Thursday, July 9, 2009
Bangladesh struggles to tame violent militants
Violent militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan get more attention, but militant groups also challenge South Asia's other Muslim nation, Bangladesh, worrying neighbors and countries with Bangladeshi workers or immigrants.
Militants in the low-lying nation of some 150 million people threaten its young democratic government's efforts to achieve stability, and raise fears the groups will connect with and strengthen extremist international networks.
The violent Islamists' presence also discourages much needed aid and investment.
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Militants in the low-lying nation of some 150 million people threaten its young democratic government's efforts to achieve stability, and raise fears the groups will connect with and strengthen extremist international networks.
The violent Islamists' presence also discourages much needed aid and investment.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Afghanistan, bangladeshi workers, immigrants, militant groups, muslim nation, pakistan, South Asia, violent militants
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Afghan law on women brings societal conflict onto world stage
Outside the gates of Kabul University, young Shiite women in fashionable black jackets and scarves hopped off city buses each morning last week, then strolled to biology and law classes alongside clusters of male students, chatting about career plans.
But in a carpeted mosque a few blocks away, the Shiite imam admonished male worshipers to keep close watch on their wives and daughters, saying it is "Satan's work" when women visit public places such as shrines wearing attractive clothing. Behind a curtain, female worshipers enveloped in burqas listened in silence.
Like Afghan society at large, the country's Shiite Muslim minority is grappling with conflicting pressures between a strong tradition of male family dominance and a gradually evolving acceptance of women's modern rights. Usually, this struggle takes place out of the public eye, within families and religious communities.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
But in a carpeted mosque a few blocks away, the Shiite imam admonished male worshipers to keep close watch on their wives and daughters, saying it is "Satan's work" when women visit public places such as shrines wearing attractive clothing. Behind a curtain, female worshipers enveloped in burqas listened in silence.
Like Afghan society at large, the country's Shiite Muslim minority is grappling with conflicting pressures between a strong tradition of male family dominance and a gradually evolving acceptance of women's modern rights. Usually, this struggle takes place out of the public eye, within families and religious communities.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: afghan law, Afghanistan, burqas, kabul university, muslims, religious communities, shiite imam, shiite muslim minority, shitte women
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry nominated Ambassador to Afghanistan
President Obama nominated Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, Deputy Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, to be his next Ambassador to Afghanistan.
This key appointment comes in the midst of the President's ongoing review of Afghanistan policy and heralds a meeting of minds between the General and the President on narrowing strategic objectives in that country where the Taliban is gaining ground.
Eikenberry was Commander of the Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan before going to Brussels. He has also served in operational posts which include service as commander and staff officer with mechanized, light, airborne, and ranger infantry units in the continental United States, Hawaii, Korea, and Italy.
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To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
This key appointment comes in the midst of the President's ongoing review of Afghanistan policy and heralds a meeting of minds between the General and the President on narrowing strategic objectives in that country where the Taliban is gaining ground.
Eikenberry was Commander of the Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan before going to Brussels. He has also served in operational posts which include service as commander and staff officer with mechanized, light, airborne, and ranger infantry units in the continental United States, Hawaii, Korea, and Italy.
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Afghanistan, Afghanistan policy, Ambassador, Belgium, Brussels, Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, Military Committee, NATO, United states
Friday, August 8, 2008
United States wary of Pakistani appeal for more cooperation
Bush administration officials have responded with skepticism to an appeal by visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani for increased intelligence cooperation, which he said would help his country attack militant groups and terrorist encampments near its border with Afghanistan.
"The problem from our perspective has not been an absence of information going into the Pakistani government," said one Bush administration official familiar with discussions between the two governments. "It's an absence of action."
Both governments stressed that their meetings have been cordial, and public statements underlined a shared commitment to counter terrorism. President Bush, in an appearance with Gilani after a White House meeting on July 28, twice noted U.S. respect for Pakistani sovereignty. In an interview on July 29, Gilani emphasized Pakistan's desire "to maintain excellent relations with the United States."
