Kyrgyzstan president: Key goldmine may be nationalised

The high-altitude Kumtor mine is at the centre of a long running controversy

Kyrgyzstan may seek to nationalise its largest foreign-run gold mine which has been at the centre of months of protests, President Atambayev has said.

In an interview with the BBC Kyrgyz Service, the president said that a long dispute over ownership of the Kumtor mine had turned into a political game.

There have been persistent protests demanding that Kyrgyzstan take a bigger share of the economically vital mine.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon re-elected

Opponents accuse President Emomali Rakhmon of developing a personality cult

Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon has won another seven-year term in office, electoral officials say.

They say he secured 83.6% of the vote in Wednesday's elections. Turnout was nearly 87%.

The president, who has been in power for two decades, faced five challengers but the only genuine opposition candidate was barred from standing.

Pakistan Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah rejects talks

The new head of the Pakistani Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah, has ruled out peace talks with the government, vowing revenge for his predecessor's death.

A Taliban spokesman told the BBC the militants would instead target the military and the governing party.

Mullah Fazlullah was named the new leader six days after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a drone strike.

Mullah Fazlullah is a particularly ruthless commander whose men shot the schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai.

Will Imran Khan Block NATO Supplies in Pakistan?

The popular cricketer turned politician is leading the charge against U.S. drone strikes

Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images

Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Faisalabad, Pakistan, on May 05, 2013

Many in Pakistan were outraged last week when a U.S. drone killed militant leader Hakimullah Mehsud, calling the strike yet another example of Washington bulldozing over the nation’s sovereignty. But few have voiced their anger quite so loudly as Imran Khan. The cricketer turned politician, who is chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, has led the charge at the U.S. over the timing of the Nov. 1 attack, saying it was a bald attempt to sabotage imminent peace talks between Islamabad and Mehsud’s group, the Pakistani Taliban.

Bangladesh opposition protest turns violent

Two dead in violence sparked by opposition strike calling on government to quit ahead of January elections.

Police and paramilitary guards were drafted to patrol in Dhaka [AP]

Two people were killed and scores of others injured as protesters set off homemade bombs and set fire to cars during a strike demanding Bangladesh's government step aside ahead of January elections, reports said.

Security was tight across the capital, Dhaka, with extra police and paramilitary guards patrolling the streets at the start of the three-day, opposition-organised strike on Monday.

Bangladesh convicts hundreds in mutiny case

Court sentences more than 300 soldiers either to death or to serve life terms for 2009 mutiny in which 74 people died.

A Bangladeshi court has convicted more than 300 soldiers at the start of a mass verdict over a 2009 military mutiny in which scores of senior officers were massacred.

At a special court in Dhaka on Tuesday, Judge Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman sentenced 152 people to death - and another 157 to life in prison - for their role in the 30-hour mutiny.

Few Afghans register to vote for next leader

Less than quarter of adults have signed up to vote in next year's presidential poll, with only five days left to do so.

Almost a million of those signed up are women [GALLO/GETTY]

Afghan election officials say that with just five days left to register, less than a quarter of the country's eligible voters have signed up to vote in next year's presidential ballot.