UN Concerned about Millenium Goals
By Prensa Latina
United Nations : The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are of fundamental importance for the current global association for development, reported the president of the UN General Assembly, Srgjan Kerim.
During the inaugural session of a debate entitled "Recognizing Achievements," it is important to confront challenges and retake the road to achieve the Goals by 2015, Kerim said.
US stocks drop on worsening outlook for banks, industry
By DPA
New York : US stocks declined Wednesday amid increasingly gloomy forecasts on bank profits and a drop in demand for durable goods.
Financial stocks retreated after an Oppenheimer & Co analyst said commercial bank Citigroup's first-quarter loss would be four times worse than expected, according to Bloomberg News.
13 killed in China road accident
By IANS,
Beijing : Thirteen people were killed when a truck rammed into a bus Tuesday in central China.
Suspected Tamil rebels attack civilians in Sri Lanka
By DPA,
Colombo : At least two civilians were hacked to death, three injured and four more remain missing after Tamil rebels carried out an attack in the southern part of the country, a military spokesman said Monday.
The group of civilians had entered the woods as they tended their cattle in the Maligawila, Monragala, area, 360 kilometres south-east of the capital, Sunday when they were attacked, the Defence Ministry said.
A search operation has been mounted in the area to locate the missing.
Politicians seek mileage from India-Nepal flood havoc
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : As tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border continue to suffer due to the havoc created by the raging Saptakosi river in Nepal and India, politicians from both countries are trying to gain mileage from the disaster.
While Nepal is blaming India for the ravages and demanding compensation, India is accusing Nepal of having failed to provide security to the Indian team entrusted with maintaining the barrage on the river, whose breaching caused one of the worst flooding in recent years.
Bush stops short of accepting compromise with democrats over troops funding
By NNN-KUNA
Washington : US President George W. Bush on Saturday stopped short of saying whether he would accept a compromise over the funding of US troops in Iraq, and pressed for providing the money as soon as possible.
"In this time of war, our elected officials have no higher responsibility than to provide these troops with the funds and flexibility they need to prevail," Bush said.
His remarks came days after his vetoed a 124-billion-dollar bill passed by the Democrats-controlled Congress that set a timetable for US troop withdrawal from Iraq.
77 new polio cases found in Nigeria
By IANS,
Abuja: At least 77 new cases of poliomyelitis have been detected in 10 states in Nigeria, Xinhua reported.
Morocco launches institution for social protection
By IANS/WAM,
Rabat : Morocco has launched an institution at a whopping cost of $12 million that will provide vulnerable people adequate accommodation, training and education.
Vietnam Likely To Pass Nuclear Energy Law This Month
By Bernama,
Hanoi : Vietnam's National Assembly, the country's top legislature, is expected to approve a law on nuclear energy in May, paving the way for its first nuclear power plant with capacity of 4,000 mw worth US$6 billion, China's XINHUA news agency quoted a local newspaper on Monday.
If the law was approved, Vietnam would be able to start taking measures to ensure nuclear energy security, the newspaper quoted Vuong Huu Tan, head of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission, as saying.
UN condemns Moscow blasts
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
United Nations : UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon condemned Monday the twin suicide blasts at the Moscow subway stations that claimed 38 lives, his official spokesman said.
Separate blasts in the Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations at the Sokolnicheskaya subway line occurred during the morning rush hour, the first at approximately 8:00 a.m. (09:30 IST) and the second about 40 minutes later. At least 38 people have died and more than 70 were injured.
Small aircraft with British businessmen disappears in Brazil
By DPA,
Rio de Janeiro : A light aircraft carrying four British businessmen has gone missing in Brazil, local media reported Saturday citing aviation authorities.
The twin-engine Cessna from the small airline Aero Star disappeared from radar late Friday over the north-eastern state of Bahia, the reports said.
The identities of the passengers has not been announced.
Travelling to the town of Ilheus from Salvador, the plane's last contact with control authorities had been late Friday evening. The pilots reported no problems, and said they were beginning landing maneuvers.
Russia, Venezuela conduct joint naval drills in Caribbean
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A Russian naval task force from the Northern Fleet and the Venezuelan navy have successfully conducted the VenRus-2008 joint exercises in the southern Caribbean, a Russian Navy spokesman said on Tuesday.
"The active phase of the exercise was carried out according to a detailed plan, jointly developed by the Russian and Venezuelan navies," Capt 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.
Obama approval ratings most polarised ever
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : With Republicans overwhelmingly turning against him and Democrats remaining still largely supportive, President Barack Obama has received the most polarised approval ratings ever recorded during a president's first year in office, according to a new Gallup poll.
The 65 percentage-point gap between Democrats' 88 percent and Republicans' 23 percent average job approval ratings for Obama is easily the largest for any president in his first year in office, the public opinion research firm reported Monday.
Ricky Martin Foundation trains people to fight human trafficking
By IANS/EFE,
San Juan : Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin's foundation is training people to fight against child abuse and human trafficking.
About 50 representatives of the NGOs Amnesty International, New York Human Trafficking Task Force and Alliance, Puerto Rican Psychiatric Association, Education and Rehabilitation Society of Puerto Rico and Community Initiative participated in the first training workshop held here Monday.
The Ricky Martin Foundation launched the campaign "Se Trata" (human lives for sale) in partnership with Doral Financial Corporation about a month ago.
Economy likely to dominate Obama-Bush discussion
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : US president-elect Barack Obama is already examining ways to make a quick impact upon taking office in January, his aides said on the eve of Monday's transition talks with President George W. Bush.
The Obama-Bush talks at the White House are likely to cover "a broad range of issues", but the slumping US economy is expected to dominate the discussion, John Podesta, one of the transition team's co-chairs, told CNN's "Late Edition".
