DURHAM, N.C. - The witness list for the John Edwards criminal trial includes dozens of names close to the former presidential candidate, including the woman at the heart of the sex scandal that destroyed his political career.
The proposed lists of witnesses for the defense and prosecution were released late Thursday, following the start of jury selection for Edwards' federal trial in Greensboro, N.C. The Democrat faces six counts related to nearly $1 million in secret payments from two campaign donors used to help hide the married candidate's pregnant mistress as he sought the White House.
Former Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter is on the witness list, as is the former candidate's elder daughter, Cate Edwards.
As expected, former campaign aide Andrew Young is listed as a prosecution witness. Young handled the money for Hunter's care and falsely claimed paternity of Edwards' child. After repeatedly denying the affair, the former U.S. senator admitted the baby was his in 2010.
Key to the government's case is proving that Edwards, 58, knew about the payments, which prosecutors contend were illegal campaign donations under federal law.
Of course that doesn't not help him now as he moves from courtroom to courtroom with his once mesmerizing smile that juries found irresistible.
Fast forward to April, 2012 after partially clearing up the sex tape affair, settling some issues and paying fines. The North Carolina Bar Association still has many questions, but that's another story. Let's move on.
After years of investigation, denials and delays, jury selection has begun for a criminal trial against smilin' John. He is accused of funneling thousands of campaign dollars to his former mistress, among other things. He sat at the familiar defense table this time for far different reasons as about 180 potential Greensboro, NC jurors, under the supervision of U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Eagles, asked Edwards to take the stand and face them.
Showing his trademark smile, he grinned and nodded as the judge introduced him. His defense attorney talents may be of little help with these 180 jurors. They cannot be oblivious to his much publicized indiscretions and deceitful behavior, much less the sad passing of his loyal and much beloved wife, Elizabeth.
The trial was scheduled to begin in January, but was delayed after Edwards' lawyers told the judge he had a "serious heart problem that required treatment." Old delay tactics used in his previous life that may have ended in dismissal for a client. In this situation, it only left the judge and North Carolinians skeptical, if not downright cynical of Johnny's intentions.
Smiln' John faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. If he is found guilty, his new cellmates will most likely appreciate his charismatic smile far more than his North Carolina constituents.
WASHINGTON -- Women who stay at home to raise their children should be given federal assistance for child care so that they can enter the job market and "have the dignity of work," Mitt Romney said in January, undercutting the sense of extreme umbrage he showed when Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen quipped last week that Ann Romney had not "worked a day in her life."
The remark, made to a Manchester, N.H., audience, was unearthed by MSNBC's "Up w/Chris Hayes," and will air during the 8 a.m. hour of his show Sunday.
Ann Romney and her husband's campaign fired back hard at Rosen following her remark. "I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work," Romney said on Twitter.
Mitt Romney, however, judging by his January remark, views stay-at-home moms who are supported by federal assistance much differently than those backed by hundreds of millions in private equity income. Poor women, he said, shouldn't be given a choice, but instead should be required to work outside the home to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. "[E]ven if you have a child 2 years of age, you need to go to work," Romney said of moms on TANF.
Recalling his effort as governor to increase the amount of time women on welfare in Massachusetts were required to work, Romney noted that some had considered his proposal "heartless," but he argued that the women would be better off having "the dignity of work" -- a suggestion Ann Romney would likely take issue with.
But is there anything in her background that implies that she truly understands the struggles facing the average American woman? Is there anything that implies that she understands that she is not the average American woman?
This country would be a very different place without First Ladies such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Abigail Adams, and, yes, Hillary Clinton. Thinking that a President will not be influenced by his spouse is naive. Thinking that one’s spouse can speak for the entire country by virtue of her gender is also naive.
A quick scan for other Romney advisors on women’s concerns comes up blank. It could be that Romney lumps men’s and women’s concerns together. It could also be that he is not concerned with women’s concerns. Perhaps he is not aware that while men and women have much in common, some of their concerns differ. Many women could not care less whether Viagra is covered by insurance.
Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Booker is a former Newark City Councilman. He was elected Mayor in 2006, becoming the 36th Mayor of Newark and the third African American mayor of that city.
Booker was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the predominantly white, affluent town of Harrington Park in Bergen County, New Jersey. Booker's parents, Carolyn Rose (née Jordan) and Cary Alfred Booker, were among the first black executives at IBM. One of Booker's maternal great-grandfathers was Caucasian, and Booker also has African-American and Native American ancestry. Booker is an alumnus of Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, where he was a 1986 USA Today All-American football player.Following graduation, Booker traveled west to study at Stanford University and earned a B.A. in political science in 1991 as well as an M.A. in sociology the following year. He played varsity football — he made the All–Pacific Ten Academic team — and was elected to the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) council of (four) presidents. In addition, he ran The Bridge, a student-run crisis hotline and organized help for youth in East Palo Alto, from Stanford students. While at Stanford, Booker also became good friends with Rachel Maddow.
