Over 200,000 people displaced in Somalia conflict: UNHCR
By Xinhua,
Geneva : The number of people displaced by the escalating conflict in Mogadishu has reached 204,000, making it the biggest exodus from the troubled Somali capital since the Ethiopian intervention in 2007, the UN refugee agency has said.
The eight-week-long offensive led by the Al-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia against government forces "is having a devastating impact on the city's population, causing enormous suffering and massive displacement", Ron Redmond, spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva Tuesday.
NASA skips Thursday’s landing opportunities
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA managers decided to skip Thursday's two landing opportunities for shuttle Atlantis. Now hopes turn to Friday's opportunities, said NASA TV.
    Rain showers and a low cloud ceilings in the vicinity of Kennedy Space Center in Florida forced flight controllers to wave off both opportunities on Thursday.
Iranian Navy rescues supertanker from Somali pirates
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran's anti-piracy forces have rescued an Iranian oil supertanker that was attacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, a media report said.
The oil tanker was carrying 300,000 tonnes of crude oil and was sailing from the southern Iranian island of Khark to Egypt, when it was attacked by the pirates, Press TV reported Thursday.
A fleet of 15 pirate boats reportedly attacked the ship after it entered the Gulf of Aden, but the Iranian Navy thwarted the hijacking attempt.
The vessel is now en route to its original destination with a naval escort.
Turkey President ratifies troop deployment to Qatar
Ankara, (IANS): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ratified two deals allowing Turkish troops' deployment to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie, according...
British economy shrinks
By DPA,
London : The British economy has shrunk for the first time in 16 years, dropping 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday.
The figures confirmed predictions that Britain was on the brink of recession.
If the economy declines in the last three months of 2008, Britain will officially be in recession.
UN special envoy to meet Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar
By DPA,
Yangon : The United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, is scheduled to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on an official visit expected to start this weekend, government sources said Friday.
Gambari is expected to arrive in Yangon Saturday to revive his so far unsuccessful efforts to push Myanmar's ruling junta to free Suu Kyi and thousands of other political prisoners and to allow democratic reforms in the military dictatorship.
Newly-elected Nepali president resigns from all party posts
By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : President of Nepali Congress Girija Prasad Koirala has accepted the resignation tendered by newly-elected President Rambaran Baran Yadav from the post of the party's General Secretary and member of the party, stating that he needed to be independent from partisan affiliation to maintain dignity and integrity of the post of the president, the National News Agency RSS reported on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka frees detained human rights activists
Colombo : Sri Lanka has freed two human rights activists three days after they were arrested on terrorism-related charges, a police spokesman said Wednesday.
Senior...
Two million men to be circumcised in South Africa
By IANS,
Durban: Over two million men will be circumcised in South Africa in a bid to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, a report said.
The project will be launched Sunday in KwaZulu-Natal region by King Goodwill Zwelithini, Premier Zweli Mkhize was quoted as saying by BuaNews Friday.
The initiative has received overwhelming support from HIV activists and the medical fraternity, the premier said while presenting the Royal Household Budget.
India intensifies search for missing Malaysian plane
New Delhi: India has further intensified efforts to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with additional naval and air assets being deployed for...
US signals readiness to resolve outstanding issues over nuclear deal
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : The United States has signalled its readiness to "resolve the remaining outstanding issues" on the India-US civil nuclear deal as a team of senior Indian officials headed to Washington for critical talks on the 123 agreement.
"The United States stands ready to resolve the remaining outstanding issues on the 123 agreement," State department Spokesman Sean McCormack stated Saturday ahead of the officials' four-day visit here starting Monday.
Kenya deploys helicopters to flush out militias
By DPA
Nairobi : Kenyan security forces supported by helicopters have been deployed in the western Mount Elgon region in a bid to flush out militias that have killed hundreds of people last year over land disputes, an official said Tuesday.
The operation began Sunday night targeting the Sabaot Land Defence Forces, a group of AK-47-toting militiamen, who are blamed for the killing of 12 people in the area last week.
US files for disclosure of 4,500 Swiss accounts
By DPA,
Geneva : The US tax agency Monday filed with Swiss authorities for administrative assistance on information related to 4,500 bank accounts, following a deal reached between the two governments earlier this month.
The out-of-court settlement required that the country's largest bank UBS AG hand over to US authorities information on accounts that are believed to belong to clients who hid their assets from the Internal Revenue Service to avoid paying taxes. Swiss confidentiality laws generally mandate that banks are not allowed to divulge client information.
Russia recognises Crimea as sovereign, independent state
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to recognise Crimea as a sovereign and independent state, the Kremlin press service said Monday.
"Considering...
Foreigners banned from Tibet, mass arrests reported in Lhasa
By DPA
Beijing : China has suspended permits for foreigners to travel to Tibet, an official said Monday, as a Tibetan exile group reported mass arrests ahead of a deadline for protesters to surrender to police in the regional capital.
Officials stopped issuing the travel permits, which are not required for any other Chinese region, because of safety concerns, Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the regional government, told reporters in Beijing.
Low turnout in local polls in northern Sri Lanka
BY DPA,
Colombo: A low voter turnout marred the first local elections held in northern Sri Lanka after the defeat of Tamil rebels, officials said Saturday.
Municipal elections took place in Jaffna town, 396 km north of the capital, and elections for the urban council in Vavuniya, 240 km north of Colombo.
The elections were the first in the northern province without the presence of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that held sway for 26 years before being crushed by the military in May.
72-hour Maoist ultimatum as Nepal PM refuses to quit
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas, who bailed out the coalition government after a midnight drama Friday, have now slapped a 72-hour ultimatum on embattled Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal after he refused to step down.
