International

By DPA, Wellington : The New Zealand Defence Force will remove abbreviated references to Bible verses from US-made gun sights used by its forces in Afghanistan, saying they were "inappropriate" and could be used in enemy propaganda. Military chiefs said they were unaware that inscriptions on the Trijicon advanced combat optical gunsights, also used by US and British troops, included references to verses in the Bible until alerted by a newspaper.

By DPA, Hamburg: German police Monday shut down a mosque in Hamburg which gained notoriety as a meeting place for several plotters of the Sep 11 attacks on New York in 2001. A city spokesman said that the Arabic cultural organization backing the Taiba Mosque in the city had been banned. Police forced entry to the mosque in the early hours and searched the site, as well as the apartments of four governing committee members, confiscating material.

By IANS,

By IANS, Toronto : With credit squeeze hitting Canadian markets, the Bank of Canada Friday announced injection of billions of dollars into term lending markets even as the finance claimed that the Canadian economy was doing fine. In a statement, the nation's central bank said that beginning Sept 19 it has extended $8 billion to provide liquidity to term lending markets.

By Prensa Latina Madrid : The Spanish National Attorney General's Office demanded testimony from people involved in the passage of secret US prisoner flights to Guantanamo base, revealed El Pais Newspaper on Monday. Prosecutor Vicente Gonzalez Mota launched the demand that involves airport and plane officers as well as military and civil controllers of air bases in Moron de la Frontera (Sevilla), Rota (Cadiz) and Torrejon de Ardoz (Madrid).

By IANS, Washington : US President Barack Obama declared Friday a state of emergency for New York state as Hurricane Irene is approaching the US East Coast, Xinhua reported.

By Prensa Latina, Nairobi : UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that the armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is endangering the area near the African Great Lakes, and demanded a ceasefire. A summit was held in Kenya to analyze the Congolese conflict and attendants urged an immediate ceasefire in North Kivu, the opening of a humanitarian row, the abidance by agreements signed between Congo and neighboring Rwanda, and the reinforcement of the UN mission to Congo.

By KUNA, Brussels : The 17th annual EU-Japan summit to be held in Tokyo on Wednesday will focus on strengthening cooperation on key global challenges such as climate change and meeting the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in Africa. This meeting, ahead of the G8 from 7-9 July in Japan, will also address the situation in the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations, and regional issues in East Asia, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Myanmar, as well as EU-Japan relations, according to an European Commission (EC) statement today.

By Odalys Buscaron Ochoa, Prensa Latina, Moscow : Russian and Cuban executives consider positive negotiations to resume exchange with Russia's heavy truck Corporation KAMAZ through the signing of new contracts. At a business meeting with a delegation led by Transportation Minister Jorge Luis Sierra, Company General Director Kogogin lauded the resumption of active ties with the Cuban market.

By DPA, Paris : The lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, Tuesday passed a bill banning the wearing of the Islamic all-body veil, or burqa, in all public places. If approved in the fall by the Senate and then by the Constitutional Council, the law would impose a fine of 150 euros ($190) or a lesson in citizenship on any woman caught wearing the burqa outside her home. A man convicted of forcing a woman to wear the garment, meanwhile, would be liable to a fine of up to 30,000 euros and a one-year prison sentence.

By IANS, Moscow : A top Kremlin official said Friday Russian President Dmitry Medvedev intends to seek re-election in the 2012 presidential poll.

By IANS/EFE,

By DPA, Jerusalem : US special envoy George Mitchell met Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman Thursday morning, holding his first talks in Israel since the new government of hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office last month. Meeting Israeli President Shimon Peres earlier in the morning, the envoy reiterated Barack Obama administration's commitment to Israeli security, but also to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. Netanyahu's office has said his government is still undergoing a policy review, which will take several more weeks to complete.

By Prensa Latina, Kiev : Ukraine was definitely approved Friday by the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to become member 152 of this multilateral institution. The first sign of approval emerged February 5, when president Victor Yuschenko and the general director of the WTO, Pascal Lamy, signed the agreement in Geneva after almost 18 years of waiting. The entrance of Kiev to the trade forum was backed on April 10 by the Ukrainian parliament (Supreme Rada) with 411 votes in favor of a total of 450.

