Turkey rejoices at female crowd

More than 43,000 female fans turned up to watch Turkish side Fenerbahce play.As many as 43,000 mostly female fans watch Fenerbahce play Manisaspor in IstanbulMale fans had been banned because of a pitch invasion last JulyTurkish football has been mired in a match fixing scandal Club vice-president Ali Koc tells CNN's Pedro Pinto the match was "historic"

(CNN) -- The football world hadn't seen anything quite like it before.

On Tuesday night the Turkish giants of Fenerbahce took on Manisaspor in Istanbul in what should have been an empty stadium.

A pitch invasion by Fenerbahce's notoriously boisterous fans during a friendly in July had forced the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) to ban the male supporters from attending two games as punishment.

Instead as many as 43,000 women and children took advantage of free tickets to fill the stands with songs, banners and passion every bit as intense as their male compatriots.

"This atmosphere was one of the kind and historic in the sense of Turkish football as well as international football," Fenerbahce's vice-president Ali Koc told CNN's Pedro Pinto.

"The women of Fenerbahce sports club have shown us what they can do for their club, what they can do for Turkish football and I think this was an event that was exemplary for sports."

We're disappointed we couldn't send the ladies home with a victory
Fenerbahce vice-president Ali Koc

Fenerbahce won last year's Turkish championship but a cloud has hung over the club since allegations of match fixing came to light during the summer.

Several of Turkey's highest profile football figures have been arrested during the investigations which lead to the TFF withdrawing Fenerbahce from this year's UEFA Champions League group stage draw.

Tuesday night's match was going to be another night of shame for Turkish football, until the TFF allowed children under 12 and an accompanying adult to attend 24 hours before kick off.

By the next morning thousands of women in Fenerbahce shirts lined up for tickets and images were beamed across the globe of what was surely the highest female attendance at a men's match in world football. It was a good news story for Fenerbahce just when Turkish football needed it.

"Tuesday night we had 43,000 fans in the stadium," Koc told CNN.

"As you know the club is going through some troubled times with allegations of match fixing...The fans have gone beyond the call of duty to embrace the club and fight for the rights of the club."

According to Koc Fenerbahce has long pursued a more family-friendly approach and regularly attract up to 8,000 women, around 20 per cent of the crowd.

"Lot of songs, a lot of chanting and solidarity," Koc replied when asked how the atmosphere differed to a typical match day.

"A man has less patience waiting in line for tickets. Coming to the stadium of course men are lot more loud and more synchronized but the women were a lot more passionate and a lot more encouraging."

But the crowd was not rewarded with the victory that their efforts demanded. The match ended 1-1 but for Koc the effects will last long after the final whistle.

"I think it's important for Turkey because we [were] a candidate to host the World Cup, Olympics, European Championships and these committees are all sensitive to the abilities of the organizing host country to fill the stadiums [and] in this direction it was a big positive."

"We're disappointed we couldn't send the ladies home with a victory."

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Polish paintings, stolen by Nazis, repatriated in New York

Stolen paintings by Julian Falat were returned to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski during an event Thursday in New York.NEW: Polish president praises ICE agents "for everything you have done"Paintings by Julian Falat were stolen by the Nazis during occupation of PolandThe works are returned in a ceremony at the Polish Consulate in NYC

New York (CNN) -- Seven decades after Nazi forces looted the National Museum in Warsaw during World War II, two paintings by treasured Polish artist Julian Falat were repatriated in a ceremony Thursday night, according to a statement from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The cultural artifacts were returned to Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski during the event at the Polish Consulate in New York City.

Komorowski presented the Presidential Medal to ICE Special Agent Lennis Barrois and retired Special Agent Bonnie Goldblatt in honor of their investigative work leading to the paintings' repatriation.

The president said, "Behind every person who is here, we can find a very difficult history ... very difficult ties, tangled Polish-American ties.

"It is so good in difficult histories we were able to develop very good, strong relations between our nations. I want to thank you for your good actions, for everything you have done."

The oil-on-panels by Falat (1853-1929), both winter scenes, "are two magnificent and very important pieces of art," said Bogdan Zdrojewski, minister of culture and national heritage, in an official statement.

"Off to the Hunt" which features bundled hunters against a snowy woods backdrop, was originally displayed at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw November 1901 before it was sold to a private owner, given back to the society, and then transferred to the Polish National Museum in December 1939, the ICE news release stated.

"The Hunt," a wintry panorama with a sun-kissed glaze, was originally owned by Ludwik Norblin before it was endowed to the same fine arts society, and later moved to the national museum, the ICE news release stated.

Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, and during the occupation of Warsaw the paintings were taken.

The paintings were missing until 2006, when they were discovered by Polish officials at an auction in New York, according to the ICE press release.

A complaint filed in federal court last December claimed they were taken from the national museum by Benne Von Arent, an SS lieutenant colonel, in 1944, according to press release from Manhattan U.S Attorney's office.

"No one can ever provide just compensation to the victims of the Nazis' atrocities, but it is very gratifying for our office to play a role in returning the art that they looted during World War II to its rightful owners," New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.

Since 2007, the U.S. customs agency has repatriated more than 2,500 items to more than 22 countries.

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Yemen sees fresh clashes as mediation fails

Protests in Ibb on September 19 against the deadly clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in Sanaa.NEW: One person dies when an airstrike hits a residenceAt least four other people are killed and dozens are wounded, medics sayYemen has faced months of demonstrations against the presidentA regional effort at peacemaking ends without result

(CNN) -- Government security forces fired on protesters in Yemen's capital Thursday, killing at least four people and injuring dozens, medical sources at a hospital near the city's Change Square said.

In addition, a fifth person died when an airstrike hit the residence of opposition leader Himyar Ahmed, the deputy speaker of parliament, according to eyewitnesses. The person killed was a supporter, the witnesses said, and 13 others were injured.

Sniper bullets killed four people in the square, according to a senior medical staffer at the Change Square field hospital who asked not to be identified for security reasons. The square has been the center of months of demonstrations against longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The four included two women who were shot in the square earlier, five witnesses said.

Nine other protesters were shot by Republican Guard forces using artillery outside the square, with three of the injured in critical condition, medics on the scene said.

The government did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.

The violence came a day after funerals were held for 30 people killed in protests this week.

Senior members of the opposition were among more than 500,000 opposition supporters to attend the funerals, witnesses said.

At least 87 protesters were killed from Sunday to Wednesday, opposition sources said, and organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International pleaded for calm.

Yemen has been convulsed by months of demonstrations against Saleh.

A regional envoy's effort at mediation ended Wednesday with no clear result.

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdul Latif al-Zayyani left Yemen Wednesday, failing to convince the ruling General People Congress party to sign a GCC proposal to transfer power.

The umbrella opposition group the Joint Meeting Parties refused to officially meet al-Zayyani for dialogue, saying that the ball is in the government's court and that the JMP has already agreed and signed the proposal.

"We did everything asked from us and any dialogue will only stall more time for this oppressive regime," said Mohammed Qahtan, the spokesman for the JMP.

"The GCC is not being fair when dealing with the Yemen crisis. It needs to tell the wrongdoer that he is wrong and save the country from further deaths and catastrophes," Qahtan added.

-- CNN's Kamal Ghattas and journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.

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Freed hiker: 'So relieved we are free'

Josh Fattal: 'So relieved we are free'NEW: U.N. secretary-general appreciates Iranian actionLoved ones welcome the freed American hikers in OmanPresident Barack Obama says he is thrilled by news of the men's releaseThe $1 million bail is paid by the Omani government, their attorney says

Muscat, Oman (CNN) -- American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer bounded down the steps of the aircraft that took them from Iran to Oman late Wednesday, rushing into the arms of loved ones who had sought their freedom for more than two years.

The pair, released earlier in the day from an Iranian prison, arrived in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

Their families and hiker Sarah Shourd -- who was arrested with them but freed last year on medical grounds -- hugged the young men. Shourd is Bauer's fiancee.

Before leaving the Muscat airport for an undisclosed location, Fattal and Bauer released brief statements. They took no questions from reporters.

"We're so happy we are free and so relieved we are free," said Fattal. "Our deepest gratitude goes toward his majesty Sultan Qaboos of Oman for obtaining our release. We're sincerely grateful for the government of Oman for hosting us and our families."

Bauer said: "Two years in prison is too long and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and Iran."

The families earlier expressed their joy, relief and gratitude at the pair's release.

