Regions

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – Intelligence officials say at least 11 people are dead after a suicide bomber struck a restaurant in volatile northwest Pakistan. The two officials say the roadside restaurant’s visitors at the time included some two dozen militants opposed to Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. They say several others were wounded in […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Taliban’s military campaign in southern Afghanistan is aided partly by support from operatives in Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. The newspaper, citing U.S. government officials, said the support for the Taliban and other militant groups was coordinated by operatives in the S Wing of Pakistan’s […]

The United Kingdom has unveiled a 174-page report on how to tackle the Al Qaeda threat facing it. The threat is no longer confined to Underground blasts but may be “a chemical or even nuclear terrorist attack”. And those who do it will possibly be linked to two unstable and extremism-haunted “Islamic” states, Pakistan and […]

MOSCOW: Russia is ‘very much concerned’ about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, and the country must be stabilised before peace can be achieved in Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said in an interview with US television. ‘It’s obvious to anybody that the Pak-Afghan border is a safe haven for terrorists, for the […]

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday offered $ 5 million each for information leading to Baitullah Mehsud and for Sirajuddin Haqqani and $1 million for Abu Yahya al-Libi. The offer, announced two days before the unveiling of the new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, indicates hardening of Washington’s stance against the militants hiding along […]

WASHINGTON: Trade will be a valuable part of the new US strategy for fighting terrorism in Pakistan, says America’s top business lobby which also called for a cut in US tariffs on Pakistani textiles. President Barak Obama is expected to announce the new strategy on Friday. In a report issued on Tuesday evening, the US […]

Apart from being a bright, young journalist, Tariq Malik was also a son and a sibling who made his family proud – the same family that now sits deprived of their prized asset. Malik was brutally murdered by armed robbers on Sunday as he and his friend Imran were walking towards his house in Defence, […]

Ugh.  That is the only word that really sums up the feelings of frustration regarding the latest report from unnamed American government officials detailing support given to the Taliban by Pakistani military intelligence officials.  The US officials, which of course were not named because this information is supposedly not to become public, stated that Pakistan’s […]

The Kazakh government may not be able to continue the bailout of its biggest domestic bank, BTA, if any of its creditors ask for early repayment. The bank holds $12 million in foreign debt and will likely need to restructure it. So far, $2 billion in bailout funds has been injected into BTA In Uzbekistan, […]

Central Bank advisor: China’s economy has bottomed Fan Gang, who sits on the Chinese central bank’s monetary policy advisory committee, believes the Chinese economy has bottomed. While further interest rate cuts might remain an option, Mr. Fan sees ubiquitous signs for an end in China’s economic slow down. In his opinion, strong growth in car […]

Ali Abdel Karim Ali has been accepted as Syria’s first ambassador to Lebanon. The two counties gained independence from France in the 1940’s, but hadn’t established formal diplomatic relations until just five months ago. Part of what is considered Greater Syria for over 400 years, Lebanon was occupied by Syrian  troops up until 2005.  That […]

Regardless of some decent within the party, Labor narrowly voted to join the Likud-led coalition, officially giving Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu a majority of Knesset members supporting his bid for the Prime Minister. The unification talks with Labor increased pressure on Netanyahu, along with U.S. concerns for the new government, to pursue a peace deal […]