IMF voting reform gets go-ahead of ministers
By DPA
Washington : A long-awaited reform of the International Monetary Fund's voting procedures that gives developing countries a modest increase in influence has received broad support from the IMF members, Italy's finance minister said Saturday.
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said the new voting rules unveiled last month had been "fully endorsed" by the 24 finance ministers attending the IMF's traditional spring meetings in Washington.
Russian ex-army officer jailed for spying
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A retired Russian Army major has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for spying for Georgia.
Majority Chinese studying overseas funded by parents
By IANS,
Beijing : An overwhelming majority of Chinese students - around 87 percent - who studied abroad in 2009 received financial support from their parents, a government survey has said.
It said only nine percent of those studying abroad received scholarships from foreign institutions while three percent supported themselves through part-time jobs. One percent were funded by the Chinese government.
The survey, published by China.com.cn, a government-run website, was conducted by education research company MyCOS, Xinhua reported.
Mazda to recall about 290,000 cars in Europe, Australia
By DPA,
Tokyo : Japanese carmaker Mazda Motor Corp is to recall some 288,000 vehicles over possible loss of power steering in major overseas markets including Europe and Australia, increasing the number of overseas recalls to 513,000, a company spokesman said Thursday.
The recall applies to 2007-09 model year versions of Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles manufactured from April 2007 through November 2008. The vehicles were produced in Japan and sold abroad.
NY-based Nepalese designer raises funds for quake victims
New York : New York-based Nepalese designer Prabal Gurung has launched a fundraiser to assist disaster relief efforts in Nepal. So far, he has...
McConaughy busy cooking for wife
By IANS,
Los Angeles: Actor Mathew McConaughy is busy cooking for wife Camila Alves as the latter is expecting their third child.
Synagogue torched in Germany
By DPA,
Berlin : An historic synagogue in the western German city of Worms was targeted by arsonists early Monday, police said.
Police spokesman Klaus Weinmann said that the building, which was first built in the 11th century, was doused with a flammable liquid in several places and set alight.
There were no injuries and little damage was caused, the spokesman said. Local firefighters were able to put out the blaze quickly.
State premier Kurt Beck condemned the attack.
"We will not tolerate such an attack on a synagogue," Beck said.
China sends search and rescue team to Nepal
Beijing : A 62-member China International Search and Rescue Team left for Nepal at around 6 a.m. on Sunday Beijing time for humanitarian rescue...
Modi condemns Pakistan university attack
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condemned the terror attack at the Bacha Khan University in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
"Strongly condemn the...
Tories accuse British home secretary of poll code breach
By IANS,
London : The opposition Tory Party Wednesday reported Britain's Home Secretary Jacqui Smith for an alleged breach of 'purdah' rules that require government ministers and officials to observe a period of silence - in the run-up to an election.
The Tory Party took its complaint to the cabinet secretary after Home Secretary Smith Wednesday announced plans to recruit up to 300 police and civilians in order to prevent radicalisation among Muslim youths.
At least 16 killed in French Polynesia plane crash
By Xinhua
Wellington : The bodies of 16 passengers have been recovered after a plane crash in French Polynesia, the French High Commission and emergency services in French Polynesia confirmed.
About 20 people, including the pilot, were believed to be aboard the Air Moorea Twin Otter turboprop aircraft.
According to Oceania Flash, a local media, the passengers included three foreign tourists whose nationality and identity have not been established, as well as two officials from the European Commission's Pacific delegation.
Google threatens to leave China over ‘phishing”
By IANS,
Los Angeles : Google has threatened to close its operations and offices in China after hacking of email accounts of many human rights activists.
In a statement on its blog Tuesday, the world's second biggest corporate said it has detected in December "a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google.''
Up a chimney to combat climate change
By Joydeep Gupta, IANS,
Poznan (Poland) : Mossy pine groves and picture postcard lakes give way to huge grey gashes in the earth where giant machines scoop up brown coal and deliver it to the power plant next door. The mine and the power plant were once proud signs of industrial activity. Today they are badges of pollution.
Eleven activists from the international NGO Greenpeace have just spent 48 hours atop a 150-metre chimney of the thermal power plant to draw the attention of the world to the ill effects of coal use.
Sobhraj poised between freedom, fresh fight
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : With Nepal's Supreme Court set to announce its final verdict on a more than 30-year-old murder case that put Charles Sobhraj behind bars for life, the 63-year-old is wavering between hope and alarm.
Sobhraj, once a dominant name in the underworld of several countries and wanted by police forces for forgeries and thefts targeting foreign tourists, became convicted for murder for the first time in Nepal.
Unisys to cut 1,300 jobs
By IANS,
Washington : US-based IT consulting and solutions major Unisys Corp has announced that it will cut around 1,300 jobs globally as part of the company's cost-cutting measures.
Unisys is exploring a wide range of cost-reduction options “to reduce its annual cost structure by more than $225 million”, a company statement said Monday.
“The headcount reductions have begun and will continue into 2009,” it added.
Besides job cuts, Unisys also plans to forgo 2009 salary increases and slash third-party expenses.
Russia to build solar power plant
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Two Russian firms have announced plans to build the country's first industrial solar power station near the Black Sea.
Sri Lankan president to visit China
By IANS,
Beijing : Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse will pay a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping between May 27 and 30, an official said Monday.
Honduras’ Zelaya claims plot to kill him at embassy
By DPA,
Madrid/Tegucigalpa : Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya has said he fears for his life, Spanish media reported Thursday.
