Politics

Pakistan PM says "no alternative to democracy" for political stability

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gillani on Tuesday [28 February] said the continuity of democratic process was critical to political stability in the country. It would lead the nation towards trajectory of peace, progress and prosperity. The

Iran has "lots of hidden capabilities" to counter enemies - defence minister

Iran has lots of hidden capabilities to put up resistance to enemies, Fars news agency quoted Iranian Defence Minister Gen Ahmad Vahidi as saying on 28 February. We have not unveiled all of our power and capabilities. The Islamic Republic o

Iran minister says foreign "interference" in Syrian affairs "aggravating factor"

During his meeting with UN-Arab League Special Envoy on Syria Kofi Annan on the sidelines of 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has termed foreign interference in the internal deve

Pakistani parliamentary delegation, visiting Indian Speaker stress goodwill

Pakistan-Indian Parliamentary Friendship Group (PFG) met with Indian parliamentary delegation on Wednesday [22 February] at National Assembly Secretariat, parliamentarians of both sides agreed that the enhanced interaction between the parli

Afghan Taleban reject Karzai's latest request for direct talks

Kabul: A spokesman for the Taleban has rejected the request from President Karzai to hold direct talks with the Afghan government and said that this would be a waste of time [Karzai called for these talks in an Afghan government statement r

Palestinian Authority to continue internal reconciliation efforts

PLO Executive Committee member Sa'ib Urayqat Tuesday [21 February] warned against an Israeli military strike on the Gaza Strip, holding the Israeli government fully responsible for any such attack. He told a local radio station that the Pale

West's sanctions not to affect Iran

The Iranian Supreme Leader, Seyyed Ali Khamene'i, downplayed the West's sanctions against Iran and emphasized that Iran will continue its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes. Khamene'i made the statement, addressing a group of Iranian A

Iran vice-president talks with Turkish premier on bilateral issues

First Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Reza Rahimi held talks over the phone on Monday [13 February] evening with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to IRNA, during this telephone conversation, the

Daily views Romania's newly appointed young government members as "vulnerable"

According to certain commentators, any critical remark made about Mihai Razvan Ungureanu would be equivalent to a real lese-majesty crime. [as published] They probably believe that this is how they can best serve the 'cause', but in reality

Kazakhstan: China interested in resolving Syrian issue through political talks

China is interested in resolving the situation in Syria through political consultations and dialogue, a member of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's committee for political consultations and China's former ambassador to Germany, Lu Qiutian, has

Turkish paper views alleged ties of security service with Kurdish rebels

The government will either let the operation against MIT [National Intelligence Agency] run its course, or it will place MIT under its protection and repulse the police and judiciary forces. The traffic is head-spinning... After what was ex

Nine suspected members of banned party detained in Kyrgyz south

Nine active members of the religious and extremist Hezb-e Tahrir party were detained during an operation [codenamed] Ekstremist conducted by officers of the Dzhalal-Abad Region internal affairs directorate's department No 10 from 9 to 14 Fe

Kazakh opposition leaders freed after serving 15-day arrest

Having served a 15-day arrest for organizing an unauthorized rally, Amirzhan Kosanov, the secretary-general of the opposition Nationwide Social-Democratic Party Azat, has been released from a special detention centre for those arrested on a

Russia releases statement on officials' visit to Syria

On 7 February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov on the instruction of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Damascus and met with the President of the Syrian

President says Iran's development to create "barrier for imperialism"

Iranshahr: According to IRNA report, after the official inauguration of six road projects in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, [Iranian President] Mahmud Ahmadinezhad said in his speech that enemies have the right to be afraid of Iran with has r

Iran president says NATO, West cannot bring freedom to nations

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad has said that NATO and Western countries cannot bring democracy and freedom to nations. Democracy and freedom will never come out of the barrel of the gun of the NATO army and NATO's bombardment, he sai

Pakistan: Government, opposition talks on neutral caretaker set-up welcomed

Islamabad: The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has welcomed the reported negotiations between the government and the opposition on a system for the appointment of caretaker governments in the Centre a

Egypt's SCAF reiterates promise to hand over power to civilian government

Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on 10 February reiterated its promise to hand the power over to a civilian government after the end of the presidential polls. In a statement read by a state TV announcer, SCAF said

Syrian community in Qatar holds rally against rights violations by Al-Asad

The Syrian Community in Qatar organized a rally yesterday [8 February] afternoon beside the Qatar Sports Club (QSC) to draw the attention of the world community to the flagrant violation of human rights in Syria. The rally continued for abo

Chinese, Singaporean foreign ministers discuss bilateral ties

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held talks with visiting Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam here on Friday [10 February]. The two foreign ministers appraised positively the development of bilateral ties, acco

Latvian daily compares views of authorities, opposition protesters in Russia

Vladimir Putin refuses to engage in public discussions with those who are competing with him over the job of the president - those who the regime have allowed to take part. We know, however, that he regularly publishes articles on his campa

Russia says US idea of Syria Group of Friends illegal

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the US idea of setting up an international Group of Friends to support Syrian opposition is illegal. We are apprehensive of various formats which we do not regard as legal in international law, off

British official positive on outlook of trade with Algeria

After the official visit of Lord Howell of Guildford, the deputy secretary at the British Foreign Office, in charge of energy and commerce, at the end of November 2011, another secretary, Lord Marland, the British state secretary in charge

South Korean president, Saudi king pledge to expand bilateral ties

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud agreed Wednesday [8 February] to expand cooperation to health care, defence, Internet technology and all other areas beyond the traditional sector of constr

Russia expects 600 foreign observers at presidential election in March

The number of international observers at the upcoming Russian presidential election will be the same as at the parliamentary election in December, CEC [Central Electoral Commission] secretary Nikolay Konkin has said. The number of foreign o

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China has played a significant role in the economic progress of Pakistan ever since the establishment of diplomatic ties between them. The first major initiative in this regard was the setting up of

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