Monday, August 20, 2012

Afghans ready to counter insider threat: top US general

Afghans ready to counter insider threat: top US general

Afghans ready to counter insider threat: top US general

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:33 AM PDT

Afghan police run to the scene of an attack in Kabul in AprilAfghan leaders appear ready to take decisive action to curb unprecedented "insider attacks" by Afghan recruits that have killed 40 Western troops this year, the top US military officer said Monday.

Activists up ante in China, Japan isle dispute

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:10 AM PDT

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2012 file photo, Japanese activists hold the national flags on Uotsuri island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in East China Sea. An unauthorized landing by Japanese activists on an island at the center of a dispute with China is sparking nationalist outrage and fueling calls on both sides for aggressive government action that some fear could lead to an escalation of tensions. Japanese authorities on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, questioned the 10 Japanese, including five local assembly members, who swam ashore on the disputed island the day before. (AP Photo/Kyodo News, File) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCEWhen Tokyo's nationalist governor suggested buying uninhabited islands at the center of a long-simmering dispute with China, Beijing immediately denounced him and even Japan's government played down the plan, fearing an international firestorm.

Myanmar government ends direct media censorship

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 10:53 AM PDT

Customers buy local weekly journals at a roadside shop in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, Aug. 20, 2012. Myanmar's government said Monday it was abolishing the harsh practice of directly censoring the country's media, the most dramatic move yet toward allowing freedom of expression in the long-repressed nation. Under the new rules, journalists will no longer have to submit their work to state censors before publication as they for almost half a century. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)Myanmar abolished direct censorship of the media Monday in the most dramatic move yet toward allowing freedom of expression in the long-repressed nation. But related laws and practices that may lead to self-censorship raise doubt about how much will change.

Wife of disgraced Chinese politician sentenced

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 09:09 AM PDT

FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2012 file video image taken from CCTV, Gu Kailai, second left, the wife of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, is taken to her trial in the Hefei Intermediate People's Court in Hefei in eastern China's Anhui province. Gu was given a suspended death sentence Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, after confessing to killing a British businessman in a case that rocked the country's top political leadership. A man in white shirt at right is Zhang Xiaojun, family aide of Gu. (AP Photo/CCTV via APTN, File) CHINA OUT, TV OUTThe wife of a disgraced Chinese politician received a suspended death sentence Monday for the murder of a British businessman, as authorities move to tidy up a huge political scandal ahead of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition this fall.

Markets cautious ahead of key week for Greece

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 09:08 AM PDT

Global markets edged lower in lackluster trading on Monday as investors remained cautious ahead of a crucial week for Greece, whose leaders will try to show they are making progress in implementing economic reforms.

Pakistani Taliban threatens attacks on military

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 09:02 AM PDT

Pakistani soldiers respond to an attack in the country's northwest in JulyThe Pakistani Taliban on Monday warned the country's military it had set up a "suicide bombers squad" to hit troops if an offensive is launched in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

6 dead in earthquake on northern Indonesian island

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:56 AM PDT

In this Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012 photo, residents and journalists inspect a house that was damaged after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck in Sigie, Sulawesi island, Indonesia. The death toll rose to six on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, from a powerful weekend earthquake in Indonesia as rescuers reached mountainous villages that had been cut off by landslides, officials said. At least 43 others were injured, including eight in critical condition. (AP Photo)The death toll rose to six on Monday from a powerful weekend earthquake in Indonesia as rescuers reached mountainous villages that had been cut off by landslides, officials said. At least 43 others were injured, including eight in critical condition.

Pakistan Christian girl held, accused of blasphemy

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:51 AM PDT

People gathered outside the locked house of a Christian girl in suburbs of Islamabad, Pakistan on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012. Pakistani authorities arrested a Christian girl and are investigating whether she violated the country's strict blasphemy laws after furious neighbors surrounded her house and demanded police take action, a police officer said Monday. The arrest of the girl and outrage among the local community demonstrates the deep emotion that suspected blasphemy cases can evoke in this conservative Muslim country, where rising extremism often means religious minorities live in fear of persecution.(AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)Pakistani authorities have arrested a young Christian girl after hundreds of furious neighbors gathered outside her house and accused her of violating the country's strict blasphemy laws by burning pages of the Muslim holy book, police and neighbors said Monday. The girl's age was not immediately clear, with reports ranging from 11 to 16, and some have raised the possibility she might be mentally handicapped.

Swansea agree fee for Celtic star Ki

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:35 AM PDT

Swansea say they have agreed a fee of around £6 million ($9.4 million, 7.6 million euros) for South Korea's KiKi Sung-Yueng is on the verge of joining Swansea City after Scottish champions Celtic agreed a deal to sell the South Korea midfielder on Monday.

Top US general in Afghanistan to discuss attacks

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 08:06 AM PDT

The U.S. military's top general met with American, coalition and local officials in Afghanistan on Monday to try to stop a wave of lethal attacks by Afghan soldiers and police against international forces.

