EU expects commitment to peace process from new Israeli regime
By KUNA,
BRUSSELS : The European Union reiterated here Tuesday its support for the two-state solution to the Palestine question and said it expects from the new Israeli regime to do the same.
"There are two expectations of the European Union towards the future Israeli government, which is the recognition of the two-state solution and a commitment to the Middle East Peace Process," European Commission spokesperson for external relations, Christiane Hohmann, told a press conference.
US gives Pakistan 18 Sniper spy pods for F16s
By Arun Kumar
IANS
Washington : The US government has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin for 18 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP), a part of the new advanced block 52 F-16 aircraft programme for Pakistan.
Singapore flags flown at half-mast for Malaysia quake victims
Singapore : Flags were flown at half-mast here on Monday as the country mourned the deaths on Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu following a 5.9 magnitude...
Obama writes to ‘absolutely critical country’ India
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: Underscoring the importance of working closely with India, "an absolutely critical country" in the region, US President Barack Obama has despatched a personal letter to New Delhi through a top envoy.
"We consider India an absolutely critical country in the region," the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said Wednesday disclosing the despatch of the "presidential letter" through US Undersecretary of State William Burns.
Fossils reveal 500 million-year-old tulip-shaped creature
By IANS,
Toronto: A tulip-shaped creature inhabiting ocean depths more than 500 million years ago has emerged from the famous Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies.
Somali insurgents briefly seize agricultural town; 7 dead
By SPA
Mogadishu, Somalia : More than 100 heavily armed insurgents briefly seized control of a major agricultural town in southern Somalia on Wednesday in a surprise attack that killed at least seven people, residents and officials said.
The insurgents, firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns, overpowered government soldiers and released an unknown number of prisoners in the dawn attack on Jowhar, 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the capital, residents said.
The attackers withdrew from Jowhar later in the morning, the Associated Press reported.
Forest fires turn deadly in Australia
By DPA,
Sydney : The enormity of southeast Australia's forest fires was revealed Sunday, with as many as 40 people believed dead, hundreds of houses destroyed and swathes of countryside turned to ash.
The official death toll from Saturday's inferno stands at 25, but police expect the number to rise above 40 as daylight allows them to pick through the wreckage of homes, sheds and vehicles.
More than 150,000 hectares has burned in the hinterland north of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state.
Car bombing kills 8 in Afghanistan
Kabul: At least eight people died and more than 400 injured on Friday when a truck bomb went off in the eastern part of...
Sri Lanka cannot negotiate with LTTE, says diplomat
By M.R. Narayan Swamy, IANS,
New Delhi : A negotiated end to Sri Lanka's dragging conflict is still possible but not before the Tamil Tigers are "verifiably demilitarised and democratised," says one of the most high-profile diplomats of that country.
Dayan Jayatilleka also said in an interview that the conflict would only end when Velupillai Prabhakaran, the elusive and feared leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), gets "demilitarised one way or another".
Checklist will locate people at risk of chronic kidney disease
By IANS,
Washington : Doctors have no way of knowing which of their patients are likely to develop chronic kidney disease (CKD). Now, the task has been made easy by a simple eight-point risk-factor checklist.
Created by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the model accurately identifies middle-aged and older patients at high risk for newly diagnosed CKD, which involves a gradual, even fatal loss of kidney function over time.
German police detain terror suspects on plane
By DPA,
Berlin : German police arrested two terrorist suspects on board a Dutch airliner Friday, minutes before it was due to take off from Cologne-Bonn airport for Amsterdam.
A police spokesman said a Somali man aged 23 and a 24-year-old German born in Mogadishu were escorted off the KLM Flight 1804 at 6.55
am (0455 GMT).
The two men had been under observation for several months. A search of their apartment had turned up farewell letters in which they declared their readiness to die in a jihad or holy war, the police spokesman said.
US and Russia agree to new START treaty
By DPA,
Washington : The US and Russia have finalised the most comprehensive nuclear arms reduction treaty in nearly two decades, US President Barack Obama announced Friday.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on the final details of what has been dubbed the "New START treaty" in a telephone call Friday and will meet in Prague April 8 to sign the deal.
10-year-old Indian boy denied Australian visa
By IANS:
Canberra, July 18: A 10-year-old Indian boy has been refused an Australian visitor visa for a third time as the Department of Home...
US ambassador expresses shock at Delhi blast
By IANS,
New Delhi : US Ambassador to India David C. Mulford Sunday expressed shock and sadness at the blast in a crowded south Delhi market in which two people, including a child, were killed and at least 17 people wounded.
"I am shocked by the senseless Mehrauli bombing," a statement quoting Mulford said.
The blast occurred when a low-intensity bomb went off in Mehrauli market Saturday afternoon.
"Americans share the sadness of the Indian people at the death of a child and injuries to many innocent people," he added.
Indian American Bobby Jindal elected governor of Louisiana
By IANS
New York : US Republican Bobby Jindal has won the Louisiana governor's race - making him the first-ever politician of Indian descent to become governor of one of the 50 US states.
Jindal secured 444,550 votes or 53 percent.
His nearest competitors were: Democrat Walter Boasso with 155,154 votes or 18 percent; Independent John Georges had 120,103 votes or 14 percent; Democrat Foster Campbell with 109,375 or 13 percent. Eight candidates divided the rest.
Moderate earthquake shakes southwestern Greece
By SPA
Athens : A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale shook the southwestern Peloponnese on Friday but there were no reports of injuries or damage, DPA quoted the Athens Geodynamic Institute as saying.
The underwater earthquake which took place at 9:10 am (0710 GMT) had an epicentre approximately 110 kilometres southwest of Athens, near the town of Methoni.
Rahul Gandhi all set to visit UAE to woo NRIs
TCN news:
Indian National Congress (INC) president Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Dubai on 11th of January 2019 to address the Indian Diaspora there at...
