Joplin Storm Kills

Missouri tornado: Joplin storm kills dozens

At least 89 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a tornado tore through the city of Joplin in the US state of Missouri, officials have said. Joplin official Mark Rohr said the storm cut a path six miles (10km) long. Homes and businesses were flattened and a damaged hospital had to be evacuated. Power lines are down and telephone connections are largely cut off. The Governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, has declared a state of emergency and warned that more storms are on the way. Cities in three other Midwestern states have also been badly affected. At least one person was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Last month, tornadoes and storms killed at least 350 people in Alabama and six other southern states.

Tornado in Joplin

Tornado in Joplin

89 dead after tornado in Joplin, Missouri; number expected to rise

A tornado that chewed through a densely populated area of Joplin, Missouri killed at least 89 people as it tore apart homes and businesses, ripped into a high school and caused severe damage to one of the two hospitals in the city, officials said Monday.

As many as a quarter of the buildings in the southwest Missouri city suffered major or significant damage, fire and emergency management officials said.

Parts of the city were unrecognizable, according to Steve Polley, a storm chaser from Kansas City, Missouri, who described the damage from the Sunday night tornado as "complete devastation."

Joplin Fire Chief Mitch Randles said he believes people were still trapped in buildings Monday morning. Authorities warned the death toll was likely to rise.

Complicating the situation, broken natural gas lines caused fires overnight throughout the city of 50,500, Gov. Jay Nixon said.

Survivors tell their stories

"It's going to be a stark view as people see dawn rise in Joplin," he said.
Tornado rips Missouri town apart
Tornado damage in Waverly, Missouri
Tornado devastates neighborhood
'We are going to need a lot of help'

The tornado struck shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday. It overturned 10 tractor-trailers on Interstate 44 as it barreled through the town, a major trucking center.

"The particular area that the tornado went through is just like the central portion of the city, and it's very dense in terms of population," Joplin Emergency Management Director Keith Stammer said on CNN's "American Morning."

A 1/2- to 1-mile stretch of the city was affected, including residential and commercial districts, city spokeswoman Lynn Onstot said.

Aerial footage from CNN affiliate KOTV showed houses reduced to lumber and smashed cars sitting atop heaps of wood. Some structures were engulfed in flames.

Amber Gonzales was driving through southwest Missouri when she heard tornado warnings on the radio. She took refuge at a gas station before getting back on the road and seeing the aftermath of what she narrowly missed.

At a shopping center, she saw people pulling people from rubble and rushing them to the hospital as overwhelmed emergency workers were unable to reach everyone in need.

"I saw an older woman taken on the back of a truck bed, speeding down the road," Gonzales said. "I can't get the lady out of my mind. ... I don't know if she made it."

Nixon dispatched a specialized search-and-rescue team to the city, along with 100 National Guard troops and state troopers from other parts of the state. City officials said they were being supported by at least 40 public safety agencies from Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Mike O'Connell, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said Sunday night that authorities were trying to get additional search-and-rescue teams to the area.

Taliban say Mullah Omar safe and sound

Afghan Taliban say leader Mullah Omar "safe and sound"

The Afghan Taliban rejected as "propaganda" on Monday unsourced media reports that their reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been killed in Pakistan, saying he was alive and in Afghanistan and vowing to continue their insurgency.

Security officials in Pakistan and diplomats, U.S. military commanders and government officials in Afghanistan all cast doubt on reports that Omar, one of the most-wanted men in the world, had been killed while traveling between Quetta and North Waziristan in Pakistan.

"He is in Afghanistan safe and sound," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. "We strongly reject these baseless allegations that Mullah Mohammad Omar has been killed."

"This is the propaganda by the enemy to weaken the morale of fighters."

A spokesman for the Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said its sources knew that Mullah Omar had been living in the Pakistani town of Quetta in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan but had recently gone missing.

"We can confirm that he has been disappeared from his hideout in Quetta in Baluchistan for the last four or five days," NDS spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told a news conference.