In a telephone interview with the Spanish daily El Mundo, Zelaya said the US and the Organisation of American States (OAS) had helped to foil one plan to kill him and to make it look like suicide.
"Today there is still the risk that the embassy will be assaulted and my suicide will be announced," he said.
At least 14 dead in mounting South Africa xenophobic violence
By Xinhua,
Johannesburg : The death toll in a week-long wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa rose sharply over the weekend as reports of people being burnt and beaten to death poured in from squatter camps around the business capital Johannesburg.
The police said that 12 people were killed over the weekend as shack dwellers in one poor community after another turned on migrants living in their midsts, beating them, sometimes fatally, torching their homes and looting their possessions.
Six killed in Nepal bus accident, Monday’s toll 25
By IANS,
Kathmandu : Six people, mostly women and children, were killed Tuesday when their bus skidded off the road and fell almost 50 ft below in western Nepal, a day after another accident claimed at least 25 lives with many still missing.
Within 24 hours of this year's worst road accident in Dang district in midwestern Nepal, a bus laden with pilgrims fell almost 50 ft below the road killing three on the spot in Deurali village in Tanahun district. Three more died on the way to hospital.
US cartoonist distances herself from Prophet cartoon row
By IANS,
Washington : Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris has distanced herself from the raging row over "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!", saying: "I never created a facebook page for EDMD. A stranger to me did so."
Norris has written on her webpage: "Hello, I never created a facebook page for EDMD. A stranger to me did so. Thank You, Molly."
Mexican oil giant takes delivery of two new ships
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : Oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said it took delivery of two ships from South Korea's SPP Shipbuilding Group.
Splinters Out of Angolan Elections
By Prensa Latina
Luanda : Angolan Supreme Court Secretary, Artur Gunza, said that legal political parties will submit a single program so splinters will not run at the Legislative elections in September.
Gunza voiced the Supreme Court call to the parties with internal conflicts to settle their problems as soon as possible, otherwise will be excluded from the race.
He reminds that the Law of Political Parties only allows each party to present a unique representative and declared illegal to submit more than one candidate.
Four bombings rock Bangkok
By Xinhua,
Bangkok : At least four rounds of bomb attacks rocked Bangkok early Wednesday, injuring at least 12 people, local media reported.
The attacks, since 4:30 a.m. (2130 GMT Tuesday) to 6:30 a.m. (2330 GMT Tuesday) Wednesday, aimed at two main airports of Bangkokwhile three exploded at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport and one blast at the Don Muang Airport.
Both the airports were filled with the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members who launched mass protests there since Tuesday.
US, Czech to sign missile defense agreement today
By Abdulwaheb El-Gueyed, KUNA,
Prague : The US and Czech Republic are expected to sign an agreement for stationing an American missile defense radar in the European country later Tuesday, on the sidelines of a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In order for the agreement to come into effect, parliament and presidential endorsement is required. However, the nod is not guaranteed because of great opposition to the defense system.
Indian detainees in US end hunger strike
Washington: More than 40 immigrants from India at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Texas have ended their hunger strike after a week...
Berlin police arrest 250 neo-Nazis in illegal May Day rally
By IRNA,
Berlin : Around 250 neo-Nazis were arrested on Saturday for staging an illegal May Day rally in Berlin's city center, according to the press.
Those arrested were reportedly taken away by several busses after police surrounded the far-right group, among them neo-Nazis from Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic, in Berlin's Kurfuerstendamm district for gathering illegally away from an earlier authorized demonstration route.
China plans to build world’s highest airport in Tibet
By IANS,
Lhasa : China plans to construct the world's highest airport in Tibet, officials said Tuesday.
The new airport will be built at an altitude of 4,436 metres, Xinhua news agency reported.
Xu Bo, director of the Tibetan Branch of the China Civil Aviation Administration, said the airport planned to be built at Nagqu prefecture would be 102 metres higher than Bamda airport in Tibet's Qamdo prefecture, which has been the world's highest airport since its completion in 1994.
LTTE can’t withstand three-pronged attack: official
By IANS
Colombo : Tamil Tiger rebels will not be able to withstand the ongoing three-pronged attack on their strongholds in north Sri Lanka though they are putting up fierce resistance, a top Sri Lankan official has said.
"The LTTE would not be able to successfully resist troops on three different fronts," Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told The Island daily Monday, even as he acknowledged that the rebels were putting up stiff resistance.
Somali pirates demand $7 mn ransom for British couple
By DPA,
London/Nairobi : Somali pirates issued a $7 million ransom demand Saturday for a British couple, kidnapped over a week ago in the Indian Ocean from their yacht.
Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, were seized from the boat, the Lynn Rival, Oct 23 by armed men, and the yacht was later found abandoned in international waters.
In a call to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), a pirate said: "We only need a little amount of $7 million.
"If they do not harm us, we will not harm them."
Think-tank calls on EU leaders to accept Ahtisaari plan on Kosovo
BRUSSELS, Dec 14 (KUNA) -- The European Union has a historic opportunity to send an unequivocal message of readiness to take a leading role in Kosovo, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said Friday.
Kosovo is to dominate an EU summit meeting here Friday.
Indonesia raises alert levels after volcanic activities
By DPA,
Jakarta : Indonesian authorities Tuesday raised the alert status for a branch of Krakatoa volcano in the Strait of Sunda, and Mount Ibu in eastern province of North Maluku, after both showed increased activities.
