DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Roundup: Decade-long "war on terror" hurt Pakistan deeply by Jamil Bhatti, Zeshan Niazi” plus 9 more

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- During the last 10 years as the frontline state in the U.S.-led "War on Terror," Pakistan made huge sacrifices with 35,000 killed and 100 billion U.S.dollars in direct and indirect economic losses, not mention the deep and broader hurt to the country's social, economic and political circles.

After terrorists attacked twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, the war that started in Pakistan's neighboring Afghanistan by U.S.-led NATO forces spread to Pakistan's northwestern tribal region and then across the country.

Militants, especially from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), started to attack different government departments and public places in the name to take revenge to Pakistan for supporting the United States in Afghanistan.

Relentless terror activities including suicide bombings triggered worrries about Pakistan's social development disorder, and deteriorating economic, social and security situation.

Suicide bombings in shopping malls, hotels, common business centers and on roads not only affected local economy but also drained foreign investments from Pakistan.

Muhammad Iqbal, 45, was the owner of a famous restaurant " Muzafar Nihari House" in capital Islamabad and one suicide bomb went off in 2007 in front of his shop.

"I was sitting here in my shop when the huge blast occurred. I came under derbies and the whole area was filled with bodies and flesh of policemen and civilians, my hotel was completely destroyed and one of my workers also died," said Iqbal.

"That bomb blast actually ruined my life. Before the blast everyone loved to eat here but now people were scared and reluctant to come," he added.

Pakistan army's military operations urged by the United States in the country's northwestern tribal region not only eliminated or arrested many terrorists but also forced millions of locals to flee their homeland.

They either live in refugee camps in poor conditions, or struggle at the bottom of the city, with some even forced to commit crimes to make ends meet, prompting crime rate to double.

Darvaish, an Internal Displaced Person (IDP), who rented a small house in the suburbs of Islamabad, after fleeing northwestern tribal region of Mohmand Agency, said, "Life became very tough after the military operations in our area. We left every thing behind, now the education of our children has been disrupted and we don't know how long we will have to stay here."

Talking about the hardships of life, he said "It is very hard to live in such conditions but one has to bear it."

Pakistan has also been the second home for millions of refugees from Afghanistan, first after the Russian invasion in 1979 and then  by the U.S.-led war in 2001.

Official data revealed that hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are still living in Pakistan. During last few years, Pakistan succeeded sending some refugees back to Afghanistan but the rest are not ready to return for many reasons.

"We left our land and property because of war. We want to go back unless peace is restored there," said Gul Agha, an Afghan refugee who has been living for many years in the suburbs of Islamabad.

Before the 9/11, Islamabad was a peaceful city to live but now over 300 security checkpoints, sandbags, bunkers, heavily armed soldiers, red and no-go zones, bomb resistant concrete walls, barbed wires and security cameras have turned the city into a fortress.

Terrorism also brought over burden and stress for the security forces.

Ghulam Akbar, who worked as a policeman for 32 years, said "I have never seen such a situation and the job has become more risky. "

"When we stop any vehicle passing through the checkpoints, no one knows what is inside, there might be terrorists or explosives. We put our lives on risk to save others," said Akbar, who was performing his duty at a security checkpost in Islamabad.

Threat of terrorism has also been severely affecting the lives of media persons in Pakistan especially those who are bound to report on terrorism or from areas where insurgency has erupted.

According to a report by the Intermedia Organization, Pakistan is the most insecure and hostile place for journalists.

"Security situation has become a challenge not only for Pakistan but for the world after 9/11," said Muhammad Rehan, a local Journalist from country's north western restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that "our job has become more dangerous because when you are outside for reporting you can't judge who is terrorist, and what might happen next, our families have been concerned about our security."

Pakistan, while fighting war on terror, also lost its famous and important political figures such as former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, governor Salman Taseer and federal minister Shahbaz Bhatti, who were shot to death publicly by militants.

The Pakistani government, to convince the public, has been terming the "war on terror" as the Pakistan's own war but the popular local perception is that Pakistan has lost everything fighting the U.S. war that has consumed its economy and national security, and damaged its society.

Majority of the people said that Pakistan must take a u-turn and said a clear cut "no" to the United States for this war.

While a section of the Pakistani society believed that although Pakistan should continue playing its vital role in the war against terror, it must be compensated morally and financially for the damage.

BANGKOK, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A total of 78 people were confirmed killed by the flash floods and landslides in northern and central part of Thailand on Friday, while almost 30 businesses were seriously suffered by the floods.

The department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said the province that has the most death reports is Phichit province where 21 people died in floods caused by rains that have pummelled the upper portion of Thailand.

The flash floods and mudslides in northern and central provinces of Thailand caused by heavy rainstorms that have hit about 14 provinces for more than three months.

The monsoon also prevails over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand, according to the department.

The latest deaths are reported in Uttaratid, where six people were killed and another is missing after landslides occurred on Friday morning, making the death toll of the province rise to seven.

The department estimates that about 2,300 quare metres of farmland have been hit by floods.

Meanwhile, about 6,700 employees of 27 businesses have had serious problems this week because of the flooding in the provinces, according to Labour Ministry Permanent Secretary Somkiat Chayasriwong.

