KABUL AFGANISTAN: Two suicide attackers dressed in burqas were shot dead Wednesday as they attempted to enter the compound of a US-linked aid organisation in a southern Afghan town, officials said.

The male bombers were wearing explosives-packed vests beneath traditional women’s all-covering dress and opened fire on guards at the gates of International Relief and Development (IRD) in Lashkar Gah, the officials said.

“The two suicide bombers were shot and killed by the IRD guards, luckily their explosives did not explode,” provincial spokesman Daud Ahmadi told AFP.

Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, is 20 kilometres (12 miles) away from a major US-led offensive testing a new counter-insurgency strategy aimed at wiping out the Taliban and drug-trafficking cartels.

The interior ministry said no one else was killed or harmed in the thwarted attack, which happened around 9.45 am (0515 GMT).

But Ahmadi said two people employed by IRD were wounded.

The would-be suicide bombers had opened fire on police guarding the IRD gates, he said.

“In the exchange of fire, a woman and a man working for IRD were wounded,” he said.

There were no details on whether the wounded included foreigners.

The interior ministry said in a statement: “Two (male) suicide bombers… started firing on the police guards and in a return of fire by the national police within moments, both suicide attackers were killed.

“In this incident no harm was caused to anyone else and only the suicide attackers were killed,” it said, adding that police seized two assault rifles and two suicide vests filled with explosives.

IRD implements projects on behalf of the US Agency for International Development, Ahmadi said, including helping farmers market their products, improving food security and other agriculture-related projects.

Helmand is a hotbed for the Taliban, who have been waging an increasingly virulent insurgency since their regime was overthrown in the 2001 US-led invasion following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The United States and NATO are raising to 150,000 the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan by August under a strategy marrying military and civilian efforts to eradicate the militant presence and establish Afghan sovereignty.

The strategy is currently being tested in Helmand’s Marjah and Nad Ali districts, where poppy-production is controlled by Taliban and drug traffickers in areas that have long been outside government control.

Operation Mushtarak, “Together” in Dari, is regarded by military planners as an initial success, but a Western official told AFP that it will be many months yet before it is clear if the Taliban have receded for good.

NATO said two foreign soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan by a crude bomb on Tuesday, although it did not say where.

The bombs, known as IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, are the main weapon used by Taliban rebels, though suicide attacks are becoming more common.

On Saturday, 35 people were killed in the southern city of Kandahar in one of the biggest coordinated suicide assaults claimed by the Taliban since their insurgency began more than eight years ago.

The militia said the attack was a pre-emptive response to plans by Afghan and NATO forces to widen anti-insurgent operations in Kandahar.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday hailed the “unshakeable bond” between the United States and Israel in an effort to quell the diplomatic spat that has rocked ties between Washington and its closest Middle East ally.

We have an absolute commitment to Israel’s security. We have a close, unshakeable bond between the United States and Israel, Clinton told a news briefing. Her comments marked a turn after days of tough US talk following Israel’s announcement last week that it would approve construction of a housing project in East Jerusalem, a move which infuriated the Palestinians and put hopes for resumption of Middle East peace talks on hold.

The US secretary of state, who last week called Israel’s announcement “insulting”, on Tuesday brushed away suggestions that the US-Israeli relationship was in the midst of its worst crisis in decades.

We share common values and a commitment to a democratic future for the world, and we are both committed to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, she said. But that does not mean that we are going to agree. We do not agree with any of our international partners on everything, she added.

Amy Holmes, Amy M. Holmes (born in 1973 in Lusaka, Zambia) is a conservative political contributor for  She has also appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher several times. Holmes graduated from Princeton University with a BA in economics in 1994. She is an independent conservative.

Holmes was born to a Zambian father and a Caucasian American mother. She was raised in her mother’s native Seattle, Washington after her parents divorced when she was three. She has co-hosted The View and co-hosted CNN’s Glenn Beck while Beck was on the road with his “Unelectable” show. Holmes wrote Senate floor statements for Bill Frist, a two-term United States Senator from Tennessee and the Republican Majority Leader from 2003 until his retirement in 2007. She is currently an anchor of a morning radio program syndicated by the Washington Times newspaper called “America’s Morning News”. Holmes is skeptical that global warming is caused by human activity.

