Israeli colonel prevented from speaking in London
London, Jan 30, IRNA – An Israeli colonel accused of being a war criminal was prevented by peace campaigners from making a speech to the Jewish London Student Centre on Thursday night when police clashed with more than 100 protesters, while blocking rush-hour traffic.
"Given the short notice, the number of people who attended was good and we achieved getting the meeting cancelled, or at least rescheduled,” said Stewart Halforty from the Stop The War Coalition (STWC), which organised the protest against Geva Rapp.
Recalcitrant Bavarians fight pub smoking ban
By Sabine Dobel, DPA,
Munich : Bavaria's anti-smoking legislation was intended as the toughest in all of Germany when it was introduced at the beginning of the year, but putting it into effect has produced paradoxical results.
Pubs across the country's largest state have sidestepped the law by reconstituting themselves as "smokers' clubs".
Munich administrative official Wilfried Blume-Beyerle has called on Environment Minister Otmar Bernhard to find a way to ban these "associations for evading the law", as he calls them.
South Africans flee Mozambique, fearing backlash
By Fakir Hassen, IANS,
Johannesburg : South Africans in neighbouring Mozambique are fleeing the country and Mozambican authorities are on high alert amid fears of retaliation for the xenophobic violence against Mozambicans in South Africa.
Jaitley going to BRICS Bank inaugural meet in Moscow
New Delhi : Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will leave on Monday for a four-day visit to Russia to attend the inaugural meeting...
Brown hits new low as voters desert Labour
By KUNA
London : British Prime Minister Gordon Browns leadership rating has fallen to its lowest level yet, with a third of voters regarding him as worse than former UK Premier Tony Blair, a poll published here Tuesday showed.
The Prime Minister has also presided over a sharp fall in confidence in the economy as he enters a crucial three weeks of campaigning for the London Mayor and local elections to be held at the beginning of May, according to the survey by pollsters "Populus" published in The Times newspaper.
Poland fires missile-shield negotiator with US
By DPA,
Warsaw : Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk Monday removed the country's top negotiator in missile-shield talks with the US, highlighting political infighting over the stalled project.
Hours before Tusk announced he had signed Witold Waszczykowski's dismissal note, a magazine quoted the negotiator as saying that Tusk was driven by domestic politics when he rejected the latest US offer last month.
Michelle Obama campaigns against childhood obesity
By DPA,
Washington : First Lady Michelle Obama stepped into the limelight Tuesday to lead a campaign that will seek ways of reducing childhood obesity, which affects nearly one third of children in the US.
The new public awareness campaign marks one of the highest-profile policy assignments yet for the first lady since President Barack Obama took office in January last year.
The Obamas hope to improve coordination within the government and work with parents, schools and communities to improve nutrition, increase exercise and change other habits of US children.
Narrow win for pro-West bloc in Ukraine poll
By DPA
Kiev : Ukraine's recent parliamentary election gave a narrow victory to pro-Western forces, official results showed.
The number two and three parties in Sunday's vote - the anti-corruption Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) and the nationalist Our Ukraine National Self-Defence (OUNSD) - received 30.71 percent and 14.15 percent of ballots cast, according to official data of the Central Election Commission (CEC) made public Friday.
Famed Pakistani qawwal Amjad Sabri gunned down
Karachi : Unidentified gunmen shot dead renowned qawwal Amjad Sabri -- whose late father and uncle enjoy huge popularity in India -- on a...
Iran to send monkeys into space
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran will send several monkeys into space on the Pishgam (Pioneer) space capsule in the near future, a top official has said.
Nepal royal family ‘shifts’ to Nagarjun palace
By NNN-Nepal News
Kathmandu : A day after the government decided to nationalise seven royal palaces including the Narayanhiti palace, King Gyanendra moved to Nagarjun palace with his family on Friday.
A royal palace source however claimed that King Gyanendra and his family moved to Nagarjun palace as part of their vacation plan set weeks earlier and that their departure from Narayanhiti has nothing to do with Thursday's cabinet decision to bring the seven palaces under government ownership.
Canada’s exports slip lower, but economy creates more jobs
By IANS,
Toronto : Despite Canada's main exports - commodities and oil - slipping lower and North America's third largest stock market here closing the last day of the week on a sluggish note, the economy has created thousands of new jobs in October.
The TSX composite index closed at 9,542.88 points. Compared to Thursday when the index fell 3.36 percent or 331.79 points, the closing day of the week saw a decline of just 12 points.
