Obama kicks off 10-day vacation
By Xinhua,
Washington : US President Barack Obama Friday started a 10-day vacation, briefly breaking off from debates on the country's health care reform and other key issues.
According to the White House, Obama left the presidential residence in the afternoon aboard a Marine helicopter to Camp David outside the capital with his family and dog, and then they would head on Sunday morning to a vineyard in the eastern state of Massachusetts.
Police find $200,000 in bus
By IANS/EFE,
Managua : Police found $220,000 in cash on a bus in Nicaragua, a media report said.
The money was found Sunday in a wooden box in the bus in the northwestern province of Chinandega, on the border with Honduras.
Jeev looking to end season in style at Dubai World Championships
By V. Krishnaswamy, IANS,
Dubai: Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh is looking to end the European Tour in style with an impressive finish at the Dubai World Championships starting here Thursday.
At the breathtaking Earth golf course here, Jeevd played the Pro-Am Tuesday was back at the course Wednesday morning for some practice.
"I love the layout and had a good look at it. I hope I can round off the European Tour season in style," said Jeev, who will tee of with Rafael Cabrera-Bello in the first round.
Presidential hopefuls face crucial tests in South Carolina, Nevada
By Xinhua
Washington : US presidential hopefuls are to face crucial tests in the nomination contests in South Carolina and Nevada Saturday.
It's the preacher vs. the patriot in the crucial South Carolina Republican primary.
Ever since Ronald Reagan in 1980, the winner of this contest has gone on to win the party's presidential nomination, and often the presidency.
Meanwhile, in Nevada, two leading Democratic candidates used Reagan as a tool to bash another front-runner.
Woman stabs her two children to death
By IANS,
Veracruz (Mexico) : A woman stabbed two of her children to death, wounded a third and then tried to kill herself at her house in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz, EFE reported Tuesday.
The 35-year-old woman was despondent over her financial and personal situation, the state Attorney General's Office said Monday.
The incident occurred Sunday in Tres Valles, where Ofelia Parra Romero put her children in bed and slashed their throats, then tried to cut her own throat.
Boston Marathon bomber found guilty
Washington: A federal jury on Wednesday found 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a Kyrgyzstan-born US citizen, guilty of all 30 counts related to the 2013 Boston...
Tibet draws over 6mn tourists this year
By IANS,
Beijing : China's Tibet region is experiencing a good tourism season with both arrivals and revenue witnessing a record high in the first eight months of the year.
Over 67,000 displaced in latest Somali violence, says UN
By Xinhua,
Mogadishu : More than 67,000 people have been displaced in the escalating violence in the Somali capital, as the military intensified their operations against the Islamic militants, who fired mortar shells at the presidential palace Tuesday, killing at least 10 people.
Military spokesman Farhan Mahad said none of the mortar shells hit the presidential building, but landed in a nearby area killing seven people.
Anti-government protestors surround Thai parliament
By DPA,
Bangkok : Tens of thousands of anti-government protestors, some of them armed with sticks, surrounded the Thai parliament Monday in what has been dubbed a "final battle" to topple the administration by Wednesday.
Sondhi Limthongkul, a core leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that has been leading an anti-government campaign in Bangkok since May, launched the march from Government House to parliament at 6 a.m. (23.00 GMT Sunday).
Officers removed after nuclear weapons blunder
By DPA
Washington : Several US Air Force officers have been stripped of their command because of major lapses in procedures that led to the accidental transport of nuclear weapons on a flight across the country, a US general said.
Major General Richard Newton Friday said some of the officers could face a court-martial for failing to follow procedures that led to the loading of six nuclear bombs on a B-52 before its August flight. Newton did not identify the officers.
Team Sobhraj asks Nepal to ensure client confidentiality
By IANS,
Kathmandu : Stung by the curb imposed by Nepal's prison authorities on visitors for Charles Sobhraj, the celebrity prisoner's team of lawyers has asked Nepal's government to respect the law of the land that ensures prisoners' access to lawyers with the protection of confidentiality.
Myanmar reiterates support for ASEAN-led mechanism for cyclone recovery
By Xinhua,
Yangon : Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein has reiterated support for an ASEAN-led mechanism and commitment of the government to work closely with the task force of the ASEAN-led mechanism, led by Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Surin Pitsuwan, said a press statement at the end of Surin's two-day working visit to Yangon Wednesday afternoon.
Second draft of Myanmar peace pact made
Yangon : Peace negotiators of the Myanmar government and ethnic armed groups worked out their second draft of the nationwide ceasefire agreement here Friday.
The...
Over 2.5 million people jobless in Britain
By IANS,
London: The new government in Britain was faced with a new crisis when official statistics Wednesday revealed the number of jobless people in the country to be over 2.5 million, while 8.17 million were "economically inactive".
The number of people looking for work in the country in 2010 rose by 53,000 to 2.51 million, while the employment rate slumped to 72 percent, the lowest since 1996, figures from the Office for National Statistics said.
Chavez orders tanks to Colombian border
By RIA Novosti
Buenos Aires : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered tanks to the country's border with Colombia and closed the Venezuelan embassy in Bogota as tensions grow over the killing of a Colombian rebel inside Ecuador.
"Mr Defense Minister, move me 10 battalions to the border with Colombia right away, tank battalions," Chavez said on his weekly television show on Sunday.
No outbreak of infectious diseases in Myanmar: official
By Xinhua,
Yangon : There has been no outbreak of infectious diseases in the cyclone-hit areas in Myanmar in the aftermath of cyclone Nargis, state-run Radio Myanmar reported Sunday.
"Except usually occurring diseases, there is no presence of other infectious diseases," the report quoted the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee as saying.
It said a total of 122 medical teams, including teams from the military and civil organisations, are serving in the disaster-hit areas.
