In their fight against the Taliban, the Pakistani military is getting help from tribal armies called Lashkars. These are armed groups made up of local volunteers who are resisting the Taliban.

They are particularly active in the region of Dir in the northwest.

In the last 24 hours alone the Lashkar have killed two suspected Taliban fighters. Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder filed this report after spending a day with these armies.

A report below from The Nation (Pakistan) dated June 10, 2009.

Two militants were killed during action of national lashkar against militants in Upper Dir as operation is going on in Malakand Division. Security forces have cleared the Kanju-Matta Road in Swat and announced relaxation in curfew in various places. National lashkar overnight carried out firing on militants hideouts in Shotkas and Dugdara areas. Two militants were killed and four injured during the action. In tehsil Maidan, security forces pounded militants’ positions in different areas from Timergira. According to Dir media center, curfew would be relaxed until 7:00 pm in Maidan and Adenzai whereas till 4:00 pm at Dargai-Chakdara Road in Malakand Agency. Security forces shelled militants’ hideouts in various areas of tehsil Kabak and Matta. Kanju-Matta Road has been cleared and security forces established check posts at different places. Curfew remained clamped in Swat.

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Singapore’s economy staged an unexpected comeback in the second quarter of this year as it grew at an annualised rate of 20 per cent.

The figures reflect a trend which suggests the global recession is starting to ease.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett finds out if it’s a sign that Singapore, and Asia, really are bouncing back from recession.

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On July 19, 1979, the Sandinista revolution removed what many considered to be one of Latin America’s most brutal dictatorships. Thirty years later, and with the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega once again in power, Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman visited Nicaragua and found that many of the revolution’s promises have remained unfulfilled.

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En un reportaje de El Espectador, el Presidente Ecuatoriano Rafael Correa niega recibir “hasta viente centavos” del cualquier grupo extranjero.

La verdad es que el video es sólo una pieza más que compromete los gobiernos de Ecuador y de Venezuela en una alianza con las FARC. Correa puede jugarse el bobo y desconocer los hechos pero ante la opinión pública regional y mundial su gobierno queda más y más aislado.

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A report from Al Jazeera on the new video released by Colombian authorities documenting further evidence of close ties between the FARC and the government of Rafael Correa.

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