A big test of nuclear deterrence | csmonitor.com The current crisis in South Asia has been profoundly affected by the mere presence of India's and Pakistan's nuclear arsenals.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Nepal summit ending without thaw Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and India's Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee are due to leave a regional summit in Nepal on Sunday, with no sign of the tense military stand-off between the two countries abating.

Plane Crashes Into Fla. Skyscraper A 15-year-old student pilot took off in a small plane without permission Saturday and crashed into a skyscraper after ignoring a Coast Guard helicopter's signals to land, authorities said.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | 'Jaipur foot' for Afghan amputees Thousands of Afghans have lost one or both legs to the landmines that litter the country after more than two decades of war.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Deal signed on Afghan peace force A formal agreement has been signed on the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

BBC News | SOUTH ASIA | Pakistan rounds up militants Pakistani police have arrested large numbers of Islamic activists in what appears to be a major operation against militant and sectarian groups.

U.S. Electronic Eyes on Somalia to Track Al Qaeda The U.S. military stepped up aerial surveillance along the coast of Somalia to keep an electronic eye on suspected extremist training camps and sites where Osama bin Laden and his top aides could take refuge, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Taliban Hunted, U.S. Suffers First Casualty of War Afghan and U.S. forces were believed closing in on fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Friday, while a U.S. special forces soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan -- the first American military casualty killed by enemy fire in the three-month war.

Israel Raids Palestinian Village Ahead of U.S. Talks (1/03/2002) Israeli forces raided a Palestinian village in the West Bank Friday hours before Washington's top Middle East troubleshooter was to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a push to end 15 months of bloodshed.

Afghan Minister Believes Mullah Omar Arrested Afghan Minister for Reconstruction Amin Farhang said late on Thursday he believed deposed Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar may have been arrested, but the United States said it had nothing to support the report.

Ironically, not finding bin Laden could help the war on terror (1/03/2002) Turning the next phase of this conflict into the most expensive manhunt in history might well divert attention and needed resources from what should be the war's central aim: to defeat Al-Qaida before it mounts an attack with a weapon of mass destruction.

Televise terror trial In one of the most wrenching ordeals in our history, millions of Americans watched on live television as the World Trade Center Towers collapsed, one after the other, claiming thousands of innocent lives. Why, then, should Americans be denied television coverage of the trial of the alleged terrorist charged with conspiring with Osama bin Laden to carry out the suicide attacks?

U.S. Steps Up Effort to Finish Off Taliban Era The United States said on Thursday the Taliban era in Afghanistan was finished and stepped up efforts to capture the elusive leaders of the austere Islamic movement.

Raid Finds Untouched Al Qaeda Compound (washingtonpost.com) One of the largest U.S. Marine operations of the war in southern Afghanistan concluded with the discovery of a primitive compound that had been used by al Qaeda fighters as recently as a few weeks ago but provided little fresh intelligence about the terrorist network, Marine officers said today.

Genuine Justice | csmonitor.com Inherent in the war against terrorism is the pursuit of justice. The perpetrators behind the suicide hijackings must be brought to account. No one argues otherwise.

Not Guilty Plea for Moussaoui in First Sept 11 Case Lawyers for Zacarias Moussaoui on Wednesday entered a plea of not guilty to charges he conspired with Osama bin Laden to murder thousands of people -- the first charges filed in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

BBC News | WORLD | Q & A: Kashmir dispute Who's involved in the dispute over Kashmir?

U.S. must prevent Armageddon India and Pakistan are engaged in a game of chicken, triggered by a terrorist attack in New Delhi on Dec. 13. India charges that Pakistan is behind the attack and Pakistan alleges that India arranged the attack to place the blame on Pakistan.

India Says It Would Use All Military Might in Defense Nuclear-armed India said Wednesday it was prepared to use its full military might to defend itself amid threats by Pakistan-based Islamic guerrilla groups to mount further attacks on the country.

Pentagon: U.S. Wants Mullah Omar if He's Captured The United States said on Wednesday it expected the Afghan government to turn over the leader of the toppled Taliban if he is captured or detained as a result of negotiations in southern Afghanistan.

Argentina's Congress Names Duhalde as President Argentina's Congress on Tuesday appointed Eduardo Duhalde, a populist powerbroker in the Peronist Party, as the new president until 2003, with the task of ending recession and social chaos in Latin America's third-largest economy.

U.S. Forces Reportedly Sent To Capture Taliban Leader (washingtonpost.com) Scores of U.S. troops in battle gear lifted off in helicopters from the U.S. military base here just before sunset Monday, according to witnesses, in what Afghanistan's new leader said was an operation aimed at capturing Taliban leader Mohammad Omar.

ABCNEWS.com : Source: Calls About Bin Laden Intercepted An intercepted phone call from Iran suggests that Osama bin Laden is still alive — if not in the best of health.

ABCNEWS.com : Times Square New Year's Celebration Patriotic and Somber Under tight security, huge crowds converged on Times Square today to usher in 2002, pay a red, white and blue tribute to the Sept. 11 victims and say goodbye to one of the most terrible years in New York history.

India Offers Talks if Pakistan Adopts New Approach Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said in a New Year message India was ready to open talks with Pakistan -- including on the disputed Kashmir region -- if its neighbor and rival abandoned an ``anti-India mentality.''

The Times - We will win nuclear war, says India India boasted yesterday that it would survive a first strike by a Pakistani atomic weapon, but that its neighbour would be wiped out in a swift nuclear counter-attack.

CNN.com - 101st Airborne to replace Marines at Kandahar - December 30, 2001 The U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division will replace the Marine contingent at the Kandahar airport, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday.

Fireworks cache explodes in crowded area of downtown Lima, killing at least 235 (12/30/2001) Firefighters on Sunday dug through the rubble of a massive blaze sparked by a fireworks explosion in historic downtown Lima, retrieving 235 bodies by the afternoon. Officials were trying to learn what sparked the disaster.

Jupiter to be brightest at midnight on New Year's Eve (12/30/2001) Revelers celebrating the New Year will be treated to a rare sight in the clear midnight sky: Jupiter at its closest and brightest.

Boston Globe Online / Editorials | Opinions / Remembrance and resilience January, we are told, is named for Janus, the Roman god with two faces looking in opposite directions. One toward the past, the other toward the future. That feels about right for January of 2002. We stand here with two minds, struggling with remembrance and resilience.

New York Daily News Online | News and Views | City Beat | A Wooden Ramp Leads to Glimpse of American Nightmare One hundred and sixteen hollow-sounding footsteps take you up the wooden ramp to the viewing platform.

Afghans OK Peacekeepers; Bin Laden Believed Alive Afghanistan's new rulers wrapped up a deal for foreign peacekeepers on Sunday as a senior U.S. official said fresh intelligence showed ``high probabilities'' that fugitive militant Osama bin Laden was still alive despite the U.S. drive to destroy him.