The following is the message from Asif Ali Zardari, president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on the occasion of Pakistan Day. ― Ed.March 23 this year is most memorable as it is the first Pakistan Day after the Parliament unanimously removed from the Constitution the over three-decade old vestiges of dictatorship to make it truly democratic.It is a proud day for every Pakistani as we celebrat

Pakistan lies at the cross-roads of Central, West and South Asia, which makes it a meeting point of ancient civilizations and cultures. The region encompassed by modern day Pakistan is home to the oldest Asian civilization and one of the oldest civilizations in the world after Mesopotamia and Egypt ― the Indus Valley Civilization (B.C. 2500-B.C. 1500). Pakistan was a part of an epicenter of great

BEIJING (AFP) ― Millions of tourists visit Asia each year for its pristine beaches and cultural treasures, but Nick Bonner offers travelers something different: the “socialist paradise” of North Korea.Bonner launched Koryo Tours in Beijing in 1993 along with a few colleagues, taking an initial group of 12 curious tourists keen for a glimpse inside one of the world’s most isolated countries.That gr

Power restored to three reactors; reports of food contamination growFUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) ― Plant operators evacuated workers from Japan’s tsunami-stricken nuclear complex Monday after gray smoke rose from one of its reactor units, the latest of persistent troubles in stabilizing the complex after it was damaged in a quake and tsunami. Smoke rising from the spent fuel storage pool of the plant’s U

TOKYO (AP) ― At a bustling Tokyo supermarket Sunday, wary shoppers avoided one particular bin of spinach.The produce came from Ibaraki prefecture in the northeast, where radiation was found in spinach grown up to 120 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Another bin of spinach ― labeled as being from Chiba prefecture, west of Tokyo ― was sold out.“It’s a little hard to say this, bu

BEIJING (AP) ― Google said Monday the Chinese government is interfering with its email services in China, making it difficult for users to gain access to its Gmail program.Google Inc. said its engineers have determined there are no technical problems with the email service or its main website.“There is no technical issue on our side; we have checked extensively. This is a government blockage caref

Libyan state TV says 48 killed, 150 wounded in allied assaultU.S., European forces launch cruise missiles, airstrikesBENGHAZI, Libya (AP) ― The U.S. and European nations pounded Moammar Gadhaf’s forces and air defenses with cruise missiles and airstrikes, launching the broadest international military effort since the Iraq war in support of an uprising that had seemed on the verge of defeat. Libyan

MIDDLETOWN, Pennsylvania (AP) ― Japan’s nuclear crisis has transported residents of central Pennsylvania back 32 years, when the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant raised fears that a massive amount of radiation could be released into the atmosphere or the Susquehanna River.But there are stark differences between the disasters.“It’s probably not politically correct to say it,

KARAKUWA, Japan (AP) ― There may be no water, no power and no cell phone reception in this tsunami-struck town, but in the school that serves as a shelter, there are sizzling pans of fat, pink shrimp.Relief supplies have only trickled into the long strip of northeast Japan demolished by a powerful earthquake and the wave it unleashed a week ago, leaving affected communities to fend for themselves.

TOKYO (AFP) ― The official number of dead and missing after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened Japan’s northeast coast a week ago has topped 16,600, with 6,405 confirmed dead, police said Friday.The number of people unaccounted for following the March 11 twin disasters increased to 10,259, the National Police Agency said in its latest update.A total of 2,409 people were injured.

KESENNUMA, Japan (AFP) ― Less than a week after watching his home get swept away by the tsunami that tore into Japan’s northeast coast, Shiroyuchi Kumagai is ready to reclaim his plot of earth from the sea.“It’s my land. I’ve been here all my life,” the 83-year-old said as he surveyed the rubble of Kesennuma. “I want to rebuild.”Kumagai was born and raised in the village of Katahama, one of a seri

Helicopters drop water; operators race to restore power supply to cooling systemFuel rod cooling pool nearly empty, plant owner saysU.S. officials say No. 4 reactor also in troubleZAO, Japan (AP) ― Military helicopters dumped loads of seawater onto Japan’s stricken nuclear complex Thursday, turning to combat-style tactics while trying to cool overheated uranium fuel that may be on the verge of spe

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (AP) ― They risk explosions, fire and an invisible enemy ― radiation that could kill quickly or decades later ― as they race to avert disaster inside a dark, overheated nuclear plant.The 180 emergency workers at Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex are emerging as public heroes in the wake of a disaster spawned by an earthquake and a tsunami.Dubbed by some as modern-day samu

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's nuclear crisis deepened Wednesday with another fire at a quake-hit atomic power plant and a radiation spike there that forced the temporary evacuation of workers.Military helicopters carrying giant buckets were preparing to drop water on the stricken plant, which has been hit by four explosions and two fires since last Friday's earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling syste

P.M. warns of high-level radiation leak following blasts at 2 more reactorsResidents ordered to stay indoors and not to turn on ventilatorsSOMA, Japan (AP) -- Radiation leaked from a crippled nuclear plant in tsunami-ravaged northeastern Japan after a third reactor was rocked by an explosion Tuesday and a fourth caught fire in a dramatic escalation of the 4-day-old catastrophe. The government warn

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Despite the horrific scenes of destruction, Japan may emerge from its quake-tsunami disaster with a stronger international brand-name as the nation’s resilience wins wide praise.Television stations around the world have broadcast the footage of the seismic waves as they razed homes and carried away cars as if they were toys, stranding dazed survivors on the brutalized landscape.But coverage has also shown another side -- Japanese showing calm as they search for loved ones or

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan mobilized 50,000 military and other rescue personnel Saturday to spearhead a Herculean rescue and recovery effort, a day after being hit by its most devastating quake and tsunami on record.Every wing of the Self Defense Forces was thrown into frantic service, with hundreds of ships, aircraft and vehicles headed to the Pacific coast area where more than 2,000 people were feared

PARIS (AFP) ― International rescue teams were rushing to Japan on Sunday after a 8.8-magnitude earthquake and tsunami left more than 2,000 feared dead, at least 10,000 missing and seriously damaged a nuclear power plant.The world has rallied behind Japan, where tsunami waves up to 10 meters high rolled across the low-lying northeast on Friday, washing away everything in their path.U.S. aircraft ca

Scenes of devastation at heart of Japan disasterSENDAI, Japan (AP) -- She scanned the landscape of debris and destruction, looking at the patch of earth where Japan‘s massive tsunami erased her son’s newly built house so thoroughly that she can‘t even be certain where it once stood.Satako Yusawa teared up but pulled herself together quickly.Because for the 69-year-old widow, there was this to be t

BREGA, Libya (AFP) ― U.S. President Barack Obama said all options were on the table for driving Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi out of power as rebels angrily ruled out talking to a dictator with “blood” on his hands.Despite grave reservations expressed by the U.S. military command, Obama said a no-fly zone was among the “full range” of options as he demanded that Gadhafi “step down from power and leave.”