"We can't confirm if he is dead or alive."

The heavily bearded, one-eyed Omar is rarely seen in public.

With a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, he fled with the rest of the Afghan Taliban leadership to Quetta after their government was toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001. They formed the "Quetta shura," or leadership council.

The Taliban were overthrown for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Bin Laden was killed by a U.S. Navy SEAL team in a garrison town not far from the Pakistan capital, Islamabad, on May 2, ending a search that had dragged on for more than 10 years.

Bin Laden's killing came as a blow to an already splintered al Qaeda, but its effect on loosely allied groups like the Afghan and Pakistan Taliban movements has been less clear.

"CUNNING ENEMY"

In Afghanistan, the Taliban have already vowed to step up attacks as part of their long-awaited spring offensive they call "Operation Badar" -- named for a decisive 7th century Muslim battle -- and violence has spiked with a series of assaults on major targets in recent days.

They said the rumors of Mullah Omar's death would not stop their fighters from continuing attacks.

"The enemy, with these kinds of rumors, is trying to halt the devastating waves of 'Badar' operations and is trying to create confusion amongst mujahideen, countrymen and faithful Muslims," the Taliban said in an emailed statement.

"Our nation is an intelligent nation, which is aware of the tricks and lies of the devious and cunning enemy," it said.

A senior Pakistani security official also said he could not confirm media reports, including on Afghanistan's private TV station TOLO, that Omar had been killed by members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency.

According to one media report, former ISI chief Hamid Gul had been moving Omar from Quetta to North Waziristan when Omar was killed, although Gul denied the report.

Mullah Omar Killed in Pakistan

Mullah Omar Killed in Pakistan

Mullah Omar's death in Pakistan are greatly exaggerated: Taliban

A report that the mysterious, one-eyed Taliban leader Mullah Omar has been killed led to staunch denials by the militant group Monday, which claimed he is alive and well.

Afghan news channel Tolo, citing intelligence sources, reported that Omar was shot dead in Pakistan while being moved to a tribal area that is a known refuge to militants.

But a Taliban spokesman said the report was false.

"This is absolutely wrong. It's only propaganda and we completely deny theses rumors," said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. "He is inside Afghanistan and he is busy directing military operations with his commanders."

The report stated that a former Pakistani intelligence chief, Gen. Hamid Gul, had been helping Omar relocate when he was killed.

Gul also said the report was bogus.

"This is propaganda, sheer deception, disinformation," he said. "I have never met him. I've never seen him. No contact whatsoever."

The report comes amid heightened speculation that the U.S. would move quickly to rout out Taliban and Al Qaeda leadership based off intelligence gained in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.

U.S. and NATO officials said they were aware of the report but could neither confirm nor deny it.

Afghan intelligence officials confirmed that they believed Omar had been moved to North Waziristan two days ago and had been silent since then.

"Since the transfer, our sources tell us that there has been no contact between Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Taliban," said spokesman Latifullah Mashal.

NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz said Taliban claims of responsibility for several recent attacks in Afghanistan - including at a military hospital - were inflated.

"The Taliban falsely claimed responsibility because in their weakened state, they need to project that they still have power and relevance," he said.

Osama Compound Details

Osama compound Information

The Bin Laden compound was identified by US intelligence sources as long ago as last summer - after a courier trusted by the Al-Qaeda leader to keep him in touch with the outside world was spotted in Abbottabad. The compound is on the outskirts of the town of Abbottabad, a hill town, 35 miles north of Islamabad, at the end of what was then a relatively isolated dirt road. Other homes have since been built in the area, which is described as a wealthy suburb, home to many retired military officials. Security was clearly an issue for the owner. The compound is surrounded by 12-18ft walls, topped with barbed wire. Access to it is restricted by two security gates and the residents burnt their rubbish - rather than put it out for collection. The main structure, a three-story building, has few windows facing the outside of the compound. A terrace on the third floor has a seven-foot wall around it. Intelligence analysts concluded that the compound was custom built to hide someone of significance. It is valued at approximately $1million, but has no phone or internet connections. The courier who eventually led the way to Bin Laden's home was first identified four years ago, but it took another two years before US sources were able to establish the areas of Pakistan where he operated.