Rice calls for creative solutions, US hints no UN resolution on Gaza
By Joe Macaron WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Tuesday for creative solution in dealing with the crisis in Gaza while blaming Hamas for the strips isolation.
"Ultimately, Hamas is to blame for this circumstance because if they were more responsible toward the international community, then Gaza would be connected to the outside world rather than cut off", said Rice in a briefing en route to Berlin.
Air France to cut 4,400 jobs by 2013
By IANS,
Paris : Air France will lay off its 4,391 employees by March 2013, French business daily La Tribune reported Thursday.
Based on a work committee report of the company, jobs would be reduced in three phases - 2,436 jobs will be cut in 2010-2011, 834 in 2011-2012 and 1,121 staff will be laid off in 2012-2013, Xinhua reported citing the daily.
The cut will reduce the workforce of the airliner by 16.3 percent as compared the number of employees in March 2008 before the global economic crisis.
Indian-origin doctor gets prison in US for health insurance fraud
Houston : An Indian-origin doctor has been sentenced to 71 months in a federal prison and ordered to repay over $2.2 million for health...
Proposal to Extend East Timor Mission
By Prensa Latina
United Nations : UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon proposed to the Security Council Wednesday that they extend the UN Mission in Timor Leste (UNOTIL) for a year, to support stability in that small Asian country.
In a report to the Council, Ban Ki Moon pointed out the need to intensify the efforts in Timor Leste to promote a greater political consensus and strengthen democracy.
"These actions are essential for long-term stability and prosperity in Timor Leste, which still faces great challenges," he said.
Malaysia’s international reserves at 98.5 billion USD
By NNN-Bernama
Kuala Lumpur : The international reserves of Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia's central bank, stood at 336.5 billion Ringgit, equivalent to 98.5 billion USD, as at Oct 12, 2007.
Bank Negara said in a fortnightly report Monday that the reserves position is sufficient to finance 8.6 months of retained imports and is 7.2 times the short-term external debt.
6 die as medical helicopters collide over Arizona
By IRNA,
New York : A federal official says two medical helicopters collided Sunday afternoon about a half-mile from a northern Arizona hospital, killing six people and critically injuring another.
Three of the fatalities were aboard a Bell 407 helicopter operated by Air Methods out of Englewood, Colo. At least one of the dead was the patient.
Four other victims were aboard a Bell 407 helicopter operated by Classic Helicopters of Woods Cross, Utah.
Three were killed and one was critically injured.
Russia-Belarus Accent Defense
By Prensa Latina,
Minsk : Russian Defense Minister Anatoli Serdiukov highlighted the Russia-Belarus joint defense potential on Wednesday, declaring it a key factor to counteract any aggression or threat to either country's security.
Serdiukov spoke at a two-day ministerial meeting in Minsk and called to unify defense resources to reverse common threats.
The NATO extension, the planned sites of the US anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, intensification of the tension in the Middle East and other conflicts urge close military coordination, he said.
French prepare to vote in second round of local elections
By KUNA
Paris : French and European Union (EU) resident voters head to the polls Sunday for the second round of voting in France's municipal elections to select mayors and city and town councilors throughout the country.
In a first round of voting held on March ninth, all but 32 percent of municipalities with populations of over 30,000 people chose their town councils, which subsequently elect the mayors.
How to help pensioners get on the net
By IANS
London : People of all age groups are making increasing use of the Internet, but in terms of skills, pensioners continue to lag behind.
How can pensioners with little, if any, computer skills successfully cope with a digital information system?
Dutch researcher Henk Herman Nap believes the design of an accessible system needs to incorporate large letter types and keys, the mother tongue, a touch screen and ABCDE keyboard as input devices.
Russia expels NATO representatives
By KUNA,
MOSCOW : The Russian authorities acted on their word and expelled the representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Wednesday.
The move came in answer to the ban fron NATO headquarters of two Russian diplomats on espionage charges.
Russia's NATO Envoy Dmitry Rogozin meanwhile confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov would not attend the NATO-Russian Federation meeting planned for mid May in Brussels.
Modi cites Nehru, Manmohan Singh in speech at British Parliament
London: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, the first day of his three-day visit to Britain, cited his predecessors Jawaharlal Nehru and Manmohan Singh...
Putin unaffected by assassination plot
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has not been affected by a plot to assassinate him, his spokesman said Tuesday.
50 animals die in Russia circus fire
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
St. Petersburg : About 50 animals died in a fire that broke out in a travelling circus on the outskirts of St. Petersburg Monday, Russia's emergency ministry said.
Amid grenades and gunfire, delegates set to meet in Somalia
By DPA
Nairobi : Delegates to Sunday's National Reconciliation Conference in the embattled Somali capital Mogadishu will likely be welcomed with grenades and gunfire as organisers put the final touches on what may be the last best hope for peace in the anarchic country.
With the days leading up to the event marked by bloody violence, sceptics say it's amazing the conference is being held at all.
The Horn of Africa nation was plunged into anarchy in 1991, after warlords toppled dictator Mohammed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.
Russia to scrap all decommissioned nuclear submarines by 2012
By RIA Novosti,
Severodvinsk (Russia) : Russia will scrap all decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines by the beginning of 2012, a shipyard official said Friday.
"All decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines will be disposed of in 2010, or no later than the start of 2012," said Vladimir Nikitin, director general of the Zvezdochka ship-repairing facility in Severodvinsk in northern Russia.
Nikitin said more than 200 out of 250 nuclear submarines built in Russia have so far been scrapped, many of them with financial support from other countries like Norway, Japan and Britain.
Current global warming unlike any other in the past
By IANS,
Washington: Current global warming seems to be unlike any other in the past, which were the outcome of natural processes, says new evidence unearthed by geologists.
Sediments retrieved by University at Buffalo (UB) geologists from a remote Arctic lake are unlike those seen during previous warming episodes. Researchers found that dramatic changes began occurring in unprecedented ways after the midpoint of the 20th century.
