Zimbabwe cholera death toll rises to 3,300
By Xinhua,
Harrare : The cholera death toll in Zimbabwe has reached 3,300, a World Health Organisation (WTO) official has said.
WTO country representative Custodia Mandlhate was quoted by local media New Ziana as saying that a total of 65,700 cases had also been reported since the first outbreak in August last year.
She said fears were that about 32,000 new cases would be recorded in the near future if little was done to control the disease.
Higher interest rates won’t check inflation
By Xinhua
Beijing : Interest rate hikes are not the way to address China's spiralling inflation because higher rates could have a negative impact on the stock market, a top economic think tank of the country has said.
The negative impact of the severe winter would continue to push up consumer prices in the first quarter, but the impact would pass, said the report by the State Information Centre (SIC) published Thursday in the China Securities Journal.
Migrants to become majority in Australia by 2025
By IANS,
Sydney: Migrants from other countries including India will overtake the number of locally-born residents in Australia by 2025, a media report said Sunday.
An Australian-born family will become a minority within the next 15 years, outnumbered by a surging wave of migrants from Europe and Asia, the Daily Telegraph reported quoting demographic consultants Macroplan Australia.
Most migrants to Australia come from Britain (14.2 percent), followed by New Zealand (11.4), India (11.2), China (10.5) South Africa (5.3) and the Philippines (4.1).
New Russian supertanker on Pacific trip
By RIA Novosti
Vladivostok : A new supertanker built in South Korea for a Russian company has set off on its debut voyage to the Pacific Coast of the United States, a spokesman for a Russian shipping company said on Tuesday.
The Zaliv America is one of several supertankers that South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder, is building for Russia's Primorsk Shipping Company.
Protest against UK updating nuclear weapons
By IRNA,
London : More than 30 people have been arrested during one of the biggest anti-nuclear protests at Britain's Atomic Weapons Establishment for 10 years.
The protests, at Aldermaston, south England, was directed against the government's controversial decision to upgrade the country's nuclear missiles in defiance of the UK commitment to disarm under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Two killed as moderate quake shakes northwest China
By Xinhua,
Xi'an (China) : Two people were killed and one injured when an aftershock measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale hit northwest China's Shaanxi province Tuesday, officials said Wednesday.
According to the authorities, the quake hit the Ningqiang county Tuesday afternoon, destroying several houses and killing two people.
The injured was shifted to a nearby hospital, the earthquake relief headquarters at Hanzhong city said.
Shaanxi province was badly affected by the May 12 killer earthquake that left a trail of devastation in the province and its neighbour Sichuan province.
Nepal’s Macbeth: A king who was never crowned
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : As His Majesty Shri Panch Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah is reduced to a commoner with the official proclamation of once the world's only Hindu kingdom a democratic federal secular republic, the former king's life can provide the plot for awe-inspiring tales that can surpass the classic Greek tragedies.
"He is Nepal's Macbeth," former minister Gopal Man Shrestha had said of the man who brought his and his dynasty's downfall through unbridled ambition and poor judgment.
Pacific oil pipeline a strategic project: Putin
By RIA Novosti,
Kozmino (Russia) : Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who officially launched the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline Monday, said it was a project of strategic importance for Russia.
During his visit to the region, the Russian premier took part in the official ceremony of pumping the first batch of Siberian oil into an oil tanker at the specialised maritime oil-loading port of Kozmino, the final point of the ESPO project.
Sri Lanka denies visa to US hip-hop star
By IANS,
Colombo : Sri Lanka has denied visa to US hip-hop singer Akon in the wake of protest over his controversial video album featuring scantily-clam women dancing around a statue of Lord Buddha.
Akon was to perform in Sri Lanka next month and a major tourism drive was also launched to attract fans from Asia and other regions for the concert.
Colombia gets ready to welcome released hostages
By IANS
Bogota : A giant banner on Bogota's city hall and hundreds of white flags have been put up in southwestern Pitalito town to welcome the two hostages released by Colombia's largest insurgency group after years in the jungle, Spanish news agency EFE reported Saturday.
Former congresswoman, Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo, 57, and one-time vice presidential hopeful Clara Rojas, 44, were handed over Thursday by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to a Red Cross delegation led by Venezuela's interior minister in southeastern Colombia.
Bird flu case found in South Korea
By IANS
Seoul : South Korean officials have detected the H7 strain of avian influenza virus at a duck farm in the country's sixth largest city Gwangju and stepped up efforts to prevent it from spreading.
The metropolitan health department culled about 16,000 ducks at the farm and three other nearby farms in the city some 330 km south of the capital, WAM news agency reported Sunday.
While the H7 strain is not highly contagious for humans, there is a possibility that it could mutate into a more virulent form.
Israel deports controversial US academic
By DPA,
Tel Aviv : Israel deported a controversial Jewish-American academic who is a fierce critic of its polices and who has lauded the pro-Iranian Hezbollah organization, the Ha'aretz daily reported Sunday.
Norman Finkelstein was detained for several hours at Ben Gurion International Airport late Friday through Saturday before being put on an aircraft back to Amsterdam, his original point of departure.
US offers $70 mn new aid to Syrian opposition
Washington: The US announced on Friday that it will provide nearly $70 million in new non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, as the conflict...
French President to meet NATO chief early next month
By KUNA
Paris : French President Nicolas Sarkozy will receive February 1 here NATO Secretary-General Japp de Hoop Scheffer for talks on the ongoing operations of Atlantic Alliance and future challenges, official sources announced late Thursday.
The meeting was announced amid signs of growing acrimony between some nations participating in Afghanistan, particularly after US criticism of the performance and commitment of some nations troops there.
Four get death sentence for China terror attacks
By IANS,
Beijing : Four people involved in deadly terror attacks in China's Xinjiang Uygur region in July have been sentenced to death, a media report said Thursday.
Over 1,000 civilians died in Yemen conflict: UN
Geneva: A total of 1,068 civilians have been killed and 2,551 others have been wounded since the start of the Saudi-led coalition launched an...
Helping kids cope better with impact of bullying
By IANS,
Sydney: Researchers have identified four factors that can help children overcome victimisation and soften the impact of bullying on their future happiness.
Over 100 Tibetan protestors arrested in Nepal
By DPA,
Kathmandu : Police Monday broke up anti-Chinese demonstrations in the Nepalese capital and detained more than 100 Tibetan protestors.
