Osama had some sort of support network in Pakistan: Obama

Osama bin Laden, who lived in a compound in Abbottabad for six years, had "some kind of support" infrastructure inside Pakistan and this aspect needs to be investigated, US President Barack Obama has said. His comments came as his top security advisor said there was no evidence so far that the Pakistan Government knew about the al Qaeda chief`s presence in the country.

"We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan," obama said. The US called on government of Pakistan to conduct an investigation into how Osama was able to live so long in a military cantonment area of Pakistan, in an affluent suburb of Islamabad. We don`t know whether there might have been some people inside of [Pakistan`s] government, people outside of government, and that`s something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate," Obama said.

Osama bin Laden, the face of terror, killed in Pakistan

The most prominent face of terror in America and beyond, Osama Bin Laden, has been killed in Pakistan, U.S. officials said Sunday night. Bin Laden was the leader of al Qaeda, the terrorist network behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. U.S. officials said that their forces have the body of bin Laden.

The enormity of the destruction -- the World Trade Center's towers devastated by two hijacked airplanes, the Pentagon partially destroyed by a third hijacked jetliner, a fourth flight crashed in rural Pennsylvania, and more than 3,000 people killed -- gave bin Laden a global presence.

The Saudi-born zealot commanded an organization run like a rogue multinational firm, experts said, with subsidiaries operating secretly in dozens of countries, plotting terror, raising money and recruiting young Muslim men -- even boys -- from many nations to its training camps in Afghanistan.

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Rescue efforts transition to recovery in hard-hit Alabama

Hopes of finding trapped survivors dwindled Friday evening in Alabama, the epicenter of storms that obliterated neighborhoods and towns and claimed scores of lives across the South. Gov. Robert Bentley, speaking in Birmingham, said the long road to recovery will now begin. "We've gotten past the rescue stage," Bentley said. "We have begun the recovery stage."

Earlier Friday, President Barack Obama toured rubble-strewn neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa, declaring the devastation brought by a series of powerful storms and tornadoes was beyond anything he had ever seen. The storms killed at least 326 people in six states and left entire neighborhoods in ruins. Obama promised expedited federal aid to states affected by the tornadoes.

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Japan launches massive search for missing tsunami victims

Some 25,000 Japanese troops are fanning out on the wreckage-strewn northeastern coast Monday in a massive search for thousands of bodies still missing from last month's earthquake and tsunami. Backed by dozens of boats and aircraft, the soldiers are scouring the region for remains swept to sea or buried under masses of rubble.

The operation is the third intensive military search for bodies since the disaster that killed up to 26,000 people. Some 12,000 remain missing and are believed dead. Monday's search is an all-out effort to recover any remains for their families. The soldiers are combing through the rubble and navy boats and divers are searching the waters up to 12 miles (20 kilometers) off the coast.

Chopper crashes in Arunachal, 17 feared dead

Seventeen persons were feared killed when a Pawans Hans helicopter with 23 people on board caught fire and crashed into a gorge while landing in Tawang town in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday. Tawang District Commissioner G Padu said 17 of those on board were 'presumed dead', while six were rescued. The helicopter, which had taken off from Guwahati at 1315 hrs, crashed near the helipad on a hilltop in Tawang town falling from a height of 15 metre into the gorge, Pawan Hans sources said. The helicopter had 18 passengers on board, including two children. The five-member crew included Captain Barun Gupta and Captain Tiwari.

Asia Pacific Weekly News Wrap

By STAFF Writer

INDIA NEWS, Sunday, April 10 - Asia’s one of the most fast developing nations India has coughed up more than $460bn since Independence on illegal capital flow, funneling corrupt riches money to overseas banks widened the gap between rich and poor. According to a new report, illegal money through various sleaze exercises like tax evasion, crime and others have founded strong base of inequalities irrespective of rapid growth of its economy. [Read More]

JAPAN NEWS, Thursday, April 07 - Atomic explosions, radiation disaster and thousands of gallons of nuclear water contamination in the sea; these are the bad news in addition to Japan’s aftershock. Japan will probably take years to stabilize the reactors and spend billions in last month’s earthquake and tsunami at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

ASIA NEWS, Wednesday, April 06 - In a recent report published by Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asia economy has forecast to grow strongly though inflation would a big problem to tackle with. According to the report economy is expected to grow by just under 8% in 2011. The annual report says Asia will expand more in next two years. [Read More]

AUSTRALIA NEWS, Tuesday, April 05 - Twin natural disasters have paralyzed Australian export and subsequently for the first time in 11 months the country has seen an alarming trade deficit. A recent report shows the trade deficit posted in February at A$205m ($212m; £131m). It is far less expected figure than analysts who were contemplating gain a surplus of close to A$950m. [Read More]

SAUDI ARABIA NEWS, Monday, April 04 - Indonesia has strongly condemned the acquittal of a Saudi woman trial, who was guilty of ruthlessly torturing her 23 year-old young Indonesian maid. Talking to reporters, an Indonesian diplomat in Saudi Arabia has strongly criticized the decision, saying the sentence didn’t recognize the torture and it meant all tortures were free. [Read More]