Troop redeployment is Pakistan’s not-so-subtle message to Obama
By Mayank Chhaya, IANS,
Chicago : Away from Chicago's intensely cold winter and vacationing in the salubrious climes of his birth state Hawaii, President-elect Barack Obama is being delivered a not-so-subtle message by Pakistan.
Two get death sentence in China milk scandal
By Xinhua,
Shijiazhuang (China) : Two men were sentenced to death Thursday by a local court in connection with the China tainted milk scandal in which about 296,000 infants suffered kidney stones and other urinary problems.
Zhang Yujun, who produced and sold melamine-laced "protein powder", was convicted of endangering public security and given capital punishment by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court, while the other man Geng Jinping was convicted of producing and selling toxic food.
Sri Lanka denies scuttling power devolution
By IANS,
Colombo : Sri Lanka denied Wednesday plans to roll back power sharing mechanisms with the Tamil minority despite attempts to stop long overdue elections in the former war-torn north.
Climate change issue is about morals, ethics: Rahul Bose
By IANS,
Copenhagen: Indian leaders at Copenhagen should remember that future generations were watching them closely, says Bollywood actor Rahul Bose, amongst the many well-known faces who have flown to Copenhagen to push for a fair deal on climate change.
Five killed in Belgium bus crash
By IANS,
Moscow : A bus carrying Russian youngsters crashed in Belgium Sunday, killing at least five people and leaving 17 others injured, RIA Novosti reported.
Notes From the War on Terror — NY Times
By IRNA,
New York : For more than a year, President Bush has refused to honor legitimate requests from the Democratic majority in Congress for legal documents that he used to justify ordering the abuse, humiliation and torture of prisoners. This week, the Justice Department finally agreed to show some papers to members of the House and Senate.
For starters, it is not yet clear whether the White House will turn over the complete and un redacted opinions of the government lawyers that claimed the president could ignore the law and the Geneva Conventions, The New York Times said.
9/11 case pilot can claim damages
By KUNA
London : A pilot wrongly accused of training the 9/11 hijackers is entitled to claim damages, the Court of Appeal, in central London, ruled Thursday.
Algerian Lotfi Raissi, of west London, was detained for nearly five months after being arrested following the 2001 attacks in the United States.
The court's ruling means the British Government has to reconsider Raissi's claim for compensation which had been refused.
Russian naval task force starts Venezuela visit
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A task force of Russia's Northern Fleet led by the Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser arrived in Venezuela as part of a planned visit which will see the ships take part in joint naval drills, a naval spokesman said.
"On Dec 1, the Russian warships will take part in joint naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy," Captain Igor Dygalo told reporters.
E. coli bacterium model of super industrial efficiency
By IANS,
Washington : E. coli bacterium, one of the best-studied single-celled organisms around, is a master of industrial efficiency. This bacterium can be thought of as a factory with just one product - itself.
It exists to make copies of itself and its business plan is to make them at the lowest possible cost, with the greatest possible efficiency. Efficiency, in the case of a bacterium, can be defined by the energy and resources it uses to maintain its plant and produce new cells versus the time it expends on the task.
Kashmiri youth protesting against militants’ killing hoist Pakistan flag over CM’s ancestral house
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Srinagar: In an incident that is likely to leave Kashmir’s ruling party People’s Democratic Party and...
Soyuz capsule blasts off
By SPA
Baikonur, Kazakhstan : A Russian capsule carrying two cosmonauts and Korea's first astronaut has blasted off en route to the international space station.
The Soyuz TMA-12 craft lifted off Tuesday from the Baikonur cosmodrome on time, roaring into the evening skies over Kazakhstan's barren steppes.
Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon and cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Sergei Volkov will spend two days in the cramped capsule before docking at the orbiting station.
Kathmandu airport shut, flights from India cancelled
By Sharon Thambala ,
New Delhi: The Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu was indefinitely shut on Saturday after a massive earthquake rocked Nepal just before...
Five killed in US shopping centre shooting
By DPA
Washington : Five women have been killed in a shooting at a store at a Chicago suburban shopping centre, the Chicago Tribune reported online.
Initial reports said four were dead in the killings in a women's clothes shop Saturday morning in Tinley Park, a Chicago suburb.
The suspected shooter was still at large, a police spokesperson said. Investigators speculated that the women were shot during a robbery attempt gone wrong.
The motive for the shootings was not clear. All the shots were fired in one store, shortly before 11 a.m.
Philippoussis comeback dream looks to be a mirage
By DPA,
Melbourne: The long-odds dream of Mark Philippoussis to somehow make one last stand in the professional game looks to be all but gone after the 33-year-old failed to sign on for this week's Australian Open wild card play-offs.
The winner in the 16-man event which began Monday will earn a wild card place into the season's first Grand Slam starting January 17.
But with some of the competitors up to 15 years younger than Philippoussis, it may not be surprising that the subject of six major knee surgeries might have given up on his chances.
China criticises Japan’s 2011 defence white paper
By IANS,
Beijing : China Thursday expressed "strong opposition" to Japan's 2011 defence white paper, saying the document plays up the "China threat theory" and has ulterior motives.
Naples’ trash to be dumped in Germany: daily
Berlin, Jan 22, IRNA ,Hundreds of thousands of tons of trash, strewn in the streets of the Italian city of Naples, will be transported to Germany for disposal, the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported Tuesday.
Two cargo trains are to deliver 1,500 tons of trash every day to the east German city of Croebern and the north German port city of Bremerhaven, an unidentified manager for the Italian Ecolog transport company was quoted saying.
German trash disposal companies are expected to earn up to 200,000 euros a day for removing the garbage, according to industry experts.