The day's major losers were the metals sector that fell by 2.3 percent and consumer commodities which slipped 2.1 percent.
Obama says, fight against racism in US not ove
Washington : US President Barack Obama said Saturday that the fight against racism in the US is not yet over, during a speech in...
IAEA chief calls for dialogue on North Korea nuclear issue
By Xinhua,
Beijing : International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei Monday called for dialogue to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.
"The only way to resolve the issues is through dialogue," ElBaradei told reporters at a conference on nuclear energy in Beijing. "There is no other solution apart from dialogue."
He said dialogue should be conducted through the United Nations Security Council to resolve such issues in Iran, North Korea and Cuba, instead of "flexing muscles".
French PM congratulates Putin
By IANS,
Paris : French Prime Minister Francois Fillon Tuesday congratulated Vladimir Putin on his victory in the Russian presidential election.
Bali conference calls U.S. to ratify toxic treaty
By Xinhua,
Jakarta : A global toxic trade watchdog, the Basel Action Network, has again called on the United States to ratify the international toxic treaty and stop illegal trafficking of hazardous electronic waste, an Indonesian daily said Tuesday.
The statement was made at the opening of the international conference on the Basel Convention's Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in the Indonesian resort island of Bali Monday.
N-deal will pass, but India may have to wait: Giuliani
By Parveen Chopra and Manish Chand, IANS,
New York : The US Congress will pass the India-US civil nuclear deal, but not by the time Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets President George Bush in the White House Thursday, said Rudy Giuliani, former New York mayor who bid for Republican nomination for president.
"It is not a partisan issue and has support among both Democrats and Republicans," Giuliani told IANS in his Times Square office Wednesday at a briefing arranged by hotelier Sant Chatwal, a long-time friend of the mayor and a Democrat backer.
Global financial stability improves, but risks of reversal high: IMF
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Global financial stability has improved following unprecedented policy actions and signs of economic recovery, but overall risks remain elevated and the risk of reversal remains significant, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
IMF estimate of global losses arising from the crisis for 2007-10 now stands at roughly $3.4 trillion largely due to rising securities values, it said in the October Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), released in Istanbul Wednesday. The new estimate is around $600 billion lower than the last GFSR.
Floods in west Europe, heat wave in east
By IANS
London : Parts of Britain, Germany and Switzerland were left flooded Sunday, Denmark and Sweden braced for very heavy rainfall, while a tornado hit Poland and the heat wave continued in eastern and southwest Europe.
Parts of the English Midlands and areas to the west were left paralysed by floods Sunday, as helicopters were called in to rescue the stranded, and drinking water threatened to run out in one area.
Insurgents impose Islamic law in Somali town
By DPA,
Nairobi/Mogadishu : Somali insurgents have installed strict Islamic law in Baidoa, the seat of the Somali government, after taking control of the town.
Main insurgent group al-Shabaab took over the town Monday, only hours after the pullout of Ethiopian troops who had been propping up the central government for two years.
Baidoa was one of the last remaining strongholds of the government, which now only controls parts of the capital Mogadishu.
Iran to talk with US, Saudi Arabia on Syria: Rouhani
Tehran: Iran is ready to talk with the US, Saudi Arabia and other influential countries over the future of Syria, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani...
Brazilian judge assassinated
By IANS/EFE,
Rio de Janeiro : A Brazilian judge who received death threats after imposing harsh sentences on vigilantes was slain Friday in suburban Rio de Janeiro, police said.
Over 500 prisoners granted amnesty in Myanmar
By IANS,
Yangon : Over 500 prisoners, including 31 foreigners, have been released from jails in Myanmar after they were granted amnesty by President U Thein Sein, a state TV report said.
14 Sea Tigers killed in Sri Lanka
By NNN-PTI,
Colombo : At least 14 Tamil Tigers were killed and 16 others injured on Saturday in a fierce sea battle with the Sri Lankan Navy off the northern coast of the island nation during which four rebel vessels were also destroyed.
"An attempt by a flotilla of Tiger boats to attack naval personnel on duty in the sea between Nagarkovil and Point Pedro was thwarted when sailors engaged the enemy boats destroying at least four of them and killing ... 14 Tigers early Saturday morning," the Defence Ministry said.
China decries McCain’s meeting with Dalai Lama
By RIA Novosti,
Beijing : China Monday decried a meeting between US Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, calling it potentially detrimental to bilateral relations.
