RFE/RL
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Planning your next ski vacation? Feeling adventurous? Don’t let a little unrest get in the way of your rest and relaxation. Turns out Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran (and soon Chechnya) offer offbeat getaways for those not afraid of a little risk while on the piste.[see the photos in larger size on our website]
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Jawed Faisal, spokesman for Kandahar governor tells @Mashaalradio: ”A motorcycle bomb exploded near the border with Pakistan which killed two children, a woman and a civilian. Ten more people have been injured.”
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Pakistani Candidate Caught On Video Slapping Election Officials
Few Pakistanis outside of her rural southern district had heard of politician Waheeda Shah Bukhari before February 25…[READ MORE]
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An Iranian film and a Pakistani documentary have won Oscar prizes at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
In a rare gesture of approval toward the country’s renowned movie industry, Iranian state-run television on February 27 described Farhadi’s win as a victory over arch-enemy Israel. Israel also had a film, “Footnote,” in the best foreign-film film competition.
The state broadcaster said the Iranian movie succeeded in “leaving behind” a film from the “Zionist regime.” [READ MORE]
Asghar Farhadi, director of Iranian film “A Separation,” kisses his award for Best Foreign Language film
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The American military now has some 7,000 aerial drones, compared with fewer than 50 some 10 years ago. The Pentagon has asked Congress for nearly $5 billion for drones in the 2012 budget…[READ MORE]
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Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, a noted author on Taliban and Al-Qaeda militancy in the region, speaking today in a phone interview with RFE/RL’s Abubakar Siddique about a classified NATO report obtained by news organizations in Afghanistan saying Taliban and other militants receive support from elements within Pakistan’s intelligence services.
“It’s very well known amongst NATO militaries [and] amongst the U.S. military. I was told by senior American generals that they approached [U.S.] President [George W.] Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld back in 2005 about the support that the Taliban were getting from Pakistan. But it was ignored by Bush at that time. So this is nothing new, I think, for anyone. But the fact that it should be leaked and that it should come in such language, I suppose, is going to create quite a furor.” -
When one of the world’s most beloved #Pashtun singers announced that she was giving up music to follow her faith, it came as more than a shock to fans and supporters — some took it as a national tragedy.
Nazia Iqbal surprised concertgoers in Dubai on January 21 when she announced that they were seeing her last performance. She was leaving music, she said, to live the “life of a devoted Muslim woman.”
“Now you are not going to see my face,” the popular Pakistani singer said, “because I will be wearing the Islamic veil.” [READ MORE]
Check out Nazia Iqbal’s music video above.
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A Macedonian village on the edge of Europe
Over the past couple of years, the Macedonian village of Lojane, which borders Serbia, has become a stopover on the illegal migration routes to Western Europe. Immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and some Arab countries spend days here trying to find their way into the European Union. But Serbian police make their attempts to cross the border more difficult and many illegal immigrants stopped anywhere in Serbia are also sent back to Lojane. (RFE/RL’s Macedonian Service)
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![Latest Killing Highlights Precarious Plight Of Journalists In Pakistan
Tribal journalist Mukarram Khan Aatif was unaware of the tragedy awaiting him when he called the representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Peshawar to confirm his participation in a training workshop on “responsible reporting” on the morning of January 17.
“I want to learn about journalism,” he told Iqbal Khattak, a representative of the Paris-based RSF, who spoke with Aatif to confirm his participation in the training workshop.Hours later, Aatif’s world crumbled as two hooded gunmen opened fire while he was offering evening prayer at a mosque near his house in the Shabqadar subdivision of the Charsadda district, north of Peshawar…[READ MORE]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxzsv06Beg1qkgi6go1_500.jpg)
Latest Killing Highlights Precarious Plight Of Journalists In Pakistan
Tribal journalist Mukarram Khan Aatif was unaware of the tragedy awaiting him when he called the representative of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Peshawar to confirm his participation in a training workshop on “responsible reporting” on the morning of January 17.
“I want to learn about journalism,” he told Iqbal Khattak, a representative of the Paris-based RSF, who spoke with Aatif to confirm his participation in the training workshop.
Hours later, Aatif’s world crumbled as two hooded gunmen opened fire while he was offering evening prayer at a mosque near his house in the Shabqadar subdivision of the Charsadda district, north of Peshawar…[READ MORE]