US ambassador opens two schools in Sri Lanka
By IANS,
Colombo : US ambassador Michele Sison has opened two new refurbished schools in Sri Lanka's east that were badly damaged during the country's long-standing ethnic conflict.
Three new bird flu cases in China
By IANS,
Beijing: Three new bird flu cases were confirmed in east China Thursday, authorities said.
Facebook raises $1.5 bn; Goldman funds limited
By DPA,
San Francisco : Facebook raised $1.5 billion in funding, but has limited the financing by investment giant Goldman Sachs to $1 billion, the social networking company announced Friday.
UN concerned about deteriorating situation in Yemen
Sanaa: The UN Security Council has expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in northern Yemen, calling for implementing the existing ceasefire agreements.
"The members of...
Strong quake rocks eastern Indonesia
By Xinhua,
Jakarta : A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale Saturday rocked the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku, the country's meteorology agency said.
The quake occurred at 07.04 a.m. (0004 GMT) Saturday. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, officials said.
The epicentre of the quake was located 97 km northeast of the provincial capital Ambon, according to officials.
The National Disaster Management Agency said there were no reports of damage so far.
Wealthy NRIs pledge to fund Brown’s poll campaign
By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
London : There are few signs of Britain's new Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordering mid-term polls to capitalise on the 'Brown bounce' fed by high ratings, but two Indian-origin millionaires have pledged to donate huge funds to his general election campaign.
Georgian leader welcomes new deal on Russian pullout
By RIA Novosti,
Tbilisi : Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili gave a cautious welcome on Tuesday to a new deal on the withdrawal of Russian forces from the South Caucasus state.
Under the agreement, brokered by the EU on Monday, Russia has pledged to pull all troops out of the undisputed parts of Georgia within one month, leaving peacekeepers in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which Moscow has recognized as independent countries.
Hundreds demonstrate in Hamburg for freedom in Tibet
By IRNA
Berlin : Around 400 demonstrators, among them many exiled Tibetans, protested against China's ongoing security clampdown in Tibet, news reports said Wednesday.
The crowd carried banners calling for "Freedom in Tibet" and "Olympic peace - instead of repression".
Speakers at the rally said German trade relations with China should be linked to improving the human rights situation of Tibetans.
Germany has been the scene of of anti-Chinese protests over the past weeks in the aftermath of the Tibetan crisis.
Green algae off east China coast causes concern
By IANS,
Beijing: Green algae is spreading at a rapid pace in the coastal regions of China's Shandong province, causing concern among people that it might affect the local fishery and tourism industries, a media report said.
The coasts in Qingdao city are covered by green algae up to an area of 460 sq. km, Xinhua reported citing the latest monitoring figure by the State Oceanic Administration.
Its continuing spread might affect the local fishery and tourism industries, Ding Shugen from the Qingdao Committee of Municipal and Rural Construction, said.
When hate hits home: NRIs wake up to racism
By Jaspal Singh
A forum on hate crimes against Indians and peoples hailing from South Asia is being held at MIT on Saturday May 6,2017...
Ukrainian Governing Coalition Collapses
By Prensa Latina,
Kiev : The president of the Ukrainian Supreme Rada, Arseni Yatseniuk, announced the end of the governing coalition made up of the parties Our Ukraine, Popular Self-Defense and the Timoshenko Bloc.
In a laconic speech, Yatseniuk reminded the deputies present in the hall that they have a month to set up a new alliance with the forces represented in Parliament, which are embarked in a fierce dispute for power.
If the crisis exceeds that constitutional period, President Viktor Yuschenko could dissolve the Rada and call early elections.
Gun-toting man at Obama’s rally raises safety fears
By IANS,
Washington : Within a week, yet another man showed up with an assault rifle outside the venue of President Barack Obama's meetings, raising concerns about the safety of the first black president in US history.
Obama reportedly faces about 30 potential death threats every day, according to reports earlier this month.
With his rifle slung over his shoulder, the man was seen among protesters outside the venue in Phoenix in Arizona where Obama was addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars Monday.
Petrol tanker collision kills 43 Nigerian soldiers
By DPA,
Abuja : At least 43 soldiers died when a vehicle from their convoy slammed into a petrol tanker in north-east Nigeria, army spokesman Brigadier-General Emeka Onwumaegbu said Thursday.
Onwumaegbu said the soldiers were returning from a peacekeeping mission in Darfur, western Sudan, when the accident occurred near the town of Potiskum Wednesday night.
Three people were receiving treatment in hospital, according to Emmanuel Okeke, sector commander of the state-run Federal Road Safety Commission in Yobe State.
Strong aftershock hits Haiti
By IANS,
Port-au-Prince : A powerful aftershock measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Haiti's capital early Wednesday.
The quake, which struck at 6.03 a.m. (1103 GMT), had its epicentre about 60 km west of the capital, according to the US Geological Survey.
The aftershock, was the most powerful one since the Jan 13 7.3-magnitude catastrophic quake in the Caribbean nation.
There are no report of casualties or damage due to the aftershock yet.
US apologises for 1882 law targeting Chinese migrants
By IANS,
Beijing : The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution apologising for a discriminating law passed in 1882 that targeted Chinese migrants.
Haiti quake toll tops 200,000
By DPA,
Port-au-Prince : The number of people killed in last month's earthquake in Haiti has topped 200,000, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said as protests erupted over the slow distribution of aid to survivors.
The government had previously said the magnitude-7, Jan 12 quake had killed up to 200,000 people. Bellerive said Wednesday that number had been surpassed and the new toll did not include bodies that remained trapped in the rubble or those removed by families for burial.
Corruption Main Russia Peril, Putin
By Prensa Latina
Moscow : Russian President Vladimir Putin sustained Thursday in press conference at the Kremlin that corruption is the problem that has most worried him through eight years in power.