During the meeting Friday in Colorado, McCain called on the Chinese government to release political prisoners in the mountainous province, to account for Tibetans who 'disappeared' in pro-independence protests in March, and to engage in real dialogue on Tibetan autonomy.
Dalai Lama is coming to Poland again by Surender Bhutani
By EuAsiaNews,
Warsaw : Tibetian spiritual leader Dalai Lama is visiting Warsaw next week to receive an honorary citizenship from the city of Warsaw.
No where Dalai Lama is so popular as he is in Poland these days. Here people just adore him and see him a great spiritual leader whose very presence creates an aesthetic atmosphere.
Earlier, Polish Pope John Paul II used to create such a serene atmosphere during his journeys to his native land from 1979 to 2006.
EU ready to send humanitarian aid to Mumbai
By IANS,
Brussels : The European Union Thursday said it has rapidly initiated crisis coordination measures in the wake of the terror strike in Mumbai and is ready to send humanitarian aid to the affected city.
"After the evaluation of needs with the various European consulates in Mumbai, we are ready to send support, human, material, medical support to the city," French Interior Minister Michelle Alliot-Marie, whose country holds the current European Union presidency, told a press conference following a regular meeting of EU interior ministers, EuAsiaNews reported.
Gloucester’s new Asian mayor suffers heart attack
By Jaideep Sarin
IANSGloucester/Jalandhar : Hardly four days after taking over as the 527th mayor - and the first Asian to do so - of Gloucester city in England, Jalandhar-born Harjit Gill is in hospital after suffering a heart attack.
China’s first Boeing 787 delivered
By IANS,
Beijing : A Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first of its kind to be delivered to China, landed at Baiyun International Airport in the south China city of Guangzhou Sunday.
Asian businessman named in Britain’s party funding scandal
By IANS
London : Imran Khand, a Scotland-based Asian businessman, paid more than 300,000 pounds to the ruling Labour Party through a front organisation, British newspapers reported Monday.
Instead of disclosing the Scottish entrepreneur's identity, the party only declared that it received 312,000 pounds from a group known as the Muslim Friends for Labour, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The group, an unincorporated association that does not disclose financial information, also donated 5,000 pounds to Harriet Harman's campaign for the deputy leadership of Labour Party.
Most of chemical weapons removed from Syria: UN
United Nations : Approximately 80 percent of the chemical weapons materials have been shipped out of Syria or destroyed, a UN spokesperson said Monday.
Sigrid...
US collector willing to stop auction of Gandhi items
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : James Otis, the California collector who plans to sell possessions once owned by Mahatma Gandhi, says Indian officials have not approached him but, if they did, he would be willing to try to resolve the issue.
"I don't want anger or conflict or any kind of fury," Otis, a peace activist was quoted as saying by the Voice of America's (VOA) Hindi Service adding, it never occurred to him the sale would create such an uproar.
Russia: Kosovo Tipped World Order
By Prensa Latina
Moscow : The chief of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, Army General Yuri Baluyevski, warned on Tuesday that recognizing Kosovo's independence causes an international chaos.
The imposition of separatist trends alters the world agreements reached in 1945 in Yalta, and in 1973 in Helsinki, the general sustained.
He lamented that with the recognition of the Serbian province's independence the world has been divided between ó the goodies and the baddies. ó
Tatas setting up two hotels in South Africa
By Fakir Hassen,IANS,
Durban : The $62.5 billion Tata group is setting up two hotels in South Africa and will start assembling an array of automobiles in Johannesburg as part of the plans to invest 10 million rands ($1.2 billion) in the country, a top official has said.
"We are now constructing two hotels. The first one has started in Cape Town and the second one will be in Johannesburg,” Raman Dhawan, managing director of Tata Africa, said.
European businesses bullish about China despite downturn: Survey
By DPA,
Beijing : European companies operating in China are "generally optimistic" about the business opportunities there despite the global economic turmoil that is also putting the brakes on China's growth, a survey released Tuesday found.
The reason is because the potential for growth in the Chinese market remains high, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said when releasing its annual business confidence survey.
Germany reaffirms ECB independence amid France’s euro plans
By IRNA
Berlin : The German government here Monday reiterated that the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) should maintain its complete independence from interference by governments from euro zone member states.
"The position of the German government remains clear: the independence of the ECB is untouched and may not be touched," deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said during a news briefing.