Booker attended a dinner at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, in July 2010 where he was seated with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg, who had no known ties to Newark, announced in September 2010 that he was donating $100 million of his personal fortune to the Newark school system. According to an article in the New York Times, Booker and Zuckerberg had continued their conversation about Booker's plans for Newark. The initial gift was made to start a foundation for education. The gift was formally announced when Booker, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Zuckerberg appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Winfrey also has been a supporter of Booker and reportedly has given millions to Newark schools and organizations.
The timing of Zuckerberg's donation was questioned by some as a move for damage control to his image, as it was announced on the opening day of the movie The Social Network, a film that painted an unflattering portrait of Zuckerberg. But on her show, Winfrey told the audience that Zuckerberg and Booker had been in talks for months and had actually planned the announcement for the previous month, and additionally, she and Booker had to force Zuckerberg to put his name to the donation, which he had wanted to do anonymously.
On September 23, 2009, on The Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien made the following joke: "The mayor of Newark wants to set up a citywide program to improve residents' health. The health care program would consist of a bus ticket out of Newark." Booker responded in a satire YouTube video telling Conan O'Brien to apologize, and that Conan is banned from ever entering Newark Liberty International Airport by putting him on the "No fly list." Conan responded by further making fun of Newark saying the only way he could get to Newark now would be like everyone else, "through a series of poor decisions." He also called out Cory Booker to come on the show to air out their grievances. Booker subsequently banned Conan from the state of New Jersey as well as all the sister cities of Newark on another satire video. In response, Conan read a letter on air from Elizabeth, NJ, Mayor Chris Bollwage, declaring that he will temporarily rename Terminal A of Newark Liberty (which lies in Elizabeth) the Conan O'Brien Terminal. Conan did a skit in which he complimented all the cities around Newark and said he had created a "geographic toilet seat" around Newark. The mayors of Bayonne, East Orange, Kearny, Jersey City, and Elizabeth have publicly sided with Conan O'Brien. He ended this by saying, "Your move, Mayor Booker."
The feud was unofficially ended when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for it to end during a prepared comedy bit, telling Booker to chalk it up to Conan's head injury suffered less than two weeks earlier. Mayor Cory Booker appeared as Conan's first guest on The Tonight Show on Friday October 16, 2009, and assured viewers that the feud was over and that he was actually a big fan of Conan O'Brien. They settled their feud with a deal that every time Conan made a joke about Newark, Conan would put $500 in the Newark jar, and the money would be donated to the City of Newark. Conan then made the following joke, "You can trust that this jar is safe because it is not in Newark," after which Conan placed the first $500 in the jar. Conan then made a $50,000 donation to the Newark Now charity, which was matched by NBC Universal, totaling $100,000.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker called it his "come to Jesus moment" when he ran into a burning building to save a neighbor's life.
Booker arrived home last night to discover his next-door neighbor's house on fire, and rescued a young woman trapped upstairs by carrying here through the flames, suffering second-degree burns in the process.
The mayor's security team discovered the fire and pounded on the door to alert residents, when an elderly woman said that her daughter was trapped upstairs.
At first Rodriguez would not let Booker into the burning house. "He basically told me, 'This woman is going to die if we don't help her,' and what can I say to that?," Rodriguez said. "I let him go and without thinking twice, he just ran into the flames and rescued this young lady."
Booker said that as he jumped through the kitchen on the second floor, "I actually wasn't thinking. When I got there and couldn't find her in all the smoke, looked behind me and saw the kitchen really erupting with flames all over the ceiling, that's when I had very clear thoughts that I'm not going to get out of this place alive and got ... very religious.
"It is a very, very scary thing. And I'd like to say that I, at that point I was feeling so courageous, but honestly, it was terrifying, and to look back, you can see nothing but flames. Look in front of you see nothing but blackness.
Booker knows this. “The big thing for us is the continued thawing of a reputation that’s frozen in time,” he told me then. “We are a city with exciting things going on, and these things are often overlooked because people think Newark is a place that just does not exist anymore.”
So why attack the man who made it possible? Politics, probably, although Booker denies it. Hard feelings over losing in arbitration — a process the city initiated, by the way — although he denies that, too.
Booker’s beefs were mostly bogus. He’s right that Vanderbeek withheld payments for youth programs and job training programs, but the city was withholding money, too, from parking.
