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

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.

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