By IANS, London : The global biofuels boom risks harming the world's poorest people by forcing them off the land they depend on, says a report published Monday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). But the report adds that biofuels are not all bad, and shows that their production can also allow poor groups to increase their access to land and improve their livelihoods if the right policies are in place.

By DPA,

By IANS, Washington : Now that he has reclaimed the US presidency, Barack Obama needs to "think big" and take bold steps both domestically as well as abroad, a Washington Post writer has said.

By IANS,

By Venkata Vemuri, IANS, London : The British government's spending cuts are projected to result in 500,000 public sector job cuts between now and 2015 and the unemployment level expected to touch the three million mark. The employment group, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), has warned in a report that there was little prospect of real wage growth until at least 2015, and public sector workers faced pay cuts. The chancellor is expected to lay out sweeping cuts to try to trim the 156 billion pound deficit in his budget 22 June.

BY DPA, Hong Kong : The wife of a wealthy American investment banker Monday lost her appeal against her life sentence in Hong Kong for killing her husband in the so-called "milkshake murder" case. Nancy Kissel, 44, drugged her husband Robert, a senior Merrill Lynch banker, with a strawberry milkshake then smashed him over the head with a statuette in their luxury Hong Kong apartment in 2003. Her sensational 2005 trial had all the elements of a Hollywood thriller. It was the highest-profile expatriate criminal case in Hong Kong for years and generated headlines worldwide.

By Xinhua, Brussels : The European Union (EU) Tuesday condemned the Russian decision to recognise Georgia's two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent countries. The EU in a statement said Russia's move is "contrary to the principles of Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, recognised by the UN Charter, the conference on security and cooperation in Europe and UN security council resolutions".

By DPA, Geneva : At least 1,799 people have died of swine flu since April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported Wednesday in its latest global tally. The figures showed that 182,166 infections had been confirmed by national health authorities, though the total number of people who had contracted the disease was higher. The Americas remained hardest hit, with at least 105,882 infections and 1,579 deaths. Europe had more than 32,000 cases and 53 deaths, while South-East Asia had over 13,172 infections, of which 106 were fatal.

By IANS, London : Two members of a terrorist cell face jail in Britain after they admitted their involvement in a suicide bomb plot comparable to "another 9/11", a media report said.

By IANS, London : A man in the US repeatedly raped one of his daughters, who was less than 13 years old, and locked up another in a room no bigger than a wardrobe for more than a year, it was reported here Tuesday. The case is similar to that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian father who kept his daughter locked in a room for years and repeatedly raped her. Daily Mail reported that Jeffrey York not only ruled his home with fear, he prevented his wife and seven children from meeting friends and family.

By IANS/RIA Novosti,

By IANS, London : Balloting was under way in Britain Thursday to elect a new government amid growing fears of a hung parliament. Polling began across the country at 7 a.m., with people queuing up in many of nearly 50,000 voting centres. Voting closes at 10 p.m. by which time the fate of about 4,150 candidates in the fray will be decided in 649 constituencies. Election has been postponed to May 27 in one constituency where a candidate died during campaign. More than 44 million people are eligible to vote. Preliminary results are expected early Friday.

By Xinhua, Kathmandu : Nepal's Election Commission (EC) Thursday released the final list of 335 candidates nominated for the Constituent Assembly (CA) under proportional representation (PR) system. According to the EC, out of 54 political parties contested in April 10 CA elections, 25 parties managed to win seats through PR system. The EC distributed certificates to winning candidates representing 25 parties amidst a program held in Nepali capital Kathmandu.

By DPA Nairobi/Arusha : A three-day meeting meant to unite fractured rebel groups from Darfur ended Monday, with representatives vowing to negotiate on a joint platform with the Sudanese government to stop the conflict in the embattled region. The United Nations and African Union (AU) mediated the talks in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, which saw the eight rebel factions agree to present a common position when negotiating with Khartoum and recommended peace talks to begin in two or three months.

