White House report critical of Pakistan's activity against militants

(CNN) -- Despite repeated Obama administration claims in public that Pakistan is working hard to crack down on militants, a private White House review uses unusually tough language to suggest the ally is not doing nearly enough to confront the Taliban and al Qaeda, according to a copy of the report to Congress obtained by CNN.

The report notes that from March to June, the Pakistani military "continued to avoid military engagements that would put it in direct conflict with Afghan Taliban or [al Qaeda] forces in North Waziristan. This is as much a political choice as it is a reflection of an under-resourced military prioritizing its targets".

The report notes bluntly that despite having a presence of 140,000 military and paramilitary personnel, the Pakistani military has been "nonetheless constrained to disrupting and displacing extremist groups without making lasting gains against the insurgency".

The White House assessment is particularly tough on Pakistan's inability to make gains in South Waziristan, where many analysts believe key al Qaeda leaders have gained a safe haven to use as a base to plot terror attacks against Western targets.

"In South Waziristan, the Pakistan military continued to conduct small-scale operations against those militants who did not flee in late 2009," the report says. "But the military largely stayed close to the roads and did not engage against those TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban) militants who returned after fleeing into North Waziristan".

The report also alludes to the repetitive nature of the country making brief progress, only to fall back down, noting that Pakistani military forces recently disrupted insurgent networks in the north. "It is notable that some of these areas had been previously cleared on numerous occasions," it says.

CNN

Sludge cleanup begins in Hungary as search for victims goes on

Devecser, Hungary (CNN) -- Rescue workers searched Wednesday for six elderly people missing at Kolontar, one of three villages in southwest Hungary that was hit Monday by a wave of toxic red sludge from an alumina plant reservoir that burst.

Wearing chemical protection suits, the workers used metal sticks to poke through muck three-feet deep (1 meter) for the presumed victims, reported MTI, Hungary's official news agency.

At least 116 people were injured, eight of them seriously, when the mishap occurred Monday afternoon, the agency said. Most of them were flown to hospitals in the capital, Budapest.

The reservoir has been repaired and the flow from the pool has halted.

But the material that flowed out of the reservoir continued to pose a threat. On Wednesday, more than 500 National Disaster Management Authority staffers and soldiers and employees of Hungarian Aluminum Production and Trade Company (MAL), the company that owns the alumina plant's reservoir, were trying to halt the advance of the sludge before it reaches the Danube River's tributaries, said Jeno Lasztovicza, head of the defense committee, according to MTI.

The sludge had already reached the Marcal River, which flows into the River Raba, which empties into the Danube. It was expected to show up in the Danube as soon as this weekend, said Imre Szakacs, head of Gyor-Moson-Sopron County's defense authority, MTI said.

CNN

Hanoi fireworks explosion kills 4, state news agency reports

(CNN) -- A fireworks explosion in Hanoi, Vietnam, killed four people and injured three others Wednesday morning, state media reported.

The blast happened at 11:04 a.m. when a shipment of fireworks blew up near My Dinh National Stadium, one of 29 sites in the capital city where pyrotechnics were planned for Hanoi's 1,000th anniversary, the official Viet Nam News reported.

The explosion was blamed on "carelessness" during the transport of two containers of fireworks, the news agency said.

CNN

28 dead in Vietnam floods, state media report

(CNN) -- Torrential rain and flash floods has left at least 28 people dead in central Vietnam, state media reported Wednesday.

At least seven people are missing and nine are injured after about 70,000 houses were flooded, VietNamNet reported.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung demanded "urgent measures to deal with the disaster" on Tuesday, the agency said.

More than 900 troops were sent to help with rescue operations, with hundreds of flotation aids, 35 tents, more than 1.5 million tons of food and 2.5 million liters (656,250 gallons) of water.

Central Vietnam has seen record rainfall this week, with some areas getting twice as much rain as is normal for this time of year.

CNN

Illness hampers swimmers at Commonwealth Games

(CNN) -- India's dreaded "Delhi belly" hit a number of top swimming stars as Australia continued to dominate at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday.