Anak Krakatau, or the "Child of Krakatoa," in the Sunda Straits between Java and Sumatra, and Ibu on the Halmahera island of the North Maluku province, have began spewing ash and sending out volcanic tremors in recent days. Volcanology experts raised the alert status to level two.
Myanmar to hold tourism meet in 2013
By IANS,
Yangon: Myanmar will hold an international tourism conference next year.
The Feb 26-28 event is aimed at promoting the country's tourism industry.
Japan’s defence minister resigns over WWII comments
By IANS
Tokyo : Japanese Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma Tuesday resigned amid criticism over statements he made suggesting US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II were inevitable.
US scouts for investments from India
New Delhi: To address the imbalance of US investments in India being two-and-half times more in worth than the reverse flow, the US Department...
Norway killer’s father wishes his son killed self
By IANS,
Oslo : Norway killer Anders Behring Breivik's estranged father has disowned his son, saying he should have taken his own life instead of those he killed.
A working lunch for Obama on 48th birthday
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : It's President Barack Obama's 48th birthday Tuesday, but rather than take a day off and have fun with the family, he will be having lunch with Senate Democrats at the White House.
"Chuck E. Cheese was booked," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs joked during his daily White House press briefing Monday. Formerly Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza is a chain of family entertainment centres.
Bulgaria plans to adopt euro in 2012-2013
By DPA,
Sofia: Bulgaria plans to replace the lev with Europe's single currency, the euro, in 2012 or 2013, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov told daily 24 Chasa Monday.
"We have a chance in the last year of the mandate to introduce the euro," Djankov said.
Bulgaria will meet all criteria for the implementation of euro by the end of the year but if the budget deficit exceeds three percent "it will put off our euro zone entry by two more years", he said.
More funds to safeguard foreign students’s fees in Australia
By IANS,
New Delhi : Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard Tuesday announced funding of A$5.1 million to further strengthen the country's international education industry and "safeguard the course fees of international students".
The funding will be made available to top up the Education Services for Overseas Students Assurance Fund (ESOS Assurance Fund), said a statement by the Australian high commission here.
Thousands in Haiti capital’s streets amid death, destruction
By IANS/EFE,
Santo Domingo : Thousands of people awoke in the streets of Port-au-Prince, where they spent the night amid the death and destruction wrought by the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti, shattering buildings and leaving untold numbers of people dead or trapped in the rubble.
"The night of Jan 12-13 was undoubtedly the longest night for Haitians battered by a terrible earthquake that has left huge numbers of victims and extensive damage," the Haiti Press Network website reported Wednesday.
Indian American student hired by presidential hopeful
By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : An Indian American student who doomed a US senator's re-election bid in 2006 with a camcorder has resurfaced in the presidential contest.
S.R. Sidarth, the 22-year-old University of Virginia student, is now a paid staffer in the communications office of Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson.
Colombian navy destroys submarine meant for carrying drugs
By IANS/EFE,
Bogota : The Colombian navy found and destroyed a semi-submersible vessel with the capacity to carry between eight and 10 tons of cocaine in the province of Narino, but no arrests were made, a senior official said.
The vessel was found in the town of Mosquera, near the Pacific, hidden in dense vegetation, Pacific Joint Command chief Gen. Justo Eliseo Pena told EFE.
The submarine, which was nearly finished, measured 16.9 metres long by 2.75 metres wide.
Obama wants Iran sanctions within ‘weeks’
By DPA,
Washington : US President Barack Obama declared that he wants to see the UN Security Council adopt sanctions against Iran within "weeks" over the Islamic republic's refusal to resolve the dispute over its nuclear activities.
"I'm not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place. I'm interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks," Obama said Tuesday at a press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Deafening Indian silence on Nepal’s new president
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Eyebrows are being raised in Nepal about India's silence on the first presidential election in the Himalayan republic that saw a seasoned politician with Indian roots become the nation's first president.
As the jubilant country readied Wednesday for the swearing-in of Ram Baran Yadav Wednesday as head of state - he replaces deposed king Gyanendra - there was no congratulatory message from New Delhi, which had otherwise shown intense interest in the election.
US unemployment rate rises
By IANS,
Washington: The US unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent in January from 7.8 percent in December 2012, the US Labor Department said Friday.
China rail traffic up during holidays
By IANS,
Beijing : China's railways carried a record 67.3 million passengers during the holiday period from Sep 28 to Oct 7, Xinhua reported Saturday.
Wall Street fraudster Madoff under house arrest
By DPA,
New York : Bernard Madoff, the high-flying Wall Street investor charged with a $50-billion fraud, has been placed under house arrest.
Madoff, 70, will be required to wear a tracking device and be subject to a curfew, while his wife told the judge she would give up two of her homes if he were to attempt to escape, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.
Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq exchange, was arrested last week for running a $50-billion Ponzi scheme.
Dalai Lama to lead ‘dream spiritual team’ at peace summit
By IANS,
Toronto : The Dalai Lama, who is an honorary citizen of Canada, will lead Nobel Peace Prize laureates at a global peace summit in Vancouver in September.
According to the organisers of the summit, the Dalai Lama will lead a so-called 'dream spiritual team' at the "Vancouver Peace Summit: Nobel Laureates in Dialogue" from Sep 26 to 29.
The team includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to apartheid in South Africa, and Wangari Maathai, who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on the environment and peace.
