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KABUL: Afghanistan’s president appealed to Taliban fighters Sunday to put down their weapons and accept Afghan laws as the government and its international allies push a program to entice militants away from the insurgency. President Hamid Karzai spoke three days after he and Western backers agreed at a conference in London to create a more comprehensive program to bring Taliban insurgents over to the government’s side in order to reduce violence that has raged in recent years.

KABUL: The Taliban denied Saturday that leaders of the group fighting to overthrow the Afghan government had met with UN representatives to discuss bringing peace to Afghanistan. The Taliban issued a statement branding reports of a meeting with the UN’s outgoing special representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, in Dubai this month as “rumours” and “propaganda”.

DOHA: Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, has condemned the US and other industrial economies, holding them responsible for the phenomenon of climate change. In an audio tape obtained by Arab television, bin Laden criticised George Bush, the former US president, for rejecting the Kyoto pact and condemned global corporations. “This is a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions – whether intentionally or unintentionally – and about the action we must take,” bin Laden said.

President Barack Obama vowed to make job creation his top priority in 2010, in a bid to restore America’s faith in his change crusade after a first year in office soured by economic misery. In his debut State of the Union address, Obama vowed to battle a host of “big and difficult” challenges which dragged down his administration and demanded unity from Congress to pull the United States out of the mire. “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight.

UN Removes Taliban Leaders From Sanctions List, United Nations Security Council has removed the names of five former Taliban leaders from its sanction list besides restoring their assets. According to United Nations press release, Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, former foreign minister; Fazl Mohammad Faizan, former deputy commerce minister; Abdul Hakim Monib, former deputy minister of frontier affairs; Shamsus Safa Aminzai, former foreign ministry press officer and Mohammad Musa Hottak, former deputy minister of planning have been delisted and the travel embargoes on them have also been lifted. The five were high-ranking officials of the former Taliban government, which was toppled by US-led coalition forces shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001

BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomber killed at least 18 and injured dozens more Tuesday in a strike against a police crime lab in central Baghdad, a day after several hotels were hit by suicide attacks.

BAGHDAD: Three large car bombs rocked well-known Baghdad hotels on Monday, killing at least 36 people and ending a 1-1/2-month lull in coordinated assaults on the Iraqi capital as the country heads into a March election.

BEIRUT: An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 85 passengers on board crashed into the Mediterranean sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport in the early hours of Monday, airport sources said. The plane disappeared off the radar shortly after takeoff, the sources said

BEIRUT: An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 85 passengers on board crashed into the Mediterranean sea shortly after taking off from Beirut airport in the early hours of Monday, airport sources said.

CAIRO: Osama Bin Laden Vows to Keep up Attacks on US, Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden issued a new audio message claiming responsibility for the Christmas day bombing attempt in Detroit and vowed further attacks. In a recording carried by the Al-Jazeera Arabic news channel, Bin Laden addressed President Barak Obama saying the attack was a message like that of Sept