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To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
"The problem from our perspective has not been an absence of information going into the Pakistani government," said one Bush administration official familiar with discussions between the two governments. "It's an absence of action."
Both governments stressed that their meetings have been cordial, and public statements underlined a shared commitment to counter terrorism. President Bush, in an appearance with Gilani after a White House meeting on July 28, twice noted U.S. respect for Pakistani sovereignty. In an interview on July 29, Gilani emphasized Pakistan's desire "to maintain excellent relations with the United States."
To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Afghanistan, border, Bush administration, cooperation, militant attack, Pakistani government, Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, terrorism, United states
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Democrats Barack Obama calls for better India-Pakistan ties
U .S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on July 22 that the U.S.-led war against militants in Afghanistan might be made easier if the United States worked to improve trust between India and Pakistan.
Obama, who is on a foreign fact-finding trip and visited Afghanistan over the weekend, described Afghanistan as the central front in the war against terrorism and said the situation there was "perilous and urgent".
Trying to reduce tensions between traditional rivals India and Pakistan could help, he said.
"A lot of what drives, it appears, motivations on the Pakistan side of the border, still has to do with their concerns and suspicions about India," Obama told a news conference in the Jordanian capital Amman.
"We haven't had a conversation between the Indians and the Pakistanis that has been sustained and meaningful about how they can arrive at a more sensible arrangement between the two countries that could relieve some of the pressure and help us go after ... some of these forces along the border regions."
Relations between India and Pakistan, who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, have become strained again despite an ongoing peace process.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Obama, who is on a foreign fact-finding trip and visited Afghanistan over the weekend, described Afghanistan as the central front in the war against terrorism and said the situation there was "perilous and urgent".
Trying to reduce tensions between traditional rivals India and Pakistan could help, he said.
"A lot of what drives, it appears, motivations on the Pakistan side of the border, still has to do with their concerns and suspicions about India," Obama told a news conference in the Jordanian capital Amman.
"We haven't had a conversation between the Indians and the Pakistanis that has been sustained and meaningful about how they can arrive at a more sensible arrangement between the two countries that could relieve some of the pressure and help us go after ... some of these forces along the border regions."
Relations between India and Pakistan, who have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, have become strained again despite an ongoing peace process.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, calls, concerns, india, militants, pakistan, peace, traditional rivals, United states, Washington
Friday, May 2, 2008
Oil Painting was not invented in Europe but by Buddhist painters of Bamiyan
Oil painting was not ‘invented' in Europe during the Renaissance, but was in use by Buddhist painters of Bamiyan, in present day Afghanistan. This is no mere conjecture, but has been proved by an international group of scientists.
All art history books now need to be rewritten.The world was in shock when in 2001 the Talibans destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in the Afghan region of Bamiyan.
Behind those statues, there are caves decorated with precious paintings from 5th to 9th century A.D.
The caves also suffered from Taliban destruction, as well as from a severe natural environment, but today they have become the source of a major discovery. Scientists have proved, thanks to experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), that the paintings were made of oil, hundreds of years before the technique was "invented" in Europe, ESRF said on its website.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
All art history books now need to be rewritten.The world was in shock when in 2001 the Talibans destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in the Afghan region of Bamiyan.
Behind those statues, there are caves decorated with precious paintings from 5th to 9th century A.D.
The caves also suffered from Taliban destruction, as well as from a severe natural environment, but today they have become the source of a major discovery. Scientists have proved, thanks to experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), that the paintings were made of oil, hundreds of years before the technique was "invented" in Europe, ESRF said on its website.
To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://www.newsindia-times.com
Labels: Afghan region, Afghanistan, ancient colossal Buddha statues, Bamiyan, Buddhist painters, discover, Europe, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, invented, Oil Painting, paintings, Taliban
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