Men who want women to stay home earn more
By IANS,
Washington : Men holding the view that women should stay at home earn more than men who don't. But women with more egalitarian views don't take home much more than their traditional counterparts.
Timothy Judge and Beth Livingston of University of Florida analysed data from a nationally representative study of men and women who were interviewed four times between 1979 and 2005.
Some 12,686 people, aged between 14 and 22 at the beginning of the study, participated, even as 60 percent remained with the study.
Foreign direct investment in Brazil plunges 60 percent
By EFE,
Rio de Janeiro : Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Brazil totalled $1.29 billion last month, down 60.3 percent from July 2008, the central bank has said.
FDI was also down 11.2 percent last month from the June figure of $1.45 billion, the bank said.
As of July 31, accumulated FDI in Latin America's biggest economy stood at $13.97 billion, or 30 percent less than in the same period in 2008.
The figures, however, improved from the beginning of the year, when FDI was down 60 percent.
Most European men are descended from ancient farmers
By IANS,
Washington : A new study has found that most men in Europe descended from the first farmers who migrated from the Near East 10,000 years ago.
The findings, by the University of Leicester in Britain, published Tuesday in the international journal PLoS Biology, Xinhua reported.
The invention of farming is perhaps the most important cultural change in the history of modern humans. Increased food production led to the development of societies that stayed put, rather than wandering in search of food, according to the study.
Pope Benedict to resign
By IANS,
London: Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of February, BBC reported Monday.
Thailand to hold re-election on Dec. 11
By Xinhua,
Bangkok : Thailand's Election Commission (EC) chairman Apichart Sukhagganond said Wednesday that the reelection date will be on December 11 after the Constitution Court on Tuesday ruled to dissolve the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Matchima Thipataya Party and Chart Thai Party parties on electoral fraud charges.
Helicopter crash kills four soldiers in Colombia
By IANS/EFE,
Bogota: Four soldiers died in a helicopter crash in central Colombia that was apparently caused by bad weather, the army said Monday.
The accident...
Two Indian Americans among White House fellows
By IANS,
Washington : Two Indian Americans, Pat Basu of Naperville, Illinois, and Sunny Ramchandani of Rowland Heights, California, are among the 13 new White House Fellows.
All the 13 White House Fellows "come from diverse backgrounds, varied professions" and all of them "have shown a strong commitment to public service and leadership," the White House announced Tuesday.
Summer floods rekindle British wartime spirit
By DPA
London : "Open for business - come hell or high water" read the notice outside the severely-flooded George Inn pub in Quedgeley, south-west Britain, summing up the mood of defiance, sarcasm and resilience that has marked the summer flood crisis in Britain.
The army and police stepped in discreetly, but firmly and effectively, to hand out rations of bottled water to the 350,000 people whose supplies have been cut off.
London : "Open for business - come hell or high water" read the notice outside the severely-flooded George Inn pub in Quedgeley, south-west Britain, summing up the mood of defiance, sarcasm and resilience that has marked the summer flood crisis in Britain.
The army and police stepped in discreetly, but firmly and effectively, to hand out rations of bottled water to the 350,000 people whose supplies have been cut off.
Real’s Diarra set to join Anzhi
By IANS,
By RIA Novosti,
Madrid: Real Madrid have agreed to sell French midfielder Lassana Diarra to Russia's big-spending side Anzhi Makhachkala, the Spanish champions have said.
Number of neo-Nazi crimes in Germany up 30 percent: daily
By IRNA,
Berlin : The number of neo-Nazi crimes surged 30 percent during the first 10 months of 2008 to reach a new year-high of nearly 12,000 delicts, the daily Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper reported in its Saturday edition.
The German Interior Ministry registered 11,928 far-right crimes until the end of October of this year, compared to 9,206 neo-Nazi delicts during the same corresponding period in 2007.
South Korea’s president-elect cleared of stock fraud
By DPA
Seoul : Special prosecutors Thursday cleared South Korean president-elect Lee Myung Bak of stock fraud charges, four days before he is to take office.
The investigation found that Lee was not involved in a case in which one of his former business partners stands accused of stock price manipulation in 2001, said the head of the investigation, former judge Chung Ho Young.
State prosecutors came to the same conclusion at the beginning of December, days before the presidential election.
Australian warship inquiry set to clear Germans
By Sid Astbury, DPA
Sydney : The first pictures of the HMAS Sydney confirm that sailors aboard the German ship that sank it in 1941 were telling the truth: Australia's worst maritime disaster was self-inflicted.
Captain Joseph Burnett pulled his cruiser parallel to the HSK Kormoran, presenting Captain Theodore Detmers a point-blank target for his six 150-millimetre guns.
It was all over for the Sydney within minutes. The first shell tore away the bridge and left the ship leaderless. Subsequent hits toppled gun turrets and set the ship alight from stem to stern.
Australia will accept more Syria refugees: PM
Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Sunday announced that he is prepared to accept more refugees from war-torn Syria, but within the current...
Russian opposition activist seek asylum in Ukraine
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Kiev : An activist of the Other Russia unregistered opposition movement and his wife have applied for political asylum in Ukraine.
Focus on India-Russia-Iran transport corridor via Central Asia
New Delhi : Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-nation tour of Central Asia in July, the focus is back on an agreement for...
‘Milkshake murderess’ appeals conviction in Hong Kong court
By DPA,
Hong Kong : The wife of a wealthy American investment banker Tuesday won the right to appeal her life sentence for killing her husband in the so-called "milkshake murder" case.
Nancy Kissel, 44, drugged husband Robert, a senior Merrill Lynch banker, with a strawberry milkshake then killed him by smashing him over the head with a statuette in their luxury Hong Kong apartment in 2003.
Russian warship fire kills two
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : At least two Russian navy officers were killed when a fire broke out in a warship that was returning from Japan to its base near Vladivostok, a navy spokesman said Thursday.
