Zawahri escape

Dubai, Jan. 30 (Reuters): Al Qaida’s deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said he had survived a US air strike targeting him in Pakistan earlier this month, in a video tape aired by Al Jazeera television today.

The video appeared to be recorded earlier this month, as it mentioned a call for a truce issued by Osama bin Laden in an audio tape Al Jazeera aired on January 19.

Russia row

Moscow (Reuters): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday stepped into a row over the maiming of a conscript by drunken soldiers in Chelyabinsk.

Scribe hurt

Washington (Reuters): ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff was in serious but stable condition on Monday after being injured in a bomb blast in Iraq.

Pak sabotage

Islamabad (Reuters): The derailment of an express train in Pakistan that killed two people appears to have been caused by sabotage.