The president made the statement when interviewed during the seventh successive annual meeting with representatives of local and foreign media.
Addressing 1,364 journalists, 200 of them foreigners, Putin ratified a recent command by the Russian leader of the Federal Security Service to reinforce surveillance of economic activities, and the anticorruption fight.
Ban calls for diverting weapons budgets to economic development
By IRNA,
Tehran : The General Assembly Monday held a day-long debate on disarmament with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling on the world to reverse its spending on weapons as compared with development.
“The world is over-armed, and development is under-funded,” he told the 192-member Assembly at the start of the thematic debate on disarmament and world security, and both the role of the United Nations and challenges for the international community. “Spending on weapons worldwide is now well above $1 trillion a year – and rising.
Another Nepal ‘murder mystery’ to be resurrected
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : A 15-year-old death that was as controversial as the massacre of the Nepal royal family in the tightly guarded palace in Kathmandu and is believed by many to have had equal effect on shaping the destiny of the nation will be resurrected as a maverick filmmaker seeks to solve the "conspiracy" behind it.
Fire in Brazil prison kills eight inmates
By IANS
Rio de Janeiro : Eight inmates have been killed in a fire at a jail in Rio Piracicaba in southeastern Brazil, Spain's EFE news agency reported Thursday.
The blaze, which was started by a short-circuit Tuesday night in one of the cells, spread quickly all over the jail in Rio Piracicaba, a small city in the interior of Brazil's Minas Gerais province.
According to the police, the inmates could not get out of their cells because the guard, who was on duty at that time, had left his post.
A year later, Obama falters on pledge to shut Guantanamo
By Mike McCarthy, DPA,
Washington : When President Barack Obama took office, one of his first acts was to order within a year the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison for holding suspects in the war on terrorism. The directive, which came two days after his inauguration, was welcomed worldwide after years of allegations that the prison violated civil rights.
Mexican retailers lure shoppers with steep discounts
By IANS,
Mexico City: For Mexico's big retail chains, this is the beginning of "The Good End", four days of offers and discounts on products and services that aim to boost domestic consumption.
Google world’s first $100 bn brand
By IANS,
London : They changed the lexicon for the word - search. Now the phrase "I'll just Google it" has helped make the internet search giant become world's first $100 billion brand beating other household names like Microsoft, and Coca Cola to McDonald's.
The analysts of the Brandz Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands by consultants Millward Brown found that the company's value of $101.4 billion puts it 25 percent more valuable than computer software king Microsoft at $77.3 billion, reported Daily Mail Thursday.
Coca Cola ($68.5 billion) managed the third place in the list.
Amnesty advertisement shows US interrogation technique
By KUNA,
London : An advertisement designed to shock viewers with the reality of an interrogation technique used by the United States was launched by the human rights group Amnesty International here Tuesday.
The first few seconds of Amnestys advertisement leads the audience to believe they are watching a glossy campaign for a mineral water, but it then becomes clear that a man is being subjected to "waterboarding", which involves partially drowning prisoners by pouring water down their throat and nose.
Hamas to get Israeli responses to ceasefire questions
By Xinhua,
GAZA : Hamas on Sunday will get Israeli responses to questions that the Islamic movement raised concerning efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza Strip.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said officials from the Islamic movement will meet with Egyptian mediators on Sunday to be briefed on the Israeli responses.
Barhoum explained that Hamas was looking for guarantees to get Israeli commitment to the agreement if reached so as to avoid having a shaky ceasefire like the six-month deal in 2008.
Dead Mexican author’s novel to be published
By IANS/EFE,
Madrid : A novel by late Mexican author Carlos Fuentes, in which he invents a dialogue with the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, is to be posthumously published by Alfaguara.
Bush presses Congress to approve trade pact with Colombia
By IANS
Washington : The US Congress must approve the pending free trade pact with Colombia to help that country stand against Latin American "radicals" such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, President George W. Bush has said.
In an address before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Bush urged legislators to begin debating the trade pact when they return from their Easter recess, Spain's EFE news agency reported Thursday.
Nepal again asks Bhutan to take back refugees
By IANS,
Kathmandu : With the 16th summit of South Asian heads of states just over two months away, Nepal Wednesday asked Bhutan to take back the Bhutanese refugees who have been languishing in Nepal for nearly two decades.
Nepal Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal emphasised that the government of Bhutan must allow the refugees to return home as he held a meeting with Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Wangdi Norbu in Kathmandu Wednesday, the prime minister's office said in a statement.
Germany suspends aid talks with China, says Tibetan official
By IANS
Dharamsala : The Tibetan government-in-exile based here Thursday claimed that Germany has openly come out in support of Tibetans and the Tibet cause and has suspended aid talks with China.
"Germany has said it is freezing aid talks with the Chinese government as a result of China's crackdown on demonstrations in Tibet," a senior Tibetan official told reporters.
Israeli field hospital in quake-hit Kathmandu conducts delivery
New Delhi : As part of its quake-relief efforts, Israel has set up its biggest field hospital with 125 personnel and a range of...
Brussels approves French re-financing scheme
By DPA,
Brussels : The European Commission, which is the European Union (EU)'s executive arm, Thursday cleared a French plan for re-financing troubled lenders, describing it as an "appropriate" system for injecting confidence in the country's financial markets.
Liquidity is to be provided by a special 265-billion-euro ($337 billion) fund guaranteed by the state.
The Commission is expected to approve the second part of France's financial rescue package, on recapitalization, some time next week, officials said.
New Mexico senate to open with Hindu prayers
By IANS
New York : The senate of New Mexico, a southern US state, will open with the chanting of Hindu prayers Jan 28.
Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain who made news by reading Hindu prayers in the US senate in July, will read Sanskrit mantras from ancient Hindu scriptures before the senate in Santa Fe.
Zed, a resident of Reno, Nevada, is also scheduled to recite Vedic prayers in the Colorado senate in Denver Jan 29.
Canadian Sikh woman MP in more trouble
By Gurmukh Singh, IANS,
Toronto : Even as embattled Indian-origin Sikh woman MP Ruby Dhalla Thursday demanded a parliamentary probe into charges by two nannies that they were mistreated and underpaid at her home, another caretaker complained she too was underpaid by the family.
A former Miss India-Canada, 35-year-old Dhalla has been the MP for the opposition Liberal Party from the Brampton-Springdale constituency on the outskirt of Toronto since 2004.
Two Filipino nannies have publicly alleged that they were mistreated and underpaid by Dhalla's family.
Greek PM thanks finance minister who quit
Athens : Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras thanked Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on Monday for his "ceaseless efforts" to defend the interests of...
Survivors rescued over 100 hours after China quake
By Xinhua,
Beichuan (China) : Two survivors of the May 12 earthquake that killed more than 28,000 people were rescued after over 100 hours of being trapped underneath rubble of buildings.
A man was rescued at 9.15 a.m. Sunday from a collapsed hospital of Beichuan in southwest China's Sichuan province, 139 hours after the devastating quake.
The survivor, named Tang Xiong, was only slightly bruised and was conscious when he was pulled out, rescuers said. His wife was rescued Thursday.
Perishable items rot as vehicles idle at Nepal-India border
By Mohit Dubey,
Kapilvastu (Nepal) : Fruit, bread and other perishable commodities have begun to go bad as vehicles carrying relief material to quake-hit Nepal...
Toll in Kyrgyz violence rises to 80
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Ethnic violence in south Kyrgyzstan, that swept the region in the last few days, claimed at least 80 lives and left over 1,000 injured, a media report said Sunday.
A round-the-clock curfew has been imposed in south Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz news agency AKIpress reported.
The curfew will be in effect in Osh and the adjacent Kara-Suu and Aravan districts, the agency said, referring to the Kyrgyz interior ministry.
Deadly ethnic riots swept through the country's second-largest city of Osh and another southern city of Jalalabad Friday and Saturday.
Bandaranaike wants to see women in peacekeeping role
By IANS
Brussels : Former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga called for women to play an active role in crisis management and peacekeeping around the globe.
Muslims helping Haiti
By Wajahat Ali
Haiti is experiencing unimaginable suffering from its devastating earthquake, with more than 150,000 dead and one to three million individuals displaced. Individuals, groups and governments from around the world have stepped in to do what they can. United by their religious tradition of charity, Muslims have emerged as effective partners in aid and relief work.
Four shot dead at pizza joint in Honduras
By IANS/EFE,
Tegucigalpa : Gunmen killed four people at a pizzeria in San Pedro Sula, a city in northern Honduras, the National Police said.
China’s local government debts over 10 trillion yuan
By IANS,
Beijing : China announced the size of its local governments' debts for the first time Monday -- it totals 10.72 trillion yuan ($1.66 trillion).
British Navy captures seven pirates in Indian Ocean
By IANS,
London : The British Navy has captured seven suspected Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, the British defence ministry said.
Russia’s NATO envoy to hold consultations in Moscow on Monday
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO, will discuss the future for Russian-NATO cooperation with the country's leadership on Monday, a day later than scheduled.
On Sunday, Rogozin held talks with the leader of Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh. He may also meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Russia's Defense Ministry temporarily suspended military cooperation Thursday with the military alliance ahead of a political decision being made by the Russian government.
Russian construction firm head becomes South Ossetia’s prime minister
By RIA Novosti,
Vladikvkaz (Russia) : The parliament of South Ossetia confirmed Vadim Brovtsev, head of an Urals construction company, as the republic's new prime minister Wednesday.
The former Georgian republic's communications ministry said 40-year-old Brovtsev, head of the Chelyabinsk-based construction firm Vermikulit, was approved by 24 out of 27 deputies in a secret ballot.
His sole candidature was proposed by South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity, the ministry said.
Northrop pulls out of refuelling tanker deal with EADS
By DPA,
Washington/Paris : US firm Northrop Grumman has pulled out of a partnership with Europe's EADS over a disputed $35-billion contract to build aerial refuellers for the US Air Force, the two companies confirmed Monday.
Northrop's departure deals a deathblow to the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co's hopes of getting the lucrative contract to build 179 tanker planes.
EADS, the parent company of European planemaker Airbus, and US aerospace giant Boeing Co have been locked in a bitter feud for years over the deal.
Senior militant killed in Indonesia shootout
By DPA,
Jatiasih (Indonesia) : One of Asia's most-wanted men, Islamic militant Noordin Mohammed Top, was killed after 18 hours of armed standoff with Indonesian anti-terrorism police in Central Java Saturday, local television reported.
Police believe Malaysian-born Noordin was the mastermind behind bomb attacks on two Jakarta luxury hotels last month, which killed nine people including two suicide bombers.
TV One channel, citing police sources at the scene, said Noordin was killed in a raid on a house in a remote village in Temanggung district after a siege that lasted 18 hours.
US Federal Reserve cuts discount rate
By DPA
Washington : The US central bank has cut its lending rate to banks by a quarter of a percentage point, in a dramatic bid to help financial institutions get cash and bolster an economy hit hard by defaults on home mortgages and a tightening credit market.
The Federal Reserve approved the move unanimously in an emergency weekend meeting Sunday, immediately decreasing the so-called discount rate from 3.5 percent to 3.25 percent.
It also announced the creation of a lending facility to make short-term loans to financial institutions.
