South Asia News - AFP

LONDON (AFP) - Pakistan will not allow foreign troops in to its tribal areas to root out extremists threatening coalition troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, its foreign minister said here Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush telephoned Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday to discuss joint efforts to forge ahead on their countries' controversial nuclear deal, the White House said.

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - At least nine people including women and young children were killed in fresh outbreaks of violence in Indian Kashmir on Thursday, officials said.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House confirmed Thursday that it wants to shift 230 million dollars in aid to Pakistan from counter-terrorism programs to upgrading Islamabad's ageing F-16 fighter jets.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indian opposition supporters attacked the home of a party MP Thursday in retaliation for his failure to go against the government in a parliament confidence vote, police and witnesses said.

KATHMANDU (AFP) - Authorities in Nepal were Thursday accused of caving in to pressure from giant neighbour China by using excessive force and arbitrarily arresting hundreds of Tibetan protesters.

KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistan on Thursday confirmed a new case of polio in an eight-month-old boy in the southern port city of Karachi, health officials said.

WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand cricketers will be urged not to travel to Pakistan for September's Champions Trophy after the International Cricket Council ruled the tournament would go ahead there.

KARACHI (AFP) - For a nation obsessed with sports, Pakistan has very little to boast about when it comes to the Olympics and even the most optimistic fans see few hopes of any medals in Beijing.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) - The International Cricket Council decided Thursday to keep September's Champions Trophy in troubled Pakistan but it will appoint a commission to ensure security, officials said.

COLOMBO (AFP) - Mahela Jayawardene equalled former Australian legend Don Bradman's record of nine centuries at one venue to put Sri Lanka in a commanding position in the opening Test against India here on Thursday.

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's government Wednesday celebrated winning a parliamentary vote that clears the way for a controversial nuclear deal with the United States it says will help lift millions from poverty.

KATHMANDU (AFP) - The first president of newly republican Nepal was sworn into office on Wednesday, but the country remained in political limbo, with the former Maoist rebels refusing to form a government under him.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan will not be used as a base for terrorism and attacks on Pakistan will be tolerated, members of the ruling coalition announced after talks on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - The Pakistani army Wednesday wound up an operation in a restive northwestern town near the Afghan border after clearing the area of Taliban forces, the military said.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Human rights group Amnesty International on Wednesday called on Pakistan to reveal the details of hundreds of so-called enforced disappearances during the US-led "war on terror".

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh's emergency government announced Wednesday it had finished work on a "revolutionary" digital voters' list that will pave the way for the restoration of democracy in the graft-hit nation.

GENEVA (AFP) - Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath welcomed on Wednesday a shifting US position on farm subsidies at WTO trade talks, saying it was a positive development as ministers attempt to clinch a new global deal.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon is unable to send additional combat brigades to Afghanistan this year because of constraints imposed by the war in Iraq, leaving a shift of forces to the next president, a spokesman said Wednesday.

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lankan opener Malinda Warnapura defied India's attack with an unbeaten half-century on the opening day of the rain-hit first Test on Wednesday.

KARACHI (AFP) - The International Cricket Council said Wednesday that its decision on whether Pakistan can host the Champions Trophy in September must be viewed in the "larger interest of the game".

KABUL (AFP) - Afghan troops recovered the bodies of 34 Taliban-linked fighters after a fierce clash in southern Afghanistan Thursday, the defence ministry said, while police said the final toll was double that.

KABUL (AFP) - The existence of extremist sanctuaries is unacceptable and Pakistan should be part of a "regional approach" to eliminating the global threat from terrorism, the NATO chief said Thursday.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) - The International Cricket Council decided Thursday to keep September's Champions Trophy in troubled Pakistan but it will appoint a commission to ensure security, officials said.

COLOMBO (AFP) - Mahela Jayawardene equalled former Australian legend Don Bradman's record of nine centuries at one venue to put Sri Lanka in a commanding position in the opening Test against India here on Thursday.

MUMBAI (AFP) - Indian truck and car-maker Tata Motors is looking to launch an electric and other fuel efficient cars, its chairman Ratan Tata said at the company's annual general meeting on Thursday.

MUMBAI (AFP) - Indian oil and petrochemical giant Reliance Industries reported Thursday that first-quarter net profit rose by 13.2 percent on strong refining margins.

MUMBAI (AFP) - India's top mobile phone company, Bharti Airtel, said first-quarter net profit increased by a better-than-expected 34 percent, as subscriptions rose in the world's fastest-growing wireless market.