"Today can only be described as the best day of our lives," they said in a statement. "We have waited for nearly 26 months for this moment and the joy and relief we feel at Shane and Josh's long-awaited freedom knows no bounds.

"We now all want nothing more than to wrap Shane and Josh in our arms, catch up on two lost years and make a new beginning, for them and for all of us."

President Barack Obama also welcomed the "wonderful news," saying he was thrilled and could not feel happier for the two men's families. He thanked Oman, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and the Swiss government for their assistance.

Fattal and Bauer were released earlier Wednesday on bail of $500,000 each and their sentences for spying convictions were commuted, Iran's judiciary said, according to government-run Press TV. The departure of the two from Iran effectively meant the bail money will be forfeited and kept by Iran.

The lawyer for Fattal and Bauer, Masoud Shafiee, told CNN the $1 million bail had been paid by the Omani government.

Fattal spoke with his brother, Alex, by phone after the release, according to a source familiar with the hikers' release who asked not to be identified.

The family has not yet said how long everyone will stay in Oman before heading to the United States.

Shourd is no longer wearing an engagement ring Bauer made from a thread from one of his shirts while they were in prison together because she had lost the ring while traveling round the United States working for the release of her fiance and Fattal, said Samantha Topping, a spokeswoman for the families.

Oman's envoy to Tehran, Salem al Ismaily, earlier said in a statement the pair were in the custody of the Omani government and would spend a couple of days in Muscat "before heading home."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appreciates "the decision of the Iranian authorities to positively respond to international appeals on humanitarian grounds," according to a statement. "He commends all parties who helped to secure their release."

Fattal and Bauer arrived at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport late Wednesday in a convoy of diplomatic cars. The convoy had earlier left the country's notorious Evin Prison through the front gates, accompanied by a police escort, but Bauer and Fattal were not visible.

Swiss and Omani officials had waited outside the prison to receive the Americans. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran because there is no American embassy there, and Oman has acted as a broker between Washington and Tehran in the past.

Oman helped secure the release of Shourd, posting her bail last September, a senior Obama administration official said at the time.

The two men's release comes a day before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is due to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Asked at the United Nations about the news, Ahmadinejad's chief of staff, Esfandiar Mashaei, said: "Yes, we were expecting their release, us and the president."

High-profile American Muslims including boxing legend Muhammad Ali had called for their release, and a high-profile delegation of American Christian and Muslim religious leaders met Ahmadinejad in Iran last week to plead for their freedom.

"We were very happy to learn about their release today," said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), who was part of the delegation to Tehran. "We are extremely happy for the hikers, their families and the country."

Bauer and Fattal, both 29, were convicted last month of entering Iran illegally and spying for the United States, and each was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Their attorney, Shafiee, went into the prison earlier Wednesday with paperwork to show that bail had been paid for each of them. A judge had signed the bail papers that morning after several days of delays.

Fattal and Bauer were arrested along with Shourd in July 2009 after apparently straying over an unmarked border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran.

Bauer and Shourd told their families in May last year that they had gotten engaged in prison and planned to get married after their release. Fattal plans to be best man at the wedding, the hikers' relatives said in a statement at the time.

Shourd, in an interview with CNN a year ago, said Bauer had asked her to marry him while they were imprisoned so that they could have something to sustain them through their days in Evin, and give them hope for their future together.

Shourd was freed almost exactly a year ago on medical grounds. Her release came a week before Ahmadinejad addressed the U.N. last year.

One analyst said the timing last year was no coincidence.

"I think President Ahmadinejad really wanted to use this as a way of building up a store of goodwill just before he comes to New York," Columbia University Prof. Gary Sick said last year after Shourd came home.

The Americans say they accidentally crossed into Iran when they veered off a dirt road while hiking near a tourist site in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. They denied the charges and appealed the sentence while serving time in prison.

Ahmadinejad said last week that the release of Fattal and Bauer was imminent, setting off a roller coaster ride of expectations.

The judiciary shot back that only it could make decisions about their release.

An Omani official flew to Iran on September 14 to help work on any negotiation, a Western diplomat told CNN at the time.

CNN's Elise Labott, Mohammed Jamjoom, Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Richard Roth, Mitra Mobasherat and Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

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Israel faces 'regional tsunami' set off by Arab Spring

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, set to speak Friday at the United Nations, faces a much changed region.Palestinian Authority's U.N. statehood bid dramatically raising stakes, officials say Over the past year, Israel has witnessed a "tsunami" of change in the regionIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to address the U.N. General Assembly

(CNN) -- When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets ready to address the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, he will look out at some not-so-familiar faces. The neighborhood has changed since last year's global gathering, and Israel faces multiple challenges as a consequence of the unfinished business known as the Arab Spring.

Israel's closest partner in the Arab world, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, is now on trial. The military council that replaced him has distanced itself from Israel and allowed space to popular opposition to the peace treaty between the two countries. While Israel sheds no tears about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's problems, it is apprehensive about what might follow should unrest eventually unseat him. Instability in Syria would inevitably spill into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has tens of thousands of missiles aimed at Israel.

A once close relationship with Turkey is in tatters. And now the Palestinian Authority is dramatically raising the stakes over stalled negotiations on a peace settlement by looking to the United Nations to win statehood.

Six months ago, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned a diplomatic tsunami was headed in Israel's direction. He told the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv that the Palestinian plan for recognition was an attempt to push Israel into the same corner that apartheid South Africa once occupied.

Barak also said that the Israeli government must come up with its own diplomatic initiative to counter such a move -- and be ready to tackle core issues, including security, borders, refugees and Jerusalem. In oblique criticism of his own government, he said that "for the last two years we haven't tried to put the core issues on the table." But there has been no progress on any of them, nor indeed any negotiations, since Barak made that speech.

In an interview with CNN last month, Barak suggested the tsunami had become much more ominous for Israel. "Egypt is under major transition. The Saudis are kind of occupied -- I don't know how to call it -- in their place. Iran is hostile and a major threat to the whole stability, and we don't have to add Turkey into this array of uneasy choices," he said.

But as Barak acknowledges, Turkey is now firmly added to that array, and given its growing influence and economic clout in the region, that's an unwelcome development for Israel. Not so long ago, the two countries were staging joint military maneuvers and had a fast-developing diplomatic and economic relationship.

Then came the incident when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara, a ship chartered by a Turkish nongovernmental organization taking supplies to Gaza, after repeated warnings it would not be allowed to complete its journey. Nine Turkish activists on board were killed. Turkey was furious; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused its demand for an apology for "operational mistakes" -- a formula worked out by months of U.S.-led diplomacy. Since then, diplomats have been expelled, angry words exchanged between Israel and Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Israel as "the West's spoiled child." One of Israel's main partners in the Muslim world is no longer answering the phone.

This week Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu laid the blame exclusively at Israel's door while waxing lyrical about Ankara's burgeoning relationships with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. "Nobody can blame Turkey or any other country in the region for its isolation," he told The New York Times.

Israel's relationship with Egypt, one of two Arab countries with which it has a peace treaty, is also less amicable. The military council now preparing the country for elections has allowed popular antipathy toward Israel to express itself, and according to a poll this year carried out by the Pew Trust, Egyptians wanted the peace treaty annulled by a margin of 54% to 36%. Even Egypt's caretaker prime minister has suggested the treaty is at risk. Speaking to a Turkish television network, Essam Sharaf said: "The Camp David agreement is not a sacred thing and is always open to discussion with what would benefit the region and the case of fair peace ... and we could make a change if needed."

Border security has deteriorated, with Egyptian military officials acknowledging to CNN that al Qaeda and Salafist terror groups have established a presence in the Sinai desert. In August, a jihadist group based in Gaza used Egyptian territory to attack Israeli civilian targets in Negev -- killing eight civilians. Israeli troops mistakenly killed five Egyptian border guards while in pursuit of the terror cell. Days later, angry protesters overran the Israeli Embassy in Cairo. The entire staff was hastily withdrawn after U.S. President Barack Obama personally intervened with the Egyptians to secure their safe passage. It was a sequence of events that rapidly plunged relations between the Israeli and Egyptian governments into crisis.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which wants the peace treaty with Israel torn up, is gaining strength in Egypt. In an August speech in Cairo's Tahrir Square, preacher Safwat Hegazi of the Brotherhood proclaimed: "We will show them anger."

Egypt's ruling military council does not share Mubarak's visceral animosity toward Iran, and it allowed two Iranian navy vessels to transit the Suez Canal.

