Truce.. but "few skirmishes" occurred[ 644 ]

Yemeni cease-fire breached

Yemeni troops gather to meet Defence Minister Mohammad Nasir Ahmad during his visit to the frontline in Saada on Friday.

(CNN) February 13, 2010 12:10 a.m. EST--

The same day a cease-fire agreement was to go into effect, a high-ranking Yemeni official accused rebels of trying to assassinate him.

Deputy Interior Minister Gen. Mohammed Bin Abdullah al-Qawsi told Almotamar, the newspaper of the ruling party, Friday that "his car came under intensive fire shots in an attempt to assassinate him." He added that he was in the northwestern city of Saada to inspect security forces and accused Houthi rebels of carrying out the attack, according to the state-run Saba News Agency.

Also in Saada Friday, troops and rebels exchanged fire, killing one and injuring others, Saba reported.

The rebels did not immediately respond to the reports, which followed the announcement of an end to a six-year battle between the government and Shiite Muslim Houthi rebels.

Despite the reports of violence, the truce deal was still intact, said a Yemeni government official who is not authorized to speak to the media.

A "few skirmishes" occurred, including an attack on a security official's motorcade, he said. He would not say whether that official was al-Qawsi. Such violence is common in the early stages of peace deals, he said.

"There are many reasons why this happened, and they were expected," the source said. "One, some of the militia fighters have not been informed yet that the truce was executed. Two, there were revenge killings -- some of the Houthi tribesmen carried out attacks against government forces. These could be considered tribal revenge killings."

Video: Yemen declares cease fire

The government agreed to end all military operations against the Houthis beginning midnight Friday, an apparent end to violence that even tumbled into Saudi Arabia. Houthi rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi earlier signed off on the cease-fire and took to his Web site to order his followers to respect the agreement.

The cease-fire conditions include clearing mines, not interfering with elected local officials, releasing civilians and military personnel, abiding by Yemeni law, returning looted items, and ending attacks within the country's northern neighbor, Saudi Arabia.

The Yemeni government official said rebels were expected to free seven captured Saudi soldiers Saturday.

The revolt by the Houthis in northern Yemen began in 2004. The conflict is believed to be both separatist -- over who will have power in the area -- and sectarian -- whether Shiite Islam will dominate, even though the majority of Yemenis are Sunni. The rebels are supporters of slain Shiite cleric Hussein al-Houthi.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.

Nato-led forces are making good progress [ 643 ]

Major offensive on Afghan Taliban

BBC 15:22 GMT, Saturday, 13 February 2010

Nato-led forces say they are making good progress hours after launching the biggest offensive in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.

There were clashes as more than 15,000 US, UK and Afghan troops swept into the Helmand districts of Marjah and Nad Ali in a bid to secure government control.

An Afghan commander said 20 militants had been killed. Two Nato soldiers, one of which was British, have also died.

A Taliban commander reportedly said his men were retreating to spare civilians.

Operation Moshtarak - which means "together" in the local Dari language - is being led by 4,000 US Marines, supported by 4,000 British troops, with Canadians, Danes and Estonians.

'Heavily booby-trapped'

The BBC's Frank Gardner, with Nato forces at Kandahar airbase, says the test of the operation's success will not be on the battlefield.

AT THE SCENE Ian Pannell BBC News, Nad Ali It's been a very successful day for British forces. They were able to move into several key villages and establish a foothold. Broadly speaking, they met little resistance. There was sporadic gunfire. One RPG was fired over the location where we are based. It's fair to say that the Taliban decided to move out of the district. Many civilians have also left, and the challenge in the coming days and weeks is to persuade them to come back, to establish meaningful security and then allow meaningful governance to take place. What will make a difference is if there is meaningful security established and if the local people feel confident enough to place their faith in local security forces. This is an operation that has only just begun and it will take weeks and months before we know how successful it has been. Operation Moshtarak: Diary

It all depends on whether the coalition can hold the ground and bring lasting security and good governance to the population of central Helmand.

A spokesman for Nato's Isaf force confirmed to the BBC that two soldiers had been killed in Operation Moshtarak.

British forces said a soldier from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards had been killed by an explosion in Nad Ali.

A second Nato soldier was killed by small-arms fire.

Three US soldiers were also killed by an IED, Nato said, although it is not clear whether they were part of Operation Moshtarak.