The German official was reacting to likely French plans for holding a summit on the euro during France's European Union presidency in the second half of the year.
Belgium Snubs Fast NATO Entry of Georgia
By Prensa Latina,
Brussels : Belgium rejects the accelerated entry of Georgia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Foreign Minister Karel De Guch declared Saturday.
Addressing La Libre Belgique daily, De Guch warned of Georgia's dangerous and unpredicted actions in the Caucasus conflict, generated by its attack against the autonomous region of South Ossetia over a month ago.
The Belgian minister recalled that in the last NATO Summit in April in Bucharest, it was agreed to postpone a possible membership of Georgia and Ukraine at least until December.
US-Pakistan strategic dialogue not at India’s expense: Holbrooke
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: The first strategic dialogue between the United States and Pakistan here next week would not be at the expense of India or any other country in the region, according to a top US diplomat.
"We have an important strategic dialogue with India and with other countries, including China. It makes it all the more important we have one with Pakistan," US Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke told reporters Friday.
UN says Russian aircraft responsible for shooting down of Georgian drone
By KUNA,
Moscow : A Russian fighter aircraft is responsible for the shooting down of a Georgian spy drone on April 20, the UN monitoring mission in Georgia said on Monday.
Russian Interfax News Agency quoted the UN sources as saying a commission assigned with the probe found out that a Russia Mig-29 or Suhkoi air force plane shot down the Georgian drone in Abkhaz airspace.
Abkhaz authorities declared that seven Goergian spy aircrafts have been downed since March.
Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergi Shamba cast doubts on the UN report as "non-objective".
Rising demand for energy threatens world’s wetlands
By IANS,
Washington : Critical food shortages and growing demand for bio-fuels prompted by rising fuel prices present the biggest threat to the preservation of wetlands worldwide.
Protecting wetlands is vital for preservation of local water supplies, bio-diversity, which also trap and store greenhouse gases, according to 700 leading world experts at the conclusion of a week-long meeting in Cuiaba, Brazil.
British polls: Forecast reveals Conservatives, Labour neck-and-neck
London : Britain's Conservative and Labour parties are neck-and-neck, according to the voting pattern forecasted on Wednesday, one day before the general elections, Efe...
Thailand protesters move on Army base to topple government
By DPA,
Bangkok : Tens of thousands of protesters launched a car convoy on the Thai government's peace-keeping command headquarters in Bangkok in an effort to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call for new elections.
Uncertain future for US car industry as bailout collapses
By DPA,
Washington : A last-ditch effort to pass an emergency loan that would resuscitate the ailing US car industry fell apart late Thursday after negotiations collapsed in the Senate, causing a wave of financial gloom across world markets Friday.
After hours of bargaining, Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a compromise deal. The bone of contention was the powerful United Auto Workers (UAW) union's refusal to agree to Republican demands for wage cuts and reduction in labour costs to the level of Japanese competitors operating in the US.
23 Tamil rebels, 1 soldier die in Sri Lankan jungle fighting
By SPA,
Colombo, Sri Lanka : Fighting between government forces and Tamil separatists across Sri Lanka's embattled north killed 23 rebels and one soldier, the military said Wednesday.
The latest round of fighting, on Tuesday, was along the front lines separating government-controlled territory from the rebels' de facto state in the north, the Associated Press reported.
Iran’s selection of new UN envoy not viable: US
Washington: The US said Tuesday that it has told the Iranian government about its "not viable" selection of a new UN ambassador for his...
13 trapped in China gold mine fire
By Xinhua,
Zhengzhou (China) : A fire broke out Wednesday morning in a gold mine in central China's Henan province, trapping 13 miners including seven who had gone to rescue them, authorities said.
The fire has not been brought under control, according to the city's coal mine industry bureau.
The bureau sent another 25 coal mine rescue workers to the scene, after seven of eight rescuers, who had been sent earlier, were trapped in the mine by the fire.
‘Sarkozy’s politics to take priority over private life’
By DPA
Paris : French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to prioritise politics over his private life again as recent opinion polls have shown a marked loss of his popularity, according to a Sunday paper.
"After a people phase, we are returning to political action," the leader of the governing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and Sarkozy's confidant Patrick Devedjian told Le Journal du Dimanche.
The "transparency" of Sarkozy's private life had had "a perverse effect," he said. But Sarkozy would win popularity again in the campaign for March local elections.
