A Pakistan Taliban commander possibly linked to the assassination attempt on teenage activist Malala Yousafzai has been elevated to leader of the terrorist group. The Pakistan Taliban elected Maulana Fazlullah, one of its longtime militia commanders, as their new leader, spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said Thursday. The previous leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in northwestern Pakistan last week. Afghan President criticizes U.S. drone strike that killed Pakistani Taliban leader. Fazlullah once led a Pakistan Taliban militia in the country's Swat region. The Pakistani military ran Fazlullah's group out of Pakistan in 2009, forcing it to operate from Afghanistan. Pakistani military sources said Fazlullah is believed to be in Afghanistan and is believed to have been ordering attacks in Pakistan from there. Swat, in northwestern Pakistan, was where militants shot and wounded teen activist Malala in October 2012 as she was riding home from school in a van; the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility. Fazlullah is known as a hard-liner who broadcast fiery sermons and hard-line ideology via an extremist radio station. The station was shut down when he was pushed out of Pakistan. The group's Central Shura Council picked Fazlullah, along with a new deputy leader, Sheikh Khalid Haqqani. Pakistani Prime Minister: Drone strike won't derail Taliban peace talks. The outgoing interim leader of the Pakistan Taliban, Asmatullah Shaheen, said Thursday that any discussions of talks with the Pakistani government are off the table. There were never truly talks between the two sides, Shaheen said, and there never will be. The Pakistan Taliban will focus their attacks on Punjab province, a stronghold of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Shaheen said. He blamed the Prime Minister for turning Pakistan into a "colony" of the United States and for the death of their former leader, Mehsud. During a trip to Washington, the Prime Minister sold Pakistan out, Shaheen said. "Instead of stopping the drone strikes, he struck a deal with the United States for our leader's head," he said.

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NEW: The Pakistan Taliban says they will focus attacks in Punjab province. The Pakistan Taliban choose Maulana Fazlullah as their new leader. He might be linked to the assassination attempt against Malala Yousafzai. He is believed to be ordering attacks from Afghanistan.

Oldham owner Simon Corney has reiterated his desire to sell the club in the wake of the Ched Evans saga. The League One club's chairman has previously said that should a buyer who can take Lee Johnson's side further forward than he can come along, he would happily listen to offers. And following the collapse of the controversial move for the 26-year-old convicted rapist, Corney has repeated his willingness to sell the cash-strapped club. Oldham Athletic owner Simon Corney (centre) wants to sell the club following collapse of Ched Evans deal. Evans was jailed in 2012 for raping a 19-year-old woman and served half of a five-year sentence. Describing the events of the last two weeks, which saw Oldham catapulted into the public spotlight as 'an extraordinary period in our club's history,' Corney told the club's website that he took the blame for a 'loss of trust'. However, he added that he was going nowhere for the time being. 'My commitment to the club, its fans, staff and sponsors is total and my desire to ensure that the new North Stand development is completed remains as strong as ever,' he said. 'We continue to face significant challenges but I am genuinely excited about the future prospects for our club and the plans we have put in place to ensure its long term future without the need for further investment. Since his release, the former Sheffield United and Wales striker has found it difficult to find a new club. 'Of course, as I have always said, if a buyer for the Club comes forward who is able to take things on to another level then I will consider selling. That buyer has to be the right person and have the best interests of the club at heart. 'It is now time to draw a line under the events of recent weeks and move on. We have a club to run and goals to achieve and the board, staff and I are determined to see this great club prosper.' As revealed by MailSport, Oldham had agreed terms with former Sheffield United and Manchester City striker Evans, who has served half of a five-year sentence after being found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman in a North Wales hotel room. The Welsh international striker, for whom the Blades paid Manchester City £3 million in 2009, was set to sign a two-and-a-half year deal. Oldham fans unveil a banner during their home game against Doncaster Rovers, '70000...where are you?' But after the withdrawal of a series of sponsors which put the club's survival at risk, Corney decided, reluctantly, to pull the plug on the deal. Threats were also made to club staff and more than 70,000 signed a petition against the move. At Saturday's 2-2 draw with Doncaster Rovers, watched by a crowd of around 4,000, some Oldham supporters held a banner stating: '70,000 where are you?' A small group sang 'There's Only One Ched Evans' and were confronted by a number of fellow fans, one of whom left the ground in disgust. The Criminal Cases Review Commission has fast-tracked a review of Evans's case. Nathan Tyson celebrates scoring the opening goal for Doncaster at the SportsDirect.com park on Saturday. Oldham Athletic's Amari Morgan-Smith (left) and Doncaster Rovers' Kyle Bennett (right) battle for the ball.

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Oldham owner Simon Corney will listen to offers for the League One side. The Latics recently tried to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans. However, the move collapsed following protests from fans and sponsors. 70,000 people signed a petition urging Oldham not to sign Evans.

CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has won an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow Award for his reports from the front line of the war in Syria. Paton Walsh has reflected on his experiences in Aleppo, where he reported on the heart-wrenching cruelty of a conflict that has torn the country apart. "Aleppo Airstrikes" is the account of indiscriminate shelling in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Walsh's piece to camera sees him crouching as a government bomber jet flies above. "It's that sound that terrifies ordinary residents of Aleppo daily," he says. Of the lone infant who survives the strike, Paton Walsh observes: "A year old, he was born into Syria's bloody revolution, and may yet survive it still." In "Aleppo: Old City Fight," Paton Walsh goes right inside the fight for the historic old city. His report focuses on the improvised nature of the battle, with "pot-shots at nothing in particular" and what it could mean for the wider conflict. Paton Walsh says of the scene in Aleppo in 2012: "People didn't really know where the front lines were. It was generally chaotic, and pretty much punctuated all day long with the sound of shelling, or jets flying in to hit civilian areas." Paton Walsh was awarded the Emmy for outstanding writing for these stories and his report from Afghanistan on an epidemic of self-immolation among young married women in Herat. In its submission to the Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards, CNN highlighted Paton Walsh's "poetic writing," saying it contrasted "with the sobering environments from which his stories are usually drawn." "His reports punch through the daily accounts of wounded and dead, and give us a fresh way to see the grinding pitilessness of war, and its quirky inconsistencies."

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CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reflects on his reporting from Syria's front line. Paton Walsh won Emmy for outstanding writing in reports from Syria and Afghanistan. Paton Walsh on Aleppo in 2012: "People didn't really know where the front lines were"