Spanish PSOE Ahead in Electoral Polls
By Prensa Latina
Madrid : Spain´s Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) will win the elections of March 9 by a difference of between 4 and 6 points over the Popular Party (PP) according to two surveys published in Madrid Sunday.
Spanish radio and TV network SER said PSOE increased their edge in electoral polls to six points, and should be the winners with 44 percent of the votes, by 38 percent obtained by PP.
SER said PSOE had a margin of 5.5 points (44 against 38.5) over PP in a sample published Saturday.
New gas field found in Turkmenistan
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Ashgabat : A new natural gas field has been discovered in Turkmenistan, state TV reported.
Stem cells for curing blindness ready for tests
By IANS,
London: A revolutionary technique that could restore sight to the blind and prevent others from losing theirs is to be tested on people for the first time.
New Zealand’s new government sworn in
By DPA,
Wellington : New Zealand's new government was sworn in Wednesday, officially clearing the way for Prime Minister John Key to attend this week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting in Peru.
Key, whose conservative National Party has formed a centre-right administration after signing power-sharing agreements with three other parties in parliament, will leave Thursday for Lima.
Sweden drops warrant for Wikileaks founder over rape claim
By DPA,
Stockholm : Judicial authorities in Sweden said Saturday they have withdrawn an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over allegations of rape.
The warrant was issued Friday evening after two women went to police, following a visit by the 39-year-old Australian information activist to Sweden a week ago.
"As far as I am concerned there are no longer any grounds to suspect that he committed rape," judicial affairs spokeswoman Eva Finne said.
Chocolate’s grandfather would have sent you high
By IANS
New York : The ancients discovered cacao -- the source of cocoa and chocolate -- much earlier than believed. And they first used it to brew alcoholic beverages, a new study has found.
Recent chemical analyses of residues on pottery excavated at Puerto Escondido in Honduras suggests that the cacao seed was first used somewhere between 1400 and 1100 BC, Sciencedaily.com reported.
Plane with six people goes missing in Mexico
By IANS/EFE,
Veracruz (Mexico) : A small plane with six people onboard disappeared after taking off from a Mexican airport, officials said.
Sarkozy couple reach new heights, as stars of comic books
By DPA,
Paris : French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni became stars of France's comic book scene last year.
The cover of the recently published book, "Carla and Carlito", depicts the French first lady carrying an image of Sarkozy in a baby sling.
It has sold 100,000 copies and demand continues, the newspaper Le Parisien reported in late December. The book depicts Bruni as the real power in the Elysee Palace and reveals that her control over him is so strong that the staff refer to him as Carlito or little Carla.
Extremely shy? You need therapy
By IANS,
Sydney : Extreme shyness can hold people back in social situations, prevent them from meeting other people or even going on a date. Such people need cognitive behaviour therapy, say researchers.
While just about all of us would admit to being shy from time to time in social situations, about one in 20 people suffer from an extreme form of shyness known as social phobia.
Current treatments including cognitive therapy and the common-sense system of teaching people practical skills to manage their fears, can achieve good results.
Nearly 200 missing in ferry accident in eastern Indonesia
By Xinhua,
Jakarta : Sailors rescued 18 survivors after a ferry with over 200 people on board sank in the waters off South Sulawesi province in eastern Indonesia on Sunday morning, head of the provincial rescuer team Wahyudi Suparman said.
The ferry sank at 04:00 a.m. on Sunday (2000 GMT Saturday) in West Sulawesi waters, said local police officer Suyatno quoted by leading website tempointeraktif.com.
Commonwealth leaders reach consensus on climate change
By Paras Ramoutar, IANS,
Port of Spain : Ahead of the conference on climate change in Copenhagen in December, a team of leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here said that a consensus has been reached on the issue.
The document titled, "The Port of Spain Climate Change Consensus: The Commonwealth Climate Change Declaration" was unfolded before the media Saturday at the International Financial Centre here.
ASEAN FMs Analyze Organization’s Charter
By Prensa Latina,
Singapore : One of the key issues in the Charter of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is that it creates a dispute-settlement mechanism for apolitical agreements, an official source said here on Monday.
The director of the ASEAN Research Center, Rodolfo Severino, told reporters in Singapore that the association has a dispute-settlement mechanism for economic agreements, but it lacks a similar instrument in other sectors.
US Air Force launches secretive space plane
By DPA,
Washington : A secretive unmanned US Air Force "space plane" was launched Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
IMRC provides blankets and warm clothes to 1,200 families in north India
By TCN News
Bihar: Following a sharp dip in temperature, Indian Muslim Relief & Charities (IMRC) , a US-based relief organisation,...
Ukraine violence toll now 35
By IANS,
Kiev : At least seven people were killed in clashes in Ukraine Thursday, bringing the toll of the three-day violence to 35, the...
Childhood in Africa has many faces
By DPA,
Nairobi : Simon is eight years old and lives in Kibera, Nairobi's biggest slum. These days he is proudly wearing a football shirt, a charitable donation. His mother, a laundry worker, earns less than one euro a day and could never afford to kit-out her six children with football jerseys.
Besides his football shirt, Simon is proud of his achievements in school. Like many children and teenagers from the shanty towns, he is hoping to be awarded a scholarship for secondary school.
"I want to become a doctor", Simon says. "Then I can buy a nice house for my mother."
EU welcomes democratic elections in the Maldives
By EuAsiaNews,
Brussels : The Europen Union has welcomed the holding of the first democratic multi-party parliamentary elections in the Republic of Maldives on 9 May.
"The election, which took place following the adoption of a new Constitution in August 2008, was a further step in the democratic reform process," said the EU Presidency held currently by the Czech Republic.
It congratulated the people of the Maldives for the generally peaceful atmosphere in which polling was conducted.