"The resignation has to come within three days," the Janadisha daily, a Maoist mouthpiece, said Monday quoting senior Maoist leader Mohan Baidya Kiran as a fresh crisis threatened to derail Nepal's fragile peace process that survived a dire crisis only last week.
UN racism conference begins amid widespread boycott
By DPA,
Geneva : The United Nations Durban Review Conference on racism began Monday in Geneva amid controversy and the notable absence of several Western states.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in the opening statement of the conference that he was "profoundly disappointed" by the boycott.
"Some nations who should be working to forge a path to a better future are not here," Ban said. "I deeply regret that some have chosen to stand aside and I hope they will not do so for long."
Poland could lift veto on Russia-EU partnership deal talks -Tusk
By RIA Novasti
Paris : Poland could soon lift its veto on talks on a new Russia-EU partnership deal, following Moscow's decision to end its embargo on Polish meat, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday.
Russia said on December 12 it would lift its two-year embargo on Polish meat next week, following a meeting between the Russian and Polish agriculture ministers in Moscow.
First Nepali aircraft to test-fly
By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : An ultra-light aircraft built by Nepali engineers is scheduled to take off on Saturday afternoon almost one year since its builders sought permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, according to The Kathmandu Post.
"The research team is ready for the test flight as we have already fulfilled all necessary lab-safety requirements," said Bikash Parajuli, leader of the team that built the aircraft.
"We are optimistic that the flight will be successful," he was quoted by the Saturday's daily as saying.
Koirala seeks China’s help to form government in Nepal
By IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepali Congress (NC) leader Girija Prasad Koirala Thursday requested China to help the formation of a new government and put an end to the political crisis in Nepal.
Koirala, who met Chinese envoy to Nepal Qui Guohang at his residence in Maharajgunj Thursday afternoon, asked for China's support to the CPN-UML, the liberal Communist Party of Nepal, in forming a new coalition government in the country.
46 rebels killed in weekend clashes in SriLanka
By DPA
Colombo : At least 46 rebels and three soldiers were killed in clashes in northern Sri Lanka over the weekend, the military said Sunday.
It said 23 rebels were killed and 25 wounded in Periya Pandivirichchan, Vavuniya, 240 km north of the capital, when troops engaged the insurgents in their stronghold that eventually capitulated Saturday.
In the same area three soldiers were injured in a mine explosion while six others were wounded by mortar fire Saturday.
Six killed, homes destroyed as train derails in China
By Xinhua
Kunming : A cargo train came off the tracks in southwest China's Yunnan province early Monday, destroying several houses and burying six people, local authorities said.
The accident occurred at around 6:30 a.m. in Qujing, said sources with the city's railway and public security bureaus.
Witnesses said the 17-car cargo train went out of control after leaving Geyitou station in Xuanwei, and sped along the line linking Yunnan's provincial capital, Kunming, with Guiyang, in neighbouring Guizhou province.
Several bogies broke off and derailed along the way.
Qantas plane dumps fuel over Indonesia’s Batam island
By DPA,
Singapore : A Qantas plane made an emergency landing in Singapore after dumping fuel over Indonesia's Batam island Thursday, officials said.
Chinese SEZ is also land of thousand pianists
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
Xiamen (China) : In a corner of the crowded Zhongshan Road, one of China's top 10 business streets located in the 12th century port city of Xiamen on the East China sea, 40-year-old Sen Tham Yen Sho plays his electronic piano on a makeshift stage against the backdrop of a Chinese eatery.
Hazardous waste conference opens in Bali
By DPA,
Bali (Indonesia) : Representatives from 170 countries kicked off their five-day informal meeting on the Indonesian resort island of Bali Monday, to discuss how to manage the trans-boundary traffic of hazardous waste.
Indonesia's Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar opened the conference, which will focus on the impacts of hazardous waste on human health and livelihoods in terms of the UN's millennium development goals, conference organisers said.
Breather for over 24,000 illegal Indian workers in Kuwait
By Sheikh Manzoor
Kuwait City : In a rare gesture, the Kuwait government has stated it would not imprison or penalise over 24,000 illegal...
Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan turns to Islam
Brooklyn, New York : Famous American actress Lindsay Lohan has reportedly turned to Islam after she was photographed carrying a copy of the Qur'an on her first day of community service in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday, according to media reports.
OPEC crude cracks 140 dollar mark
By DPA,
Vienna : The price for crude oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) jumped above $140 a barrel for the first time Thursday, a statement issued by OPEC said Friday.
One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at $140.73 Thursday, up $3 from $137.73 dollars on the previous day.
OPEC calculates an average basket price based on 13 important brands produced by cartel members.
EP Austrian member criticizes Sarkozy
By KUNA
Vienna : An Austrian member in the European Parliament (EP) criticized on Friday President Nicolas Sarkozy's recent speech to the EP.
Austrian National News Agency (APA) quoted Vice Chairman of the Socialist Group at EP Hannes Swoboda as saying France was not expected to make a serious contribution to improving the social situation in Europe after Sarkozy's speech.
47 arrested in anti-Putin demonstration in Moscow
By,DPA,
Moscow: At least 47 people were arrested in Moscow Friday shortly before the start of an unauthorised demonstration against the policies of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Among the protesters arrested was opposition politician Eduard Limonov, the Interfax news agency reported, citing official sources.
Moscow human rights activist Lev Ponomarev called the actions by the security forces, who were present in great numbers, as "completely disproportionate".
Over 4,000 survivors in Myanmar cyclone-hit area provided with healthcare
By Xinhua,
Yangon : A total of 4,249 survivors in Mawlamyinegyun, one of the cyclone-hard-hit areas in Ayeyawaddy delta, have been provided with healthcare by the government's mobile medical team serving on board a vessel, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Monday.
The 4,249 cyclone victims in the area's 29 storm-ravaged villages included 823 children, 332 patients with eye complaints, 269 with dental disease, 270 suffering from mental illness and 2,555 general patients, said the report.
