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The massive Coalition assault on Musa Qala, dubbed Operation Mar Kardad (Snake Pit), scored its first series of casualties against the swarm of Taliban and foreign fighters entrenched in the city center. A targeted air strike killed a local commander known to be involved in arm and drug trafficking along with several of his aids, according to a US military statement. The three pronged assault on the city’s outskirts was launched yesterday with thousands of Afghan army and British troops along with US, Danish and Estonian forces taking part in the operation.Local Taliban commanders have previouslyclaimed having nearly 2,000...

Gaza resident speaks out against factional fighting, says situation in Gaza was better when Israel was in charge Aviram Zino Published: 06.16.07, 00:06 / Israel News “I’m afraid to say this out loud, they may execute me for it, but there are a lot of people, including myself, who think it would be better if Israel came back here. Things would be much better than they are now,” said Samara (alias), a graduate of the Islamic University living in the Gaza Strip. According to Samara, who lives nearby one of the Fatah strongholds taken over by Hamas in recent days,...

Fancy a holiday with a difference? Ramzan Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed warlord who became prime minister of Chechnya last year, has declared the lawless province open for tourism.Twelve years of intermittent but brutal war may have all but devastated it, flattening its capital, Grozny, and destroying what little tourist infrastructure there was. But that failed to deter Mr Kadyrov yesterday from revealing his dream of welcoming Western tourists to a region synonymous with kidnapping. Until the hotels were rebuilt, his government said, tourists wanting to holiday in Chechnya could always camp. Mr Kadyrov's drive to "create interest for tourist visits", drew...

The Pope has told the prime minister to pursue diplomatic solutions to problems in the Middle East, including Iran. Tony Blair had a private audience with pontiff Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Saturday at the end of a week-long trip to Italy. The two leaders discussed how "moderate voices" from the world's main religions need to work together to tackle extremism and reduce the risk of terrorism, according to Number 10. As well as the Middle East, Iran and Iraq, they also covered the fight against poverty in Africa in their first meeting since the Pope succeeded John Paul...

What's the deal with all the dead scientists?