Ali Khan

Washington, July 17: A reference to harsh treatment at CIA prisons brought out Guantanamo’s censors Thursday as an official of the war crimes court abruptly cut the sound to prevent spectators from hearing classified information.

Cmdr. Suzanne Lachelier, a lawyer appointed by the Pentagon to defend 9/11 suspect Ramzi bin al Shibh, began discussing the prisoner’s treatment before he was taken to Guantanamo in September 2006 when the censor hit the switch.

Washington, July 16: A US official voiced concern Wednesday about tensions between China and Vietnam over the resource-rich South China Sea and pledged to defend US oil companies operating in the region.

But State Department official Scot Marciel said the United States would not take sides on the myriad island disputes involving China and its neighbors including Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Kiev, July 16: Ukraine has banned “Bruno,” Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy about a gay Austrian fashion reporter, objecting to its scenes of nudity and homosexual sex, the culture ministry said on Wednesday.

The ex-Soviet state, where conservative views on homosexuality still prevail, had already banned “Borat,” Cohen’s previous satire aimed at demasking bigotry and anti-Semitism in the United States.

Kabul, July 16: The former commander of US forces in Afghanistan said on Wednesday he was “dismayed” and “more than a little embarrassed” when he was sacked from his job last month.

General David McKiernan, who was fired just short of a year after taking over the command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2008, reflected on his firing at a ceremony marking his retirement.

“If you had asked me 30 days ago if I would be here today at my retirement ceremony, I probably would have said no, maybe in a bit stronger terms,” McKiernan said.

Kabul, July 16: The US military chief has warned that Taliban in Afghanistan have grown more violent and better organised in recent years, and troops face “very difficult fighting” ahead.

The US military faced a crucial 18-month battle to help stabilise the country for the Afghan people and stem a three-year slide in security, said Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Washington, July 16: Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney, is attempting to create a “wall of smoke” around the CIA’s purported Al Qaeda assassination program in order to protect her father from further investigation, says a Washington Post columnist.

Washington, July 14: The first full-time female FBI agent stationed at the US prison in Guantanamo, Bay, Cuba says she witnessed a drunken “spring break” atmosphere during her tenure — and has photographs to prove it.

Washington, July 11: President Obama, still traveling abroad, responded to increasing criticism that the Economic Recovery Act that he pushed through Congress is not working to prevent job losses in a still-struggling economy.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said those critics — which include many GOP leaders in Congress — have little credibility.

Washington, July 11: Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the newly arrived top commander in Afghanistan, has concluded that the Afghan security forces will have to be far larger than currently planned if President Obama’s strategy for winning the war is to succeed, according to senior military officials.

Such an expansion would require spending billions more than the $7.5 billion the administration has budgeted annually to build up the Afghan army and police over the next several years, and the likely deployment of thousands more U.S. troops as trainers and advisers, officials said.

Washington, July 11: People in the United States think North Korea represents a bigger menace to their country than many other nations, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 38 per cent of respondents cite North Korea as the biggest threat to U.S. national security.

China is second with 18 per cent, followed by Iran with 17 per cent, Pakistan with eight per cent, Afghanistan and Russia with three per cent each, and Iraq with two per cent.