Japan Loss Reports

Japan loss reports

Japan Loss after earthquake, tsunami

Tokyo: Hammered by a nuclear accident at its Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Friday reported a net loss of 1.2 trillion yen ($15.4 billion) for the fiscal year that ended March 31.

Tokyo Electric also announced it will decommission reactors Nos. 1-4 at Fukushima Daiichi. It also has canceled plans to build two other reactors at the site.

In addition to the company's earnings, Tokyo Electric president Masataka Shimizu announced his resignation Friday, which must be approved by the board of directors at a June meeting.

"The accident compromised our confidence in the safety of nuclear power," Shimizu said. "We have caused problems and anxiety to the public."

Managing Director Toshio Nishizawa has been tapped to replace the president.

"We are facing the gravest crisis in the history of the company," Nishizawa said. "I feel the enormous gravity of the responsibility to assume the position of the president ... so I accepted the position."

Vice Presidents Sakae Mutoh and Makio Fujiwara also tendered their resignations, as did Director Tomijirou Morita.

A restructuring plan was announced to boost company finances and help create more than a trillion yen in savings by selling off real estate, cutting pay and reducing staff.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant has faced a series of setbacks since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11. The disasters triggered a glitch in the plant's cooling system, and caused radiation to leak.

As crews work to bring the problems under control, the government said this week it would compensate more than 78,000 displaced by the nuclear disaster.

Tokyo Electric has made a down payment on compensation of 1 million yen (about $12,000) per household to some families.

Some analysts say total compensation could amount to more than 10 trillion yen ($124 billion).

The government has set no ceiling on the compensation and Tokyo Electric will be required to pay back the money spent out of a government-backed fund.

The shadow cast by Fukushima Daiichi has inflicted yet-unknown losses on farmers, fishermen and shopkeepers. And looming compensation costs have darkened the future of Tokyo Electric, a $157 billion company that could still be driven into some form of government receivership by the nuclear disaster.

Rejects Obama

Israeli PM Netanyahu rejects Obama '1967 borders' view

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected comments from US President Obama that a future Palestinian state must be based on the 1967 borders. In a major speech to the state department, Mr Obama said "mutually agreed swaps" would help create "a viable Palestine, and a secure Israel". But Mr Netanyahu said those borders, which existed before the 1967 Middle East war, were "indefensible". Mr Netanyahu is preparing to meet Mr Obama for talks at the White House. An estimated 300,000 Israelis live in settlements built in the West Bank, which lies outside those borders. The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Relates Osama Bin Laden

Relates Osama Bin Laden

Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama Bin Laden is dead, US President Barack Obama has announced
US forces took possession of Bin Laden's body after "a firefight"
He was discovered living in a compound in a town some 100km from Islamabad
His body has been buried at sea
The White House says it will not release a picture of Bin Laden's body, amid concerns it could prove inflammatory
Osama Bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot by US forces in Pakistan, but he resisted efforts to capture him alive, US officials say
US forces had faced immediate and sustained resistance from many other people in the compound who were armed, the White House adds
Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US special forces on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, some 100km from Islamabad. His body was buried at sea
White House counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan says material seized during the raid in Abbottabad could provide leads to the whereabouts of Ayman al-Zawihiri, thought to be al-Qaeda's deputy leader
US President Barack Obama has hailed the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden as a "good day for America"
Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US special forces on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, some 100km from Islamabad. His body has been buried at sea
He is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, as well as a number of other deadly bombings, and topped the US "most wanted" list
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has denied that the killing of Bin Laden in his country is a sign of its failure to tackle terrorism.
The director of the CIA has said the US decided not to share information with Pakistan, fearing Bin Laden could be tipped off.

osama bin laden dead

Osama bin laden dead body

Al-Qaeda confirm death of Osama bin Laden

Barack Obama last night shook the hand of the man who killed Osama bin Laden.