Marshal Shaposhnikov, an anti-submarine warship, belonged to Russia's Pacific Fleet.
Officials said the fire might have broken out in the engine room due to a fuel leak.
Navy officer Igor Dygalo said two seamen were killed in the accident.
"It took eight hours to put out the fire," he said.
Language is key to personality development: Modi
Tashkent : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that language was the key to the development of personality.
Modi, who was interacting with...
Peru’s ex-president Fujimori gets eight more years in jail
Lima: Former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year prison term for crimes against humanity, was Thursday, sentenced to eight more...
Pavan Kapoor is India’s new ambassador to Israel
New Delhi : Pavan Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, was on Thursday named as India's new ambassador to Israel.
"Pavan Kapoor (lFS:...
GM, Ford report massive losses, get assurance from Obama
By DPA,
Washington : The two major US automakers, Ford Motor Co and General Motors Corp, have reported massive third-quarters losses as the ailing industry continued to lose cash and shed jobs.
Ford, the second-largest US automaker, Friday reported a third-quarter operating loss of $2.98 billion and said it would cut jobs and spending to preserve its perilous cash reserves.
GM was facing similar challenges after warning that it was running out of the minimum cash it needs to operate until the end of the year, and posting third-quarter operating losses of $4.2 billion.
Self-control key to wise spending decisions: study
By IANS,
Washington : Self-control is the key to wise spending decisions on food, credit or savings, according to a study.
The study, by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, also found that, especially when it came to spending on food, consumers who weigh their decisions were likely to exercise and consume healthy foods.
Such spenders also had lower rates of alcohol abuse, procrastination, overspending - and were more likely to be saving money for retirement.
Despite Kyoto, Bush Says U.S. to Reduce Emissions by 2025
By SPA,
Washington : U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday called for the end of increasing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, despite the Kyoto Protocol.
Speaking at the White House Rose Garden, Bush declared his “new national goal” to stop greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 by “more rapidly slow[ing] the growth of power-sector greenhouse gas emissions so that they peak within 10 to 15 years, and decline thereafter.”
US opposes Taiwan’s referendum bid for UN membership
By Xinhua
Washington : The US has said it opposes Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations as a separate nation, saying such a move could change the status quo unilaterally and increase tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Strong quake hits Sumatra, Indonesia
By Xinhua,
Jakarta : An earthquake with magnitude of 6.0rocked Bengkulu province in Sumatra island of Indonesia Sunday afternoon, meteorology...
New Zealand, Australia have evacuation plans from Fiji
By DPA,
Wellington : New Zealand and Australia have contingency plans to evacuate their citizens from Fiji in an emergency, New Zealand's defence minister said Friday, as the Pacific island state's military leader warned his people of hard times ahead.
Minister Phil Goff confirmed after talks with his Australian counterpart, Joel Fitzgibbon, in Wellington the existence of a joint plan to evacuate their people from Fiji if the security situation deteriorated and they were in danger.
Alcohol kills 2.5 million people worldwide: WHO
By IANS/WAM,
Geneva : Harmful use of alcohol kills 2.5 million people annually and is the eighth leading factor for deaths globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
Of the 2.5 million people, 320,000 people are between 15 and 29 years of age, it said.
For the first time, representatives from 193 member states of the WHO have reached a consensus at the World Health Assembly May 17-21 on a resolution to confront the harmful use of alcohol.
The resolution urges countries to support initiatives to tackle the problem.
Medvedev not easier to deal with, Putin says
By IRNA
Moscow : President Vladimir Putin said that the West should not expect relations with Russia to be any easier under his newly elected successor, who is "no less of a Russian nationalist".
Putin said many observers view Dmitry Medvedev as a more liberal politician and hope Medvedev's presidency will help ease strained relations between Moscow and the West.
"Some of our partners can't wait to see me stop fulfilling my duties so that they could deal with another man,"
Putin said at a press conference after talks with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Australian police arrest Indian’s attacker, out on bail
By IANS,
New Delhi: The New South Wales Police Tuesday arrested a man involved in an alleged assault on an Indian permanent resident at Sydney's Coogee Beach and charged him with "assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray", the Australian High Commission said in a statement.
"A court granted the person bail with conditions on 12 January. The matter is listed to appear before court on 24 February," the statement said.
Afghan president extends parliament’s tenure
Kabul: Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has extended the tenure of the lower house of parliament, a media report said on Saturday.
"In line with...
China’s GDP growth rate down 2.3 percent
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 9.9 percent year on year to 20.163 trillion yuan ($2.96 trillion) in the first three quarters of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.
The growth rate was 2.3 percentage points lower than the same period of last year, or 0.5 percentage points lower than the first half of this year.
The GDP growth was 10.6 percent for the first quarter, 10.1 percent for the second quarter and nine percent for the third quarter, the bureau said.
New Maoist revolt from Sunday if king not sacked
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : Nepal's Maoists Thursday warned the government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala that they would start a new revolt from Sunday if the ruling parties failed to implement their demands to sack King Gyanendra and switch over to a new election system by Saturday.
Maoist legislator and former minister Dev Gurung delivered the warning in parliament after the ruling parties failed to table any proposal for amending the constitution and pave the way for implementing the Maoists' demands.
South Korea’s central bank cuts 2013 growth outlook
By IANS,
Seoul : Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea's central bank, Thursday cut its 2013 growth outlook to 2.6 percent from an earlier forecast of 2.8 percent.
New Zealand contributes further 1 million NZ dollars for Myanmar relief
By Xinhua,
Wellington : New Zealand will contribute another one million NZ dollars (773,000 U.S. dollars) to the United Nations efforts to help Myanmar recover from the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, Prime Minister Helen Clark announced on Thursday.
Clark said the money will be made via NZAID and is in addition to the 500,000 NZ dollars pledged Wednesday to New Zealand aid and relief agencies involved in Myanmar.
