News and information from the world of Interserve

Friday, March 31, 2006

Thailand: 'Thai poll may give little resolution. In theory, the wait should almost be over for Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. On Sunday, his decision to hold snap elections in an attempt to quell the mounting criticism against him will be put to the test, when the country goes to the polls three years earlier than planned.' (BBC)

Iran: 'Dozens die in western Iran quakes. At least 50 people have been killed and 800 injured after several earthquakes in western Iran, local officials said.' (BBC)

United Arab Emirates: 'At least 51 die in Bahrain ferry accident. At least 63 passengers were rescued -- and the bodies of 51 others recovered -- after a passenger ferry carrying about 135 people on a company outing capsized and sank Thursday night in a narrow channel off the Bahrain coast, officials said.' (CNN)

Thursday, March 30, 2006

India: 'First doctor jailed over India's aborted girls. A doctor in India has been jailed for revealing the sex of a female foetus and then agreeing to abort it, as the country moves to enforce tough laws that are designed to curb the widespread practice stemming from a parental preference for male children.' (Independent)

Sri Lanka: 'Sri Lanka votes in local polls. Polling has taken place in local government elections in Sri Lanka which observers say will test public opinion on the fragile peace process.' (BBC)

Afghanistan: 'Afghan convert arrives in Italy for asylum. The Afghan man who converted to Christianity and could have been executed for renouncing Islam has arrived in Italy for asylum, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced at a news conference.' (CNN)

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Pakistan: 'U.S. consulate closes after attack threat. The U.S. consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, was closed Monday because of a "very specific and credible threat," three State Department officials told CNN.' (CNN)

India: 'Bird flu hits third Indian state. Sales of chicken had dipped sharply after the first outbreak. Authorities in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh will slaughter 7,000 chickens after identifying a case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain.' (BBC)

Afghanistan: 'Italy may offer asylum to Afghan Christian convert. Italy is considering granting asylum to Abdul Rahman, the Afghan man who was released from jail yesterday in Kabul, where he had faced the death penalty for converting to Christianity.' (Independent)

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Nepal: 'Nepal’s Civil War: The Conflict Resumes. Since Maoist forces ended their four-month unilateral ceasefire on January 2, 2006, fighting in Nepal’s civil war has engulfed the entire country.' (Human Rights Watch)

Monday, March 27, 2006

Afghanistan: 'Afghan Christian convert who faced death set to be freed. The Afghan government appeared ready to cave in to intense international pressure last night over the Christian convert who faces a likely death sentence for apostasy in the Afghan courts.' (Independent)

Thursday, March 16, 2006

China/Nepal: 'China leader to hold Nepal talks. Tang Jiaxuan is the highest ranking foreign dignitary to visit Nepal in the past year. A top Chinese official is in Nepal for talks with King Gyanendra and opposition leaders during a three-day visit to the country.' (BBC)

Malaysia: 'Debate over coversion rights heats up. Two significant legal developments have left Malaysians hotly debating religious rights and Islamic law (sharia). The first development was the enactment of a new Islamic Family Law in December that made it easier for Muslim men to acquire up to four wives.' (Compass Direct)

Thailand: 'Thai leader hints he may step down after protests. Thailand's embattled Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has hinted that he might give in to growing demands for his immediate resignation by stepping aside "temporarily" to concentrate on his campaign for next month's snap elections on 2 April.' (Independent)

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Pakistan: 'Pakistan Islamic school destroyed. Security forces in Pakistan have demolished an Islamic seminary in the country's north-western tribal region, close to the Afghan border.' (BBC)

Nepal: 'Tamil rebels 'extorting diaspora'. Tamil people around the world are being intimidated and threatened into giving money to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, according to a new report.' (BBC)

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Nepal: 'Nepal blockade cripples transport. Transport across Nepal has been affected as Maoist rebels began an indefinite blockade to try to force the king to end direct rule.' (BBC)

Thailand: 'Thai marchers mass at PM's office. Tens of thousands of Thai protesters have marched on Government House in Bangkok to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.' (BBC)

Pakistan: 'Pakistanis accused of aiding Taliban with missile parts. American and Nato forces are following up reports that the Taliban have received vital components for shoulder-fired Stinger missiles from Pakistani officials enabling them to be used against helicopters in Afghanistan.' (Independent)

India: 'India train passengers found safe. About 50 passengers riding on a train attacked by Maoist rebels Monday evening in a remote section of India were found safe early Tuesday, local police said.' (CNN)

Monday, March 13, 2006

Bangladesh: Police break up Bangladesh rally. Police in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, have fired tear gas shells to break up an opposition protest.' (BBC)

Iraq: 'Bombers strike Shia stronghold in Baghdad. More than fifty people were killed in Baghdad yesterday as sectarian violence continued to convulse Iraq. In the deadliest assault at least 44 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded in a number of coordinated blasts in Sadr City, the sprawling Shia slum in north-east Baghdad.' (Independent)

Pakistan/Afghanistan: 'Pakistan accused of Afghan terror attack. The head of the upper-house of the Afghan parliament has accused the Pakistani secret service of being behind a suicide bombing which injured him and killed four other people in Kabul.' (Independent)