Clinton meets China’s foreign minister ahead of Hu visit
By DPA,
Washington : US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Wednesday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to prepare for this month's visit by President Hu Jintao.
Scolari says he is ‘unwanted’ for 2014 World Cup
By IANS,
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has reiterated his desire to return to international coaching, but claims he is unwanted.
Japanese NGOs pledge special assistance for 10,000 worst-hit Myanmar households
By Xinhua,
Yangon : Three Japanese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have pledged a special assistance for 10,000 selected cyclone-hit Myanmar households who are in worst need of food and resettlement, the local Flower News reported Monday.
With an initial financial aid of 2 million U.S. dollars, the three Japanese NGOs out of 26 in that country -- UNCCO, JEN and Peace Win will provide the assistance through Myanmar's biggest business organization of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the report said.
Lesbian politician to open closet for Japan’s homosexuals
By Chie Matsumoto, IANS
Tokyo : Kanako Otsuji wants to open the closet for Japan's gay and lesbian community in order to increase their visibility and help them gain their basic rights as citizens.
Hundreds demonstrate against French retail giant in China
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Hundreds of Chinese Thursday demonstrated in front of French supermarket Carrefour here raising slogans against the retail giant and demands for Tibet's independence.
The protesters also raised slogans in suppor of the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Carrefour and France became target of protests by Chinese nationalists after the April 7 Paris run of the Olympic torch was repeatedly interrupted by rights activists protesting what they called was suppression of Tibetan demonstrators by Chinese authorities.
Maoists call Nepal shutdown Sunday after 6 die in clashes
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas have called a nationwide general strike Sunday and an indefinite shutdown in a remote western district after at least six people were killed following clashes between security forces and squatters.
The government rushed thousands of police and armed police personnel to Kailali district in farwestern Nepal, a Maoist stronghold, after a drive by security forces Friday to evict squatters from the Dudhejhari forest in Baliya village sparked violence with the homeless resisting the bid to evict them.
Asia leads in reducing poverty, says World Bank
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: Despite the economic and financial crisis that has swept across the globe, the target to reduce by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty is still within reach in several developing regions, says the World Bank.
Home to the most people living on less than $1.25 a day, Asia has accounted for much of this remarkable achievement, according to the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2010, released Tuesday, giving a statistical progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
US stocks gain as surprising earnings overshadow GDP report
By DPA,
New York : US stocks posted strong gains Wednesday as most companies that reported profits for the first quarter beat estimates on the day, drowning out reports of a sharp contraction in the US economy over the first three months.
Time Warner, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, DreamWorks Animation SKG and Hess Corp all beat analysts' expectations, offering some hope that the worst may be over and driving all major US stock indices up by more than 2 percent.
Bolivian leader Morales denounces global business
By DPA,
New York : Bolivia's President Evo Morales carried his national reform plans to the United Nations Monday, telling a meeting of world indigenous peoples to be wary of transnational corporations and industrialists.
Bolivia's first elected indigenous leader denounced such companies as "exploiters" of his country's natural resources, which he said belong to Bolivians.
Since his election in 2006 as the country's first indigenous leader, Morales has been battling opponents of his plan to take state control over Bolivia's oil and gas industry.
Mobs burned 48 police buildings in Indonesia in 2011
By IANS/AKI,
Jakarta : At least 48 police buildings and posts were set ablaze by mobs in 2011, more than double the previous year's statistics, the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) has announced.
Taiwan clinic to be closed over naked nurse photos: report
By ANTARA,
Taipei : Taiwan authorities will shutter a cosmetic surgery clinic for using posters of its nurses posing naked in a campaign it says was only aimed at finding them boyfriends, a report said Saturday.
Southern Tainan city's health department is to close down the clinic after an outcry from several nurses' associations, who said the photographs damaged the image of their profession, the United Daily News was quoted by AFP as saying.
Moderate quake hits S Philippines
By Xinhua,
Manila : A Magnitude 5.1 earthquake was felt in parts of the Philippines' southern Mindanao Wednesday afternoon.
The epicenter was located 66 kilometers southwest of Isulan in Sultan Kudarat and occurred at a depth of 63 kilometers, said Rainier Amilbahar, anengineer of Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
He said the quake which occurred 4:37 p.m. local time (0837 GMT) was generated from the Cotabato trench
‘US H-1B proposal is against free trade principles’
By IANS,
New Delhi/Washington : India's software industry has opposed a US bill that seeks to make it mandatory for American companies to fill vacancies with locals before turning to skilled foreign workers.
"The stated objective of the bill is to prevent fraud and visa abuse. However, several of the provisions of this bill are against the principles of free trade and are creating trade barriers," said Som Mittal, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).
Bush seeks $42.3 billion more for wars
By Xinhua
Washington : The Bush administration has asked for an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the request for total war funding for 2008 to $189.3 billion.
The request comes on top of $147 billion already sought for in the wars.
Most of the money goes to Iraq, which is costing the Pentagon an estimated $2 billion a week.
Computer failure paralyses Swiss ministries
By DPA,
Geneva : Complicated computer problems at key Swiss government ministries have paralysed work at several offices since Friday, a government spokesperson said.
The foreign ministry was hardest hit by the information systems failure and likely will face severe computer restrictions Monday.
The finance and interior ministries will fare better and be back at work when the week starts, Karolina Kohout, a spokeswoman for the Federal Office of Information Technology told the Swiss News Agency Sunday.