The mayor railed about Vanderbeek wiggling out of an agreement to build a community center, a provision that was taken out of the deal in July 2007. Three months later, the Prudential Center opened, and Booker declared Vanderbeek “a lifelong friend of mine, and more importantly … a lifelong friend of the city of Newark.”
His opinion is entitled to change, but if Booker is labeling Vanderbeek “one of the most despicable owners” in the NHL, we’ll just assume he’s too busy tweeting to keep up with the league. One team (Atlanta) moved last season (to Winnipeg), another (Nashville) is constantly threatening to do the same and yet another (Phoenix) doesn’t even have an owner. The NHL is running the team.
That doesn’t even list teams that are inept on the ice, like Edmonton, Toronto and the Islanders. The threat of bankruptcy still hangs over Vanderbeek — he has until July 1 to work out the team’s debt crisis — so his legacy could change in a hurry. Until then, Vanderbeek has presided over a successful and stable franchise.
Storms skipped across what is often called 'Tornado Alley' in the US Central and Southern Plains and more were forecast. But casualties appeared limited because many of the twisters hit sparsely populated areas, and during daylight hours or evening when people were still awake.
In Oklahoma, a twister struck the north-west city of Woodward early on Sunday morning (local time) after lightning apparently disabled its storm warning system, mayor Roscoe Hill said.
Two children died at the Hide A Way mobile home park on the west side of Woodward, a town of 12,000 people, while two adults were killed in a small community just outside the city limits, Mr Hill said.
Details of the fifth death were not immediately known, according to Keli Cain, spokeswoman for Oklahoma Emergency Management.
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said the state medical examiner’s office confirmed five fatalities in the Woodward area early Sunday. She said she didn’t know the gender or age of the victims or details of their deaths but several homes were damaged. More than 8,000 customers were without power in the region.
Dave Wallace, chief executive officer of Woodward Regional Hospital, said 29 people, five of the in critical condition, were brought to the hospital for treatment of injuries ranging fractures and serious injuries to cuts and bruises. Three patients have been transferred to other hospitals and four were admitted, he added. “We transferred them to a hospital with a higher level of care,” Wallace said. “We’re not a trauma center.”
A deputy director in Cain’s office, Michelann Ooten, told AP that emergency crews remained very much in search and rescue mode at first light, hours after they began operations in darkness. “They’re still going door to door and in some cases there are piles of rubble and they are having to sift through the rubble,” she told AP. “They are trying to identify if anyone is still in there, trying to account for everyone.”
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., which specializes in tornado forecasting, had warned of a “high-end, life-threatening event” nearly two days before the bad weather hit. It was just the second time in U.S. history that the center issued a high-risk warning more than 24 hours in advance. The first was in April 2006, when nearly 100 tornadoes tore across the southeastern U.S., killing a dozen people and damaging more than 1,000 homes in Tennessee.
National Weather Service forecasters also had issued somber outlooks that the worst of the weather in the Midwest and Plains would hit in the nighttime hours, predicting that conditions were right for exceptionally strong tornadoes. Emergency management officials had worried most about what would happen if potent storms hit when people were sleeping, not paying attention to weather reports and unlikely to hear warning sirens. A tornado watch in and around Tulsa and some areas continued through daybreak.
A NATO spokesman confirmed that multiple attacks had occurred across Kabul, potentially in as many as seven locations.
The attacks in the city began at about 1:35 p.m. and were still under way more than three hours later. The Kabul police said the attacks were focused on two areas — one near the Zanbak Square entry to the Presidential Palace and one near the Parliament.
Gunfire and several explosions were reported in the area near the German and British Embassies and a major NATO military camp, usually a heavily guarded area of the city. Hours later, sustained small-arms fire erupted there again, suggesting that the attackers were still holding ground. Rockets also landed near the British and Canadian Embassies and World Bank office.
The last major attack on a diplomatic installation in Kabul was by suicide bombers on the American Embassy that lasted for 19 hours in September and was blamed on the Haqqani network. The attacks on Sunday bore several of the hallmarks of that episode, including teams of attackers seizing buildings and creating siege conditions in some of the most secure neighborhoods of the capital.
"Several suicide bombers launched attacks around different parts of Kabul, including ISAF/NATO headquarters, Afghan Parliament building, and the whole of the diplomatic quarter. The fighting is still ongoing and so far there has been a large loss of the enemy," the Islamist militia said.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force confirmed "multiple attacks across Kabul" in up to seven locations, but said there were no reports of casualties.
The United States embassy went into lockdown, spokesman Gavin Sundwall said, calling it "standard operating procedure."
He said all staff were "accounted for and safe," and that the embassy had no reports of injuries to its personnel.
