Nwaz's Declearation and A Truth of Pakistan

Nwaz's Declearation and A Truth of Pakistan Peace talks won’t work. If they kill two, we must kill four Locals try to console a family member at the hospital after the Qissa Khwani attack. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD IQBAL/EXPRESS PESHAWAR: At least 38 people were killed and 100 others sustained injuries in a blast in Peshawar’s Qissa Khwani area on Sunday, a week after a bombing at a church in the city killed scores, Express News reported. Initial reports suggest the attack’s principal target was a nearby police station. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. This is the third attack in Peshawar in...

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Drone strike kills 6 in North Waziristan

Before Obama- Nawaz Meeting, An American Award  Drone strike kills 6 in North Waziristan Earlier, at least six people were killed in a US drone strike on September 22. PHOTO: AFP/FILE NORTH WAZIRISTAN: An unmanned aerial combat vehicle fired missiles near Miranshah in North Waziristan killing at least six people, Express News reported on Sunday. The attack took place in the Dargamandi area, seven kilometers north of Miranshah which is  the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region. The area is a bastion of militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda. The area targeted by the drone is said to be the...

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Myanmar Jails Activists Over Protest Against China-Led Petroleum Project

Myanmar Jails Activists Over Protest Against China-Led Petroleum Project The Shwe Gas Project will transport oil purchased in the Middle East and gas purchased in Burma’s Shwe Bay to China beginning in September.  RFA A court in Myanmar's western Rakhine state on Thursday ordered 10 activists jailed for three months each for participating in a demonstration against a China-backed petroleum pipeline project, drawing outrage among villagers opposed to the venture.About 300 people from 20 villages mobbed the court in Kyaukpyu Township, demanding the release of the activists who had joined hundreds in April in protesting against...

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China's Family Planning Fines 'Misadministered'

China's Family Planning Fines 'Misadministered' A girl plays jump rope with her family by a road in Beijing, Dec. 7, 2012.  AFP About 1.6 billion yuan (U.S. $261.5 million) collected in fines—often with the threat of violence or forced abortions—from Chinese families who exceed draconian birthrate quotas are being misused or embezzled by officials, a recent report has shown. The fines levied across nine Chinese provinces, cities and counties between 2009 and May 2012 for "excess births" were misadministered by local officials, according to a probe by the National Audit Office in Beijing.The figures were released after a high-profile...

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Party Paper Rules Out Internet Freedoms in Shanghai Free Trade Zone

Party Paper Rules Out Internet Freedoms in Shanghai Free Trade Zone Workers decorate the gate of Shanghai's pilot free trade zone on Sept. 23, 2013 ahead of its Sept. 29 launch.  AFP China's state-run media on Friday appeared to rule out any limited provision of Internet freedom in a Shanghai free trade zone which opens on Sunday, apparently scotching earlier reports that the country's Great Firewall of Internet censorship wouldn't apply there or in a similar zone planned for Shenzhen."A lot of people have been talking about a 'special Internet zone,' or even 'cultural concessions,'" said a commentary posted in the overseas,...

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Tibetan Father of Two Self-Immolates in Protest Against Chinese Rule

Tibetan Father of Two Self-Immolates in Protest Against Chinese Rule Young exile Tibetans take part in a candlelight vigil for self-immolators in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, Feb. 13, 2013.  AFP A Tibetan father of two burned himself to death in a restive Tibetan county in Sichuan province Saturday in protest against Chinese policies in the first self-immolation in Tibetan-populated areas in China in more than two months, according to sources.Shichung, 41, self-immolated near his house in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county in the Ngaba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture after lighting butter lamps in front of a portrait of Tibet's...

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US president speaks to Iranian counterpart in first talk since 1979

US president speaks to Iranian counterpart in first talk since 1979 The long-fractured relationship between the US and Iran took a significant turn on Friday when President Obama and President Hassan Rouhani became the first leaders of their countries to speak since the Tehran hostage crisis more than three decades ago. In a hurriedly arranged telephone call, Mr. Obama reached Mr. Rouhani as the Iranian leader was headed to the airport to leave New York after a whirlwind news media and diplomatic blitz. The two agreed to accelerate talks aimed at defusing the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and afterward expressed optimism at the...

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Maldives second round of poll put off until court decision

Maldives second round of poll put off until court decision The Maldives Election Commission said it will hold the second round of presidential polls as scheduled on Saturday, but backed down after the court ordered the security forces to implement its order of putting the elections on hold, in a late night order. “Second round of voting will NOT be conducted on Saturday 28th September in compliance with the order of the Supreme Court,” said President’s spokesperson Masood Imad on twitter.Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Yaameen Abdulla were to face off in a runoff on September...

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Iran, Afghanistan determined to enhance relations

Iran, Afghanistan determined to enhance relations Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rasoul have reaffirmed Tehran and Kabul’s determination to enhance bilateral ties on different fronts. At a Friday meeting on the sidelines of the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Zarif said Iran and Afghanistan enjoy very close and strong relations, and expressed Tehran’s preparedness for any cooperation with Kabul.He described the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and the country’s next elections as two momentous upcoming events for Kabul in 2014.The Iranian foreign minister said whenever the Afghan people assumed responsibility for security affairs in their country, security issues were resolved, adding, “We’ve pinned our...

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China sends aid for Nepal election

China sends aid for Nepal election The Chinese government has gifted election materials worth $1.63mn to Nepal for the country’s 27th general elections on November 19. The plane with the election materials arrived in Kathmandu yesterday morning, including ballot papers and office materials.Chinese ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai and joint secretary of Nepal election commission Maheshow Neupane were present at the airport to receive the materials.Nepuane said that the Chinese assistance to Nepal for the election has proved once again that the two countries harbour a clean friendship.“China has always supported in the democratic process of Nepal. With this assistance we will be able to manage our logistics more conveniently. We are on track to hold the election in the scheduled date and...

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China Steel Plant Halts as Workforce Protests Over Unpaid Wages

China Steel Plant Halts as Workforce Protests Over Unpaid Wages Chinese workers manufacture steel products at a factory in Heilongjiang province, June 27, 2012.  ImagineChina More than 1,000 employees from a steel company in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang marched on local government offices Monday in protest at what they said were several months' worth of unpaid wages, according to striking workers."They are all over there now, nearly 2,000 people," a worker at the Beigang Group's steel plant in Heilongjiang's Jixi city told RFA's Mandarin Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.He said the workers...

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Pakistan, Afghanistan to import electricity from Central Asia

Pakistan, Afghanistan to import electricity from Central Asia Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan sign resolution to initiate commercial negotiations for development of $1 billion 1227km transmission line for delivering about 1,000MW of electricity from the two Central Asian States to Pakistan. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan sign an inter-governmental council resolution to formally initiate commercial negotiations for development of $1 billion 1227km transmission line for delivering about 1,000MW of electricity from the two Central Asian States to Pakistan.The project -- Central Asia South Asia...

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Kyrgyzstan - Vox Pop: Central Asians Comment On China's Growing Presence In Their Region

Kyrgyzstan Vox Pop: Central Asians Comment On China's Growing Presence In Their Region Manizha, a Tajik medical student, says: "China gives us money, but then brings Chinese workers to Tajikistan. Chinese people are taking jobs in Tajikistan, as Tajiks are forced to seek jobs in Russia." September 14, 201 Concern among Central Asians about Chinese influence in their counties occasionally come to the fore; for example, during protests over local jobs taken by Chinese. But an informal poll taken by RFE/RL in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping's whirlwind tour of the region reveals that the average citizen generally accepts...

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"We Are Not Afraid Of Death:" Lieutenant Nigar's Last Interview With RFE/RL

"We Are Not Afraid Of Death:" Lieutenant Nigar's Last Interview With RFE/RL Helmand police officer Lieutenant Nigar in an undated courtesy photo.   September 16, 2013 In July, Lieutenant Nigar became the highest-ranking woman police officer in Afghanistan's ultraconservative Helmand Province when her predecessor in that position was assassinated.In the days after Islam Bibi's killing, Nigar discussed the importance of Afghan women participating in the effort to establish security and shrugged off the dangers as being part of the job.On September 15 Nigar, was also  killed after being shot by unknown attackers. Here are...

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Wide-open Afghan presidential race kicks off

Wide-open Afghan presidential race kicks off Afghanistan’s presidential race kick off as election authorities begin accepting the nominations of would-be candidates, the start of a wide-open race whose winner will oversee the final phases of the withdrawal of US-led troops amid a relentles insurgen Afghanistan’s presidential race kicked off Monday as election authorities began accepting the nominations of would-be candidates, the start of a wide-open race whose winner will oversee the final phases of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops amid a relentless Taliban insurgency.The election, set for April 5, will also mark the first transfer...

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Kabul invites Baradar, other Taliban to return home after release

Kabul invites Baradar, other Taliban to return home after release Afghanistan invites the Taliban’s second in command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is set to be freed by Pakistan shortly, to return to his home country along with other members of the group and open their offices there as well. “Afghanistan wants Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and other Taliban members freed by Pakistan to return and open their office in the country,” an Afghan foreign ministry official said on Sunday.The comments came days after Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister’s adviser on national security and foreign affairs, said that the government had decided in principle...

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