Israel's relations with Jordan, where nearly half the population is Palestinian, have also deteriorated. On Wednesday, King Abdullah of Jordan told the U.N. General Assembly that "frustrations are at a peak. Even as we speak Israeli settlement activity is ongoing." The king told The Wall Street Journal this week there was increasing frustration among Jordanians because Israelis have been "sticking their heads in the sand and pretending there isn't a problem."

Jordan's alienation does worry some Israelis. Amos Gilad, director of policy and political-military affairs at Israel's Defense Ministry, said peace with Jordan must be preserved. "(It) gives Israel strategic depth, and peace with them is so valuable it's out of the imagination to describe living without it," he told CNN. Earlier this month, Israel called home staff from its embassy in Amman for a day -- fearing that a planned anti-Israel protest could turn violent. On that day, Israel suddenly had no envoy in Cairo, Ankara or Amman. (The envoy to Jordan has since returned to his post.)

The Israeli government is also concerned the unrest in Syria may ultimately threaten that country's integrity -- leading to sectarian conflict among Sunnis, Alawites and Kurds. Israel would of course welcome problems for Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which receive support from Damascus. But the al-Assad dynasty has at least guaranteed a stable border for nearly 40 years (despite saber-rattling rhetoric). It is "the devil you know." The prospect of Islamists gaining greater influence in Syria or a sectarian meltdown are not better alternatives, Israeli officials said.

In the face of all these negative -- or at least unsettling -- developments, critics of Netanyahu say that his policy lacks urgency and dynamism. Barak Ravid, diplomatic correspondent of the left-leaning daily Haaretz, told CNN: "Right now the only strategy is no strategy. ... The Israeli answer will be no: no to the Security Council, no to the General Assembly, and no to any resolution that will include any kind of statement that will include Palestinian statehood."

While insisting he is ready for direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu said this week it had "consistently evaded peace negotiations with Israel. When the Palestinian Authority will abandon these futile and unilateral measures at the U.N., it will find Israel to be a genuine partner for direct peace negotiations."

Barak, speaking this week on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight," had a subtly different spin. "It's up to us and mainly to our counterpart, the Palestinian leadership, Abu Mazen (Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) and (Salam) Fayyad (the Palestinian prime minister) and others, to shoulder the burden of leadership and start to move."

For now, ordinary Israelis are not feeling the consequences of this fast changing environment. The Israeli Defense Ministry's Gilad said that despite the diplomatic and political uncertainty Israel was "living in the best security conditions ever," noting that the number of terror attacks was low -- and that tensions notwithstanding the peace with Egypt "is still stable."

Barak said it's not the moment to be complacent. "You cannot just close your eyes, say the Lord is with us, and you cannot say, 'OK, nothing could be done,' " he told Piers Morgan.

"We have to be active. We shouldn't be paralyzed like a rabbit under the lights."

September 20, 2011 -- Updated 1806 GMT (0206 HKT) CNN's Tim Lister breaks down the Palestinian vote for statehood and what it could mean for the U.S. September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0049 GMT (0849 HKT) The Palestinians have indicated that they will formally ask the United Nations for recognition of "Palestine" as a new member state.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0943 GMT (1743 HKT) As a package is developed to avoid a showdown over Palestinian statehood, Obama and Abbas plan to meet.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0954 GMT (1754 HKT) Rarely has so much time and energy been devoted to an issue less consequential than the Palestinian bid for statehood, Aaron David Miller writes.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0117 GMT (0917 HKT) The Mideast peace process is stalled and the U.S. faces the possibility of having to veto a U.N. resolution on Palestinian statehood. How did it get to this point? September 20, 2011 -- Updated 1920 GMT (0320 HKT) CNN's Wolf Blitzer takes a look at America's role in the struggle for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0049 GMT (0849 HKT) Nabil Saeed lays out large rolls of red, green, white and black cloth on his workshop table. These are the colors of his homeland, one he hopes will soon become a fully recognized state. Today's five most popular stories

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Tropical Storm Ophelia forecast to slowly weaken

NEW: Ophelia's winds slip to 50 mphOphelia could disintegrate over the next 48 hoursThe storm is not currently threatening land

Miami (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Ophelia weakened late Thursday as it continued its trek across the central Atlantic, forecasters said.

The system could degenerate further over the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Ophelia had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph late Thursday night, with gusts of up to 65 mph, the center said.

The storm was about 820 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands and was moving west at 12 mph, forecasters said. The five-day forecast map shows the system staying north of the Caribbean.

"A turn toward the northwest and a slight increase in forward speed is expected on Friday," according to the hurricane center. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect.

Tropical storm-force winds of at least 39 mph extended outward up to about 260 miles from Ophelia's center, the hurricane center said.

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Ex-Afghanistan leader assassinated

Afghan official killed by bomberNEW: ISAF commander says the face of the peace initiative has been attacked NATO says 2 suicide bombers carried out the attack; Afghan authorities described one Four people were wounded in the attack, a police spokesman says

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- An Afghan political figure considered vital to peace efforts in the country was assassinated Tuesday, officials said.

Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former Afghan president who had been leading the Afghan peace council, was killed in an attack at his home.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said two suicide bombers, "feigning a desire to conduct reconciliation talks, detonated themselves."

Afghan officials earlier said there was one bomber.

The attacker hid the explosive device inside his turban, said Hasmat Stanikzai, spokesman for Kabul police.

An Afghan intelligence source told CNN that the bomber arrived at the house at the same time a meeting was due to take place between Rabbani and a delegation representing the Taliban insurgency.

Stanikzai said the bomber claimed to be a Taliban member who had come for the talks about peace and reconciliation, and detonated the explosives as he entered the home.

Four other people were wounded, including Masoom Stanikzai, a key adviser to Rabbani, the police spokesman said.

A doctor at a 400-bed hospital in Kabul said, "We have received three people from the blast at Rabbani's house. Among the injured are Masoom Stanikzai, one bodyguard and an assistant" to Rabbani.

Rabbani was long considered crucial to Afghan and coalition efforts to bring Taliban leaders into the reconciliation process.

He was also heading the United National Front Party, the largest political party that stands in opposition to President Hamid Karzai.

Karzai called Rabbani's killing a "very tragic loss" for his country.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York, Karzai described Rabbani as "an Afghan patriot" who "has sacrificed his life for the sake of Afghanistan and for the peace of our country."

"We will miss him very much," Karzai said.

Karzai cut short his time at the United Nations. His office said he would return to Afghanistan in the wake of the killing.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of the violence in Afghanistan, including Rabbani's assassination, "We know that is the campaign the insurgents are on. We've got to adjust to that and protect the leaders.

"Someone is going to have to step in very quickly because that is a critical part of the peace process," Mullen said of Rabbani's role. The killing represents the strategy of the Taliban to assassinate as many leaders as possible, Mullen said.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the assassination "an attack on the Afghan people as they begin to take their country's security in their own hands."

"To those who offer only death and destruction to the Afghan people, our message is clear: You will not prevail," he said in a statement.

Gen. John R. Allen, commander of ISAF, said the "face of the peace initiative has been attacked."

"This is another outrageous indicator that, regardless of what Taliban leadership outside the country say, they do not want peace, but rather war," Allen said in a statement.

The loud explosion heard in the attack on the home prompted temporary lockdowns at the nearby U.S. Embassy and ISAF headquarters as officials investigated the source of the blast.

Personnel at the U.S. Embassy were instructed to take cover late Tuesday afternoon due to an incident outside the embassy's perimeter, an embassy spokesman said.

"It appears at this time that the embassy was not the target of the incident," spokesman Gavin Sundwall said in a statement. "We are working to account for all embassy personnel and staff."

ISAF headquarters was on lockdown for about 30 minutes, an ISAF spokesman said.

People at the headquarters heard a couple of deep booms followed by sirens, the spokesman said.

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Death toll climbs as typhoon leaves Japan

A woman braves strong winds as Typhoon Roke hits the Tokyo area.Roke is no longer a tropical stormThe remnants of the storm are racing into the northern PacificPlant officials report no major problems at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

(CNN) -- The death toll climbed to 10 in Japan as the remnants of former Typhoon Roke raced into the northern Pacific on Thursday, government officials said.

Four people are missing, according to local government officials.

Roke hit the Japanese mainland Wednesday morning as a powerful Typhoon, packing winds of up to 167 kph (103 mph).

The storm caused widespread flooding and disrupted transportation throughout the island nation a day earlier.