Kyrgyzstan violence mounts refugee crisis
By DPA,
Osh (Kyrgyzstan)/Moscow : Ethnic Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks clashed again overnight in fighting which included the use of grenades, the interim government said Wednesday, as the estimated refugee crisis in the strife-torn central Asian republic escalated rapidly.
With an official death toll of 179 from nearly a week of intercommunal violence, but suspected to be far higher, the number of civilians fleeing the violence is now put at 275,000.
Armenia to sell national air carrier
By IANS,
Yerevan : The Middle Eastern nation of Armenia Wednesday confirmed reports that its national air carrier Armavia was for sale, according to Xinhua.
24 killed in China bus fire
By Xinhua,
Chengdu (China) : At least 24 people were killed when a bus caught fire Friday morning in the city of Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province, officials said.
The accident took place at 8 a.m. as the bus was on its way from Tianhui township to downtown Chengdu, and caught fire under the Chuanshan viaduct, said Mao Zhiqiong, spokesman with the Chengdu city government.
More than 10 people escaped the burning bus, which caught fire near the city zoo, in north Chengdu.
They survived Nepal’s quake but lost livelihood
By Vishal Gulati,
Ramkot (Nepal) : When 23-year-old Shalendar Lama of this village located in the western valley of Kathmandu found his way out of...
Breast cancer, second major cause of death in Mexico
By NNN-Prensa Latina
Mexico City : The 30th International Congress on Oncology, being held in the Mexican city of Puebla, is aimed at teaching young women the techniques to detect breast cancer.
Jose Luis Gutierrez, head of the Oncology Department at the Hospital of the Autonomous University of Puebla, told Prensa Latina that breast cancer is the second major cause of death among Mexican women.
He noted that an average of ten women die of breast cancer every day in the country, and the main alternative to reduce mortality is detecting the disease in an early stage.
Beijing mayor resigns
By IANS,
Beijing : Beijing's Mayor Guo Jinlong resigned from his post Wednesday following a meeting of the city's municipal congress.
Kim Kardashian wants to be skinny for a day
By IANS,
Los Angeles : Socialite Kim Kardashian says she has accepted her curvy figure, but still wishes to have a supermodel like figure.
Japan must act responsibly on ‘comfort women’: China
Beijing: China has urged Japan to act responsibly after a senior Japanese official announced plans to re-examine a statement offering apologies for Japan's wartime...
Protests mount against fuel price hikes in Indonesia
By DPA,
Jakarta : Hundreds of angry students took to the streets in a number of Indonesian cities for a second day Tuesday to protest against a government plan to raise fuel prices and cut off subsidies.
In the East Java district of Bojonegoro, dozens of university students clashed with police officers. A policeman was injured in the scuffle and two protestors were detained, the state-run Antara news agency reported.
Hurricane Dean pounds heavily, kills seven in Caribbean
By IANS
Miami : Hurricane Dean began dumping heavy rain on Jamaica as it approached the Caribbean island, after the government declared a weather emergency there, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) has said in its storm advisory.
With sustained winds of 230 km per hour, and gusts of much greater strength, Dean was 80 km south of Kingston and moving at 32 km per hour to the west-northwest, the Spanish news agency EFE said.
One man survives, 32 dead in UN plane crash in Congo
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
United Nations : One out of 33 people on board a UN aircraft, which crashed Monday at an airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has survived, a UN press service said.
Obama pledges comprehensive immigration reform
By DPA,
Washington : US President Barack Obama promised Friday to push for a comprehensive reform of US immigration laws, reviving another divisive issue that has confounded past administrations.
Speaking at a prayer breakfast before leaders of the Hispanic community in Washington, Obama said politicians should work to maintain "America's tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants".
"Those things aren't contradictory, they're complementary," he said. "That's why I'm committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform as president of the United States."
Chinese banks granted loans worth $108 bn in December
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Chinese banks granted 740 billion yuan ($108 billion) in loans in December, the biggest monthly figure after 803.6 billion yuan in January 2007, the Shanghai Securities News reported Monday.
This was a result of the country's "moderately easy monetary policy" and central government's incentives to encourage lenders to increase credit supply to boost economic growth, the paper said.
Outstanding loans topped 30 trillion yuan at the end of December, up 19 percent year-on-year, according to the report.
No evidence German bishop sexually abused children
By DPA,
Augsburg (Germany) : There is no proof that embattled German Bishop Walter Mixa sexually abused children, a prosecutor said Friday.
However, new evidence has emerged relating to allegations that he physically beat children in his care in the past.
Mixa, 69, who was Bishop of Augsburg, tended his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI last month, after admitting to having slapped teenagers in the face while he was a parish priest 20 to 30 years ago.
He is also under investigation for having embezzled orphanage funds.
Drinking water scarcity in UK as floods wreak havoc
By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
London : Normal life has been thrown out of gear in large parts of England and Wales as torrential rains in the last week has flooded homes, business establishments, roads and railway tracks, causing an estimated damage of over two billion pounds.
Southern Britain has been deluged by some of the heaviest rainfall in living memory as areas received up to one sixth of their entire annual rainfall in less than 24 hours.
Indian American is new foreign editor at Wall Street Journal
By IANS,
New York : An Indian American, Nikhil Deogun, has been promoted as international editor of the Wall Street Journal, one of three editors reporting directly to the managing editor in a new shake up.
The Kolkata bred Doon School product is currently editor of the Money & Investing section of the financial daily. He will take charge of the global network of bureaus and correspondents from July 7.
UAE railway network to begin operation in 2013
By IANS
Abu Dhabi : A railway network connecting all states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will start operating from the year 2013, according to media reports Wednesday.
