonys expressed support for their daughter. George Anthony asked those present to withhold judgment, to pray for his daughter and to write her letters. “I miss my daughter, Casey,” he said. Cindy Anthony, Caylee’s grandmother, said one of the things she misses most is watching the love Caylee shared with her mother. “It breaks my heart that Casey’s not with us today to honor the child she loves so very, very much,” she said. Speaking to her daughter, she said, “I love you, and I wish I could comfort you right now. … Caylee was so much like you. She got your beauty and your compassion, and she got your spirit.” She asked mourners to stay hopeful. “Hope is what we need more of. With hope, we can concentrate on our faith. Faith is why I stand before you today with a smile.” Casey’s brother, Lee Anthony, said his family is “incomplete” and the loss of Caylee has left him broken. He spoke in defense of his jailed sister.

“If I could ask something from anybody that was willing to hear it, it would be this: For those of us that are frightened or angry or mournful or that just don’t understand, I ask that you fill your heart with patience and grace, and that you allow yourself to yield any judgments that you may already have,” he said. He continued, “For those of us who will never be the same again, I ask that you fill your heart with hope and forgiveness and you allow yourself to cope and heal.” Watch Caylee’s uncle talk about his loss » But mostly, the Anthonys spoke about Caylee, a little girl with a big spirit who called her grandparents “Cee Cee” and “Jo Jo,” loved green beans, Bambi movies and singing and dancing. “She cherished not only the time that I had with her but cherished every day that she was around each and every one of us,” George Anthony said. Cindy Anthony remembered Caylee coming to wake her up on Sunday mornings. “Her face would be right in my face, ‘Cee Cee, wake up,’ and she’d be right there,” she said, holding her hand just in front of her face. She said she missed swimming in the pool with Caylee and talking with her on the phone. Watch Cindy Anthony sing, talk, and grieve » Caylee was 2 when she was last seen in June. Her remains were found in December in a wooded area about a half mile from the Anthonys’ home. Authorities said her remains were found in a laundry bag wrapped in a plastic trash bag, and her skull was wrapped in duct tape, according to police documents. “I believe today Caylee’s home,” said the Rev. David Uth, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Orlando, where the public memorial service was held. “I believe today she’s there. My goodness, if she could step into this room for just a moment, in a childlike way she would tell us … she would jump up and down to somehow … show us the incredible place that heaven is.”

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A picture of the smiling mother and daughter was among those in front of the church’s altar, sitting next to a candle lit by Caylee’s grandparents during the service, along with a large picture of Caylee, a teddy bear and other items. The program featured many songs, a fitting tribute for a little girl who, according to her family, loved music. A slideshow of Caylee as a baby and a little girl was played. Uth and the Rev. Shane Stutzman, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church, acknowledged that many people may have questions — some of which may never be answered. But both urged mourners to trust in God. Watch mourners pay tribute to Caylee » “He has the answer. Let the peace that surpasses all your understanding hold you now in the palm of his hand,” Stutzman said. “I don’t think we understand all the things he could show us right now, but I know that he understands us.” The Anthonys released doves at the end of the service. Mourners gathered outside the church afterward to talk and embrace. The service took place amid heavy security — attendees had to pass through metal detectors, and were not permitted to carry bags inside.

“We feel like we know this little girl,” said Sandra McKeller, who drove six hours from Georgia to attend. “We need this day for closure. Today is about Caylee.” A large makeshift memorial remains at the site where a meter reader found the girl’s remains.

Schwarzenegger says state worker layoffs looming

The governor said 20,000 California state workers will lose their jobs if a budget deal is not reached.
Faced with a projected $42 billion deficit, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned Tuesday that 20,000 state workers will lose their jobs if a budget deal isn’t reached by the end of the week.

The governor and the legislature are “making progress” in talks, said Schwarzenegger’s press secretary, Aaron McLear. The Republican governor, who declared a fiscal emergency in December, has butted heads for months with the Democratic majority over alleviating the state’s $11.2 billion revenue shortfall. “We need to continue working toward a budget that helps keep and create jobs,” said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, a Democrat, after Schwarzenegger announced the possible layoffs. “There will be a vote on such a budget this week and, with compromise and leadership on all sides, we can help stop the problems being caused by the cash crisis and avoid the governor’s dire warning on layoffs.” See other states’ projected deficits » Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg told the Los Angeles Times that a vote will be held in the Senate on Friday. The cuts, if they even happen, wouldn’t begin until the start of the fiscal year on July 1, starting with employees of least seniority, McLear said. The cuts would save California $750 million for the year. McLear added that state workers are under contract, meaning layoffs would be a slow process. Schwarzenegger and lawmakers are discussing alternatives to avoid the scenario.

