A standoff between Pakistani troops and students at a radical mosque has headed into a second night, with more than 1,000 people still holed up in the mosque in Islamabad. Witnesses say loud explosions were heard early Thursday at the besieged mosque. The blasts were followed by gunfire and an announcement from security forces for all people holed up in the mosque to surrender. VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from the capital that the mosque's chief cleric has been arrested trying to escape disguised as a woman.
U.S. automaker Chrysler and Chinese car company Chery have signed a deal to launch a low-cost production facility in China that would export cars to the United States and other global markets. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.
A standoff between Pakistani troops and students at a radical mosque headed into a second night, with more than a thousand people still holed up in the mosque in Islamabad. VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from the capital.
Pakistani officials warned heavily armed militants holed up inside a radical mosque in central Islamabad to lay down their weapons or face attack. After a deadline for 1100 local time passed, several hundred students left the mosque, but hundreds of others remained inside. As VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from the capital, at least 11 people died in a day of clashes on Tuesday.
With the counting from last Saturday's parliamentary elections in East Timor nearly finished, it has become clear that none of the 14 parties has won an outright majority, and deal making has begun as the country heads towards a coalition government. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins is in the capital, Dili, and brings us this report.
Chinese government inspectors report that nearly one-fifth of the products they examined this year were substandard. The report follows months of increasing publicity over tainted foods and unsafe products made in China and sold both domestically and overseas. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
India and Pakistan have agreed to exchange civilian prisoners as they wrapped up their latest round of talks on security issues in New Delhi. As Anjana Pasricha reports from the Indian capital, the talks are part of a three-year-old peace process by the South Asian rivals.