Chavez writes off Haiti’s oil debt to Venezuela
By IANS/EFE,
Caracas : President Hugo Chavez has announced that he will write off the undisclosed sum Haiti owes Venezuela for oil as part of a regional bloc's plans to help the impoverished Caribbean nation after the devastating Jan 12 earthquake.
"Haiti has no debt with Venezuela, just the opposite: Venezuela has a historical debt with that nation, with that people for whom we feel not pity but rather admiration, and we share their faith, their hope," Chavez said after the extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, or ALBA.
Heavy rain leaves 14 dead in Caribbean, Central America
By DPA
Mexico City/Santo Domingo : Heavy rain in Central America and the Caribbean led to the deaths of at least 14 people as tropical storm Barbara continued to make up the Pacific coast.
13 dead as plane crashes into Taiwan river
Taipei : At least 13 people were killed after a TransAsia Airways plane clipped a bridge and crashed into a river Wednesday near the...
Missing Brazilian air force plane located, nine survivors found
By EFE,
Rio de Janeiro : Brazilian military sources have said that at least nine of the 11 people on board the Brazilian air force plane that disappeared over the Amazon Thursday morning survived an emergency landing.
"Of the 11 occupants of the plane, one is missing and there are indications of a possible death. The other nine are fine," the air force authorities said Friday.
The Cessna C-98 Caravan made a forced landing Thursday morning in the Amazon forest along the Itui river between the villages of Aurelio and Rio Novo, the authorities added.
Train hits mine near military base in Georgia
By RIA Novosti,
Tbilisi : A train hit a mine on Sunday morning near the Georgian city of Gori, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said, adding that there were so far no reports of casualties.
The incident took place next to an abandoned Georgian military base occupied by Russian troops during recent fighting over breakaway South Ossetia.
"The explosion occurred when a goods train carrying heating fuel was passing the military base. We have no exact information at the moment, but preliminary reports suggest the track was mined," said Shota Utiashvili.
Peru leftists criticise Apec
By Prensa Latina,
Lima : More than 30 leftist organizations in Peru have criticized the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum for what they called introducing trade practices jeopardising interest of the farmers and increasing poverty.
A joint declaration by the youth bodies denounced the grouping of 21 Pacific Rim countries for fostering foreign investment that put domestic farmers and producers in unequal competition.
The policy of free trade and foreign investment has reduced Peru into an exporter of raw material and increased inequality in the country.
Russia, Venezuela sign energy, defence deals
By IANS/EFE,
Caracas : Venezuela and Russia have bolstered bilateral ties during a visit to the South American country by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. They have signed dozens of accords in a range of sectors, most notably defence and energy.
At the end of the ceremony in which several of the agreements were inked, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who first took office in 1999, hailed the increase in bilateral cooperation with Russia during his presidency.
Britons want looser ties with EU, poll
By KUNA,
London : A clear majority of British voters would back a looser relationship with the European Union in a referendum, according to a poll here Monday.
Some 41 percent of those questioned by the group Global Vision, which campaigns for a looser relationship with the EU, said they would like Britain's relationship with the EU to be based on trade and co-operation, while opting out of political and economic union, compared with 27 percent who want the UK to remain a full EU member and 26 percent who favour withdrawal.
US judge halts voter ID law
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Washington: A US judge Tuesday ruled that Pennsylvania residents do not need to show photo ID to cast their ballots in the presidential poll.
“Share the burden in Afghanistan”, Defence Secretary
LONDON, Dec 14 (KUNA) -- Britains Defence Secretary Des Browne Friday called on other countries to help "share the burden'' of dealing with Afghanistan.
Browne spoke as defence and foreign ministers from eight countries gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland, to discuss the latest situation there.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, the Defence Secretary said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had already made it clear the UK wanted to see "fairer burden sharing across the NATO countries".
British police visit Israel to probe passport fraud
By DPA,
Jerusalem/London: British police arrived in Israel Saturday to interview Israelis with double passports whose identities were allegedly used by the assassins of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last month, Israeli media reported.
Members of the British Serious Organised Crime Agency arrived in Israel to question the six Israeli-British citizens whose passports were allegedly faked together with Irish, French, German and Australian in order to travel to United Arab Emirates.
Canada pulls out of NATO surveillance project
By IANS,
Ottawa : Canada has decided to pull out of a NATO project that collects strategic information through unmanned aerial vehicles.