Sri Lankan workers injured in Indian ship fire
By Xinhua
Colombo : An accidental fire Sunday on an Indian merchant vessel berthed in the Colombo dockyard injured 13 Sri Lankan technical staff, officials said.
Pesticides risk factor for Type 2 diabetes
By IANS,
Madrid: Pesticide in food, water and air could be a risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes, says a Spanish study.
BBC apologises over ‘Queen Elizabeth is dead’ joke
By IANS,
London : BBC has apologised after a radio DJ began playing the national anthem and then joked on air that Queen Elizabeth II has died.
Danny Kelly told up to a quarter of a million listeners that he had some "astonishing news" and then said: "Queen Elizabeth II has now died."
Producer Mark Newman jumped in within seconds, telling him: "You can't say that."
Kelly said he was talking about a 'friend' on his show's Facebook page who went by the name 'Queen Elizabeth II', but who was no longer on the site, Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
FBI helped authorities in Michael Jackson molestation case
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The FBI assisted local authorities in a futile attempt to get cooperation from a boy who had accused pop icon Michael Jackson of molesting him in 1993, documents show.
The documents released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under the Freedom of Information Act also reveal that Santa Barbara police had concerns about a possible terrorist attack related to the 2003 arrest of Jackson, which led to a request for FBI assistance. The FBI concluded there was no threat.
Japan police raids firms on N. Korea nuclear connection
By KUNA,
Tokyo : Japanese police have raided two companies on suspicion they helped supply Japan-made vacuum pumps to North Korea being used in uranium enrichment.
Last week, the authorities searched Tokyo Vacuum, a machinery maker in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and the Tokyo-based trading firm Nakano Corp., police and Nakano Corporation said Thursday.
Britain disappointed at failure of US-Russia talks on Ukraine
London: British Foreign Secretary William Hague expressed his deep disappointment at the failure of US-Russia talks on solving the Ukraine crisis.
"It is deeply disappointing...
Satellite shows magnitude of quake damage in China
By IANS,
Sydney : Australian researchers are providing the Chinese government with detailed assessment of the area devastated by the May 12 quake that claimed more than 60,000 lives.
The high-resolution map generated from analysis of satellite images shows the ground lifting by up to five metres in areas affected by the quake.
Radar satellite survey of the devastated area by researchers at the University of New South Wales is giving China information about the level of damage from the magnitude 8.0 temblor.
China holds officials accountable for pollution of waterways
By Xinhua,
Jinan (China) : China's environment watchdog has warned regional government officials that they may face penalties over failures to clean up the country's major rivers and lakes.
The country's environment ministry has already put the officials of 21 provincial governments on notice that they would be held personally accountable for the continued pollution of seven main waterways.
Eight die in Moscow building fire
By IANS,
Moscow: Eight people were killed when a building in Moscow caught fire Saturday, Xinhua reported.
According to police, the casualties were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Air Canada begins in-flight internet service
By IANS,
Toronto : Air Canada Thursday unveiled its plans to offer in-flight internet service.
The national carrier said it has started trials from Thursday to offer internet service on select flights on its Toronto-Los Angeles and Montreal-Los Angeles routes. With the trial run, Air Canada joins many international airlines which already offer in-flight internet service.
Passengers can access the service on their own laptop for $9.95 per flight or Personal Electronic Device (PED) for $7.95 per flight.
Overfishing threatens key species in Mexico: Greenpeace
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : The species of fish and shellfish most consumed in Mexico "are at risk" due to overfishing, according to international NGO Greenpeace.
Red snapper, shrimp, sardines, sharks, rays, tuna and groupers from the Gulf of Mexico, salmon from the Atlantic and grey mullet are all on a Red List prepared by the group.
"We Mexicans want to continue eating fish and shellfish, and we should not wait for their populations to be exhausted," Alejandro Olivera, coordinator of the oceans-and-coasts campaign for Greenpeace Mexico, said in a communique Tuesday.
Foreign students working illegally to be expelled from Britain
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : Foreign students from outside Europe will be deported from Britain if they are found to be working illegally, the British government said Wednesday.
The British home ministry issued the warning while giving out details of new rules for foreign students, effective immediately, that it said are aimed at stopping 'bogus students' from coming into the country.
The new regulations will ensure that students studying below degree level have a limited ability to work in Britain and that their dependants cannot work here at all.
Obama remembers Donna Summer
By IANS,
New York : US president Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama offered condolences to late singer Donna Summer.
China calls for more cooperation among BRICS countries
BY IANS,
United Nations: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has called on the BRICS countries to seize opportunities to increase cooperation among them.
British-Irish Police Ops Start
London, Oct 3 (Prensa Latina) British and Irish authorities began on Wednesday an operation against prostitution and people smuggling with that objective, police sources said.
Over 50 agents and experts of the Sheffield center against People Smuggling, in England, are participating in the operation, which intends to stop that degrading activity.
Buying and selling human beings, mostly women and children, is a problem that should be solved, Gloucestershire county Police Captain Tim Brain said.
Russian warships to visit Cuba Friday
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Three Northern Fleet warships will call at the port of Havana in Cuba Friday - the Russian Navy's first visit to the communist-ruled island since the end of the Cold War period, a navy spokesman said Monday.
"This will be the first visit to Cuba by Russian warships since the Soviet days," Captain Igor Dygalo said.
The Admiral Chabanenko missile destroyer and two support ships will stay in Cuba until Dec 23.
"Cubans will have an opportunity to visit the Russian ships," he said.
Hillary Clinton tries to resurrect climate talks with $100 bn offer
By Joydeep Gupta, IANS,
Copenhagen: US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Thursday tried to resurrect the Copenhagen climate summit by promising to mobilise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poor countries cope with the effects of global warming.