Mohammad Zazai, commander of Afghan troops in the operation, said: "So far, we have killed 20 armed opposition fighters. Eleven others have been detained." The casualties and captures were in separate incidents.

Troops have been advancing carefully, picking their way through poppy fields, trying not to set off Taliban bombs.

A canal bridge into Marjah was so rigged with explosives that US Marines had to erect temporary crossings to reach the town, reports the Associated Press.

Helmand Governor Gulab Mangal told a news conference the Taliban had "heavily booby-trapped the area".

Marjah resident Abdul Wahaab told AFP by telephone as he and his family left the town: "We were sleeping when all of a sudden we heard this horrible noise - it was helicopters bringing in soldiers.

"As we were crossing the village we saw US and Afghan soldiers on the junctions. There were lots of them."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who approved Operation Moshtarak, warned troops to avoid civilian casualties, and called on Taliban fighters to lay down their weapons.

Nato says Marjah is home to the biggest community under insurgent control in the south.

'On the hop'

It was estimated there were between 400 and 1,000 militants based there before Operation Moshtarak was launched.

Marjah has also long been regarded as a linchpin of the lucrative network for smuggling opium - the raw ingredient used to make heroin - harvested from Helmand's poppy fields.

Nato Commander Maj Gen Nick Carter told the BBC that "it would appear that we've caught the insurgents on the hop".

Later at a Ministry of Defence briefing in London, Maj Gen Gordon Messenger said the UK force of more than 1,000 troops in the initial Marjah operation had secured its "key objectives" at the start of Operation Moshtarak.

He said: "There's no complacency - everyone understands this is the easy bit. The hard bit is what comes next in reassuring the public.

"This is all about winning the allegiance of the population. The allegiance is not won in a day, it must be won over time."

The offensive began with waves of helicopters ferrying US Marines into Marjah in the early hours of Saturday.

British troops then flew into Nad Ali district, to the north, followed by tanks and combat units.

Jets and helicopters fired missiles at Taliban positions.

The BBC's Ian Pannell in Nad Ali says the vast majority of villagers seem to have left the area to avoid getting caught in crossfire between the Taliban and Nato troops.

Mullah Mohammed - a Taliban commander in Marjah - told ABC News that his men were pulling back to spare any civilian casualties.

"We found civilians in massive danger so we decided to go backward just to save villagers' lives," he said. His claim cannot be verified.

Nato had distributed leaflets in the Marjah area warning of the planned offensive in a bid to limit civilian casualties.

It is the first major offensive since US President Barack Obama ordered a "surge" of 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in December.

More than 1,900 Afghan police will provide support after the initial military operations end, and a large team of Afghan administrators has been assembled.

The operation is part of an effort to secure a 320-km (200-mile) horseshoe-shaped string of towns that runs along the Helmand River, through Kandahar and on to the Pakistani border.

The area holds 85% of the population of Kandahar and Helmand.

New Orleans, 5 years after Hurricane Katrina [642]

New Orleans: finding its feet, five years on from Hurricane Katrina

Nearly five years after Hurricane Katrina, Helena de Bertodano sees New Orleans gear up for Mardi Gras.

This year the partying started early, thanks to the New Orleans Saints which last weekend won the Super Bowl for the first time, symbolising ? to some extent ? post-Hurricane recovery Photo: GETTY

Telegraph co.uk.By Helena de Bertodano
Published: 11:00PM GMT 12 Feb 2010

"New Orleans is coming back – slowly but surely," cries Kermit Ruffins, the jazz trumpeter. The crowd packing Vaughan's Lounge, a jazz and blues club on the seedy side of cool, waves beer bottles and cheers. Between sets members of the audience load their plates with red beans, rice and spicy sausage. The band is not called The Barbecue Swingers for nothing. "When you put music and food together, you have the biggest party ever," says Ruffins, summing up the essence of the city too. It is late on a Thursday night and, judging by the atmosphere here, the city is still vibrant.

Elsewhere, it is a more complicated story. New Orleans is still struggling to get back on its feet after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, followed by the wallop of the recession. Even now, nearly five years later, thousands of people are still displaced and parts of Lower Ninth Ward, which bore the brunt of the flooding, are a tangle of weeds. Throughout the city, many properties are boarded up and businesses have limped to a standstill. Signs advertising "75 per cent closing down sales" are almost as rampant as the weeds.