England's double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington said she was struggling with illness ahead of Thursday's 800m freestyle final -- an event she won at Beijing in 2008.

Her teammate Fran Halsall almost collapsed on the podium after winning a disappointing bronze in the 100m freestyle and then failing to reach the final of the 100m butterfly.

Australia's Andrew Lauterstein pulled out of the men's 50m butterfly final due to a stomach complaint, but his compatriots won five more golds -- setting three records -- as the country moved to a leading 21 and 46 medals in total on day three of the event.

CNN

Police discussed killing Ecuador's president, radio transmissions show

(CNN) -- Rogue national police who held Ecuador's president captive for 11 hours last week talked about killing him, according to an audio recording the state-run Andes news agency said were police radio transmissions.

President Rafael Correa has called Thursday's police uprising an attempted coup, a characterization supported Wednesday by Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary general of the Organization of American States. Police had taken to the streets to protest government austerity measures they said would limit bonuses and compensation.

Correa had gone to meet with some of the protesters but was surrounded by a heckling crowd that jostled him and hurled insults. Someone then fired a tear gas canister at Correa and a man was seen on TV video punching the president and trying to yank his gas mask off.

Correa was led away and taken to a hospital, where he was held until the military attacked the police and liberated the president several hours later.

The reported police radio transmissions released by the Andes news outlet late Tuesday night took place while Correa was being held at the hospital. CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio material.

CNN

Injury forces Venus to end her year

(CNN) -- Former world No. 1 Venus Williams will miss the rest of the 2010 tennis season due to knee problems, meaning the American is ruled out of the Fed Cup final and the WTA Championships.

The 30-year-old, who is now third in the rankings, has not played since losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last month to eventual winner Kim Clijsters.

"I am very disappointed to announce that I will be unable to play in the season-ending WTA Championships and Fed Cup final," the seven-time Grand Slam champion said in statement carried by the Sports Network website.

"I have been getting treatment and therapy on my knee and have been making progress, but unfortunately must continue to keep weight off my knee for the short term and won't be ready to return to competition in 2010.

CNN

'Better coordination' could have averted Pakistani deaths, panel says

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A top U.S. diplomat apologized to Pakistan after a panel determined that better communication could have averted the deaths of two Pakistani border guards, who were victims of a coalition helicopter attack last week.

Anne W. Patterson, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, apologized to Pakistan on behalf on the American people "for the terrible accident." She promised that the United States "will coordinate" with Pakistan to prevent such incidents.

"We extend our deepest apology to Pakistan and the families of the Frontier Scouts who were killed and injured," she said. "Pakistan's brave security forces are our allies in a war that threatens both Pakistan and the U.S.".

The incident spurred a major headache for the coalition -- Pakistan's closure of the main land route for NATO supplies heading from Pakistan to Afghanistan: the Torkham border crossing.

ISAF said two border forces were killed and four others were wounded on Thursday. Pakistani military sources initially said three died and stood by that number again on Wednesday.

The incident began when ISAF troops saw what it believed was a group of insurgents attempting to fire mortars at a coalition base in the border area of Dand Patan district, Paktiya Province, according to the September 30 news release on the incident.

CNN

Pool-side 'death ray' singes Vegas hotel guest

(CNN) -- "Death rays" sound more like a sci-fi creation than a pool-side concern, but guests soaking up the sun at the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, might want to take cover.

According to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the reflective hotel's south-facing tower can bounce rays that will melt plastic and singe hair at certain times of the day and year.

Visiting lawyer Bill Pintas from Chicago, Illinois, had a scorching encounter and said hotel pool employees told him they call it "the death ray," according to the report.

Pintas, who co-owns a Vdara condo, told the Review-Journal his hair was singed as he was reclining on the pool deck around noon on a mid-September day.

"I was effectively being cooked," Pintas said. "I started running as fast as I could without looking like a lunatic".

The rays also melted the thin plastic bag around his newspaper, Pintas said.