The storm hit as Japan is still recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck in March, killing more than 15,000 people.

Ahead of the storm, there were fears that it would affect Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Daiichi plant, which went into a nuclear crisis after the March disaster. TEPCO officials canceled outdoor construction at the plant.

Plant officials said Thursday that they have not seen any major problems at the plant due to Roke.

At one point before the storm made landfall, about 1 million people were urged to evacuate from vulnerable areas as heavy rain pounded central and western Japan.

Some downpours came up to 50 millimeters (2 inches) an hour, and some regions received more than 450 millimeters (17 inches) over a day, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki and Junko Ogura contributed to this report

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Ahmadinejad: Iran is a model for the world

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country is the only nation that can offer a new model for life to the world.Ahamdinejad: The U.S. may be willing to "highjack" uprisings in the Middle EastThe Iranian president says Iran would cease enriching uranium to 20% if the U.S. provided it

NEW YORK (CNN) -- On the eve of his address at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared his country to be "a new model for life to the world."

He also said that the United States might be willing to "highjack" the Middle East uprisings, according to Iran's state-run news agency IRNA.

Ahmadinejad's appearance at the United Nations in New York comes a day after two U.S. hikers, held in an Iranian prison for more than two years, were released.

Wednesday evening, Ahmadinejad met with a group of U.S. university students, and then gave an interview to Iranian satellite television.

His office provided translated quotes from both.

The Iranian leader said "that the world is in need of change, and Marxism, liberalism, humanism and the West could not solve man's problems," his office said. Ahmadinejad added that "relying on its culture and rich civilization," Iran is "the only nation" that "can offer a new model for life to the world."

He told the students "that the U.S. may be willing to highjack the regional uprisings but a stormy movement is under way," IRNA reported.

"Elsewhere in his speech, he said that the U.N. was set up with the objective of preventing bullying in the world, but this did not happen," IRNA reported.

Ahamdinejad also gave an interview to New York Times Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristof in which he discussed the dispute over Iran's nuclear activities. He said that if the United States gave Iran 20% enriched uranium, "we will cease the domestic enrichment of uranium of up to 20% this very week. We only want the 20% enrichment for our domestic consumption. If they give it to us according to international law, according to IAEA laws, without preconditions, we will cease domestic enrichment."

Many countries, including the United States, believe Iran is trying to create a nuclear weapons program, but Tehran insists its activities are only to provide energy for the country.

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China calls for resumption of talks

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing Monday marks the six party talks' joint statement on North Korea.South Korea's new unification minister says he'll do all can to reopen talksNorth Korean leader expressed willingness during meeting with Russia's president last monthNorth korean expert Andrei Lankov not hopeful of positive outcome

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- China is calling Monday for the resumption of six party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament two days before planned inter-Korean talks. "We are happy to see that there have been some new, positive interactions between the parties concerned surrounding the restart of the six party talks," Foreign minister Yang Jiechi told a seminar in Beijing. "The parties must seize these opportunities."

Yonhap news agency reports North Korea's nuclear envoy Ri Yong Ho, attending the same seminar as Yang, called for the unconditional resumption of talks. Ri and his South Korean counterpart Wi Sung-lac will meet in Beijing Wednesday for the second time this year. The two also met on the outskirts of the ASEAN conference in Bali, Indonesia back in July.

South Korea's new unification minister, Yu Woo-ik, made it clear in his inauguration speech Monday he would do all he could to reopen talks with the North. "With a stern but flexible attitude, the ministry will try to create an atmosphere for dialogue and untangle knots in relations," he told lawmakers.

The policy toward North Korea since President Lee Myung-bak took power in 2008 has been more hard-line than in previous years, linking economic aid to progress on nuclear disarmament, and although the official line is that the policy has not changed, it appears the stance has softened.

Six party talks on nuclear disarmament between the two Koreas, the US, Russia, Japan and China broke down in April 2009 when North Korea walked out after the United Nations Security Council issued a statement condemning the North's launch of a satellite. The international community believed it to be a missile test.

Pyongyang has in recent months been urging the resumption of the 6 party talks on nuclear disarmament in return for international aid. The US and South Korea both insist Pyongyang respect its past commitments to disarm before 6 party talks restart.

During a meeting last month with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was quoted as showing a willingness to impose a moratorium on his nuclear program, if talks resume.

Wednesday's talks have been welcomed by the United States as a further sign of easing tensions. High profile US-North Korean talks took place in New York in July. US Deputy State Department spokesman, Mark C. Toner told reporters Friday, "We would certainly welcome steps by the North Korean Government to improve inter-Korean relations, and as such, we would welcome a dialogue - further dialogue, rather, between North Korea and South Korea."

But not everyone is hopeful of a positive outcome from these talks. North Korean expert Andrei Lankov tells CNN, "It is positive that negotiations have begun again. However, there is zero chance that these negotiations will ever bring the officially intended result, that is, democratization of North Korea. North Korea is not going to surrender its nuclear weapons."

Lankov cites the example of Moammar Gaddafi, who gave up his nuclear program and has now been ousted from power by the Libyan people aided by NATO. Lankov says of Kim, "He saw how Gaddafi was betrayed, and he will not do it himself."

CNN's Steven Jiang contributed to this report.

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Ex-prisoner's advice to freed hikers

Saberi 'delighted' for released hikersIranian-American Roxana Saberi was detained in January 2009The freelance journalist was accused of being a spySaberi was held at the same notorious prison as the American hikersThe last two hikers were freed Wednesday; Saberi offers advice to them

(CNN) -- A trip to Iran to learn more about her family's ancestry became a nightmare for American journalist Roxana Saberi. In January 2009, while she was working in the country, several men showed up at the Iranian-American's door and carted her off to Evin Prison, the notoriously brutal lockup outside Tehran where three American hikers were recently imprisoned. Like Josh Fattal, Sarah Shourd and Shane Bauer, Saberi was accused of being a spy for the U.S.

Like them, she denied the accusation. Iran tried, convicted and sentenced Saberi to eight years. But, to her shock, she was freed after 100 days. She returned to the U.S. in May 2009.

On Wednesday, Fattal and Bauer were freed after two years at Evin. Shourd was released last year.

CNN talked with Saberi about the advice she would give the hikers and about her experience at Evin.

CNN: Did you ever hope that you might be set free, even after your sentence?

Roxana Saberi: I didn't think I was going to be set free after being sentenced to eight years. When they said I was going to be freed, I was in disbelief, very happy disbelief.

CNN: You wrote in your book that about gaining a unique kind of mental clarity and toughness.

Saberi: I learned over time, especially from my cellmates, that things happen to you, and you can't control them. All you can control is your response to them. In prison, you cannot control your physical environment.

CNN: You can say that, but to actually live that way under those circumstances is another thing. You were interrogated for days on end.

Saberi: (The interrogators) were mostly harsh and threatening, but then they would say, "Oh, are you hungry? Do you want us to make you comfortable? Do you want some tea or some water?" I think it was partly to mess with the person's mind. My cellmates, the women who were prisoners, they are the strong ones. There were times when I was angry and told myself that I hate the sin and not the sinner. I had to learn from my cellmates, who were in prison much longer. I asked them, "How do you not hate these people for doing this to you?"

(Saberi says she nurtured relationships with other prisoners by teaching them English. Many, she says, were at Evin for believing in Baha'i, a monotheistic faith believers are persecuted for in Iran.)

Saberi: These prisoners told me, "We don't hate (the guards), but we forgive them," which was incredible to me. I tried hard to hate the sin and not the sinner. ... I realized we are all human beings, and (the prison workers) do their jobs to have job security. They get paid for it. Some of them do believe in the ideology, and some don't. If our captors, I believe, were raised in a different environment, they wouldn't do what they do.

But I really got a lot of strength from other prisoners. We taught each other jokes in our different languages. I taught them vocabulary that had to do with shopping and English curse words. We exercised.

CNN: How did you exercise?

Saberi: Sit-ups, push-ups in our cell. We were allowed to go outside four times a week, escorted by guards who pushed at the chadors we had to wear. The guards would take us to a cement cage -- the walls, all cement and bars. Overhead them, at least you could see sky.

CNN: When the guards were marching you back and forth, did you say anything to them? Did they speak to you?

Saberi: They mostly didn't say anything. (But) a female guard -- she was older -- reached under my chador and grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

CNN: Did you see any other humanity like that in your guards?