By Xinhua, Prague : At least 10 people were killed and 20 others injured Saturday when a train collided with a bus carrying 35 people at a railway crossing in central Slovakia. The accident occurred at about 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday near Brezno town in central Slovakia, the country's state-run TASR news agency said.

By Prensa Latina, Athens : Thousands of Greek young people and workers condemned the recent decision taken by Atlanta’s Court of Appeals against the antiterrorists Cuban Five imprisoned in US, local media reports Wednesday. The demonstrators, gathered at US embassy in Athens, expressed their solidarity to the people of Cuba and their indignation before the decision issued by that hearing on June 4.

NEW YORK, October 06, SPA -- An explosion Saturday at an apartment building in the Harlem neighborhood of New York hurt 17 people, including four children and a firefighter, and spewed pieces of the building out onto the street, officials said according to The Associated Press.

By IANS/AKI, Rome: A pistol-wielding bankrupt man stormed into a government office in central Italy's Perugia city and singled out two women employees who he shot dead before committing suicide.

By IANS, London : A 99-year-old Italian man is divorcing his wife of 77 years, and the mother to his five children, after he found out she had an affair more than 60 years ago.

By Xinhua, Beijing : Demonstrations against "Tibet independence" continued Sunday in several Chinese cities. Demonstrators were seen in northwestern city of Xian, and the northeastern city of Harbin and eastern city Jinan following Saturday's demonstrations in Beijing, and other places. The demonstrators gathered in front of outlets of the French supermarket chain Carrefour, in the northwestern city of Xian, chanting "Oppose Tibet independence", and "Oppose CNN's anti-China statements".

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday hailed the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai saying, "The true...

By DPA Johannesburg/Harare : Seven employees of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission were due to appear in court on charges of fraud and criminal abuse of duty for allegedly deflating the vote of President Robert Mugabe in recent presidential elections. The seven are accused of deliberately underestimating the 84-year-old leader's tally in the March 29 elections by around 5,000 votes, South African radio Tuesday quoted a police spokesman as saying. Ten days after the election, the commission has yet to announce the results.

By Bernama, Manila : At least 144 people have been killed in recent violence after some radical separatists attacked civilians in the Philippines' southern region of Mindanao, Xinhua news agency quoted disaster-relief and military officials as saying on Saturday. The death toll from attacks by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao has risen to 144 as of Saturday morning, said the Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Council. In its latest report, the agency said 53 persons were wounded in the attacks and one remained missing.

By IANS, London : Police arrested 17 people and closed six London Underground stations after thousands of revellers organised a non-stop drinks party late Saturday night to protest a ban on tippling in the city's most popular mass transit system. Four train drivers and three Underground staff were assaulted, one police vehicle was damaged and two officers assaulted and another was injured in the chaotic revelry that paralysed the underground transport system, a Guardian online report said Sunday.

By Syed Zarir Hussain Moreh (Myanmar-India Border), Sep 28 (IANS) Exiled Myanmar leaders have urged pro-democracy activists against fleeing their country in the wake of the ongoing military crackdown, according to information reaching this Indian town. Exiled leaders who live in Moreh on the border with Myanmar reported that hundreds of pro-democracy activists were preparing to flee Myanmar following the government assault on pro-democracy protestors.

By IANS, London: Humans in the future could be living in floating mini cities that drift across the Pacific Ocean as if on giant water lilies.

By Bernama, Vladivostok : Seven people were injured in a brawl that broke out between Russian and Chinese students in Vladivostok on Tuesday, Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported Wednesday. The brawl occurred near the State University of Economics and Services in the downtown area following a heated argument, which later turned into fist fighting using knives. Quoting the Russian news agency's report, approximately 40 students were involved, and four of them, including one Chinese student received out-patient treatments.

By IANS, New York : US stocks jumped Thursday after a government report showed the jobs market was steadily improving.

By DPA Paris : French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner tried to distance himself from statements he had made that the Iranian nuclear crisis could lead to war by saying that he was in favour of a negotiated settlement, the daily Le Monde reported Tuesday. "I do not want it said that I'm a war monger. My message was one of peace, serious and determined," Kouchner said on the aircraft taking him to Moscow.

