Thursday, 11 March 2010 22:10

The tape, which aired on the Arabic-language news Web site Al-Jazeera on Sunday, says "the United States will not dream of enjoying safety until we live it in reality in Palestine."

The tape continues: "It is not fair to enjoy that kind of life while our brothers in Gaza live in the worst of miseries."

President Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that while there was no immediate confirmation that the message was authentic, it "contains the same hollow justification for the slaughter of innocent people."

In another section of the audio tape that Al-Jazeera broadcast, the voice says: "God willing our attacks will continue as long as you support the Israelis and may peace be on those who follow guidance."

Bin Laden also claims responsibility for the foiled attack on Delta flight 253 in December.

"The message intended to be sent to you was through the hero fighter Omar Farouq, may God release him, confirming an earlier message that the [September] 11th heroes delivered to you and it was repeated before and after [that event]," he says.

A Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has been charged with attempting to blow up the Delta Airlines plane as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

"Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the failed attack on Christmas Day. That's clear," a U.S. counterterrorism official -- who is not authorized to speak publicly -- told CNN. "So a message like this -- no matter whose voice it may be -- should come as no surprise. Al Qaeda has, from time to time, tried to build support for its program of murder by talking about the Palestinian issue. That line's never gotten them much in the past, and it's unlikely to now, either."

Bin Laden had six messages in 2009. The last was on September 25 and was "to the European people."

In that message, he urged the countries to reconsider their involvement in the Afghanistan war.

"Today Europe is suffering an economic crisis, and its export reputation doesn't hold true anymore, while America is bleeding economically because of all the wars it is involved in," his last message said. "Think about how Europe will fare when America pulls out of Afghanistan. You will be left to suffer alone the rage of the people you oppressed."

A security expert said there's a possibility bin Laden did not know about the attempted attack in December and al Qaeda branches may be using it to prove themselves to the group's leadership.

"They were able to get their man on an American plane on an American soil so it is successful by all means," said Mustafa Al-Ani at the Gulf Research Center. "The strategy is there, outlined by the mother leadership and now we will see the branches doing their best to please their leadership and implement al Qaeda vision in their own ways."

Bin Laden is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan mountain region, according to intelligence experts.

Thursday, 11 March 2010 22:10

A 23-year-old man has been pulled alive from the rubble of a ruined hotel in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, 11 days after the earthquake.

His rescue came as the official search for earthquake survivors in the country was declared over.

He was carried on a stretcher from the Napoli Inn Hotel.

Haitians and rescuers cheered as the man, seen to be smiling, was taken towards a waiting ambulance, the BBC's Adam Mynott reports from the scene.

Earlier, Haiti's government said search-and-rescue operations had ended.

UN spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs in Geneva said the decision was "heartbreaking" but that it had been taken on the advice of experts.

She said most search-and-rescue teams would now be leaving Haiti, although some with heavy lifting equipment might stay to help with the clean-up operation and with aid distribution.

Rescuers said the man found on Saturday appeared to be in good condition, but was thirsty.

The operation to extricate him lasted about two-and-a-half hours.

The man, whose first name is Richmond, smiled as he was pulled free but did not speak.

A French rescue worker, Lt Col Arnaud, described the man's survival as "a miracle".

He said rescuers - who had been alerted by the man's relatives - had managed to get water to him while they worked to dig him out.

Lt Col Arnaud said the man must have had access to some water in the past 11 days and had probably been helped by the fact that the 5-6m (16-20ft) of debris above him was largely wood, rather than concrete.

He said the man had told his rescuers another four people were trapped with him but that they had stopped moving a couple of days ago. Rescuers are now searching for any other signs of life.

Drank his own urine

Two people, an 84-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man, were pulled alive from the rubble in Port-au-Prince on Friday.

The woman, who was found in the wreckage of her home seriously injured and severely dehydrated, was taken to the main city hospital for treatment.

The 21-year-old man, Emmannuel Buso, was rescued by an Israeli search team and is said to be in a stable condition.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he described how he had had no food, and had drunk his own urine to keep thirst at bay.

More than 1,000 mourners gathered on Saturday by Port-au-Prince's shattered Roman Catholic Cathedral for the funeral of Haiti's Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot and a vicar, Charles Benoit.

President Rene Preval attended the service, joined by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the Vatican's ambassador to Haiti.

Few funeral services have been held in Haiti for those killed by the quake.

At least 75,000 bodies have so far been buried in mass graves, Haiti's government has said. Many more remain uncollected in the streets.

An estimated 1.5 million people were left homeless by the 7.0-magnitude quake, which some have estimated has killed as many as 200,000 people.

The UN says 130,000 people have now been relocated out of Port-au-Prince, easing the pressure on overcrowded camps in the city.

The BBC has started a new radio service in Creole, one of the country's main languages.

The 20-minute long daily broadcast, called Connexion Haiti, will try to give people up-to-date information about the basic services they need to survive - such as where to find food, clean drinking water, medical assistance and shelter.