The Tibetan exiles were arrested as they tried to march towards the United Nations building in Kathmandu as part of their protests against the recent Chinese crackdown in Lhasa.
Nepalese police said they had detained about 120 protestors after they tried to break the police line near the UN building.
Anti-Chinese protests by Tibetan exiles have become a daily affair despite the government's crackdown.
7.2-magnitude quake hits Pacific island group
Canberra, Aug 2 (Xinhua) A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific island group Vanuatu early Thursday. There were no immediate reports of loss of life.
The US Geological Survey said the epicentre of the quake was at 235 km north-north-west of Port Villa, Vanuatu's capital, at a depth of around 147.8 km below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
Spokesman for the Vanuatu government meteorological office Jesse Benjamin said the quake was felt strongly on the central island of Santo, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Search for MH370 resumes Wednesday
Sydney : Search teams will resume the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 off the Australian coast Wednesday, media reported.
The teams will...
Four Arrested In Nepal For Illegal Wildlife Trade
By Bernama,
Kathmandu : The Nepali Police have arrested four people along with six sets of tiger skin from a forest in Kanchanpur district in far-western Nepal, some 500 km west of Kathmandu.
Quoting a media report, China's XINHUA news agency reported Monday that a police team seized six pieces of tiger skins from the six people Sunday.
Each piece could fetch up to 500,000 Nepali rupees (US$7,812) in the illegal market, the police said.
The arrested have been reportedly involved in illegal wildlife trade for the last 15 years.
Sri Lanka trying to deflect probe into war crimes: rights group
By IANS,
New York: Sri Lanka's suggestion that a newly announced commission will provide accountability for laws-of-war violations during the armed conflict with the Tamil Tigers is another attempt to deflect an independent international probe, Human Rights Watch said Saturday.
Human Rights Watch urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to take steps to ensure accountability through an independent international investigation into the alleged laws-of-war violations.
China’s defence budget to go up by 14.9 percent in 2009
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China plans to increase its defence budget by 14.9 percent in 2009, a spokesman said here Wednesday.
The planned defence budget is 480.686 billion yuan ($70 billion), a rise of 62.482 billion yuan from last year, Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the second session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), told a press conference.
Defence spending accounts for 6.3 percent of the country's total fiscal expenditure in 2009, slightly down from the level of previous years, Li said.
Somali pirates hijack Indian vessel
By IANS,
Nairobi: Pirates have hijacked an Indian vessel off the coast of Somalia, Xinhua reported Monday.
Andrew Mwangura, the East African Coordinator of Seafarers' Assistance Program (SAP), confirmed that the vessel, Laxmi Sagar, was seized Sunday.
"The Indian boat was seized on Sunday but we received the report early today (Monday). The crew is Indian. I have not established where the vessel was heading from and its destination," Mwangura told Xinhua over phone from Mombasa, Kenya.
5.5-magnitude quake jolts Nepal
Kathmandu : A quake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale on Friday jolted Nepal reeling in the aftermath of major tremors last month and...
Global swine flu toll rises to over 3,900: WHO
By Xinhua,
Geneva : A total of 3,917 people have died of swine flu worldwide since the outbreak of the viral disease in April, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a latest update Friday.
Of all the deaths, 2,948 occurred in the Americas, followed by the West Pacific region, with 362 deaths. The other four WHO regional offices, South-East Asia, Europe, East Mediterranean and Africa reported 340, 154, 72 and 41 deaths respectively.
PM heads for Tehran NAM summit, meeting with Ahmadinejad
By IANS,
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh leaves Tuesday for Tehran to attend the NAM summit Aug 30-31, preceded by a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
China to continue providing aids to Japan, calling for global nuclear safety cooperation: FM
By NNN-Xinhua,
Beijing : China will continue to provide Japan with necessary assistance in accordance with the latter's needs, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu here Tuesday.
Sarkozy acts to calm Chinese anger over torch relay protests
By DPA,
Paris : In an effort to calm Chinese anger over the tumultuous passage of the Olympic torch in Paris, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has sent a letter to one of the torch relay runners, a disabled female Chinese athlete, French media reported Monday.
"I wish to tell you that I was shocked by the attacks you were subjected to on April 7 in Paris," Sarkozy wrote to Jin Jing in a letter delivered to her Monday in Shanghai by French senate president Christian Poncelet.
US sanctions two LeT leaders
Washington: The US Wednesday slapped sanctions on two key figures of Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed for the deadly 2008 Mumbai terror attack...
Two Sea Tiger boats destroyed in naval battle: Sri Lanka
By IANS,
Colombo : At least two Sea Tiger boats were destroyed and six rebels were killed in a major clash between the Sri Lankan Navy and the Tamil Tiger rebels in the northern waters of the country, military sources said Tuesday.
The fierce pre-dawn clash broke out Tuesday in the sea off Nayaru in the Mullaitivu district, when the navy's elite special boat squadron monitored and pursued a cluster of seven Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) boats moving along the coastal waters off Nayaru, the navy said.
On forgiveness
By Jaspal Singh for TwoCircles.net
Every society has developed a notion of forgiveness. Every major religion also has a concept of forgiveness. It implies that...
World Bank, IMF declare alarm over food crisis
By IRNA,
New York : The world finance leaders - the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund declared on Sunday that shortages and skyrocketing prices for food posed a potentially greater threat to economic and political stability terming it a crime against humanity.
Conferring in the shadow of a slumping American economy that threatens to pull down the economies of other countries, turned their attention to the food crisis and called on the wealthiest countries to fulfill pledges to help prevent starvation and disorder in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
‘US working hard to get n-deal through this year’
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The US says it's working hard to get Congressional approval for its civil nuclear deal with India by the end of this year after hopefully getting the Nuclear Suppliers Group's (NSG) clearance by early September.
"We're working with Congress to discuss the issues and resolve any outstanding concerns that they may have," acting state department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said Thursday, contending that the deal with India will be "consistent" with America's domestic law.
Obama and Huckabee win First 2008 Vote
By SPA
Washington : Barack Obama took the first step to winning the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday with a victory in Iowa, while Mike Huckabee capped a stunning political rise to beat Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Obama, an Illinois senator bidding to make U.S. history as the first black president, won the first Democratic test on the road to the White House with a win over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who were in a tight battle for second.
