Brasstacks with Zaid Hamid on Quaid Azam

Special Episode of Brasstacks with Zaid Hamid on Quaid Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. who was Quaid azam, his achievements and did he wanted to make Pakistan an Islamic state?

3 Fatah activists killed in Israeli raid

NABLUS, West Bank – Palestinian officials say Israeli troops have killed three activists of the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Anan Attireh, deputy governor of the West Bank's Nablus district, says Israeli forces opened fire while storming the homes of the men in the city of Nablus.

The Israeli military declined immediate comment.

Saturday's operation in Nablus' old city came two days after Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli in a West Bank ambush.

The West Bank has been relatively calm, and army raids against Fatah activists are unusual. Abbas and Israel have instead focused on a common foe, the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Jamaica: No guide lights when jet overshot runway

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Offshore lights that guide pilots into Jamaica's main airport had been knocked out for more than a month when an American Airlines jet landed in driving rain and overshot the runway, injuring most of the 154 people on board, officials said Friday.

An underwater electrical fault in November disrupted the 1,300-foot (400-meter) stretch of white lights on a sandbar stretching into the Caribbean Sea, according to Norman Manley International Airport operations director Stanley Smith. Pilots have been regularly advised about the outage, and the runway itself was fully lit, he said.

"The airport has been fully operational since (the outage) ... so we wouldn't presume that would be a cause. But clearly the investigation is still preliminary," airport vice president Mark Williams told The Associated Press.

American Airlines Flight 331 skidded off the runway as it landed in heavy rain Tuesday night, arriving from Washington's Reagan National Airport by way of Miami. The Boeing 737-800's fuselage cracked open, the left main landing gear collapsed and the nose was crushed as the plane lurched to a halt at the ocean's edge.

All 154 people aboard survived. Ninety-two were taken to hospitals, with no injuries considered life-threatening. The U.S. State Department said 76 of the passengers were Americans.

Jamaican and U.S. authorities are continuing their investigation, including whether the pilot could have avoided the accident by aborting the landing and circling for another attempt.

The Kingston airport has one runway with two designations, depending on the direction of a plane's approach. Lights leading to the other end of the runway were functioning, but wind conditions made that approach less desirable, Smith said.

The approach lights are not expected to be operating again until next month. Large planes began arriving at Norman Manley again on Thursday after being diverted to Montego Bay for two days.

Smith said there have been no other incidents of landing problems since the approach lights went out in November.

American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Pantin declined to comment on runway conditions because the investigation is still being conducted. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board's press office was closed for Christmas.

Jamaican officials expect the probe to be concluded by Sunday, though Civil Aviation Authority director general Oscar Derby told Radio Jamaica he did not know when its conclusions would be released.

___

Katz reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Campbell from Kingston.

Vitamins for health

  Vitamins for health   Vitamins and minerals are vital for good health. We normally get our supply of vitamins and minerals from our diet, although the sun stimulates the body to make the vitamin D we need. Vitamins help make sure your body's cells work properly, by controlling the

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Vatican to review security after papal knock-down

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican will review security procedures after a woman jumped a barrier and rushed at Pope Benedict XVI for the second time in two years, this time managing to knock him down before being pulled away by guards, the Vatican spokesman said Friday.

Benedict, 82, wasn't hurt and delivered his traditional Christmas Day greetings in 65 languages from the loggia overlooking St. Peter's Square. While a bit unsteady at first, he also delivered a short speech about the world's trouble spots without problem.

The incident in St. Peter's Basilica raised fresh questions about security for the pontiff, however, after officials said the woman involved had jumped the barrier at the 2008 Midnight Mass in a failed bid to get to the pope. She even wore the same red-hooded sweat shirt.

Italian officials also remarked on the odd similarity of the breach to an assault two weeks ago on Premier Silvio Berlusconi by a man with a history of psychological problems. The attack in Milan broke the premier's nose and two teeth.

The Vatican identified the woman involved in Thursday night's incident as Susanna Maiolo, 25, a Swiss-Italian national with psychiatric problems who was immediately taken to a clinic for treatment. Interior Ministry officials said she lived in Switzerland and the ANSA news agency said she had traveled to Rome specifically for the Mass as she did last year.

