Melissa Bell speaks to Ambassador James Dobbins, the Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center. They discuss the current situation in Afghanistan, the country's future and the role of the Taliban. They also discuss the growing instability in Pakistan, and its relations with the United States.
A secret NATO report reinforces suspicions of links between the Taliban and the Pakistani secret services. In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge jailer Duch, who was accused of crimes against humanity, has seen his appeal answered with an increased sentence of life in prison. Finally, in China a massive river pollution case in the south of the country has activists blaming poor industry supervision in the name of profit.
In today's papers - we look at Egypt's deadly football violence, the leaked NATO report saying Pakistan still backs the Taliban, and the backlash against what some see as Facebook's over-valuation.
A leaked NATO report says the Taliban, backed by Pakistani intelligence services, are on course to retake control of Afghanistan in 2014 after NATO-led forces withdraw from the country. The "state of the Taliban" report was compiled from information taken from 27,000 interrogations of 4,000 captured al Qaeda and Taliban operatives at the US Bagram air base. The document drew immediate criticism from Pakistan.
A NATO spokesman confirmed the existence of a leaked report that highlighted potential failures of the 11-year war in Afghanistan and said Pakistan had helped Taliban fighters, but he downplayed the text's strategic relevance.
An alleged secret NATO report states that the Pakistani security services are secretly helping Afghanistan's Taliban, the BBC reported Wednesday. Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said the leak should be "disregarded”.
Members of the Taliban began preliminary talks with US officials in Qatar on Sunday in a "trust-building" measure ahead of multilateral peace negotiations aimed at ending the 10-year-long conflict in Afghanistan.
Another journalist has been killed in Pakistan, making it the most dangerous place in the world to work as a reporter. We meet the courageous men and women putting their lives at risk. We then join the campaign trail with the man who could be the next prime minister of India, Rahul Gandhi. Finally, families separated under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia are brought back together thanks to the latest reality TV show there.
The Pakistani political scene is once again a battleground. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been in the Supreme Court to answer charges of contempt, while President Asif Ali Zardari cannot shake off accusations of corruption dating back to the 1990s. The head of state may be immune from prosecution but outside the turmoil, opposition figures are circling, waiting for their chance to pounce.
Issues of corruption and presidential immunity are plaguing Pakistan's civilian government, which is under pressure from both the military and the judiciary. President Sarkozy announces that France is suspending its military and training operations in Afghanistan following the fatal shooting of several French troops by an Afghan soldier. Finally, Indonesia takes drastic new action to stop dare-devils from hitching a free, if dangerous, train ride.