Construction work of the first phase of the 800 km passenger and cargo rail network is expected to begin early next year, the WAM news agency said.The network - which will carry containers, dry bulk, cement, sand, rock, aggregates and petrochemical products - will ease road traffic congestion.
Greek prime minister to arrive in Moscow on official visit
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis will arrive in Moscow on Monday on a two-day visit for talks expected to focus on energy cooperation and an arms deal.
On Wednesday the premier will meet with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
A Greek government spokesman told a press briefing in Athens that the meeting with Putin would address "a broad range of bilateral issues, with a focus on the energy sector."
At least 54 killed in Kenya’s post-poll violence
By DPA
Nairobi : At least 54 people were killed as violence continued to rock Kenya a day after President Mwai Kibaki was returned to power in closely contested elections that have inflamed ethnic tensions.
Houses belonging to Kikuyus, Kibaki's tribe, were burned around the country, with parts of some slums flattened and stores looted by angry supporters of the Luo tribe of defeated presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
Riot police lobbed tear-gas shells and fired shots into the air Monday to disperse disgruntled mobs.
Fair trial for human rights violations in Cote d’Ivoire: UN
By IANS,
Geneva : The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights office has demanded a fair trial for all perpetrators of violence on both sides of the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire.
Russia, S.Korea meet for talks on N.Korea nuclear issue
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Russian and South Korean chief representatives at the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament met in Moscow on Thursday to coordinate their negotiating positions.
Opening the meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin told his South Korean counterpart Kim Sook: "We are now at an important stage in the six-party process - near the end of the second phase of the Korean peninsula's denuclearization. There is a range of issues that need to be discussed in order to coordinate our positions."
Brazil’s economy safe, says president
By Xinhua,
Rio de Janeiro : The Brazilian economy is cushioned against any possible adverse impact of the global financial meltdown, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said.
During a meeting of the Social and Economic Development Council (CDES) Thursday, Lula said the crisis was caused by "the financial system which dares to sell what it does not have", warning that "either the market changes or other crisis will come".
Lula said the worst moment of the crisis had passed, and expressed his hope that US president-elect Barack Obama will act quickly to fight its impacts.
New York Governor Spitzer resigns over sex scandal
By DPA
Washington : New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer announced Wednesday that he was resigning after federal investigators linked him to a prostitution ring.
"There is much more to be done and I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt my public work," Spitzer said.
"For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor," Spitzer said in a press conference in New York.
Spitzer's resignation will be effective Monday and he will be replaced by Lieutenant Governor David Paterson.
White House spokesman departs on day of change in Egypt
By DPA,
Washington: US President Barack Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs held his final White House briefing after more than two years on the job.
Authorities in Chad must act to prevent extrajudicial executions
By KUNA
London : The Chadian government must take urgent action to prevent extrajudicial killings in the aftermath of clashes between rebel and government forces earlier this week, Amnesty International said Friday.
The human rights group is alarmed at reports it has received of the extrajudicial execution of civilians by armed men, allegedly belonging to the Chadian army, it said in a press release here.
Sobhraj to seek review of murder conviction
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Charles Sobhraj is seeking a review of the Nepal Supreme Court decision convicting him of the murder of an American tourist and upholding his life sentence.
The 66-year-old's lawyer in Nepal, Shakuntala Thapa, told IANS she would be meeting him in Kathmandu's Central Prison Tuesday, where he is serving a 21-year jail term, to discuss the application for a review.
Cyclone kills eight in Vanuatu
Suva : At least eight people were killed in Vanuatu due to cyclone, an official said on Sunday.
Aurelia Balpe, Fiji-based head of delegation for...
Britain confirms presence of bute in horses
By IANS,
London: Britain confirmed Thursday the presence of a drug -- phenylbutazone (bute) -- in horses slaughtered in the country may have entered the food chain.
Latvian woman to meet son 16 years after he was stolen from her
By RIA Novosti
Riga : A woman from Latvia is to be reunited with her son 16 years after he was snatched from her as an infant, local officials have said.
The story began when a 16-year-old boy was found in the Latvian city of Daugavpils lacking any form of ID. The boy's 'foster' mother had recently been sentenced to serve time in prison, and during the process of determining his next foster parents, it came to light that the boy had no documents whatsoever and his origins were entirely unknown.
Bangladesh among top five disaster-prone countries
By IANS,
Dhaka: Bangladesh has been named the fifth in the list of 173 countries that are most prone to natural disasters, according to a report.
No change in Nepal Maoists’ status for now: US
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The United States says there is no change in the status of Nepal's Maoist party even as the once underground party is poised to lead the new government after its victory in the elections last month.
"I don't think there's any change - there's no change in their status," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Tuesday when asked if the Communist Party of Nepal Maoist (CPN-Maoist) would now be removed from the terrorist list.
US deploys underwater drones to hunt for Iranian mines
By IANS,
London: The US is to intensify its military build up in the Persian Gulf by deploying miniature underwater drones to hunt for Iranian mines, The Telegraph reported Thursday.
Houston leads US list in number of burglaries
By IANS,
Washington: Houston, the fourth-largest city in the US, has topped a list of places that saw the maximum number of burglaries in the country, Xinhua reported.
Children eyewitness to family violence
By IANS,
Washington : More than one out of four children have been exposed to physical violence between their parents at some time, say US researchers.
Russia agrees to return WWII stained glass panels to Germany
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : The Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, approved on Friday a federal law to return six stained glass windows, seized by Soviet troops during WWII, to a church in Germany.
The document will be signed later by the Russian president.
The chairman of the culture committee, Alexander Dzasokhov, said: "The stained glass windows are unique, and have importance for history, art and science."
The senator added that Germany will cover the costs for transportation, security and authentication of the glass panels.
‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Gustav heads to US Gulf coast
By DPA,
Havana/Washington : Gustav strengthened into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane as it ripped through Cuba and was on course to crash into the US Gulf coast, three years after Hurricane Katrina.
Maximum sustained winds increased to 240 km per hour Saturday, the Miami-based US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said, and warned that Gustav "is an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale."
Thousands protest against French education reforms
By IANS,
Paris : Thousands of students and teachers took to the streets here Friday to protest against French President Nicolas Sarkozy's education reforms, Xinhua reported.
Demonstrations were also held in major cities like Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and Nice after eight major teachers' unions called for a countrywide protest.
Police said about 1,000 people participated in the demonstrations in Paris, but according to educational unions around 10,000 protesters took part.
Teachers from colleges, vocational and secondary schools participated.
Michelle Obama: Balancing social graces and family
(US Election 2012: The consorts)
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
China puts its latest fighter jet on display
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China's most advanced multi-role fighter jet Jian-10 has been placed on public display for the first time more than a year and a half after it entered service.
The aircraft was shown at a ceremony organised by the China Aviation Industry Corporation I (CAICI) Wednesday, according to Huanqiu website.
The single-engine, single-seat fighter aircraft has been developed jointly by the CAICI and Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute (CADI) and entered service in December 2006.
Chinese firms to make SIMs for iPhone 5
By IANS,
Beijing: Mobile phone companies in China plan to make smaller SIM cards for use in Apple iPhone 5, a media report said Saturday.
US offers $5 mn bounty for Uganda warlord
By IANS,
Washington: The US has announced a $5-million bounty for Joseph Kony, head of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel outfit.
Changes in immigration rules ‘unfair’: British MPs’ panel
By IANS
London : In a major development, Britain's parliamentary joint human rights committee Thursday termed the changes to immigration rules that adversely affected thousands of Indian origin professionals and others as "unfair and unlawful".
In a report released Thursday morning, the committee said professionals under the High Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP) would face deportation due to the retrospective changes that came into effect in November 2006.
Boost development to enhance women’s role in preventing conflicts: India
By Arul Louis
United Nations : Drawing attention to the challenges posed by women's under-representation in roles for preventing and ending conflicts, India has said...
Ann Romney: From homemaker to aspiring First Lady
(US Election 2012: The consorts)
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Coal mine blast kills 7 in Vietnam
By SPA,
Hanoi, Vietnam : A blast Monday at a coal mine in northern Vietnam killed at least seven workers and injured 15, a company executive was quoted as saying by Associated Press.
Rescue workers pulled their bodies from a 750-foot-deep (230-meter-deep) tunnel in Quang Ninh province and were still searching for another victim following the methane
explosion early Monday morning, said Nguyen Van Thuan of the Khe Cham Coal company.
Fifteen miners were being treated for burns, while 103 others escaped unhurt, he said.
Authorities believe the miners died from severe burns.
Election panel debars Kasyanov from Russian presidential poll
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) Sunday officially barred Kremlin opponent Mikhail Kasyanov from the presidential elections scheduled for March 2.
After examining signatures in favour of former premier Kasyanov's candidacy for the presidential race, the Central Election Commission invalidated 13.38 percent of them, well over the five percent limit beyond which a candidate's registration is denied.
Under Russian law, a presidential candidate has to collect at least two million signatures in his or her support.
First Iraq-UK passenger flight in 20 years arrives in London
By IRNA,
London : An Iraqi Airways flight has landed at London Gatwick airport, the first commercial between the two countries for 20 years.
Flight IA237, which was reported to have stopped en route in Malmo, Sweden, for unspecified security checks, finally touched down late Sunday night.
It was nearly a year behind the original schedule and due to take off from Baghdad nine days ago, but was grounded by the volcanic ash cloud drifting over Europe.
Coaching oldies set the pace in the Bundesliga
By DPA,
Hamburg: Three coaches who are all European Cup or Champions League winners and who have almost a dozen league titles to their names are leading the way in the German Bundesliga at the half-way stage.
Leaders Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04 and Bayer Munich are perhaps proof that there is no substitute for experience - and there are few coaches in Europe with more domestic titles to their names than Jupp Heynckes, Felix Magath and Louis van Gaal.
Indian-origin woman killed self over failed marriage
By IANS,
London : A 24-year-old Indian-origin woman, who tried to keep her failed marriage alive for her family's sake, burned herself to death in Britain, a court was told.
Harsimrat Kaur Bains came from India to marry Dalvinder Bains, 30, in 2007 but soon afterwards began complaining of domestic abuse.
After months of alleged abuse, Harsimrat doused her body in petrol and set herself on fire in the couple's home in Leicester in April 2008, the Daily Mail reported.
Coroner Donald Coutts-Wood at the inquest at Leicester Town Hall recorded a verdict of suicide.
China celebrates 115th birth anniversary of Mao
Shaoshan (China), Dec 26 (Xinhua) China Friday marked the 115th birth anniversary of its revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
Thousands of people gathered at the square near Mao's birth place Shaoshan village after midnight to cherish the memory of the "Great Helmsman" who led the nation to found New China in 1949 and served as top leader until he died in 1976.
People paid tribute in front of Mao's 10.1-meter-tall bronze statue -- many presented bouquets and some brought birthday cakes. Most people hummed along as "The East is Red", a song in tribute of Mao, was being played.
Spain to extradite suspect in Russian governor’s murder
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Spain will soon extradite a suspect in the 2002 murder of Valentin Tsvetkov, former governor of Russia's Far East region of Magadan, top prosecutors said on Thursday.
"Spanish authorities honored in December 2007 the request of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office for the extradition of Martin Babakekhyan, accused of involvement in the murder of the Magadan Region's governor," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement on its website.