Indian students face racial abuse in New Zealand city
By IANS,
Wellington : Indian students studying in New Zealand's southernmost city Invercargill have been targets of racial abuse and called terrorists by local people, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Four of those targeted are Sikhs who wear turbans, which they said made some ignorant people confuse them with Arabs or Muslims, the Southland Times reported.
One victim, Jasdeep Singh, told the paper he had defied his religious principles and had a haircut to avoid wearing a turban because he feared for his safety.
South Korea to vaccinate people against swine flu
By IANS,
Seoul: South Korean health authorities plan to vaccinate nearly 40 percent of the country's population against the influenza A (H1N1) virus, WAM news agency reported Wednesday.
The vaccination will be carried out on a total of 19.5 million people by the end of February, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said. The figure is around 2 million more than the initial inoculation target.
Eight LTTE rebels killed in Sri Lanka
By Xinhua
Colombo : At least eight Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed and 12 others injured as government troops launched an attack on their positions in northern Sri Lanka, the army said Sunday.
According to a military statement, the government troops Saturday attacked the positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels near Uyilankulam in the northern district of Mannar.
The Army destroyed seven rebel bunkers in the battle besides killing eight rebels and injuring 12 others, the statement said.
Nick Clegg may play kingmaker in a hung British parliament
By IANS,
London : Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg may hold the key to power as the election results, as per early exit polls, point to a hung parliament. Clegg faces a painful dilemma - to tango with Labour leader Gordon Brown or shake hands with Conservative leader David Cameron.
In case the Conservatives fail to get an overall majority in the House of Commons, Clegg would be the man who would take a call on who enters No. 10 Downing Street.
Bring 26/11 perpetrators to speedy justice: Krishna
By IANS,
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Saturday called upon Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack to "speedy" justice.
Blair set to be Mideast envoy despite opposition – Report
By IRNA
London : Tony Blair's controversial appointment as an international envoy for the Middle East looks set to be formally agreed before the outgoing prime minister steps down from power in Britain despite widespread opposition, it was reported Monday.
Butler dating Romanian model?
By IANS,
Los Angeles: Actor Gerard Butler is reportedly dating Romanian model-actress Madalina Ghenea.
Pakistan’s ruling party leads Gilgit-Baltistan polls
Islamabad: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is leading in the Pakistani Kashmir's Gilgit-Baltistan legislative assembly polls as the vote count got underway on Tuesday,...
Exiled Tibetans concerned over Chinese repression in Tibet
By IANS,
Dharamsala : The Tibetan government-in-exile Monday expressed concern over the ongoing repression inside Tibet by the Chinese authorities since it crushed protests in March 2008.
"We (the members of the Kashag or Tibetan parliament-in-exile) have expressed concern over the ongoing repression inside Tibet," said a statement posted on the official website of the government-in-exile.
Dalai Lama ‘disappointed’ by Sarkozy, no Paris visit
By DPA,
Paris : Tibetan religious leader the Dalai Lama will not attend a planned meeting of Nobel Prize recipients in Paris out of "disappointment" with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, French media reported Sunday.
"No visit is planned. There had never been any official invitation," Matthieu Ricard, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, was quoted by the weekly Journal du Dimanche as saying.
Germany re-opens massacre probe against ex-SS officer
By DPA,
Hanover: Germany has re-opened a criminal inquiry into a former SS officer accused of massacring Jews in Lublin in occupied Poland in 1943, a prosecutor said Thursday.
The 95-year-old has never been charged for lack of evidence, but re-analysis of a letter he wrote in 1943 to a girlfriend implies that he was with his unit at the time it took part in mass shootings of 30,500 Jews in the Lublin area, news reports said.
Taiwan burglar escapes after leaping from sixth floor
By DPA,
Taipei : A burglar remained at large Monday after fleeing from a Taipei apartment after jumping from the sixth-floor balcony and landing on a parked car.
"We are still searching for this burglar," a police officer from the Jui-An police station said by phone.
According to the Liberty Times, the burglary took place about 6 p.m. Sunday in a sixth-floor flat in an apartment building on Fuhsing South Road.
A letter to Rohith Vemula from a young Muslim
Mahtab Alam for Twocircles.net
Dear Rohith,
I am not sure how or whether this letter will ever reach you. However, after reading and rereading your heartbreaking...
British Isle Linked to CIA Torture
By Prensa Latina
London : Legislators and human rights groups are pushing to prove the use of British territory for US flights of detainees scheduled for abusive interrogations.
The Guardian daily says the British Foreign Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch Brown, talked on the issue with UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Novak.
Both talked on the CIA flights to Diego Garcia Island, under British jurisdiction, as a detention center for people the US considered suspects.
Indian announces $1-bn line of credit to Nepal
By Anil Giri,
Kathmandu : India Sunday announced $1-billion line of credit to Nepal as Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on a two-day official visit...
Now Google, Apple won’t help Trump build Muslim registry
New York : Soon after Facebook and Twitter clarified that they will not help US President-elect Donald Trump's idea of developing a Muslim registry,...
At least 29 killed in Peru bus accident
By DPA,
Lima : At least 29 people were killed in Peru after a passenger bus plunged over a cliff into a canyon south of the capital Lima, police said Wednesday.
The local police chief of the town of Canete, Jose del Rio Silva, said that accident happened Tuesday. Another 15 people were reportedly injured.
