http://www.atimes.com News and business analysis from Asia en-us http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/rsslogo.gif http://www.atimes.com 144 32 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-01-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT Nearly 12 years after the United States ousted the Taliban, the US will begin formal talks with the militant Islamist group this week as part of Afghanistan's national reconciliation process. Whether a major change in US policy, or more a reflection of shifting power inside Washington, the road ahead will be long, and negotiations between the Taliban and the Hamid Karzai government will also be of crucial importance. - Jim Lobe (Jun 19, '13) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-02-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT Intensified attacks on supply convoys from Pakistan for international forces in Afghanistan may signal a turning point for US drone attacks on militants on the AfPak border. With observers pointing out that the Taliban is in a stronger position than at any time since the 9/11 attacks, the main exit route for the 2014 withdrawal of troops is looking vulnerable, unless the US stops its drone program. - Ashfaq Yusufzai (Jun 19, '13) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT On Syria, the US is allowing policy to steer intelligence, rather than vice versa, with the hawks overcoming the doves in a pattern memorable to the Iraq war. This time the rebel's largest benefactor - Qatar - could benefit most from brute energy realities. Syria's status as the most obvious land route for pipelines from the Persian Gulf explains Doha's deep pockets. - Peter Dale Scott (Jun 19, '13) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT As World Day Against Child Labor passed on June 12, thousands of young Southeast Asians were toiling in Arab Gulf countries in menial roles ranging from domestic service to manual labor. While that trend bucks centuries-old Islamic doctrines emphasizing labor rights, the shame is shared far beyond the Middle East. - Ramzy Baroud (Jun 19, '13) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/SEA-01-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT Opposition coalition the Cambodia National Rescue Party says it will reject the result of next month's national election unless the ruling party ends the disruption of its campaign. The stand reflects a culture of harassment amid claims that local authorities and village chiefs have threatened opposition supporters and routinely prevent them from joining rallies. (Jun 19, '13) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-03-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT The surprise victory of President-elect Hassan Rouhani in the Iranian elections represents the swing of the political pendulum by a voting public repulsed by eight years of hardline rule. In the battle between modernity and Islamic tradition, most moderates agree that revolutionary principles alone are too narrow a base to run a country where the middle class is in the ascendency. - Amin Shahriar (Jun 19, '13) http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/GECON-01-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT The Federal Reserve's trillions of dollars in money injection and near-zero interest rates have not triggered the feared inflation - nor the hoped-for economic growth. Like the dog that did not bark, this can be disconcerting, until we consider who is measuring inflation, and how. - Noureddine Krichene http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/CBIZ-01-190613.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:00 GMT Whether China has overinvested is contested by some analysts, who claim that with much less capital stock per capita than advanced countries it has a long way to go before hitting the productive limits of investment. But Beijing's real challenge is not about maintaining high growth rates, rather to raise China's levels of social capital.