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 Al Jazeera's Dorothy Parvaz set free; IMF boss quits amid sex allegations; Pakistan Taliban vows revenge.

Al Jazeera's Dorothy Parvaz set free: Our reporter Dorothy Parvaz returned to Doha from Tehran on Wednesday morning after being detained in Syria for three days and then for 16 days in Iran.

Parvaz recounted her experiences in Damascus: "I was handcuffed repeatedly, blindfolded, taken to a courtyard and just left to hear these men being beaten.They all sounded very young, they all sounded to be in their late teens or early twenties. So it was an overall terrifying experience," she said.

In an article about her observations while being detained in Iran, Parvaz wrote: "Fortunately, in my case, the facts were borne out. After a couple of weeks of interrogations, the investigator in Iran determined that I was not a spy, but a journalist."

Al Jazeera is delighted that Parvaz has been released by the Iranian authorities and is safe and well.

IMF boss quits amid sex allegations: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has resigned amid charges of alleged sexual assault.

The resignation came after pressure from Maria Fekter, Austria's finance minister and the extensive media coverage of his alleged rape attempt of a maid in the New York City hotel where he was staying.

Strauss-Kahn was a prospective candidate for the French presidency, and is currently on suicide watch in New York's Rikers Island jail as he awaits trial.

"To all, I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me," said Strauss-Kahn in his letter of resignation.

Pakistan Taliban vows revenge: Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive footage that appears to show the group vowing revenge for Osama bin Laden's death.

"It took the Americans 11 years to kill Osama but for us it is easy, we will take our revenge in less than a few months," said a member called Umar Khalid. The Taliban has also said that US intelligence agencies were now on its "hit list".

The video footage came two weeks after US troops killed bin Laden in Pakistan

Africa

·                                 Libyan oil minister Shokri Ghanem "defects".

Kenyan marathon star falls to death.

Americas

·                                 IMF chief charged over alleged sex attack.

Mitchell resigns as US Middle East envoy.

Asia-Pacific

·                                 Japan falls back into recession.

Thaksin sister to run for Thai PM.

Central & South Asia

·                                 Scores killed in Pakistan twin bomb attacks.

Saudi diplomat killed in Pakistan.

Europe

·                                 War crimes prosecutor seeks Gaddafi warrant.

UK queen visits Irish 'Bloody Sunday' site.

Middle East

·                                 Al Jazeera journalist released from detention.

Palestinians killed in 'Nakba' clashes.

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