pakistan – Page 28 – 4VF News

Apparent rebellion hits Bangladesh force

Shots continued to ring out from inside the headquarters of Bangladesh’s border security force in the capital, Dhaka, hours after a gunbattle began Wednesday morning. In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, Obama said it’s time to act boldly not just to revive the economy, but “to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity.” “While the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater,” he said. The president struck an optimistic tone, asserting that “we will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.” Obama focused on the three priorities of the budget he will present to Congress later this week: energy, health care and education

Obama outlines ambitious agenda for ‘lasting prosperity’

President Obama on Tuesday outlined an ambitious agenda that requires "significant resources," even as he aims to halve the deficit by the end of his first term. In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, Obama said it’s time to act boldly not just to revive the economy, but “to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity.” “While the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater,” he said. The president struck an optimistic tone, asserting that “we will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.” Obama focused on the three priorities of the budget he will present to Congress later this week: energy, health care and education

Report: Pakistan agrees fresh Taliban truce

Pakistani security forces will observe a four-day cease-fire with Taliban militants in another region of North West Frontier Province, Pakistan’s state-run news agency reported Tuesday. Tribal leaders in the Bajaur region had asked the government forces to observe a truce that had been unilaterally called for by local Taliban militants, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)

Brazilian revelers celebrate Rio Carnival

Aides say the president is expected to focus on the economy when he addresses a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening, but will also touch lightly on foreign policy issues. After much talk of engaging America’s adversaries, chief among them Iran, the Obama administration has made no move so far, pending a policy review.

Can Pakistan Regain Control of Swat from the Taliban?

“Smile, you’re in Swat,” reads a billboard on the main road into the lush green honeymooners’ valley once dubbed the “Switzerland of Asia”. But over the past two years, Swat has been turned into a playground for the Taliban. And it may be the Taliban, and their fellow Islamists, who have most reason to smile as a result of the government’s decision, last week, to end its floundering military campaign and instead accept the Taliban’s key demand — for the imposition of Islamic shari’a law in the area

Latest ‘al Qaeda message’ focuses on Somalia

Islamist fighters in Somalia have made significant gains in the country, according to the latest statement purportedly from al Qaeda’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The 25-minute audio recording, titled “From Kabul to Mogadishu,” focuses primarily on the “important developments” in Somalia, which al-Zawahiri called “a step on the path of victory of Islam.” CNN cannot authenticate the message, which was released on Sunday and was interspersed with television news reports and statements from various al Qaeda-linked commanders

U.N. hostage’s mother pleads for his release

The mother of an American humanitarian worker kidnapped in Pakistan has pleaded for him to be freed in an audio recording released by the United Nations. Rose Solecki, whose son John was abducted three weeks ago, describes how the “happy memory” of visiting him in the province of Balochistan “turned into a nightmare.” “I simply do not understand why this is happening to our dear John,” Rose Solecki, 83, says in the recording. “I cannot begin to explain the sorrows and pain I am going through right now

Taliban swaps kidnapped official for militants

Taliban militants released a kidnapped Pakistani official in exchange for two of their men in the troubled Swat Valley, government officials said Monday. Kushal Khan was on his way to take up his new post as the district coordination officer Sunday when unknown gunmen kidnapped him and six members of his security detail near Mingora, the valley’s main city.

Official kidnapped in Pakistan, despite Swat Valley cease-fire

A top official in Pakistan’s troubled Swat Valley was kidnapped Sunday — a day after a cease-fire between the government and Taliban militants was supposed to go into effect. Kushal Khan was on his way to take up his new post as the District Coordination Officer when unknown gunmen kidnapped him and six members of his security guards near Mingora, the valley’s main city, officials said. Khan was nabbed a day after the provincial government declared a permanent cease-fire agreement with Taliban militants in the valley

Taliban, Pakistan make permanent truce in volatile valley

The Taliban and the government of North West Frontier Province in Pakistan have agreed to a permanent cease-fire in the nation’s volatile Swat Valley, an official said. Syed Mohammad Javed, commissioner for the Malakand region, which includes Swat Valley, told reporters in Mingora that the two parties had agreed to make permanent a 10-day cease-fire declared earlier this week. Javed said the agreement meant boys schools will reopen on Monday and camps will be set up for Swat residents who have fled the fighting or whose homes had been destroyed.