Citigroup approaches US government for bigger stake
By DPA,
New York : Troubled American financial giant Citigroup is in talks with the US government for it to take a larger stake in the company, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Monday.
The bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, received a government cash injection of $45 billion last year, but is now seeking more state assistance in return for between 25 percent and 40 percent of the firm, the paper cited bank insiders as saying.
Israel in leadership crisis , US unlikely to pressure Olmert to step down
By Joe Macaron
NNN-KUNA
Washington : A US official has acknowledged that there is a crisis in the Israeli leadership in the wake of a political storm following the release of a report sharply criticizing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's handling of the war on Lebanon.
The State Department official told KUNA that Israel is a "tricky and sophisticated functioning democracy," expressing doubts that the Israeli government could function with a "leadership deficit."
Indian varsity offers 50 scholarships for Africans
Sonipat (Haryana): The O.P. Jindal Global University here has announced 50 scholarships for Africans to study at its campus from August.
"The scholarships range from...
Schoolgirl dies, 27 more hospitalised after vaccination in Sri Lanka
By IANS,
Colombo : A schoolgirl died and 27 more had to be hospitalised after receiving vaccination against Rubella in Sri Lanka's southern Matara province, officials here said Friday.
M.D. Wanninayakka, media secretary for the health ministry, said the dead girl was among the group of students who fell ill and were hospitalised after being vaccinated against Rubella Thursday.
"Such an incident has never happened before in Sri Lanka. We have immediately dispatched a special team of doctors from our epidemiology unit to carry out a full probe," Wanninayakka told IANS.
In Wembley, Modi keeps to his pet subjects, bypassing controversies
By Bikram Vohra
London : Those expecting fireworks in Prime Minister Narendra ModiÂ’s ModiÂ’s speech saw them only in the sky. He came. He saw....
Obama signs landmark health care legislation
By DPA,
Washington: President Barack Obama Tuesday signed into law a drastic overhaul of the US health care system, the culmination of a year-long struggle that deeply divided the country and threatened to derail his vast domestic agenda.
"Today, after almost a century of trying, today after more than a year of debate ... health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America," Obama declared to often boisterous applause from supporters gathered in the White House East Room.
Japan n-plant to stabilise in 6-9 months
By IANS,
Tokyo : The crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant will be stabilised to a condition known as "cold shutdown" in about six to nine months, the plant's operator said Sunday.
Bush seeks $42.3 billion more for wars
By Xinhua
Washington : The Bush administration has asked for an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the request for total war funding for 2008 to $189.3 billion.
The request comes on top of $147 billion already sought for in the wars.
Most of the money goes to Iraq, which is costing the Pentagon an estimated $2 billion a week.
Climate change threatens world food security — FAO
BALI, Indonesia, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday warned of the danger of climate change on the world's agriculture saying it is a major challenge to food security.
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said at the UN Climate Change Conference here that climate change in many countries caused adverse negative effects, adding that hunger will increase unless immediate action is taken.
Indian Australian diaspora, Australian MP’s call for immediate end to Australian govt’s India travel...
As the Australian government has banned travel from India amid an exponential surge in Covid cases, concerned representatives of the Indian diaspora in the...
Indonesia Arrests 17 For Suspected Subversive Activities
By Mohd Nasir Yusoff, Bernama,
Bandung : Indonesian police have since Thursday rounded up 17 people from two locations in Bandung district on suspicion of involvement in the subversive Negara Islam Indonesia (NII) or Indonesian Islamic State movement, a police spokesman said.
Of Moscow billionaires and lack of children
By Vishnu Makhijani, IANS
Moscow : This Russian capital is home to 50 billionaires who control 17 percent of the country's economy, a sign of the turnaround that began in 1996, five years after the disintegration of the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Small wonder then, that a recent report showed that more Mercedes Benz cars were sold in Moscow in 2006 than in all of Western Europe.
The economic boom, however, has had its flip side with inflation at a crushing 8.5 percent. But despite this, there are no visible signs of poverty in the streets.
Japan braces for terror and bear attacks ahead of G8
By Lars Nicolaysen, DPA,
Tokyo : It all seemed so easy at first: The Hotel Windsor on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido was chosen because of its remote location as the venue for the upcoming G8 summit July 7-9.
The hotel straddles a 625-metre-high mountain and was therefore considered easy to secure for the meeting of the top world leaders, said the summit planers in Tokyo.
But the excessive security measures implemented by the authorities out of fear of terrorists and roaming wild bears has now only triggered wonder and even angry reactions.
Latin American ministers discuss ways to end hunger
By IANS,
Quito : Agriculture ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean nations are meeting here to discuss ways to eradicate hunger in their countries by 2025, Prensa Latina reported.
The ministers will deliberate on a common strategy to eradicate hunger, one of the UN Millennium Development Goals, although the situation in each country is different, the report said Tuesday.
Ecuadorean Agriculture Minister Ramon Espinel said Latin American and the Caribbean nations must eradicate hunger by 2025.
Russia rejects ‘one-sided’ UN draft resolution on Syria
By IANS,
Moscow : Russia Tuesday described the UN Security Council's draft resolution on Syria as "counterproductive" and the ideas proposed by Western partners as...
Nepal to send back 4,050 foreign rescue personnel
By Anil Giri,
Kathmandu : Nepal's disaster panel on Sunday recommended that 4,050 foreign rescue and search personnel be sent back as its own security...
203 killed in Tibet protests, say Tibetan exiles
By IANS,
Dharamsala : The Tibetan government-in-exile Tuesday said at least 203 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured in anti-China protests in Tibet between March 10 and April 25.
"We confirm the actual number of dead Tibetans at 203. Over 1,000 have been injured and 5,715 have been detained," a spokesperson of the Tibetan government-in-exile here said.