By DPA, Yangon : Myanmar authorities Saturday began to free prisoners from Yangon's notorious Insein jail, including some political prisoners, under a government amnesty for 6,313 inmates nationwide. Eyewitnesses saw scores of prisoners leaving Insein Saturday evening. Among them were Thet Wai, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, and five other low-ranking opposition members. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her deputy Tin Oo have apparently been excluded from the amnesty. Suu Kyi and Tin Oo have been under house arrest since mid-2003.

By DPA Moscow : Russia and China aim to step up their military cooperation in the battle against terrorism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday while attending a major anti-terrorism military exercise by six regional states. Putin made the remarks while observing the "Peace Mission 2007" exercises by the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Chebarkul in the southern Urals, Interfax reported.

By DPA, Seoul : Jo Myong Rok, one of the most influential military figures of the North Korean communist regime and a close confidante of military ruler Kim Jong Il, died at age 82.

By DPA Washington : The US welcomed the decision by the Japanese government to resume naval operations in the Indian Ocean in support of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. "We were disappointed that the cooperation had to cease temporarily," US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Friday. "We welcome the decision by the Japanese government to renew this very important support."

By IANS, London : Refusing to scotch speculation that China is building one or more aircraft carriers, a senior Chinese defence ministry official has said if and when such a warship is built it will be used for defensive purposes. "The question is not whether you have an aircraft carrier, but what you do with your aircraft carrier," Major General Qian Lihua, a senior official with the ministry of defence, said in comments published here Monday.

By IANS

Beijing : Donations can be in money, goods, blood, organs and bone marrow. But what happens when you mix heartfelt charity with a handful of self-gratification? Sperm donation.

And college students are taking a leading role in this field in China, said chinanews on its website.

Nearly 10 percent of China's couples cannot conceive, with male infertility being the reason for one-third of them. Experts put the blame on pollution, work-related stress and unhealthy lifestyle.

By Xinhua, Wenzhou (China) : A TV reporter is in critical condition after he fell from the roof of a 25-storey building in China's Zhejiang Province Tuesday, an official said. Bao Cunliang, a reporter of the Wenzhou TV channel, fell from the roof of the TV station's building at 8.45 a.m. Bao was shooting the streets from the top of the building. He was in a critical condition after the fall, said Dong Jinghai, news director of the TV channel.

By IANS, Washington : Over 80 websites have been shut by US officials after it was found they were dealing in counterfeit goods.

Sydney, Oct 10 (DPA) Australian doctors in a far-north Queensland hospital saved the life of an Italian tourist by putting him on a drip-feed of vodka to flush out the poison he had drunk in a suicide attempt, local media reported Wednesday. "The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," physician Todd Fraser said Tuesday. "The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka."

By IANS/RIA Novosti, Munich : A court in Munich Thursday found 91-year-old Ukraine-born Ivan Demjanjuk guilty of helping to kill at least 27,900 Jews at a Nazi extermination camp in 1943.

By Xinhua, Madrid : The Spanish government said on Tuesday that it would contribute 500,000 euros (775,000 U.S. dollars) to the World Food Program to help cyclone-hit Myanmar. The announcement was made during a meeting at Spain's International Cooperation Agency for Development (AECID) on the situation in Myanmar which was hit by Tropical cyclone Nargis recently. What most urgently needed in Myanmar included blankets, drinking water and food, according to reports from Spain's embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, and from some non-governmental organizations.

By IANS/EFE,

By IANS, Mexico City : Archaeologists claimed to have discovered a tomb with four skeletal remains dating back some 2,700 years in the ruins of a Mexican pyramid. The tomb at the ancestral site of Zoque ethnicity in southeastern state of Chiapas, "consists of the skeletons of four individuals, two of them wearing jade, along with ceramics and other objects prized by the culture of the period", the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said.

Abuja : At least three people were killed and 16 others injured in two suicide bombings Monday in northern Nigeria's Kano state, officials said. In...