Initial investigation showed the accident was a mistake of the driver, who was killed along with a fellow driver.
Obama, Putin discussed downed Malaysian plane: White House
Washington: US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday talked about the reports of a downed Malaysian passenger jet near the Russia-Ukraine...
Two bombs rock northwest Kosovo as ethnic tensions increase
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Two separate explosion hit the Serb and Albanian parts of the ethnically divided town of Kosovska-Mitrovica injuring six firefighters and damaging cars and property, Serbia's EMportal reported on Saturday.
The first bomb exploded near a cafe in Kosovska Mitrovica's Serb-dominated northern part around midday on Friday. The town has been divided since the NATO bombings of 1999 into Albanian and Serb sectors.
Israel to build 240-km fence along Egypt border: Report
By DPA,
Jerusalem: Israel is set to start building a 240-km fence along its southwestern border with Egypt to stop terrorists, illegal migrants and smuggling, media reports said.
9/11 rescuers suffer permanent lung damage
By IANS,
London : A new study has revealed that the rescue workers who operated in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York have suffered lasting lung damage after exposure to dust.
The seven-year study published in the New England Journal of Medicine was led by researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Centre, reports telegraph.co.uk.
Four pacts to be signed during SAARC summit
By Xinhua,
Colombo : Four agreements will be signed when the eight heads of state or government of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations meet on Aug. 2 and Aug. 3 in Colombo for the 15th SAARC summit, Sri Lanka's official newspaper said Wednesday.
According to the Daily News, the four agreements relate to the setting up of a SAARC Development Fund, a South Asia Standards Institution, the accession of Afghanistan to the South Asian Free Trade Agreement, and obtaining mutual assistance in criminal matters.
Magnitude-6.4 quake jolts Bali, injuring seven
By DPA,
Bali (Indonesia) : An earthquake registering 6.4 on the Richter scale struck off the Indonesian resort island of Bali Saturday, triggering panic among tourists and residents.
At least seven people were injured, most of them with broken bones, said Rusyam Pakaya of the Health Ministry's crisis centre. He said no deaths had been reported.
Residents and visitors ran out of their homes or hotels in panic when the quake struck Indonesia's most popular tourist destination at 6.06 a.m. (2306 GMT Friday).
India n-deal may support 250,000 American jobs: US chamber
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The powerful US Chamber of Commerce has come out in strong support of the India-US civil nuclear deal, saying a modest share of the potential $150 billion business could support 250,000 high-tech American jobs.
Asking the US Congress to approve the implementing 123 Agreement before its term expires by the end of this year, the "world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses of every size, sector and region" said the deal offered US companies a "tremendous opportunity".
Ending poverty in Asia-Pacific’s least developed nations
By IRNA,
Tehran : A UN senior official has said that for the people of Asia’s least developed countries the past decade was marked by multiple global economic crises and setbacks.
US files charges against Nigerian terrorist suspect
By DPA,
Washington : US federal officials brought criminal charges Saturday against a Nigerian man suspected of trying to destroy a Northwest Airlines aircraft Friday as it approached the airport in Detroit, Michigan.
The US Department of Justice said that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, had boarded the plane in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and tried near the end of the nine-hour-flight to set off an explosion using PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, a high explosive.
Haj stampede: Indian toll rises to 22
New Delhi: Eight more deaths of Indian Haj pilgrims were announced by the government on Saturday, taking the toll to 22 in Thursday's tragedy...
Marine life faces large-scale extinction risk
By IANS,
Sydney: Marine life faces far greater risk of large-scale extinctions than at any previous time in human history, world's leading marine scientists have warned.
Howard deplores bloc voting for cricket’s top job
By DPA,
Sydney : Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard Sunday took a swipe at the African and Asian nations that teamed up to overturn his bid to head the International Cricket Council (ICC) when the post is vacated by India's Sharad Pawar in 2012.
At a meeting in Singapore last week, the ICC rejected Howard's candidacy without explanation.
"No one part of the world, no one country, should dominate cricket," Howard said. "People in the past criticised the fact it was dominated by England and Australia, and now we don't want to replace one perceived domination by another."
African AIDS epidemic slows down: World Bank
By Xinhua
Abidjan : The pace of the deadly AIDS epidemic is slowing down in some African countries due to a series of effective prevention measures, Cote d'Ivoire media quoted a World Bank report as saying.
Argentines stage huge anti-government protests
By IANS/EFE,
Buenos Aires: Hundreds of thousands of Argentines took to the streets in different parts of the country to protest President Cristina Fernandez's policies.
Former president Clinton vows to help Obama to win White House
By Xinhua,
Washington : U.S. former President Bill Clinton vowed on Tuesday to help Barack Obama, who beat his wife, Hillary, in the Democratic presidential nomination race, to win the bid for the White House.
"(Former) President Clinton is obviously committed to doing whatever he can and is asked to do to ensure (Illinois) Senator Obama is the next president of the United States," said Matt McKenna, Clinton's spokesman.
US, Sri Lanka call for stronger defence ties
By IANS,
Washington : The time has come for Sri Lanka and the US to build military relations on a stronger footing.
Jalali: Iran ready to share nuclear experience with neighbors
By IRNA,
Tehran : Iran is ready to share its nuclear technology experience with the neighboring countries, according to an Iranian lawmaker.
Rapporteur of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali made the remark in an interview with Lebanon-based Al-Balad daily on Friday.