Without going into details, Clinton said at a crowded press conference that the money would be "mobilised from private and public sources" and would "include bilateral and multilateral" projects, with a "focus on forestry and adaptation" to climate change effects.
Deaths of Diana, Dodi al-Fayed were ‘unlawful killing’
By DPA
London : A British jury ruled Monday that Princess Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed were unlawfully killed through the gross negligence of their driver and the photographers who pursued them when their Mercedes crashed in Paris Aug 31, 1997.
The majority verdict by a jury of six women and five men was seen as an emphatic rejection of claims by Dodi's father, Egyptian multi-millionaire Mohammed al-Fayed, that Diana and his son died in a staged accident engineered by Britain's secret services.
Samara awards $28m World Cup contract
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Samara (Russia): The central Russian city of Samara awarded a $27.5 million contract to design a 2018 World Cup arena, picking a local firm for the job.
Presenting, British Prime Minister Shri Govardhan Brown
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : Wearing marigold garlands around his neck and a bright vermillion teeka on the forehead, Britain's prime minister was anointed Govardhan Brown Wednesday by a large crowd of cheering Asians celebrating Diwali in the heart of the British establishment.
"From today, you are an honorary member of the Hindu community, as Govardhan Brown," said Ramesh Kallidai, general secretary of the Hindu Forum UK, to a beaming Gordon Brown inside a packed hall in the House of Commons, the British lower house of parliament.
Ousted Fiji PM returns to capital after nine months
By DPA
Wellington : Former Fiji prime minister Laisenia Qarase, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in December 2006, returned to the capital Suva Saturday after nine months in exile on an outlying island.
Qarase said he wanted to meet the man who deposed him, Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who has declared himself interim prime minister, and told reporters that he was willing to help the military regime return the South Pacific island state to democracy, the independent Fijilive website reported.
‘British airport officers harassing legal migrants’
London, Oct 2 (IANS) Overly zealous British home ministry officials are “humiliating, harassing and abusing” legal Indian and other migrants at airports across the country, a campaigning group said Thursday.
“Though migrants are used to discrimination and harassment, these new revelations show how the treatment of legal immigrants by border control now has stooped to the lowest of levels,” the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP) Forum said in a statement.
The home ministry was unable to offer a comment immediately, but said it was looking into the complaint.
Devyani Khobragade re-indicted, India says ‘unnecessary step’
Washington: Dashing hopes of a closure of the Devyani Khobragade affair, Indian American prosecutor Preet Bharara has secured a fresh indictment of the Indian...
South Korean ports paralyzed as truckers strike
By Xinhua,
Seoul : Many South Korean ports were paralyzed Thursday, blocked by truckers who vowed to strike Friday in protest at the rising cost of fuel that has wiped out their profit margins, reported Yonhap news agency.
Strikes in Busan, South Korea's largest port city, saw 83 percent of all containers in the city's seven ports locked down. Busan handles 76 percent of all the nation's shipping.
US politician dabbled in witchcraft, tape reveals
By IANS,
Washington : A Republican leader who is contesting the US Senate election scheduled in November this year, has admitted that she once dabbled in witchcraft.
Indian-origin doctor takes rap in British incest probe
By IANS,
London : An Indian-origin doctor may now face questioning in the notorious British incest scandal, in which a father repeatedly raped his two daughters for two decades, for not detecting anything amiss in the family even though he treated the girls during all the years of their abuse.
Thakur Singh of Sheffield was the only doctor who treated the two daughters since their childhood and till recently, but could not say how he missed the signs of violence and incest all these years.
Lanka says 147 killed as battle rages for key LTTE-held town
By IANS,
Colombo : At least 120 Tamil Tiger rebels and 27 government soldiers were killed and several more wounded on both sides as a fierce battle continued to rage on the outskirts of a key rebel-held town in the north of the country, the Sri Lankan defence ministry said Monday.
Troops were "steadily advancing" from three directions towards the rebels' 'political capital' Kilinochchi, located about 350 kilometres north of here, since the past few days and have "laid siege to the symbolic LTTE stronghold" despite heavy resistance, the ministry said.
Russia, France develop new satellite platform
By RIA Novasti
Moscow : Russia's Reshetnev Applied Mechanics Production Association (NPO-PM) and France's Thales Alenia Space are developing a new multifunctional satellite platform, Russian officials said Wednesday.
Thales Alenia Space, a major payload provider for the Russian telecom satellite market, and NPO-PM are closely working on a joint programme to build new multi-mission satellite platform, optimised for a direct injection in the Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) and High-Elliptical Orbit (HEO) missions.
Chinese cemetery fined for selling oversized graves
By IANS,
Beijing: A cemetery in China will be fined for illegally building and selling "oversized, luxurious and spacious" graves, with some priced as high as three million yuan ($476 million).
Sri Lanka cuts petrol price after court order
By IANS,
Colombo : Sri Lanka on Wednesday reduced the price of petrol by over 18 percent following an order from the Supreme Court, which heard a public interest case filed by a Buddhist monk and an opposition legislator.
Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva Wednesday accepted a price reduction formula put out by the country's treasury that will bring down a litre of petrol from Rs.122 to Rs.100 from midnight Wednesday.
Mexican navy seizes 2.4 tonnnes of cocaine
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : The Mexican Navy has seized 2.4 tonnes of cocaine stashed in a fishing boat intercepted in the Pacific waters.
The navy acted on a tip from the US intelligence that drugs might be aboard the Mexican-flagged vessel.
The fishing boat had apparently taken on the cocaine cargo in Colombia. The drug was found hidden in fuel tanks inside sealed compartments. Five people were arrested in the operation carried out April 27.
India has to reply on Asia-Pacific for growth: Chinese daily
Beijing: Relying on the Asia-Pacific region will best help boost India's economy, a leading Chinese daily has said.
