turkmenistan has some of the world's largest reserves of natural gas. u.s. firms initially drew up similar plans in the 1990s. asian development bank joined in 2002 with a feasibility study. but the project among the deteriorating situation in afghanistan. they met in turkmenistan on wednesday and agreed to quickly proceed with the plan. the agreement is due to last for 30 years, and cause higher prices for the gas. the agreement is likely to attract the attention of the united states. pakistan is building another pipeline to receive gas from iran. the u.s. is trying to isolate iran because of concerns about its nuclear program. a pipeline from turkmenistan could become a way to bring pressure to iran. security concerns on the project remain because the situation in afghanistan is still unstable. pakistan is suffering from serious power shortages and securing new sources of energy is a national priority. the government needs to seriously consider all its options. nhk world, islamabad. >>> and in sri lanka, three years have passed since the end of the bloody

number of situations where human rights continue to be violated including in iran, north korea, turkmenistan, uzbekistan, eritrea, sudan and syria. and there continue to be a range of human rights challenges in places like russia, china, pakistan and other nations where the u.s. has important policy interests. in too many countries, egregious human rights violations continue including torture, arbitrary detention, denial of due process of law, disappearance and extrajudicial killings, all of which we document in detail. these reports cover other disturbing trends in 2011. first, in a number of countries we see flawed elections, restrictions on physical and internet freedom, media censorship, attempts to restrict the activities of civil society groups. such ricks sty -- such restrictions stymie the efforts of citizens to change their own societies peacefully from within which the secretary has spoken so eloquently about. we also report on continued and in some cases increasing persian cushion of -- persecution of many religious groups including tibetan buddhists, jews and christians. the repo

number of situations where human rights continue to be violated, including iran, north korean, turkmenistanstan, sudan, and syria, and there continue to be a range of challenges in places like russia, china, pakistan, and other nations where the u.s. has important policy interests. in too many countries, egregious human rights violations continue, including torture, arbitrary detention, denial of due process of law, extrajudicial killings, all which we document in detail. these reports cover the other disturbing trends in 2011. first in a number of countries, we see flawed elections, restrictions on physical and internet freedom, media censorship, and tends to restrict the activities of seville society groups. such restrictions stymie the efforts of citizens to change their own society peacefully from within, which the secretary has spoken so eloquently about. we also report on continued and in some cases increasing persecution of many religious groups, including the bahai, jews, and christian. report as a separate section that documents anti-semitic acts. access against other ethnic minori

number of situations where human rights continue to be violated, including in iran, north korea, turkmenistan, uzbekistan, eritrea, sudan, and syria. and there continue to be a range of human rights challenges in places like russia, china, pakistan, and other nations where the u.s. has important policy interests. in too many countries, egregious human rights violations continue, including torture, arbitrary detention, denial of due process of law, disappearance, and extrajudicial killings, all of which we document in detail. these reports cover other disturbing trends in 2011. first, in a number of countries, we see flawed elections, restrictions on physical and internet freedom, media censorship, attempts to restrict the activities of civil society groups. such restrictions stymie the efforts of citizens to change their own societies peacefully from within, which the secretary has spoken so eloquently about. we also report on continued, and in some cases, increasing persecution of many religious groups, including the ahmadis, the baha'i, tibetan buddhists, jews, and christians. the reports h