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Running short of cash, California last month started delaying $3.5 billion in payments to taxpayers, contractors, counties and social service agencies so the state could continue funding schools and making debt payments.

A recent poll reported a record number of Californians see their state heading in the wrong direction and expect the economy to go from bad to worse. Seventy-five percent of Californians polled said the state is going down the wrong path and 77 percent think the economy will deteriorate further in the year ahead, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll released January 29. Only 30 percent approve of Schwarzenegger’s handling of the budget and the economy, the poll said. The legislature fared worse: 14 percent of Californians approve of its performance on the budget and taxes; 15 percent approve of its handling of jobs and the economy.

U.S. official: North Korea might be making missile preparations

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, right, in an undated photo that the state news agency released Saturday.
A U.S. spy satellite snapped an image within the last several days of preparations at a North Korean missile site previously used for Taepodong-2 missile launch operations, a senior U.S. official told CNN Tuesday.

The photograph shows North Korea assembling telemetry equipment at the site — equipment that would be needed for a launch to take place, the official said, adding that so far, there is no direct evidence of a missile being moved to the launch pad. Telemetry equipment involves sophisticated electronics used to monitor missile launches. The official said if North Korea moves a missile to the area, it would be a cause for concern and could place the U.S. missile defense site in Alaska on alert. “It would get folks spun up,” the official said. The last time equipment was assembled at the location, it resulted in the launch of a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile in 2006. The Taepodong-2 is believed to have a range of about 2,500 miles, making it capable of striking Alaska. In the 2006 test, the missile failed 40 seconds after launching. Asked about the matter at a Tuesday press conference, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: “Well, since the first time that they launched the missile, it flew for a few minutes before crashing, the range of the Taepodong-2 remains to be seen. So far, it’s very short.

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“I’m not going to get into intelligence reports, but it would be nice if North Korea would focus on getting positive messages across to the — to its negotiating partners about verification and moving forward with the denuclearization.” The development also comes as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepares to head to Asia, where she will consult with U.S. allies about how to jump-start stalled nuclear talks with North Korea. On Tuesday, days before the trip is scheduled to start, Clinton said the United States will continue six-party diplomacy aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear program. She also warned Pyongyang about provocative action against its neighbors. “We are hopeful that some of the behavior that we have seen coming from North Korea in the last few weeks is … not a precursor of any action that would up the ante, or threaten the stability and peace and security of the neighbors in the region,” Clinton told reporters. Tension between South Korean and North Korea has increased in recent weeks, with North Korea announcing it will scrap peace agreements with the South, warning of a war on the Korean peninsula and threatening to test a missile capable of hitting the Western United States. “I know of the continuing concern on the part of the other members of the six-party talks with respect to North Korea’s attitude in the last weeks, and I’ll be talking with our counterparts to determine the most effective way forward,” Clinton said.

Winds continue to spread Australia’s wildfires

Firefighters try to stop a Kiewa Valley fire from reaching the town of Dederang in the Victoria Alps on Tuesday.
Winds whipping across southeastern Australia’s countryside continued to fan deadly brushfires Wednesday, spreading flames through rural towns and ravaging scores of homes.