Sri Lankan war jets bomb LTTE airstrip
By P. Karunakharan, IANS
Colombo : Sri Lankan jets Monday carried out two air raids on a suspected fresh airstrip of the Tamil Tigers in their heartland in Mullaitivu in the island's north, the military said.
"Air Force Kfirs and Mig-27s bombed an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) runway located 10 km west of Mullaitivu town at 9.45 a.m. and 10.30 a.m.," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.
"The pilots have confirmed that they ... damaged it extensively," he said, giving no further details.
CPN-M president candidate gathers simple majority
By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : Nominations of the president candidate from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) Thursday gathered support from Madhesi parties, leading to surpassing simple majority in the Constituent Assembly (CA).
Three Madhesh-based parties have decided to support CPN-M candidate, republican leader Ramraja Prasad Singh for the post of president.
Sarkozy pays tribute to schoolchildren killed in collision
By DPA,
Paris : French President Nicolas Sarkozy Tuesday paid tribute to seven schoolchildren, aged between 12 years and 14 years, who were killed when a regional train slammed into their bus Monday.
Accompanied by education minister Xavier Darcos, farms minister Michel Barnier and the speaker of the National Assembly, Bernard Accoyer, Sarkozy took part in a brief ceremony in a small church in the south-eastern town of Allinges, where the bodies of the victims lay in state.
The French president left the site after about 45 minutes without commenting.
Tunisian president pelted with stones
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A disgruntled crowd hurled stones at President Moncef Marzouki and the parliament speaker in a central Tunisian town, a media report said Tuesday.
N Korea may come off US terror list soon: White House
By AFP,
Washington : The White House said Wednesday that it could move to take North Korea off a terrorism blacklist "quite soon" after -- and if -- the North delivers an accounting of its nuclear programs.
Washington hoped the secretive Stalinist nation would provide its long overdue "declaration" as early as Thursday, although a senior US official has already said that an inventory of Pyongyang's atomic arsenal will come later.
Myanmar opposition spokesman dies in Singapore
By DPA
Yangon : Myint Thein, the spokesman for Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party who was jailed repeatedly, died at age 62 in Singapore, relatives said Saturday.
Myint Thein was most recently detained for a month last year following the September anti-military protests in Yangon that left at least 31 people dead and led to thousands of arrests.
He died Friday evening after battling stomach cancer in Singapore General Hospital since Jan 31, his daughter said.
Sikh woman killed her babies before dying: Canadian police
By IANS,
Toronto : A young Sikh woman found dead along with her three small children in Calgary in October killed the babies herself, according to investigations by Canadian police.
Harsimrat Kahlon, 27, and the babies were found dead in their apartment Oct 5 when the woman’s partner called the police.
The Chandigarh-born woman died due to childbirth complications. But before her death, she killed her children.
Their bodies were found inside suitcases hidden in the basement of the couple’s apartment in northeast Calgary.
Spears hospitalised after police stand-off, loses custody
By DPA
Los Angeles : A Los Angeles family court has suspended troubled pop star Britney Spears' visitation rights to her two children after she was hospitalised for physical and psychological evaluation following a tense, three-hour stand-off with police in her luxury Hollywood home.
The bizarre episode Friday and its aftermath marks a new low in the rapidly deteriorating saga surrounding Spears, since she split with ex-husband Kevin Federline about a year ago.
European Imams join forces against extremism
By Anasudhin Azeez,
London : Imams from Britain and Europe gathered here on Thursday to condemn the atrocities taking place in the name of Islam...
Ukraine Rails against NATO, US
By Prensa Latina,
Kiev : Boats mobilized by the Ukrainian "Brotherhood" Party blocked Monday the entrance of the Odessa port to impede NATO war ships from participating in the Sea Breeze 2008 naval exercises.
About 10 vessels blocked the port where the foreign combat units are located so they cannot participate in the military drills, a release from the political organization stated.
Authorities stopped three boats, but another seven continued protesting, the Brotherhood press release noted.
US, India to collaborate on Mars, Earth missions
Washington: US and India have agreed to enhance cooperation in Mars exploration and establish a pathway for future joint missions to explore the red...
UN launches new AIDS project in Nepal
By NNN-PTI
New York : To boost HIV and AIDS services among the conflict-affected population in Nepal, the United Nations refugee agency has launched a new project in the country.
The initiative was born from a review which pressed for the need of better coverage of HIV prevention activities in high-risk population, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
Nepal journalist slain for seeking justice for murdered kin?
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepali journalist Uma Singh, hacked to death at her residence Sunday night, might have been killed because she was seeking justice for her slain father and elder brother.
About two years ago, Singh's father Ranjit Singh and brother Sanjay were abducted from Maheshpur village in trouble-prone Terai district Siraha, allegedly by Maoists. Their bodies were found two days later.
Hundreds cremated near Pashupatinath temple
By Anil Giri,
Kathmandu : Grieving families on Sunday cremated hundreds of victims of Nepal's earthquake near the famed Pashupatinath temple here, confusion and overcrowding...
Inter-Korean Relations Worst Since Nuke Test
By Bernama
Seoul : A recent spate of "provocative remarks" by South Korean officials have escalated tension on the Korean Peninsula to the highest point since the North's nuclear test in 2006, Yonhap news agency reported Monday quoting a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan, as saying.
Islamabad lodges protest with Kabul after four killed
Islamabad : Islamabad on Sunday lodged a protest with Kabul after four Pakistani soldiers were killed when a rocket was fired at a check-post...
UK seeking significant expansion of nuclear power industry
By IRNA
London : Business Secretary John Hutton said Wednesday that the government's controversial plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations should go beyond replacing the country's 23 ageing reactors.
"If we are really serious about our climate change
responsibilities, if we want Britain to be as energy-independent as possible, then I think we should be talking about a significant expansion over and above the current contribution that nuclear power makes," Hutton said.
Obama names Indian American to White House bioethics panel
By IANS,
Washington: President Barack Obama has named India-born Harvard geneticist Raju Kucherlapati, whose research focuses on gene mapping, gene modification and cloning disease genes, to a key White House panel on bioethics.
Kucherlapati, 67, who is the Director Emeritus and Paul C. Cabot Professor in the Harvard Medical School Department of Genetics, is among ten scholars named to the newly created Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
Modi arrives in Sri Lanka on third leg of three-nation tour
Colombo : Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Sri Lankan capital early Thursday on the third and final leg of his three-nation visit....