New Democracy party leads in Greek polls
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Athens : The conservative New Democracy party is leading at the pivotal parliamentary elections in Greece, the interior ministry said Sunday.
Midnight breakthrough in US capital on bailout package
By DPA,
Washington : In a dramatic group appearance shortly after midnight in the US capital, Congressional leaders early Sunday said they had made progress on an emergency finance rescue package.
They declined to give details of the agreement and said final consensus would not be clear until it was written on paper.
They said their staffs will be working through the night on the final draft of the bailout package, which would have to go through another round of approval by all concerned.
Obama pledges support for Ukraine’s president-elect
Washington : US President Barack Obama Tuesday called Ukrainian president-elect Petro Poroshenko, pledging "full support" for his efforts to resolve the crisis facing the...
Oxford top British university: Times Guide
By IANS,
London : Oxford tops the chart of best British universities, marginally bettering Cambridge, thanks to better spending on students' facilities, according to a guide published Thursday. Nearly 20,000 Indian students join British universities every year.
Cambridge, however, has the better record on research, entry standards and graduate destinations, enabling it to dominate the guide's 61 subject tables, according to the Times Good University Guide published Thursday.
Indian filmmaker released on bail in US
By IANS,
Washington : An Indian documentary filmmaker arrested for carrying brass knuckles and suspicious Islamic jihadi literature in a Houston airport last week has been released on a $5,000 bond and ordered not to move out of Houston till Friday when his case comes up for hearing.
Vijay Kumar, 40, was arrested at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport Friday after he was spotted "acting suspicious" when screeners thought they saw a possible handgun in a scan of his baggage.
Shanghai mulls free Wi-Fi service
By IANS,
Beijing : Shanghai residents will be able to enjoy free Wi-Fi service for two hours daily at public places by the end of this month.
China should adapt to new norm of growth: Xi
Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that the country should adapt to new norm for its economic growth and be cool-minded amid slowdown...
EU prolongs sanctions against Belarus officials
By RIA Novosti
Brussels : The Council of the European Union has prolonged sanctions against Belarusian officials by another year, until April 10, 2009, an EU spokesman said on Tuesday.
The sanctions were originally introduced after the EU refused to recognize the results of parliamentary elections in Belarus in October 2004. The sanctions include restrictions on entering the EU and the freezing of bank accounts. In April 2006, the list was extended from six persons to 37, including President Alexander Lukashenko.
US boy shoots sister, kills self over argument
By IANS,
Washington: A 10-year-old boy in the US shot and injured his 15-year-old sister over an argument and then killed himself, Xinhua reported.
Angst among soldiers needs greater psychiatric focus
By IANS,
Washington : The incidents of soldiers gunning down their superiors in a fit of rage in the US and India have placed much needed focus on mental healthcare in the military, a new research said.
The research showed that there was significant understaffing of mental health services and service providers in the military and excessive prescribing of opiates.
$100 magic wand seeks to change Nepal kids’ lives
By IANS
Kathmandu : A magic more enchanting than any of the Harry Potter tales will sweep through Nepal soon, thanks to a pair of students who are working to take $100 laptops to children in the country's remotest and most underdeveloped villages, where there is no electricity or even books.
Grenade attack in Kenya injures seven
Nairobi: At least seven people were injured in a grenade attack by some unidentified men in a Kenyan town of Garissa Wednesday evening, police...
Motwani’s death due to accidental drowning, say US police
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : US police have concluded that the death of Rajeev Motwani, India-born Stanford professor and the mentor and adviser of founders of top internet firms like Google and PayPal, was a case of accidental drowning.
Police concluded their investigations into the case after the autopsy report released by the San Mateo county coroner's office revealed that Motwani's blood alcohol level was 0.26 when he died as against the US permissible driving level of 0.08.
San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault termed it as an "unfortunate accident".
Palin tricked in prank call by Canadian comedians
By IANS,
Toronto : Pretending to be French President Nicolas Sarkozy, two Canadian radio comedians tricked US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin into talking to them for about seven minutes Saturday afternoon.
Marc-Antoine Audette, a member of comedy duo 'The Masked Avengers' on Montreal radio station CKOI, said they talked about a whole range of issues - from politics to hunting with Vice-President Dick Cheney - in reference to Cheney's shooting of a friend during a bird hunting trip in 2006.
Bush expected to Approve Stimulus Plan
By SPA
Washington : Congress, facing the prospect of an election-year recession, passed an emergency plan Thursday that rushes rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most taxpayers and $300 checks to disabled veterans, the elderly and other low-income people. President George W. Bush indicated he would sign the measure.
House passage by a 380-34 vote came a few hours after Senate leaders ended a drawn-out stalemate over the bill.
Hamas to get Israeli responses to ceasefire questions
By Xinhua,
GAZA : Hamas on Sunday will get Israeli responses to questions that the Islamic movement raised concerning efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza Strip.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said officials from the Islamic movement will meet with Egyptian mediators on Sunday to be briefed on the Israeli responses.
Barhoum explained that Hamas was looking for guarantees to get Israeli commitment to the agreement if reached so as to avoid having a shaky ceasefire like the six-month deal in 2008.
Panama Canal forecasts drop in tonnage due to recession
By IANS,
Panama City : The Panama Canal Authority has forecast a five-percent drop in cargo tonnage going through the waterway in the 2008-09 fiscal year as cargo transit has been badly hit by the ongoing economic crisis, EFE reported Tuesday.
The authority, known as the ACP, said Monday it was expecting a five-percent fall in transit volume this year to 294.1 million tonnes, nearly 19.9 million tonnes less than that of the previous year.
Honduras imposes new curfew over fears of new riots
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The interim government in Honduras imposed an overnight curfew after allies of the deposed president Manuel Zelaya pledged to hold new demonstrations.
The new leadership, which has not been internationally recognized since the country's June 28 military coup, had maintained a nationwide curfew until last weekend.