Hotel designers were aware of potential solar "convergence" and applied a film that reduced the problem by about 70 percent before the Vdara opened in December 2009, according to MGM Resorts spokesman Alan Feldman.

"What remains are seasonal hot spots that are most acute of course in the summertime," Feldman said. Historic high temperatures in Las Vegas this summer have intensified the problem.

CNN

Puerto Rico police held in huge FBI anti-drugs sting

US federal agents have arrested more than 70 Puerto Rican police officers on drugs-related charges.

In all more than 120 people have been charged, including prison guards and soldiers.

The US justice department said the arrests followed "the biggest police corruption investigation in the history of the FBI".

About 750 FBI agents were flown into the US Caribbean territory to help round up the suspects.

The justice department said that in all, 89 law enforcement officials had been detained: 60 members of the Puerto Rico police department, 16 municipal police officers and 12 prison officers. Also arrested were three Puerto Rico national guard soldiers, two US army officers, and 30 civilians.

Dealer protection

The charges were the result of 125 undercover drugs transactions conducted by the FBI in Puerto Rico.

Many of the detained police officers are accused of providing armed security for cocaine dealers in return for cash.

"The justice department's commitment to rooting out and eradicating alleged corruption in our law enforcement ranks has never been stronger," said US Attorney General Eric Holder.

BBC News

Britons fight to keep curly-haired Roman helmet

London, England (CNN) -- A detailed and well-preserved Roman parade helmet -- complete with fine facial features on its face mask, tight curly hair, and a griffin-topped cap -- will go up for auction Thursday, five months after it was found in northern England.

The helmet is estimated at £200,000 to £300,000 (about $316,000 to $475,000) but could go for much more when it goes on sale at Christie's auction house in London.

The Tullie House Museum in Carlisle, near where the helmet was found in May by a person with a metal detector, has launched a public fundraising appeal to try to procure the helmet as the centerpiece for a new Roman gallery.

Christie's called the Crosby Garrett helmet -- so named for the village where it was found, about 45 miles south of the Scottish border -- an "extraordinary example of Roman metalwork at its zenith" and said it dates to the late 1st to 2nd century A.D.

"The Crosby Garrett helmet sets itself apart by virtue of its beauty, workmanship, and completeness, particularly the face mask, which was found virtually intact," Christie's says. "In addition, the remarkable Phrygian-style peak surmounted by its elaborate bronze griffin crest appears unprecedented".

The helmet is made of two sections: the tall pointed helmet and the face mask. The latter has openwork eyes, which would have allowed the wearer to see during the cavalry sports events -- known as hippika gymnasia -- when it would have been used.

The face has incised eyelashes on the upper and lower lids, herringbone eyebrows, and pierced nostrils, all framed by three rows of corkscrew curls.

At the peak of the cap is a small griffin, seated with its wings outstretched, revealing the incised feather detail. Its right paw is raised and rests on the rim of a small amphora.

Colorful streamers may have been attached to the helmet when it was worn, Christie's says.

CNN

Afghans find tons of explosive devices transferred from Iran

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Authorities in southwestern Afghanistan have seized 19 tons of explosive devices that had been transferred across the border from Iran, police said.

Nimruz Police Chief Abdul Jabar Purdel said a suspect was detained. Nimruz province, in Afghanistan's southwestern corner, borders Iran and Pakistan

The devices had been placed in 337 boxes inside a 40-foot shipping container transferred from Iran over a bridge linking Afghanistan and Iran, he said.

Earlier this year, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said that new U.S. military intelligence suggests Iran planned to smuggle new shipments of weapons into Afghanistan as part of an increased effort to interfere with coalition operations.

The information came from an "Iranian source" whose tips on past shipments have been verified by the United States, the official said in April.

The official also noted that Iran -- a majority Shiite country -- and the Sunni Taliban almost went to war with one another in the late 1990s, so it's not really in their interest to be a major source of top-shelf arms to the Taliban.

CNN

Key witness ruled out of terror trial over torture concerns

New York (CNN) -- A key witness at the trial of the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in the United States cannot testify, a judge ruled Wednesday, because of concerns over torture.