South Asian organisations in US accuse BJP of vendetta politics to persecute Muslims
By TCN News
The Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA) on Tuesday condemned the Indian Government for slapping criminal charges against Muslim activists, students, and...
Obama, Netanyahu talk focus on peace, Iran and terrorism
Washington:US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House Wednesday and held discussion over some thorny issues including...
Pre Election Silence in Serbia
By Prensa Latina
Belgrade : Serbia is under a campaign silence from early Friday until polls close at 8 pm Sunday in the crucial presidential elections, after a month of campaigning.
These will be the first Serbian presidential elections since the separation from Montenegro in 2006 and the approval of a new Constitution that same year.
Austrian man survives 250-metre, head-down chairlift ride
By DPA,
Vienna : Hanging on with one leg, an Austrian ski-lift worker survived a 250-metre ride dangling upside down from a chairlift Saturday, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported Sunday.
The man had loaded a sledge onto the lift in the Tyrolean ski resort of Imst, when his leg caught in the sledge's strap. He was rescued unhurt after skiers noticed his plight and informed the lift operator.
The ski-lift worker would likely have died had he fallen off during the ride, the lift's manager, Bernhard Schoepf, told ORF.
E. Coli receptor may explain why people fall ill when stressed
By IANS,
Washington : A receptor known as QseE that resides in a diarrhoea-causing strain of E. Coli helps the pathogen make the host ill when it senses stress in the latter, says a new study.
A receptor is a molecule on the surface of a cell that docks with other molecules, often signalling the cell to carry out a specific function.
Vanessa Sperandio, study co-author, said QseE is an important player in disease development because the stress cues it senses from a host, chiefly epinephrine and phosphate, are generally associated with blood poisoning, or sepsis.
Lawyers petition UN over jailed Nobel dissident
By DPA,
Beijing : Lawyers have filed petitions urging the UN to press China to release Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo from prison and free his wife from house arrest, a report said Friday.
NATO rebukes Russia as hostilities ease
By IANS,
Brussels : The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has suspended ties with Russia until Moscow withdraws its forces from Georgia, and the United States warned that Russia would not be allowed to re-establish Soviet-era borders.
Signs of hostilities were abating with the Russian troops slowly withdrawing from undisputed parts of Georgia, but the 26-member NATO alliance strongly urged Russia to "take immediate action to withdraw its troops from the area."
US giant to buy Brazil’s largest health insurer
By IANS/EFE,
Rio de Janeiro: UnitedHealth Group Inc plans to buy 90 percent of Brazil's largest health insurer, Amil Participacoes SA, for roughly $4.9 billion, the companies said Monday.
Malaysia to build first nuclear monitoring facility in ASEAN
By Xinhua
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia will build a nuclear monitoring facility, the first one in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), at a location in Bukit Ibam near Muadzam Shah, Pahang state, it was announced Saturday by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
The facility, worth 100 million ringgit ($29.41 million), will be the 16th of its kind in the world.
"If all goes well, Malaysia will become the first developing country to have its own nuclear monitoring facility and the first in ASEAN," Razak said at a 'Leaders Meet the People' function.
Sri Lankan Army destroys 20 LTTE bunkers, kills 30 rebel soldiers
NEW DELHI, Jan 30 (KUNA) -- The Sri Lankan Army Wednesday destroyed 20 bunkers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northern Jaffna peninsula, killing 30 rebels.
"Troopers of the 55 and 53 Divisions of the Sri Lankan Army broke through the LTTE's defences along the Nagarkoil-Muhamalai-Kilali line in Jaffna and completely destroyed 20 of the 35 bunkers," military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara told news agency Indo Asian News Agency at Colombo.
Death toll of methane blast in Kazakh mine rises to seven
By RIA Novosty
Astana : The death toll of a methane explosion in a mine in central Kazakhstan early on Friday has risen to seven, with 24 miners reported missing, a local Emergencies Ministry spokesperson said.
"According to the latest reports, 160 of the 191 miners who were in the pit at the time of the explosion have been rescued," Natalia Kim said. Earlier reports had said there were 195 miners in the shaft when the explosion went off at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. GMT).
"According to the latest reports, 160 of the 191 miners who were in the pit at the time of the explosion have been rescued," Natalia Kim said. Earlier reports had said there were 195 miners in the shaft when the explosion went off at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. GMT).
US not cooperating with Russia on missile defence: Minister
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Washington is not cooperating with Moscow on the issue of the European missile defence system set up by the US, Russia's foreign minister has said.
One dead after train collision near Rotterdam
By DPA,
Amsterdam : One man died and several people were injured as two cargo trains collided and hit a passenger train Thursday night near Rotterdam, Dutch police said.
The driver of one of the cargo trains died and, according to police, "relatively few others were injured" when two cargo trains collided around 10.30 p.m. (2030 GMT) near Barendrecht outside Rotterdam.
A spokesperson from rail management company ProRail said the passenger train was hit when "one or more cars from the cargo train got sidetracked after colliding with the other cargo train."
NATO on course for planned Afghan withdrawal: Merkel
By IANS,
Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she hopes that NATO would withdraw its forces from Afghanistan by 2014 as previously planned.
US judge to hear terror charges against Indian American in open court
Chicago : A US federal judge has declined a government request to hold a closed-door hearing next week for an Indian American teenager charged...
Japan calls for tech solutions to climate change
By DPA,
Hanover (Germany) : Climate change is the biggest task facing humanity, and technology has a huge role in solving the problem, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said Sunday on opening the Germany's Hanover Fair alongside Chancellor Angel Merkel.
Abe, speaking as the special envoy of the Japanese government, said Japan was at the forefront of technologies to counter climate change and to move to a low-carbon society.
US intelligence stakes out own view on Iran
By DPA
Washington : The US government's decision to publish new intelligence that appeared to undermine the White House's hardline policy on Iran's nuclear ambitions may seem puzzling.
But experts who keep a close eye on US intelligence agencies believe they have a pretty good idea of why the spies wanted the information out in the open, even if it raised questions about President George W. Bush's policy.
North Korea rejects UN resolution on human rights
Pyongyang : North Korea Monday rejected a UN resolution condemning human rights violations in the country.
North Korea "totally opposes and rejects" the resolution, "a...
