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AP Top News at 1 p.m. EST
Monday, December 24, 2001
(12:59 PM ET)
The Associated Press

Afghan, al-Qaida Fighters Trade Fire at Hospital
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP)
Al-Qaida fighters who were supposed to recuperating in an Kandahar hospital traded gunfire with Afghan tribal forces in a bid to subdue the Arab gunmen, who have been holding out in their ward for weeks, an official said today. The fighters are believed to be linked to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. They threatened to kill themselves if anyone tried to take them from Mirwais Hospital, where they were held in a second-floor jail section once used by the Taliban for political prisoners.

Dostum Appointed to Deputy Defense Minister
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)
Rashid Dostum, a prominent Afghanistan warlord, was named as deputy defense minister today by interim Premier Hamid Karzai in an effort to unite the country's often-feuding factions. The premier appointed Dostum, bringing one of the new Afghan government's early critics into his administration. Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek who controls the largest northern city, Mazar-e-Sharif, had been angry because the key ministries of defense, foreign affairs and the interior all went to an ethnic Tajik group from the Panjshir valley.

Suspected Shoe Bomber Remains in Custody
BOSTON (AP)
Airline explosives suspect Richard Reid appeared in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein today and was read the charge of intimidation or assault of a flight crew after he allegedly tried to set off explosives hidden in his shoes on a trans-Atlantic flight. Reid, 28, sitting alone and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and sandals, requested a court-appointed attorney and was ordered held pending a bail hearing Friday. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Europe Tightens Airport Security
PARIS (AP)
Airports around Europe tightened security today, some requiring passengers to send their shoes through X-ray machines, after a passenger allegedly tried to ignite explosives hidden in his sneakers on a flight from Paris to Miami. The French government, meanwhile, planned an urgent meeting to review security at its airports, particularly at Charles de Gaulle international airport outside Paris, where the American Airlines flight originated on Saturday.
(More: NewsDay.com News Source)
2001 © The Associated Press.

Dan