“Since Narendra Modi, newly sworn-in Prime Minister...
Arrests, arson mark third night of anti-Sarkozy protests
By DPA
Paris : Arrests were made for the third night in a row in France as violent protests broke out in Paris, Toulouse and Lyon over the election of conservative Nicolas Sarkozy as president, police said.
The local office of Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement in the central city of Villeurbanne also caught fire in what police called arson.
Voting starts in Azerbaijani presidential election
By Xinhua,
Baku : Voting started in Azerbaijan's presidential election on Wednesday with incumbent President Ilham Aliyev expected to win his next term.
A total of 5,359 constituencies have been formed and 4.8 million voters are registered to vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). Along with Aliyev, six other candidates are also competing for the office.
Polling stations across the country opened at 8:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) and were due to close at 7:00 p.m. (1400 GMT).
France says transported munitions to Chad army
By SPA
Paris : France's military said on Thursday it had transported munitions to the Chadian government army, which repelled a rebel attack on the capital N'Djamena this month, Reuters reported.
French media had reported that French forces flew tank shells from Libya to supply Chadian government tanks defending the presidential palace against a Feb. 2-3 rebel assault.
Obama awards $8 billion to high-speed rail projects
By DPA,
Washington : High-speed rail projects across the US received an $8-billion injection of federal funds Thursday, part of an effort to boost the sagging labour market while improving the country's infrastructure.
The money was taken out of a $787-billion economic stimulus package approved in February and will go to 13 planned high-speed rail corridors across the country. The bulk of the funds will go to projects in Florida and a high-speed line in California from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
Probe into cause of hospital fire
By KUNA
London : Investigators were Thursday looking for evidence of how a fire which swept through the Royal Marsden Hospital, in Chelsea, west London, started yesterday afternoon, the London Fire Brigade said.
Operations had to be halted and patients and staff were led to safety as fire broke out at the leading cancer treatment centre.
At its height, 125 firefighters were at the scene.
Only four people needed treatment for the effects of smoke from the fire which started on the fourth floor where construction work was taking place.
Missing jet: Unidentified material washes ashore, being checked
Perth : The search for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that went missing last month took a new twist Wednesday with reports of some...
Disbanded watchdog cautions successor on financial crime
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : Britain's finance watchdog Financial Services Authority (FSA) has reacted strongly to its disbanding by the new coalition government, warning the shake-up of financial regulation may encourage insider dealing.
Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne last week announced that the FSA's responsibilities will now be divided between the Bank of England and a new Consumer Protection and Markets Authority (CPMA).
New Sri Lanka army chief attacked by rights group
New York : Sri Lanka’s promotion of a senior officer whose division was implicated in serious human rights abuses casts doubt on government pledges...
Africa could be worst hit by swine flu: South African minister
By IANS,
Johannesburg: South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has expressed fear that Africa could severely be affected by the H1N1 Influenza, best known as swine flu, though the virus entered the continent very late, BuaNews agency reported Wednesday.
"It is well known that this continent has always been worst affected by any outbreak of a communicable disease - whether it is HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria or one of the haemorragic fevers," Motsoaledi told the World Health Organisation's Regional Conference on the pandemic Tuesday.
Climbers tweet updates as avalanches continue on Everest slopes
Kathmandu : Even as a Nepal tourism ministry official on Sunday declared a toll of 18 climbers on Mount Everest after Saturday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake,...
PM to visit Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka next week
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka from March 10-14.
On March 11, in Seychelles, Modi will...
65 detained in Mexico riots
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Mexico City : At least eight people were injured and 65 detained when police clashed with protesters in Mexico on the new president's inauguration day, an official said.
Russia to be top country for business in 10 years: Putin
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia will become one of the best countries for business within the next 10 years, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said.
17 killed, 45 injured in bus crash in suburban Hong Kong
By SPA,
Hong Kong : An overcrowded tour bus lost control on a slope and flipped over Thursday in Hong Kong, killing 17 members of a local religious group and injuring 45 others, AP reported.
The driver was arrested on charges of dangerous driving.
After visiting the injured, Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang told reporters it was the city's worst traffic accident in recent years. A double-decker bus crash killed 21 people in 2003.
Most of the victims were critically injured, suffering head injuries, severe bleeding and broken bones, Li said.
5.6 magnitude quake hits Philippines
By IANS,
Manila: An earthquake of 5.6 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Mindanao in Philippines Saturday, Xinhua reported quoting the US Geological Survey.
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US government taken to court over polar bear
By Xinhua
Washington : Three environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the US government for missing the deadline to list the polar bear as a threatened animal under the Endangered Species Act.
The Natural Resources Defence Council, Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity - the three NGOs - filed the lawsuit in a San Francisco court Monday.
They hope that the move would prompt an early listing of the animal in the Endangered Species Act by the US government.
New Nepal PM to be sworn in Tuesday
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepal's new Prime Minister-elect veteran Communist leader Madhav Kumar Nepal will be administered oath of office Tuesday, heralding an end to a three-week-long political vacuum that had engulfed the Himalayan republic after its Maoist government fell due to a row with the army.
The new premier's party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), told IANS that Nepal would be sworn in Tuesday by President Ram Baran Yadav.
Australians party as Obama is US president-elect
By Neena Bhandari, IANS,
Sydney : The euphoria unfolding at Grant Park in Chicago caught on with Australians as they celebrated Democrat Barack Obama’s historic victory as the first African-American president of the United States.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd congratulated the United States president-elect Obama on his win, saying he has realised Martin Luther King's dream.
EU summit approves principle of Union for Mediterranean
By Xinhua
Brussels : A European Union summit approved here on Friday the principle of a Union for the Mediterranean, proposed by France, to strengthen and further the Barcelona Process.