Militants torch 150 NATO trucks in Pakistan, kill guard
By DPA,
Islamabad : Some 300 heavily-armed rebels attacked two parking bays in north-western Pakistan full of vehicles used by US and NATO contractors for making deliveries to Afghanistan, killing a guard and torching dozens of trucks, the police said Sunday.
The attack took place in the early hours at Al-Faisal International and Port World Logistics terminals on the outskirts of Peshawar city, where the trucks are parked at night.
20 killed in Boko Haram attack on Nigeria village
Abuja : At least 20 residents of a remote village in northeastern Nigeria were killed when gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram...
UN creates new structure for empowerment of women
By IRNA,
Tehran : In an historic move, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously over the weekend to create a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide.
Mobile retailer Svyaznoy to open Apple stores in Russia
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Mobile retailer Svyaznoy plans to launch Apple Premium Reseller mono-brand stores in 10 Russian cities.
Gas shells, noise bombs thrown into Brazilian embassy: Zelaya
By DPA,
Tegucigalpa (Honduras) : Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya said Friday gas shells and non-lethal noise bombs were thrown into the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa, where he has taken refuge, but Honduras' de facto government denied that the embassy had been attacked.
Zelaya said the air felt heavy and strange, and people in the building had become sick, with one aide vomiting blood. He said he had stomach cramps, and that his eyes and throat had become itchy as a result of the attacks, which he said seek to "scare" him.
Obama leads; polls show it’s uphill for McCain
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is hanging onto leads in several battleground states as well as a handful of traditionally Republican states won by President George Bush in 2004, according to several new polls.
Obama holds narrow leads in Ohio, Missouri, Florida, Nevada and Virginia, while rival Republican John McCain is hanging onto his lead in Indiana and West Virginia, according to CNN's average of a string of polls in these states.
Nepal Maoists livid with comment by ex-Indian Army officer
By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, Oct 10 (IANS) Nepal's Maoist guerrillas are outraged by a former Indian Army officer's statement that the Indian military could be deployed in Nepal. The Indian government's denial and support to a key Maoist demand by some Indian MPs has only partially mollified them.
"The (Nepal) government should object to the statement by (retired Indian Army officer) Ashok Mehta, who is also a security advisor (sic) of Nepal," Maoist spokesperson and former information and communications minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara told the official media.
NASA delays Discovery launch
By DPA,
Washington : NASA has delayed the launch of the space shuttle Discovery by 24 hours to allow more time to review data about a suspect valve in the liquid hydrogen fuel tank, officials said Thursday.
NASA earlier this week postponed a Tuesday launch to the early hours of Friday morning after detecting a problem with the fill and drain valve. The latest plan is to proceed with the launch about midnight Friday (0400 GMT Saturday).
500 fall ill in Nigeria after inhaling poisonous gas
By IANS,
Lagos : At least 500 people, including women and children, have been hospitalised after inhaling poisonous welding gases in Nigeria's Kaduna state, media reports said Sunday.
The incident occurred when a welder attempted to cut open a gas cylinder at around 3.00 p.m. Saturday, Xinhua reported citing a statement in the Sunday Punch newspaper.
Several people in the area suddenly fell unconscious, while several others started gasping for breath after inhaling the poisonous gas, Ahmed Musa, a local resident was quoted as saying.
AIDS-hit countries urged to promote male circumcision
By DPA,
Washington/Mexico City : Male circumcision can prevent 65 percent of new HIV infections in adult heterosexual men, but AIDS-hit countries are lagging in their efforts to promote it, researchers said.
With no vaccine or cure for AIDS, many health experts believe male circumcision could drive the epidemic into a declining state toward extinction.
They urged countries with high rates of HIV infections being transmitted predominantly through heterosexual contact to include circumcision in a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy.
Hurricane Emma expected to continue — German Meteorological Service
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.
We never ordered killing of an adversary: Fidel Castro
By IANS,
Havana : No one has ever been tortured in Cuba, said retired president Fidel Castro while confronting international and opposition criticism of the Cuban government following last week's death of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo after an 85-day hunger strike. He stressed: "We have never ordered the assassination of an adversary".
Obama condemns brutal terror attack in Kenya
Washington: US President Barack Obama telephoned Kenya's Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday to express condolences for the 147 lives lost in an attack on a...
One killed, 17 wounded in insurgent attacks in Thai South
By Xinhua,
Bangkok : A school teacher was shot dead while 17 persons were wounded in a bomb explosion in two separate incidents in the troubled southern provinces of Pattani and Narathiwat early Thursday, according to the Thai news Agency.
A 53-year-old teacher was shot dead while he was driving a motorcycle to school in Pattani's Yarang district Thursday morning.
Another incident took place at a market in the Narathiwat provincial seat when a five-kilogramme bomb hidden inside a black motorcycle was detonated by a cell phone, police said.
No need for European Super League, says Chelsea boss
By DPA
London : Chelsea's CEO Peter Kenyon has ruled out any need for a European Super League.
Speaking at the Soccerex 08 forum in London, the former Manchester United official said that leading European clubs had no desire to replace the Champions League with a European Super League.
"There is no appetite from any clubs for a league. We have one already called the Champions League," he said.
Real Madrid General Commercial Director Begona Sanz admitted that there had been times when Europe's governing body UEFA had responded quite slowly to the demands of the clubs.
US presidential race: Hillary leads Democrats; no frontrunners among Republicans
By Arun Kumar,
Washington : America's young voters, who played a key role in propelling Barack Obama into presidency, favour Hillary Clinton as the Democratic...
Six Chinese suffer burns in sulphuric acid spill
By IANS,
Beijing: Six people, including a one-year-old boy, suffered serious burns after a sulphuric acid spill outside a plant in China, police said Saturday.
Modi gets Nepal’s support for International Yoga Day
By Anil Giri,
Kathmandu : Nepal has supported Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for an International Yoga Day enunciated during his speech at the...
Philippines’ Abu Sayyaf to negotiate for German hostages
Manila : The Abu Sayyaf rebel group Wednesday said that it is ready to negotiate with Filippino Foreign Minister Alberto Del Rosario for the...
Nuclear reactors to reactivate in Japan
Tokyo : The governor of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture Friday approved the reactivation of two nuclear reactors at the Sendai plant.
Sendai was the first plant...
