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Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri appears in new videotape Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri has appeared in a new videotape in which he calls President George W. Bush a "liar" and a "failure" in the war against terrorism and calls for all Christians, including the Pope to "become Muslims." Highway overpass collapses near Montréal An overpass has collapsed in the Montreal area. At least 5 are injuried, 3 critically, and some cars are trapped underneath the rubble.

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Letter from 1988 says Iran tried to aquire nuclear weapons A letter that had been written in 1988 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who lead the 1979 Iranian Revolution and is Iran's former Supreme Leader has been made public by Iran's former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and states that Iran needed and tried to aquire nuclear weapons in an attempt to win their war with Iraq.

Wikipedia Current Events
18-year old Taťána Kuchařová from the Czech Republic was crowned Miss World 2006 at the conclusion of a ceremony held at Sala Kongresowa in Warsaw, Poland. 1st Runner-Up was Ioana Boitor from Romania and 2nd Runner-Up was Sabrina Housammi from Australia. 104 nations competed for the title. In Ireland the controversy continues over payments by businessmen friends to Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern in 1993 when he was Minister for Finance; it has come to light that the largest of the payments was drawn on a company cheque. Talks between the European Union and the United States Department of Homeland Security on the transfer of airline passenger data break down. The US demands over 30 items of data on each passenger, an earlier agreement which had been deemed to break European privacy laws. Midnight tonight was the deadline for reaching a new agreement. Airlines face losing landing rights in the US if they do not provide the information, and heavy fines in the EU if they do. Three lanes of the overpass on Boulevard de la Concorde and a pedestrian sidewalk collapsed onto Highway 19 in the Montreal area, Quebec. Two cars were trapped under, at least 5 are injured, 3 critically. A Brazilian Air Force search and rescue team locates the wreckage of Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 near the town of Peixoto de Azevedo, in northern Mato Grosso state. The Boeing 737-800 disappeared from radar after allegedly colliding in mid-air with an Embraer Legacy executive jet. There are no reports on survivors. Indian police accuse Pakistan's security and intelligence service, the ISI, of masterminding the Bombay train bombings in July, carried out by militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which killed nearly 200 people.

Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri appears in new videotape
Al-Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri has appeared in a new videotape in which he calls President George W. Bush a "liar" and a "failure" in the war against terrorism. The video, which is 18 minutes long and titled "Bush, the Pope, Darfur and the Crusades" was released by IntelCenter and was prodecuced by the media agency as-Sahab.

"Can't you be honest at least once in your life, and admit that you are a deceitful liar who intentionally deceived your nation when you drove them to war in Iraq?" said Zawahiri.

"Bush, you deceitful charlatan, 3 1/2 years have passed since your capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, so how have you found us during this time? Losing and surrendering? Or are we launching attacks with God's help and becoming martyrs? What you have perpetrated against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other Muslim captives in your prisons and the prisons of your slaves in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and elsewhere is not hidden from anyone, and we are a people who do not sleep under oppression and who do not abandon our revenge until our chests have been healed of those who have committed aggression against us," added Zawahiri.

"Your agents in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have captured thousands of the youth and soldiers of Islam whom you made to taste at your hands and the hands of your agents various types of punishment and torture. They are countering arguments that individuals have been able to provide useful information and they are continuing to reinforce their intentions for revenge," continued Zawahiri.

In the video, Zawahiri also criticizes the Pope Benedict XVI for comments he made against Muslims in a speech on September 12, 2006 and also calls for the Pope and all Christians to "become Muslims."

"This charlatan Benedict brings back to our memories the speech of his predecessor charlatan Urban II in the 11th century … in which he instigated Europeans to fight Muslims and launch the Crusades because he (Urban) claimed 'atheist Muslims, the enemies of Christ' are attacking the tomb of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him," said Zawahiri.

"If Benedict attacked us, we will respond to his insults with good things. We will call upon him and all of the Christians to become Muslims who do not recognize the Trinity or the crucifixion," added Zawahiri.

Zawahiri also said that sending any peacekeepers to the Darfur Region of Sudan is a "crusader plan" and that all Muslims in the region "should defend themselves."

"There is a Crusader plan to send Crusaders forces to Darfur that is about to become a new field of the Crusades war. Oh, nation of Islam, rise up to defend your land from the Crusaders aggression who are coming wearing United Nations masks. No one will defend you (Darfur) but a popular holy war," said Zawahiri.

The U.S. intelligance agency, the CIA has confirmed that the tape is authentic and that the person appearing in the video is Zawahiri.