Russian firm says Baku not requested info on Iran NPP cargo
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A Russian company building a nuclear power plant in Iran said Tuesday it had not received any official request for information from Azerbaijan about a shipment seized on the Azerbaijani-Iranian border.
Atomstroyexport confirmed reports on Monday that Azerbaijani border officials had stopped equipment en route from Russia to the Bushehr nuclear power plant from crossing into Iran several weeks ago.
UN chief hails peacekeepers’ release in Golan Heights
By IANS,
United Nations: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the release of four Filipino peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights last week.
Myanmar tightens the noose on dissent
By DPA
Yangon : Myanmar's ruling junta Sunday accused democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party of being behind recent protests against fuel price hikes and warned that it will brook no more dissent in the country.
The junta's warnings, made in two announcements publicized in the state-run media Sunday, coincided with still unconfirmed reports of countrywide arrests of National League for Democracy (NLD) members and torture of prisoners who participated in recent protests against the military.
South Africa marks International Human Rights Day
Cape Town : South Africans on Monday marked the International Human Rights Day, with President Jacob Zuma calling for the fight against rising racism,...
Asean summit likely to be delayed: Singapore minister
By DPA,
Singapore : The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit may have to be rescheduled from the Feb 24-26 date set in Jakarta last week, The Sunday Times reported, citing Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo.
"I thought we had settled it in Jakarta a few days ago, but now I'm told that there are some leaders who can't make it," Yeo was quoted as saying.
Lib Dems urged to clarify government deal on nuclear weapons
By IRNA,
London : The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has called on the Liberal Democrats to clarify their coalition agreement with the Conservatives with regard to the replacement of the UK’s Trident nuclear missiles.
“Many of their voters will be concerned and will want to know whether and how they will continue to scrutinise the process and make a case for non-replacement and disarmament,” said CND chair Kate Hudson.
4 Indian workers in US hospitalised; continue hunger strike
By IANS,
Washington : A group of Indian workers seeking action against a US company for alleged exploitation have vowed to continue their hunger strike outside the Indian embassy here even after four of them were hospitalised.
The workers, who have been on a water-only hunger strike for 11 days, are also demanding that they be allowed to stay in the US till an inquiry against their former employers, Signal International, is completed.
Oprah Winfrey brings curtain down on her talk show
By IANS,
London : The Oprah Winfrey Talk Show will come to an end in 2011 after more than two decades on air, BBC reported Friday.
From her early career as Nashville's first African-American TV correspondent to global superstar, Oprah Winfrey has well and truly conquered the US.
Since her TV career began back in 1973, 55-year-old Winfrey and her talk show have won more than 40 Emmys.
The emotionally-charged, self-help nature of the show draws viewers from around the world and remains the US highest-rated talk show - though audiences have slumped in recent years.
British paper traces grandmother of lost Sikh boy
By IANS
London : A British newspaper said Sunday it has established the parentage of a nine-year-old Sikh boy found abandoned in London recently.
The Mail on Sunday said its investigations showed the child, Gurinderjit Singh, comes from a family in Jalalpur in the state of Punjab.
The child, who does not speak English, turned up at a health clinic in the London suburb of Southall last month saying he had been dumped at a bus stop by a "white uncle" with whom he had lived for three years.
Seven arrested in anti-terrorism raid in Britain
By IANS,
London : Seven people, including a woman, were arrested as part of a pre-planned counter-terrorism raid in Britain's Birmingham city, police said Monday.
Terrorist’s selfie helps US bomb IS headquarters in Syria
New York: Selfies are not for everyone - not for terrorists for sure. An Islamic State (IS) terrorist took a selfie with the ISIS...
North China expressway accident kills 35
By IANS,
Tianjin : An expressway accident in this north China port city has killed 35 and left 19 injured, police said.
Eight killed in Canada bus-truck collision
By Xinhua
Ottawa : Seven high school students and a teacher were killed when their bus collided with a truck in Canada's eastern New Brunswick province, media reports said.
The accident took place just after midnight when the students were returning from a basketball game to their native city of Bathurst.
The driver of the bus lost control and collided head-on with a truck just outside the city, the reports quoted police officials as saying Saturday.
Russian fleet reaches Venezuela for joint manoeuvres
By IANS,
La Guaira (Venezuela) : A Russian naval squadron docked at this port near Caracas to start joint manoeuvres with the Venezuelan navy in the Caribbean, EFE reported Wednesday.
The fleet, which included the heavy nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter, The Great), the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko, a tanker and a tugboat arrived at a naval dock in La Guaira, some 30 km north of Caracas.
The Chabanenko and the two support vessels entered the port and shot off a 21-gun salute to its Venezuelan hosts, who responded with an equal number of welcoming salvos.
China allocates $167 mn more for disaster relief
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China's Ministry of Finance Friday set aside another 1.17 billion yuan ($167 million) for disaster relief work in the wake of Monday's massive earthquake in the country.
According to officials, at least 19,000 people were killed in the southwestern province of Sichuan alone in the quake.
The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, jolted the province Monday, killing and wounding thousands of people in the aftermath.
China has allocated so far around 3.41 billion yuan, including the latest amount, for the disaster relief work.
165,000 people evacuated due to heavy rain in China
By IANS,
Beijing : Over 165,000 people have been evacuated after heavy rain in southern China destroyed more than 11,500 homes, officials said.
Heavy rains since Friday have swept across 36 counties and cities in Hunan province, destroying over 2,000 buildings and damaging more than 10,000 homes. This forced over 120,000 people to evacuate from the area. There were, however, no reports of any casualties, a spokesman of the provincial civil affairs department, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Sydney Muslims counter mainstream media with TV studio
Sydney : Members of Sydney's Muslim community have set up a new television studio to counter the mainstream media's treatment of Islam in Australia,...
Gas leaks kill 50 Britons a year
By IANS,
London : Carbon monoxide gas leak from faulty appliances killed 50 Britons in the past year, a government report said.