By Prensa Latina, Washington : Senator Barack Obama (D.-Ill.) heads towards winning the Democratic candidature after his split win with Hillary Clinton in Oregon and Kentucky primaries. Obama scored 16 points in Oregon and the ex first lady 32 in Kentucky yet Real Clear Politics on-line says Obama won at least 42 of the 103 delegates matching majority popular vote. Obama, 46, regards his 182 lead on Clinton with 1957 commissioners a clear popular message, which he defined in Iowa as a sign to get 200 undecided superdelegates.

By DPA, Washington : Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has reached a deal to join Fox News as an occasional contributor, the New York Times reported Monday. The Republican former governor of Alaska will not have a regular programme, but will host a series that will air from time to time, the newspaper reported. Palin ran on John McCain's ticket in the 2008 elections, losing to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS, Kathmandu : Paralysed by Maoist protests, Nepal's beleaguered government Thursday lashed out at the UN, accusing it of meddling in Nepal's internal matters. As the former Maoist guerrillas kept up their siege on government offices, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal called an emergency meeting of the 22 ruling parties to decide the government's future strategy.

By IANS/EFE, Mexico City : Six human heads were found in two Mexican cities, while at least 13 people were gunned down in two separate incidents in the country, police said. The six human heads were found in Lerdo and Gomez Palacio cities, in Durango state. Two heads belonged to municipal police officers, who were reported missing last week. The bodies of the two officers were found later, officials at the Durango state Attorney General's Office said.

By Prensa Latina Geneva : Cuba sought support from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Tuesday to speed the release of the five Cuban anti-terrorists serving unjust terms in US prisons. The proposal was submitted during an interactive debate with the president-rapporteur of the Group on Mercenary Use, the president-rapporteur for Arbitrary Detention, and the rapporteurr on Toxic Products and Waste.

By IANS, Dharamsala : Tibetans in exile are reaching out to the international community to intervene in ending human rights violations of Tibetans in China.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Norwegian government Wednesday signed an agreement to grant the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) $9 million for strengthening participation of women in local governance in India. The partnership agreement was signed by UNIFEM executive director Ines Alberdi and the Ambassador of Norway to India Ann Ollestad. "This signature is an initial step in working to promote women's participation in local governance and government in India," Alberdi told reporters here at the UN office.

By DPA, Beijing : Police in China's Tibet region have arrested 59 people suspected of "spreading rumours" in the nine months since Tibetans staged violent protests against Chinese rule in the regional capital of Lhasa, state media said Friday. After the protests and rioting in Lhasa in March, "some people started making up stories and spreading rumours, posing a threat to the security of the region and its people", the China Daily newspaper quoted Xin Yuanming, the city's deputy police chief, as saying.

By DPA Polokwane (South Africa) : A leadership conference of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) that could oust President Thabo Mbeki after 10 years as the party head got underway Sunday in the northern town of Polokwane. Mbeki, 65, headed into the conference as the underdog in a bitter race against ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma, the 65-year-old Zulu politician who took nearly two-thirds of the votes at the party nominations level.

By IANS, Washington : The California Supreme Court has upheld a Los Angeles International Airport ordinance barring Hare Krishnas from soliciting donations inside airport terminals. "Soliciting the immediate receipt of funds at a busy international airport like Los Angeles is particularly problematic," the court said Thursday in a ruling written by Justice Carlos Moreno. "The problems posed by solicitations for the immediate receipt of funds that arise in any public place would be exacerbated in the often crowded and hectic environment of a large international airport."

By IANS, Beijing : Fiftyfour high-speed trains used on the Beijing-Shanghai route will be recalled over safety concerns, its manufacturers said Friday.

By IANS, Vienna : The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has revised upward the demand for crude oil in 2013, showing confidence about the future oil market.

By Prensa Latina, Moscow : Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov reiterated Friday that his country will provide internal security to the rebel republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, by virtue of bilateral agreements. By a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Lavrov emphasized that international observers will be deployed only around the territories already mentioned.

By IANS, Bujumbura (Burundi) : Thirty-one people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a bar in western Burundi, Xinhua reported Monday.

