Malala stable after surgeries

Hospital statement says surgeries to restore hearing and reconstruct skull of the Pakistani schoolgirl have gone well. Last Modified: 03 Feb 2013 17:44

At 11-years-old, Malala began to keep a blog about life in the Swat Valley under the Taliban [AFP]

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban, has undergone two successful surgeries to reconstruct her skull and restore her hearing. A statement released on Sunday by Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the British hospital where the 15-year-old is being treated in, said Yousafzai is currently in stable condition.    "She is awake and talking to staff and members of her family," said the statement, adding that she would continue to recover in the hospital until she is well enough to be discharged. The teenager drew the world's attention by being shot and critically wounded by Taliban fighters on October 9, as she walked home from school in northwestern Pakistan. The group said they targeted her because she promoted girls' education and "Western thinking". At age 11, Malala began to write a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC about life under the Taliban in the Swat Valley, where she lived.    After Pakistan's military ousted the Taliban in 2009, she began publicly speaking out about the need for girls' education. She appeared frequently in the media and was given one of the country's highest civilian honours for her bravery. Malala was airlifted to Britain from Pakistan in October to receive specialised medical care and protection against further Taliban threats.    She is expected to remain in the UK for some time after her father, Ziauddin, was given a diplomatic post based in the English city of Birmingham. So far, doctors say she has made very good progress. She was able to stand, write and return home, and doctors said they have seen minimum signs of brain damage.

Dozens arrested after Azerbaijan protests

Activists held after protests against President Aliyev's government, following earlier crackdown in northern town. Last Modified: 26 Jan 2013 23:19

Police have arrested about 40 activists demonstrating in Azerbaijan's capital Baku against President Ilham Aliyev's government, and in support of residents of a northern town were protests were crushed earlier this week.
More than 100 protesters gathered in central Baku on Saturday, some chanting "Freedom!" and calling for the resignation of Aliyev.
Police swiftly stopped the protest, forcing demonstrators out of a park and then arresting some in the street.
The protest was triggered by unrest in Ismailli, about 200km northwest of Baku, where police used teargas and water cannon on Thursday to disperse hundreds of protesters demanding the resignation of a regional leader.
Cars were torched and a hotel set ablaze in a night of rioting.
Unrest in Ismailli reflected frustration at what some Azeris see as an overbearing government, corruption and a large divide between rich and poor in the mostly Muslim Caspian Sea nation of nine million where many lack jobs, money and prospects.
Aliyev succeeded his father in 2003 and has tolerated little dissent in the oil-producing former Soviet republic.
"Our patience came to an end. People are very unhappy with this regime. We demand a change of power in our country," demonstrator Malakhat Nasibova said at the protest in Baku.

Afghan suicide bomber kills anti-terror chief

Counter terrorism police chief, traffic chief and several other police officers killed in suicide attack in Kunduz. Last Modified: 26 Jan 2013 18:23

A suicide bomber has killed several Afghan officials and civilians in a crowded area of the northeast city of Kunduz, provincial authorities said. Officials among the victims included "the city's counter terrorism police chief and head of traffic police chief", the Kunduz provincial governor's spokesman Enayatullah Khaleeq told AFP news agency on Saturday. Kunduz police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussani confirmed the casualties and the attack. Shortly after 12:30GMT a man driving a motorbike detonated a large bomb at a busy roundabout in the north city of Kunduz near a group of police officers, provincial police chief spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said.