Russia, US to cooperate despite disagreements
By RIA Novosti,
Lima : The Russia and US have agreed to continue cooperation despite existing disagreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart George W. Bush met in the Peruvian capital Saturday as part of a two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum.
Ban calls for more peacekeepers to be sent to quake-devastated Haiti
By IRNA,
Tehran : Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday called for an additional 3,500 United Nations troops and police officers to be deployed to the quake-stricken Haiti to ensure that aid reaches the victims of the disaster as quickly as possible.
Swedish art academy to sell Rembrandt to raise cash
By DPA
Stockholm : The venerable Swedish Academy of Fine Arts plans to sell a painting by 17th century Dutch master Rembrandt to fund its activities, a news report said Thursday.
The academy said it hoped to cash in 300 million kronor ($48 million) on the sale of 'The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis' painted in 1661-1662.
"Our funds have not been depleted, we have never had any," academy secretary Olle Granath told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper.
Strong quake recorded off Solomon Islands
By Xinhua
Hong Kong : A strong earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale was recorded off the Solomon Islands, the Hong Kong Observatory said Sunday.
The quake occurred near the Solomon's Santa Cruz Islands at 0115 GMT.
According to the observatory, the epicentre was initially determined to be at 11.6 degrees south latitude and 165.6 degrees east longitude, about 660 km east-southeast of Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands.
Russia, Japan to continue dialogue on peace treaty
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart Masahiko Komura agreed on Monday to continue negotiations on a bilateral peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities.
Russia and Japan have failed to sign a formal peace treaty due to their territorial dispute over the South Kuril Islands, former Japanese territory annexed by the Soviet Union after World War II.
"We have decided to continue dialogue on the territorial dispute to reach an agreement," Lavrov told the press after talks in Moscow.
Obama not ready to endorse Hillary Clinton
Washington : US President Barack Obama is not ready to formally endorse his ex-secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in her bid for the presidency...
US, Russia to adhere to START as deadline expires
By DPA,
Washington/Moscow : The US and Russia will adhere to a nuclear arms reduction treaty even as it is set to expire, as negotiators from the two countries continue work on a new agreement.
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev issued a joint statement Friday pledging to work together "in the spirit of the START Treaty following its expiration."
China promises to help Pakistan during financial difficulty
By DPA,
Beijing : China said it was sympathetic to Pakistan's financial situation and would help its long-term ally "within its capability", as Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari continued his visit Thursday.
"As an all-weather friend, China understands Pakistan's economic and financial difficulties," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.
"We are ready to support and help Pakistan within our capability," Qin told reporters, adding that financial organizations in the two nations would "keep communication" over the issue.
Sri Lankan air force bombs suspected LTTE targets
By IANS,
Colombo : Sri Lankan jets bombed suspected Tamil Tiger training base in Kilinochchi district in the island's north Wednesday, military sources here said.
The air force bombed a key Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) training facility at Kollanvillu, four kilometres south of Mulankavil, between 7.15 and 7.30 a.m., the defence ministry said.
It added that the target was hit. There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE.
Identities of 72 dead in east China train collision confirmed
By Xinhua,
Zhoucun, Shandong : A total of 72 people were confirmed dead in the fatal train wreck in east China's Shandong Province, officials said on Friday, citing forensic reports and DNA tests.
All the identities of those killed had been confirmed by 6 p.m. on Friday. The results conformed with the identification by families of the 72 victims, officials said, without giving details.
Oil platform in South Atlantic on fire
By DPA,
Buenos Aires : A fire broke out on an oil platform off Argentina's South Atlantic coast, prompting the evacuation of eight workers, the Argentine navy said Wednesday.
Myanmar landslide kills 56
By IANS,
Yangon : Fiftysix people were killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Maungtaw and Buthidaung townships in Myanmar's western region.
The downpour destroyed over 120 houses and buildings, damaged bridges and washed away sections of roads, Xinhua reported Friday. More than 2,200 people have been evacuated to safer places.
Africa’s largest lake under threat
By DPA
Kisumu (Kenya) : "Lake Victoria is doomed," lake specialist Eric Odada says with certainty regarding the future of the world's second largest body of water. And on closer inspection, the dire prediction seems like it might be right.
Rows of filthy cars and trucks rest in the murky water, as boys scramble to get them clean, splashing soapy liquid that forms a creamy film above the surface - just one scene from the lake shore any environmentalist would baulk at.
German inflation higher than estimated in January
By SPA
Wiesbaden, Germany : High prices for food and energy propelled annual inflation in Germany to 2.8 per cent in January, the Federal Statistics office said Friday, adjusting a previous estimate of 2.7 per cent, DPA reported.
The new figures showed an increase in annualized inflation for December 2007 to 3.2 per cent from the previous estimate of 2.8 per cent.
On a month-to-month basis, prices dropped 0.4 per cent in January, mainly as a result of seasonal factors and the wearing off of a 3 per cent sales tax increased introduced at the start of 2007.
Berlusconi sworn in as Italy’s prime minister
By DPA,
Rome : Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi led Thursday the members of his new government in a swearing-in ceremony in Rome.
The 71-year-old Berlusconi was the first to take an oath of allegiance to Italy's constitution before President Giorgio Napolitano.
The premier was followed by his 21-member cabinet, each of whom repeated the oath before Napolitano in a hall at the presidential Quirinale Palace.
Critics say Blair’s legacy is ‘war and waste’
By Prasun Sonwalkar
London, May 1 (IANS) With British Prime Minister Tony Blair set to step down after an eventful decade in office, critics are beginning to call the period he spent in office as one of "war and waste". After Blair outlined his 10-year legacy as prime minister in a dossier to his Labour MPs, not a few have begun to recall Enoch Powell's prophecy that all political careers end in failure.
Three Indians jailed for oil theft in Nigeria
Abuja: A court in Nigeria has sentenced three Indian nationals to 15 years in prison for oil theft.
The convicts -- Ajay Bhatia, Sailesh Kumar...
Blackwater shooting stirs anger, uproar
By Xinhua
Washington : The Sep 16 shooting incident involving the private security firm Blackwater USA has stirred anger in Iraq and an uproar in the US.
According to a report by the Washington Post Friday, even US military reports indicated that Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force against Iraqi civilians.
Court sanctions arrest of 4 suspects in Saratov prosecutor murder
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : A court in the Saratov Region in southern Russia sanctioned the arrest of four persons suspected of involvement in the murder of the regional prosecutor, Russia's Investigative Committee said Sunday.
Yevgeny Grigoryev, 48, the chief prosecutor in the Russian Volga region of Saratov, was gunned down in a contract-style killing February 13 in the yard of the Saratov prosecutor's office at about 10:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT).
Earthquake felt in Vietnam’s capital
By Xinhua,
Hanoi : Many people in this capital city hurriedly went out of multistoried buildings on early Monday afternoon after seeing objects in their rooms shook due to impacts of an earthquake in China, local online newspaper VnExpress reported.
Phan Trung Hieu, who works for an insurance company at the 11th floor of the Vincom building on Ba Trieu Street said the floor shook slightly at 13:30 (Vietnamese time). "Hearing a scream 'Earthquake,' everybody rushed to exits," he said. According to some staff at the building, the tremor lasted for about two minutes.
Shambo is confirmed killed by lethal injection
By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
London : Welsh authorities Friday confirmed that the bovine TB-infected 'sacred' bull Shambo was put down by a lethal injection soon after it was taken from the Skanda Vale temple Thursday night.
In a joint statement with the police, the Welsh Assembly Government said it had been "an extremely difficult operation for all concerned". The animal's slaughter brings to an end what many in Britain saw as a bizarre tussle between religion and state.
London : Welsh authorities Friday confirmed that the bovine TB-infected 'sacred' bull Shambo was put down by a lethal injection soon after it was taken from the Skanda Vale temple Thursday night.
In a joint statement with the police, the Welsh Assembly Government said it had been "an extremely difficult operation for all concerned". The animal's slaughter brings to an end what many in Britain saw as a bizarre tussle between religion and state.
Rice not to attend Olympics closing ceremony
By DPA,
Washington : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has cancelled plans to attend the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing Sunday, the White House said.
Rice's plans changed because of her ongoing travelling to deal with the crisis in Georgia.
The US delegation will now be headed by Labour Secretary Elaine Chao, the White House said Tuesday.
Others attending will be Michael O Leavitt, the secretary of the health and human services department, Peter Ueberroth, president of the US olympic committee and figure skating champion Michelle Kwan.
Pressure mounts on Brown to call early general election
By IRNA
London : Pressure mounted on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call an early general election next week with the opposition Conservative Party saying it would show "political cowardice" if he failed to do so.
"Clearly if he were to step back from having an election now, then dithering would have turned a degree of political cowardice on top because the expectation had been raised so high," shadow foreign secretary William Hague said.
Deep snow skiing on Canada’s virgin slopes
By DPA
Lake Louise (Canada) : Swaying back and forth through the powdery snow feels like a dance down the slope and then at the bottom it's a thrill to look back at one's own tracks.
A run down a deep snow slope away from the crowded ski areas can give experienced skiers a burst of euphoria. But is it really a dream that is out of reach for skiers with average skill and experience? Not if you ask Bap Koller, a Bavarian whose second home is the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Haiti cholera toll rises to 2,591
By IANS/EFE,
Port-au-Prince : The toll in the deadly cholera epidemic in Haiti has risen to 2,591, officials said.
Danish low-cost airline Sterling to file for bankruptcy
By DPA,
Copenhagen : Low-cost Danish airline Sterling Airlines announced Wednesday it was to file for bankruptcy and has grounded all flights stranding thousands of passengers.
In a statement on its website, the airline cited that it had been impacted by the global financial recession that started in the autumn of 2007 and led to a "stagnation in the market".
The carrier also cited "significant fuel cost increases" as a factor that contributed to its problems, as well the global credit crunch that impacted its main shareholders in Iceland.
Ahmadinejad congratulates Obama on his success
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his election victory, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"Mr Barack Obama, the president-elect of the United States of America, I congratulate you for being able to attract the majority of votes in the elections," Ahmadinejad said in a message addressed to the next president of the US, which has been the arch foe of Iran for decades.
13 more bodies found at Air France crash site
By Xinhua,
Rio de Janeiro : Thirteen more bodies have been recovered from an area in the Atlantic Ocean where a France jet crashed last week, bringing the total number of bodies found to 41, officials said.
The Brazilian Air Force said 41 bodies have been recovered from the crash site so far, including 13 bodies found Tuesday.
There were 228 people on board the aircraft when it crashed into the Atlantic June 1.
Spanish Socialists Lead for Elections Drops
By Prensa Latina
Madrid : Only 28 days before general elections in Spain, the gap between the two main contenders closes to three points, considered a technical tie, according to several surveys published Sunday.
In all polls, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) of the
government president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, leads opposition Partido Popular (PP) of Mariano Rajoy, although with lower ratings than in surveys made in the previous weeks..
A study carried out by the firm Metroscopia for the El Pais daily
Heavy rains kill 66 in China
By Xinhua
Beijing : Torrential rains in southern China have killed at least 66 people, ministry according of civil affairs said.
More protests outside Tibet
Beijing, March 24 (DPA) Hundreds of Tibetans protested at the weekend in two north-western Chinese provinces despite deployments of security forces, exile groups said Monday, as the government announced charges against five protesters arrested on suspicion of causing fatal fires.
Saturday's and Sunday's demonstrations took place in areas of Gansu and Qinghai provinces with ethnic Tibetan populations, the groups said, adding that witnesses said a number of demonstrators were injured in clashes with security forces during a protest by about 1,000 people in the Gansu city of Xiapagou.
Storage options for the digital generation
By DPA
Washington : Just about everything in our lives is being stored digitally today - music, videos, photographs, documents, arts and crafts, and much more.
That's why the scramble for more data storage - and more versatile data storage - is never-ending. The market has responded with a proliferation of types of data storage designed to meet the needs of everyone.
But the options are dizzying.
To keep from making a costly mistake when buying storage, you need to know what your storage needs are and which type of storage best satisfies those requirements.
Coke to pull out of Mexican schools to promote anti-obesity drive
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : Soft-drink major Coca-Cola will pull its products out of nearly 300,000 public schools in Mexico in an effort to comply with the government's call to reduce obesity among children.
"We are committed to joining government efforts to support campaigns for dealing with problems like obesity," Soledad Izquierdo, Coca-Cola de Mexico director of corporate communications, said.
Mexico's education secretariat and health secretariat announced a series of measures in May banning the sale of junk food in public and private elementary schools from August.
China plane crash victims to be compensated
By IANS,
Beijing : Families and relatives of the people who died in the Aug 24 plane crash in Yichun city will receive 960,000 yuan ($141,100) in compensation for each death.
A Henan Airlines jet carrying 96 people crashed in Yichun, a mountainous city in Heilongjiang province. Forty-two of the people on board the flight died.
Henan Airlines said the compensation conforms with China's civil aviation regulations, China Daily reported Tuesday.
Australian terrorises women by exposing
By IANS,
Sydney : A man has terrorised several women in an Australian city by exposing and touching himself indecently in front of them, a media report said Friday.
Britain heads for hung Parliament
By DPA,
London : Britain is set for a change of government as the opposition Conservatives emerged as the biggest party from Thursday's general election, and the ruling Labour Party suffered major losses, according to exit polls.
Figures announced as polling stations closed late Thursday predicted a hung Parliament, in which neither of Britain's two main parties would gain an overall majority.
Exit polls gave the Conservatives under David Cameron 307 seats, just nine short of an outright majority.
Door edges open at Myanmar pledging conference
By DPA,
Yangon : Most donor nations Sunday stopped short of making new pledges for relief for victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar as they were awaiting more details on access and accountability, but observers described the meeting as a step forward.
"It was a reasonable success," Frederich Hamburger, European Union (EU) envoy to Myanmar and Thailand, said of a United Nations-ASEAN sponsored pledging conference held in Yangon Sunday, almost three weeks after Cyclone Nargis smacked into the country's central coast leaving at least 133,000 people dead or missing.
Wildfires kill 52 in Russia
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : At least 52 people have died in wildfires raging throughout Russia, the government said Friday.
"A total of 471 people turned for medical help and 72 were hospitalised, 43 fire victims are currently in hospitals and 52 have died," the health and social development ministry said.
NASA satellites Terra and Aqua Thursday registered 535 hotspots from wildfires which are raging in 22 Russian regions.
More than 150,000 personnel are working to fight the fires, which have been sparked by a prolonged drought and weeks of abnormally high temperatures.
Nepal bans school book after Muslim outcry
By IANS,
Kathmandu: The Nepal government Monday banned a school textbook after growing outcry by Muslims over an "objectionable" illustration depicting Prophet Mohammed as a woman-like figure and containing "erroneous interpretations" of Islam.
This is the first time in Nepal, which has enjoyed religious harmony despite being a Hindu kingdom till 2006, that the government has banned a book after protests by Muslims.
17 killed in Mexico shooting
By IANS,
Mexico City : At least 17 people were killed and 17 injured in a northern Mexican state Sunday, when a group of armed miscreants fired at people attending a party, authorities said.
The attackers arrived in five vehicles at around 1.30 a.m. and began shooting at the people attending the party in in San Luis in Coahuila state, Xinhua reported citing a statement from the Prosecutor General's Office of Coahuila.
The victims were around 20 to 40 years old, police said, adding that the toll may increase as some of the injured are in critical condition.
Bulgarian leader inaugurates int”l Balkan conference
SOFIA, Oct 6 (KUNA) -- Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov on Saturday inaugurated an international conference organized by NGOs on the Balkans' issues.
The gathering, co-organized by the Balkan Political Club and a European organization for defence of democracies, attracted all former presidents of Balkan countries and chiefs of European and Balkan non-government human rights and social development organizations, as well as representatives of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
113 dead in Philippine landslides, floods
By DPA,
Manila : At least 113 people were killed in a series of landslides and floods brought about by days of heavy rains in the northern Philippines, officials said Friday.
Seventy of the victims were killed in landslides in La Trinidad town in Benguet province, 210 km north of Manila, according to provincial Governor Nestor Fongwan.
Fongwan said at least 32 houses were buried in La Trinidad when a mountain collapsed before dawn Friday.
Ex-Maoists gun down official in Nepal’s Terai
By IANS,
Kathmandu : As the Maoist-led government completed a month in office, their former comrades Friday gunned down a senior government official in the restive Terai in southern Nepal, proving that the smouldering violence in the plains was still far from over.
The Samyukta Janatantrik Mukti Morcha, led by Jay Krishna Goit, former senior-most Maoist leader from the plains, killed Mohan Mainali, the district administration chief in Parsa district, along the India-Nepal border.
This is the first political killing since the Maoists came to power.
US backs India’s efforts to end fighting in Sri Lanka
By IANS,
Washington : The US has expressed support for India's efforts to end the fighting in Sri Lanka between the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.
"We support Indian efforts to stop the fighting," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Friday, noting that New Delhi had sent two special emissaries "to convey their government's concerns about the conflict to the government of Sri Lanka".
India Friday sent National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon to convey India's concerns to Colombo.
Obama taps Washington lawyer Holder for US attorney general – sources tell MSNBC
By KUNA,
Washington : Veteran Washington lawyer Eric Holder, a close associate of President-elect Barack Obama, has been chosen to be the new attorney general, the top domestic Cabinet member who will head the U.S. Justice Department, two sources told MSNBC on Tuesday.
Holder, who, like Obama, is an African-American, served as deputy attorney general to the administration of former President Bill Clinton.
While Holder still must complete the vetting process, the sources said Obama has offered him the post, and that Holder has accepted it.
Switzerland condemns terror attacks in Mumbai
By Xinhua,
Geneva : The Swiss government Thursday condemned the series of terrorist attacks in India's commercial capital Mumbai, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"Switzerland condemns these terrorist acts as absolutely unjustifiable," it said.
"The people and authorities of Switzerland extend their condolences to the Indian authorities and their deep sympathies to the families of the victims," it added.
The ministry also warned Swiss citizens travelling to India of the risk of further attacks in the country.
Eleven dead in Ugandan plane crash
By DPA,
Kampala : Eleven people died Monday when a Russian-made cargo plane carrying supplies for the African Union (AU) peace keeping mission in Somalia, burst into flames and crashed into Lake Victoria soon after take-off from Uganda's Entebbe international airport, a government statement said.
An Ilyushin 76-cargo aircraft F9-FAB with eleven people, including four crew and seven others on board, was flying from Entebbe to Mogadishu and crashed soon after take-off 9.9 km south of the airport at 5.14 a.m. (0214 GMT), the statement from the Transport and Communications Ministry said.