Expansion of ties with the Arab and Muslim states is a priority in Iran's foreign policy.
He said Iran's nuclear technology does not pose any threat to the Persian Gulf littoral states, adding Iran could serve his neighboring countries via its nuclear technologies.
German reporter’s camera captures China’s changes in 30 years
By Wu Liming, Xinhua,
Hamburg : In April 1976, Martin Kummer, a journalist with The Hamburg Morning Post, paid a three-week visit to China and shot hundreds of photos across the country, then a mysterious land largely closed to the Western world.
Exactly 30 years later in April 2006, Kummer, already in his 60s, made another China tour. He spent five weeks re-visiting the same places he toured 30 years ago, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, taking another batch of pictures.
Hundreds moved to safety as Colombian volcano erupts
By IANS,
Bogota : Authorities have evacuated hundreds of villagers from the neighbourhood of the Nevado del Huila volcano in Colombia as it started spewing hot ashes and lava.
The most active of Colombian volcanoes located in the southwestern province of Huila, Nevado, erupted late Monday night, Spain's EFE news agency reported Wednesday.
The Colombian Institute of Geology and Mining, or Ingeominas, raised the alert to maximum following the eruption.
There were no reports of landslides or avalanches following the expulsion of lava and tremors at the snowy summit.
British ‘sadhu’ who became Internet hero passes away
By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
London, Oct 30 (IANS) A loner tramp who lived in the middle of a ring road in Wolverhampton in the west Midlands for over 30 years and who was adopted by the local Hindu community that saw in him the elements and echoes of a sadhu has died.
A grumpy, bearded loner who shunned company and material possessions, Josef Stawinoga, 87, became an Internet phenomenon as thousands signed up to a Facebook site in his honour. For decades, he lived in a tent, and became part of the local landscape as motorists zipped by.
Serbia: Kosovo to Declare Sovereignty
By Prensa Latina
Belgrade : Serbia warned on Friday that it has information that Kosovo Province may proclaim illegal independence on February 17, Serbian Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic informed.
The minister asserted that the European Union seeks to sign a pre-dated association and cooperation accord to justify and approve a state within Serbian territory based on lies.
Samardzic said the EU-Kosovo accord to create a free trade area and liberalize visas for the Serbians should have been signed Thursday but the EU deferred it for next week.
U.S. vows to reach Middle East peace deal
By Xinhua,
Washington : The United States said Thursday it is committed to helping Israel and Palestine reach a peace agreement by the end of this year despite twists and turns in the process.
"Right now, we do, though, have an Israeli government and a Palestinian Authority government that are committed to working with one another. We have the prime minister and President Abbas, who are both committed to achieving that agreement," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
Katie Waissel confirms split from Alphonso
By IANS,
London: Singer Katie Waissel has ended her marriage with model Brad Alphonso just two months after tying the knot.
Venezuela ready to provide details on arms deal with Russia
By RIA Novosti,
Buenos-Aires : The Venezuelan government is ready to provide South American states with full information on its arms deal with Russia, Vice President Ramîn Carrizàlez has said.
Defense officials from states that comprise the UNASUR group of South American nations met on Tuesday in Ecuador's capital Quito for discussions on how to avoid a possible arms race in the region.
"Nothing prevents us from showing the treaty with Russia, from providing UNASUR with all information in details, because trust begins with transparency," Carrizàlez said.
Australia vows to search until missing airliner found
Canberra:Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss reiterated Sunday that they will keep searching the southern Indian Ocean for the missing Malaysian airliner as long...
Ex-Soviet leader Gorbachev blasts EU, NATO over Kosovo status
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sharply criticized on Saturday attempts by the EU and NATO to decide the future of Serbia's Albanian-dominated breakaway province of Kosovo.
The UN Security Council has failed so far to bridge divisions over the future of Kosovo. On December 19, the U.K.'s UN envoy, John Sawers, said there was no possibility of overcoming the difficulties in talks within the UN, and that the European Union would now assume responsibility for determining Kosovo's status.
Malaysian Indians richer than ethnic Malays: study
By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian Indians stand in the middle of the income and poverty levels charts, below the Chinese but well above the majority Malays, official data shows.
Indices of Poverty for 1995-2004 show that the average household income for ethnic Indians in 2004 stood at Malaysian 3,456 ringitt (Rs.41,026) a month, while the Malays, called Bumiputeras or sons of the soil, only had a monthly average household income of 2,711 ringitt (Rs.32,186) a month.
Hindi is a language of understanding and harmony: Ban Ki-moon
By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Hindi as a "language of understanding and harmony" at the inaugural function of the eighth World Hindi Conference held at the UN headquarters here.
"Hindi is a language of understanding and harmony. It unites the vast Indian diaspora, building bridges between different countries," he said Friday, accepting Hindi's growing importance in the world.
Indians hail Obama taking over as US president
By IANS,
New Delhi : Obamamania gripped India as people hailed the historical inauguration of Barack Obama as America's first black president and expressed hope that he would have a positive approach towards India.
"I think Obama is the best man to occupy the US highest office ever. I followed his every speech since the campaign for the US elections started and he really has a new vision to change the world by keeping in mind everyone's concerns. I am looking forward to his approach towards India," said Preeti Verma, a Delhi University student.
Germany grants asylum to 50 Iranian dissidents
By DPA,
Berlin: Germany has granted asylum to 50 Iranian citizens who fled their country after the so-called "Green Revolution" protests that followed last year's presidential elections, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.