Rights groups halt plan to kill diseased dogs in Argentina
By IANS/EFE,
Buenos Aires : Argentine officials have dropped their plans to kill over 1,000 diseased dogs in southern Neuquen city after animal rights groups protested the move.
City councilors had announced to kill some 1,100 dogs infected with a bacterial disease.
Beginning Monday, some 220 dogs would have been killed daily.
Dogs transmit the Leptospirosis disease through urine. It was detected after two people were infected with the disease a month ago in Neuquen, some 1,100 km south of Buenos Aires.
6.0-magnitude quake hits Indonesia
By IANS,
Jakarta : A moderate quake with magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale struck off eastern Indonesia early Sunday, officials said.
10 Mexican cops charged with extortion
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City, April 17 (IANS/EFE) Ten Mexican police officials have been arrested on charges of extortion in Ciudad Juarez, a senior police official said.
The arrests are the "result of the confidence of the citizens to report this type of conduct", the force's commissioner Facundo Rosas told a press conference Thursday in the capital.
He said the federal cops stationed in Juarez "are there to serve, and not to exploit the citizens".
Teen father wins court ruling in bitter Palin custody fight
By DPA,
Los Angeles : The teenage father of Sarah Palin's grandchild has won a crucial court victory in a bitter child custody battle, portraying the one-time vice presidential hopeful as "vindictive" and "malicious", the Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday.
The report said that a judge in the case had sided with Levi Johnston, 19, to have the hearings open to the public despite the request of Bristol Palin, also 19, to keep the deliberations behind closed doors.
China to set up rare earths trade body
By IANS,
Beijing : China plans to set up an industry association and a government unit for the rare earths industry to gain more control over the precious metals, a media report said.
Extramarital sex cause earthquakes, claims Iranian cleric
By IANS,
London : Attractive women who dress inappropriately cause youth to go astray and "incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes", a hardline Iranian cleric has said.
Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi told worshippers that women who wear fashionable clothes and apply make-up cause youth to "go astray" and have affairs. As a result, the country that is bound by several fault lines experienced more "calamities" such as earthquakes, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
News of the World ex-editor arrested over phone hacking
By IANS,
London : Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson was arrested Friday over allegations of phone hacking and corruption, BBC reported.
Russian court dismisses case seeking Gita ban
By IANS,
New Delhi : Hindus in Russia Wednesday won a major legal battle when a court in Siberia dismissed a state prosecutors' case seeking a ban a Russian translation of Bhagavad Gita.
US hopeful of signing end-user agreement with India soon
By IANS,
New Delhi: Upbeat about the defence ties between India and the US, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns Thursday said Washington was hopeful of soon signing a contentious end-user verification agreement relating to military hardware.
"There is an enormous scope for expanding defence relationship. I am confident we will get past that," Burns replied when asked whether the two sides plan to sign the end-user verfiication agreement that will enable the US to inspect military hardware sold to India.
China to support labour-intensive businesses to create jobs
Beijing, Oct 27 (Xinhua) The Chinese government will support labour-intensive enterprises, small and mid-size businesses, private companies and the service sector to create more jobs in the face of the global financial meltdown.
"The ongoing international financial crisis has affected the employment situation in China, particularly many export-oriented enterprises," said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) spokesman Yin Chengji here Monday.
Pakistan takes ‘serious exception’ to Pentagon report, conveys protest
Islamabad: Pakistan Wednesday took "serious exception" to the Pentagon report critical of Islamabad, including its "unsubstantiated allegations" of the existence of terrorist "sanctuaries" or...
Delegates return from climate talks with more homework
By Joydeep Gupta, IANS,
Bonn: Over 4,000 delegates from 183 countries gathered for the June 1-12 conclave in preparation for a climate summit in Copenhagen this December ended their talks Friday with a draft treaty four times larger than what they started with, indicating the differences on how to tackle the global menace.
Obama raises $6 mn from online donations
By IANS
New York : Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama has raised almost $6 million after Super Tuesday from online donations to counter what his campaign said the startling news of rival Hillary Clinton loaning $5 million of her personal money to her campaign.
In a mass email to supporters, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe has said that Bill and Hillary Clinton's infusion of $5 million - and there are reports it could end up being as much as $20 million - is a "clear acknowledgement that our campaign has the momentum".
World lost 70 mn hectares of forest in 15 years: UN
By Xinhua,
Rome : The world has lost more than 70 million hectares of forests between 1990 and 2005, the UN said in a report.