By IANS, London : An ambitious plan to set up a 50-million-pound cattle factory, where over 8,000 cows will be milked around the clock, has been unveiled in Britain. First of its kind in Britain, the industrial-scale farm will house the UK's largest dairy herd in Western Europe inside giant metal sheds with little access to green grass or sunshine, the Daily Mail reported Friday. The farm, where 8,100 'battery cows' will be milked around the clock, is expected to be built at Nocton, south of Lincoln.

Islamabad : Eight of the 10 militants reportedly jailed for their role in the 2012 attack on Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai have been freed,...

By IANS,

By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS, Kathmandu : Bowing to mounting public outrage, Nepal's beleaguered government Wednesday decided to withdraw the state honours conferred on two controversial security personnel, though a tainted former army chief was spared.

By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS, Kathmandu : Seven months after Nepal's god-king Gyanendra was stripped of his crown and legal immunity, the shadow of prosecution lies over the patron of the deposed monarch, Lord Pashupatinath, whose temple in Kathmandu valley is one of the eight holiest Hindu shrines.

By DPA, Beijing : China has sentenced a well-known environmental activist and his daughter to "reform through labour" after accusing them of "endangering state security" by disclosing details of radioactive pollution from a uranium mine, rights groups said Friday. Sun Xiaodi, a former employee of the state-run Number 792 Uranium Mine in the northwestern province of Gansu, has campaigned for more than a decade to draw attention to pollution from the mine.

By DPA, Washington : The US Congress voted Thursday to raise the federal debt limit by an additional $1.9 trillion to prevent the government from defaulting on its skyrocketing debt levels. The controversial increase raises the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion. The House of Representatives voted 233-187 to send the bill to President Barack Obama's desk for signature. The Senate passed the measure last week. As part of the initiative, Congress also toughened "pay-as-you-go" budgeting rules that will force future spending measures to be coupled with spending cuts elsewhere.

By IANS, Toronto : Canadian authorities have no clue on the whereabouts of 41,000-odd people who face deportation from the country. According to a report by attorney general Sheila Fraser, which was tabled in parliament Tuesday, 63,000 people currently face orders for removal from Canada. Only 22,000 of them are known to the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA), which is responsible for stopping and detaining those who entered the country illegally. But the agency knows nothing about the remaining 41,000 people to enforce removal orders against them.

By IRNA, Berlin : The number of active neo-Nazis in the Netherlands has increased 10-fold to around 400 since 2004, according to a report released Thursday by Leiden University and the Anne-Frank-Foundation. Neo-Nazi groups are much better organized and more active than at any time in the past, the study added. The authors of the report branded the Freedom Party of controversial Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders who is also a known Islamophob, as extreme right-wing.

By DPA Vienna : The price of crude oil produced by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crossed $90 for the first time Wednesday, according to a statement by the OPEC secretariat here Thursday. One barrel (159 litres) of crude produced in the 12 OPEC member states cost $90.71 Wednesday, the secretariat said, a marked increase from $89.13 the previous day.

By Manish Chand, IANS, Book: The Post-American World; Author: Fareed Zakaria; Publisher: Penguin/Viking; Price: Rs. 499. Don't write an obituary of the American superpower yet. It's not that America is declining, but everyone else is rising - this is the "great story of our times" Fareed Zakaria tells in his new book that goes to the heart of tectonic power shifts to the non-Western world in the 21st century.

By Bernama Seoul : North Korea again lambasted the conservative South Korean president as a "traitor" Saturday, urging all Koreans in and out of the Korean Peninsula to rally against his tough position toward Pyongyang, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. On Tuesday, North Korea called President Lee Myung-bak a "traitor" when it lashed out at him by name for the first time since he took office in February.

By IANS,

By RIA Novosti, Moscow : The G8 summit, which opens Monday on the Island of Hokkaido, Japan, will focus on climate change and the global economy, a Kremlin aide said on Thursday. Arkady Dvorkovich, who is also Russian Sherpa at the G8, said during the three-day summit the G8 leaders will discuss African development, climate change, global economy, including energy prices, the situation on the food market, and international security. Separate documents will be adopted on each specific issue.

By IANS, Washington : US President Barack Obama was never in danger because of a prostitution scandal involving Secret Service agents during a trip to Colombia, a top official said Wednesday.

