October 31st Morning Readbook

Afghan women walk past an election poster for Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul. Abdullah was poised Saturday to boycott Afghanistan's run-off presidential election unless incumbent Hamid Karzai has a last minute change of heart and bows to a series of demands from his rival
(AFP/File/Shah Marai)

Sources: Abdullah to pull out of Afghan runoff
Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah plans to boycott next week's runoff against incumbent Hamid Karzai following a breakdown in talks on how to fix the country's electoral crisis, two people familiar with the discussions said.


Afghan vote in the balance, Abdullah cancels trip
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's election rival Abdullah Abdullah cancelled a planned trip to India on Saturday, his advisers said, heightening speculation he would pull out of next week's disputed run-off vote.


After 2 Years, a Sign of a 9/11 Suspect
Mr. Bahaji was part of the Hamburg cell of Al Qaeda, a tightly knit group of young Arab men who met in Germany in the mid- to late 1990s under the leadership of Mohamed Atta, who eventually became the central planner of the 9/11 attacks.


Pakistan not safe unless Qaeda disposed of: Hillary
As rescue workers searched for more bodies in the wreckage of one of the country’s biggest bomb attacks in Peshawar on Wednesday, visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan would never escape terror without disposing of Al Qaeda.


Iraq: US military contractor burns recyclables, violating contract
KBR was contracted to recycle cafeteria waste at Forward Operating Base Warhorse. Such spotty accountability is coming under new scrutiny; an Oct. 30 report reveals that transactions worth $10.7 billion are being audited.


The latest news from Al Jazeera.

October 30th Morning Readbook

9/11 passport 'found in Pakistan'
Pakistan's army says it has found in South Waziristan the passport of a man linked to two hijackers involved in the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US. The passport of Said Bahaji, a German of Moroccan origin, was among weapons, documents and jihadi literature seized by troops in the conflict zone.


Al Qaeda sleeper agent gets 8 years, not 15 as prosecutors had sought
Ali Marri gets a lighter sentence in consideration of 'very severe' conditions under which he was kept during the almost six years he was held without charges in a U.S. Navy brig in South Carolina.


Clinton Meets Pakistan Tribal Chiefs After Urging Al-Qaeda Exit
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met tribal leaders from northwestern Pakistan, whose homeland is at the center of an army assault on Taliban militants, a day after she urged Pakistan to dislodge al-Qaeda from the region.


Afghan panel overrides warnings
Rejecting advice from U.N. officials, Afghanistan's election commission announced Thursday that it would open more than 6,300 polling centers for the upcoming runoff vote, far more than international experts here say can be adequately protected and monitored.


Iraq arrests security officials over Baghdad blast
Iraq announced the arrests of dozens of military and security personnel on Thursday over Baghdad suicide bombings that killed 155 people, trying to calm public outrage at the government's apparent inability to protect its people ahead of January elections and the pending U.S. troop withdrawal.


The latest news from Al Jazeera.