Around 20 pilgrims seek asylum in Australia
By Xinhua,
Canberra : Around 20 World Youth Day pilgrims have applied for asylum in Australia once their three-month visa expires, a support group says.
That number has not surprised the Asylum Seeker Center of New South Wales which is handling the applications.
"At this stage we've had about 20 people present to us as identified pilgrims, indicating that they're needing to seek protection in Australia," center director Tamara Domicelj told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
Spectacular flying display heralds Berlin air show
By D. Balaji,IANS,
Berlin : Breathtaking flying display by fighter jets with daring manoeuvres by veteran test pilots and stunning feats by aerobatics pilots in various formations marked the inaugural of the 100th Berlin air show (ILA 2010) Tuesday at Schonefeld airport on the outskirts of the German capital.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel flagged off the six-day international trade fair, where about 1,150 exhibitors from 50 countries are showcasing their products, services and technologies.
Firefighters rescue puppy using vacuum cleaner
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : A puppy was rescued from an abandoned well in the US state of Pennsylvania with the help of a vacuum cleaner, media said Tuesday.
The Shih Tzu puppy named Romeo fell into the well in Plum Borough over the weekend, wpxi.com reported.
Firefighters had spent three hours trying to get the dog out of a pipe witout result.
"Eventually, we hooked up an industrial-strength vacuum and sized it down to about one inch. We caught on to one of the dog's legs and got it out. It was a miracle," assistant fire chief Jim Scuffle was quoted as saying.
Asian in Britain? You can be a spy
By IANS,
London : Britain’s secret service wants more black and Asian spies. But wannabe 007s needn’t apply.
The head of recruitment at MI6, Britain’s external spying agency, says the service needs to be "more flexible, more adaptable", after years of a "rather comfortable cold war existence," the Guardian newspaper reported Thursday.
The man was identified only as John.
MI6 has placed adverts in publications aimed at ethnic minorities for several years, but broke with tradition Wednesday by inviting black and Asian people to meet with serving intelligence officers.
Nine killed in Mexico bus accident
By IANS,
Mexico City : Nine people were killed and 25 injured Saturday when the bus in which they were travelling collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction in Mexico's Tlaxcala state, Spain's EFE reported.
There were 30 people on board the bus at the time of the accident in Calpulalpan town, Civil Protection officials said.
A massive fire that broke out after the crash burnt the bodies, officials said. The injured were rushed to a hospital in Calpulalpan.
Currently, the accident is being investigated.
Women celebrate US Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights
Washington : Thousands of women celebrated the verdict of the US Supreme Court against a controversial Texas abortion law as the greatest victory in...
Cambodia says Thai troops have retreated
By SPA,
Phnom Pehn, Cambodia : A Cambodian army official says Thai troops have retreated from a disputed border zone ahead of a noon deadline issued by Cambodia's prime minister, Associated Press reported.
Cambodian army commander Brig. Gen. Yim Pin says all Thai troops have retreated and are about half a mile (1 kilometer) from the contested territory.
Yim Pin told the Associated Press that the tense situation has now eased.
Earlier Tuesday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen warned Thailand to withdraw troops from the area by noon or face unspecified consequences.
Voting begins in Indonesia’s presidential election
By DPA,
Jayapura (Indonesia) : Indonesians begin voting Wednesday in only the second direct presidential elections in the country's history, with incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is widely expected to win a second five-year term.
Voting commenced at 7 a.m. in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province, in the sprawling archipelago of more than 17,000 islands spanning three different time zones.
More than 176 million of the country's population of more than 230 million are eligible to vote at 450,000 polling stations.
Gunman kills six people in Bosnia village-police
By SPA,
Sarajevo : A man shot and killed six people in a village near the northern Bosnian town of Tuzla on Thursday, three died in their homes and three were gunned down aboard a bus, police and witnesses at the scene said, according to Reuters.
One other person was wounded in the early-morning incident in the village of Gornja Lipnica, and was taken to hospital.
Initial reports said the gunman was a 45-year old from the local area, but there were no other details on his identity or motives.
Alex Reid admits making mistakes
By IANS,
London: Cage fighter Alex Reid admits he has made "bad mistakes" throughout his relationship with fiancee Chantelle Houghton.
Vietnam Communists Visit Cuba
By Prensa Latina,
Havana : A mission of Vietnam’s Communist Party Central Committee, led by Foreign Affair Commission President Tran Van Hang, visits Havana invited by the Cuban Communist Party (PCC).
Among others, the visitors already met Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, member of the PCC Central Committee Bureau, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, and Cabinet Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz.
Also present at the talks were Oscar Martinez Cordoves, vice chief of the PCC Foreign Office, while the visiting mission is accompanied by Vietnam Ambassador to Cuba Vu Chi Cong.
President oversees quake relief in Shaanxi
By Xinhua,
Hanzhong, Shaanxi : President Hu Jintao on Saturday morning arrived in northwest China's Shaanxi Province to oversee quake relief operations.
After nearly two hours of flight from Beijing, Hu arrived in Hanzhong City, one of the worst-hit areas in Shaanxi during the devastating earthquake on May 12.
Nepal’s Last King Moves To Forest Resort From Royal Palace
By Bernama,
Kathmandu : Nepal's deposed king Gyanendra's new residence -- a forest retreat -- is a humble abode compared to the sprawling and luxurious Narayanhiti royal palace in central Kathmandu, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
The Nagarjuna palace, located seven kms west of the capital, has a centrally-located two-storied bungalow called 'Hemanta Bas', with two bedrooms, a dressing room and a meeting hall called 'Hemanta Baithak' on the ground floor.
Russia Warns of Kosovo Effects
By Prensa Latina
Moscow : Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday any decision over the Kosovo issue could set a precedent for the international community, and must be based on an agreement between Belgrade and Pristine.