The plan will involve "all member states of the EU and the non-EU Mediterranean coastal states," said a statement from the two-day spring summit that just ended.
Tourism on upswing in Central America
By DPA
San Jose : The seven nations of Central America are seeing a strong upswing in tourism this year.
In 2007, as many as eight million people from all over the world are expected to visit Maya sites in places like Tikal (Guatemala) and Copan (Honduras); the wildlife refuges and beaches of Costa Rica; the Panama Canal; and the volcanoes and colonial cities of Nicaragua.
Nearly 100,000 tourists are expected from Germany alone, according to Pilar Cano, general secretary of the Central America Tourism Agency (CATA).
No one will be homeless: Nepal PM
Kathmandu : Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Friday asserted that no one in the Himalayan nation -- rocked by a devastating earthquake on...
Jyothirmayee murder suspect detained for eight more weeks
By IANS,
London : The detention of an Indian man held on suspicion of murdering his roommate Samrajyo Jyothirmayee Vempala was extended by another eight weeks Friday at the request of his lawyer.
Nagraj Kumar Nalluri, 24, was produced before the Birmingham magistrate's court but made no request for bail.
At the request of his lawyer, the judge fixed the next date of hearing July 25.
The body of 23-year-old Jyothirmayee, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, is expected to be taken to India next week by a family friend, Hari Gopal, official sources said.
Britain calls for action as Zimbabwe sinks into turmoil
By DPA,
London/Johannesburg : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Saturday called for "international" action to remove Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe as the southern Africa nation sank further into political and social crisis.
The British premier said the international community had to show Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence 28 years ago, that "enough is enough."
US envoy to return with North Korean nuclear documents
By DPA,
Washington : The US envoy to North Korea would return from Pyongyang with a "significant number" of documents detailing the communist country's nuclear programme, the US State Department said Thursday.
Sung Kim, director of the State Department's Korea office, led a US delegation earlier Thursday to North Korea - the second US visit in three weeks - as part of a diplomatic push for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme. Sung was expected to return Friday to South Korea.
1,200-year-old royal tomb found in Peru
By IANS/EFE,
Lima : The 1,200-year-old tomb of a ruler of the pre-Incan Sican culture has been found in Peru's Lambayaque region, an official said.
Tents, food still not reaching Nepal quake victims
By Anil Giri,
Kathmandu : Two weeks after the deadly earthquake struck Nepal, hundreds of thousands of survivors and victims were still not getting food...
Six Arrested For Raising Rebellious Flag In Indonesian Province
By Bernama,
Jakarta : Indonesian police have detained six people for raising up separatist flag in easternmost province of West Papua in Indonesia at the weekend, National police spokesman Sulistyo said Monday.
The spokesman said that the six out of 46 people questioned by the police on Saturday, had been detained and allegedly involved in the hoisting of the flag known as "Bintang Kejora or Morning Star" in the province.
"The six persons were accused of involving a subversive act, by raising the flag," Sulistyo told China's Xinhua news agency on Monday.
Muslim cleric shot dead in Russia
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A Muslim cleric of a village mosque in Russia was found shot dead Tuesday morning, officials said.
National security much more than terrorism, warns UK report
By IRNA
London : Threats to national security do not only come from the possibility of a terrorist attack but from other emerging frontline issues, including climate change, energy and disease and bio-security, the British government was told Wednesday.
A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), affiliated to the ruling Labour Party, argued that in the past national security has been too narrowly defined in the UK from a military or terrorist attack and this definition is now out of date.
Helicopter crash in Peru kills 10
By DPA
Lima : Ten people were killed when a helicopter of mining giant Rio Tinto crashed in central Peru, according to media reports.
Television channel Canal N reported Wednesday that rescue teams found the wreckage of the chopper in the Sexi district of the Cajamarca province, some 700 km northeast of Peruvian capital, Lima.
China warns British festival organisers over inviting Dalai Lama
London: China has warned the organisers of the annual British Glastonbury Music Festival over inviting exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, a media...
US police follow leads to nab Hyderabad student’s killers
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: US police are trying to enhance the security video and following all leads to find the killers of an Indian student from Hyderabad gunned down in an apparent robbery in Connecticut.
Arun Kumar Narote, 26, a software engineering student at Stratford University, was working as a part-time store clerk at Norman's Grocery and Deli in Bridgeport when he was gunned down by unidentified assailants Monday night.
Iran to set new conditions for nuclear talks
By DPA,
Hamburg : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Tehran would announce its new conditions for talks with world powers over the nuclear dispute.
"Iran is in favour of negotiations but on the basis of respect and not threats," Ahmadinejad said in a broadcast from the south-western city of Chahar-Mahal Bakhtiari.
"We will not make any concessions over our (nuclear) rights and will not be intimidated by new resolutions and sanctions," he said.
Aung San Suu Kyi begins historic visit to China
Beijing: Myanmar's opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi arrives on Wednesday in China, a historic visit that comes during...
US is `the world`s leading jailer:` HRW
By ANTARA News/AFP,
Washington : The United States has 2.3 million people behind bars, more than any other country in the world and more than ever before in its history, Human Rights Watch said Friday.
The number represents an incarceration rate of 762 per 100,000 residents, compared to 152 per 100,000 in Britain, 108 in Canada, and 91 in France, HRW said in a statement commenting on Justice Department figures also released Friday.
"The new incarceration figures confirm the United States as the world's leading jailer," said David Fahti, HRW's US program director.
Tele-links with Myanmar patchy, opposition radio says
By DPA
Oslo : Telephone and Internet connections with Myanmar remained difficult Wednesday, the Oslo-based opposition radio station Democratic Voice of Burma said.
In the former capital Yangon it was "still quiet" after the recent crackdown on protesters, the station's news editor Moe Aye said in a telephone interview.