CNN journalists heard gunfire, explosions and rocket-propelled grenade fire lasting more than an hour in central Kabul on Sunday morning.
The heavily guarded area is frequented by foreigners and is rarely the scene of violence.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Tornadoes erupting across the Midwest and Plains left five people dead and several others injured in Oklahoma and damaged houses, a hospital, a jail, an Air Force base and other buildings during a weekend outburst of severe weather, authorities said.
Oklahoma emergency officials said five people died before dawn Sunday after a tornado hit in and around the northwest Oklahoma town of Woodward, the high winds damaging homes, toppling trees and downing power lines in that area about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The brunt of the damage was reported on the west side of the town of about 12,000, and in the neighboring community of Tangier.
Storms also were reported in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska as a severe storm system raked its way across the nation's midsection Saturday and Sunday. Lightning, large hail and heavy downpours accompanied the system.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., which specializes in tornado forecasting, had warned of a "high-end, life-threatening event" nearly two days before the bad weather hit. It was just the second time in U.S. history that the center issued a high-risk warning more than 24 hours in advance. The first was in April 2006, when nearly 100 tornadoes tore across the southeastern U.S., killing a dozen people and damaging more than 1,000 homes in Tennessee.
In Nebraska, baseball-sized hail shattered windows and tore siding from houses in and around Petersburg, about 140 miles northwest of Omaha. In southeast Nebraska, an apparent tornado took down barns, large trees and some small rural structures. Johnson County emergency director Clint Strayhorn said he was trying to determine the twister's duration and the damage it caused.
"I'm on a 2-mile stretch that this thing is on the ground and I haven't even gotten to the end of it yet," he said, walking the path of destruction near the Johnson-Nemaha county line. He didn't immediately know of any injuries.
At least 10 tornadoes were reported in Kansas, mostly in rural parts of the western and central sections of the state.The county where Wichita is located was declared a state of disaster and said preliminary estimates suggest damages could be as high as $283 million.
Kristin Dean, among the Wichita mobile home residents sheltering from the storm, said she was shaking as she was being pushed from home in her wheelchair. She was able to grab a bag of her possessions before going into the shelter and that was all she had left. She lost her mobile home, and the windows in her car shattered.
"It got still," the 37-year-old woman, who's in a wheelchair after hurting her leg a month ago, recalled of the scene inside the shelter. "Then we heard a wham, things flying. Everybody screamed, huddling together.
KABUL, —Taliban militants launched a series of coordinated attacks across Kabul on Sunday, targeting at least three neighborhoods in the capital that are home to Afghan government buildings, Western embassies and NATO bases.
There were no immediate reports of people killed in the fighting, although health officials said at least five people had been wounded. NATO forces said in a statement that as many as seven locations were under attack across the capital.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the ongoing assault in a text message to The Associated Press. He said a group of armed suicide bombers launched an attack on the NATO forces headquarters, the parliament building across town and a number of diplomatic residences in Kabul.
More than 10 explosions in all rocked the capital, and heavy gunfire shook the city for more than an hour after the initial blast. Smoke rose over the skyline from a few spots as sirens wailed.
Three other eastern cities also came under attack at about the same time Sunday, but there were few details and the fighting was still going on. The Taliban did not provide any information about attacks outside the capital.
The Kabul attacks began with bombings in the central neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan, which is home to a NATO base as well as a number of embassies, including that of the U.S. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people caught out in the street to quickly find cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
1.13pm:
There have been reports that nearly 400 prisoners escaped from a jail in northwest Pakistan in the early hours of Sunday morning after it was attacked by militants armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades, according to The News.
Some who fled the jail in the town of Bannu, near unruly ethnic Pashtun tribal areas close to the Afghan border, were militants, an intelligence official said.
According to Bannu Jail Superintendent around 500 militants attacked the prison in the wee hours.
One inmate who escaped was on death row for involvement in an attempt to assassinate former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a second police official said.
Pakistan's al Qaeda-linked Taliban movement, which has close links to al Qaeda, said its fighters mounted the assault, which triggered clashes. Several people were wounded.
Rocket-propelled grenades were fired at Afghanistan’s parliament and the Agence France-Presse news agency reported attackers had entered the building.
NBC's Akbar Shinwari reported that a shell passed overhead going in the direction of the US embassy compound.
It also reported that the newly-built Kabul Star hotel is on fire.
Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings and sirens could be heard through the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood.
At least one attack was aimed at the British embassy and the British ambassador's house.
News channel Al Jazeera reported that smoke was seen rising from the German embassy.
Gunfire appeared to be coming from various directions in the heavily barricaded diplomatic area of central Kabul close to both the U.S. and British embassies.
Militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
Pedestrians in the streets took cover as shooting continued.
It was the first attack in Kabul since a shooting inside the Interior Ministry in February in which a ministry employee turned a gun on NATO advisers and shot two soldiers dead.
Authorities in northern Pakistan were looking for 384 inmates who escaped from a prison early Sunday morning after 300 Taliban militants raided it.
The attack took place in the city of Bannu in northwest Pakistan, an area known for a heavy militant presence.
Iftikhar Khan, a senior police official in Bannu, said the attack lasted more than two hours and wounded three prison officials.
Of the 944 prisoners the facility held, 384 escaped, he said. Among them were two who were awaiting execution.
One, Adnan Rashid, had been found guilty in the attempted murder of former President Pervez Musharraf in 2003. The other, Safi Ullah, was convicted of several bombings in northern Pakistan in recent years, officials said.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Aasim Mehsud, a spokesman for the group in South Waziristan.
The Taliban said they and other militant groups were behind a coordinated assault in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday which included attacks on the British and German embassies in the heavily guarded, central diplomatic district.
A Taliban spokesman said fighters were attacking embassies in the diplomatic enclave, Nato's HQ and the parliament building in the west of the capital.
Multiple blasts and gunfire have been heard across Kabul.
A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire shook the Afghan capital on Sunday in attack by militants on three neighborhoods frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in a text message to The Associated Press. He said a group of armed suicide bombers have launched an attack on NATO forces headquarters, parliament and a number of diplomatic residences in Kabul.
Nato said it had no reports of casualties in the attacks on seven possible locations in the city.
There were also attacks in two other eastern cities - Jalalabad and Gardez. There were no immediate reports of casualties from those assaults, but details were sketchy and the fighting was still going on. Mujahid did not provide any information about attacks outside the capita
The Afghan capital Kabul came under coordinated attack on Sunday, with explosions and gunfire rocking the diplomatic enclave as militants took over a hotel and tried to enter parliament.
Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the multiple attacks.
Witnesses said suicide bombers had taken over the newly-built Kabul Star hotel, which was reportedly on fire in an area which includes a major U.S. military base, the United Nations office and the presidential palace.
Several other attackers tried to enter the Afghan parliament but were engaged by security forces and driven back, an official said.
They had taken cover in a building near the parliament and fights were ongoing, parliamentary media officer Qudratullah Jawid told AFP.
Gunfire and explosions were reported from at least three areas of the capital, including the diplomatic enclave.
As the attacks began, several large explosions and bursts of gunfire were heard near the United States embassy.
The incidents come as Taliban militants pledge their attacks as part of their annual spring offensive, heralding the so-called “fighting season”.
A Taliban spokesman in a mobile phone text message said “a lot of suicide bombers” are involved in the attack.
Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
More than 10 explosions in all shook the capital, and heavy gunfire continued to shake the city more than 30 minutes after the initial blast.
Militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions.
It was not immediately clear what they were targeting, but shots appeared to be focusing on the nearby British Embassy.
At about the same time, residents reported a blast near the parliament building across town.
A police officer in the area, Mohammad Assan, said there was an attack involving shooting near parliament.
Meanwhile, there were reports a Turkish military base on the outskirts of the city said the installation was under direct attack from mortar fire.
Turkish and Greek forces were responding with heavy-caliber machine gun fire.
It was the first attack in Kabul since a shooting inside the Interior Ministry in February in which a ministry employee turned a gun on NATO advisers and shot two soldiers dead.
KABUL, — A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire shook the Afghan capital on Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack by militants on three neighborhoods frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in a text message to The Associated Press. He said a group of armed suicide bombers have launched an attack on NATO forces headquarters, parliament and a number of diplomatic residences in Kabul.
There were also attacks in two other eastern cities — Jalalabad and Gardez. There were no immediate reports of casualties from those assaults, but details were sketchy and the fighting was still going on. Mujahid did not provide any information about attacks outside the capital.
There are reports of at least seven large explosions in central Kabul and gunfire from various directions in the heavily barricaded diplomatic zone.
Residents were reportedly running for cover and sirens wailing in the Wazir Akbar Khan district.
Some explosions were also heard near the parliament building in western Kabul and police said it was under attack.
A parliamentary spokesperson told Reuters news agency rockets had been fired at parliament and the Russian embassy.
Smoke was said to be billowing from the direction of the German embassy.
The Agence France-Presse news agency reports that the newly built Kabul Star hotel is on fire.
Its reporters said they heard the US embassy sounding alarms and warning staff to take cover.
There are also reports of gunfire from a number of other parts of the capital.