Putin told press in Bulgaria his country's stance over the future status of Kosovo is very clear, and added that the basis of a united Europe must be in line with the international law principles.
"If we act that way," the president stated, "we will find joint solutions to the most complex regional problems, including that of Kosovo."
Pinkett-Smith fine with husband’s women fans
By IANS,
London : Actress Jada Pinkett-Smith is fine with the fact that other women lust after husband actor Will Smith.
Thesun.co.uk reports that she has been married to Smith for 11 years now and has never been jealous of his female fans. She says: "I wouldn't want him if they didn't! "That's the whole point - to be married to one of the most wanted men in the world. Absolutely!"
Pinkett-Smith more recently has played a hippo in an animated film and also the lesbian author Alex Fisher in "The Women". She loves the controversy and also wishes her love scenes were more explicit.
Obama’s star power fading as healthcare tempers flare
By Chris Cermak, DPA,
Washington : The prospects for President Barack Obama's signature domestic issue, overhauling a costly US healthcare system, have taken a dangerous and nasty turn this month.
Lawmakers are spending August outside of Washington, criss-crossing their home states and districts. The spectacle of senators being shouted down by angry opponents at townhall meetings has become regular fodder for television news channels.
Climate change to torch Australia’s farms, says report
By DPA
Sydney : Climate change will lop 10 percent off Australia's agricultural production within 25 years, a government report predicted Friday.
By 2050, output could be down by 19 percent, the survey by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Statistics found.
Australia - currently a leading exporter of wheat, beef, sugar and dairy products - could see its economy slump as its farmland gets hotter and drier and production declines.
10 killed in Ghana plane crash
By IANS,
Accra : A cargo plane crashed into a minibus near the international airport in Accra Saturday, killing at least 10 people, authorities said.
Bulgarian cargo ship sinks in Sea of Azov, at least 4 dead
By RIA Novosti
Rostov-On-Don : At least four people died and one was rescued from board of a Bulgarian dry cargo ship, which sank in the Sea of Azov on the border between Russia and Ukraine, local rescue service said Thursday.
The Bulgarian ship, Vanessa, carrying a cargo of iron, with 11 crew members, of whom 10 are Bulgarian citizens and one a citizen of Ukraine, sank at 6.00 a.m. Moscow time (3 a.m. GMT) in the Sea of Azov, about 30 miles away from the Kerch Strait.
Japan against joining U.S. global missile shield – Baluyevsky
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Japan will not join the U.S. global missile defense network in the near future despite close cooperation with the U.S. on boosting its own missile defenses, Russia's chief of the General Staff said Friday.
"Japan is not planning to integrate its national missile shield into the U.S. global missile network," Gen. Yury Baluyevsky said after talks with his Japanese counterpart Adm. Takashi Saito in Moscow.
Quake rebuilding effort allocated 70 bln yuan
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Premier Wen Jiabao announced here on Wednesday the central government will allocate 70 billion yuan (10.14 billion U.S. dollars) this year for a reconstruction fund for the quake-hit regions.
He also pledged to arrange funds for the reconstruction over the next two years. He admitted the devastating earthquake had caused huge losses in quake-hit regions and said reconstruction would be an arduous task.
He called for the organization of a special group to draw up a reconstruction plan as soon as possible.
Obama meets Bush, tours new home
By DPA,
Washington : US President-elect Barack Obama Monday met with the man whose role he will fill in January, as he and wife Michelle came to the White House for talks with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
The two men shook hands, while their wives exchanged a quick hug, before posing for pictures outside the executive mansion.
Bush then guided Obama to the Oval Office for private talks that lasted more than an hour and that Bush described as "good, constructive, relaxed and friendly," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Ex-servicemen build tallest model rail track
By IANS,
London : Former British servicemen have built the tallest model railway track in the world at the St Pancras station here.
At 10-feet tall, the train track is already attracting much interest from passengers since it was unveiled Wednesday, reports telegraph.co.uk.
The project was sponsored by Royal British Legion Industries, a charity that helps put ex-servicemen back in work, after they were approached by toy manufacturers Tomica, a Japanese company.
Shanghai to redevelop its first airport
By IANS,
Shanghai : Shanghai will rebuild its first airport and turn it into a heliport that will be used by over 4,000 helicopters annually by 2020, a media report said Thursday.
Pregnancy stress can affect baby’s iron status: Study
By IANS,
Washington: Newborns, whose mothers experience stress during the first trimester of pregnancy, may end up with a low iron content and poor health later, says a new study.
Strong quake hits Indonesia
By Xinhua
Jakarta : An earthquake with magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale hit western part of Indonesia on Wednesday, but there was no tsunami warning, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said here.
The quake struck at 22:43 Jakarta time (1543 GMT) with epicentre at 149 km of southwest Painan town of West Sumatra province and at 70 km under sea-bed, an official of the agency, Ali Imron, told Xinhua.
Fonseka supporter killed in Sri Lanka
By DPA,
Colombo : A female supporter of the former army commander who is standing for president was shot dead by political rivals in southern Sri Lanka Tuesday, police said.
A bus carrying supporters of General Sarath Fonseka in Ranna, Tangalle town, 220 km south of the capital, was sprayed with gunfire, injuring at least 10 people, police said.
The victims claimed that supporters of the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) were involved in the attack, police said.
China’s manufacturing activity slows
By IANS,
Beijing: China's manufacturing activity further slid in August with the purchasing managers index (PMI) standing at 49.2 percent, the lowest pace in nine months.
Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant lead All-Star game voting
By DPA,
Los Angeles : Holiday shoppers stuffing Christmas stockings found time to fill ballot boxes for top basketball players Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant.
Howard, the Orlando Magic centre, and reigning league Most Valuable Player Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers top the Eastern Conference and Western Conference, respectively, in the latest NBA All-Star voting results released Thursday.
