February 3rd Morning Readbook

Americans allege Pakistan torture




U.S. Drones Kill at Least 10 With Missiles in Northwest Pakistan
A barrage of missiles from U.S. drone aircraft ripped into an area of northwest Pakistan where the Taliban and al Qaeda dominate, killing at least 10 people hours after the Pakistani Taliban again denied rumors of its leader's demise.


Can Saudi Arabia help with Taliban peace talks?
Riding a wave of international support for talking with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai flew to Saudi Arabia Tuesday to seek help from one of the few governments that hold any potential sway over the insurgent group.


US Denies Speaking to Iran About Prisoner Swap
The United States has denied speaking to Iran about a prisoner exchange after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran has held discussions about such a swap.


Iran: US missile system to sow Gulf division
Iran on Tuesday warned its Arab neighbors in the Persian Gulf that the U.S. is trying to drive a wedge between them by ramping up its missile defense systems in the region.


Intelligence officials say al-Qaeda will try to attack U.S. in next 6 monthswarn of looming al-Qaeda risk
The Obama administration's top intelligence officials on Tuesday described it as "certain" that al-Qaeda or its allies will try to attack the United States in the next six months, and they called for new flexibility in how U.S. officials detain and question terrorist suspects.


Christmas Day bomb suspect Abdulmutallab providing intelligence, sources say
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man accused of trying to blow up a jet airplane on Christmas Day, has been providing FBI interrogators with useful intelligence about his training and contacts since last week, Obama administration sources said Tuesday.


The latest news from Al Jazeera 

November 8th Morning Readbook

Italian soldiers stand next to the flags of NATO, Afghanistan and Italy during a ceremony to start constructing a base for the Afghan national army air force in Herat, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Fraidoon Pooyaa)


Sunni concerns see Iraq MPs fail to agree 2010 election law
Concerns from Iraq's Sunni bloc on Saturday saw MPs fail again to agree a law for next year's general election, fuelling doubts that the vote will go ahead on January 16 as planned.


All Afghan War Options by Obama Aides Said to Call for More Troops
Advisers to President Obama are preparing three options for escalating the war effort in Afghanistan, all of them calling for more American troops, as he moves closer to a decision on the way forward in the eight-year-old war, officials said Saturday.


Afghan Taliban deny have missing US troops' bodies
The Taliban denied on Sunday they were holding the bodies of two U.S. soldiers who had gone missing last week in northwestern Afghanistan after earlier claiming they had recovered the two dead servicemen.


20 militants killed in Pakistan's tribal area operation
In last 24 hours, at least 20 militants have been killed during Pakistani security forces' operation in the country's South Waziristan tribal agency, according to a press release issued Sunday by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).


Saudis claim control of region from Yemeni rebels
Saudi Arabia said Sunday that it has regained control of a mountainous region from Yemeni rebels who it said entered the kingdom's borders.


The latest news from Al Jazeera.

November 5th Evening Readbook

An Iraqi soldier stands guard near a military base. A senior Iraqi police officer has been killed by a bomb left outside the door of his house at Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, a police official in Anbar province said. (AFP/File/Essam al-Sudani)

Iraq lawmakers can't agree on election law _ again
Iraqi lawmakers failed Thursday to agree on an election law for the country's January vote, raising concerns the balloting may be delayed and in turn push back a U.S. troop withdrawal.


New Afghan violence makes Obama decision tougher
President Barack Obama's next move on Afghanistan is growing more difficult by the day. Deadly attacks this week deepened British and U.N. alarm over their commitments, and fresh worries about Iraq could delay the exit of U.S. troops there, squeezing an already overstretched military.


UN to pull out foreign staff from Afghanistan
The United Nations on Thursday said it would temporarily evacuate hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for Western efforts to stabilise the country.


Al Qaeda says was behind ambush on Yemen officers
An al Qaeda group claimed responsibility on Thursday for the killing of seven Yemeni security officials in an ambush near the Saudi border this week.


Saudi fighter jets said to hit rebel targets in Yemen
A government advisor says the airstrikes, which began Wednesday, have been numerous and heavy. The attack follows the slaying of a Saudi official by insurgents.


‘Taliban resistance dwindling’
The resistance in South Waziristan has dwindled significantly because of the army’s effective strategy, and “sensing defeat”, the majority of the group has either fled from the area or gone into hiding, ISPR Director General Maj Gen Athar Abbas said on Thursday.


LeT torn between Denmark, India?
As the details of a fresh Lashkar plot to target India emerge, it appears that a conflict of priorities may have come in the way of its plan to launch another Mumbai-style attack.


The latest news from Al Jazeera.