At least 10 people including three security personnel and two policemen while 35 others sustained injuries when a suicide bomber ripped through a check post in Mingora area of Swat on Saturday. A child was also among the victims. At least 20-25 vehicles caught fire after the blast.
According to witnesses, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a check post of security forces outside the Circuit House, causing heavy blast. Check post was destroyed and several cars were burnt. Curfew was imposed in Mingora after the incident. The injured were shifted to Saidu Sharif hospital in which situation of 4 of the victims stated to be critical.
According to bomb disposal squad, 14 kg explosive material was used in the blast. Interior Minister Rehman Malik condemned the blast and asked IG NWFP to submit the report of the incident

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday he must work to repair relations with Washington after a debacle over Jewish settlements that has undermined US efforts to mediate new peace talks with the Palestinians.
Clinton’s blunt language betrayed US frustration after a visit by Vice President Joe Biden was overshadowed by Israel’s approval of new Jewish building on occupied land. She reminded Netanyahu of the commitments the United States makes to protect Israel from hostile neighbors, her spokesman said. On a day when Israeli forces sealed off the West Bank and deployed riot squads around Jerusalem’s holy sites to contain Palestinian anger during weekly Muslim prayers, Clinton called the latest settlement approval a “deeply negative signal about Israel’s approach to the bilateral relationship and had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process.”

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged Afghans on Wednesday to push energetically for a peace settlement with Taliban insurgents and said Afghanistan’s neighbours must support such an agreement.
Miliband’s conciliatory comments, in a speech to be given in the United States later on Wednesday, reflect growing acceptance in the West that Taliban fighters who break ties to al Qaeda have a role to play in the country’s future.
“Now is the time for the Afghans to pursue a political settlement with as much vigor and energy as we are pursuing the military and civilian effort,” Miliband said in excerpts published in advance of a speech he is to give at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In a separate appearance in Boston on Tuesday night, Miliband said there was no longer a military solution for Afghanistan. “The truth about an insurgency and a counterinsurgency is that it’s never ended militarily, it’s only ended politically,” he said at a Kennedy Library foreign affairs forum.
Eight years after the US-led invasion, it is not enough to explain to people why the war started, Miliband will say in Wednesday’s speech.
“We need to set out how it will be ended,” he will say. “Afghanistan will never achieve a sustainable peace unless many more Afghans are inside the political system, and the neighbors are onside with the political settlement.”

John Hughes Death, Many are talking about the John Hughes death tribute at the Oscar’s. Many are saying that it was not tribute enough because it was too short. Hughes has contributed much to entertainment industry and he deserved to have a longer tribute at the Oscar’s. But actually the lenght of the tribute does not really matter, what matters is the tribute and that Hughes is recognized for what he has given to the industry.

Ron Silver Cause of Death: Ron Silver had battled esophageal cancer for over two years before he finally succumbed to his illness on March 15, 2009. He was 62 years old.

Who was Ron Silver : Silver was an actor, director, producer and political activist. He made his acting debut in 1976 with the film Tunnel Vision.

Silver had a very diverse career, some of his work consisted of Timecop, Mr. Saturday Night, Ali, and the recurring role as political adviser Bruno Gianelli on The West Wing.

Though he was a democrat, Silver was an avid supporter of George W. Bush. He was even asked to speak at the 2004 Republican National Convention. President Bush appointed Silver to the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace.

Women s Day Sms Messages, Women s Day Quotes, Every year, International Women’s Day (IWD) is marked on March 8 . It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women.The IWD is also celebrated as the first spring holiday in the Northern Hemisphere as the first day of March is considered the first day of the spring season.

The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. Among other relevant historic events, it came to commemorate the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. The idea of having an international women’s day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions.

On occasion of 2010 International Women’s Day the International Committee of the Red Cross is drawing attention to the hardship displaced women endure. The displacement of populations is one of the gravest consequences of today’s armed conflicts. It affects women in a host of ways. But far from being helpless victims, women are resourceful, resilient and courageous in the face of hardship.

Japanese electronics giant Sony is developing a new lineup of handheld products to counter Apple’s stable of portable devices, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper, citing “people familiar with the matter,” said the products under development include a smartphone capable of downloading and playing PlayStation games being developed with Swedish cellphone partner Ericsson.

Another project is a portable device that the Journal said blurs the distinctions between a netbook computer, an electronic book reader and a PlayStation Portable, or PSP.

The multifunction device is reportedly designed to compete against Apple’s upcoming iPad.

The new smartphone and the multifunction device were expected to work with Sony’s online media platform due to launch this month in the United States offering movies, TV shows and music like Apple’s iTunes, the Journal said.

It said the new products were targeted for launch this year.

Sony Ericsson is to release its first smartphone, the Xperia X10, a device powered by Google’s Android operating system, in April.

Sony refused to confirm the report but stressed that the electronics giant is interested in networked portable products.

“Sony and Sony Ericsson have been strengthening their collaboration in the networked mobile space,” it said in a statement.

“However, it is not our strategy to discuss future products or business plans before we make a formal announcement. Any media report that suggests details of the product or business is based on speculation.”

Apple has sold more than 40 million iPhones. The iPhone and iPod Touch are competing with Sony’s PSP in the handheld gaming market. The iPad is expected to rival the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle in the e-reader market.