Afghanistan will not unravel after troop exit: NATO

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:42 AM PDT

The scene of a bicycle bombing in Herat this monthAfghanistan will not unravel into a civil war after the withdrawal of NATO combat troops in two years or return to Taliban rule, a senior NATO diplomat said Monday.

Who's who in China's Bo Xilai political scandal

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 07:03 AM PDT

FILE - In this Jan. 17, 2007 file photo, Gu Kailai, left, wife of then Chinaese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, right, attends a memorial ceremony for Bo's father Bo Yibo, a late revolutionary leader considered one of communist China's founding fathers, at a military hospital in Beijing. The wife of a disgraced Chinese politician was given a suspended death sentence Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, after confessing to killing a British businessman by poisoning him with cyanide in a case that rocked the country's top political leadership. A suspended sentence is usually commuted to life in prison after several years. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, File)The scandal surrounding one of China's most high-profile politicians, Bo Xilai, whose wife has been given a suspended death sentence for the murder of a British man, is the messiest to strike the ruling Communist Party in years and exposes divisions just ahead of a crucial leadership transition in the fall. Here's a look at the leading characters:

A look at Pacific island disputes

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 06:58 AM PDT

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2012 file photo, Japanese activists hold the national flags on Uotsuri island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in East China Sea. An unauthorized landing by Japanese activists on an island at the center of a dispute with China is sparking nationalist outrage and fueling calls on both sides for aggressive government action that some fear could lead to an escalation of tensions. Japanese authorities on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, questioned the 10 Japanese, including five local assembly members, who swam ashore on the disputed island the day before. (AP Photo/Kyodo News, File) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCEmost small and uninhabited — that are claimed by more than one country. Here's a look at some of the main territorial disputes that are causing tensions among Asian nations.

Sri Lanka detains 83 Australia-bound boat people

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 06:03 AM PDT

People-smuggling suspects in Colombo's police fraud bureau in MaySri Lanka's navy on Monday stopped two Australia-bound trawlers carrying 83 would-be asylum seekers in the first detection since Canberra tightened restrictions on boat people, officials said.

Tibet exiled 'PM' admits Dalai Lama's shoes hard to fill

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 06:04 AM PDT

Sangay, 44, who has never been to Tibet, is now based in the northern Indian hilltown of DharamshalaTibet's "prime minister in exile" Lobsang Sangay on Monday described his complete surprise when the Dalai Lama last year handed him responsibility for the movement's political future.

Suspended death sentence for China's Gu over murder

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:39 AM PDT

The Gu Kailai trial and downfall of her husband Bo Xilai has exposed deep divisions in the Chinese Communist partyA Chinese court on Monday handed the wife of disgraced political leader Bo Xilai a suspended death sentence for murder in a case that has rocked the Communist party ahead of a 10-yearly power handover.

Pakistan leader seeks report on girl's blasphemy case

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:37 AM PDT

A young boy holds a toy gun as he walks past the arrested girl's housePakistan's president Monday called on officials to explain the arrest on blasphemy charges of a Christian girl with Down's Syndrome who allegedly burnt pages inscribed with verses from the Koran.

Australia says no plan for total smoking ban

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:37 AM PDT

The Australian government said there are no plans to ban tobacco itselfAustralia said on Thursday it has no plans to ban smoking after a key court ruling allowing cigarettes to be sold in plain packets, describing the health battle against tobacco as "one step at a time."

Li claims first title since Roland Garros

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 04:19 AM PDT

Li Na allied from a first-set loss with superb serving as she won 80% of her first-serve points in a dominating 3rd setChina's Li Na earned her first title since winning the French Open 15 months ago, beating Germany's Angelique Kerber 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 to claim the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.

Pakistan police investigating girl for blasphemy

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:56 AM PDT

Pakistani authorities arrested a Christian girl and are investigating whether she violated the country's strict blasphemy laws after furious neighbors surrounded her house and demanded police take action, a police officer said Monday.

Typhoon kills 17 in Vietnam

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:39 AM PDT

Motorbikes battle through flooded Hanoi streetsStrong wind and rain in northern Vietnam unleashed by Typhoon Kai-Tak have killed at least 17 people, damaged thousands of houses and submerged valuable crops, authorities said Monday.

Myanmar could be mid income nation by 2030: ADB

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 03:18 AM PDT

Myanmar farmers collect paddy seedlingsStrong economic growth could lift Myanmar to the rank of middle income nation by 2030 if the formerly army-ruled country overcomes a host of reform challenges, the Asian Development Bank said Monday.

Dictator's daughter to run for S. Korea presidency

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT

Veteran politician Park Geun-Hye secured a landslide 84 percent of the voteSouth Korea's ruling party overwhelmingly voted for the daughter of an assassinated dictator to be its presidential candidate Monday, the first time a major party has chosen a woman to run for the post.

Gu Kailai: High-flying lawyer turned murderer

Posted: 20 Aug 2012 02:14 AM PDT

A police officer stands guard outside the court where four other police were tried for helping Gu cover up her crimeAs a high-flying international lawyer married to one of China's most promising politicians and with a son at Harvard, Gu Kailai appeared to have it all.
Posted by Harshad at 11:43 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)