Journalist Held In Iran Returns To The U.S.

American journalist who spent four months in an Iranian prison was greeted Friday afternoon with cheers and hugs from friends as she returned to the United States.

Roxana Saberi, who has reported for NPR, told fellow reporters upon her arrival that singing the national anthem helped keep her going. "And it may sound corny, but I'm so happy to be home in the land of the free."

The 32-year-old journalist spoke briefly with reporters after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport with her parents and a family friend.

She spent a week in Vienna recuperating after being released from prison in Iran. Asked how she was feeling, she said, "Very good."

"I wish I could personally thank all those who supported me during my 100 days in prison," she said. Among those she thanked were President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, North Dakota lawmakers, human rights groups and the Japanese government.

Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, N.D., and moved to Iran six years ago, has dual citizenship.

She planned to spend a few days in the capital before returning to her home state of North Dakota, according to Rep. Earl Pomeroy, a Democrat from the state, who issued a statement saying he was eager to welcome her home.

Saberi was arrested in late January and convicted of spying for the United States in a closed-door trial that her Iranian-born father said lasted only 15 minutes.

She was freed May 11 and reunited with her parents, who had come to Iran to seek her release, after an appeals court reduced her sentence to two years suspended.

The United States had said the charges against Saberi were baseless and repeatedly demanded her release. The case against her had become an obstacle to Obama's attempts at dialogue with the top U.S. adversary in the Middle East.

Saberi had worked as a freelance journalist for several organizations including the British Broadcasting Corp.

After her arrest, Iranian authorities initially accused her of working without press credentials, but they later leveled the far more serious charge of spying. Iran released few details about the allegations that she passed intelligence to the U.S.

Iran summit with Afghanistan, Pakistan on Sunday

22. May 2009, 03:31 by Farhad Pouladi
TEHRAN (AFP) – A delayed summit hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts will now go ahead in Tehran on Sunday, diplomatic sources said.

The sources confirmed the participation of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai in the summit, which will discuss the rebuilding of war-shattered Afghanistan.

The meeting had been expected to go ahead on May 19 but was postponed due to the heavy programme of Zardari.

Iran's ambassador to Islamabad, Mashallah Shakeri, was quoted Friday on the website of Iranian state-run television as saying Zardari would arrive in Tehran on Saturday to take part in the following day's summit.

His comments were confirmed in Islamabad by Pakistani foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit.

"President Zardari is going to Iran. He will attend the summit in Tehran on May 24," Basit said.

Afghanistan's ambassador to Tehran, Mohammad Yahya Ma'aroufi, Friday confirmed Karzai's participation.

"President Hamid Karzai will arrive in Tehran on Sunday May 24 to take part in the meeting," the ambassador told AFP.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said that the summit would be held in Tehran at "the beginning of the coming week," without specifying the day. Saturday is the beginning of the week in Iran.

The Tehran talks are expected to discuss efforts to rebuild Iran's eastern neighbour which is battling a resurgent Taliban insurgency and also to explore ways to rein in the rising violence in Pakistan.

Ahmadinejad, Karzai and Zardari met less than three months ago in the Iranian capital Tehran for a regional economic summit, along with leaders of other neighbouring states.

That summit pledged to help rebuild Afghanistan, and also the Gaza Strip after Israel's devastating offensive at the turn of the year.

The administration of US President Barack Obama has been working towards engaging Tehran in efforts to rebuild Afghanistan.

Iran had also attended a US-backed international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague on March 31.

Engaging Iran is part of Obama's strategy to secure the help of all Afghanistan's neighbours in reconstructing the Muslim country.

Iran has not had diplomatic relations with the US for nearly three decades, and was included in former president George W. Bush's so-called "axis of evil" along with North Korea and Iraq.

Despite their rivalry, Washington and Tehran are both sworn enemies of the Taliban, a extremist Sunni Muslim militia initially backed by Pakistan, that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Shiite Iran, which has close ethnic and religious ties with Afghanistan, has long suffered from the effects of opium production in its eastern neighbour, with easily available heroin fuelling a big rise in drug use at home.

Afghanistan is the source of 90 percent of the world's heroin.

• Pakistani troops battle Taliban in Swat Afghanistan News.Net

  Pakistani troops have begun street battles with entrenched Taliban forces in Mingora, the main town in northwestern Swat district, an army spokesman said Saturday.

• Gilani warns of Taliban retaliation across Pakistan Afghanistan News.Net

  The gruesome car bombing in Peshawar Friday was not entirely unexpected and the Taliban could attempt to stage more such attacks in retaliation to the military operations being conducted against them in Pakistan's restive northwest, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said here Saturday.