Telephone connections with other cities were not working. Some phone numbers in Yangon were also out of order, Moe Aye said.
Texas officials remove 52 girls from polygamist ranch
By DPA
Washington : Texas officials removed 52 girl children from the walled compound of a polygamist sect while police sealed off all roads to the ranch on suspicion that a teenage girl was raped there, media reports said.
The evacuation and lock-down came as police executed a search and arrest warrant for a 50-year-old man charged with marrying and fathering a child with a 16-year-old girl, the San Angelo, Texas, Standard Times reported online Friday.
Three British leaders sign ‘No’ vote pledge
London : The leaders of the three main parties at Westminster Tuesday signed a pledge for more powers for Scotland if in Thursday's referendum...
Trinidad’s energy resources becoming scarce
By Paras Ramoutar, IANS
Port of Spain : Energy resources in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago are dwindling, bpTT chairman and chief executive officer Robert Riley said.
Trinidad and Tobago receives over 75 percent of its annual revenue from the energy industry. Several of the world's major energy companies have established deep business contacts here.
"There will be no large oil and gas finds in the future as in the past decade or so," he told a gathering of over 200 industrialists and energy experts at San Fernando Wednesday.
UN SC holds consultations about Sahara issue
By NNN-MAP
New York (United Nations) : The United Nations Security Council held, on Friday, consultations about the Sahara issue, opposing Morocco to the Algerian-backed separatist movement Polisario.
Held in the presence of UN personal envoy, Peter Van Walsum, these consultations were marked by widespread support for the negotiations process in a respect to the "letter and substance" of the 1754 resolution, except for an isolated, hostile, and counter-productive attitude of South Africa's representative.
Nepal riots spread, five more killed
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : Five days after violence erupted in south Nepal following the murder of a local politician, sectarian clashes spread to two more districts, killing five more and taking the toll to at least 28.
A former municipal chairman and two others were killed Thursday as a rally of protesters demanding security in Jagdishpur village in Kapilavastu district was attacked by a mob.
Two more people died on the way to hospital while the condition of nine was critical, media reports said Friday.
Russian naval task force starts Venezuela visit
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A task force of Russia's Northern Fleet led by the Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser arrived in Venezuela as part of a planned visit which will see the ships take part in joint naval drills, a naval spokesman said.
"On Dec 1, the Russian warships will take part in joint naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy," Captain Igor Dygalo told reporters.
Arms Topic at Algeria-Russia Summit
By Prensa Latina
Moscow : Energy and technical-military collaboration mark the official 48-hour visit of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to Russia, sources from the Kremlin said Monday.
Advisors from the Algerian government confirmed that Bouteflika is in the Russian capital at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, with whom he will talk Tuesday.
Both presidents met in March 2006 during Putin's trip to North Africa, which concluded with signing several strategic cooperation agreements for more than seven billion dollars.
Poland criticises Russian military chief’s missile warning
By RIA Novosti
Warsaw : Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has criticised the chief of Russian army staff for his warning that a possible US anti-missile fire from Poland could provoke a Russian counterattack.
"Statements of this kind are impermissible because no general is going to influence Polish-US negotiations on the issue (the US missile defence shield in Central Europe)," Tusk said Sunday following the comments by chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky.
Nigeria mourns plane crash victims
By IANS,
Abuja : Nigeria Monday began a three-day national mourning for the 193 people who died in one of the country's worst plane crashes that occurred Sunday.
Three women activists receive Nobel Peace Prize
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Stockholm: Three women rights activists from Africa and the Arab world received the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo Saturday.
Japan’s economy grows
By IANS,
Tokyo : Japan's economy grew an annualized real 1.4 percent in the April-June quarter, according to the government data released Monday.
UAE protests to UN on Iran’s activities on Abu Musa island
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has officially documented to the United Nations its protest against Iran's action of opening of two offices in UAE's occupied island of Abu Musa.
Bangladesh PM, Jamaat condemn blogger’s murder
Dhaka : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and leading political parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, have condemned the brutal murder of a fourth blogger in Bangladesh,...
Three killed in bomb blast in the Philippines
By Xinhua,
Cotabato (The Philippines) : At least three people were killed and seven wounded when a homemade bomb ripped through a public market Monday in the restive southern Philippines, according to witnesses.
The bomb, placed inside a trash can, went off shortly before 6.30 a.m. in front of a cafeteria in the township of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, said Eduardo Vasquez, a parish priest from nearby Datu Piang town, who was at the blast site.
Obama, Hillary unite in White House bid
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the victor and the vanquished in the Democratic presidential nomination race, came together in a carefully choreographed show aimed at returning Democrats to the White House.
Obama, who would be the first black US president and the former first lady, who hoped to be the first woman chief executive, signalled the end of their long and bitter primary struggle Friday in a small town in Hampshire appropriately named Unity.
We aren’t covering-up assault on Indians: Australian police
By IANS,
Melbourne : The police are denying that a deliberate decision was taken to minimise publicity over the brutal assault on four Indians at the weekend in this Australian city.
The Indians were attacked by a group outside a bar in Epping Saturday and the attackers told the victims "You Indians, just go back to your country".
Acting Senior Sergeant Glenn Parker, who was one of the officers at the scene, says police acted swiftly, arresting four men and taking statements from the four victims.
He says there was no attempt on the part of police to play down the incident.
EU leaders agree on financial reform
By DPA,
Brussels : European Union (EU) leaders agreed Friday to a common position on reforming the global financial system, officials at an emergency EU summit in Brussels said.
"There is a pretty detailed common position from Europe," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
At the summit, which was intended to prepare a common EU position for a meeting of the world's leading economic powers in Washington on Nov 15, EU leaders gave their backing to a watered-down set of principles drawn up by the French government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.
