But soldiers from Hekmatyar’s faction and Ahmed Shah Masood’s faction have often fought each other and, if Hekmatyar is dead, he may not have been killed by the Taliban.The Northern Alliance seems incapable of stopping the advance of the Taliban. Ghairad Baheer, Mr Hekmatyar’s son-in-law, said that he had spoken to him late yesterday afternoon and he was “very much alive”.Mr Hekmatyar, ousted from power in 1996 when the Taliban took Kabul, is believed to have retreated from Kabul to Taloqan with veteran commander Ahmed Shah Masood and political leader of the Northern Alliance, Burhannuddin Rabbani.Mr Hekmatyar was one of the key Mujahedin commanders who fought against the occupation of Afghanistan by Russians. Despite his extreme Islamic views, he received substantial support from the Americans. After the fall of Kabul he fled to Iran and returned to Afghanistan in March this year.Reports say Mr Hekmatyar was shot yesterday by three gunmen during streetfighting in Taloqan. Yesterday the United Nations said it would airlift 16 from the area yesterday, hoping to return for another 40 today.The aidworkers, who were based in the areas worst affected by the two earthquakes which hit north-eastern Afghanistan earlier this year, include at least four Britons.A spokesman for the opposition Northern Alliance admitted that the Taliban had taken the town of Taloqan after 12 hours of fighting and now held much of Taqar province but denied Mr Hekmatyar had been killed.

The Taliban also claimed that they had shot dead Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and a key leader among the loose alliance of factions opposed to their rule.
The Taliban advance has been so rapid that dozens of aidworkers are now at risk of being caught up in the fighting. THE UN yesterday launched an operation to fly aid workers from Afghanistan to safety in Pakistan after troops from the Taliban Islamic militia pushed further into opposition-held territory, seizing another province and a strategically important town. “I want the people of Nevis to give us the opportunity, to give us the chance, to work with them.”. Mr Douglas immediately offered to seek constitutional reforms that would grant Nevis more control over its own affairs “We have had our difficulties We have had our differences,” Mr Douglas said.

But he added: “What is important is that 62 percent indicated support.”
That wasn’t lost on Denzil Douglas, prime minister of the embattled federation. Secession failed in part “because change sometimes is so difficult to accept,” Mr Amory said. Nevis, a mountainous patch of green with 9,000 people, needed a 67 percent vote in Monday’s referendum to secede from neighbouring St Kitts, population 32,000 It got 62 percent. The outcome was a blow to Nevis Premier Vance Amory, who led an independence campaign based on islanders’ resentment of their treatment by the St Kitts- based federal government. NEVIS FAILED to become one of the world’s smallest countries yesterday, but it did force the world to take its self-determination drive seriously, the Caribbean island’s premier said. This week it was reported that the world experienced its hottest July since records began.. The island’s weather bureau said it expected temperatures to fall closer to the monthly average of 37C by tomorrow.The fiercer than usual heat on Cyprus appears part of a global pattern.

Some travel agents have even started issuing warnings to potential holidaymakers.Last night the heatwave was reported to have abated – somewhat – as temperatures fell to about 39C. The heatwave began last Friday.The fire at Episkopi broke out in the tinder-dry scrubland that surrounds the military base. The garrison at Episkopi houses more than 4,000 British troops and their families and is like a small town with its own shops and recreational facilities.The heatwave on the island has ruined the holidays of many Britons who, though delighted by the prospect of strong sun, have been unable to endure the scorching temperatures. Hospitals have been stretched to the limit with the admission of some 3,200 patients suffering from heat-related illnesses, the ministry said. The Army estimates that the blaze will cost the base about pounds 2m in repairs.The island has suffered from an intense heatwave which has so far claimed the lives of more than 50 Cypriots, most of them elderly.Eight people died overnight on Monday alone, after temperatures hit 43C (110 Fahrenheit), the highest recorded in 40 years, the Cyprus Health Ministry said. They were discharged after medical treatment.The fire damaged three more houses at the base as well as storerooms and vehicles, the base spokesman Captain Jon Brown said.