The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says there are also reports of a suicide attack that has closed the centre of the eastern city of Jalalabad.
Multiple blasts and gunfire have been heard in the central district, home to a number of international embassies.
There have also been blasts near the parliament building in the west of the capital, where security forces are said to be fighting at least six militants.
There is normally a surge in the number of Taliban attacks at this time of year following a relative lull in winter.
A Taliban spokesman said they were behind the Kabul attacks on the diplomatic enclave and parliament, as well as ongoing attacks in Logar province, close to Kabul, and Paktia province.
At least a dozen large explosions and automatic gunfire were heard in the city centre. Gunfire appeared to be coming from various directions in the barricaded diplomatic area of the city, close to both the U.S. and British embassies, and embassy alarms were sounding.
Smoke billowed from the direction of the German embassy, while explosions from rocket-propelled grenades rocked nearby buildings. The embassies were not immediately available to comment.
The site of the blast was not immediately clear. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings and sirens could be heard through the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood. Pedestrians in the streets took cover as shooting continued.
Residents across town also reported explosions near the parliament building. A police officer in the area, Mohammad Assan, said there was an attack involving shooting near parliament.
It was the first attack in Kabul since a shooting inside the Interior Ministry in February in which a ministry employee turned a gun on Nato advisers and shot two soldiers dead.
KABUL, - Suicide bombers struck two government offices in southern and western Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 16 people as militants step up attacks across the country with the arrival of spring temperatures, authorities said.
Insurgents have been targeting Afghan and NATO security forces as they fight to assert their power and undermine U.S. efforts to try to build up Afghan forces. Afghanistan's police and army are increasingly shouldering the job of providing security with the planned exit of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks - one in the western region of Herat and the other in the southern province of Helmand - in telephone messages to the media.
The deadliest bombing occurred in Herat when a sport utility vehicle packed with explosives blew up outside the gate of the Guzara district police office as people were waiting to go inside to see government officials about various business matters.
Raouf Ahmedi, a spokesman for the police commander of the western region of Afghanistan, said police in the area had received a tip that the black four-wheel-drive vehicle was loaded with explosives.
"They were chasing the car and tried to stop it," Ahmedi said. "The vehicle then turned toward the district headquarters building and tried to pass the checkpoint, but police stopped them to be searched and asked where they were going."
Moments later the vehicle exploded, causing a loud boom that could be heard a few miles away. Two men and a woman wearing a burqa were found dead inside the vehicle, officials said.
"The explosion was so strong - there are casualties among police and civilians," said Nasar Ahmad Popul, the chief of the province's Guzara district who was inside the headquarters at the time of the blast.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Suicide bombers strike 2 Afghan government offices, killing 16 people
KABUL: Gunmen launched multiple attacks in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday, with blasts and gunfire erupting in the heavily guarded, central diplomatic area and at the Afghan parliament in the west, witnesses and officials said.
Gunfire appeared to be coming from various directions in the barricaded diplomatic area of the city, close to both the U.S.
and British embassies, while smoke appeared to be billowing from the nearby German embassy, Reuters witnesses said.
Embassy alarms were sounding.
Attackers also fired rockets at the parliament building, in the west of the city, and at the Russian embassy, a spokesman for the parliament said.
Afghan media said insurgents had stormed the Star Hotel complex near the presidential palace and the Iranian embassy and black smoke was pouring from the building.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in a text message to The Associated Press. He said a group of armed suicide bombers have launched an attack on NATO forces headquarters, parliament and a number of diplomatic residences in Kabul.
There were also attacks in two other eastern cities - Jalalabad and Gardez. There were no immediate reports of casualties from those assaults, but details were sketchy and the fighting was still going on. Mujahid did not provide any information about attacks outside the capital.
The first explosions in Kabul struck the central Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, which is home to a number of embassies and a NATO base. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
More than 10 explosions in all shook the capital, and heavy gunfire continued to shake the city more than 30 minutes after the initial blast.
Militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. It was not immediately clear what they were targeting, but shots appeared to be focusing on the nearby British Embassy.
At about the same time, residents reported a blast near the parliament building across town. A police officer in the area, Mohammad Assan, said there was an attack involving shooting near parliament.
Meanwhile, an AP reporter at the Turkish military base on the outskirts of the city said the installation was under direct attack from mortar fire. Turkish and Greek forces were responding with heavy-caliber machine gun fire.
Gunfire appeared to be coming from various directions in the barricaded diplomatic area of the city, close to both the U.S.
and British embassies, while smoke appeared to be billowing from the nearby German embassy, Reuters witnesses said.
Embassy alarms were sounding.
Attackers also fired rockets at the parliament building, in the west of the city, and at the Russian embassy, a spokesman for the parliament said.