Saberi: There was humanity in some of them, in this female guard. She seemed to be trying to tell me that everyone would be OK. Toward me, the guards were mostly civil. I did see them yelling at other prisoners. I assume that because I was a foreigner, and Iranians say they are kind to foreigners.

We tried to learn more about the women guards, because they would stop by our cells when they were giving us food. They were very tight-lipped and were instructed not to say much about themselves. We got tidbits about their lives. One had kids, and one had a nose job; this kind of plastic surgery is very popular in Iran. They had the same values -- caring about how they looked -- like other women would have. But I didn't get that close with any of them. They don't allow it.

CNN: Tell me more about how you kept sane, especially in solitary confinement. How did you even keep track of time?

Saberi: Well, I thought I was going crazy. I was in solitary for more than two weeks; then I was sent to a cell that had state-run TV playing so I could see the time. I could hear the call to prayer and see sun rays cast on the cell walls and floors.

CNN: Can you describe what solitary confinement was like?

Saberi: I could hold my hands out and almost touch two walls. There was ratty brown carpet. There was a broken toilet. Military blankets. A sign on the wall quoted (founder and supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah) Khomeini said, "Prisons must be colleges for human improvement." There was a window just below the ceiling out of reach that was covered with metal mesh and bars. On the other side of my wall, I heard a prisoner whimpering.

I was very worried, because no one knew where I was. (Saberi wrote in her memoir "Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran" that only after many days did Iranian authorities allow her to call her father. They forced her to lie to him in saying that she didn't know where she was and that she was in trouble for drinking alcohol.)

I tried to keep my sanity by singing songs like Christmas carols and "We Will Rock you," and I played notes with my fingers on the wall. I kept saying things that gave me courage like Gandhi's "I do believe I am seeking only God's truth and have lost all fear of man."

CNN: When you were let out of solitary, what happened?

Saberi: They put me in another cell.

CNN: And you were held for four months. What did you think when news came last week when the Iranian president said that Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were going to be released? And what did you think when they were freed Wednesday?

Saberi: In Iran, you never believe it until you see it. I thought about their families.

CNN: You've talked to their families before.

Saberi: I could relate to how worried they were. My parents were in a similar situation. I wanted to comfort them and to explain what prison was like for me.

CNN: What would you say to Josh and Shane now?

Saberi: I'd like to hear from them how their situation was. I hope that they are able to adapt well in this new part of their life and perhaps learned lessons in prison that can help them when they're free. I would tell them to take their time and not feel pressured to make decisions. This is their time. It's theirs again.

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Libya military site yields possible radioactive material

Two more towns for Libya's rebelsNEW: An ex-inspector says the IAEA should view material marked "radioactive" soonNEW: Algeria says it will recognize Libya's transitional government as officialAnti-Gadhafi forces came upon the military site that may have radioactive materialTroops have been putting pressure on several regime holdout cities in recent days

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Anti-Gadhafi forces have come across a military site in southern Libya that contains what appears to be radioactive material.

The site, not far from Sabha in the Sahara desert, has two warehouses containing thousands of blue barrels marked with tape saying "radioactive," and plastic bags of yellow powder sealed with the same type tape.

The fact that Libya might have radioactive material is not a surprise: In 2004, the the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the Libyan government had yellowcake stored in Sabha. Afterward, Moammar Gadhafi's government vowed its intent to dismantle its nuclear program, and there has been no indication it was ever developed enough that it might appear in weapons.

Still, the fact that it was lying seemingly unguarded -- such that it could end up in the hands of terrorists or nations intent on illicitly turning radioactive material into weapons -- is a definite cause for concern, said David Albright, a former weapons inspector and now president of the Institute for Science and International Security.

"During wars, nuclear material is not protected very well," Albright said, noting that IAEA crews in the past have entered war-zones such as in the former Yugoslavia and Algeria. "The IAEA needs to get there as soon as possible, to determine if anything is missing."

Yellowcake is processed uranium ore that can be used to produce enriched uranium for nuclear purposes, with Albright noting that it -- if it is what outside experts believe -- is not highly radioactive, in itself.

Even so, Cirincione seconded the sentiment that the discovery was cause for alarm.

"These pictures are amazing and sobering. Remember we had been assured by the State Department just weeks ago in August that significant mustard gas, MANPADS and nuclear materials were all secured. This discovery appears to show that in fact we can't count on anything being secured in Libya now," Cirincione said.

The yellowcake is not in itself a real danger, but having it next to high explosives is a potential environmental disaster if they were to explode, said Cirincione, who's president of the Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation.

Fighters entered Sabha, long regarded as a pro-Gadhafi stronghold, on Wednesday afternoon and initially met no resistance, officials said.

About a dozen lightly armed revolutionary fighters are now guarding the military site outside the city.

Electric power in Sabha, which had been off for two weeks, was restored Thursday evening. In addition, Al Madar, one of the nation's mobile phone networks, began working in the city after being down for more than a month.

Elsewhere, revolutionaries have taken control of the southwestern town of Ubari, chasing Moammar Gadhafi loyalists from the area as Libya's new leaders continued to gain momentum, National Transitional Council field commander Al-Amin Shtawi said Thursday.

The announcement comes days after the NTC received the significant milestone of being recognized by South Africa, Algeria and the African Union as Libya's legitimate rulers.

"Due to the role and obligations that the National Transitional Council has fulfilled and due to the African Union position, Algerian-NTC (diplomatic) relations will move from semi-official to official," said Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, according to state-run Radio Algerie. Algeria had been among Gadhafi's biggest allies in the region, and is where his wife and three of his children fled to in August.

Troops loyal to Libya's new leaders have been putting pressure on several regime holdout cities in recent days. Along with Thursday's military action in Ubari, fighters have also clashed with Gadhafi loyalists in the northern town of Bani Walid and in Sirte.

Despite not yet having complete control over the entire country, the NTC says it is planning on how to set up a new government.

Elamin Belhaj, a senior member of the NTC, told CNN Wednesday that the formation of a Libyan government will not be announced until anti-Gadhafi forces control the borders of the country and liberate the three cities of Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha .

That effort could take up to one month, he said.

After liberation, the NTC will create an interim government by appointing a prime minister who will be responsible for forming the government. The prime minister will decide how many ministers will be in that interim government, but he must return to the NTC for approval of that government. That government will create a new constitution that will be put before the Libyan people for approval in a referendum.

CNN's Ben Wedeman, Brian Walker and Greg Botelho contributed to this report

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Explainer: Palestinian statehood bid

Activists rally in support of Palestinian U.N. bid for statehood near fence separating Israel from Gaza.Palestinians set to request U.N. recognition of "Palestine" as new member stateU.S. holds veto power, has pledged to vote down statehood bidIsraeli PM has rejected pre-1967 border lines as basis for Palestinian stateMany believe move may worsen relations between Palestinian Authority and Israel

(CNN) -- During the course of the United Nations General Assembly the Palestinians have indicated that they will formally ask the world body for recognition of "Palestine" as a new member state. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon he will officially submit the statehood request on Friday which will ask that the U.N. Security Council take up the issue of Palestinian statehood.

Despite much talk of a U.N. vote on Palestinian statehood this week, neither of the organization's two major organs, the Security Council and the General Assembly are expected to take immediate action on the request.

Why is this move happening now?

The Palestinian Authority leadership says they are making the request for statehood now for a few reasons. Firstly, they argue that over the course of the past two years the Palestinian Authority has made great progress in building the infrastructure necessary for maintaining a sovereign state. They point to the various improvements in governance, security, and physical infrastructure as indicators of their readiness.

Palestinians also point to the September 2011 date that U.S. President Barack Obama laid out over a year ago as the deadline for the successful negotiation with Israel for a two-state solution. The Quartet of Middle East peace, made up of the U.N., European Union, Russia, and the U.S. also set this month as the target date for a negotiated deal. With that deadline not having been met Palestinian leaders argue that that the best way to enhance the chances for peace moving forward is for international recognition of a Palestinian state.

Who is agreeing with the Palestinians' demand, and who is disagreeing?

In the 15-member Security Council, the one body that can confer full U.N. membership, the Palestinians enjoy the support of a majority of the countries. But the United States, which as one of the five permanent members holds veto power, has pledged it will vote down the statehood bid, ending the Palestinians' chance to win full membership.

In the General Assembly, where a vote would be non-binding, the Palestinians enjoy the support of more than 120 of the 193 members and passage of a statehood resolution would be all but assured.

Why do the U.S. and Israel oppose the call?

