UPI News Update

U.S. starts interrogation of al Qaida members

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. officials Thursday began interrogating al Qaida suspects at Pakistan's Kohat jail as a Taliban party threatened that the real fighting was set to start soon. U.S. officials questioned three al Qaida men, all Arabs. The officials showed them photographs of Richard Reid, the alleged shoe bomber, according to Pakistani sources. Army troops now guard the outside of the Kohat jail while U.S. officials are handling the internal security. Pakistani authorities shifted civil prisoners from Kohat to other jails. No civilians are allowed near the area.

Afghanistan: Bin Laden in Pakistan

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Osama bin Laden's latest videotape message condemning U.S.-led strikes in Afghanistan triggered a new controversy Thursday concerning his whereabouts. A spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry told journalists in Kabul the suspected terrorist mastermind was hiding in Pakistan while officials in Islamabad rejected his claim as "mere propaganda." Refusing to disclose his source, Afghan defense spokesman Mohammed Habeel said he had credible information that "bin Laden is in Pakistan." He said he did not know the terror suspect's exact location.

DOD eyes mounting Pakistan-India tension

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The Pentagon is eyeing mounting tensions between Pakistan and India warily, concerned thousands of American troops and civilians in the region could be at risk if a war breaks out. The United States is also concerned Pakistan may move hundreds of troops it has stationed along the Afghan border and U.S. military operations out of Pakistan might be curtailed. The crisis involving India and Pakistan -- which have previously been at war over the disputed Kashmir region -- arose after the deadly Dec. 13 attack on India's parliament by Muslim extremists. India wants Pakistan to disband all Kashmiri militant groups, two of which the United States has declared terrorist organizations.

India, Pakistan impose new restrictions

NEW DELHI, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- India and Pakistan slapped nearly identical restrictions against each another Thursday, moves that further reduce their diplomatic ties, restrict the movement of diplomats and cut off land and air links between the rival nations. Despite growing tensions between the two neighbors, a senior military official assured the international community Thursday a nuclear war in the subcontinent was "unthinkable."

Man detained for explosive residue

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Security officials at San Antonio airport detained a man for several hours Thursday after explosive residue was found on his shoes. An airport spokeswoman said the man was selected at random to go through the airport's explosive detection system in which a chemically treated cloth is wiped over clothing, shoes and baggage. The man was interrogated for two hours. He was described as a world traveler who apparently picked up the explosive residue inadvertently on a recent trip to Eastern Europe.

Lake-effect snow dumps 2 feet in Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The latest in a series of lake-effect storms that began Christmas Eve dumped two feet of snow atop the 18 already on the ground Thursday. The National Weather Service said four feet may be on the ground by the time it tapers off Friday afternoon. So far, 25 inches have fallen since the snow started Wednesday night. The record 24-hour snowfall was 37.9 inches of snow on Dec. 9-10, 1995. "It's hard because the snow is too deep for the plow," said Tom Krawicz.

Mother: 'I pray God forgives me'

CHICAGO, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A 21-year-old mother whose toddler has been missing since Christmas Eve Thursday said she blames herself for her daughter's disappearance and "I pray God forgives me and brings my baby back." A tearful Marcella Anderson talked with reporters, pleading for the blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman who allegedly made off with 16-month-old Jasmine to return the baby unharmed. Anderson told police she was stressed out and her children were tired and crabby when the unidentified woman befriended them at the South Loop Greyhound station and offered them a ride home to Milwaukee. She said she allowed the woman to hold Jasmine as she waited in line with her other daughter, Alesia, 3, to cash in her bus ticket. The woman then disappeared into the crowd.

Police release photos of missing family

WALDPORT, Ore., Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Oregon authorities called a news conference Thursday to release photographs of the three missing members of the Longo family. Christian and Mary Jane Longo and their young daughter, Madison, haven't been seen since last week when their other two children turned up dead in a waterway in coastal Waldport.

Stocks notch up in light trading

NEW YORK, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Share prices on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market closed slightly higher in light trading Thursday, lifted by strength in technology and retail issues. Analysts said stocks pushed higher as money managers stuffed their portfolios with some recent winners before year-end. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which rose 52.80 points Wednesday, gained 43.17 points, or 0.43 percent, to 10,131.31. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which added 16.22 points in the previous session, rose 15.66 points or 0.80 percent to close at 1,976.36.

Giuliani bids farewell as mayor

NEW YORK, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A sentimental Mayor Rudolph Giuliani reflected on his eight-year tenure at City Hall during his farewell address Thursday at St. Paul's Chapel in Lower Manhattan. Just four days before leaving office, Giuliani delivered a 45-minute speech at the chapel located one block from the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Giuliani said he chose to make his farewell address at the pre-Revolutionary War chapel because it was so close to where the WTC towers had been but amazingly it was not destroyed -- not even one of the stained glass windows was broken. The mayor vowed that there must be no compromise on two things concerning the terrorist attacks that left about 3,000 people dead.