The man on trial, Ahmed Ghailani, told the CIA about the witness while agents were interrogating him, and the government has conceded that everything Ghailani said in CIA custody can be considered to have been coerced.

"The government has elected not to litigate the details of Ghailani's treatment while in CIA custody," Judge Lewis Kaplan noted in his ruling Wednesday.

"In these circumstances, the Constitution does not permit [Hussain] Abebe to testify in this criminal trial," the judge added. He left a potential opening for the government if it can show there was little connection between the identification of Abebe as a possible witness and the CIA's treatment of Ghailani.

The ruling is a victory for Ghailani's defense attorneys, who had asked that Abebe not be allowed to testify.

Ghailani is accused of involvement in the 1998 bombings of United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The attacks killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

CNN

Tendulkar named cricketer of the year

(CNN) -- Veteran batsman Sachin Tendulkar has won the ICC's prestigious cricketer of the year award for the first time, reflecting the Indian's continued assault on the record books.

The 37-year-old became the first man to score 200 in a one-day international, in February against South Africa, and has extended his record of Test runs and centuries to 13,973 and 48.

He headed off teammate Virender Sehwag, South Africa batsman Hashim Amla and England spinner Graeme Swann to claim the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy -- his first International Cricket Council award of any type -- along with the People's Choice prize.

"I'm really excited to have won two awards, and this last season for the entire team has been really special," he said at the ceremony in the Indian city of Bangalore on Wednesday.

CNN

'Five militants die' in new Pakistan drone attack

At least five suspected militants have been killed in a drone strike in north-west Pakistan, local officials say.

The US has stepped up drone attacks in the last month, apparently to disrupt an al-Qaeda plot to launch commando-style raids on European cities.

Five German nationals were killed in a drone strike earlier this week in an attack linked to the European threat.

EU officials have renewed warnings that the threat from al-Qaeda is real and ongoing.

"Public officials would not terrify the population without anything to back it up," said EU anti-terrorism co-ordinator Gilles de Kerchove, in comments reported by the AFP news agency.

"[The threat] is in the context of a general threat that has not diminished in recent times".

BBC News

HIV-positive muppet to star in Nigeria's 'Sesame Street'

(CNN) -- Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog have some new friends, but they're a long way from "Sesame Street".

One of America's best-loved children's shows, which began life on a fictional New York street over 40 years ago, is about to land in Nigeria under the title of "Sesame Square" -- bringing with it some distinctly West African twists.

The show stars Kami, a girl Muppet who is HIV-positive, has golden hair and a zest for adventure; and Kobi, an energetic, furry, blue Muppet whose troublesome escapades help others learn from his mistakes.

In a country with a population of over 150 million -- where nearly half are under the age of 14 -- the show will address some of the biggest challenges faced by young people in the region: AIDS, malaria, gender inequality, religious differences -- as well as many positive aspects of Nigerian life. In the case of Zobi, this is characterized by an obsessive love of yams -- a staple food in the Nigerian diet.

"We have a very focused health and hygiene umbrella concept area that we're concentrating on," Naila Farouky, senior director of international projects at Sesame Workshop, told CNN. "This is something our local advisors have prioritized -- something that absolutely has to be addressed on the show".

In one episode, Zobi gets tangled up in a mosquito net, much to the amusement of the local kids. But there's an important message behind the antics -- mosquito nets are the best way to prevent infection from malaria on a continent where, according to the World Health Organization, a child dies every 45 seconds due to infection.

There are also an estimated 278,000 HIV-positive children in Nigeria, according to the National Agency for Control of AIDS.

However, like its American predecessor, "Sesame Square" is not solely focused on health and social issues, but a host of essential learning skills.

Farouky told CNN, "The thread of the show continues to be about basic life skills -- literacy, numeracy and pre-school education".

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind "Sesame Street," received a $3.3 million grant to produce the show for five years, from the U.S., Agency for International Development (USAID) and President Barack Obama's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief.

CNN