Asian people

Pakistan and Turkey have commenced negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA,) as the inaugural session of the talks has been concluded in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Israel on Sept.20 cancelled plans to enforce a no-fly zone above the wedding venue for model Bar Refaeli after public outcry over the move.

The lawyer for a Pakistani doctor who was jailed after helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden accused the government on Sept.10 of deliberately delaying his appeal after the case was adjourned for the sixteenth time. 

A bomb killed one of Pakistan?s provincial ministers and at least eight others when it destroyed the minister?s home Aug. 16 in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif?s political heartland, rescue officials said.

Pakistan's Supreme Court Aug. 5 approved controversial new military courts set up to hear terror cases, rejecting an attempt to have them ruled illegal.

Lawmakers approved a change to the constitution in January to establish the military courts, as part of a crackdown on militancy following a Taliban massacre at a school which left more than 150 people - mostly children - dead.

The Taliban announced Mullah Akhtar Mansour as their new leader July 31, marking a historic power transition for the militant movement that has waged a 14-year insurgency in Afghanistan.

It was almost two years ago when I probably landed on the biggest scoop of my diplomacy reporting career. 

It was the early days of the Hassan Rouhani presidency in Iran, and surprisingly I and my cameraman Emre K?nac? were able to obtain an invitation to go to Tehran for his inauguration. When Iran calls and invites, you definitely go. So we did. 

The former prime minister of Pakistan has returned a necklace donated by Turkey?s first lady, Emine Erdo?an, in 2010, adhering to the federal investigation agency?s (FIA) notice, Pakistan?s Dunya News has reported.

Pakistan?s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has issued a notice to the country?s former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to return a necklace donated by the Turkish president?s wife after the 2010 floods in the country, Pakistan Today reported on its website on June 21. 

Romanian Justice Minister Robert Cazanciuc discussed the bilateral cooperation on justice with his Israeli counterpart Ayelet Shaked on Tuesday in Jerusalem.

Photo credit: (c) Paula NEAMTU / AGERPRES ARCHIVE