Both the U.S. and Israel consider the Palestinian strategy a unilateral move that will only hinder the possibility of reaching a peaceful settlement to the Middle East conflict. U.N. action, both countries argue, does not take the place of direct negotiations. Speaking recently to reporters, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "We believe strongly that the road to peace and two states living side by side does not go through New York, it goes through Jerusalem and Ramallah."

Israel calls for peace talks amid Palestinian statehood push

Surely, if the U.S and Israel don't agree then it won't mean any difference on the ground?

Without the acknowledgement of Israel and the U.S., United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state based on armistice lines that existed before 1967 is largely a symbolic move. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected these lines as the basis for a Palestinian state, calling them "indefensible." Therefore the borders, airspace, and movement of people in a new "Palestine" would continue to be controlled by the Israeli military and it would be unlikely to change the presence of about 300,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

If a Palestinian state is recognized, what could that mean for relations/negotiations with Israel?

Many believe recognition of a Palestinian state would exacerbate already poor relations between the Palestinian Authority government and Israel. Some politicians in Israel have called for unilateral responses to the Palestinian bid including the outright annexation of territory in the West Bank, the withholding of tax revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinians, and the cancellation of various parts of the 1993 Oslo accords that created the Palestinian Authority. Potential moves like this and what some believe could be a rising level of Palestinian frustration at unmet expectations could add a great deal of tension on the ground and contribute to the possibility of an outbreak of violence. Palestinian Authority leadership maintains that recognition would help put pressure on Israel to be more reasonable in future negotiations.

Is there risk in this move for the Palestinian Authority?

Beyond the potential response from Israel, the Palestinian bid at the U.N. is risky. The U.S. is opposed to the move and lawmakers in congress have threatened to pull the plug on hundreds of millions of dollars in annual American aid. Others say the move will unrealistically raise expectations of Palestinians and, if little actually changes on the ground, could contribute to regional tensions. The Palestinian Authority could also risk losing support from its own people. The Hamas political faction, which controls Gaza, does not support the U.N. strategy and there are concerns among the Palestinian refugees in the region that the statehood bid could compromise their "right of return" to their homeland.

Would U.N. recognition give the Palestinians anything substantive?

Recognition by the United Nations could potentially give Palestinians greater access to international bodies like the International Criminal Court and the Human Rights Council. Venues like these could serve as a place for Palestinians to file legal challenges to Israeli practices and exert more international pressure on Israel.

What's the current state of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians?

Currently there are no talks going on between Israeli and Palestinians. Talks fell apart a year ago over disagreements on the issue of Israeli West Bank settlements. Coming off a self-imposed 10-month halt in settlement construction, Israel said it would not renew the freeze. This led the Palestinians to quit the negotiations. In an effort to head off the Palestinian's statehood request at the U.N. the United States and various European countries have been engaged in 11th hour diplomacy to get the talks restarted but few expect a breakthrough deal.

September 20, 2011 -- Updated 1806 GMT (0206 HKT) CNN's Tim Lister breaks down the Palestinian vote for statehood and what it could mean for the U.S. September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0049 GMT (0849 HKT) The Palestinians have indicated that they will formally ask the United Nations for recognition of "Palestine" as a new member state.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0943 GMT (1743 HKT) As a package is developed to avoid a showdown over Palestinian statehood, Obama and Abbas plan to meet.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0954 GMT (1754 HKT) Rarely has so much time and energy been devoted to an issue less consequential than the Palestinian bid for statehood, Aaron David Miller writes.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0117 GMT (0917 HKT) The Mideast peace process is stalled and the U.S. faces the possibility of having to veto a U.N. resolution on Palestinian statehood. How did it get to this point? September 20, 2011 -- Updated 1920 GMT (0320 HKT) CNN's Wolf Blitzer takes a look at America's role in the struggle for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.September 21, 2011 -- Updated 0049 GMT (0849 HKT) Nabil Saeed lays out large rolls of red, green, white and black cloth on his workshop table. These are the colors of his homeland, one he hopes will soon become a fully recognized state. Today's five most popular stories

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Huge Bangladesh strike over fuel prices

A huge contingent of police guard the streets in Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on Thursday as the opposition parties call a general strike in protest against fuel price hike.Dhaka police put 13,000 officers in the streets in that one city, police chief saysThe usually busy streets of Dhaka looked almost deserted of people, vehiclesThe opposition alliance launched the day-long general strike to protest an increase in fuel pricesThe opposition claims at least 400 protesters were arrested

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- Thousands of anti-riot police were in the streets of Bangladesh's capital city Thursday as the opposition alliance launched a day-long general strike in protest of a fuel price hike.

The strike, occurring all over the country, paralyzed daily life as road communications were heavily disrupted and schools and business establishments remained closed on Thursday, the last working day of the week.

The usually busy streets of the capital, Dhaka, looked almost deserted as most means of public and private transportation remained off the roads.

The opposition group Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies, mostly Islamic parties, called the strike after the government raised the price of petroleum fuels and compressed national gas on Sunday.

Dhaka's police chief, Benazir Ahmed, said his department deployed 13,000 policemen alone in the capital to break up any opposition protests, and the home ministry also initiated mobile courts to try protesters summarily on the streets.

Police said that the strike was mostly peaceful apart from a few incidents of violence, but the opposition parties said the police and the ruling party men beat up their activists wherever they had tried to bring out a procession.

Police said they had arrested some 200 people from different parts of the country, but the opposition claimed that the number was at least 400.

The BNP acting secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said, "The government has increased fuel prices at a time when people's suffering has already peaked due to high inflation." But the government said it was an "issueless" strike.

The general secretary of the ruling Awami League, Syed Ashraful Islam, said it was illogical as the prices of fuel oils were still lower in Bangladesh (a liter of gasoline costs US$ 1.06) than in the international market.

"If the prices of fuel oils increase in the global market in the future, the government will increase the prices again because the government will need to pay huge subsidies otherwise," he added.

The fuel price hike, the second such rise in four months, triggered protests also by transport owners.

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U.N. tensions swell amid controversy

South African President Jacob Zuma addresses the United Nations on Thursday.NEW: Iran's president blasts U.S. at U.N. General AssemblyNEW: The U.S. representative called the speech "abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories"NEW: The UK Prime Minister said the Arab Spring reflects "massive opportunity" NEW: Turkey's Prime Minister blasts Israel at General Assembly

United Nations (CNN) -- In a meandering address that assigned American blame to issues ranging from the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the global financial crisis, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted U.S. foreign policy Thursday in a speech that prompted several delegates to walk out.

The Iranian leader told the U.N. General Assembly that the U.S. government views Zionism as "sacred," and that their European counterparts use the Holocaust as an excuse to pay ransom to Zionists.

Mark Kornblau, a spokesman for the United States Mission to the United Nations, said "Mr. Ahmadinejad had a chance to address his own people's aspirations for freedom and dignity, but instead he again turned to abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories."

The speech prompted American, French, British and other delegates to walk out. And though controversial, it did not directly address the group's prime topic of the week: A Palestinian U.N. bid for statehood.

In prepared remarks, British Prime Minister David Cameron fired back, saying the Iranian president "didn't remind us" that Iran represses freedom of speech and violently puts down demonstrations.

The address comes just one day after Iran released two long-imprisoned American hikers, detained near the Iranian-Iraqi border on suspicion of espionage.

Cameron also called recent uprisings in the Middle East -- known as the Arab Spring -- a "massive opportunity" to enact broader diplomatic reforms.

Turning to Libya, he asked for continued support for the country's transitional government after rebel fighters last month all but ousted Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi after more than four decades in power.

He also said Britain supports Palestinian desires for "a viable state of their own," but echoed his U.S. counterpart, President Barack Obama, in saying a mere U.N. resolution couldn't solve the broader conflict.

In a sign that seemed to signal an unwillingness to immediately recognize the Palestinians' bid for statehood, Cameron said Israeli and Palestinian leaders must "sit down and talk to each other." "Our role must be to support this."

Peace negotiations broke down last year.

Demonstrators, meanwhile, gathered outside the U.N. headquarters where the Iranian president spoke, marking the seventh time Ahmadinejad has traveled to New York since he took office in 2005.

The Iranian leader on Wednesday called his country "a new model for life to the world" and warned that United States might be willing to "hijack" the recent uprisings in the Middle East.

He also gave an interview to New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof in which he discussed the dispute over his country's nuclear activities.

