Asia, Conspiracy | featured news

The head of a Washington nonprofit group was arrested Tuesday for allegedly running a front organization on behalf of elements of the Pakistani government, including its spy agency, for more than two decades in an effort to influence U.S. lawmakers and other top officials. Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, 62, a U.S. citizen and resident of Fairfax, was charged in federal court in Virginia with participating in a long-term conspiracy to act as an agent of the Pakistani government without disclosing his affiliation.

On a stage once commanded by his brutal father, President Bashar Assad blamed foreign conspiracies for Syria's unrest in a national speech Wednesday that sought to steel his family dynasty against a rebellion similar to those that have toppled regimes across the region.

North Korea has sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council rejecting accusations from South Korea that it was behind the sinking of one of its neighbor's navy ships, saying it was the victim of a U.S.-led conspiracy.