South Asia
Pakistan: acquittals in Christian home burnings
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court acquitted 112 individuals suspected of taking part in the 2013 burning of 150 Christian homes and two churches in Lahore.
Tag: Pakistan
Planet Watch
Doomsday Clock: 2.5 minutes of midnight
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the minute hand of its symbolic Doomsday Clock from three minutes to two-and-a-half minutes to midnight.
Watching the Shadows
Obama’s final year: a CounterVortex scorecard
With a Trump despotism looming, CounterVortex offers its final assessment of Barack Obama's record in addressing the oppressive legacy of the Global War on Terrorism.
Afghanistan
Pakistan: blast at Sufi shrine leaves scores dead
The local ISIS franchise claimed responsibility for a blast at a Sufi shrine in Pakistan's Balochistan region that killed 60 worshipers and injured more than 100.
Planet Watch
UN moves to outlaw nuclear weapons in 2017
The UN adopted a resolution—hailed by disarmament campaigners as an important landmark—to launch negotiations in 2017 on a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons.
South Asia
Pakistan: who was behind Quetta attack?
ISIS and the Taliban both claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack at a police academy in Quetta, while Pakistani authorities blamed the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi network.
Oceania
World Court turns down nuclear arms case
The International Court of Justice refused to hear a claim by the Marshall Islands that the UK, India and Pakistan have failed to fulfill treaty obligations to halt the nuclear arms race.
South Asia
Pakistan lawmakers approve cybersecurity law
The National Assembly of Pakistan approved the Electronic Crimes Bill that international human rights organizations say will hinder citizens' free speech and privacy.
Afghanistan
Civil society responds to Pakistan hospital blast
Lawyers went on strike and journalists staged demonstrations after scores were slain in a Taliban terror attack on a hospital in Quetta, capital of restive Balochistan province.
Watching the Shadows
White House releases (contested) drone kill count
The White House said that up to 116 civilians have been killed by drone and other US strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya since Barack Obama took office in 2009.
South Asia
Revered Sufi singer assassinated in Pakistan
Thousands of people attended the funeral of slain qawwali singer Amjad Sabri in Karachi, the day after he was shot dead in an attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.
Afghanistan
What was behind Af-Pak border clashes?
Pakistan and Afghanistan saw deadly border clashes and a tense stand-off over Islamabad's plan to build a barbed-wire separation barrier at its Torkham crossing.