The Iranian leader said that if the United States gives Iran 20%-enriched uranium, "we will cease the domestic enrichment of uranium of up to 20% this very week. We only want the 20% enrichment for our domestic consumption. If they give it to us according to international law, according to IAEA laws, without preconditions, we will cease domestic enrichment."

The IAEA -- International Atomic Energy Agency -- is the U.N. entity that monitors nuclear activity in the world.

Many nations, including the United States, accuse Iran of trying to create a nuclear weapons program, but Tehran insists its activities are peaceful, aimed only at domestic energy use.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also addressed the assembly Thursday, asking for greater cooperation in combating Somali piracy and civil war, pressing for resolutions in Syria and in the Balkans, and describing Israeli settlements and the blockade of Gaza as illegal.

The Turkish leader then blamed the Israeli government for obstructing peace efforts and ignoring past resolutions, and he called on the United Nations to help "end this human tragedy."

His comments were likely closely monitored in Jerusalem as Turkish-Israeli relations have hit an all-time low after Erdogan expelled the Israeli ambassador when he refuse to apologize for an Israeli commando raid that left nine Turkish activists dead after the group made their way to the blockaded Gaza Strip -- a move Israel says was illegal.

The United States has vowed to block the Palestinian application for statehood should it come up in the Security Council, but also has been engaged in a diplomatic push meant to head off a scenario that would lead to an American veto.

In a move likely to bring criticism from across the Arab world, U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday issued a sharp rebuke to those pressing for full Palestinian membership.

"Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the U.N.," Obama said, addressing delegates at the General Assembly. "If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now."

Israel has described the bid as counterproductive to the peace process, and has called for a resumption of talks to begin in New York and to be continued in Ramallah and Jerusalem.

On Wednesday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with Obama as part of the whirlwind of diplomatic

wrangling that has accompanied the controversial proposal.

The American president, while supporting the Palestinian leader's call for statehood, reiterated a long-standing U.S. position on the need for a two-state solution, meaning Israel must be part of any action, officials said.

Abbas is expected to submit the formal request for full U.N. membership by Friday.

But with the timetable for a statehood bid narrowing, delegates at the U.N. General Assembly seemed to add to the tension Thursday by marking the 10th anniversary of a controversial summit in Durban, South Africa that singled out Israel for criticism.

The summit, called to address the legacy of discrimination and its modern-day manifestations, equated Zionism with racism, prompting walk-outs from American and Israeli leaders in 2001.

"We are all aware that the original Durban conference and its follow-up two years ago caused immense controversy," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "We should condemn anyone who uses this platform to subvert that effort with inflammatory rhetoric, baseless assertions and hateful speech."

Addressing the General Assembly, South African President Jacob Zuma said the specter of racism and "the legacy of all these ills are still visible."

He asked for a memorial to be created in honor of those affected by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, noting that some reparations had already been paid to affected countries.

Later on Thursday, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa called on Israel to return to its 1967 boundaries, which would afford Palestinians the Gaza strip, East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

He also reiterated support of Libya's new leadership, largely focusing on issues of international diplomacy while violence and controversy over parliamentary seats -- vacated by opposition members -- swirled at home.

Last week, tens of thousands marched and chanted anti-regime slogans during the funeral procession of a man killed southwest of the capital, Manama.

But Al Khalifa noted a need for reforms "aimed to provide decent living conditions, security and tranquillity in a society of peaceful coexistence."

Also on Thursday, Ivory Coast's new president, Alassane Ouattara, made his first appearance at the General Assembly's podium, thanking all "those who had faith in our democracy."

The Western African nation had been engulfed in violence since November, when then-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after he lost the presidential election.

Many months of fighting and widespread displacement ensued, until Gbagbo finally surrendered in April and Ouattara took office in May with the country still wracked by conflict.

"International peace and security continue to be a major concern for our people," Ouattara told the assembly.

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Death toll in Pakistan floods rises to 369

Floods overwhelm Sindh and Balochistan provincesThe United Nations is seeking millions for relief effortsThis is the second consecutive year of deadly flooding for Pakistan

(CNN) -- At least 369 people have died and 700,000 are living in refugee camps because of flooding in southern Pakistan, the country's national disaster authority said Thursday.

The flooding in Sindh province has destroyed 1.5 million homes in 41,000 villages, the government said. About 8.2 million people have been affected. Along with the deaths, more than 740 people have been injured.

About 67 percent of food stocks have been destroyed and nearly 37 percent of the livestock has been lost "or sold to avoid loss," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said earlier this week.

"At least 5 million surviving animals are at risk, lacking feed and shelter and facing increased exposure to debilitating diseases and worm infestations," Byrs said.

The United Nations' World Food Programme has been distributing food to thousands of people.

More than 6,000 schools have been damaged by the floods and 1,363 education facilities are currently being used as relief distribution sites in Sindh, officials said.

There also was flooding in Balochistan province but figures about the calamity there weren't available.

The United Nations said Monday that it is seeking donors to build a $357 million fund to help the Pakistani government's flood response efforts.

It is meant to provide food, water, sanitation, health care and shelter for flood victims for up to six months.

Pakistan was also the site of massive and deadly flooding in August 2010. It lasted for weeks and caused $9.7 billion in damages to homes, roads and farms in southwestern Pakistan.

More than 1,700 people died in the 2010 flooding, and more than 20 million were displaced, officials reported.

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'Radioactive material' found in Libya

Material labeled 'radioactive' in LibyaNEW: Tunisia says it has detained Libya's former prime minister under GadhafiThe U.S. has been monitoring Libya's yellowcake stockpile, a defense official saysA military site containing barrels and bags of powder marked "radioactive" is revealedTroops have been putting pressure on several regime holdout cities in recent days

Sabha, Libya (CNN) -- A military site containing what appears to be radioactive material has been uncovered by revolutionary forces near the southern Libyan city of Sabha.

Military forces loyal to the country's National Transitional Council took a CNN crew Thursday to the site, not far from Sabha in the Sahara desert. The crew saw two large warehouses there, one containing thousands of blue barrels, some marked with tape saying "radioactive," and several plastic bags of yellow powder sealed with the same tape.

The material has not been confirmed as being radioactive, but the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency, confirmed Thursday that the Libyan government had yellowcake stored near Sabha.

Yellowcake is processed uranium ore that can, after extensive refining, be used to produce enriched uranium for nuclear purposes.

Fighters entered Sabha, long regarded as a pro-Gadhafi stronghold, on Wednesday afternoon and met initially no resistance, officials said.

Elsewhere, revolutionaries have taken control of the southwestern town of Ubari, chasing toops loyal to now-deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi from the area as Libya's new leaders continued to gain momentum, NTC field commander Al-Amin Shtawi said Thursday.

In another event likely boost to revolutionary morale, Libya's most recent prime minister under the Gadhafi regime, al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, was arrested Wednesday night in Tunisia, the government confirmed to CNN Thursday.

Al-Mahmoudi was detained in Tamaghza, near Tunisia's border with Algeria, the Tunisian interior ministry said, having entered Tunisia illegally without a visa. He was attempting to cross into Algeria at the time of his arrest, a ministry spokesman said.

"I believe the Libyan people will want to see him brought to Libya and put on trial here for his crimes under Gadhafi's rule," Abdul Rahman Busin, an NTC spokesman, told CNN.

The NTC has not yet formally requested al-Mahmoudi's extradition, he added.

The Algerian government on Thursday also declared its willingness to work "closely" with the new Libyan authorities, the official Algeria Press Service reported.

This cooperation would benefit both countries and "stimulate the appropriate conditions to maintain peace, security and stability in the region," the foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by APS.

Algeria had previously declined to recognize the NTC as the new government in Libya. A number of Gadhafi family members, including his wife and three of his children, fled Libya for Algeria last month.

In another sign that stability may be returning to Libya, the United States reopened its embassy in Tripoli Thursday, in the former residence of the U.S. ambassador to Libya. The old embassy building in the center of the city was trashed by Gadhafi supporters in May.

The military site outside Sabha, found Wednesday night, is now guarded by about a dozen lightly-armed revolutionary fighters. It does not appear to have been left unfrequented for long.

Protective suits were found hanging in offices that appear previously to have belonged to the Libyan government, along with rubber gloves, devices for measuring radioactivity and various military documents.

The second warehouse at the site contains rockets and old surface-to-air missiles on which the fuses have deteriorated, making them liable to explode if they're struck.