Struggling Sri Lankan airline gets fresh lease of life
By IANS,
Colombo : Sri Lanka's state-owned budget airline, reeling under a colossal financial loss, is set to get a new lease of life with the government planning to procure six aircraft from China early next year.
According to media reports, Sri Lanka's Minister of Ports and Aviation, Chamal Rajapaksa, said in parliament Tuesday that the budget airline, Mihin Lanka, was launched with good intentions, "but (that) it ended up in disaster" due to mismanagement.
Racial divide over Obama’s stupidity comment
By IANS,
Washington : White and black Americans don't see eye to eye on last month's arrest of a black Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates by a white police officer, according to a new poll.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Tuesday, also suggests a racial divide over President Barack Obama's initial comments on the incident.
Rs.50 mn package for South Asia’s largest river island
By IANS,
Majuli (Assam): The central government Tuesday announced a Rs.50- million financial package to save from extinction Assam's Majuli, the largest river island in South Asia, large swathes of which are being eroded by annual floods in the Brahmaputra.
"The special financial grant is for a period of five years, effective from this year, and aimed at protecting and conserving the rich and unique cultural heritage of Majuli, besides the eco-system, threatened by the annual floods and heavy erosion," Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters.
Britain to protect Asian traders in fight against recession
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : Asian traders who generate billions of pounds of business are key to seeing Britain through the current financial crisis and will be protected from racist elements and criminals, a senior British Minister has pledged.
“The services you provide are both essential to our local communities as well as a source of strength to our national economy,” Business and Enterprise Minister Lord Peter Mandelson said.
China urges employers to make Friday half day
Shanghai: China is urging employers, including government agencies, to give their staff Friday afternoons off during the summer months in a bid to boost...
Obama pokes fun at Facebook founder
By IANS,
Washington : President Barack Obama has joked that he was very proud he got Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to wear a jacket and tie.
Nuclear conference adopts disarmament measures
By DPA,
New York : The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference adopted Friday a declaration upholding principles of disarmament and calling for an international conference in 2012 with the aim to establish a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East.
The 189 NPT parties also decided to address North Korea in its final declaration, calling on that country to return to negotiations to settle the dispute over its nuclear activities.
The 28-page declaration was adopted by consensus, closing a month of debate that began May 3. It contains a 22-point action plan.
Swine flu threatens prospects of global economic recovery
By IANS,
Washington : The outbreak and spread of swine flu has come at a time when the global economy is trying to come out of the worst downturn since World War II and has threatened chances of an early recovery, especially in the US.
In recent weeks, economic data suggested a bottoming-out of the global financial crisis, but economists Monday were forced to consider worst-case scenarios in which the recession could become two or three times as painful, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
S. Korea sends in troops to destroy bird flu-infected flocks
By KUNA,
Tokyo : The South Korean government has decided to send in additional soldiers to help destroy tens of thousands of fowl infected with the deadly avian influenza, better known as bird flu, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday, citing an official from the Ministry of National Defense.
The decision came as the government issued the second highest level of alert for bird flu earlier in the day.
Parent airline of crashed jet calls accident ‘deeply tragic’
By DPA,
Copenhagen : SAS Group chief executive Mats Jansson has described the plane crash that killed over 140 people in Madrid as "deeply tragic" and expressed his sympathy for the victims.
The Spanair flight from Madrid-Barajas airport Wednesday veered off the runway during takeoff and crashed. Of the 164 passengers and nine crew members on board, only 26 are believed to have survived.
Spanair is owned by Scandinavian parent company SAS.
Russian nuclear corporation hit by $70 mln back tax claim – paper
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's state-controlled nuclear power corporation Rosenergoatom has received a back tax claim for 1.7 billion rubles ($70 million), business daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday.
Rosenergoatom, which operates all of Russia's 10 nuclear power plants with total capacity of 23.242 GW, has received back tax claims for the first time. Most of the claims are related to profit tax payment, the paper said.
Sri Lanka situation ‘grim’, says UN official
By DPA,
Geneva : The humanitarian situation in northeastern Sri Lanka has become "extremely grim", a senior UN official in the Asian country said Wednesday.
Gordon Wiess, the spokesman for the UN's operations in Sri Lanka warned that some 70,000 to 200,000 were trapped in a tiny enclave between a lagoon and the sea front, desperate for food, shelter and drinking water.
He said it was "unacceptable" that civilians were cut off from aid.
US asks China to open up Tibet and have dialogue with Dalai Lama
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The US has reiterated its call for a substantive dialogue between the Dalai Lama and China's leaders, while stressing the need for China to permit journalists and others reasonable access to all Tibetan areas.
The renewed call was made at a meeting Monday between the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and the US special envoy for Tibet, Paula Dobriansky, at the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.
500-year-old statues found in Peru
By EFE,
Lima : Peruvian archaeologists have found 12 wooden statues more than 500 years old in the archaeological complex of Chan Chan.
Cristobal Campana, director of one of the teams working at Chan Chan, told EFE Tuesday that the statues were discovered at the entrance to the �an An palace, the most modern building on the site.
Chan Chan, located near the southern city of Trujillo, was the capital of the Chimu kingdom, and had in its period of maximum splendour as many as 60,000 inhabitants in an area of 1,400 hectares.
Japan to reduce Iranian oil imports
By IANS,
Tokyo: Japan Thursday said it was planning to reduce its oil imports from Iran in line with US sanctions on Iran for its nuclear development programme.
World Bank okays Rs.1,332 crore loan for Uttar Pradesh
By IANS,
Lucknow: The World Bank has given its nod to a whopping Rs.1,332 crore (Rs.13.32 billion) soft loan for reclamation of sodic land in Uttar Pradesh - a move that will help an estimated 250,000 farmers.
Making the announcement at a press conference here Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said, "The scheme would help reclaim a huge chunk of about 130,000 hectares of sodic land in the state."
