Major Taliban Leader Arrested; Cheney Pakistan Trip Credited

March 2, 2007 -- PAKISTAN

Major Taliban Leader Arrested; Cheney Pakistan Trip Credited

The reported arrest of at least one top Taliban leader in Quetta, Pakistan may be the first sign that Vice President Dick Cheney's trip there this week worked. (ABC News)

Blast in Pakistan Kills at Least 2 and Wounds a Judge

A bicycle bomb exploded near a flyover in the central Pakistani city of Multan on Friday, killing two policemen and wounding several including a anti-terrorism judge, police and officials said. (Reuters)

Analysis: Talibanization Takes Root in Pakistan

Barbers are too scared to shave their customers' chins. Alleged thieves are paraded before jeering crowds. People suspected of spying for Americans are found beheaded. (AP)

IRAQ

Sunni Group Claims Kidnap of 18 Iraqis

An al-Qaeda-linked Sunni group claimed Friday that it kidnapped 18 government workers and soldiers in retaliation for the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by members of the Shiite-dominated police force. (AP)

Iraq: U.S. Marine Dies in Anbar Province

An American Marine died in combat in Iraq's western Anbar province, the U.S. military said Friday. (AP)

U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq at 3,163

As of Thursday, March 1, 2007, at least 3,163 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. (AP)

An Unforeseen Cost of War

Thousands of Veterans Are Returning From War With Traumatic Brain Injuries. (ABC News)

Full Coverage: To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports (ABC News)

HYDROGEN BOMB

U.S. To Develop New Hydrogen Bomb

The Energy Department will announce today a contract to develop the nation's first new hydrogen bomb in two decades, involving a collaboration between three national weapons laboratories, The Times has learned. (L.A. Times)

ETHIOPIA

15 Tourists Said Kidnapped in Ethiopia

Fifteen French and British tourists were kidnapped in the remote desert of northern Ethiopia, one of the hottest and most inhospitable areas in the world, local sources said. (AP)

AFGHANISTAN

Allied Convoy in Afghanistan Struck by Blasts

A convoy carrying Western troops was struck by at least three blasts on Friday as it passed through a Taliban-riddled province in southern Afghanistan, witnesses said. (Reuters)

GUANTANAMO

Australian Terror Suspect Charged after Five Years at Guantánamo Bay

A U.S. military judge has charged an Australian who has been in custody at Guantánamo Bay for five years without a trial with "providing material support for terrorism," in a case that has attracted international attention and become a delicate political issue for the government of Prime Minister John Howard. (International Herald Tribune)

SPAIN

Three Arrested in 2004 Madrid Attacks

Spanish authorities have arrested three additional suspects of the Al-Qaida-linked terrorist attacks in Madrid three years ago. (Times of India)

PRINCESS DIANA INQUEST

Fayed Wins A Jury For Diana Inquest

High court rules that jury will sit at inquest into death of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed. (The Guardian)

U.S.

DOJ: Crooked Congressman Reports to Prison

From a U.S. Department of Justice press release: "On March 1, 2007, at approximately 10:22 A.M., Robert W. Ney, Register Number 28882-016, surrendered to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) at Morgantown, West Virginia, for service of his federal sentence…" (ABC News)

Dial E for Extortion? Accused D.C. 'Madam' May Sell Phone Records

The former proprietess of a long-running Washington, D.C.-area "sexual services firm" is trying to sell information about her wealthy customers to cover the costs of her legal defense. (ABC News)

Prosecutors Crack Insider-Trading Ring

The defendants included husband-and-wife lawyers, registered representatives, compliance personnel and hedge fund portfolio managers who improperly relied on hundreds of tips during five years of illegal trading. (AP)

GERMANY

Germany Wants Talks on NATO Missile Shield

Germany called on Friday for talks on creating a NATO missile defence shield for Europe, a day after the United States vowed to press ahead with its system without alliance approval. (Reuters)

CHECHNYA

Putin Makes a Feared Former Rebel President of Chechnya

President Vladimir Putin appointed Ramzan Kadyrov, a widely feared official whose security forces have been accused of kidnappings, torture and other abuses, to be the new president of the battered Russian republic of Chechnya. (International Herald Tribune)

CHINA

Shanghai to Prosecute Nine Government, State Industry Officials Over Pension Scandal

China plans to prosecute nine former government and state industry officials over a politically charged pension fund scandal in its business hub of Shanghai, state media reported Friday. (AP)

THE KOREAS

Activist: 80 N Koreans to Seek U.S. Asylum

Eighty North Korean refugees are hiding in various Asian countries and preparing to seek asylum in the United States, a South Korean activist said Friday. (AP)

A South Korean Reporter's Confession

Last year a Beijing-based South Korean journalist, Park Ki-sung, scored a major "scoop" when he reported for the Yonhap News Agency that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, was paying a "secret" - though afterward Park revealed it was not quite so secret - state visit to China. (Asia Times)

ON THE WEB

Insurgents Vow to Kill 2000 To Avenge "Rape of Muslim Women"

The so-called "Islamic State of Iraq" posted a statement on militant Internet forums Thursday night announcing a new raid to avenge "the rape of Muslim women in Iraq." The decision was made in response to a call by their leader, says the group, which al Qaeda in Iraq is part of. It also claims to have intensified its operations recently in Baghdad recently and to have been behind the assassination attempt on the Iraqi vice president. The statement, which was issued in forces and police are killed, "one thousand for every sister." (ABC News Investigative Unit)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

The Silence That Kills

By Thomas L. Friedman

On Feb. 20, The A.P. reported from Afghanistan that a suicide attacker disguised as a health worker blew himself up near "a crowd of about 150 people who had gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open an emergency ward at the main government hospital in the city of Khost." (NY Times – paid subscription required)

Looking for a New Home in Iraq

Having solidified its leadership and opened up financial lifelines, al-Qaeda is preparing for its next major step - establishing a new base in the heart of the Middle East, Iraq. (Asia Times)

How Much Embassy Is Too Much?

Mention the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to Lawrence Eagleburger and he explodes. (Washington Post)

Test Ahead for Taliban

By Gamal Nkrumah

For the good of his country, United States President George W Bush must withdraw his military personnel in Afghanistan. (Al-Ahram)

Raddatz' Book Marks the Explosion of the Iraqi Insurgency

When describing her book, "The Long Road Home", ABC News' chief White House correspondent Martha Raddatz says simply, "I wanted to write about the reality of war." (ABC News)

'This is the Year for Change in Zimbabwe'

Arnold Tsunga, chairperson of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, on Thursday joined other politicians and civil-society representatives in calling for an end to the country's "smart genocide" where, instead of blood and bullets, there is a systematic eradication of human dignity, he said. (Mail & Guardian)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Elizabeth Sprague of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.