"After conducting a technical analysis of the videotape, the CIA can confirm with confidence that the voice on the tape is that of Ayman al-Zawahri," said spokeswoman for the CIA, Michele Neff.

It is not known exactly when the video was made, but United States officials say that it was written after September 12, the day of the Pope's speech.

This is the 48th video released by al-Qaeda this year. Zawahiri appeared in 14 of those videos.

Mumbai Police claims Pakistani role in 11/7 serial blasts
Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy confirmed today that investigations had revealed the involvment of the militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba and the (banned) Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in the 11 July 2006 bombing of the city's commuter rail network. He also stated that the attacks had been masterminded by the ISI (Pakistan's external intelligence agency) and carried out by Pakistani and Indian nationals.

Fifteen people, twelve of whom were directly involved in the execution of the bombings are in custody, eleven of them are Pakistani citizens.

The conspiracy to carry out the attacks, which killed 190 people, was hatched in the vicinity of Mumbai, by militants who were trained in Bahwalpur, Pakistan. The Pakistani bombers entered India in batches, some through the porous Indo-Nepal border, others via Bangladesh and some through Gujarat. They then reached Mumbai around May 25, and were sheltered in Malad and Bandra by Faizal Sheikh. Kamaluddin Ansari and Ehtasham Siddiqui, (General Secretary of SIMI, Maharashtra) were also involved in the conspiracy.

The RDX explosive used in the blasts was brought from Pakistan by a man called Ehsanullah, while the ammonium nitrate was procured locally. The explosives were assembled in Chembur by Mumbai resident Mohammad Ali, between 8 and 10 July. On the day of the attacks, the bombs (each containing 2 - 2.5 kg of RDX and 3.5 - 4 kg of ammonium nitrate) were concealed in eight pressure cookers and transported to the railway stations in taxis.

From there two member teams of bombers placed the explosives on the trains and detonated them using quartz timers. One of the militants, Saleem, a native of Lahore, could not (as was the plan) get off the train before the explosives went off, as a result of which he perished in the blast between Khar and Bandra. Of the seven Indian suspects, four (Faizal Sheikh, Kamaluddin Ansari, Ehtashan Siddiqui and Naved) have been apprehended, while a search is on for the other three.

Mr. Roy described the bombings as a "professional, precise and well-planned". The first clue his department got was a phone call made from Navi Mumbai to a place on the Indo-Nepal border. Based on this information Kamaluddin Ansari was arrested in from Madhubani, Bihar. Narcoanalysis of the other suspects revealed that they were trained in Pakistan and also helped tie up other loose ends in the case. Faizal Sheikh also revealed that he had received Rs. 60,00,000 from Pakistan in the last few years. Police also recovered 26,000 Riyals, given to him by Rizwan Devra, an ISI operative living in Dubai, from Faizal's house.

Letter from 1988 says Iran tried to aquire nuclear weapons
A letter that had been written in 1988 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who lead the 1979 Iranian Revolution and is Iran's former Supreme Leader has been made public by Iran's former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and states that Iran needed and tried to aquire nuclear weapons in an attempt to win the war with Iraq. The letter was reportadly sent to "political leaders" while the Iran-Iraq war was taking place.

BBC News says the letter states what would be needed if Iran was willing to continue any battle with the country of Iraq. Khomeini says that "more aircraft, helicopters, men and weapons" would be needed to continue the fight and that "within five years, need laser-guided and atomic weapons in order to win the war" with Iraq.

BBC also say that Khomeini states Iran's economy "was operating at a level below zero." He also said that people who were needed to volunteer for battle were "in short supply."

The letter also states that Khomeini was "forced" into a cease-fire of the Iran-Iraq war in which he says is "like drinking poison." Khomeini died in 1989.

Highway overpass collapses near Montréal
An overpass has collapsed in Laval, a suburb of the Montréal area of Québec, Canada. Three lanes of the Boulevard de la Concorde overpass collapsed into Highway 19. At least 6 people have been injured, 3 critically, and least 3 cars are reported to be trapped underneath the overpass. Authorities have stated that 3 cars and a motorcycle were on the overpass when it collapsed. Authorities also said they believe that two people might be trapped under the collapsed overpass.

The incident happened at approximately 12:30 local time, local residents described what sounded like "an earthquake". It is not known at this time how the collapse occured, or when it might be repaired.

The collapse is not the first in the Laval area. In 2000, a large segment of an overpass on Highway 15 collapsed, killing one motorist instantly and trapping two others for several hours.

