700 years old houses in Iran

THERAN: In the north east of Iran at the foot of Mount Sahand in Kandovan, the villagers live in cave homes carved out from the volcanic rock. The age of some houses is more than 700 years. People still living in these age-old houses.

The area is famous for scenic sites and according to local myths; hot water streams of this area are beneficial for kidney patients.

New Osama bin Laden message surfaces

BEIJING: A new audio tape has surfaced on an Islamist website in which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden sends a message to the American people.
In the ten minute recording the voice which is purported to be that of America's most wanted terrorist, says the U.S. president is "powerless" to stop the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authenticity of the audio recording could not be independently verified.
The message was released by As-Sahab, Al-Qaeda's media wing, and distributed to several Jihadist websites. Part of the taped message condemns the United States support of Israel.
"We have already shown, and we have stated many times in more than two decades since the start of our disagreement with you, which is caused by your support for the Israelis who are occupying our land of Palestine, and which led us to carry out the events on September 11, 2001," the voice says.
"The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby," the voice in the tape says.
In several parts of the tape, the al-Qaeda leader refers to recent events. He refers to Obama's speech in Cairo, which took place on June 4, and about former President Jimmy Carter's visit to Gaza in June. Bin Laden also condemned the Israeli invasion of Gaza, earlier this year, saying that American bombs were used by Israel during the conflict.
The terror leader said the United States should work towards Iraq's release instead of "fighting for its liberation." If not, President Obama could suffer "the same fate as former President Kennedy and his brother," bin Laden said.
Both President Kennedy and his brother Robert were assassinated. The al-Qaeda number one also criticized Obama's decision to keep Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, saying the Bush-era leadership at the Pentagon had remained in place. Obama's promise to cooperate with the Republicans was in reality a "cover" and a "big trick" to let Gates remain on his current post, Osama claimed. "You have only changed the faces in the White House," Osama bin Laden said.
The message which comes just two days after the U.S. marked the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on America, carries much of the same rhetoric seen in previous recordings.
"We carry our weapons, fighting evil from East to West," Bin Laden said, and insisted that "Patience is our weapon." and that al-Qaeda would "Never compromise." In his last known message, in June, he said that U.S. President Barack Obama had planted the seeds of "revenge and hatred" towards the US in the Muslim world. Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding in the mountainous terrain on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Landslides kill over 90 in Philippines

MANILA: More than 90 people were killed in a series of landslides brought about by heavy rains in mountainous provinces of the northern Philippines, local officials said on Friday. Sixty-nine people died in Benguet province as landslides struck on Thursday night and Friday morning in five different towns, provincial governor Nestor Fongwan said. In the mountain resort city of Baguio, 17 people were killed as landslides buried whole houses in different parts of the city, said city administrator and civil defence official Peter Fianza. A landslide also left five dead and 32 missing in Mountain Province, said provincial governor Maximo Dulag. The northern Philippines has been pounded by heavy rain since Typhoon Parma hit the country on Saturday.

30 perish, 100 hurt in Peshawar explosion

PESHAWAR: At least thirty people have been killed and over 100 injured in a bomb explosion in Karachi Bazaar, part of Khyber market nearing NWFP assembly here in Peshawar on Friday morning, police sources said. According to hospital sources, 30 people have lost their lives while scores others have been injured, meanwhile, emergency has been imposed in all city hospitals. Mian Muhammad Iftikhar, provincial information minister, has confirmed the causality has mounted to 30 people while 100 others are hurt and 15 of them said to be critical in condition. The blast hit a shopping area close to the city's main Khyber Bazaar and ambulances rushed to the scene, said local police official Asghar Hussain. "At least 30 people were killed and around 100 wounded in the bomb blast," local administration chief Sahibzada Mohammad Anis told reporters. "We have declared an emergency in the hospitals," he added. "The bomb was planted in a car parked in the market," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain. It was not immediately clear if it was a remote-controlled device or a suicide attack. "We are investigating whether it was a suicide blast or the device was planted in the vehicle," the minister told reporters. Many vehicle nearby parked have been shattered completely while as many as 100 more injured people have been rushed to Lady Reading and various other hospitals for medical attainment, sources added. The dead and injured people included children, women, ladies, young and elderly people, hospital sources confirmed. The blast occurred at some time after 12:00 noon while, more causality might be reported, official sources feared. Police and army soldiers have cordoned off the entire area, meanwhile, the rescue efforts are underway, witnesses said. Also, the passenger on a bus passing near bazaar also came under attack whereas the DCO Peshawar has confirmed 30 people have been killed in explosion. Apparently the bomb was planted in a white car but some witnesses termed the explosion as suicide attack, however, no official version on the blast has appeared as yet, sources maintained.