By IRNA Madrid : Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off his country's oil shipments to the United States if a court ruling goes forward ordering Venezuelan assets be frozen in a case brought by Exxon Mobil. The dispute centers on President Hugo Chavez's nationalization of heavy oil projects. "One court orders that Venezuela be frozen," he said on his weekly television and radio program "Hello, President." "If you wind up freezing and hurt us, we will hurt you. Do you know how? We are not going to send oil to the United States."

By Xinhua, Bangkok : Thailand's Supreme Court on Wednesday handed down a six-month jail term to each of three lawyers working for ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra over a charge of attempted bribery in which a lawyer handed a pastry box filled with cash to a court official on June 10. The three are lawyer Pichit Chuenban, his assistants Suppasri Srisawasdi and Thana Tansiri.

By DPA, Lisbon : Portugal's Economy Minister Manuel Pinho Wednesday inaugurated what was described as Europe's biggest wind energy park in the northern region of Viana do Castelo. The Alto Minho I park began generating energy already a year ago, gradually increasing its production to the full potential Wednesday. The 120 turbines divided between five sub-stations will produce 530 gigawatts annually or one percent of Portugal's energy. The park, which cost 400 million euros ($520 million), was expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 370,000 tonnes annually.

By Xinhua, Beijing : Holding a black electronic gadget, Cheng Jing, a 38-year-old man who lives here carefully reads the figures on its screen and jots them down in a notebook. Cheng is a voluntary "radiation examiner" in the community. Cheng began his free-of-charge initiative to measure radiation of home appliances and power transmission facilities some two months ago. For the past two years, many residents in Baiziwan have been worrying about electromagnetic radiation released by high-voltage wires in the area.

By NNN-APP, United Nations : UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has called on lawyers to play a greater role in ensuring that countries live up to their commitments to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In an address to the American Bar Association in New York, Ms. Migiro said the fight to bring an end to impunity for such crimes is one of the most important ways of ensuring that the rule of law is put into practice worldwide.

By IANS, Wellington : At least three people were killed and one seriously injured after a helicopter of the New Zealand air force crashed, officials said Sunday. The Iroquois helicopter of the Royal New Zealand Air Force crashed while enroute from Ohakea to Anzac Day commemorations in Wellington. Police and ambulance services said they were called to the scene on farmland near the Paekakariki Hill Rd, 40km north east of Wellington about 6.45am.

By DPA Singapore : The search is on for the happiest person in Singapore following a recent survey that found nine in 10 people feel life is stressful and they need more fun, news reports said Thursday. Led by Philip Merry, chief executive and founder of the Global Leadership Academy, the hunt will last until March 30. Singaporeans can nominate anyone they know over the age of 18. He or she must contribute to society and be happy "no matter what life throws at them", The Straits Times quoted Merry, 58, as saying.

By IANS, London : Around 100 members of the British armed forces are pagans, while another 30 are witches, says a media report. The strange details about the beliefs of soldiers, sailors and airmen were obtained from the ministry of defence using the Freedom of Information Act, the Daily Mail reported. Paganism, which focuses on the worship of nature and its "vitality and spirituality", finds its roots in the traditional religions of ancient Britain. Stonehenge, the ancient British site of stone obelisks, is their favourite place of pilgrimage.

By IANS,

By IANS,

By IANS/EFE,

By IANS Colombo : Small island states that face the prospect of going under water as sea levels rise due to climate change sent an SOS to governments around the world Wednesday evening. The Male declaration on the human dimension of climate change - that was reached after a two-day meet of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) at Kurumba resort, called for immediate and effective action to protect these countries from the increasing threats of climate change.

By Prensa Latina, Beijing : Trade between the US and China grew 10.5 per cent in 2008, netting $333.7 billion, say specialized sources. This is the smallest growth since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002 but reflects an active bilateral exchange. The General Customs Administration (GCA) rates Chinese sales to the US in $252.3 billion, which is 8.4 per cent higher than 2007. US exports to China netted $81.4 billion, for a 17.4 per cent growth compared to the previous year.