Ignatieff leads in early Canadian Liberal delegate count
Michael Ignatieff has emerged as the early leader in this weekend's delegate selection votes for the Liberal Party of Canada leadership convention. With the results of 131 of 465 Delegate Selection Meeting reported Ignatieff leads with 395 delegates elected (30.3%) followed by two candidates vying for second place. Former Ontario Premier Bob Rae and Environment minister Stephane Dion are in a neck-in-neck battle for second place with Rae having 279 delegates (21.4%) to Dion's 270 (20.7%). Lagging behind in fourth place is Gerard Kennedy who has the support of 144 delegates (11%).

The rest of the candidates are below 10% support, Scott Brison has 5.1% of delegates followed by former hockey great Ken Dryden with 4.2%, Joe Volpe with 3.8% and Martha Hall Findlay with 1.4%. A further 2.1% of delegates were elected as "undeclared" meaning they will be free to vote for whomever they want on the first ballot of the convention being held in December

Press reports had suggested that Ignatieff, a former Harvard professor and current Toronto MP would be in a head to head battle with Rae who recently joined the Liberal Party after leaving the New Democratic Party. However, Rae's tenure leading an unsuccessful NDP government from 1990 to 1995 may have contributed to his worse than expected showing in Ontario where he has come in fourth place winning only 12.9% of the province's delegates thus far.

Almost 200,000 party members are eligible to vote in the "Super Weekend" of delegate selection meetings being held across Canada until tomorrow. 4,300 delegates are being selected by riding associations this weekend. They will join approximately 850 ex-officio delegates and 100 delegates elected by other bodies in the party at the leadership convention being held in Montreal on December 2nd and 3rd.

Hurricane Isaac heads toward Atlantic Canada
Forcasters are predicting that Hurricane Isaac could hit Atlantic Canada as early as next week. The provinces Nova Scotia and Newfoundland have been advised to monitor the progress of Isaac.

Forecasters said Isaac should stay to the east of Bermuda, but the Canadian Maritimes and Newfoundland could feel the outer edges of the storm.

"Some areas of Eastern Canada could feel the outer reaches of Isaac by sometime Monday or Tuesday. It was expected to strengthen slightly before then," said hurricane specialist Eric Blake.

Three years ago the Maritimers suffered through Hurricane Juan. On September 29, 2003, in Nova Scotia, Juan killed two people, smashed buildings and left about 300,000 homes and businesses without power.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and ends November 30. Isaac had top sustained winds near 75 kilometres per hour by 11 pm. ET, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Isaac is the fifth named storm of the hurricane season.

Brazilian passenger jet wreck found in Amazon jungle
A Brazilian passenger jet operated by budget airline Gol Transportes Aéreos that was reported missing whilst on route to Rio de Janeiro via Brasilia from Manaus has been located by the Brazilian Air Force. The wreckage of the Boeing 737, Flight 1907, which was carrying 149 passengers and 6 crew was spotted in the rural state of Mato Grosso in the Amazon rainforest. There are no survivors.

At least 20 of the passengers of were employees of Yamaha Corp.

Jose Carlos Pereira, president of the Brazilian airport authority (Infraero) told journalists, "It would be very difficult for anyone to survive such a crash. Our experience shows that when one cannot find the fuselage relatively intact and when the wreckage is concentrated in a relatively small area, the chances of finding any survivors are practically non-existent"

Gol released a statement saying "The wreckage of the plane was found 30 kilometres north of the Peixoto Azevedo municipality"

Troops are currently attempting to make their way through the dense jungle to the wreckage on foot.

Many relatives and friends desperate for information gathered at airports in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Manaus during the night.

Aviation officials now say that initial reports that the airliner collided with a smaller private plane cannot be confirmed.

Gol, which was founded in 2001, say that the plane was new and had only come into service this month.

A passenger list and further information can be found on the GOL website by following this link and then clicking notices. Further information for family members can be found by calling 0800 2800749.

Today in History
331 BC - Alexander the Great of Macedon defeated Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela, and was subsequently crowned "King of Asia" in a ceremony in Arbela.

1936 - Francisco Franco was declared Generalísimo and head of state during the Spanish Civil War.

1958 - NASA began operations, replacing the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

1964 - Tōkaidō Shinkansen, the first Shinkansen line of high-speed railways in Japan, opened.

1977 - Brazilian football star Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, played his last professional football game.

October 01 is Yom Kippur in Judaism (begins at sunset, 2006); National Day in the People's Republic of China (1949); Independence Day in Cyprus and Nigeria (both 1960), Tuvalu (1978) and Palau (1994).

Quote of the Day

War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.
~ Jimmy Carter

Word of the Day

cosmopolitan; adj

(of a place) Composed of people from all over the world.

(of a person) At ease in any part of the world.

(of a plant) Growing in many parts of the world; widely distributed.

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