Yet New Orleans has always been a city that knows how to party – and today marks the beginning of Mardi Gras celebrations, with more than 50 parades scheduled between now and Fat Tuesday. For weeks the locals have been preparing fantastic costumes and masks and decking the city out in purple, gold and green, the festival colours.

This year the partying started early, thanks to the success of the New Orleans Saints, the local football team, which last weekend won the Super Bowl for the first time, symbolising – to some extent – post-Hurricane recovery. The Louisiana Superdome housed thousands seeking shelter from the storm; winds peeled off the stadium's outer covering and photographs of the damage became iconic Katrina images. One year and $185 million later, the Superdome reopened.

At Jackson Square in the French Quarter, there is little of the usual bustle – partly because it is a cold, rainy day. A beaten-up red Chevrolet from Alabama, full of elderly tourists, bumps down the steps into the pedestrian area. "Whoa," shouts a trombonist playing outside Café du Monde. The car does a three-point turn and bumps back up the steps, careering off.

Even Bourbon Street, a party artery during Mardi Gras, is almost deserted. Only a handful of tourists stroll the street, drinking Huge Ass beers. "Two drinks for the price of one," shouts a barman at a tawdry daiquiri bar. "THREE for one here," calls a barman from a neighbouring bar, equally empty. Both men collapse laughing: it takes a lot to dampen the "Nawlins" sense of humour.

In stately St Charles Avenue, where Mardi Gras parades pass, "For Sale" signs sprinkle the driveways of several of the showiest mansions. Even the landmark Brown House, a 14,000 sq ft Romanesque Revival monster, is on the market.

A potential bargain? Not exactly: I find out later the price is $6 million.

For this is one of the ironies of the hurricane: it has helped cushion New Orleans against the worst of the recession. On almost every street, you hear the sound of hammering: reconstruction work means that unemployment is lower than elsewhere and house prices have dipped less too.

So today, as Jackson Square throngs with revellers, the city's old catchphrase feels almost genuine again: "Laissez le bon temps rouler."

Afghanistan,Major offensive against Taliban[ 641 ]

Afghan surge begins

Thousands of US-led troops have begun a major offensive against one of the Taliban insurgents' last bastions in southern Afghanistan, a Nato official has said.

FOXNEWS, Published: 10:59PM GMT 12 Feb 2010

Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS

The assault on Marjah, in one of the world's biggest opium-producing regions of Helmand province, is the first phase of a major operation to re-establish Afghan government control over the region.

"The first wave of choppers has landed inside Marjah. The operation has begun," said Capt Joshua Winfrey, commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, which was at the forefront of the attack.

Operation Moshtarak ("together" in Dari) is expected to be the biggest push against insurgents since President Barack Obama announced a new surge of US troops in Afghanistan, and is one of the biggest since the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban regime.

Many of Marjah's population of around 80,000 fled ahead of the offensive to escape the violence.

But in recent days, militants who have moved into Marjah have prevented many others from leaving.

Nato helicopters dropped leaflets on the town and surrounding area – which has an estimated total population of 125,000 – warning people to remain indoors once the offensive began.

Radio broadcast messages telling people that the Afghan and international troops had come to rid their area of insurgents and that no civilians would be harmed.

Spain: 511 troops to Afghanistan,Total 1600...[ 640 ]

Spain plans more troops for Afghanistan

A file photo shows Spanish troops at work in Afghanistan.

By Al Goodman, CNN Madrid Bureau Chief

February 12, 2010 11:58 a.m. EST

CNN- The Spanish government will send up to 511 more troops to Afghanistan for the NATO-led security force, pending approval from parliament, the Defense Ministry said Friday.

The move was expected after Socialist government officials here recently discussed possible troop increases in response to requests, including from the Obama administration in the United States, for additional troops to fight the Taliban.

The increase would boost Spain's overall troop level in Afghanistan to 1,600, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman told CNN.

Defense Minister Carme Chacon is to appear next Wednesday before parliament's defense committee to formally request the troop increase.

Some of the additional Spanish troops would be focused on training Afghan troops and security forces to help them take over security of their own country, a ministry statement said.

Spain has had troops in Afghanistan since 2002 and more than 23 Spanish soldiers have died there, including a soldier last week. That soldier was killed when his military vehicle, on patrol, struck a mine. The blast wounded six other Spanish troops.