The US president met the US Navy Seals team which executed the al-Qaeda chief and praised their mission as “one of the greatest intelligence and military operations in our nation’s history”.

After a private visit to Fort Campbell in Kentucky, where he awarded the Seal Team Six crack troops the Presidential Unit Citation – the highest honour that can go to a military unit – Mr Obama said: “They practised tirelessly. When I gave the order, they were ready. We have cut off their head and we will ultimately defeat them. This was a chance for me to say on behalf of Americans and people around the world ‘job well done’.”

His visit came on the day al-Qaeda chiefs formally confirmed bin Laden’s death – and vowed bloody revenge on the US and its allies. The fanatics pledged to never give up Jihad and, in a chilling warning, claimed bin Laden’s “blood is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain”.

As hundreds of bin Laden followers clashed with right-wing extremists outside the US Embassy in London, a spokesman for al-Qaeda pronounced via the internet: “Bin Laden’s blood will remain, with permission from Allah the Almighty, a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries.

“Their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears. We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves... and in general to cleanse their country from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it.”

As al-Qaeda confirmed the death of their leader – crushing conspiracy theories that he was still alive – it emerged yesterday that bin Laden was running out of money in the weeks before he was killed by US special forces. The once-wealthy Saudi blew millions to fund al-Qaeda plots and training camps, while the CIA and other global counter-terror spook agencies had spent the past 10 years painstakingly freezing bank accounts linked to bin Laden.

Locals say the al-Qaeda mastermind’s “million dollar mansion” where he was killed in Pakistan was worth £150,000 – less than the price of the average home in Britain.

A senior Pakistani intelligence official told reporters: “Osama bin Laden was cash-strapped in his final days. He had no money.”

Experts estimate there still could be as much as £180million hidden around the globe by al-Qaeda’s financiers in mystery accounts and property holdings.

An intelligence report seen by the Mirror also contradicts claims that Pakistani intelligence did not know about bin Laden’s presence. It says: “Contrary to statements released by Pakistani intelligence agencies denying any knowledge of the occupants of the Abbottabad compound raided by American Special Forces units on May 1, there is evidence the occupants of the compound housing Osama bin Laden were well known to Pakistani intelligence from the time the purpose-built building was being constructed.” Sources also claimed al-Qaeda had been split into two – the largest faction run by bin Laden’s No2, Egyptian-born Ayman al-Zawahiri.

As revealed by the Mirror, al-Zawahiri is being hunted by a shadowy US special forces network called the Intelligence Support Agency.

Meanwhile, a “funeral service” for the dead al-Qaeda boss in London yesterday turned to violence. Right-wing English Defence League members chanted “USA, USA” as supporters knelt to pray for bin Laden at the opposite end of the highly secured US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, Central London.

Police officers then moved in to quell trouble as angry Islamic fanatics chanted in response: “American leaders are murderers.”

Abu Muaz, 28, from East London, raged: “It is only a matter of time before another atrocity – the West is the enemy.”

An ambulance was called amid reports one of the extremists had been attacked. The event was organized by hate-preacher Anjem Choudary – ex-UK leader of the outlawed al-Muhajiroun and member of the “poppy-burning” Muslims Against Crusades – who called on Mr Obama to return bin Laden’s body to relatives.

He has already warned of another 7/7-style attack in the wake of bin Laden’s death.

Britain has followed the US in placing its embassies and military bases around the world on heightened alert in recent days.

The head of the UK’s Armed Forces said yesterday that bin Laden’s death sent out a vital message. General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, who was yesterday made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath by the Queen at Windsor Castle, said: “This is definitely a positive. It will remind like-minded people wherever they are that one day their deeds will catch up with them.”

National security adviser Sir Peter Ricketts, who was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George at the same ceremony, added: “This is not the end but a big step forwards. This has been an extraordinary week in the fight against terrorism.”