KABUL: Afghanistan marked independence day Thursday as the Taliban-led insurgency drags on, with foreign troop deaths at record highs and the government under pressure to honour pledges on corruption and security. August 19 commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919,

Kabul: A suicide car bomb struck a police vehicle in southern Afghanistan, killing a district police chief and four other people, and a NATO soldier died in a separate attack, NATO and Afghan officials said Thursday. "The insurgents pulled alongside the Daman district police chief`s

Yangon: Military-ruled Myanmar Thursday announced restrictions on campaigning for November`s general election that it said were to assure the polls are "free and fair". Candidates wishing to address the public must apply for permission at least seven days in advance, according to the

Taipei: Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou called Thursday on the US to sell F-16s to Taipei to boost the island`s defences after the Pentagon said this week that China is gaining military superiority over Taiwan. "Taiwan people`s top concern is Taiwan`s security," Ma said. "I hope the US can

Washington: As many as one in five Americans think wrongly that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, indicating a significant increase in the number of such people since his inauguration in January 2009. At the same time, the number of people who now correctly identify Obama as a

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is expected to contribute at least $2 billion to help Pakistan recover from its worst ever floods.The economic costs of the floods are expected to run into the billions of dollars, stepping up pressure on Pakistan`s government just

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis remain without food and shelter as the UN prepared to meet Thursday to drum up aid for the flood-stricken nation amid criticism of the slow pace of the relief effort.Foreign aid has begun reaching some of the 20 million flood victims, but

TEHRAN: After decades of delay and sanctions, Iran on Saturday launches its Russian-built first nuclear power plant in the face of Western suspicion that its atomic programme has a covert military agenda.Iran`s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said last week that "on August 21, the

Australia:  Australian judge has ruled that a Muslim woman must remove her full veil while giving evidence before a jury in a fraud case.The judge in Perth said she did not consider it appropriate that the witness appear with her face covered.The prosecution said the woman - identified

SEOUL: North Korea confirmed on Thursday it was holding the seven-man crew of a South Korean fishing boat, including three Chinese, after they illegally entered its waters earlier this month.China earlier voiced concern about reports that its nationals were being held by Pyongyang, which

TRIPOLI: A year after the controversial release from jail of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on medical grounds, Libya continues the secrecy over the health of the ex-intelligence agent convicted of the deadly Lockerbie bombing.Serving a life sentence in Scotland for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am

KABUL: The Afghan government is standing firm on its plan to disband all private security firms despite widespread concerns that the four-month deadline is too tight and could ultimately be self-defeating.President Hamid Karzai`s decree, issued on Tuesday, ordered the 52 private security

TOKYO: Four Japanese coastguard personnel died in a helicopter crash while rescuers continued to search for a missing crew member, officials said Thursday.Coastguard helicopter Akizuru crashed Wednesday afternoon after hitting offshore power lines near small islets that are part of Kagawa

LA PAZ: A former de facto president of Bolivia was arrested following complaints he had engaged in obscene acts in public and was found to be under the effects of cocaine, a prosecutor in eastern Santa Cruz said Wednesday.Retired general Juan Pereda Asbun, 79, was "in a lamentable state,"

WASHINGTONL: The last US combat brigade pulled out of Iraq and crossed into Kuwait almost seven and a half years after the US-led invasion, US media reported Wednesday.Television footage showed an MSNBC reporter travelling with the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, crossing the

TEL AVIV: A man carrying a knife and a toy gun broke into the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and attempted to take a diplomat hostage before being overpowered by security, Turkish officials said. Witnesses quoted by Israeli public radio said the man -- reportedly Palestinian and

LONDON: A train derailed after colliding with a sewage tanker at a railway crossing in Britain, injuring 21 people, one of them critically, emergency services said. The front carriage of the two-car train came off the tracks late Tuesday after smashing into the lorry in the village of

Bangkok: Five people, including a senior official, were killed in a helicopter crash in northern Thailand, an official said Wednesday. It is believed that the helicopter crashed into a mountain in Namom district, Nan province, said Nisakorn Kositratna, deputy permanent secretary of the

Shimla: At least 34 people, mostly women, were killed and around 25 injured in Himachal Pradesh`s Mandi district when the truck they were travelling in fell into a 200-metre gorge Wednesday evening, police said.   The victims, mostly from Bhaot village, were on their way home after

Dehradun: At least 18 children were buried alive when the building of a school caved in following incessant rain in Uttarakhand`s Kapkot town Wednesday, an official said. Classes were going at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir school in Kapkot, in Bageshwar district in the Himalayan state,