Thursday, March 09, 2006

China: 'CHINA: Despite new Regulations, religious policy still under strain. One year on from the March 2005 Religious Affairs Regulations their effects are difficult to judge, and repressive actions continue against many communities. China's religious policies are under increasing strain. Even the definition of "religion" – especially a "legal religion" – is debated among officials, and a comprehensive religion law (as opposed to the Regulations) is awaited.' (Forum 18)

Nepal: 'Soldiers die in Nepal 'attack'. At least three soldiers have been killed in an attack by suspected Maoist rebels in south-western Nepal, officials say.' (BBC)

Iraq: 'Violence leaves 4 dead in Baghdad. Gunfire and a roadside bomb left four people dead in Baghdad early Thursday, police said.' (CNN)

Turkey: 'Bomb kills 3 in Turkey. A bomb set off by suspected Kurdish guerrillas killed three people and injured 14 others on Thursday in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, the Anatolia news agency reported.' (CNN)

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

India: 'Quake hits India's Gujarat state. An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 has hit India's western Gujarat state.' (BBC)

China: 'China reports new bird flu death. A child in south-east China has become the 10th person in the country to die of bird flu, state media has reported.' (BBC)

Iraq: 'A US military patrol found 18 bodies in an abandoned minibus in Baghdad early today. The victims had been handcuffed, blindfolded and hanged or shot, police Lieutenant Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said. At least two appeared to be foreign Arabs, he said.'(Independent)

India: 'High alert after India explosions. Cities across India are on high alert, a day after twin bomb blasts rocked the holy city of Varanasi.' (BBC)

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Afghanistan: 'Rivals trade blame over militants. Afghanistan has rejected criticism from Pakistan that its intelligence on militants is out of date.' (BBC)

Thailand: 'Rallies keep pressure on Thai PM. Protesters in Thailand are continuing to pressure Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to resign, saying they will rally every night until he steps down.' (BBC)

China: 'rest grows in rural China over land grabs. Si Xiaoyan weeps as she tells how her husband, Liu Huirong, was sentenced to five years in jail for taking part in riots last year in the eastern Chinese town of Huaxi over the illegal granting of land rights to 13 chemical plants.' (Independent)

Monday, March 06, 2006

India: 'Indian tribe sends a missionary to tackle spiritual void in Wales. Indian tribes who were converted to Christianity by missionaries from Wales are now returning to evangelise the Welsh because they believe that the country is in a state of religious decline.' (Telegraph)

Nepal: 'Prisoners 'freed' in Nepal attack. Maoist rebels have freed more than 100 prisoners in an attack on a hill town in eastern Nepal, authorities say.' (BBC)

China: 'China vows more money for poor. Opening of parliament focuses on growing rich-poor divide. China's premier is pledging to narrow the gap between rich and poor as the National People's Congress opened its 10-day session in Beijing.' (CNN)

Thailand: 'Thousands protest against Thai PM. An estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people rallied Sunday in Bangkok to call for the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, with many vowing to remain on the streets until he does.' (CNN)

Friday, March 03, 2006

Afghanistan: 'Four years after U.S. forces ousted the Taliban from Kabul, Afghanistan faces an increasingly violent insurgency in southern and southeastern areas, while in the rest of the country regional military commanders—warlords—further entrench themselves by subverting the political process and controlling the country’s drug trade.' (Human Rights Watch)

Palestine: 'Abbas: Palestinians fear al Qaeda infiltration
Palestinian security forces are trying to stop infiltration by al Qaeda into Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday.' (CNN)

Iraq: 'New leadership crisis as Iraq descends into anarchy. A bomb ripped through a vegetable market in a Shia section of Baghdad and a senior Sunni leader escaped assassination as at least 36 people were killed yesterday in a surge of violence that pushed Iraq closer still to sectarian civil war.' (Independent)

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Bangladesh: 'Top Bangladesh militant captured. Shaykh Abdur Rahman, chief of the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), has surrendered to police in Sylhet in north-eastern Bangladesh.' (BBC)

Iraq: 'Iraq government talks in disarray. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari has cancelled a meeting with senior political leaders, apparently to protest against a campaign to oust him.' (BBC)

China: 'China: A Year After New Regulations, Religious Rights Still Restricted.One year after China’s Regulations on Religious Affairs came into force, Chinese citizens’ ability to exercise their right to freedom of religion remains as subject to arbitrary restrictions as ever, Human Rights Watch said today.' (Human Rights Watch)

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Pakistan: 'Pakistani troops in border attack. Pakistani forces have killed or wounded at least 25 people in a raid on suspected foreign militants near the Afghan border, regional officials say.' (BBC)

Uzbekistan: Uzbek opposition leader jailed. An opposition leader in Uzbekistan has been jailed for 10 years for economic crimes, a Tashkent court has said. Nadira Khidoyatova of opposition group Sunshine Uzbekistan was found guilty of tax evasion and money laundering.' (BBC)

Afghanistan: 'British forces stay away as Afghan opium war begins. The convoys are formed, line after line, in the swirling dust of Lashkar Gar airfield - bulldozers, oil tankers and trucks bristling with guns. Afghanistan's opium war is about to begin.' (Independent)

Iraq: '55 killed in string of Baghdad attacks. A nighttime blast near a Shiite mosque killed at least 25 people and wounded 43, the worst of a wave of attacks Tuesday in Iraq's capital, officials said.' (CNN)