Asia

At least 28 Pakistani soldiers were killed today when NATO helicopters and combat jets fired on two border posts in the country's northwest, prompting army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to direct his troops to prepare for ''an effective response'' even as authorities cut off all supplies for US forces in Afghanistan. The attack, the worst single incident of its …

Afghanistan wants the United States and NATO to agree to stop carrying out night raids on Afghan homes as a pre-condition to Kabul signing a strategic partnership with Washington, President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday. Night raids, which foreign troops say are one of their most effective weapons in the fight against insurgents, are a major cause of friction between …

With Tunisian elections just completed, Egypt's parliamentary elections coming up and Libya veering into a dark new period, observers of the Arab Spring are wondering what will become of these revolutions once the euphoria subsides and the struggle over democracy grows apace. There is one corner of South Asia where these questions hit particularly close to home — the Maldives …