• Next 12 to 18 months in Afghanistan, Pakistan critical says U.S. military Afghanistan News.Net

  The next 12 to 18 months are critical to the success of the new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy, a senior military official said Friday.

• Troops kill 60 militants in Afghanistan Afghanistan News.Net

  Kabul, (Xinhua) Sixty Taliban militants have been killed in clashes with the Afghan and US-led coalition troops in southern Helmand province, officials said Saturday.

• Mullen pays tribute to families of fallen soldiers Afghanistan News.Net

  There’s no responsibility in the military community more important than caring for families who have lost loved ones to war, the chairman of the Joint U.S. Chiefs of Staff said at National Harbor, Maryland, Friday.

• Afghan floods kill 250 people Afghanistan News.Net

  ... people have died in flash floods in different parts of Afghanistan, a media report said Saturday.

• Car bomb, clashes kill 30 people in Pakistan Afghanistan News.Net

  At least 30 people died in the ongoing military offensive against the Taliban in northwest Pakistan and an explosion outside a cinema Friday that is believed to be in retaliation to the army operation.

• Afghan Spring Dangerous Season For U.S. Forces NPR

  2009 · In an ongoing military operation in southern Helmand Province, U.S. Special Forces have killed at least 14 Taliban fighters and destroyed tons of heroin and processing...

• Few in Kandahar aware of Afghanistan CTV

  The Canadian Press - Many residents of Kandahar appear to know nothing about the country's key upcoming national elections. That's the conclusion of an informal survey today...

• Iran fully backs Afghan government IRNA

  Irna – Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday that the government of President Hamid Karzai should be supported.
• Taliban driven from road but still in hills Boston Herald

  D AGAR, Pakistan — Army trucks rumbled through a destroyed market a few miles down the road, passing a charred gas station where a Taliban suicide bomber killed four soldiers a few weeks ago...

• Germany to boost Afghan military aid IRNA

  ... million euros for rebuilding the Afghan army amid the deteriorating security situation in the war-stricken country, the weekly Focus news...

• Two NATO soldiers, 60 Taliban killed in Afghanistan - Summary

Sri Lanka's new chapter

The authorities in the capital of Sri Lanka have declared the rebel leader of the Tamil Tigers, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, dead and the war over. Chris Morris reflects on the life of Prabhakaran and considers whether there can now be reconciliation.

I was somewhat sceptical when the letter dropped onto my doormat in Colombo.

A summons to the fourth floor of CID (Criminal Investigation Department) headquarters.

"We've been asked to question you," it said, "about the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi."

A few months after the former Indian prime minister was killed by a suicide bomber at an election rally, I had interviewed the man thought to be behind the murder - the leader of the Tamil Tigers, Vellupillai Prabhakaran.

I had asked him why he had Rajiv Gandhi killed, and he had denied any involvement. India did not believe him, and neither did I.

The fourth floor of CID headquarters had a bit of a reputation back then. Rumours of people falling from windows. But they were polite enough with me. We had tea and biscuits.

"Where did you meet Prabhakaran," they wanted to know. "What was he like?"

It was a house in the Jaffna peninsula, with bodyguards as big as palm trees.

Pakistan army 'in Taliban city'

Barbara Plett, BBC News, Swat Clearly, the army has been bolstered by political support. "There is a national will," Maj Gen Ghani said. "The operations have been endorsed by parliament, the entire nation is behind this operation." And this time the army will stay to provide a security umbrella so that the police and civil administration have time to recover. Pakistan army vows Swat victoryierce fighting is taking place between Pakistani troops and Taliban militants in Mingora, the main city in the militant-controlled Swat valley. At least 17 militants have been killed in the clashes, the army says. The Taliban deny the deaths. The push into Mingora is seen as a key phase of an offensive aimed at crushing the militants, whose influence extends across a wide area of the north-west. The fighting began after a peace deal broke down earlier this month. See a map of the region "Street fights have begun," Maj Gen Athar Abbas told reporters. "It is a difficult operation because we have to make a house-to-house search. We have cleared some of the area in the city."

Iran's Ahmadinejad rallies supporters

A low turnout favours President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun the campaign for June's presidential election with a defiant speech against Iran's enemies.

Addressing a rally in the south of the capital, Tehran, President Ahmadinejad appealed to Iranian patriotism.

He compared Iran's enemies to "dogs", saying: "If you retreat, they attack; if you attack they retreat."

Mr Ahmadinejad's main opponent, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has attacked the president's handling of the economy.

Already, on the first day of campaigning, the battle lines have been clearly drawn.

In contrast to President Ahmadinejad's defiant speech, Mr Mousavi used a television appearance to criticise the government for producing high inflation and high unemployment.