Clinton offers condolences to Australia flood victims
By KUNA,
Washington : U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton late Monday offered prayers and condolences for the victims of Australias massive flooding.
Goa church may approach UNESCO against garbage plant
Panaji: Goa's Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao will be roped in to join efforts to stop a garbage plant being set up near the Old...
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.
Thousands pay homage to Polish plane crash victims
By DPA,
Warsaw: Thousands gathered at Warsaw's largest square Saturday for official ceremonies to honour the 96 victims of a plane crash that claimed the Polish president, politicians and most military brass.
A white cross stood at the centre of an altar set up on Pilsudski Square against a display of black and white photographs of the victims.
‘UN development goals not easy to achieve’
By IANS
New Delhi : India will find it difficult to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs) set for 2015 by the UN as people engaged in traditional jobs were becoming dependent on "welfare schemes", said an official here Monday.
Colombian police make biggest heroin bust in years
By EFE,
Bogota : A police drug-sniffing dog led officers to 131 kg of heroin hidden in a wood shipment at the northern Colombian port of Barranquilla, making it the biggest seizure of the illegal drug in years, officials said.
Officers also found 136 kg of cocaine inside the shipping containers, the commander of the drug enforcement police, Gen. Francisco Patino, told reporters.
Police did not say whether any arrests had been made in connection with the drug bust.
Price wants to participate in Olympics
By IANS,
Los Angeles: Glamour model Katie Price is keen on being part of the Great Britain (GB) team in the 2016 Olympics and has already started practising horse riding with her horses.
Crime-weary Latin Americans lose faith in state mechanism
By IANS,
Mexico City : Six out of 10 people in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil have said they depend more on security outside the due process of law given the high crime rate and corrupt law enforcement in their countries, says a recent report quoted by the EFE news agency.
During the presentation of the report at the headquarters of the Mexico City municipal government recently, former Bogota mayor Antanas Mockus said that 28 percent of Mexicans are prepared to carry a gun to defend themselves, while in Barranquilla, Colombia, that figure was 23 percent.
Top Goldman Sachs executives forego their bonuses
By IANS,
New York : Seven top executives of Goldman Sachs, a top Wall Street investment banking firm, have decided to forego their bonuses, running into millions of dollars, media reports said Monday.
The development could be a trend-setter among other top US executives on Wall Street, who in the midst of a deep financial crisis, are being accused of taking away hefty perks and bonuses several times their base salaries, while their company is going down the drain.
Russian parliament recognises South Ossetia, Abkhazia
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's parliament Monday called on President Dmitry Medvedev to recognise and establish formal ties with Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Members of the lower house or State Duma said the repeated requests by the separatist regions for their independence to be recognised "have legal grounds and are morally justifiable”.
India extends $20 million credit to Botswana, Africa’s model democracy
By Devirupa Mitra, IANS,
Gaborone (Botswana): India has extended a line of credit of $20 million and a grant of $8 million to the southern African state of Botswana, a country often held up as a model of good governance in Africa and whose diamond resource is eyed by the world.
Cuba, South Africa Discuss Ties
By Javier Rodríguez Roque, Prensa Latina,
Havana : Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque met Monday in Havana with his South African counterpart, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to discuss bilateral relations.
Perez Roque welcomed Zuma at the Cuban Foreign Ministry headquearters.
During the meeting, the Cuban official thanked the South African government and people for their solidarity towards the island state.
He also praised the active role the African country is playing within the Non Aligned Movement and the United Nations.
Japanese professor: Breakthrough on climate change issue unlikely at G8 summit
By Xinhua,
Tokyo : The upcoming Group of Eight (G8) summit can hardly achieve a breakthrough on tackling climate change due to different national interests and thinking styles between developed and developing countries and among developed countries themselves.
This is the view held by Ryo Fujikura, a professor at Human Environment Department of Hosei University during an interview with Xinhua on the eve of G8 summit to be held on July 7 to 9 in northern Japan's Hokkaido Prefecture. Climate Change is believed one of the most important topics dominating the summit.
Powerful quake strikes off Philippines
By IANS,
Beijing : A 6.0-magnitude quake Wednesday struck off the coast of the Philippines but there was no immediate report of damage or casualty, Xinhua reported.
US targets key financiers of Al Qaeda, Al Nusra Front
Washington: The US Friday imposed sanctions on two alleged key financiers of al-Nusra Front and Al Qaeda, authorities said.
Abdul Mohsen Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Sharikh and...
Colombian inmate allowed to dress like a woman
By IANS,
Bogota : A Colombian court allowed an inmate to wear a skirt and makeup in a men's prison, acknowledging his freedom of personality, EFE has reported.
The decision of the Superior Court of the central city of Ibague Friday will allow Fairber Narvaez to dress like a woman and go by the name of "Mireya" in the jail near Chaparral.
"There are a lot of homosexuals here, but they haven't dared to come out of the closet," Narvaez said upon hearing the decision. "I did it and now they don't see me as a clown - they respect me."
Vladimir Putin begins China visit
By IANS,
Beijing : Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Chinese capital Tuesday morning, kicking off his state visit to the country, Xinhua reported.
US, South Korea begin naval manoeuvres in tense region
By DPA,
Seoul : The US and South Korea Sunday began major naval manoeuvres in the Yellow Sea, five days after North Korea's attack on a South Korean island escalated tensions in the region.
Obama will move immediately on economic crisis
By DPA,
Washington : US president-elect Barack Obama has pledged to move toward resolving the country's financial woes "immediately" after taking office in January, saying the nation was facing its worst economic crisis in a lifetime.
Speaking to reporters in Chicago in his first public appearance since winning Tuesday's election, Obama sought to reassure Americans that he was ready to address the country's urgent challenges.
Obama owns a personal Twitter account, finally
Washington : "Dad, husband, and 44th President of the United States." With this message, US president Barack Obama has joined Twitter with his personal...