Due to "continued, open threats", people were required to remain in their homes from midnight until 5:00 a.m., authorities said on Wednesday.
Sri Lankan military says jets bomb rebel camp
By SPA,
Colombo, Sri Lanka : Sri Lankan air force jets bombed a rebel training camp in the north as ground forces waged new battles with Tamil Tiger rebels across the front lines, the military said Wednesday.
Air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara was quoted as saying by Associated Press that fighter jets struck a rebel camp late Tuesday and reported accurately hitting their target.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting continued along the front lines of the rebels' de facto state in the north throughout the day Tuesday, the military reported in a statement.
Two astronauts celebrate birthday on board space station
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : For the first time in the history of space exploration, two astronauts will celebrate their birthdays on board the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday.
Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko celebrates his 50th birthday and his fellow astronaut from Japan, Soichi Noguchi, turns 45.
Traditionally, birthdays on board of the ISS are celebrated with a festive table and the astronauts toast the birthday person with tubes containing juice. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the ISS.
Sri Lanka represented at Bhutto’s funeral
By IANS
Colombo : Sri Lanka was officially represented at the funeral of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto at Ghari Khuda Buksh in Sind Friday.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had deputed Western Province governor Alavi Moulana and cabinet minister Ferial Ashraff to attend the funeral, Daily Mirror said.
Britain fears foot-and-mouth spread to third farm
By DPA
London : British authorities have enforced a three km perimeter around a third farm in southern England due to suspicions of a possible spread in the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
The latest farm in Surrey County to be affected is outside the surveillance area previously established for the disease.
Chief veterinary officer Debby Reynolds of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said Thursday that the action was taken due to "inconclusive" findings from possible symptoms in cattle on the third farm.
Sense of powerlessness can trigger shopping spree: study
By IANS,
Washington : A sense of powerlessness can propel one to spend lavishly on products that somehow assuage one's feeling of inadequacy, according to a new study.
The study addresses the question why many people, though deeply in debt, tend to spend beyond their means, without a thought for the morrow.
Co-authors Derek D. Rucker and Adam D. Galinsky of Northwestern University found that subjects spent way beyond their means for an item, especially when someone else exercised power over them.
‘Rushdie, McEwan, Barnes arrogant and disappointing’
By IANS,
London : Salman Rushdie, British author of Indian-origin, and his contemporaries like Ian McEwan and Julian Barnes are like prep-school boys, arrogant, self-satisfied and "profoundly disappointing", a leading literature expert has said.
Gabriel Josipovici, research professor at Sussex University and former professor of comparative literature at Oxford, has condemned the work of "giants of the modern English novel" as "hollow", saying they were virtually indistinguishable from one another in scope and ambition, the Guardian reported.
Breakaway Abkhazia rejects Georgia’s offer of broad autonomy
By RIA Novosti,
Sukhumi : Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia has rejected again Tbilisi's proposal of broad autonomy, the Abkhaz interior minister said on Sunday.
Georgia is seeking to regain control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which proclaimed independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili instructed the government on Saturday to work out a plan for the implementation of his initiatives aimed at granting Abkhazia broad autonomy and establishing a free economic zone in the separatist province.
Creditor banks agree to JAL bankruptcy proceedings
By DPA,
Tokyo : The creditor banks of indebted Japan Airlines Corp (JAL) have abandoned their opposition to state-led bankruptcy proceedings.
Mizuho Corporate Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking as well as the Development Bank of Japan had officially accepted the court-led restructuring plan, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported Thursday.
The state-owned Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp (ETIC), which is tasked with rescuing the airline, could now put forward a restructuring plan for JAL, planned for Tuesday.
Bush in Paris to meet Sarkozy, address OECD
By KUNA,
Paris : US President George W. Bush is expected late Friday morning in the French capital for a two-day visit to hold talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy on a variety of international issues, including Iran and the situation in the Middle East, diplomatic sources indicated.
On Friday, upon arrival from Rome, Bush is to address the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which groups over 30 of the worlds most industrialized countries and major energy consumers.
Now Prince Charles’ love letters to Canadian on sale
By Gurmukh Singh,IANS,
Toronto : After the Gandhi memorabilia, love letters written by Prince Charles to a Canadian woman 30 years ago are now on sale. Up on eBay, the six love letters open their auction with a minimum bid of $30,000.
Policeman sentenced to death in China
By IANS,
Beijing : A policeman was sentenced to death Monday for killing a pregnant woman and injuring her husband at a restaurant in China's...
Abkhazia, South Ossetia are part of Georgia: Bush
By DPA,
Washington : The US will work with allies to ensure that Abkhazia and South Ossetia remain part of Georgia, US President George W. Bush said Wednesday.
"South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia. And the US will work with our allies to ensure Georgia's independence and territorial integrity," Bush said in a speech at a Veterans of Foreign Wars gathering in Orlando, Florida.
Bush demanded Russia adhere to the Aug 11 ceasefire, remove its troops from Georgian territory and end the siege against Georgia's democratically elected government.
World leaders talk climate change as UN seeks momentum
By DPA
New York : World leaders and ministers from more than 150 countries will gather Monday at the United Nations to lay out their positions on climate change and kick off talks on how to tackle the issue in the coming decades.
For the UN, the meeting is all about gaining political momentum ahead of a critical December summit in Bali, Indonesia, where UN and government negotiators hope to map out a plan for a post-Kyoto world.
US gives more aid to Sri Lanka refugees
By IANS,
Colombo : The US will contribute an additional $2.25 million to support people displaced by the Sri Lanka conflict as they return to their homes and villages in the country's north.
The money will enable some 9,000 families to receive the shelter cash grant provided to returning families by the Sri Lanka office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a US embassy statement said.