The scheme, an extension of two previous phases of a similar exercise undertaken in the state, will benefit an estimated 250,000 farmers, he said.
Hurricane Felix ravages Nicaragua, at least four dead
By DPA
Managua : Hurricane Felix pounded north-eastern Nicaragua and left at least four people dead - three adults and a newborn baby - though the eye of the storm struck a sparsely populated area of the Caribbean coast.
Some 5,000 homes were destroyed and about 38,000 people lost property, the authorities said Tuesday at the Nicaraguan capital here.
Washington gears up for Obama’s date with destiny
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : With Barack Obama set to make history as the first black president of America, Washington DC is agog with preparations that involve more than 13,000 participants in 90 military, musical, cultural and community groups from all over the US who will participate in the inaugural parade Jan 20.
To ensure that things go like clockwork on Obama's date with destiny, planners held a full-scale dress rehearsal here for the festivities complete with a mock inaugural address by an Obama's stand-in on a cold and damp Sunday morning.
For one US soldier, five Taliban leaders freed
Washington/Kabul: A US soldier seized by the Taliban nearly five years ago in Afghanistan has been released after five Taliban leaders held in Guantanamo...
US envoy Nancy Powell announces resignation, set to retire
New Delhi: In a sudden announcement, US Ambassador to India Nancy J. Powell Monday said she is resigning and will retire in May -...
American Muslims denounce Obama caricature
By IINA,
Washington : American Muslims also denounced Obama's satirical caricature.
"Unfortunately, the New Yorker's front cover cartoon failed to achieve its stated goal of exposing and lampooning right-wing caricatures of the Obamas," said the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). "These inflammatory images and spurious associations will only serve to reinforce the racism and anti-Muslim stereotypes that the magazine says it is out to challenge."
LTTE sea-borne attack foiled, 18 rebels killed: Sri Lanka
By IANS,
Colombo : A major sea-borne attack by the Tamil Tiger rebels has been foiled after the navy confronted a cluster of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boats, killing 18 rebels onboard off the northeastern coast of Mullaitivu, defence sources said here Saturday.
According to the sources, the pre-dawn sea battle broke out when the navy's Special Boat Squadron (SBS) engaged a flotilla of 10 LTTE boats, which included three explosives-packed suicide boats, heading towards Alampil and Nayaru areas.
Anti-drug drive leaves 18 dead in Rio
By IANS
Rio de Janeiro : At least 18 people were killed and nine wounded during a massive police drive against drug trafficking in the outskirts of here, the Spanish news agency EFE said.
Heavy polling as Bhutan becomes world’s newest democracy
By Syed Zarir Hussain
Thimphu, March 24 (IANS) Brisk voting was underway Monday for the first ever parliamentary elections in Bhutan, marking the end of a 100-year-old monarchy in the Himalayan kingdom.
"The enthusiasm is tremendous with heavy polling recorded so far till midday in all the 20 districts. This is a historic moment for all of us," said Bhutan's Chief Election Commissioner Dasho Kunzang Wangdi.
China suspends wild bird sales over avian flu
By IANS,
Beijing: Chinese government has ordered suspension of wild bird sales in a bid to prevent spread of the H7N9 bird flu.
Chinese political advisors submit 6,000 proposals
By IANS,
Beijing : China's national political advisors have submitted over 6,000 proposals to the government for the development of the country, an official said.
Tamil rally in central London
By KUNA,
LONDON : Hundreds of Tamil protesters have rallied through the night outside the Houses of Parliament, CENTRAL London, demanding the British Government acts to end war in Sri Lanka, the organizers said.
The protest is creating traffic problems, with 900 people still at the rally, numbers peaked at about 3,000, police said.
No-one has been arrested, they added.
The UN has said 150,000 people are trapped in Sri Lanka's northern war zone and Tamils claim they are victims of human rights abuses.
Small plane crashes in Argentina
By IANS/EFE,
Buenos Aires : A man sleeping at his home in northeastern Argentina was jolted awake when a small plane crashed into the roof, media said.
Jobless rate surges to 5.5 cent in US
By DPA,
Washington : The US unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent in May from 5 percent a month earlier as another 49,000 jobs were lost over the period, the Labour Department said Friday.
It was the largest monthly increase in two decades and the jobless rate now stands at its highest level since 2004. The new figures are likely to further erode confidence in an already drastically slowed economy in the United States.
48 dead in Vietnam flood
By IANS,
Hanoi : Floods triggered by torrential rains since Sunday have claimed 48 lives in Vietnam, the government said.
$25,000 award for missing Sikh woman, family suspect
By IANS,
Toronto : A Sikh family here is under investigation after the disappearance of its daughter-in-law in February. Her husband has meanwhile announced an award of $25,000 for clues about her whereabouts.
Poonam Litt, who worked as a receptionist with a dentist, went missing Feb 5 on her way to work. She has never been heard of and there have been no clues about her whereabouts.
The woman, who leaves behind a three-year-old daughter, was reportedly pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
Nepal president extends deadline to nominate new PM
By IANS,
Kathmandu : President Ram Baran Yadav Friday granted six more days to the political parties to pick a new consensus prime minister.
Terror threat rises in Britain: police chief
By Xinhua
London : Britain's top police officer revealed here Tuesday that the number of terrorist plots in Britain is increasing "year on year".
Ian Blair, chief of the Metropolitan Police, told the Home Affairs Select Committee that at present there is no need to extend the maximum detention period for terrorism suspects without charge from 28 days, although there will be in the near future, Sky news reported.
The chief urged the parliament to find a way to prolong the detention period before an atrocity occurs.
Geneva talks: UN chief ‘encouraged’ by agreement on Ukraine
United Nations: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was encouraged by "concrete and urgent steps" aimed at de-escalating the Ukraine situation agreed at four-way talks...