Mexico on red alert as hurricane Lorenzo approaches
Veracruz (Mexico), Sep 28 (IANS) Mexican authorities have declared a red alert in 120 municipalities in the coastal state of Veracruz after hurricane Lorenzo gathered strength in the south-western Gulf of Mexico.
The Veracruz government ordered the closure of schools Friday and Saturday, asking some 500,000 students to stay at home, reported Spanish news agency EFE.
Obama vows long-term strategy against Islamic State
Washington: US President Barack Obama Monday vowed to pursue a long -term strategy to turn the tide against the Islamic State (IS), as Iraqi...
French Labour Union Urges Regularisation Of Illegal Workers
By Bernama,
Paris : The main union of French Labour Inspectors (CGT) has called on the government to take steps to commence immediate negotiations in order to allow for the regularisation of undocumented workers, at the same time denouncing the "hypocrisy" of the current legislation, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
"We, the controllers and inspectors who are forced to deal with the specter of illegal workers every day, will no longer support the management of immigration which is totally hypocritical," said the French labour ministry officials in a petition to the government.
Popular Chinese blogger’s magazine shuts down
By IANS,
Beijing : The editing team of Party, a magazine started by popular Chinese novelist and blogger Han Han, has been dismissed before the release of its second issue.
New piano pedal developed for paraplegics
By IANS,
Washington : Paraplegics immobilised from the hips down can now play the piano by operating the right pedal wirelessly, thanks to a method developed by Heidelberg Univeristy researcher Ing Rüdiger Rupp.
For more than 20 years, there have been electromagnetic pedal controls for paraplegic pianists - mostly accident victims - that were invented by Bayreuth piano manufacturer Steingraeber & Söhne and are custom made.
Dalai Lama leads hundreds of Tibetans in special prayers
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,
Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) : Hundreds of monks in red robes and with shaven heads converged alongwith scores of other Tibetans at the Tsuglagkhang main temple early Sunday to join the Dalai Lama at his abode-in-exile at Mcleodganj near here to offer prayers for the Tibetans killed in Chinese crackdowns, including the latest one a year ago.
The Dalai Lama led the prayers that were attended by the entire top brass of the Tibetan religious and political leadership apart from the monks and other Tibetans.
Chinese man raises 6,000 crocodiles
By IANS,
Beijing: A farmer and entrepreneur in China has built the largest private crocodile farm in the country that raises around 6,100 crocodiles.
NATO warship helps Iranian vessel
By IANS,
Brussels: A NATO warship rescued an Iranian-flagged vessel over the weekend just days after the vessel was freed from pirates by another NATO ship, the military alliance stated.
Prachanda quits as Nepal PM
By IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda Monday announced his resignation following a major row over the sacking of the army chief.
Prachanda, Nepal's first Maoist prime minister, announced his resignation in a televised address to the nation. He blamed Nepal's political parties and foreign powers for hindering his government.
A nearly two-month battle between the Maoists and army chief Gen Rookmangud Katawal had come to a head Sunday with the ruling party announcing the dismissal of Katawal.
Indian men apologise to British tourist for harassment
London: British tourist Lucy Hemmings received numerous apologies among 600 replies to her viral blog post describing sexual harassment she faced during a trip...
Putin’s United Russia dominates parliamentary polls
By Xinhua
Moscow : President Vladimir Putin's party was leading in the Russian parliamentary elections, with more than half the votes counted early Monday.
The United Russia has won 62.9 percent, with 54.6 percent of ballots counted, according to results released by the Central Election Commission.
Putin's party, which will secure an overwhelming majority in the parliament, will nominate its candidates for next March's president elections on Dec 17.
Assange says he fears ‘illegal’ probe over WikiLeaks
By DPA,
London : WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange alleged Friday that there could be an "illegal" investigation into his organization by people who had "lost face" or had "careers to make".
Zimbabwean currency reduced by trillion to one
By DPA,
Harare : Zimbabwe's central bank slashed another 12 zeroes off the country's worthless currency Monday, shrinking 1 trillion Zimbabwe dollars into a single Zimbabwe dollar.
The move by Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono comes just six months after he lobbed ten zeroes off the money in August last year. But world-record inflation estimated to be in the billions of percent quickly eroded the currency's value again.
On Sunday, one US dollar was trading for 250 trillion Zimbabwe dollars.
Mother sells her baby for $700 in Peru
By IANS/EFE,
Lima : A woman in Peru's Puno region allegedly sold her four-month-old son for 2,000 soles ($700), a media report said.
The mother, 40-year-old Agripina M., confessed to the act before the Municipal Defender of Children and Adolescents in Juliaca town, while accusing two neighbours of having induced her to commit the crime and then appropriating the money she had received, RPP radio reported Thursday.
Agripina was turned over to the judiciary in Puno, a region where 80 percent of the population lives in poverty.
Solar eruptions could disrupt power grids, telecom by 2012
By IANS,
Washington : Extreme solar eruptions could disrupt communications, power grids and other technology on earth by 2012.
These eruptions are expected to increase in frequency and intensity towards the next solar maximum cycle which peaks in 2012, up from the current minimum of its 11-year activity cycle.
Sangakkara named ICC Cricketer and Test Player of the Year
By IANS,
Colombo: Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara was named the Cricketer of the Year besides getting the best Test player honour at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Awards here Saturday.
Sagging? Blame smoking, not breastfeeding
By IANS
New York : Don't blame breastfeeding for sagging breasts -- a new study has found that feeding does not affect breast shape, but smoking does.
Researchers at the University of Kentucky, led by plastic surgeon Brian Rinker, arrived at this conclusion after a study with patients in Britain. The findings were presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons this week.
Thailand holds referendum on military-backed charter
Bangkok, Aug 19 (DPA) Thailand held its first-ever referendum Sunday to decide the fate of their 18th constitution since 1932 and determine the country's future democratic direction.
Some 45 million Thais were eligible to vote in the plebiscite that ended at 4 p.m. The turnout in Bangkok was similar to past elections at about 60 to 70 percent, polling booth officials said.
According to an exit poll conducted by the Rajabhat Suan Dusit Institute, 67.94 percent of voters accepted the draft charter while 32.06 percent did not.
Nuclear talks focus on energy aid to North Korea
By DPA
Beijing : Negotiators from six nations held talks on ending North Korea's nuclear programme for the third day Saturday, focussing on energy assistance to Pyongyang in return for dismantling its nuclear facilities.
US negotiator Christopher Hill said the officials would discuss fuel oil to be given to North Korea under an agreement in February for North Korea to disable and eventually dismantle its main nuclear facilities.
Indian jailed for Britain’s biggest fake credit card fraud
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : An India-born computer specialist who was the mastermind behind Britain's biggest fake credit card racket has been jailed for six years.
Anup Patel and his accomplices had amassed nearly 2 million pounds (over $3 million) by making counterfeit credit cards and using them in several countries in Asia and Europe. Police believe they would have cheated people of 16 million pounds by now had they not been caught.
UN kicks off Gender-based violence campaign
By TwoCircles.net news desk
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is kicking off its second annual “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence” campaign by spotlighting five stories – involving domestic violence in Russia, sex slavery in India, self-immolation in Central Asia, gender-based violence and HIV and ‘compensation’ marriages – it believes deserve more global media attention.
The 16 days run from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until 10 December, International Human Rights Day.
Flooded farmers toast Australia’s whacky weather
By DPA,
Sydney : More rain fell in north Australia Saturday raising the spirits of drought-depressed farmers, engorging already swollen rivers and putting dusty cattle ranches under water.
Queensland's Cloncurry river has gone from a trickle to seven metres in the past week and the Albert River is racing through Burketown at a height of 6.5 metres.
Mount Isa, the region's biggest urban centre, is cut off by floodwaters that have severed road links between Brisbane and Darwin.
Rick Britton, mayor of Boulia Shire, said the spike in rainfall had raised the spirits of farmers.
German Social Democratic Party hits all-time low: poll
By IRNA
Berlin : Germany's co-governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) dropped to a historic low in approval ratings in the wake of the controversy over a rapprochement with the radical leftist the Left (Linke) party.
According to an opinion poll, released jointly Monday by the weekly stern news magazine and the private RTL television network, the SPD fell to 23 percent, down a percentage point from the previous week.
The Christian Democratic Union of Chancellor Angela Merkel still heads the poll with 38 percent.
Kuwait mosque bomber was Saudi: Officials
Kuwait City: Kuwait's interior ministry on Sunday said the bomber who attacked a Shia mosque in Kuwait City on Friday was a Saudi national.
According...
Saudi gets life in jail for US bomb plot
By IANS,
Washington: A Saudi man who plotted to bomb targets in the US has been sentenced to life in prison.
New Russian president may not stay under Putin”s umbrella
By Adib Al-Sayed, KUNA
Moscow : Political analysts agree that the new elected Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will amend some of the country's foreign policy.
Observers believe that Medvedev will include changes in the foreign policy towards the United States and Western Europe.
German audience applauds ‘Satanic Verses’ play premiere
By DPA
Potsdam (Germany) : The first stage adaptation of "The Satanic Verses", the controversial novel by Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, won applause from a German audience at its premiere Sunday under heavy police guard near Berlin.
The adaptation in German digested Rushdie's 700-page, 1988 book to a four-hour matinee at the Hans Otto Theatre, known by the acronym HOT, in the city of Potsdam. The characters include a prophet named Mahound, a thinly disguised reference to Mohammed.
US drone attacks kill 17 in Pakistan
By DPA,
Islamabad: At least 17 people were killed and several more injured Thursday in multiple US drone attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal district near the Afghan border, officials said.
An intelligence official said 10 missiles fired from five US unmanned aircraft hit two compounds in Angoshga, some 25 km west of the district's main town of Miranshah.
Philippine rebels warn of ceasefire collapse with gov’t
By Xinhua,
Manila : The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines warned Friday its ceasefire with government will collapse after August 31 unless the International Monitoring Team (IMT) is "revived."
South’s troops pull-back idea ‘premature’: North Korea
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : North Korea has termed as "premature" a proposal by South Korea to withdraw troops from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) running between the two states, South Korea's Yonhap news said Friday.
The DMZ, which divides the Korean peninsula roughly in half, is the world's most heavily armed border.
"The issue was off the table, as Chairman Kim Jong-il said it was still premature to have it discussed," Yonhap quoted South Korean Defence Minister Kim Jang-soo as saying following a three-day summit, which ended Thursday.
Quake shakes Koohbanan in Kerman-Yazd provinces border
By IRNA,
Tehran : An earthquake measuring 4.2 on Richter scale jolted surrounding areas of Koohbanan in border area between Kerman and Yazd provinces on Saturday evening.
According to the report of seismography center affiliated to Tehran University Geophysics Institute, the tremor occurred at 22:13 hours local time ( 18:43 hours GMT) and its epicenter was at 31.69 degrees latitude and 56.27 degrees longitude.
There is no immediate report on possible casualties or damage.
Germany grants asylum to 50 Iranian dissidents
By DPA,
Berlin: Germany has granted asylum to 50 Iranian citizens who fled their country after the so-called "Green Revolution" protests that followed last year's presidential elections, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.
A spokesman for the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a report in the Spiegel news magazine and said that 12 of the asylum seekers have already arrived in the country. Another 26 have been approved, while the remainder still have to be processed.
US condemns ‘heinous’ bombing in Belarus
By IANS,
Washington : The US State Department has condemned the bombing at a metro station in Minsk, capital of Belarus, which killed 12 people.
Sri Lanka Fighting Kills 66
By Prensa Latina,
Colombo : The Sri Lanka Defense Ministry reported that at least 56 Tamil rebels and 10 government soldiers died during fighting in the area surrounding the northern city of Kilinochchi.
The clashes occurred yesterday, a few kilometers from where the Army is trying to break several flanks in the offensive line of the Liberation Tigers for the Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to an official report.
In the course of the struggle about 87 separatists and 40 soldiers were wounded, pointed out the dispatch.
India’s growth to dip to 5.5 percent, US expects
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The United States expects India's growth to slow to around 5.5 percent this year, but believes recently announced policy measures to stimulate the economy and ease credit conditions should help cushion the downturn.
"After averaging 8.8 percent over the past four years, growth is slowing largely due to lower investment, reflecting tighter financing conditions and uncertainty, as well as declining external demand, although India is less export dependent than many Asian economies," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a report to the Congress.
UN envoy calls for productive Syria peace talks
United Nations: UN-Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi Thursday called for help to assist him in pressing for peace talks between the...
British family killed in Pakistan
By IANS,
London : Three members of a Pakistani-origin British family, who were on a trip to Pakistan, have been shot dead in what is believed to be honour killing.
Mohammed Yousaf, 51, his wife Parviaz, 49, and their daughter Tania, 21, were killed Thursday when they were on their way to a wedding, The Sun reported Friday.
The killings took place near Pakistan's Jaurah town in Punjab province.
The family, who had been in Britain for the past 30 years, was living in Nelson, Lancs.
Somali pirates seize ship, 21 American crew membe
By DPA,
Nairobi : Somali pirates Wednesday seized a Danish-owned container ship with 21 American crew members on board as piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean surged again after a brief lull.
Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers' Association said that the 17,000-tonne vessel, the Maersk Alabama, was taken in the Indian Ocean, around 500 km off the Somali coast.
"There are 21 American crew members on board, and they are all safe," he told DPA.
Australia’s boozy rite of passage for school-leavers
By DPA,
Sydney : Final exams over, Australian 17-year-olds flock to resorts on the east coast for schoolies - a round of partying that for many is their first time away from home without parents to keep them in line.
"It was just fantastic," said Tamika Jones, one of 32,000 Queensland youngsters to descend on the Gold Coast for the end-of-school frolic. "A lot of the time we went to the beach parties, but it got a bit repetitive so we just hung out at the apartment for most of the time."
Three killed in Thailand violence
Bangkok : At least three people were killed and 24 wounded in various attacks against anti-government camps near the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, medical...
31 abducted infants rescued in China
By IANS,
Beijing : As many as 31 infants were rescued after police busted a child trafficking ring in China's Yunnan province, the government said Friday.
Colombian guerrilla who guarded Betancourt surrenders
By EFE,
Bogota : A FARC guerrilla who guarded 15 high-value hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt who was rescued by the Colombian military last year, has surrendered, the army said.
The guerrilla, known as "Angelo", turned himself in to soldiers in Miraflores, a hamlet in the southern province of Guaviare, and requested protection.
The rebel "knew he was closer to death and preferred to lay down his arms instead of continuing to put up with the abuse and humiliation to which he was being subjected", the army said.
US Federal Reserve slashes interest rates by 0.75 percent
By DPA
Washington : The US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 points to 2.25 percent Tuesday in an attempt to boost the sagging US economy and temper volatility in global financial markets.
"Recent information indicates that the outlook for economic activity has weakened further," the Fed said in a statement explaining its decision. "Growth in consumer spending has slowed and labour markets have softened."
75 years of the penguin that revolutionised publishing
By Britta Guerke, DPA,
London : As Penguin Books tells it, the idea of publishing good quality fiction in low-priced paperbacks arose on a railway platform. Waiting at Exeter station after a visit to English detective story writer Agatha Christie, publisher Allen Lane wanted something to read on the train back to London but found only popular magazines and reprints of Victorian novels.
70 per cent Czechs favour NATO membership: poll
Prague: About 70 per cent of the Czech people support their country's NATO membership, results of a poll released by the Prague Centre for...
Thousands of Spaniards demonstrate against ETA terrorism
By SPA,
Madrid : Thousands of people all over Spain staged silent rallies Thursday to protest the killing of a police officer by suspected activists of the militant Basque separatist group ETA, DPA reported.
Juan Manuel Pinuel, an officer with the paramilitary Civil Guard, was killed in a car bombing of the barracks where he was stationed in Legutiano in the Basque region early Wednesday. Four other officers were injured.
Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba and Defence Minister Carme Chacon
Maoist hardliners want Prachanda to quit as party chief
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" created history by becoming the first revolutionary chief in Nepal to oust the powerful king and become the head of government. Now, however, it is the turn of the prime minister to face a revolt.
The challenge comes from his own formerly underground Maoist party whose hawks are asking him to quit his post as chairman of the party.
US professor fired for criticizing Israel
By NNN-Prensa Latina
Washington : The University of DePaul, in the US city of Chicago, fired a professor of political theory for accusing Israel of using the Jewish holocaust to hide its current crimes, the TV channel Fox News reported on Tuesday.
The administration of the university told Prof. Norman Finkelstein that it would let him go, although he will continue to be on the school's payroll for another year, in compliance with his work contract.
Mexico to have high-speed rail system
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : Mexico's federal government and officials from the central state of Queretaro have signed an agreement to build a high-speed rail system, an official said.
US stocks fall on retail sales figures
By Xinhua,
New York : US stocks fell Wednesday as more-than-expected drop in retail sales and downbeat outlooks for big banks exacerbated worries about the economy.
Tumbling banking sector led the Standard & Poor's financial index down 4.9 percent. All 30 Dow components lost ground.
Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, reported a record loss of 4.8 billion euros ($about 6.3 billion) in the fourth quarter.
Morgan Stanley said that HSBC Holdings, Europe's largest bank by market value, may have to raise $30 billion and cut the dividend in half.
Nepal Govt offices halt services as employees go on protest
By NNN-Nepal News
Kathmandu : Demanding security in their workplaces and promulgation of the Civil Service Act, government employees stopped all the works for a day throughout the country Tuesday.
Three major unions of civil servants are on strike, pressurising the government to fulfill their demands. They had staged 'pen-down' on Monday.
The agitation by the employees of the additional post offices and VDC secretaries also continue, demanding increase in facilities and security.
Former Finnish foreign minister charged with bribery
By DPA,
Helsinki : Veteran Finnish politician and former foreign minister Ilkka Kanerva has been charged with accepting bribes, the deputy prosecutor general said Friday.
Australian soldier held for threatening civilians
By IANS,
Sydney : A 28-year-old soldier has arrested in Australia for terrorising residents and motorists on a street with a replica rifle, an official said Sunday.
Bush bids farewell to world leaders
By DPA,
Washington : With just one full day left in office, US President George W. Bush spent Monday making farewell telephone calls to more than a dozen world leaders, the White House said.
Britain’s helpless suffering abuse by their carers
By IANS,
London: Tens of thousands of vulnerable individuals in Britain are suffering physical and mental abuse by the very people expected to take special care of them.
Norway attacker filmed his victims: Police
By IANS,
London : Anders Behring Breivik, the lone man arrested in the twin terror attacks in Oslo, may have filmed his massacre of 69 people on Utoya island, Norwegian police have said.
Eight members of Ebola fact-finding mission killed in Guinea
Dakar: Eight members of a government team were killed with machetes and knives by residents of a village in a remote area of Guinea...
Chinese troopers to get anti-terrorism training
By Xinhua
Beijing : Chinese troops are to step up anti-terrorism training to ensure security during the Olympics in August, a military officer said.
"This year poses a challenging test. We have scheduled massive training programmes before the Olympics to better prepare against any possible threat," an officer from the General Staff Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was quoted as saying.
The officer said the troops participating in Olympics security were focusing on biochemical and nuclear threats as well as emergency rescue operations.
177 confirmed dead in Brazil plane crash
By IANS
Sao Paulo : At least 177 people were confirmed dead in a plane crash at Congonhas Airport here, the worst aviation accident in Brazil's history, the Spanish news agency EFE said.
Emergency workers had recovered 174 bodies of the victims at the accident scene Wednesday evening, bringing to 177 the number of confirmed fatalities. Three people died in hospitals after being severely injured when the airliner crashed into the building where they were working.
China jails dissident for website articles
By Xinhua
Beijing : Chinese dissident Hu Jia was sentenced to three and a half years in prison by the First Intermediate People's Court here Thursday, with a one-year withdrawal of political rights for subverting the state.
The verdict said Hu, 34, an unemployed father and the holder of a college degree, libelled the Chinese political and social systems and instigated subversion of the state, which is a crime under Chinese law.
Senegal urged to suspend relations with Israel
Dakar: Senegalese nationals have urged their government to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel due to the ongoing offensive in Gaza strip, a media report...
110 troops captured, 31 missing in eastern Ukraine: Kiev
Kiev : Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said here Friday that at least 110 Ukrainian troops are being held captive by pro-independence rebels in...
22 students killed as bus overturns in Thailand
By DPA,
Bangkok : A tour bus taking university students on a field trip overturned into a ditch in Thailand Friday, killing at least 22 passengers and injuring about 30 others, the police said.
The driver lost control of the vehicle while navigating a steep curve in Nadi district, Prachinburi province, 140 km northeast of Bangkok, said senior sergeant Thiradej Virakul of Wang Daeng police station.
"We suspect the brakes didn't work," Thiradej said.
The bus, belonging to the Chatulong Tour Company, was taking students from Kaset Techno Khon Kaen University to Chantaburi province.
More than 1,500 evacuated from California wildfire
By DPA,
San Francisco : More than 1,500 residents were evacuated near Santa Cruz in California, after a wildfire threatened homes in the coastal town south of San Francisco.
Officials had warned that heavy winds and high temperatures increased the fire danger in the area.
More than 200 firefighters were battling the blaze that engulfed more than 280-hectare area, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The fire was expected to grow before being contained, fire department officials told the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Latest round of Iran n-talks ends in Switzerland
Geneva: Iran and the US have wrapped up the latest round of marathon talks in Switzerland to ink a comprehensive nuclear deal before the...
Speculations rise about Minaj judging ‘American Idol’
By IANS,
Los Angeles: Singer Nicki Minaj will reportedly be judging the next season "American Idol" but whether she has signed the deal remains unclear.
Bus collides with tractor in eastern China, killing 14
By SPA,
Beijing : State media say at least 14 people have died in a collision between a bus and a tractor in eastern China.
The official Xinhua News Agency says an explosion occurred when the bus and tractor collided Saturday in Wenzhou city, killing 13 people immediately. Another person died later in a hospital.
Row over Ahmadinejad ‘alternative’ to Queen’s message
London, Dec 25 (DPA) An angry row erupted in Britain Thursday over plans by a television station to broadcast a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an "alternative" to the traditional Christmas Day message by Queen Elizabeth II.
The government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown criticised the decision by Channel 4, seen as a Left-liberal station, to give the Iranian president a voice in the broadcast later Thursday.
"President Ahmadinejad has during his time in office made a series of appalling anti-Semitic statements," said a foreign office spokesman.
Comoran troops retake Anjouan island from renegade leader
By DPA
Johannesburg : Comoran and African Union (AU) troops established control over Anjouan Wednesday a day after they invaded the Indian Ocean island to reclaim it from renegade leader Colonel Mohammed Bacar, a Comoran government spokesman said.
"At this stage we can say the island is fully under control," Comoran Education Minister and government spokesman Abdourahim Said Bacar said over telephone from the federal capital Moroni on Grande Comore island.
Key strategic points such as the airport, banks and the harbour had all been secured, he said.