The shelter cash grant of 25,000 rupees ($220) "is a modest but integral part of returnees' return packages", the statement said.
G-77 urges rich nations to honour MDG commitments
By Xinhua
United Nations : Developing countries at a UN special debate Wednesday called on industrialized countries to honour their commitments by providing more resources to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Joanne Massiah, agriculture minister of Antigua and Barbuda's, made the appeal on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, a bloc of 130 developing nations, as he addressed the thematic debate on development at the UN General Assembly.
Aussie PM says he admired Benazir Bhutto’s courage
By NNN-Bernama
Melbourne : Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has condemned the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, 54, who was shot by an assassin who also blew himself up, killing about 20 others, at an election rally in Rawalpindi.
Rudd said Bhutto was campaigning "resolutely" for democracy in the lead up to the country's Jan 8 polls.
US cuts fewer jobs in May, a sign recession is easing
By DPA,
Washington : US companies shed only 345,000 jobs in May, the smallest drop in eight months and a sign that the US recession may be easing, but the unemployment rate still jumped half a percentage point to 9.4 percent, the Labour Department reported Friday.
The US has now lost six million jobs since a deep recession began in December 2007, but the monthly data was far better than economists had predicted. A survey by Bloomberg News had predicted 520,000 jobs would be cut on the month.
For young Latinos, Sotomayor may be new Obama
By Daniel Leaderman, DPA,
Washington : Yes, we can, too. That was the mood outside Sonia Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearings, where many young Latinos said that her nomination to the US Supreme Court was as inspiring to them as President Barack Obama's election last year was for young African-Americans.
Man stoned to death in Somalia for adultery
By DPA,
Mogadishu : Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab has stoned a man to death in the port town of Marka for committing adultery, officials said.
"The 33-year-old man Abbas (Hussein Abdurahman) confessed his crime in front of the Islamic court, and today we have implemented his reward in front of the people in accordance with Islamic sharia," al-Shabaab official Sheikh Suldan Aala Mohamed told spectators at the execution late Friday.
Al-Shabaab and its ally Hizbul Islam are battling the weak central government and control much of south and central Somalia.
Clashes kill 12 in northern Sri Lanka
By Xinhua
Colombo : The military in Sri Lanka said 10 Tamil Tiger rebels and two Army soldiers were killed in a fierce battle in the north on Saturday.
Army officials said Army troops who mobilized artillery guns and armor tanks destroyed a LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) bunker line and captured four rebel bunkers to the north of Manthai in the Mannar district around mid-noon.
The Air Force also participated in the mission using MI-24 gunship during the mission, officials said.
Nepal parliament gets armed to axe king
By IANS
Kathmandu : Almost five years after it was dissolved for defiance, Nepal's resurrected parliament has finally got its revenge - becoming empowered to axe King Gyanendra ahead of the crucial November election.
850 new species discovered in semi-arid Australia
By IANS,
Sydney : About 850 new species inhabiting underground water, caves and micro-caverns have been discovered in semi-arid Australia. These invertebrates include various insects, small crustaceans, spiders, worms and many others.
The team - led by Andy Austin, professor at the University of Adelaide (U-A), Steve Cooper, South Australian Museum, and Bill Humphreys, Western Australian Museum - conducted a comprehensive four-year survey of underground water, caves and micro-caverns.
Tributes paid to British horse ‘guru’
By IANS
London : Author, editor and equestrian 'guru' Elwyn Hartley Edwards who spent his early childhood in India and served for 13 years in the Gurkha regiment, has died aged 80.
Widely known in the world of horses, he was one of the world's most prolific and successful horse writers. He penned hundreds of articles and books from his home in Wales.
France wants common EU policy on Guantanamo prisoners
By DPA,
Paris : France Friday called for a common European Union (EU) policy to deal with prisoners currently held in the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after the camp is closed as planned by president-elect Barack Obama in 2009.
The French foreign ministry said here in a statement that the government welcomed Obama's plan to close the prison, where suspected terrorists are held, but there had to be a common European policy on any prisoners being relocated to Europe.
It was not immediately clear if France was willing to accept any of the former Guantanamo prisoners.
Welcome Modi’s remarks on religious freedom: EU
New Delhi: The European Union Wednesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on religious freedom and said that his remarks were "entirely in line...
US calls for UN debate on ‘deterioration’ in Zimbabwe
By DPA,
Washington : The US said it was "deeply troubled" by continuing "intimidation and violence" in Zimbabwe, and called for the United Nations Security Council to "immediately" take up the issue.
The call came in a statement issued late Thursday by the White House.
Zimbabwe was "in clear violation" of the election standards for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - the regional economic and political grouping - the White House said in its statement.
India, China sign mechanism for border peace
By IANS,
New Delhi: India and China Tuesday signed a border mechanism framework to maintain peace on the disputed boundaries between the two countries.
Cambodia’s former king is dead
By IANS,
Phnom Penh : Former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk is dead. He was 90, an official said Monday.
Paris Hilton arrested on cocaine charge
By DPA,
New York/ Las Vegas : US socialite Paris Hilton has been arrested in Las Vegas for possession of cocaine and briefly booked into a detention centre, local media reports said Saturday.
The New York Daily News reported that police found an unspecified quantity of the drug in the heiress' purse during a search of a vehicle in which she was a passenger late Friday.
According to broadcaster CBS, officers detected the smell of marijuana from the car window before stopping the car.
Dalai Lama’s talk on compassion has 144,000 US listeners
By IANS,
Dharamsala : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's five-day talks in the US city of Seattle have drawn more than 144,000 eager listeners, a spokesman of the Tibetan government-in-exile said here Wednesday.
"The talks 'Seeds of compassion' began April 11 and ended Tuesday (April 15) and included discussions on scientific research into compassion, business philanthropy, inter-faith dialogue and nurturing kindness in children," the spokesman said.
