The Afghanistan News`, 12 May 2008

Pro-Taleban fighters in Pakistan have brought back the bodies of at least nine comrades killed in Afghanistan, officials and witnesses say.Officials in South Waziristan tribal district quote militants as saying that a total of 12 tribal fighters were killed in an air attack.The fighters are loyal to a group of Taleban fighters led by a commander called Mullah Nazir.Officials say a deputy of Mullah Nazir is among the dead. ...

The VOA News, 12 May 2008

Detained Awami League president Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked her party leaders to launch mass movement to press home the five-point demands including immediate announcement of national election schedules and said that there was no other alternative to have the demands met.The former prime minister gave the directives as she talked with her lawyers, who are also her party colleagues, in a makeshift courtroom in the Jatiya Sangsad complex after appearing in the court for the hearing in the framing of charges in the MiG-29 graft case. ...

The Kuensel News, 5 May 2008

Since the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy became operational on July 1, 2005, eleven projects worth US$ 57.595 million (Nu 2,298.41 million), mostly in the manufacturing sector, have been approved of which some are still under construction.According to records maintained by the ministry of economic affairs, the overall shareholding pattern is 67.48 percent by foreign partners and 32.52 percent by local companies. Bhutan's FDI policy allows a maximum of 70 percent holdings by foreign companies and a minimum investment of US $ 1 million.Saint Gobin ceramics materials Bhutan ltd, a joint venture of Singye group of companies and Grindwell Norten ltd, India, is the biggest venture in terms of cost of setting up the project. ...

The Minivan News, 7 May 2008

An officer in the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) who is on trial for child sex abuse allegedly threatened a Minivan Daily journalist on Tuesday with a '25-year jail sentence'should he publish an article on the case.Corporal Ahmed Mohamed, 27, is charged with sexual abuse of a six-year-old child, whose family say he abused her after 'grooming' her with gifts.Noticing Corporal Mohamed near Mal's criminal court on Tuesday morning, journalist Ibrahim Mohamed approached him regarding the case and spoke to him briefly. Ibrahim alleges Corporal Mohamed then warned him not to take photographs. ...

The Nepal News, 12 May 2008

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has called the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly (CA) on May 28 (11:00 am) at Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC), Baneshwor.The Prime Minister, who also acts as the head of the state, announced the date for the CA meeting following consultations with the leaderships of political parties represented in the Assembly.All major parties have already announced that the first CA meeting will abolish monarchy and declare Nepal a republican state ...

The Daily News, 12 May 2008

The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) recorded an emphatic victory at the first ever Provincial Council Election in the East, securing 20 (18+02 bonus seats) out of 37 seats on offer, while polling 52.21 per cent of the total votes.The United National Party (UNP) which obtained 42.38 per cent of the total valid votes got 15 seats while the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the Tamil Democratic National Alliance secured one slot each. In Ampara the UPFA won with a majority of 22,975 votes securing eight seats while the UNP got six. Also the UPFA won three out of the four polling divisions with the UNP getting the nod in Kalmunai. ...