A CIA technical analysis has concluded that the voice on an audiotaped message broadcast this week and said to be Osama bin Laden's is probably authentic, an official at the intelligence agency said on Friday.
But the evaluation has not determined when the message was taped, and the official said that while the finding that the voice was that of bin Laden carried a high degree of certainty, the tests were not definitive and were continuing.
The audiotape and an accompanying videotape of bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, were broadcast on Wednesday by an Arab satellite television network, al-Jazeera.
The network said the tapes were recorded in April and May. But the CIA official said that the tape contained no references that would clearly show when it was made.
On the audiotape, al-Zawahiri called on resistance fighters in Iraq to attack American forces. The CIA said on Thursday that the voice on the audiotape attributed to al-Zawahiri was "probably" authentic, but said that it could not be determined when it was recorded.
On the audiotape, the voice attributed to al-Zawahiri said: "Devour the Americans just like the lions devour their prey. Bury them in the Iraqi graveyard."
In the message, al-Zawahiri mentioned the war in Iraq, suggesting that the tape could have been recorded sometime since fighting started in March. The voice said to be bin Laden's refers to the Sept. 11 hijackers, but makes no reference to more recent events.
The videotape showed bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, dressed in native Afghan clothing, hiking along stony mountain trails. At one point, bin Laden walked with a cane and at another he slung an AK-47 assault rifle over his shoulder.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique