International

By IANS,

By KUNA, Paris : Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, affirmed here Monday that he sensed during his recent mission to the areas affected by the South Ossetian conflict that among the most "pressing" human rights concerns pertaining to the conflict was the return from both sides of the persons detained.

By DPA Hong Kong : People in Hong Kong are the most optimistic in the world about the prospects for 2008 while those in Taiwan are the region's gloomiest, according to a survey Tuesday. Seventy-one percent of people in Hong Kong believe 2008 will be better than 2007, the highest percentage among 54 countries and regions surveyed worldwide by market research groups TNS and Gallup.

By DPA, Washington : US President George W. Bush Friday applauded John McCain's "exciting decision" of picking Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, and described her as "a working mother with a track record of getting things done". "Governor Palin is a proven reformer who is a wise steward of taxpayer dollars and champion for accountability in government," Bush said in a statement, adding that her "success is due to her dedication to principle and her roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic, and serves as a wonderful example of the spirit of America".

By Xinhua Boao, Hainan : The economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan was facing a historical opportunity and needed joint efforts from both sides for further progress, Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said on Saturday. Hu made the remarks while meeting with Vincent C. Siew, chairman of the Taiwan-based Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation at the Boao Forum for Asia.

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By IANS, Beijing : Seventy students fell ill after they had a meal at a primary school in south China, an official spokesman said. The students suffered from fever, stomach aches and diarrhoea Wednesday after having food at Yingcai Primary School in Yulin City of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Xinhua quoted spokesman with the regional public security bureau Qin Yongjun as saying Thursday.

By IRNA, New Delhi : Nepal is going to elect its first president on Saturday. Three candidates, Ram Raja Prasad Singh of CPN (Maoist), Dr. Ram Baran Yadav of Nepali Congress and Ramprit Paswan of CPN(UML) are in the fray. According to reports the contest is likely to be tough. Madhesh Janadhikar Forum (MJF) has decided to support the Maoist candidate Ram Raja Prasad Singh for the post of President and nominated Parmanand Jha as its candidate for the Vice-President.

By DPA, Moscow : Just hours before a European Union (EU) emergency summit on the crisis in Georgia, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy discussed the situation on the telephone, the agency Interfax has reported. The two leaders focussed on the disputed buffer zones held by the Russian Army on Georgian territory along the two breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, according to the late Sunday report from Interfax, which cited presidium officials in Moscow.

By DPA, Vienna : Croatia's fugitive former premier Ivo Sanader was arrested Friday in Austria, a day after fleeing his country, the interior ministries in Vienna and Zagreb confirmed.

By Xinhua, Singapore : The first informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Six-Party Talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue was held here Wednesday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting.

By IANS, RIA Novosti,

Ottawa: Congratulating India's prime minister-elect over his victory, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he is looking forward "to working with Mr. Modi and...

By DPA, Washington : Sandy Allen, the tallest woman in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records, died in the US state of Indiana. The 2.31-metre tall woman died at the age of 53 at a nursing home in Shelbyville, Indiana, said a publication Wednesday. Allen had been ill for a few months, a friend was quoted as saying in the Indianapolis Star. The cause of death was not known, but she suffered from blood infections, respiratory problems and diabetes.

By KUNA Berlin : Hurricane Emma which has hit Europe yesterday killing 11 among them four in Bavaria south of Germany is expected to continue, the German Meteorological Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst) in Offenbach said on Sunday. Helmut Malewski from Wetterdienst said in television statements that the powerful storm with winds exceeding more than 120 kilometers an hour has also caused major material damage estimated to be worth millions of euros.

By RIA Novosti, Washington : U.S. President George Bush has frozen a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with Russia amid the current Georgia crisis. The news was announced on Monday in a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that read: "The president has notified Congress that he has today rescinded his prior determination regarding the U.S.-Russia agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation." "We make this decision with regret. Unfortunately, given the current environment, the time is not right for this agreement," the statement went on.

By KUNA, Washington : US President George W. Bush and his rival French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Saturday for more international collective efforts to address the current financial crisis. Bush said along with Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso after arriving to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland that the US will host a summit of world leaders "in the near future" to discuss the global financial crisis.

By IANS, Beijing: Chinese archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of two ancient cities dating back 4,000 years.

By IANS/RIA Novosti,

By IANS, Washington : In 2006, astronomer Alice Quillen predicted a planet of a specific size and orbit must lie within the dust of a nearby star. That planet has now been photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope, making it only the second planet ever imaged after an accurate prediction. The only other planet seen after an accurate prediction was Neptune, more than 160 years ago. "It's remarkable," said Eugene Chiang, associate professor of astronomy at the University of California Berkeley (UC-B), and part of the team that imaged the new planet.

By EFE, Mexico City : Mexican authorities have rejected a request by a US-based firm to comb the wreck of a Spanish galleon that sank in 1631 in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH) said in a communique that the two requests presented by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2006 and 2008 "do not meet the requirements that regulations establish for archaeological investigation in Mexico".

By TwoCircles.net news desk, New Delhi: Council of Indian Muslims—UK (CIM) has strongly condemned the imposition of the so called Jizya on Sikh community and demolition of their houses in Pakistan's Aurakzai tribal region as “un-Islamic and shameful”. A press statement issued by the CIM quotes its religious affairs advisor and London based renowned religious scholar Maulana Atiqur-Rehman Sambhali as saying, “Such an action is highly deplorable, unacceptable and un-Islamic. “

By IANS, London : Taxpayers in Britain will have to share the burden of a spiralling bill for a European history museum that will see them shelling out a whopping 19 million pounds.

By Amit Kapoor, The recently concluded BRICS annual summit held in Brazil resulted in the important Fortaleza Declaration and Action Plan from the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The joint declaration has some important points that highlight the importance of this year’s summit.

By Xinhua, Tokyo : An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Japan's east coastal areas Thursday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at around 8.17 a.m.( 2317 GMT), was about 10 km under the sea at Sariku Oki off the coast of Miyagi prefecture, the agency said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property. No tsunami warning was issued.

By Xinhua Colombo : Four soldiers were killed and eight injured in a predawn air and ground attack launched by guerrillas of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Sri Lanka's north central Anuradhapura Air Force Base Monday, defence officials said. Ajantha De Silva, the Air Force spokesman, said a group of Tamil Tiger rebels attacked the air base, about 200 km north of the capital Colombo, around 3.20 a.m. Two LTTE aircraft also dropped bombs at the air base, he said.

By Xinhua, Mogadishu : NATO forces Saturday freed 20 people taken hostage by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden last week, a media report said. A Dutch warship in a NATO anti-piracy mission freed 20 Yemeni hostages from a vessel that was captured by the pirates last week, the report quoted a NATO spokesperson as saying. Seven Somali pirates were captured in the operation, it said. Of late, attacks on ships by Somali pirates have increased in the Gulf of Aden. Several countries have sent their warships to the region to protect the shipping lanes.

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By IANS/RIA Novosti,

By DPA

Moscow : Russia has welcomed as "logical" the decision at the United Nations (UN) in New York to refer the Kosovo independence issue to a six-nation contact group.

"This is a logical consequence of our active policy. We want to lay the foundations for a continuation of the dialogue with the aim of reaching an agreement between Pristina and Belgrade," a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said late Friday, according to Interfax.

By IANS, Leicester : People braved near-zero temperatures at several places in Britain to celebrate Diwali, with all eyes on the city of Leicester for its breathtaking display of dazzling fireworks. Cutting across communities, they gathered in public parks in various cities and towns for a cultural evening organised by local Indian organisations, the festivities culminating in a final play of light and sound in the skies.

By DPA, Washington : In the four decades since the world watched his "one giant leap for mankind", Neil Armstrong hasn't had much use for the limelight. So as, the first man on the moon celebrates his 80th birthday Thursday no large party is expected. Last year, he took part in celebrations for the 30th anniversary of his famous moon landing July 20, 1969, but with seemingly less enthusiasm than his publicity-hungry colleague Buzz Aldrin.

By IANS, Seoul : South Korea's jobless rate dropped to 2.9 percent in October as the number of people employed grew at the fastest pace in 17 months, a government report showed Wednesday.

By IANS, Toronto: Kids living closer to convenience stores are more likely to be obese, a new study says. ''Access to convenience stores seems more relevant in obesity than access to fast food restaurants,'' says senior researcher Tracie Ann Barnett, professor in social and preventive medicine at the University of Montreal. Barnett suggests that schools should establish zones that are free of convenience stores and work harder to compete against fast food chains.

By IANS, London: US President Barack Obama has barred his daughters from using Facebook because he doesn't want "strangers knowing our business", a media report said.

By IANS Caracas : Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have participated in a huge opposition rally against the constitutional reforms pushed by President Hugo Chavez, Spanish news agency EFE reported Friday. The opposition leaders at the rally held here Thursday called on the people to vote against the constitutional reform in the referendum slated for Sunday. They also urged people not to initiate or participate in any sort of violence or disturbance during the referendum.

By RIA Novosti, Moscow : Russia could have the right to file a claim for part of treasure worth billions of dollars on board a British cargo ship sunk by a German submarine during World War II, experts said. The British cargo ship, torpedoed in June 1942 while carrying precious metals to the US to help pay for the Allied war effort under the Lend-Lease Act, was recently discovered by the Sub Sea Research company off Guyana.

By IANS, Kathmandu : Six months after an Iranian doctor went missing while attempting to climb a Himalayan peak in northern Nepal, his wife has returned to the Himalayan republic in a bid to find his body. Saed Bahaeloo Horeh, a doctor, had been part of an Iranian team attempting to summit the Tilicho, a 7135-metre high peak in northern Manang district last autumn. He went missing Oct 28 and his companions feared he could have fallen into a crevasse.

By SPA Stockholm : Swedish security services took three Swedish citizens into custody on Thursday on suspicion of planning acts of terror and of financing terrorism, according to Reuters. "Three people have been taken into custody," said Maria Martinsson, spokeswoman for the Swedish Security Service. "They are suspected of preparing terrorist activity and of financing terrorism." She said the three men detained at various addresses in the Stockholm area.

By DPA, Colombo : A Turkish ship transporting sulphuric acid sank off Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast Thursday, three days after attempts to repair a leak in the vessel failed, a navy spokesman said. The ship had sailed from Tuticorin in India. Sulphuric acid is widely used for lead-acid batteries for vehicles. The ship's 19-member crew was rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy after the MT Granba reported a leak off the Trincomalee area Monday and attempts were made to carry out the repairs.

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : The gushing oil from BP's ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico may have stopped for now, but America's worst environmental disaster caused by the April 20 blowout on the rig is far from over. The well isn't dead yet, and it may be back in a flash, officials said as BP began a 48-hour "integrity test" on the well's new sealing cap after 87 days of futile efforts to kill the well by pumping mud into it and putting a top hat on the broken pipe.

By DPA, Colombo : The ruling party in Sri Lanka, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, won the first parliamentary elections held since last year's defeat of Tamil separatist rebels and the end of the country's 26-year civil war, election officials said Friday. With some votes yet to be counted from Thursday's elections, Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had taken 117 seats, already a majority in the 225-member Parliament, the officials said.

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By IANS, Washington : Over 1,300 houses were destroyed in a wildfire in the US state of Texas, Xinhua reported Thursday.

MELBOURNE, Jan 3 (Bernama) -- Australian motorists have been warned to expect to pay A$1.50 a litre for petrol as crude oil hits US$100 (US$1=RM3.28) a barrel. Motoring group, National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA), predicted average petrol prices would top A$1.50 (A$1.00 = RM2.89) a litre within the week as international factors prompted the spike in crude oil prices, which had jumped more than 50 percent in a year. According to the NRMA website, some Sydney motorists were already paying more than A$1.50 a litre.

By DPA, Los Angeles : Former American football star O.J. Simpson was sentenced to 15 years in jail Friday for his part in an armed robbery and kidnapping case in Las Vegas last year. Lawyers for Simpson, who was controversially acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, said they would appeal. Simpson, 61, was convicted in October of 12 charges stemming from the incident in which he and his cohorts used guns to force two sports memorabilia dealers to hand over a number of items that Simpson believed to have been stolen from him.

By IANS, Washington : US President Barack Obama has said cooperation between America and China is good for both countries as well as the world.

By IANS, London : The age at which someone can apply for a marriage visa to join their spouse in Britain will increase from 18 to 21 from the end of November, the government announced. From Nov 27 both parties in a marriage will have to be 21 before a marriage visa can be issued, the home ministry said Tuesday in what it described as part of efforts to crack down on forced marriage and on “those who attempt to abuse the marriage visa route”.

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : Home alone, President Barack Obama has been enjoying what some have jokingly referred to as a bachelor's weekend with friends - golfing, playing basketball and grilling out on the White House South Lawn. The festivities are all part of a belated birthday celebration of sorts for the president, who turned 49 Wednesday.

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By IANS,

By IANS New Delhi : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama says India's "cautious" approach to the Tibet issue is "understandable". "I always looked out of (sic) India from a holistic view. Then there is some incidence, here and there, being a little overcautious doesn't matter," he told TV news channel NDTV in an interview to be telecast Friday.

By SPA Washington : The United States welcomed a power-sharing agreement signed by rival Kenyan leaders on Thursday that seeks to end post-election violence that killed 1,000 people, but said much depends on the deal’s implementation. “That’s an important and very positive step forward,” State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said of the deal signed by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

By IANS, Phnom Penh : The first-ever ASEAN global dialogue was held here Tuesday, focusing on global challenges, particularly economic and financial issues.

By DPA Dublin : Sikh police officers from Britain have criticized a decision by the Irish police force to ban a Sikh recruit from wearing a turban on the job, according to reports in the Irish press Tuesday. The Sikh Association of London's Metropolitan Police, which has allowed Sikhs to wear official police turbans since the 1970s, said An Garda Siochana (the Irish police force) was engaging in "racial discrimination," The Irish Times reported. Ireland's police decided to ban the wearing of turban last week, saying all police officers must wear standard uniforms.

By DPA, New York : Pope Benedict XVI Sunday prayed at Ground Zero with survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks that took 3,000 lives, and asked for god's intercession in the hate which drove the hijackers to kill so many. Dressed in a plain white robe, Benedict knelt at a small altar on a yellow carpet at Ground Zero and prayed silently for several minutes before lighting a single candle. The brief ceremony came on the sixth and last day of the pontiff's tour of the US, where his quest for reconciliation over the child sex abuse scandals within the church have dominated his sojourn.

By Xinhua, Beijing : China Thursday announced a fiscal deficit budget of 950 billion yuan ($139 billion) for 2009, the highest in six decades, as the country boosts spending to cushion the impact of the global financial crisis. The total deficit accounts for less than 3 percent of China's gross domestic product (GDP), said Prime Minister Wen Jiabao at the opening of parliament's annual session.

By IANS, Khon Kaen (Thailand): Indian golfer Harmeet Kahlon shot a scorching six-under 66 to finish tied fourth while Rahil Gangjee dropped three bogeys on the back nine and lost what might have been a great chance to pull of his second career win in a play-off at the Kings Cup here Sunday. Gangjee was in shared lead at the turn after a fine three-under 33 on the front stretch. But then tension got the better of him and he dropped three shots on the 14th, 15th and 17th and the birdie on 18th was nothing mere than a consolation.

By DPA, New York: A New York man has been charged with stabbing to death a fellow commuter on a train after the they got into an argument over a seat, according to a report Sunday. The 37-year-old suspect had demanded that a reportedly homeless 36-year-old man move a bag from the seat where he wanted to sit on the train he boarded at the city's Rockerfeller Center, the New York Daily News reported. The newspaper said that after the man refused and assaulted him, the suspect drew a steak knife.

By DPA Washington : US President George W. Bush Friday defended the use of harsh interrogation measures by US security officials, saying they helped the government "better protect the American people". In remarks to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Bush said "highly trained professionals" carried out the questioning of "these extremists and terrorists". The agents are "trained in this kind of work ... to get information" that has helped protect the American people, Bush said.

By DPA, London : The London stock market rebounded in early trading Thursday, which saw the Financial Times Share Index rise by 3 percent while banking shares were up again sharply. The recovery was led by banks expected to tap the government for new capital pledged in a 50-billion-pound ($87 billion) package Wednesday, and boosted by gains on Far Eastern markets as well as the global interest rate cuts. Shares in Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) were up nearly 30 percent Thursday, while Royal Bank of Scotland shares rose by 16 percent.

By IANS, Washington : Motor vehicle crashes claim nearly 5,000 teenagers every year in the US, because of their refusal to wear seat belts either as drivers or passengers. The study comprised over 12,000 African-American, white, and Hispanic public and private high school students aged 16 or older who participated in the 2001 and 2003 National Youth Risk Behaviour Surveys.

By DPA, Seoul : A delegation sent by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il arrived Friday in Seoul to pay respects to the late South Korean president Kim Dae Jung, who won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to reconcile the two Koreas. The visit was the first to South Korea by high-ranking North Korean functionaries since the inauguration of conservative South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in February last year.

By IRNA Berlin : Germany will send three CH-53 transport helicopters to Greece to combat the wild fires in that south European country, foreign ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told journalists here Sunday. According to the deputy spokesperson of the German Defense Ministry, Michael Berndsen, the helicopters will be put into operation in Greece on Tuesday. An advance commando was due to depart Germany for Greece to prepare logistically for the transfer of the helicopters, Berndsen added.

Colombo: Sri Lanka's main opposition party on Wednesday raised concerns regarding the security of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and urged the government to address...

By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS London : An attempt by Britain's longest-serving Asian MP to bring more ethnic minority politicians into the British parliament has won approval from the opposition Liberal Democrats and the author of a Labour-sponsored study.

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Kathmandu : Nepal began celebrating the official appointment of its first bishop by the Vatican with the incumbent, Bishop Anthony Francis Sharma, pledging greater participation by Christians for the development of the nation.