SOUTH ASIA

Seoul, Sep 26 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung returned home Friday from a trip to New York, where he unveiled a new peace initiative on the Korean Peninsula at the UN General Assembly.In his first UN address since taking office in June, Lee also declared South Korea's full return to the global stage after months of political turmoil following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law attempt, Yonhap News Agency reported.Under the so-called "END" initiative, Lee told the United Nations that South Korea will focus on "exchange," "normalization" and "denuclearization" to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.During a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Lee said he expects to make progress in trade talks with Washington based on "commercial rationality."Th...

Quetta, Sep 21 (IANS) At least five Baloch civilians were extrajudicially killed by the Pakistani forces in Balochistan as the cycle of persecution continues across the province, according to a leading human rights organisation.Human rights organisation the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) mentioned that the mutilated body of Ustad Allah Dad, a resident of Soler Ghichk region of Panjgur, was discovered in the district on the night of September 20 after four days of illegal detention.The BYC stated that Allah Dad was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces in the Naag area of Washuk district on September 16."The body showed clear signs of severe physical torture and inhumane treatment, indicating he was subjected to extreme punishment before being killed," the rights body added.On the other...

Seoul, Sep 21 (IANS) Former South Korean Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung on Sunday appeared for questioning by a special counsel team as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid.Shim appeared at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office at around 9:54 a.m. to attend the questioning by special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team. He did not respond to questions by the press over allegations of his involvement in the imposition of martial law.Cho's team has been investigating allegations that Shim received an order from then Justice Minister Park Sung-jae to send prosecutors to a joint investigation headquarters shortly after Yoon's martial law declaration on December 3, reports Yonhap news agency.Shim is suspected of having held three phone calls with Park ov...

Washington, Sep 21 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Afghanistan, demanding the return of the Bagram air base to the United States.Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, "If Afghanistan doesn't give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, bad things are going to happen."Trump earlier reiterated that Washington has been pushing to regain control of the base, which was a key operational hub for American forces following the September 11, 2001, attacks.Addressing reporters on Friday, he confirmed that discussions with Afghanistan on the matter were underway.The Bagram air base, once the largest US military installation in Afghanistan, was taken over by the Taliban after the withdrawal of American forces i...

Baghdad, Sep 21 (IANS) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has announced the launch of a national development vision, stressing that the country "cannot continue relying solely on fossil fuels as the cornerstone of its national economy."According to a statement by al-Sudani's media office on Saturday (local time), the Prime Minister attended a launching ceremony of the Iraq Vision 2050 for Development and the Future, an event also joined by senior government officials, diplomats, and private sector representatives, among others.The vision aims to diversify Iraq's economy, reduce oil dependency, and increase private sector participation through structural reforms, read the statement.Key projects include positioning Iraq as a transit hub for 20 per cent of Asia-Europe trade through...

Dhaka, Sep 20 (IANS) Bangladesh’s Awami League Party on Saturday highlighted that over 10,000 new millionaires have emerged in just 8–10 months amid the country's economic recession, while ordinary people are being swept away in a tide of poverty under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.According to the party, the economy of Bangladesh is currently in a severe recession with unemployment exceeding eight per cent, and the poverty rate at nearly 28 per cent.The party mentioned that hundreds of factories have shut down, foreign investment is almost zero, and 2.6 million people have lost their jobs, with ordinary people struggling to cope with soaring prices of essential goods. It stressed that in the post-Covid period, GDP growth has dropped to just 3.97 per cent.“Never before has th...