Reuters: South Asia News

Afghan meeting to map path to security handovers

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:13:19 +0530

PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - A major international conference on Afghanistan, to be held in London in January, will aim to set the conditions for a gradual transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan control, Britain said on Saturday.

West aims to build Afghan forces with pay hike

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:47:58 +0530

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan announced a pay rise of nearly 40 percent for police and military recruits on Saturday, as Western countries aim to increase the size and quality of Afghan security forces so their own troops can go home.

Sri Lankan leader gambles on Jan. 26 election

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:09:24 +0530

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka will hold early presidential elections on Jan. 26, officials said on Friday, a move which may backfire against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa with the possible entry of a popular former army chief.

Bomb explodes in Afghan capital, no injuries

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:12:16 +0530

KABUL (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in a trash can in the centre of the Afghan capital on Saturday causing little damage and no injuries, the Interior Ministry said.

At least 32 killed after Bangladesh ferry sinks

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:07:04 +0530

DHAKA (Reuters) - Rescuers have retrieved 32 bodies, including at least 12 children, and are searching for scores of people missing after an overcrowded ferry sank in a river along the Bangladesh coast, police and witnesses said on Saturday.

Q+A - Does Pakistan amnesty lapse pose a threat to Zardari?

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:41:40 +0530

REUTERS - An amnesty that covered about 8,000 Pakistanis facing various charges, including President Asif Ali Zardari and four cabinet ministers, lapsed on Saturday.

FEATURE - Afghan mine victims face hard, but hopeful life

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:43:49 +0530

KABUL (Reuters) - Moussa Khan had just been making his way back from a long day's work at a copper mine south of Kabul thinking about the son he lost a week earlier to a landmine blast. That day, Khan too stepped on a landmine.

Pakistani forces kill 15 militants in Khyber region

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:36:03 +0530

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani forces killed 15 militants in the lawless northwest of the country, a security official said on Friday, as part of a campaign Washington hopes will help it defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Karzai reaches out to Afghan Taliban on holiday

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:55:51 +0530

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai reached out to the Taliban on Friday, part of a call for reconciliation that the palace says will be the main focus of his second term that began last week.

Five dead, 50 missing as Bangladesh Eid ferry sinks

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:24:46 +0530

DHAKA (Reuters) - At least five people died and 50 were reported missing after a ferry with several hundred passengers going home for the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival sank in a coastal area river on Friday night, police said.