IL&FS investment banking arm launches UK operations
By IANS,
London : The investment banking arm of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), one of India's leading infrastructure development and finance companies, has launched its British operations to tap European channels of financing.
"The Indian infrastructure and manufacturing sector requires large investments both in the form of debt and equity. The domestic funding will therefore need to be complemented with financing from international sources," the company said.
Mitsubishi resumes operations in Venezuela
By EFE,
Caracas : Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has said that it was reversing a decision to shut down its plant in the eastern Venezuelan city of Barcelona.
"MMC Automotriz S.A. announces that starting Sep 21, workers and employees should undertake their productive activity on their regular schedules," the company's board of directors said in a statement.
The 1,412 workers at the Barcelona facility assemble Mitsubishi, Hyundai and FUSO vehicles.
The MMC board said: "The firm will continue with its plan for improvement of aspects linked to worker health and safety."
White House proposes crackdown on credit-rating agencies
By DPA,
Washington : US President Barack Obama has proposed a crackdown on credit-rating agencies, among the key players blamed in a financial crisis that has devastated the global economy.
The proposed legislation sent to Congress is designed to remove conflicts of interest between the private agencies and the banks and lenders that they are rating.
Many argue that credit-rating agencies exacerbated the financial crisis by giving banks clean bills of health for what turned out to be risky loans in the US housing market.
US says Zimbabwe in humanitarian crisis, calls for justice
By DPA,
Harare : The US has said delay in releasing results of Zimbabwe's March elections has created a humanitarian crisis because of violence.
Washington's envoy to Zimbabwe, James McGee, told reporters Tuesday that the international community has identified the victims and also the perpetrators of the violence.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has refused to release the results of the March 29 vote, despite pressure from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the international community.
Modi visit won’t hurt Sri Lanka-China ties: Chinese commentary
Beijing : China-Sri Lanka relations will not be affected by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit but only grow stronger, a commentary in the...
EU Parliament President : Today we are all Indians
By EuAsiaNews,
Brussels : European Parliament (EP)President,Hans-Gert Pöttering, expressed here Wednesday his indignation at the "co-ordinated series of terrorist attacks" in Mumbai, and extended his sympathy to the family of victims who had lost their lives and those who were seriously injured .
The terror attack caused the death of 190 people, 22 of whom were foreign citizens, and left over 200 people injured and many in a critical situation.
Russian border guards join search for sunken Bulgarian ship crew
By RIA Novosti
Krasnodar : Russia's border guards have joined search for eight missing crewmembers of a Bulgarian cargo ship that sank Thursday in the Azov Sea, an emergencies service spokesman said Sunday.
"On Sunday, Russia's border guards joined the search, they are looking for the crewmen on the shore," he said, adding the Russian emergency service was considering a helicopter as a possible means for further search operations.
Fire breaks out in Egyptian parliament, 13 injured
By DPA,
Cairo : A major fire erupted Tuesday in the building housing Egypt's Shura Council or upper house of parliament, injuring at least 13 people, security sources said.
The fire spread from the third floor of the building down to the second floor, security sources told DPA. Wind and the wood from the ceiling help fuel the flames.
Among the injured were fire workers who suffered smoke inhalation and some workers in the building who suffered fractures while trying to escape the fire.
1 in 5 Americans thinks Obama is a Muslim
By IANS,
Washington : As many as one in five Americans think wrongly that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, indicating a significant increase in the number of such people since his inauguration in January 2009.
At the same time, the number of people who now correctly identify Obama as a Christian has dropped to 34 percent, down from nearly half when he took office, according to new Pew Research Centre survey.
Hurricane Paloma weakens over Cuba
By IANS,
Miami : Tropical Storm Paloma was downgraded to a depression with winds of 35 miles per hour as it was moving away from central Cuba overnight, the EFE news agency reported Monday.
According to the US National Hurricane Centre, or NHC, the centre of the hurricane was located 15 miles south-southwest of Cuba's eastern central city of the Camaguey, some 534 km southeast of capital Havana, and was moving just one mile per hour to the north Monday morning.
EU urges North Korea to suspend ballistic missile programme
By EuAsiaNews,
Brussels : The 27-member European Union strongly condemned Sunday the "experimental communications satellite" launch by North Korea.
"These actions place additional strains on regional stability at a time when the unresolved nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula requires mutual confidence building. Such actions are also a matter of more general concern due to their global proliferation implications," said the EU Presidency in a statement.
The Czech Republic holds the current EU Presidency.
Bin Laden’s son-in-law sentenced to life in prison
Washington: A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden was Tuesday sentenced to life in prison after being convicted on terrorism charges.
US district judge Lewis Kaplan...
Nearly 200 kg cocaine seized in Italy port
By IANS,
By AKI,
Rome: Police in Italy have impounded 176 kg of cocaine in the southern port of Gioia Tauro aboard a container ship from Chile.
Tibet reopens to tourists next month
By Xinhua
Lhasa : Tibet will reopen to domestic and foreign tourists from May 1, tourism authorities said Thursday.
Zhanor, deputy director of the region's tourism bureau, said all travel agencies would be allowed to arrange tours, and those travelling on their own would also be welcome.
The regional government stopped issuing tourist permits to foreign travellers on March 16 and the bureau recommended Chinese travel organisations postpone tour plans after the March 14 riot in Lhasa.
DPRK, U.S. negotiate on food aid
By Xinhua,
Pyongyang : The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States held negotiations in Pyongyang on food aid from Monday to Thursday, the official news agency KCNA reported.
"They had in-depth and good negotiations," said the KCNA.
A U.S. food aid delegation visited the DPRK from Monday to Thursday, during which "negotiations on humanitarian food aid were held" between the DPRK and the United States, the news agency said.
It did not give details on the results of the talks.
Islamic organ commends Saudi for improving haj conditions
Rabat : The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO) on Thursday commend Saudi Arabia's efforts to improve haj conditions.