Later on Saturday Mr Mousavi is due to speak at a major rally in Tehran's main football stadium in an attempt to inspire a revival of the fervour that swept reformists to power in 1997.

The biggest challenge for those trying to unseat President Ahmadinejad is to overcome apathy and a widespread disillusionment with the political system.

The lower the turnout, the more likely Mr Ahmadinejad is to remain in power.

Pakistani troops storm Swat town

About 15,000 soldiers are believed to be fighting 4,000 Taliban in Swat valley [AFP] Pakistani soldiers have entered the main town in the Swat valley and engaged in fierce street battles with Taliban fighters, the military has said. Major-General Athar Abbas, a Pakistani military spokesman, said on Saturday that troops had killed at least 17 Taliban fighters as they moved into in Mingora. "Street fights have begun," Abbas said. "We have cleared some of the area in the city." Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from the capital, Islamabad, said that the urban battles now being fought by the Pakistani infantry marked a new phase in the conflict in North West Frontier Province. "The army is telling us that street fighting will be one of the key phases of this battle for Mingora, so far they have used heavy artillery and air power to pound Taliban targets," he said. "They say they have already taken control of a main bridge into Mingora and they have also taken control of the main interchange. The battle, they say, is going their way. "But the Taliban know this area very well and it is likely they will have been preparing for this moment for some time. It is likely they will have built tunnels and will know exactly what rooftops to get on." 'Important phase' There were reports that troops had captured and destroyed an explosives-laden vehicle and killed a suspected suicide bomber in the early stages of the fighting. In depth Video: Inside Pakistan's conflict zone Diary: Imran Khan Riz Khan: Obama's 'AfPak' strategy Riz Khan: The battle for the soul of Pakistan Interview: Asif Ali Zardari Q&A: The struggle for Swat Your views: Crisis in Swat The fight for northwest Pakistan Talking to the Taliban Pakistan's war Mingora, the administrative and business hub of Swat, has been under the effective control of Taliban fighters for weeks. There are reports that Mullah Fazlullah, one of the leaders of the Pakistani Taliban is in the town. "Today the most important phase of operation Rah-e-Rast, the clearance of Mingora, has commenced," the military said in a statement on its website. "In the last 24 hours, security forces have entered Mingora; 17 miscreants-terrorists, including important miscreant commander were killed," it said. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, who travelled to the war zone with the Pakistani military, said: "They believe they will be taking the city in the next 34 to 48 hours. "The army says it has secured large areas and that it has hit the militant movement very strongly, but the fact that we are still escorted by helicopter gunships ... indicates that there is still a fear of ongoing action." Civilian fears Many of the 300,000 people who live in Mongora are believed to have fled since the military began its offensive in Swat, Lower Dir and Buner several weeks ago. Abbas said that only 10 per cent of the population remained in the town, but the street-to-street has raised the possibility of civilian casulaties. US-based Human Rights Watch earlier this week quoted residents as saying that the Taliban had mined Mingora and "prevented many civilians from fleeing, using them as human shields to deter attack". It also said Pakistani forces "appeared to have taken insufficient precautionary measures in aerial and artillery attacks that have caused a high loss of civilian life". Military commanders have stressed that they are under orders to avoid collateral damage and avoid using heavy weaponry in built-up areas. The offensive in Swat and surrounding areas in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has triggered an exodus of nearly two million refugees from the region. While some of those displaced have taken refuge in government camps, a majority of them have taken shelter with friends and relatives. The military has said it had inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban, with about 1,000 fighters reported to have been killed. Meanwhile, Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, has played down the suggestion of Asif Ali Zardari, the president, that the military offensive could be extended to the sem-autonomous South Waziristan region. "It is not like this," Gilani said in response to a reporter's question about a possible new front. "We are not foolish to do it everywhere."

FRANKS AND GOODNIGHT

INTIMATE: He runs hand through Spanish beauty's hair

HUG OF LOVE: Elen giggles as the couple get close

LAMPS BEHIND YOU: They smooch by light in street

OUTSIDE WHIRL: Elen and her man share a public kiss

WE'VE AR-RIVE-D: With hunk going into Sanderson hotel

DOOMED: Lampard with Elen before split

ATTRACTIVE: Saskia

By Jennifer Wiley, 17/05/2009

FRANK Lampard's ex has taken revenge on the football star's cheating by publicly flaunting a new hunk.

Elen Rives snogged the man - named today as Stevenage footballer Lawrie Wilson - in the middle of a busy street.

Then they spent the night together at a London hotel. Smouldering pictures of them together will devastate soccer hero Frank Lampard.

They show his ex-fiancée Elen Rives passionately snogging and caressing the hunk - before spending the night with him at a hotel.

The very public display of affection happened last Sunday,