The State of the World's Forests report released Monday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said most of the deforestation has taken place in South America, Africa and the Caribbean.
The global organisation said the pace of deforestation in the developing countries is unlikely to decline in the near future as high food and fuel prices would favour continued forest clearance.
Man claims to have plotted Nepal royal family massacre
By IANS,
Kathmandu : Eight years after Nepal's King Birendra and nine more members of the royal family were killed in the tightly guarded pagoda palace in Kathmandu, marking the point that began to see the unravelling of monarchy in the world's only Hindu kingdom, a stranger walked into the best-known media club in the capital and claimed to have plotted the massacre.
Another Obama nominee withdraws cabinet nomination
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Tax troubles Tuesday forced former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle to withdraw his nomination as President Barack Obama's health secretary giving a setback to his efforts to quickly forge his cabinet to take forward his agenda of change.
In a statement Dascchle, who had been fighting to save his nomination following controversy over his tax records and questions over his work in a field that some consider lobbying, said he did not want payment of $140,000 in back taxes to be a distraction.
China suspends wild bird sales over avian flu
By IANS,
Beijing: Chinese government has ordered suspension of wild bird sales in a bid to prevent spread of the H7N9 bird flu.
Cuba: Bush is Desperate
By Prensa Latina,
Havana : US President George W. Bush is desperate because he is about to leave the White House without having been able to destroy the Cuban revolutionary project, Cuba's state-run television claimed.
The Cuba issue is one of the obsessions of the Bush Administration, a television news report said last night, after condemning the latest US provocations against the island state.
The network referred to a video conference Bush had with Cuban counter- revolutionaries on May 6.
Russia may use nuclear weapons if necessary: army chief
By Xinhua
Moscow : Russia would use the armed forces including nuclear weapons to protect the country and its allies, the Russian Armed Forces' Chief of the General Staff Yuri Baluyevsky said Saturday.
"We do not intend to attack anybody. But all our partners must realise that for protection of Russia and its allies, armed forces will be used, including nuclear weapons," Baluyevsky was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying at a scientific conference of the Academy of Military Sciences.
Car bomb kills soldier in Spain
By DPA,
Santona (Spain) : A car bomb attributed to Spain's Basque separatist group ETA - its third in the past 24 hours - killed a soldier and seriously injured another overnight in Santona in the northern region of Cantabria, officials said Monday.
A road assistance service received a phone call in the name of ETA, warning that a bomb was about to explode at a military academy and residence within half an hour.
As the building was being evacuated, the bomb exploded, killing staff-sergeant Luis Conde de la Cruz, 46, who had been spending his holidays at the military residence.
North Korea vows to counter enemy n-threats
By IANS,
Pyongyang : North Korea will counter enemy nuclear threats with even more powerful nuclear attacks, an official said Thursday.
Russia opens criminal case against Ukrainian officials
Moscow : Russia has opened a criminal case against Ukrainian Prosecutor General Office in response to Kiev's earlier decision to start prosecution of the...
Researchers deluged with online information, but seldom use it
By IANS,
Washington : Although the Internet provides scientists an instant access to thousands of academic journals and research papers, they are citing fewer papers and that too from more recent publications.
This trend may be limiting the creation of new ideas and theories, said James Evans, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, who, focussing on the nature of research, analysed a database of over 34 million articles.
He compared their online availability between 1998 and 2005 to the number of times they were cited from 1945 to 2005.
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.
Terror attack foiled in Turkey
By IANS,
Ankara: A major terror attack was foiled Saturday when Turkish security forces seized 150 kg of explosives in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Xinhua reported.
Kenyan president wants Burundi election to be postponed
Nairobi : President of Kenya and of the East African Community (EAC), Uhuru Kenyatta, on Monday asked Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza to postpone June's...
US closely watching Pakistan’s tightening of media
By Xinhua
Washington : The US has said it is closely watching Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's decree to tighten the regulation of media.
British government under pressure over torture claims
By DPA,
London: The British government came under increased pressure Tuesday to answer allegations that its intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects abroad.
The Joint Human Rights Committee of the British parliament said in a report that there was now a "disturbing number of credible allegations" of British complicity in torture concerning suspects detained in the wake of the Sep 11, 2001 attacks in the US.
Call for action at key UN climate change summit
By DPA,
Copenhagen : The mammoth UN conference in Copenhagen was preceded by a joint leader article, published by 56 newspapers in 45 countries, calling on world leaders to place "decisive action" ahead of mutual recrimination.