G8 summit opens with meeting with African leaders
By Xinhua,
Toyako (Japan) : The three-day summit of the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialised countries kicked off Monday with the first session between leaders of the group and their counterparts from seven African countries.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who is playing host for the G8 gathering, greeted other leaders of the bloc and the African leaders at the start of a working lunch which began at 12.30 p.m. at this resort town by the Toya lake in the northern island of Hokkaido.
KPU reports 2009 General Election preparations to Indonesian President
By NNN-ANTARA,
Jakarta : General Election Commission (KPU) chairman Abdul Hafidz Asyari met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the presidential office here on Friday to report preparations for next year`s general elections.
"We reported on all of the KPU`s activities in relation with preparations for the 2009 general elections to the president. To date some 69 political parties have taken election forms and we want to clarify it later," the KPU chairman said.
Bush urges Congress to lift ban on offshore oil drilling
By Xinhua,
Washington : US President George W. Bush Tuesday urged the Congress to lift legislative restrictions on offshore oil drilling to help address rising fuel costs.
"It's been a difficult time for many American families," Bush told a White House news conference. "I think the system is basically sound, really."
Bush Monday lifted an executive ban on offshore oil drilling.
There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and the other by an executive order signed by former president George H.W. Bush in 1990.
US mounts pressure on BP; Obama heads to Gulf Coast
By DPA,
Washington : The US increased pressure on energy giant BP Plc to boost capacity to contain the gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, as President Barack Obama makes a fourth trip to the area Monday.
As public outrage intensifies, Obama will travel to Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, for the first time since the crisis began, on Monday and Tuesday. He is scheduled to address the nation at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
22 die in Zimbabwe measles outbreak
By DPA,
Harare : Twenty-two people, mainly children under five years, have died of measles in Zimbabwe in the past three weeks, state media reported Tuesday.
The Herald daily, which is close to President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, said the 22 had missed out on being vaccinated when the health department undertook a nationwide mass immunization programme earlier in the year.
All 22 dead were from the Makoni area, about 200 km east of Harare, where a further 90 people have also been confirmed infected by the highly contagious respiratory virus.
India hopes for US pressure on Pakistan against terror
By IANS,
New Delhi : India hopes to persuade the US to put pressure on Pakistan to come down heavily on terror groups on its soil with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon leaving for Washington Monday to meet the transition team of president-elect Barack Obama.
Menon is likely to meet influential figures in the transition team that includes Wendy Sherman, the co-chair of the state department's Agency Review Team, which is tasked with preparing policy and personnel for the soon-to-be-named secretaries.
Nepal begins to mourn ‘death’ of fledgling constitution
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Three popular Nepali actors began to mourn the "death" of Nepal's fledgling constitution even as a politician threatened to go on an indefinite hungerstrike.
Kedar Ghimire and Sitaram Kattel, popularly known as Magne Bura and Dhurmus, two comic characters from a popular satirical teleserial, "Meri Bassai", that pokes fun at the foibles of politicians and society, shaved off their hair and donned white clothes, part of the ritual followed by men in Nepal after a death in the family.
Rohingya’s rise to militancy claimed 100 lives, says report
Naypyidaw (IANS): Members of a Rohingya militant group allegedly massacred as many as 99 people, including women and children, in Hindu villages in Myanmar's...
Migrants to become majority in Australia by 2025
By IANS,
Sydney: Migrants from other countries including India will overtake the number of locally-born residents in Australia by 2025, a media report said Sunday.
An Australian-born family will become a minority within the next 15 years, outnumbered by a surging wave of migrants from Europe and Asia, the Daily Telegraph reported quoting demographic consultants Macroplan Australia.
Most migrants to Australia come from Britain (14.2 percent), followed by New Zealand (11.4), India (11.2), China (10.5) South Africa (5.3) and the Philippines (4.1).
Hijacked Libyan jet lands in Malta, 118 people on board
Valletta (Malta) : A Libyan aircraft with 118 people on board, including 82 men, 28 women and an infant, was hijacked on Friday by...
Myanmar riot: Toll rises to 32
By IANS,
Yangon: The death toll in a communal riot in Meikthila in northern Myanmar has risen to 32, state-run media reported.
Ahead of G8, Bush stresses climate change bottomlines
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : President George Bush has reiterated that there will never be an effective agreement on climate change without the participation of emerging economies like China and India. He also said the world must wake up to the “beauty of nuclear power” that produces renewable energy with “zero greenhouse gas emissions”.
Next week's Group of Eight summit in Japan will be another great opportunity to deal with the environment, he said in a round table interview with the Japanese media ahead of the July 7-9 meeting.
Petraeus, crocker defend Iraq strategy before senate
WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (NNN-KUNA) -- For the second day in a row, the two top US officials in Iraq struggled on the Senate floor to defend US troops build-up in Iraq and the sustainability of the military commitment in spite of political disarray in Baghdad.
UAE humanitarian hospital treats over 2,000 in Sudan
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : United Arab Emirates' humanitarian hospital which was set up in Sudan late June has so far provided free treatment to over 2,000 patients in the African nation, WAM news agency reported Saturday.
The Emirates World Humanitarian Mobile Hospital, the first of its kind in the world, has been in operation for the past 40 days in the African country which is facing severe economic and health crisis.
The mobile hospital has recruited several specialist doctors from around the world to give the best medical facilities to the people of Sudan.
Cuba demands end of US embargo
By IANS
Havana : Cuba has demanded an end to the economic embargo imposed 45 years ago by the US saying the policy has cost the island nation $89 billion, Spanish news agency EFE reported Wednesday.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque Tuesday presented the report here that Cuba will take to the UN General Assembly next month.
The document, which will be voted on in New York on Oct 30, estimates the communist-ruled island's losses from the embargo over the past year at more than $3 billion.
Briton admits to double murder after 20 years
By IANS,
London : A British dentist has admitted murdering his wife and the husband of his former lover 20 years ago, after elders at his church urged him to give himself up.