In the 2008 case, Maiolo never managed to reach the pope and was quietly tackled by security. During Thursday night's service, she launched herself over the barricade as Benedict walked down the aisle at the start of Christmas Eve service. As security guards wrestled her to the ground, she grabbed onto Benedict's vestments, bringing him down with her.

Virtually anyone can get into a papal Mass: tickets are required but are easy to get if requested in advance. Identification cards are not necessary to gain entrance, although visitors must pass through a metal detector.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi said it's not realistic to think the Vatican can ensure 100 percent security for the pope considering he is regularly surrounded by tens of thousands of people for his weekly audiences, Masses, papal greetings and other events.

"It seems that they intervened at the earliest possible moment in a situation in which 'zero risk' cannot be achieved," he said.

The Vatican's security officials will nonetheless review the episode and "try to learn from experience," Lombardi told The Associated Press.

It was the first time a potential attacker has come into direct contact with Benedict during his nearly five-year papacy. Security analysts have frequently warned the pope is too exposed in his public appearances, but Lombardi noted that they are a necessary part of the job.

"People want to see him up close, and he's pleased to see them closely too," Lombardi said. "A zero risk doesn't seem realistic in a situation in which there's a direct rapport with the people."

While Benedict was unhurt in the fall, a retired Vatican diplomat, French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, fell and fractured his hip in the commotion. He will be operated on in the coming days at Rome's Gemelli hospital, said Nicola Cerbino, a hospital spokesman.

Etchegaray, emeritus archbishop of Marseille who headed the Vatican's justice and peace and charity offices before retiring, was seen leaving the basilica in a wheelchair after the fall. Despite the fracture, his condition was "good," Lombardi said.

The cardinal received several high-ranking visitors Friday at his hospital bedside, including Benedict's personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, and the retired Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who reported Etchegaray was "serene as always and hopes after this little operation to return home soon to continue his work," ANSA quoted Sodano as saying.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno remarked on the "strange" coincidence in the recent security breaches, saying "We need in some way to be more vigilant over all, because in an open and globalized world, the number of unbalanced people and their aggressiveness can increase."

Nevertheless, since the incident occurred on Vatican territory, it is up to Vatican judicial authorities to decide whether and how to proceed with any possible charges against Maiolo. Lombardi said he didn't know how the matter would be handled but noted that the Vatican justice system is usually "very benevolent."

There have been other security breaches at the Vatican.

In 2007, during an open-air audience in St. Peter's Square, a mentally unstable German man jumped a security barrier and grabbed the back of the pope's open car before being swarmed by security guards.

Then there was the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca in 1981. John Paul suffered a severe abdominal wound as he rode in an open jeep at the start of his weekly audience in the Vatican piazza.

The pope is protected by a combination of Swiss Guards, Vatican police and Italian police. When he moves around St. Peter's Square during his weekly Wednesday audience, he does so in an uncovered white jeep; when he travels overseas or outside the Vatican, he usually uses one outfitted with bulletproof glass.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., the Vatican has tightened security at events where the pope is present. All visitors must pass by police to get into the square, with those entering the basilica going through metal detectors or being scanned by metal-detecting wands.

However, Sister Samira, an Indian aide to Vatican officials who attended the service and saw the incident, said she is never searched by security when she attends papal Masses, and said the same holds true for other people in religious garb.

Benedict has been remarkably healthy during his pontificate, keeping to a busy schedule and traveling around the world.

But in July, he broke his wrist during a late-night fall while vacationing in an Alpine chalet and had to have minor surgery and wear a cast for a month — an episode that highlights the risk he ran in Thursday's tumble.

Benedict celebrated this year's Christmas Eve Mass two hours earlier than the usual midnight starting time in a move by the Vatican to ease the pontiff's busy holiday schedule.

His next major appearance is scheduled for Sunday, when he joins homeless people at a Rome soup kitchen for lunch. In addition, he is due to preside over a vespers service on Dec. 31, celebrate Mass on New Year's Day and another one to mark Epiphany on Jan. 6, and then baptize babies in the Sistine Chapel on Jan. 10.

Thousands of pilgrims from around the world descended on the traditional birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem for the most upbeat Christmas celebrations the Palestinian town has seen in years.

Hundreds of worshippers packed St. Catherine's Church on Manger Square for morning mass. Most were local Palestinian Christians, and the mass was celebrated in Arabic.

