PAKISTAN

Internet connectivity in Pakistan is as low as 10 percent but opportunities for growth are evident, a team of Google and YouTube officials who visited the country early this month said in a blog post.

India and Russia signed a deal worth $30 billion to design and make fifth generation fighter aircraft taking defense co-operation between the two nations to a new level.

It makes sense for China to invest heavily in green energy.

Australia included Usman Khawaja in their squad for the fourth Ashes Test against England as a back-up for Captain Ricky Ponting, in case the skipper fails to recover from a fractured finger.

China would invest about $20 billion in Pakistan in the next 3 years, according to a communiqué issued by the two countries on Sunday.

The Obama administration’s latest strategy review on the war in Afghanistan has, in general, drawn praise from government officials, military leaders and lawmakers from both parties. Some of that praise is, however, well seasoned with concerns, and at least one lawmaker thinks the administration's approach is off the mark.

Classified US diplomatic cables leaked by whistle-blower site Wikileaks revealed that the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) briefed US officials over the continued ill-treatment of detainees in Kashmir by the armed forces and the police. Some cables stated that the government-nurtured militia committed brutal human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings, rapes and extortion of Kashmiri civilians suspected of harboring extremists in the Valley.

The Asia-Pacific region will continue to be the fastest-growing region of the world in 2011, according to a forecast by IHS Global Insight. However, the report says the region faces significant risks in the backdrop of the fragile state of some of the largest economies in the world, the raging sovereign debt crisis in the European Union and 'deep-seated structural problems facing Japan.

The Obama administration is setting conditions' to initiate the 'responsible reduction of US troops in Afghanistan, the White House review of Afghan war stated. The troop withdrawal is likely to commence in July as the review maintained that US strategy in the conflict zone has been showing progress.. It also stated that the Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan is at its weakest since 2001.

The war in Afghanistan is unlikely to be won, US Intelligence reports suggest. Even as President Barack Obama is all set to announce policy review on the war in Afghanistan, two classified reports state that it could be improbable to end Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgency in the Tribal regions of the country. The reports however, have fueled a bitter row between the intelligence agencies and the military over who has a better perspective and proximity in the war zone.

The Marylebone Cricket Club's World Cricket Committee (MCC) recommended suggestions which included use of lie-detectors to fight corruption in the Sport.

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday on a three-day visit seeking to boost mutual trust and understanding, and cement trade and economic ties between China and India.

Richard Holbrooke, 69, U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, died on Monday while undergoing a surgery for a torn aorta.

Norway's Nobel committee held its Peace Prize awards ceremony on Friday without the award's recipient, human rights activist Liu Xiaobo.

Australia have sprung a major over-haul of their 12-man squad for the third Ashes test at Perth against England, with the shock inclusion of the little-known Michael Beer raising eyebrows.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who was on a four-day official visit to India along with his wife Carla Bruni left for Paris on Tuesday after signing a few deals worth more than $10 billion, which is almost the same as what US President Obama managed during his visit last month.

The website of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was hacked on Friday night by an outfit in Pakistan.

Even as food prices shoot up in China, food production remains slow while demand is rising multifold.

Militants who orchestrated the 26/11 attacks on India might have been trying to prevent the Pakistan Government from moving its army away from the Indian border, U.S. diplomatic cables suggest. Officials in London feared that the Indians would retaliate with an increase in covert activities in Balochistan or even by bombarding militant camps in Occupied Kashmir.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia backed Pervez Musharraf's rule in Pakistan, leaked US diplomatic cables suggest. The kingdom also reportedly worked with the former army general to have Nawaz Sharif arrested if he returned from exile.

Pakistan army wanted to bring down President Zardari, but at the same time avoid elections to avoid Nawaz Sharif taking charge, US diplomatic cables leaked by Wikileaks stated. The cable dated 12 March 2009 reported U.S. diplomat Anne W. Patterson meeting General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Pakistan's Chief of Army staff. The UK also expressed concerns over Zardari's leadership.