“The temperatures are much cooler, but the concern is there’s still this wind which sort of fans the flames and keeps them spreading,” said CNN Correspondent John Vause from Whittlesea, where tent cities have sprung up just north of Melbourne. Relief agencies pitched camps for those forced out of their homes. At least 181 people have died from the brushfires. Weekend fires ravaged the towns of Marysville and Kinglake, officials said. More than 20 fires were burning Wednesday. Frustration also brewed as residents desperately wanted to return to their homes, or what was left of them, but were prevented by authorities because of safety concerns. The toll from Saturday’s inferno has grown day by day. Police in the state of Victoria put the number of deaths from the fires at 181 on Tuesday. Watch survivors coping with the grief » “We think there will be more deaths,” Police Chief Christine Nixon said. “It’s a major issue … that we’re finding more bodies as we gain access to locations.” But there was hope. Watch an emotional reunion for a couple separated during the bushfires » “We don’t muck around in this country. It will be back to the same in 18 months,” said Ash Phelin, a volunteer worker helping displaced families. “It might not look the same. It’ll be a bit burnt. But it’ll be back.” Photos: Bushfires leave path of destruction » The scope and scale of the fire brought Monique Locklier to help her bush mates. “It’s up the road from where we live,” she said. “It’s the worst tragedy we’ve ever seen and I hope we never see it again.” iReport.com: ‘Thank God we were spared’ Charitable contributions continued to pour into the Salvation Army as Australians were touched by the crisis. “We’re in the midst of this huge financial crisis and people want to give,” Major Rodney Barnard said. “The Salvation Army has been running an appeal and we’ve raised in excess of AU$2 million (US$1.3 million).”

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The need for humanitarian aid is expected to be great, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd laying out the costs of the fires before Parliament. In addition to those killed, more than 500 people were injured, nearly 1,000 homes were destroyed, thousands were left homeless and 365,000 hectares (901,935 acres) of the Australian countryside have been burnt black, he said. See a map of the area » “The seventh of February will become etched in our national memory as a day of disaster, of death and of mourning,” Rudd said, as he announced that offers of assistance had poured in from around the world, including from France, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. “All Victorians and all Australians should know that in this darkest hour, they are not alone,” he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote letters to Rudd expressing their condolences.

“I would like to express my deep, profound sympathy to you, the families and loved ones of the victims, and the Australian people,” Merkel wrote. “To the wounded I wish a quick and full recovery.” Sarkozy also offered his support and suggested that the French island territory of New Caledonia in the Pacific could be used as a staging ground for supplies to Australia.

U.S. concerned about Chinese blogger

Days before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Asia on her first international trip, the State Department Tuesday voiced concern about an imprisoned Chinese blogger whose trial has been indefinitely delayed.

“We are disturbed that prominent Chinese human rights activist Huang Qi remains in detention,” acting deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid told CNN. “We call on the Chinese government to release Mr. Huang as soon as possible.” Huang was detained last June after working working to help the families of children killed in the May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake because of the collapse of shoddily constructed school buildings, Duguid said. He was charged with illegal possession of state secrets after posting the appeals and complaints of the families online. Huang’s trial was scheduled for February 3 but was indefinitely postponed a day before it was supposed to start. Duguid says the United States has raised its concerns about the case several times with Chinese officials in Washington and Beijing and have requested permission to send an official to attend his trial. In addition to releasing Huang, Duguid called on China to “ensure that all legal and administrative proceedings against him are conducted in a manner that is both transparent and consistent with Chinese law and international human rights norms.

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“Mr. Huang has consistently worked within China’s legal system to protect the rights of his fellow citizens,” Duguid said. “We believe these types of activities support China’s efforts to institute the rule of law. The U.S. concern about Huang come in advance of Clinton’s visit to China next week, when acting spokesman Robert Wood said she will raise long-standing concerns about China’s poor human rights record. “On this trip, human rights is going to be an important issue,” Wood said, but declined to give details about any specific cases Clinton would raise with Chinese officials. The Obama administration is already facing criticism for not making good on its pledge to make human rights a priority, refusing to participate in a United Nations review of the human rights records of several major countries. The U.N. Human Rights Council is reviewing the records of 16 countries with shoddy human rights records, including China and Indonesia — two countries Clinton will visit on her swing through Asia. The State Department said Tuesday that U.S. officials are sitting in on the Geneva meetings and taking notes but are not taking part in the discussions, which has prompted criticism from Congress and human rights groups. “I was shocked and disappointed to learn that for the last week, the U.S. delegation has been silent,” said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Virginia, a leading advocate of human rights in Congress. Wolf said the United States “is off to the wrong start on making human rights a priority,” adding he planned to write to Clinton to take a strong stand on the matter when she visits Beijing. Wood promised that human rights remained a top priority but said that the administration was reviewing its stance toward the human rights council, which was criticized by the Bush administration as coddling countries which abused human rights while focusing on criticizing Israel.