Some 47,000 Filipinos who fled their homes in anticipation of the eruption of the Mayon volcano shared rations of noodles, fried fish and fruit to celebrate Christmas in evacuation centers. Children opened donated presents and clowns entertained the crowds, as the government tried to keep the evacuees from slipping back to their homes.

Family plea after Taliban video of captive soldier

KABUL – The Taliban released a video Friday of an American soldier captured in Afghanistan, showing him apparently healthy but spouting criticism about the U.S. military operation.

In Idaho, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's family pleaded on Christmas Day for his release and urged him to "stay strong."

Bergdahl disappeared June 30 while based in eastern Afghanistan and is the only known American serviceman in captivity. The Taliban claimed his capture in a video released in mid-July that showed the young Idaho soldier appearing downcast and frightened. He hadn't been heard from until Friday's video, in which he looks well and speaks clearly.

Although the video was released Friday, it was unclear when it was made, and NATO spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks told The New York Times it was not evidence that Bergdahl is still alive.

He suggested the video may be a pastiche of clips from earlier this year.

"We are not using this as a proof-of-life video," Shanks told the newspaper. "It's still to be determined when it was made, but it could have been made even several months ago. It has a lot of editing pieces."

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed hours later that the man in the video was Bergdahl, but denounced both its timing and content.

"This is a horrible act which exploits a young soldier, who was clearly compelled to read a prepared statement," said a statement from U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, ISAF's spokesman. "To release this video on Christmas Day is an affront to the deeply concerned family and friends of Bowe Bergdahl, demonstrating contempt for religious traditions and the teachings of Islam."

Lt. Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard issued a statement Friday from the family of Bergdahl, who live outside Hailey, Idaho. In their statement, the family urged the captors "to let our only son come home."

And to their son, the family said, "We love you and we believe in you. Stay strong."

Marsano met with the family Friday morning at their home. He told the AP that the family had not seen the video but had talked to other relatives who had seen it.

In the video, Bergdahl is shown seated, facing the camera, wearing sunglasses and what appears to be a U.S. military helmet and uniform. On one side of the image, it says: "An American soldier imprisoned by the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." It also shows him eating while wearing garb characteristic of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, an area where the Taliban emerged in the 1990s.

He identifies himself as Bergdahl, born in Sun Valley, Idaho, and gives his rank, birth date, blood type, his unit and mother's maiden name before beginning a lengthy verbal attack on the U.S. conduct of the war in Afghanistan and its relations with Muslims.

In the video, Bergdahl says "It's our arrogance and, and our stupidity that has made us so blind that we simply refuse to see the blunders and mistakes that we continue to make over and over again. "

"This is just going to be the next Vietnam unless the American people stand up and stop all this nonsense," he said.

Although it is unclear where Bergdahl was being held when the video was recorded, he said he had not been abused by his captors and drew a sharp contrast with his own country's treatment of war prisoners.

In light of "the brutality and inhumane way my country has ravaged the lands and the people of my captures (sic), the Taliban, one would expect that they would justly treat me as my country's Army has treated their Muslim prisoners in Bagram, in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and many other secret prisons hidden around the world," he said.

"But I bear witness. I was continuously treated as a human being with dignity," he said.

The video, which has an English-language narration in parts, also shows images of prisoners in U.S. custody being abused. The speaker says he did not suffer such ill treatment.

A statement read by a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, appears at the end of the video and renews demands for a "limited number of prisoners" to be exchanged for Bergdahl. The statement says that more American troops could be captured.

The Geneva Conventions, which regulate the conduct of war between regular armies, bar the use of detainees for propaganda purposes and prohibit signatories from putting captured military personnel on display. As an insurgent organization, the Taliban are not party to the treaty.

Statements from captives are typically viewed as being made under duress.

Bergdahl, who was serving with a unit based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, was 23 when he vanished just five months after arriving in Afghanistan. He was serving at a base in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold. On Friday, NATO said a joint Afghan-international force killed several militants in Paktika while searching for a commander of the Jalaluddin Haqqani militant network that is linked to al-Qaida.

U.S. military officials have searched for Bergdahl, but it is not publicly known whether he is even being held in Afghanistan or neighboring Pakistan.