Ukraine government at odds over new talks in gas dispute
By DPA,
Moscow/Kiev : Ukraine's government is divided by internal differences over entering new talks with Russia to end the gas delivery impasse, news reports said Thursday.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency that a new round of talks on resuming gas transit to the European Union was scheduled for Saturday in Moscow.
However, President Viktor Yushchenko Wednesday evening rejected the Kremlin's invitation of a crisis summit with all gas-importing countries Saturday as not suitable.
Man kills six in China
By Xinhua,
Wuhan (China) : Police in this central China city have arrested a mentally deranged man who killed six villagers and injured one.
Zhang Jinfu, 43, a farmer from Xuyang village in Hubei province, hacked to death two men in their 60s, a couple in their 50s and their mother aged 80 and a 7-year-old boy, Saturday morning, with a sickle.
The boy's mother was injured when she tried to rescue her son. She was admitted to a hospital.
Zhang was arrested by police when attempting to flee the scene.
China to get better social security system
Beijing: China is striving to turn its social insurance system into a fairer and more sustainable one, Hu Xiaoyi, the country's vice minister of...
Somalia sends troops to release ship with Russian seamen
By SPA,
Pretoria : Somalia’s authorities have sent troops to release the Amiya Scan cargo ship with four Russian seamen, a local official said , according to Itar-Tass.
The dry cargo ship Amiya Scan, belonging to a Dutch company and sailing under a Panamanian flag was on its way to the Romanian port of Constanta, when pirates in the neutral waters of the Gulf of Aden attacked it. It was traveling from Kenya’s Mombassa port.
Nepalese schools, colleges closed till May 14
Kathmandu : The Nepal government decided on Thursday to close till May 14 all educational institutions situated in the 11 districts majorly affected by...
Russia to launch its first weather satellite
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is set to launch its first weather satellite, Meteor-M1, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the satellite's manufacturer said Wednesday.
Russia currently has no weather satellites and gets its information from foreign sources.
The Russian state research and development company VNIIEM said its specialists had assembled the satellite and launched "the final stage of complex tests".
The 2.7-tonne Meteor-M1 will be put into a 830-km orbit by a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle and a Frigate upper stage.
Its service life will be five to seven years.
Court orders Google to pay woman over comments on Orkut
By EFE,
Rio de Janeiro : A Brazilian judge has ordered Google to pay 5,000 reais ($2,847) to a woman for not removing offensive comments about her posted on the Orkut website.
Judge Marco Aurelio Froes ruled in Rio de Janeiro Wednesday that the US-based company was liable because it did not remove the postings on the social networking site.
Froes said Google was not to blame for the statements, but it should have pulled the postings when the woman asked that they be removed due to their "offensive" content.
China opens first sex education museum for women
By RIA Novosti,
Beijing : China's first museum of sex education for women, disseminating information on human reproduction and sexual psychology, has opened in the southern city of Guangzhou, the China Daily reported Friday.
The exhibition, which men are barred from, has eight halls with more than 500 exhibits, housed in the city's Ren'ai Hospital.
Women will be shown films and pictures imparting "knowledge on pregnancy, abortions and childbirth," the newspaper said.
The museum hopes for at least 200 visitors per day.
UK repatriating dual nationals from Gaza
London, Jan 29, IRNA -- The British government has assisted repatriation of UK and other citizens from Gaza during the conflict in the region, parliament has been told.
Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said that consular assistance to leave is also being offered to EU and certain Commonwealth citizens that do not have diplomatic representation.
“We are providing consular assistance to all British nationals in Gaza who require it,” Rammell said in a wriiten parliamentary answer published Thursday.
Terror world is facing now, Israel saw years ago: Diplomat
Panaji: The terror which Israel had to face 30-40 years ago, India, the US and Europe are confronted with now, Israel's Mumbai consul general...
Economic rebound to come from US housing market: IMF head
By DPA,
Paris : The world will begin to emerge from the economic crisis in the first quarter of 2010, and the recovery will start in the US housing market, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was quoted Monday as saying.
"The crisis began in the United States, in the housing sector. The recovery will announce itself first in the United States. Therefore we must keep an eye on American real estate prices. The end of the fall in prices will be an important sign," Strauss-Kahn told the daily Le Figaro.
Yemeni conflict a threat to global trade: India
By Arul Louis
United Nations: India has expressed concern over the serious economic impact of the fighting in Yemen on global trade and urged the...
Lula travels to India with ambitious economic plans
By DPA
Brasilia : Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is scheduled to travel to India later this week, with the ambitious objectives of quadrupling bilateral trade and boosting the strategic association that both nations agreed on three years ago.
After Maoists, Communists eye power in Nepal
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : As a historic battle over the fate of embattled King Gyanendra resumes in Nepal's parliament Thursday, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala now faces a cut-throat contest with the Communists, the second largest party in his ruling coalition, eyeing the top executive post in the country.
Cronkite’s coverage helped turn tide against Vietnam War
By DPA,
Washington: Walter Cronkite, the iconic US journalist who reported from World War II battlefields and is credited with helping turn public opinion against the Vietnam War, died Friday in New York at the age of 92.
Cronkite's calm and kindly demeanour earned him the nicknames "Uncle Walter" and "the most trusted man in America" from viewers.
He served as anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981 and usually ended each broadcast with a phrase that became his signature: "And that's the way it is."
Rave reviews greet Obama’s Denver show
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : If spectacles could win elections, Barack Obama has made it. The Denver show where the first African American to lead a major party ticket accepted the historic Democratic presidential nomination won rave reviews from the media as much for style as for substance.
A number of media reports proclaimed his Thursday night acceptance address as "something close to a home-run for Obama", seeing his sharp criticism of Republican rival McCain as a shrewd political move, while praising his poise and delivery, as the US News and World Report put it.