A field commander for the revolutionary forces said the NTC wanted the international community to come in, identify the suspect material and take it to a place of safekeeping. The forces fear it could cause an environmental disaster if it were to explode during fighting, he said.

John Pike, a defense expert at Global Security, told CNN the elderly rockets might pose a greater threat to safety than the suspected radioactive material.

The discovery of the material is not a surprise, he said, as the IAEA had established that yellowcake was at the site. The current status of the material is not known, however.

A U.S. Defense Department official, who declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the issue, told CNN that Libya's remaining stock of highly enriched uranium was removed from the country as of 2009.

"We also continue to monitor Libya's stockpile of uranium yellowcake," the official said. "This material would need to go through an extensive industrial process, including enrichment, before it could be used in building a bomb. Such processes do not exist in Libya."

The official said it was important that the NTC fully secured the site and that it worked to allow international monitors to return to Libya as soon as possible.

Gill Tudor, a spokeswoman for the IAEA, said it could confirm that previously declared yellowcake was stored in drums at a site near Sabha.

"The IAEA has tentatively scheduled safeguards activities at this location once the situation in the country stabilizes," she said in a statement.

These "safeguards" measures would not mean the IAEA was physically protecting the material -- a national responsibility -- but rather that it was carrying out technical checks on what was there to avoid proliferation, she said.

Libya declared its previously covert nuclear program in December 2003 and Gadhafi's government cooperated with verification efforts by the IAEA from that point on.

An IAEA report from 2008 states that Libya had declared that between 1978 and 1981 it imported 2,263 tonnes of uranium ore concentrate, which was being stored at Sabha. However, plans to build a uranium ore concentration and conversion facility in the Sabha area were not carried out, the report says.

The latest territorial gains by the revolutionary forces come days after the NTC received the significant milestone of being recognized by South Africa and the African Union as Libya's legitimate rulers.

Troops loyal to Libya's new leaders have been putting pressure on several regime holdout cities in recent days.

Along with Thursday's military action in Ubari, fighters also clashed with Gadhafi loyalists in the northern town of Bani Walid and in Sirte.

Ahmed Bani, an NTC military spokesman speaking in Tripoli Thursday, said revolutionary fighters had encountered mercenaries who appeared to be from Chad or Niger, and had uncovered caches of weapons and military supplies.

He said most of the towns in southern Libya had been "liberated" from Gadhafi loyalists and that revolutionary forces would continue to fight for control of Bani Walid. "Our revolutionaries won't lose hope," he said.

Despite not yet having complete control over the entire country, the NTC says it is planning on how to set up a new government.

Elamin Belhaj, a senior member of the NTC, told CNN Wednesday that the formation of a Libyan government will not be announced until anti-Gadhafi forces control the borders of the country and liberate the three cities of Bani Walid, Sirte and Sabha. That effort could take up to one month, he said.

After liberation, the NTC will create an interim government by appointing a prime minister who will be responsible for forming the government.

The prime minister will decide how many ministers will be in that interim government, but he must return to the NTC for approval of that government. That government will create a new constitution that will be put before the Libyan people for approval in a referendum.

CNN's Ben Wedeman, Barbara Starr, Houda Zaghdoudi, Zied Mhirsi, Kamal Ghattas, Brian Walker, Mohammed Fahmy, Pam Benson, Jill Dougherty and Helena DeMoura contributed to this report.

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HP CEO fired, replaced by Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman (left) will replace Leo Apotheker as Hewlett-Packard's CEO.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hewlett-Packard's board on Thursday ousted CEO Leo Apotheker after just 11 months on the job, replacing him with Meg Whitman.

"I am honored and excited to lead HP," Whitman said in a prepared statement. "I believe HP matters -- it matters to Silicon Valley, California, the country and the world."

HP's board said the company needed a change at the top. The company cut its financial outlook three times in Apotheker's tenure, and on Thursday, HP said it was not confident it would be able to meet its sales targets for the current quarter.

Shareholders sent the stock down more than 40% this year before Fortune and other outlets broke the news this week that the board was considering letting Apotheker go.

"We are at a critical moment and we need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead," said Ray Lane, who on Thursday was named executive chairman of HP's board.

Lane was formerly an independent, non-executive chair. The company said it will look for someone to fill that independent role on its board.

The chairman said on a conference call Thursday that the board considered many candidates and decided together that Whitman was the right fit.

"I can't think of a name out there I would select as CEO over Meg," said Lane.

As the former head of European software giant SAP (SAP), Apotheker was a curious choice to lead HP (HPQ, Fortune 500) -- the largest U.S. technology company by sales -- since it is predominantly a hardware company. HP's software business makes up around 2% of the company's annual revenue, which hit $125 billion last year.

Apotheker stuck to what he knows best and decided to refocus HP on higher-margin businesses like cloud computing and software. He was particularly bullish on HP's acquisition of Palm, which was made prior to his arrival at the company. He planned to let Palm's webOS software permeate the company's various hardware lines, including PCs, phones and the much-publicized TouchPad tablet.

But the TouchPad was a failure, HP's phones weren't selling, and PC sales slumped globally. Last month, Apotheker announced yet another hard left turn: He opted to end the webOS experiment and said HP would get out of the PC business entirely -- a market that it leads both in the United States and globally.

The problem with Apotheker wasn't lack of vision as much as a lack of execution and communication, Lane said.

Whitman said Thursday that the company under her leadership would stay the course and continue to transition to an enterprise software business.

"The only thing we can do to regain investors' and customers' confidence is to execute, and that's what I intend to do," she said.

The ousting of its third straight CEO marks yet another dramatic crisis in a decade of turmoil for one of Silicon Valley's original pioneers. A year earlier, Mark Hurd was fired as HP's CEO after submitting false expense reports in what appeared to be an effort to conceal a relationship with a former employee.

In 2006, HP's chairwoman Pattie Dunn was shown the door after it was revealed that she had spearheaded a secret probe to spy on fellow board members and journalists, in an attempt to find the source of board-level media leaks.

A year before that, in 2005, then-CEO Carly Fiorina was booted out (she technically resigned, but, the move wasn't especially voluntary) after spearheading HP's the failed merger with Compaq. The company's stock price was cut in half during her tenure.

The CEO revolving door has cost the company more than $83 million in severance pay, including more than $25 million that will be owed to Apotheker.

Fending off criticism from analysts that the board is dysfunctional, Lane argued that the board is very different than the ones of the past, comprised of 8 new directors since the company ousted Hurd.

"I tell you this right from my heart," he said. "That's not this board. They work really well together."

Whitman, who is also an HP board member, was formerly the CEO of eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500). She headed the online auction site for 10 years, taking over the company in 1998 when it was in its infancy. By the time she left in 2008, the company had grown to an $8.5 billion e-commerce behemoth.

She was the Republican nominee in the 2010 California gubernatorial race, spending much of her fortune in her unsuccessful campaign. She then resurfaced several months later, when she was named to HP's board in January.

Lane, HP's chairman, praised Whitman, saying her experience gives her the right set of skills to steer HP back on course.

"Meg is a technology visionary with a proven track record of execution," he said. "She is a strong communicator who is customer focused with deep leadership capabilities. Furthermore, as a member of HP's board of directors for the past eight months, Meg has a solid understanding of our products and markets."

Still, many analysts were scratching their heads about the choice.

"I'm not really convinced she's the best fit -- HP needs to regain the confidence of its enterprise customers, and her expertise resides in the consumer retail market," said Ron Gruia, principal consultant at Frost & Sullivan.

"She's on the board, so she's a logical interim choice, but not a person who's going to be driver for HP as it transitions to a software and services kind of model," Gruia added.

Some believe that HP is making a fatal decision.

"As if HP didn't make a mistake on bringing in Leo Apotheker, now they are making an even bigger mistake by bringing in Meg Whitman, someone with very little experience in the core areas of HP," said Vanessa Alvarez, analyst at Forrester Research.

"This is plain carelessness by the board of directors, and quite frankly, hammering the last nail in the coffin for HP. Its leadership is in the gutter. I'm appalled," she added.

But other analysts believe Whitman is capable of doing the job, albeit a very difficult one.

"She's a great communicator; a great marketer; and, an excellent manager, but she'll need to put a strategic stamp on HP," said Joel Achramowicz, senior vice president of research at Blaylock Robert Van.

"There are even more questions and concerns regarding HP exigent from both the Street and from customers. She'll have to work expediently." 

First Published: September 22, 2011: 4:08 PM ET

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