Thousands flee life made ‘worse than hell’ by violence in Pakistan

Young and old, poor and prosperous, sick and healthy — residents of Pakistan’s Swat Valley continue to flee the violence that has erupted there as the military clashes with the Taliban. Those who have fled tell of the whole valley being turned into a battlefield as citizens run away, many of them with no shoes and some elderly. They fall ill from sun and heat exposure — particularly infants and those already weak and sick — as they flee.

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Pakistan intensifies offensive against militants in northwest

Pakistan intensified its military operation to regain control of the country’s northwest from Taliban militants, with fighting focused on the largest city in the Swat Valley on Sunday. Troops were engaged in street battles with militants in Mingora, the gateway into the valley

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Pakistan denies increasing capability to make nukes

Pakistan’s information minister denied accusations Wednesday that his country is expanding its capability to produce nuclear weapons. This week, the Institute for Science and International Security published a report with satellite imagery that the group says shows expansion of “Pakistan’s key military and civilian fuel cycle site near Dera Ghazi Khan.” “If there is any construction over there, I don’t verify it,” Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said of the allegations.

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Pakistan govt.: More than 1,000 militants killed in NW offensive

A military offensive to rid Pakistan’s northwest of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters has killed more than 1,000 militants since it began in full force earlier this month, the country’s interior ministry said Sunday.

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Fawcett tells Candy Spelling: ‘I’m going to be alright’

Farrah Fawcett, the actress known worldwide for her beauty and her role on "Charlie’s Angels," is reportedly seriously ill and may be close to death after a long battle with cancer. The two are closely tied to a Brussels-based al Qaeda recruiting network, Belgian counter-terrorism officials have told CNN. They are Bassam Ayachi, 62, and Raphael Gendron, 33 — and they were detained in the port of Bari on November 11 last year after allegedly trying to smuggle three Palestinians and two Syrians into Italy in the false bottom of a camper van they were driving

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Italy arrests linked to Brussels ‘al Qaeda’ recruiting network

European intelligence agencies are on alert for new al Qaeda terrorist plots following the arrest of two men at an Italian port and investigations into the activities of an alleged al Qaeda network based in Brussels. The two are closely tied to a Brussels-based al Qaeda recruiting network, Belgian counter-terrorism officials have told CNN. They are Bassam Ayachi, 62, and Raphael Gendron, 33 — and they were detained in the port of Bari on November 11 last year after allegedly trying to smuggle three Palestinians and two Syrians into Italy in the false bottom of a camper van they were driving

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