A spokesman for the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a report in the Spiegel news magazine and said that 12 of the asylum seekers have already arrived in the country. Another 26 have been approved, while the remainder still have to be processed.
Rainstorm hits central China province, affecting 200,000
By Xinhua,
Wuhan : Continuous rainstorm has been slamming a prefecture in the central Hubei province since Friday and affected more than 200,000 people. But no casualties have been reported, a local civil affairs department spokesman said Saturday.
The rainstorm, the worst in 21 years in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, has flattened 126 houses, destroyed crops on 17,700 hectares and forced the evacuation of 107 local residents, the spokesman said.
The disaster caused a direct economic loss of 18.14 million yuan (2.6 million U.S. dollars), he added.
‘600,000 workers left south China due to unemployment’
By Xinhua,
Beijing : An estimated 600,000 migrant workers have left China's southern Guangdong Province in 2008 due to unemployment after the worldwide financial crisis hit the region, a government official said Thursday.
Guangdong Province Vice Governor Huang Yunlong revealed the statistics at a press conference after the country's top economic planner released a long-term plan to develop the Pearl River Delta.
Space shuttle Atlantis makes final landing
By IANS,
Washington : Space shuttle Atlantis Thursday landed at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, bringing to a close the US's 30-year orbiter programme.
China’s presence in Latin America not a threat: US
By IANS,
Beijing : China's increasing presence in Latin America was not a matter of concern or a threat to the US, a top American official said here Wednesday.
"It is certainly not a concern, not a threat. We very much welcome China's continued engagement, investment and trade with countries in the western hemisphere," Arturo Valenzuela, US assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, was quoted as saying by China Daily.
Valenzuela made the comment during a US-China meet on Latin America, held under the auspices of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
Turkey launches large-scale attack on Kurdish militants
By RIA Novosti
Ankara : The Turkish army has mounted a massive military operation against Kurdish separatists in the southeast of the country, local media reported Wednesday.
Obama taps Washington lawyer Holder for US attorney general – sources tell MSNBC
By KUNA,
Washington : Veteran Washington lawyer Eric Holder, a close associate of President-elect Barack Obama, has been chosen to be the new attorney general, the top domestic Cabinet member who will head the U.S. Justice Department, two sources told MSNBC on Tuesday.
Holder, who, like Obama, is an African-American, served as deputy attorney general to the administration of former President Bill Clinton.
While Holder still must complete the vetting process, the sources said Obama has offered him the post, and that Holder has accepted it.
Sri Lanka has highest inflation in South, Southeast Asia
By P.K. Balachandran, IANS
Colombo : The inflation rate in Sri Lanka has been reaching dizzying heights lately. It was 21.6 percent on an average in 2007. In November it touched an all-time high of 26.2 percent.
Sri Lanka also has the highest rate of inflation in South and Southeast Asia, points out Harsha de Silva, chief economist of LIRNE Asia, a regional development economics think tank.
Thai court nullifies Feb 2 general election
Bangkok: The Thai Constitutional Court Friday annulled last month's general election, leaving the country in political limbo without a full government and further undermining...
Sri Lankan air force jet crashes
By IANS,
Colombo : A Sri Lankan Air Force MIG-27 jet Monday crashed in the country's northwestern region but the pilot ejected safely, the air force said.
One killed as small plane crashes in Russia
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: One person was killed and another was injured when a small biplane crashed in Russia's southern Krasnodar territory.
Jordan security forces close Muslim brotherhood headquarters
Amman : Jordanian security personnel stormed the headquarters of the Muslim brotherhood, the main opposition group in Amman, dismissed all people inside and sealed...
Myanmar Supreme Court turns down Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal
By DPA,
Yangon : Myanmar's Supreme Court Friday turned down an appeal by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi against her sentence of 18 months of house detention, which would keep her confined during a general election planned this year, her defence lawyers said.
A special prison court handed down the sentence Aug 11 to Suu Kyi, 64, for breaking the conditions of her previous detention term.
Interview: Japanese PM hopes to elevate Japan-China ties to new level
By Xinhua
Tokyo : Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said here Tuesday before his upcoming visit to China that he hopes to further promote relations with China to a new stage.
During an interview with Xinhua and other Chinese media at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Fukuda said he is "glad" to visit China in this memorable year marking the 35th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic ties.
Three dead as boat catches fire in Antarctica
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : At least three crew members of a South Korean fishing boat are thought to have died when their vessel caught fire in Antarctica Wednesday, officials said.
Over 5,000 Cubans Worked in Ethiopia
By Prensa Latina,
Havana : Cuba's Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration Minister Marta Lomas stated in the opening of the Fifth Intergovernmental Session with that African country that 5,817 Cubans have worked in Ethiopia.
Lomas highlighted that more than 100,000 Cubans have worked in distant places of the African continent and over 30,000 African students have graduated from Cuban educational centers, of them 3,553 from Ethiopia.
Loma exhorted participants in this commission to evaluate options to increase and diversify collaboration between both nations.
UN Special Rapporteur wraps up Myanmar visit
By DPA
Yangon : UN Special Rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro wrapped up a five-day visit to Myanmar Thursday, after being allowed access to the country's prisons, dissident monks and government officials.
Pinheiro, who had been been denied a visa for four years, arrived in Yangon Sunday for an investigation into alleged human rights abuses during and after the government's crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks last September.
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