The official said the ministry's assistance centres in those provinces along river basins in the central region have reported on the number of workers affected by the flooding from Monday to Wednesday this week.

Somkiat said the ministry had already approved house repair loans for 190 workers, worth a total of 9.5 million baht (about 316,000 U.S. dollars). He added that the ministry had coordinated the efforts of government agencies in providing them assistance, including the distribution of essential commodities and loans for house repairs.

TAIPEI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of Taiwan's major opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), announced Friday that Su Jia-chyuan will be her running mate during the next Taiwanese leader election.

Su, who is currently secretary-general of the DPP, once served as magistrate of Taiwan's Pingtung County and was also in charge of the internal affairs department under the island's executive authority.

The DPP announced Tsai's own nomination for the election on April 27.

The election for Taiwan's next leader will be held in January 2012. Incumbent Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou, who is also chairman of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, will compete in the election. Wu Den-yih, chief of Taiwan's executive authority, will be his running mate.

HONG KONG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) Friday announced that the bank' s Group General Manager Anita Fung has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Hong Kong, effective 12 Sept. 2011.

HSBC said, Fung succeeds Mark McCombe, who is leaving the bank to join another financial institution in Hong Kong. McCombe has had an international career in finance spanning more than 20 years and has been a valued member of the HSBC Group since 1987.

Fung, most recently the Head of Global Banking and Markets, Asia-Pacific, joined HSBC in 1996 in Hong Kong as Head of Domestic Markets, Treasury and Capital Markets. She was named Head of Global Markets Asia-Pacific in 2005 and was appointed a Group General Manager in 2008.

Peter Wong, Chief Executive of HSBC Asia-Pacific said that Fung is an excellent choice to lead HSBC in Hong Kong. She is well- known as a leading international banker with extensive business expertise in the region.

"Anita helped build one of the strongest Global Banking and Markets businesses in Asia and she has been instrumental in extending our Hong Kong and China platform, and securing our leadership position in the internationalization of the RMB."

A native of Hong Kong, Fung is a graduate of the University of Hong Kong and Macquarie University in Australia. Fung is a Board Member of the Hong Kong Airport Authority, a Director of Bank of Communications Company Limited and is Deputy Chairman of HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited. Fung's appointment is subject to regulatory approvals.

TOKYO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The dollar traded in the mid-77 yen zone on Friday in Tokyo.

At 5 p.m., the dollar bought 77.54-55 yen compared with 77.46- 56 yen in New York and 77.40-41 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday.

The euro fetched 1.3880-3881 dollars and 107.63-67 yen against 1.3877-3887 dollars and 107.52-62 yen in New York and 1.4061-4062 dollars and 108.83-87 yen in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon.

BANGKOK, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Stock Exchange of Thailand ( SET) index on Friday moved down 9.84 points, or 0.92 percent to close at 1,062.37 points. Some 6.63 billion shares worth 23.57 billion baht (about 785.14 million U.S. dollars) changed hands.

URUMQI, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Six people died and two others were injured in an 11-vehicle pileup that occurred on a highway in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Friday, local authorities said.

The accident happened at about 1:30 p.m. on a downhill section of highway near the city of Hami. A semi-truck trailer experienced a brake failure and collided with 10 other vehicles, a spokesman with the Xinjiang Regional Work Safety Administration said.

The injured were rushed to a local hospital and are in stable condition.

Police are continuing to investigate the accident, the spokesman said.

KIEV, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Three Ukrainian coal miners trapped for two days in a mine almost 500 meters underground were saved early Friday by  rescue teams drilling round-the-clock through hard rock, the Ministry for Emergency Situations said.

The workers are in good conditions, the ministry added in a statement. They were trapped after a rockslide took place Wednesday at the Poltavska coal mine in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. But the three managed to get to the middle of the second mine ledge, where they were found two days later.

Ninty-seven other miner working at the scene escaped minutes after the accident.

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese consumer confidence picked up slightly in August as people spent more on non-essentials during the summer holiday amid easing inflationary worries, according to an index released on Friday.

The Bankcard Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI), compiled by the Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay, a national bank card association, increased by 0.1 point month-on-month to reach 86.21 points in August.

On a year-on-year basis, however, the BCCI index was still down 0.15 points, according to the report.

The report said the month-on-month improvement came from increased spending by cardholders on hotels and catering services, which accounted for 6.66 percent and 9.87 percent, respectively, of China's total non-essential consumption in August.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, went up 6.2 percent year-on-year in August, down from July's 37-month high of 6.5 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

August's retail sales grew 17 percent to 1.47 trillion yuan (about 230 billion U.S. dollars) year-on-year, according to the NBS.

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Palace Museum will run an online ticket reservation trial system starting Sept. 20 to encourage visitors to save time by buying tickets at home, giving them more time to tour the museum, its official website said Friday.

A maximum of 80,000 tickets will be available each day during the upcoming seven-day National Day holiday next month, with half of the tickets available online and the other half sold on site, according to its website.

During last year's National Day holiday, the Palace Museum averaged 90,000 visitors per day, far exceeding its 60,000 visitor limit. Measures to limit visitors have been urged in order to protect cultural relics and historic buildings, according to the museum.

Tickets can be booked online five days in advance.

The Palace Museum, founded in 1925, is in the Forbidden City, which served as the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).