News updates

They met and they talked —  no they barked. The much-hyped Indo-Pakistan talks at Foreign Secretaries level last week, we were told, ended on a note of optimism. Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna described the talks as an “encouraging step towards restoring dialogue” while Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said the talks were exploratory. But soon the atmosphere changed, with …

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A tour of the United States arranged by the State Department to improve ties to Pakistani legislators ended in a public relations fiasco when the members of the group refused to submit to extra airport screening in Washington, and they are now being hailed as heroes on their return home. “People should be thankful, you made them …

Two helicopters escorting U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates take off after a visit to Camp Black Horse where the Afghan National Army (ANA) receive training in Kabul March 10, 2010. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected a measure calling for President Barack Obama to pull U.S. forces from Afghanistan, in an election-year test of his decision to …

US international affairs journal Foreign Policy says Turkey’s Fethullah Gülen voted top of its list of world intellectuals. WASHINGTON – The bimonthly US international affairs journal Foreign Policy has just published a survey of the world’s top 20 public intellectuals and the first 10 are all Muslims. Fethullah Gülen, who heads a network of schools and media that is probably …

The defeat of the Tamil Tigers has finally provided a rare historic opportunity to set our war- battered country on the path to progress. The bitterness and suspicions between the communities  remain deep. However, the need to correct past wrongs backed by remedial and reconciliation measures are indispensable to bring communal harmony on the principles of pluralism, equality, mutual understanding …

PARIS: France is set to adjust its legal and fiscal framework to accommodate Islamic bonds this year, a leading Paris official said, as the French capital looks to attract business in this potentially fast-growing industry. “Work is well advanced on the matter of hosting sukuk (Islamic bond) emissions,” Paris Europlace managing director Arnaud de Bresson said in an interview. Paris …