PAKISTAN

Taliban militants killed six U.N. foreign staff in an assault on an international guest-house in Kabul on Wednesday, deepening concerns about security for a presidential election run-off due in 10 days.

A car bomb ripped through a crowded market killing 87 people in Pakistan's city of Peshawar on Wednesday, just hours after Washington's top diplomat arrived pledging a fresh start in sometimes strained relations.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday promising a new page in relations and several civilian investment deals.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday, pledging a fresh start in relations with an increasingly embattled and skeptical partner in the struggle against Islamic militancy.

The foreign ministers of Russia, China and India said on Tuesday that the world must remain engaged in Afghanistan, with Moscow seeking a greater role for regional powers in stabilising the war-torn country.

Pakistani forces detained 11 Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Monday for crossing into Pakistan days after an Iranian commander was reported saying his men should be allowed to confront terrorists in Pakistan.

Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery recaptured a strategic town from Taliban militants after fierce fighting, officials said on Saturday.

A Taliban suicide bomber killed eight people outside a key Pakistani airforce facility Friday, with officials quick to deny suggestions the target was linked to the country's nuclear program.

Japan said on Thursday it could not sign off on a planned reorganisation of U.S. troops in the country before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo next month, after the U.S. defense secretary bluntly called for the deal to be implemented.

Suspected Taliban militants shot and killed a Pakistani army brigadier and his driver in the capital on Thursday as the military continued a major offensive against the insurgents in their strongholds near the Afghan border.

Pakistani helicopter gunships attacked Taliban bases near the Afghan border on Wednesday as the army urged NATO forces to seal the frontier to stem cross-border movement of militants.

Iran's military accused the United States and Israel of terrorism as it held a funeral on Tuesday for high-ranking commanders killed in the deadliest attack in the Islamic Republic since the 1980s.

Taliban militants attacked Pakistani forces and recaptured a strategic town on Tuesday while two suicide bomb blasts at an Islamic university in the capital killed six people and wounded at least 20, officials said.

Pakistani forces backed by artillery attacked Taliban insurgents on Monday as the army moved to wrest control of militant strongholds in a lawless region on the Afghan border.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday vowed to retaliate against the United States and Britain after accusing them of backing the perpetrators of a suicide bombing that killed six Guards commanders.

Pakistani forces exchanged heavy fire on Sunday with Taliban defending their heartland, a day after launching an offensive aimed at bringing the writ of the state to lawless lands on the Afghan border.

A suicide bomber killed six senior Revolutionary Guards commanders and 23 other people on Sunday in one of the boldest attacks on Iran's most powerful military institution.

Pakistani forces launched a ground offensive against Taliban militants in South Waziristan on the Afghan border on Saturday, with soldiers advancing from three directions, officials said.

Several international political figures have phoned President Hamid Karzai, his office said on Saturday, in what appeared to be an intense diplomatic offensive to end a row over Afghanistan's disputed presidential election.

The U.N. Human Rights Council endorsed on Friday a Gaza report that accused both Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas of committing war crimes.

Pakistani forces attacked a Taliban stronghold with aircraft and artillery on Friday, as a suicide bomber killed 12 people in the city of Peshawar in the latest in a wave of militant attacks.