Taliban On The Rampage Again!

Gunmen and suicide bombers attacked buildings the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul, setting off explosions and sparking gun battles.

Claiming responsibility for the action, the Taliban said 20 of its fighters had taken part in the attack on Kabul.

Fighting erupted near the Serena Hotel and the presidential palace, although Afghan President Hamid Karzai says security has now been restored.

The city is now calm but there is concern that some of the attackers may still be at large.

Two civilians and three security personnel have been killed plus 71 others wounded, officials say. Seven attackers had also been killed, Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar said.

More breaking news to follow shortly.

Earthquake in Haiti: more than 200,000 people may have died

The death toll in Haiti's devastating earthquake may be be tipping the scales at the other end of 200,000 by the time the dust finally settles.
The sad incidence has left the country more like a grave yard than a community of living people with the Haiti's Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime stating that "around 50,000 dead bodies have been collected already and suggesting that the exact number of people lost to the sorry incidence may and in fact will never be known.
The situation has even been worsened by the fact that international aid organization have been have a big problem have access to the victims while some organizations have still yet to arive in the country owing to the fact that the chaos did not spare the airports either thereby causing flight problems.
To quote the words of Liony Batista, project manager of the charity Food for the Poor "I don't think that a word has been invented for what is happening in Haiti. It is a total disaster."

culled from telegraph.co.uk