Analyst: ‘Bloody urban battle’ looms between Taliban, Pakistan

The Taliban are digging in for a "bloody urban battle" against the Pakistani army in a hotly disputed city in the western part of the country, a strategic expert warned Thursday. “The Taliban are concentrating forces in Mingora — digging trenches, laying mines, taking positions on rooftops,” said Reva Bhalla, the director of strategic analysis at Stratfor, a private firm that describes itself as a global intelligence company. “It is not clear if the Pakistani military is trained and even equipped to go into a situation like that,” she said, adding that even the United States military “would have to think twice” about such an offensive.

U.N.: 360,000 escape war-torn Pakistani region

Civilians continued to flee Pakistan’s northwest in droves Monday as government troops prepared to engage Taliban militants in the crisis-hit Swat Valley. More than 360,000 Pakistanis have fled their homes since May 2, the United Nations has reported. “Obviously more people are on the move,” said Ariane Rummery, a spokeswoman for the U.N.

How gunshot survivor became first to receive face transplant

Doctors chose a woman who survived a shotgun wound to her face as the first recipient of a face transplant after treating her for nearly four years. Connie Culp knew of the Cleveland Clinic’s interest in face transplants and approached the medical staff, doctors said at a news conference Tuesday. Dr.

Commentary: Save this ‘Terminator’

Everything you know about the world of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most famous character has changed. In the season finale of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” John Connor, the boy destined to lead humanity’s battle against Armageddon, gets jolted into the future — the one he was supposed to lead.