-
West Asia
Israel agrees to free 104 Palestinian prisoners for resumption of peace talk
Israel’s Cabinet approved the release of 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners Sunday, clearing a hurdle toward a possible resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after five years of paralysis. The prisoner release is part of a push by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to bring the two sides back to the…
Read More » -
South Asia
Bangladeshi hill region turns into ‘death valley’: Tribesmen accuse Santu Larma
Bangladesh’s much talked about Chittagong Hill Tract peace treaty signed in 1997 between the then government of Sheikh Hasina and Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) led by Santu Larma have been failing to bring peace in the hills. Apart from the conflict between the Hillmen and the settler Bengali…
Read More » -
South Asia
People gather at train derailment scene in eastern Pakistan, at least 3 dead
People gather at a derailed train in eastern Pakistan’s Gujranwala on July 25, 2013. At least three people were killed and several others injured when a train derailed here on Thursday, local media reported. <Xinhua/NEWSis/Stringer> Rescuers remove a body from the train accident site in eastern Pakistan’s Gujranwala on July…
Read More » -
Politics
Tunisian people protest against assassination of leftist opposition leader
Angry anti-government demonstrations broke out Thursday across Tunisia after gunmen killed the leader of a leftist opposition party, raising fears of new chaos on the difficult road to democracy in the cradle of the Arab Spring. Just five months after a similar assassination plunged the country into crisis, two gunmen…
Read More » -
West Asia
The number of people dead in Syria’s civil war passes 100,000, UN chief says
The number of dead in Syria’s civil war has passed 100,000, the U.N. chief said Thursday, calling for urgent talks on ending 2{ years of violence even as President Bashar Assad’s government blasted the United States as an unsuitable peace broker. In the latest example of the relentless carnage, a…
Read More » -
East Asia
Malaysia seeks more Japanese investment in potential sectors
Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said here Thursday that Malaysia would like to see more Japanese investment in potential sectors. At a joint press conference at the PM office with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Najib expressed the hope that more Japanese investors would participate in Malaysia’s potential…
Read More » -
East Asia
Chinese Vice-President visits N.Korea to attend 60th anniv.of Korean War armistice
Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), met here Thursday with visiting Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao to discuss relations between their two countries. Li arrived here earlier in the day to pay a visit to the DPRK and to attend activities marking the 60th…
Read More » -
South East Asia
Vietnamese President Sang visits US to discuss ‘comprehensive partnership’
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang on Thursday spoke of a “comprehensive partnership” between their countries aiming for even greater cooperation. After his talks with Truong Tan Sang, the second Vietnamese head of state to visit the White House since the normalization of relations in…
Read More » -
East Asia
Japanese FM visits Palestine to discuss grant aid, infrastructure development
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with Japan’s foreign minister Fumio Kishida in the West Bank City of Ramallah on July 24, 2013. <Xinhua/NEWSis/Fadi Arouri> Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Malki (L) shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida upon his arrival to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the…
Read More » -
Central Asia
Snowden still stuck in Sheremetyevo airport as his asylum status not resolved
Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena speaks to the media after visiting US National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden at Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 24, 2013. Kucherena who is advising Snowden says his asylum status has not been resolved and that he is going to stay at the Moscow…
Read More »