By IANS/RIA Novosti,

By IANS, New York : The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which claimed more than 200,000 lives, was not the first of its kind to hit the region, according to new research. The research also suggests that such huge tsunamis occur in the Indian Ocean every 600 to 700 years. The findings could be used to put statistical weight behind estimates of the likelihood of a future tsunami.

By IANS/EFE, Mexico City : A team of Mexican specialists discovered remnants of a 2,000-year-old Mayan palace at an archaeological site in the southeastern state of Chiapas.

By Xinhua, Male : The Maldives' new cabinet consisting of 14 members was sworn in here by Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed Wednesday night, one day after the archipelago's new President Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) assuming office. The 14 ministers are from six political groups within the coalition government led by Anni's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Anni's MDP got five posts, including finance, defence, fisheries and agriculture, health, as well as housing, transport and environment.

By IANS/RIA Novosti,

By DPA Washington : Taiwan's plan to hold a referendum next year on whether it should join the United Nations is a "provocative policy" that will raise tensions with China, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. Rice Friday said the US opposes any attempt by Taiwan to alter cross strait relations with China and will not support formal independence from Beijing. "We think that Taiwan's referendum to apply to the United Nations under the name Taiwan is a provocative policy," Rice said in her final press conference of the year.

By IANS, Washington : The head shape and overall size of rodents have been changing over the years. Now, an ecologist has tied these changes to human population density and climate change. Oliver Pergams, assistant professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago, said that such size-and-shape changes in mammals, occurring in less than a century, are quite substantial.

By Carolyn Sauvage-Mar, IANS, New Delhi : Americans love the idea of democracy, and argue all the time about what that democracy should look like. This election gives us a chance to settle the argument, for at least four years, about our vision of America. I welcome the clear choice before us, as the imperative to change course is stark. The mortgage meltdown and its impact on ordinary Americans and the global economy have dominated the news for weeks. But as bad as the economic crisis is, the Republican legacy does not end there.

By IANS,

By RIA Novosti, Moscow : The Russian opposition movement launched an alternative national assembly in Moscow on Saturday, committing itself in its founding charter to working toward the "restoration of political democracy in Russia." The Other Russia opposition coalition announced its plans for the assembly, which they hope will unite varying anti-Kremlin groups, in mid-March.

By IANS Vancouver : An Indo-Guyanese has been nominated by Ontario's New Democratic Party (NDP) as its candidate from the Brampton-Springdale area for provincial elections next month. Mani Singh, 47, who moved to Canada in his late teens with his parents, is a realtor. He has lived in Brampton for 26 years with his wife Prema and four children. The provincial elections are slated for Oct 10.

BY Prensa Latina, Beijing: The Chinese government has registered a Cuban drug that is used for treating acute diabetic patients, officials said. The Heberprot-B, a drug manufactured in Cuba, was introduced in Beijing Monday. Foreign drugs have to be registered under the Chinese Medicine Regulation Agency before they can be prescribed to patients. Luis Herrera, director of the Genetic and Biotechnology Engineering Centre (CIGB) in Cuba, said the Heberprot-B is an effective drug to cure diabetic patients.

By Xinhua, Chengdu (China) : A month into its relief work, quake-weary China is now focusing on resettlement and reconstruction. More and more people are going home after dwelling outdoors under temporary shelters since the devastating May 12 quake that hit the southwestern province of Sichuan. Having lived in a heat-trapping tent with bottled water and instant noodles over the past 10 muggy days, Luo Chaogui was now merrily preparing Kong Pao chicken and Sichuan-style tofu (a health food made by coagulating soymilk)for her family in their air-conditioned home.

By Prensa Latina Washington : US Republican and Democrat representatives discussed a hard-handed migratory measure against people in the US without documents, an initiative similar to that fostered by conservative senators. The project presented Tuesday by Congressman Heath Shuler (D,NC) focused on security and has more than 140 supporters, almost 50 percent of whom are Democrats.

By DPA

Nairobi : The Kenyan airliner believed to have crashed in Cameroon on Saturday with 114 people aboard has been found, Kenya television broadcaster KTN reported citing official Cameroonian sources.