Nepal poll juggernaut starts rolling
By IANS
Kathmandu : Nepal's election juggernaut has finally started rolling with the parliament forming a committee for amending the constitution, the UN sending a team of election observers and former US president Jimmy Carter arriving in Kathmandu Wednesday to discuss poll preparations.
Twin NASA probes reach lunar orbit
By IANS,
Washington : New Year's Eve and New Year's Day saw twin US spacecraft entering lunar orbit to study the moon, NASA said.
Chinese official warns of fiscal pressure
By IANS,
Beijing : The Chinese government will face growing fiscal pressure, as an economic downshift is denting fiscal revenues and expenditure keeps rising, warned a senior Chinese official.
And now an ASEAN-US summit
By IANS,
Hua Hin (Thailand): Battered by the global economic crisis, the US has decided to convene a summit meeting with the influential Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) next month.
This "would mark a historic point in ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations", the ASEAN said at the end of its 15th summit here Saturday.
"The (November) Summit is a reflection of the strong commitment of the US administration to deepen and expand its engagements with ASEAN," an ASEAN statement said.
Business urged to speed up greener corporate practices
By DPA,
Singapore : Business leaders were urged Tuesday to speed up practical and creative solutions to boost greener corporate practices that make sense environmentally and are a source of competitive advantage.
"Ways and means need to be found to mobilize and focus the trillions of dollars in the world's financial and capital markets on the greening of the global economy," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Holiday mood in US despite long election lines
By DPA,
Rockville : Voters came out in droves Tuesday to wait hours outdoors in mild autumn temperatures to participate in the historic election that could produce the first African American president in US history.
"It's quite amazing. Regardless of the outcome, the fact that an African American can get to this point, when 40 years ago they had to use separate bathrooms, water fountains, schools, libraries - this is amazing," said Vivian Freed, 63, who waited outside the Julius West Middle School in Rockville, 32 km north of the nation's capital.
Castro wants Bush to lift embargo
By IANS
Havana : Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has called on US President George W. Bush to lift the trade embargo on the island, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.
A brief statement from Castro released here Sunday also quoted the Cuban leader asking US "not to threaten the world with nuclear war".
Second Bangladeshi identified among IS hostages
Dhaka: A second Bangladeshi national has been identified among the nine foreigners abducted by the Islamic State (IS) militant group from an oil field...
Bush denies using torture to interrogate terrorism suspects
By NNN-KUNA
Washington : U.S President George W. Bush denied on Friday that his administration used torture to interrogate terrorism suspects in order to acquire any information they could have about potential attacks against America.
"This government does not torture people," the president said during an appearance in the Oval Office.
Bush defended his administration's methods of detaining and questioning terrorism suspects saying they are both "successful and lawful".
German chancellory confirms talks with legal team of jailed Putin critic
By IRNA
Berlin : The office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed that it has been involved in a series of talks with the legal team of a leading jailed critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I can confirm that we have been in contact with the international lawyers' team of Mikhail Khodorkovsky," the deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg told journalists in Berlin on Friday.
The 45-year-old Khodorkovsky is serving a 10-year prison sentence on corruption charges.
Sikhs upset over improper screening in US airports
By IANS
New York : A prominent US based Sikh organisation has approached the country's Transportation Security Agency (TSA) after it received several complaints from fellow Sikhs that they are being subjected to pass through undue security checks at various US airports.
Rain Delays 120 Flights in Jakarta
By Prensa Latina
Jakarta : Poor visibility around the airport due to intermittent rains forced the closure of International Airport of Indonesia's capital provoking the delay of about 120 flights, reported the media.
Detiknews' web page noted that Sukarno Hatta's airport authorities reported over 120 flights were postponed.
Sources reported that the landing strip was flooded and visibility was reduced, with almost two feet of rainwater and bad weather expected until Saturday.
War of words over fight against Islamic State
Washington: Call it war, fight, battle or what you may -- the Barack Obama administration seems to be warring within over what to call...
EU summit starts in Brussels
By Xinhua,
Brussels : Heads of state and government from the 27 European Union nations arrived here Wednesday for a two-day summit meeting, which is expected to be dominated by discussions on the current global financial crisis and economic issues.
As usual, the leaders kicked off the summit by meeting with Hans-Gert Poettering, president of the European Parliament.
After that, they will be trying to find ways to save the troubled banks and restore confidence in the sector.
Rescuers find black box from crashed Kenyan plane
By DPA
Nairobi/Douala : Cameroonian rescuers pulled a black box and more bodies from the wreckage of a crashed Kenyan jetliner after a two-day search for the accident site, reports said Tuesday.
Quake hits Japan
By IANS,
Tokyo : An undersea earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale Thursday struck off the eastern coast of Japan's Honshu island. There was no immediate report of damage or casualty.
Peers warning over terror detention plan
By KUNA,
London : Controversial plans to extend terror detention in the UK to 42 days could undermine the independence of judges and lead to the collapse of trials, a cross-party committee of peers warned Tuesday.
Hijacked ship with Indian crew on board freed
By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS
Dubai : A ship with 10 Indian crew members aboard, hijacked off the coast of Somalia last week, was released Friday afternoon. The vessel is headed towards the African nation's capital Mogadishu, and the crew are unharmed, officials said.
“The M.V. Victoria was released at 12.50 p.m. today (Friday) Somalia time (3.20 p.m. IST) and is now headed towards Mogadishu,” Andrew Mwangura, representing a Kenyan association for workers in the marine industry, told IANS Friday from Mombasa, Kenya.
Prince Charles is 60, but will he be king?
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : Prince Charles turns 60 Friday and hanging on his coat tails is the eternal question: will he be King?
Only Queen Elizabeth II knows the answer. And her comment on the eve of his birthday, that she is "enormously proud" of him seems to have been interpreted by the British media as an endorsement of his fitness to be King.