Top News: Afghans gathered today to mourn the death of Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former president, the country's most prominent Tajik politician, and considered one of the few individuals with the credibility and stature to bring both the Taliban and their enemies in the former Northern Alliance to the negotiating table.
Rabbani was killed in his home near Kabul's diplomatic enclave yesterday by a militant with whom he had been negotiating, who had smuggled in explosives in his turban. The attack follows a string of recent high-profile assassinations and terrorist attacks in recent weeks, but Rabbani is probably the most prominent figure killed since 2001. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but several, including the Taliban, the Haqqani network, and even al Qaeda, are thought to be plausible perpetrators.
A former anti-Soviet resistance fighter turned peacemaker, Rabbani, who served as president from 1992 to 1996, was a rare politician whose credibility went beyond his ethnic base. Former presidential candidate and Northern Alliance leader Abdullah Abdullah summed up the killing, saying, "This is a lesson for all of us that we shouldn’t fool ourselves that this group, who has carried out so many crimes against the people of Afghanistan, are willing to make peace."
President Hamid Karzai cut short his visit to the United States for the U.N. General Assembly meetings and returned to Afghanistan, saying, "This will not deter us from continuing down the path we have started."
U.N.G.A: U.S. President Barack Obama met with Libya's transitional leader Mustafa Abdel-Jalil in New York.
Today, he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a final attempt to urge him to drop the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership.
Middle East
- Libyan transitional government fighters took the village of Sabha, one of the last pro-Qaddafi holdouts.
- The Yemeni government declared a ceasefire in the violence that has gripped Sanaa since Sunday.
- Iran is expected to free the two U.S. hikers held in Iran today, according to their lawyer.
Asia
- The sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for yesterday's massacre of Shiite pilgrims in Eastern Pakistan.
- A powerful typhoon has caused widespread flooding in Japan.
- North Korea and South Korea are holding rare talks in Beijing.
Americas
- Mexican authorities say a key figure from the "Knights Templar" gang has been captured.
- The bodies of 35 people were dumped on a road in Eastern Mexico.
- A U.S. court upheld an $18.2 billion ruling against Chevron for oil pollution in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
Europe
- The European Commission says it has made "good progress" in bailout talks with Greece.
- Germany banned its largest neo-Nazi group.
- Putin-ally Valentina Matviyenko was elected speaker of Russia's senate.
Africa
- Former gold miners from South Africa are suing the Anglo American gold company in a court in London for damaging their health.
- Kenya's prime minister will testify at the Hague, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity.
- A three-day anti-government strike has begun in Malawi.
ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images
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