Afghan media said insurgents had stormed the Star Hotel complex near the presidential palace and the Iranian embassy and black smoke was pouring from the building.
The embassies were not immediately available to comment.
The apparently coordinated attack is bound to intensify worry in the run-up to the planned withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
Attackers also fired rockets at the parliament building, in the west of the city, and at the Russian embassy, a spokesman for the parliament said.
Afghan media said insurgents had stormed the Star Hotel complex near the presidential palace and the Iranian embassy and black smoke was pouring from the building.
The embassies were not immediately available to comment.
The apparently coordinated attack is bound to intensify worry in the run-up to the planned withdrawal of foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.
Afghan security forces, who are responsible for the safety of the capital, were scrambling to reinforce areas around the so-called green diplomatic section of the city centre.
KABUL – A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire shook the Afghan capital on Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack by militants on two neighborhoods frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.
The first blasts struck the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of central Kabul, home to a number of embassies and a NATO base. Gunfire erupted soon after the explosions, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
Heavy gunfire continued to shake the capital more than 30 minutes after the initial explosion.
Militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. It was not immediately clear what they were targeting.
At about the same time, residents reported a blast near the parliament building across town. A police officer in the area, Mohammad Assan, said there was an attack involving shooting near parliament.
Explosions were first heard in an area near major Western embassies and a major NATO military camp, usually a heavily secured area of the city.
Soon after there was shooting near the Parliament and reports of explosions elsewhere in Kabul.
In the upscale residential neighborhood of Wazir Akbar Khan, police rushed past a supermarket near the road that led to the German Embassy and Camp Eggers, a major NATO camp that includes many of the top officials that run the NATO training mission. Several Western countries, including Britain and the United States, have their embassies in the area.
Several blasts that sounded like bombs were followed by explosions from several rockets in the area. Sirens sounded at nearby embassies warning people to “duck and cover and get away from the windows.” With each explosion windows shook in nearby houses. Smoke could be seen rising from some buildings, and witnesses told Reuters that smoke appeared to be billowing from the German embassy.
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire shook the Afghan capital on Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack by militants on three neighborhoods frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.
There were attacks about the same time in two other eastern cities - Jalalabad and Gardez. There were no immediate reports of casualties from those assaults, but details were sketchy and the fighting was still going on.
The first explosions in Kabul struck the central Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, which is home to a number of embassies and a NATO base. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
More than 10 explosions in all shook the capital, and heavy gunfire continued to shake the city more than 30 minutes after the initial blast.
Militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. It was not immediately clear what they were targeting, but shots appeared to be focusing on the nearby British Embassy.
The first explosions in Kabul struck the central Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, which is home to a number of embassies and a NATO base. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
More than 10 explosions in all shook the capital, and heavy gunfire continued to shake the city more than 30 minutes after the initial blast.
Militants who had staked out positions in a tall building were firing rockets in different directions, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. It was not immediately clear what they were targeting, but shots appeared to be focusing on the nearby British Embassy.
At about the same time, residents reported a blast near the parliament building across town. A police officer in the area, Mohammad Assan, said there was an attack involving shooting near parliament.
Meanwhile, an AP reporter at the Turkish military base on the outskirts of the city said the installation was under direct attack from mortar fire. Turkish and Greek forces were responding with heavy-caliber machine gun fire.
It was the first attack in Kabul since a shooting inside the Interior Ministry in Febru
Kabul - Eyewitnesses report at least seven explosions and a series of shootings in the embassy district of Kabul. The attacks took place near a supermarket frequented by foreigners.
The US embassy sounded its warning siren to tell all staff to move away from the windows. The shots seemed to come from different directions, which suggests a coordinated attack.
Smoke billowed from the direction of the German embassy, while explosions from rocket-propelled grenades rocked nearby buildings. The embassies were not immediately available to comment.
Afghan security forces were scrambling to reinforce areas around the so-called green zone.
Sunday's explosions were followed by gunshots.
The site of the blast was not immediately clear. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings and sirens could be heard through the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood. Pedestrians in the streets took cover as shooting continued.
Residents across town also reported explosions near the parliament building. A police officer in the area, Mohammad Assan, said there was an attack involving shooting near parliament.
It was the first attack in Kabul since a shooting inside the Interior Ministry in February in which a ministry employee turned a gun on Nato advisers and shot two soldiers dead.
KABUL, Afghanistan — A series of explosions followed by sustained gunfire shook the Afghan capital on Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack by militants on three neighborhoods frequented by Afghan government officials and their international allies.
