US-OBAMA-DETAINEES: U.S. President Barack Obama is defending his decision to close the
Guantanamo Bay detention center, which has stirred international outcry
for its questionable treatment of prisoners.
In an interview with the U.S. television program "60 Minutes" (on CBS), Mr. Obama lashes out at the detainee policies pursued by the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush.
Mr. Obama calls the Bush policy of indefinite detention
"unsustainable," saying it generated anti-American sentiment without
making the United States a safer place.
In the pre-recorded interview to be aired Sunday night, Mr. Obama
strikes back at recent criticism by former Vice President Dick Cheney.
AFGHANISTAN: The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says it has killed five suspected
militants and detained four others in a raid close to the border with
Tajikistan.
The coalition says Afghan forces helped carry out the raid in the northern province of Kunduz Sunday.
Some local Afghan officials are contesting the report, saying the people killed were civilians working for the district mayor.
The reports could not be independently confirmed.
Separately, officials say a bomb hit a vehicle in the eastern province
of Khost Sunday, killing one person and wounding 11 others.
PAKISTAN: Pakistan's chief justice has formally resumed his post, two years after
his controversial dismissal threw the country into political turmoil.
The Supreme Court says Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was reinstated at midnight (Saturday) and immediately began work Sunday morning.
The independent-minded judge was fired in 2007 by then-President Pervez
Musharraf, after pursuing a case challenging the president's rule.
Chaudhry's dismissal sparked widespread protests that helped force Mr. Musharraf to resign last year.
TIBET-PROTESTS: China's official news agency says police have arrested six people
allegedly involved in a riot and an attack on a police station in a
Tibetan area in the country's northwest.
The Xinhua news agency said another 89 people surrendered to police in Qinghai province on Sunday.
The report said all but two of the 95 were monks in the Amdo Golog
Ragya monastery near the town where Saturday's attack took place.
The protest took place after reports circulated that a Tibetan monk had
committed suicide as Chinese security forces searched for him.
THAILAND-BURMA: Thailand's foreign minister will visit Burma where he is expected to
discuss the issue of illegal migrants who regularly land on Thailand's
southern shores.
Kasit Piromya departs Sunday for a two-day official visit to Burma.
During his trip, he is scheduled to meet his Burmese counterpart Nyan
Win and Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein.
The Thai government said in a statement Saturday that Kasit will
discuss a broad range of issues with Burmese officials, including the
large number of Muslim Rohingya migrants who regularly flee Burma for
Thailand.
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