"The great efforts, huge projects...
Serbia rules out use of force against breakaway Kosovo
By RIA Novosti
Belgrade : Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac said on Wednesday that Belgrade would not use military force to thwart Kosovo's drive for independence.
Speaking in an interview with Dnevni Avaz, a popular daily published in Sarajevo, Sutanovac said: "I have said many times that the Kosovo problem cannot be resolved militarily."
"When we tried to resolve problems in the former Yugoslavia by deploying the army, we encountered even greater problems," the minister said.
Facing biggest slump since 2002, Silicon Valley firms eye India
By Arun Kumar,IANS,
Washington : With major companies in the Silicon Valley suffering the biggest slump since the dot-com bust, some firms are eyeing India and China to recover from the effects of a global economic meltdown.
The total market capitalisation of the leading technology hub's 150 biggest public companies plunged 32 percent to about $850 billion for the last 12 months ending March 31, the worst decline since 2002, according to an annual survey by the San Jose Mercury News.
Moscow bans ‘homosexual propaganda’
By DPA,
Moscow : Moscow Mayor Yuri Lushkov has banned gay rights demonstrations in the city despite international protests.
"Of course all democrats in the world will criticize us, but every society has its own point of view," Lushkov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying at a conference on the problems of HIV and AIDS in the former Soviet Union.
Asean rejects US call to suspend Myanmar
By DPA
Singapore : The Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) Sunday rejected a call by the US senate to suspend Myanmar following a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Asean Secretary General Ong Keng Yong said the US senate resolution was not practicable from the perspective of the 10-member regional bloc.
"Our approach is not to take such confrontational, drastic action, especially when it does not yield us any good results," he told reporters ahead of the Asean leaders' summit Tuesday.
Israel opens two Gaza crossings
By KUNA,
GAZA : Israel temporarily opened two Gaza crossings on Wednesday, allowing trucks carrying humanitarian aid, goods, and fuel derivatives to enter the Strip.
The Israeli authorities informed the Palestinian side that Karem Shalom Crossing will be opened to allow in 80 trucks, including 24 of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and other international organizations, said head of the committee supervising the entry of supplies into Gaza Raed Fattouh.
Saharan dust storms sustain life in Atlantic Ocean
By IANS,
London : Saharan dust storms help sustain life over large regions of the North Atlantic Ocean, according to a latest study.
Liverpool University researchers found that plants are able to grow in these regions because they are able to take advantage of iron minerals in Saharan dust storms.
This allows them to use organic or recycled material from dead or decaying plants when nutrients such as phosphorous - an essential component of DNA - in the ocean are low.
F-16s intercept plane after airspace violation
By DPA,
Washington : Two F-16s were scrambled Monday to intercept a small plane that flew into restricted airspace above Washington and forced an evacuation of some parts of the White House.
Faith groups warn against voting for fascists at UK elections
By IRNA,
London : Faith organisations have joined minority community bodies in issuing a pledge against supporting extreme right-wing candidates at next month’s general elections in Britain.
The pledge, signed by nearly 50 groups, urged every British citizen to “use their vote to support any party of their choice which stands opposed to the destructive politics of hatred, to vote for freedom not fear, partnerships not prejudice, and hope not hate.”
15 die in China mine accident
By IANS,
Beijing : Fifteen miners were killed Thursday in an accident at a coal mine in China's Hunan province, authorities said.
EU vows to get tough on ‘killer games’
By DPA
Luxembourg : European Union justice ministers Wednesday vowed to push for stricter rules on the sale of "killer games" to children but did not agree on common legislation.
Alert cops if kids are embracing terror, parents told
London: British Home Secretary Theresa May has urged parents to report their children to police if they are at risk of becoming terrorists.
In the...
Thousands of Russians protest adoption ban on US
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Thousands of Russian activists gathered in Moscow Sunday to hold a protest march against a law banning US nationals from adopting Russian children.
Three Mexican teens nabbed for drug killings
By IANS/EFE,
Monterrey (Mexico): Three teenagers accused of killing seven people while working at the service of a drug cartel have been arrested in northern Mexico, authorities said.
American Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard’s links with RSS condemned
TCN News
Tulsi Gabbard, the Hawaii representative from Democratic Party who will be running for the post of President of USA in the 2020 polls...
Quake rattles Indonesian province
By IANS,
Jakarta : A quake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale Sunday rocked Indonesia's Aceh province but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Police catch heroin smugglers in central Moscow train station
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Police seized more than 2 kilograms of heroin from three Tajik nationals arrested in central Moscow's Kievsky train station, a local law enforcement official said on Saturday.
"The three detainees are being investigated for involvement in an organized crime group specializing in the delivery of drugs to Russia," the official told RIA Novosti.
Lithuanian psychic called in to clean up credit crunch
By DPA,
Vilnius (Lithuania) : There was nowhere to hide for anyone owing money in Lithuania Monday after one of the Baltic country's main debt collection agencies said it was using a renowned clairvoyant to track down debtors and identify secret business crooks.
Vilija Lobaciuviene is well known in Lithuania for her supernatural powers. The self-styled witch employs techniques including spells, herbal medicine and the reading of auras in her work, which has helped make her a television favourite.
Obama condemns attack on Jerusalem synagogue
Washington: US President Barack Obama Tuesday condemned the attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem that left four people dead, calling for joint efforts to...
Dutch woman complains of rape, Goa police tight-lipped
By IANS,
Panaji : A 24-year-old Dutch woman has complained to the Goa police that she was drugged, robbed and raped by a group of Nigerians on the New Year's eve near the Anjuna beach, police sources said.
While police officials are tight-lipped about the matter, the complainant has been shunted from one police station to another in the last few days, as she pleaded that her complaint be registered.
The woman was sent to the Goa Medical College and Hospital for medical examination to verify the claim that she was raped, the sources said.