There were attacks about the same time in two other eastern cities — Jalalabad and Gardez. There were no immediate reports of casualties from those assaults, but details were sketchy and the fighting was still going on.
The first explosions in Kabul struck the central Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, which is home to a number of embassies and a NATO base. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
More than 10 explosions in all shook the capital, and heavy gunfire continued to shake the city more than 30 minutes after the initial blast.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in a text message to The Associated Press. He said a group of armed suicide bombers have launched an attack on NATO forces headquarters, parliament and a number of diplomatic residences in Kabul.
There were also attacks in two other eastern cities — Jalalabad and Gardez. There were no immediate reports of casualties from those assaults, but details were sketchy and the fighting was still going on. Mujahid did not provide any information about attacks outside the capital.
The first explosions in Kabul struck the central Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, which is home to a number of embassies and a NATO base. Gunfire erupted soon after the blasts, forcing people out in the street to quickly take cover. Smoke could be seen rising from a few buildings in the neighborhood as sirens wailed.
The key trends of the war in Afghanistan can be summarized fairly simply. The hard part is figuring out what they collectively add up to. The muddled picture no doubt contributed to recent poll results showing that two-thirds of Americans oppose their country’s involvement in the conflict. Afghans themselves seem confused; according to a 2011 Asia Foundation poll, 73 percent of citizens support their national government (and even higher percentages their army and police), but only 46 percent believe the country is headed in the right direction.
Here is what we know: Afghans are wealthier, healthier and better educated than ever before. Unquestionably, Afghan security forces are bigger and better. Despite the occasional spectacular attack, Kabul is relatively safe, accounting for less than 1 percent of violent episodes nationwide, thanks largely to the efforts of these troops. The security situation in the more dangerous south is also much improved, after two years of efforts by foreign and Afghan forces. The north and west are at least no longer deteriorating and collectively account for less than 10 percent of violence nationwide. But the east, near where insurgents in the Haqqani network have found sanctuary across the Pakistani border, remains highly troubled. There, insurgent violence against Afghan citizens and troops, as well as foreign soldiers, actually went up about 20 percent last year. NATO and Afghan forces will increasingly concentrate their efforts in the east this year and next.
The offensive comes at the beginning of Afghanistan’s spring fighting season. The government and the U.S.-led coalition are expected to step up their operations as temperatures warm across the nation.
“Kamdesh is an important and strategic place for insurgents in eastern Afghanistan,” Zareen said. “It’s the main way for insurgents to supply insurgents across eastern Afghanistan. Unfortunately, we have control of some parts of Kamdesh, but not all.”
Afghan officials say that one policeman and a woman have been killed in the fighting, with another four Afghan soldiers and another woman wounded.
A unit of an unknown number of Afghan commandos and about 400 Afghan policemen are conducting the operation, and another 200 police are soon to join them.
“This time we’re not going to just conduct a big operation and leave,” Zareen said, adding that government-backed forces have now gained control of the main road through Kamdesh for the first time in years. “After clearing the area, we will set up extra checkpoints to help maintain peace for the people.”
In a statement released Saturday, the Afghan Defense Ministry said it launched the operation because residents were complaining that insurgents were becoming more active in the area.
“The commandoes descended into the area by helicopters,” the ministry said. “Other Afghan army units are on alert in nearby Nangarhar and Kunar provinces if there is any need for reinforcements.”
Now preparations would start for third phase of the security transition in the remaining cities and provinces of Afghanistan.
Sarobi is sited east of Kabul city and was insecure due to frequent Taliban attacks. Security in rest of Kabul province, including Kabul city, had already been transferred to the Afghan forces.
France’s ambassador in Afghanistan, Bernard Bizoleet, told the handing over ceremony held at the base of the French troops in Sarobi that security responsibilities in Sarobi were being transferred to the Afghan forces because the situation in the district had improved.
He said the French troops had already given some security control to the Afghan forces on a trial basis in Sarobi. He added that 24 French soldiers lost their lives trying to improve security in Sarobi.
He promised that France would increase by 20 percent the assistance towards reconstruction work in Sarobi
after the withdrawal of Nato forces from Afghanistan in 2014 and pay more attention to the training of Afghan security forces.
Meanwhile, in probably the first incident of its kind, villagers in Garmser district in Helmand province got hold of a man who had allegedly planted a landmine that killed two children and caused injuries to six other persons on April 12 and chopped off his ears.
The multiple operations were carried out across the troubled south and east region including Kabul, Nooristan, Takhar, Badakhshan, Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan, Maidan Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Paktiya provinces, the statement said.
Afghan police discovered and confiscated large amount of light and heavy weapons during the operations.
The police also defused two different types of mines as a result of security operations in Herat and Takhar provinces.
