US ran fake vaccine project in Abbotatabad in hunt for bin Laden: Report

AFT | US intelligence launched a fake vaccination drive in the Pakistan town where it believed Osama bin Laden was hiding in an effort to gather DNA from members of his family, the Guardian reported on Tuesday.

CIA officials recruited a senior local doctor to organise the campaign after it tracked down a bin Laden courier to what turned out to be the al-Qaida fugitive's compound in the town of Abbottabad, the British newspaper said.

Before launching the high-risk operation against bin Laden, US officials wanted to test DNA samples from people living at the compound with a sample that they had from his sister.

Doctor Shakil Afridi, who has since been arrested by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, launched the programme in Abbottabad's poorest area to make it appear more credible.

The project then moved swiftly to the Bilal Town suburb, where bin Laden was residing.

"The whole thing was totally irregular," a Pakistani official told the newspaper. "Bilal Town is a well-to-do area. Why would you choose that place to give free vaccines?"

A nurse managed to gain access to the compound but Pakistani sources claim she failed to obtain any DNA samples, the Guardian reported.

Bin Laden was killed on May 2 in a raid that soured US-Pakistan relations.

The Pakistani military on Monday insisted it was capable of fighting Islamic militants without US assistance, hitting back after Washington said it would suspend $800 million worth of security aid. 

Keywords : PAKISTAN  | AMERICA | OSAMA BIN LADEN | CIA

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Flights delayed as dust storm hits Phoenix area(usa)

(CNN) -- A massive dust storm enveloped areas of Arizona on Tuesday night, causing low visibility and delaying flights in and out of the state's largest airport.
The violent dust or sandstorm called a haboob typically occurs over desert land and can stretch thousands of feet high, according to the National Weather Service.
It prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop of about an hour and 15 minutes at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport.
The storm had sustained winds of up to 69 mph and stretched more than 30 miles long at one time, according to a meteorologist for CNN affiliate KNXV-TV.
Parts of the state were also under a severe thunderstorm watch Tuesday night.
More than 10,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm, said spokeswoman Jenna Shaver of the Arizona Public Service.
Many of them now have power, she said.
Haboob comes from the Arabic word for wind and is used to describe sand and dust storms across the world.

In addition to visibility that can cause accidents, haboobs can also uproot trees, damage roofs and bring down power lines.

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Central New Zealand shaken by strong earthquake

A deep seated earthquake measuring magnitude 6.5 struck central New Zealand on Tuesday, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences said the tremor of magnitude 6.5 struck at 3.36 p.m. (0336 GMT).

The government institute said it was centred 30 kms (18 miles) east of the holiday town of Taupo, close to the volcanically active area of Mount Ruapehu.

The quake was 150 km below ground level. New Zealand scientists record around 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which on average around 20 top magnitude 5.0.

The country has been more alert to earthquakes since the South Island city of Christchurch, was struck by two devastating quakes in September last year and in February this year. The latter killed 181 people and caused an estimated NZ$15 billion of damage.

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