Without action, "climate change will ravage our planet, and, with it, our prosperity and security", the article said, citing record warm years, the melting Arctic ice cap "and last year's inflamed oil and food prices".
Tight security in lead-up to Russian presidential polls
By DPA
Moscow : Authorities in Russia were putting final security arrangements in place on the eve of Sunday's presidential elections expected to see an overwhelming victory for president Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev.
Police with tracker dogs were searching all 96,000 polling stations for explosives before the election starts, the Moscow-based daily Kommersant reported, citing a spokesman for the authorities.
Many voters in large cities will have to enter the polling stations via metal detectors. A total of 450,000 soldiers and police were being deployed.
Bush urges Taiwan’s new leader to work with China
By DPA
Washington : US President George W. Bush Saturday congratulated Ma Ying-jeou on his election as Taiwan's next president, and urged him to work closely with China in keeping peace in the Taiwan Strait.
"It falls to Taiwan and Beijing to build the essential foundations for peace and stability by pursuing dialogue through all available means and refraining from unilateral steps that would alter the cross-Strait situation," Bush said in a statement.
Nepal To Make New Strategy To Tackle Disasters
By Bernama,
Kathmandu : Nepali Natural Disaster Rescue Central Committee (NDRCC) is working together with ministries, donor agencies and humanitarian organizations to develop an effective mechanism to intensify their response to natural disasters.
Quoting a local daily, China's Xinhua news agency reported Saturday that the nine ministries are forging a joint alliance to plan a new strategy to tackle disasters.
In the past, response to natural disasters was focused on providing relief to disaster victims.
N.Korea puts rocket’s second stage on launch pad
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Tokyo: North Korea has completed the installation of the second stage of a carrier rocket and is assembling its third and last stage, South Korean media reported.
Tibetan unrest shows China’s strong-arm policy stays
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS
Hong Kong : China's crackdown on the Tibetan unrest in Lhasa and elsewhere in the mainland, reminiscent of the army action in 1989, raises doubt on whether there has been any softening of Beijing's repressive policy towards Tibet.
Mainland China based analysts feel that the violence in Tibet will be dealt with firmly, notwithstanding the government's preoccupation to brighten its human rights records in the run-up to the Olympics.
80 more Asian election observers arrive in Nepal
By Xinhua
Kathmandu : A total of 80 election observers from the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) arrived in the Nepali capital Kathmandu Thursday, nepalnews.com reported.
The group of observers, led by ANFREL chairman General Saiyud Kerdphol, former supreme commander of the Royal Thai Army, will carry out the network's mission to Nepal for the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) elections.
General Saiyud is being accompanied by Deputy Chief of Mission Damaso G. Magbual from the Philippines and 78 other observers from Asia.
Four Chinese protesters chop off, swallow finger tips
By IANS,
Beijing: In a bizarre protest, four Chinese men in Beijing chopped off the tip of the little finger of their hand and swallowed it to protest their sacking from a power utility company.
Li Bo, Zhang Yongsheng, Huang Qunyue and Zhang Shen are former employees of the Ningyuan county electric power bureau in Hunan province's Yongzhou city.
The four men went to the Tsinghua University in Beijing at about 3.30 p.m. Sunday and placed their hands on books, Global Times reported.
Darfur town where African peacekeepers were attacked burned down; UN
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7 (APP): The South Darfur town of Haskanita that witnessed a deadly attack against African Union (AU) peacekeepers last weekend has been burned down, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported Sunday.
Haskanita, “which is currently under the control of the Government, was completely burned down, except for a few buildings,” UNMIS said Sunday, after conducting a joint assessment mission to the area yesterday with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Police impose curfew in eastern Sri Lankan town
By Xinhua,
Colombo : Sri Lankan police in the eastern town of Kathankudy has imposed a curfew following unrest, officials said Tuesday.
"Police curfew has been enforced from 5:45 p.m. (1215 GMT) this evening until 6 a.m. (0030 GMT) tomorrow," police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera said in the capital Colombo.
A group of Muslims at Kathankudy, about 303 km from Colombo staged a protest Tuesday afternoon.
They burnt tyres on the road while forcing the closure of shops and halting public transport.
70 protesters detained during G20 summit
By RIA Novosti,
Pittsburgh : At least 70 protesters were detained on the first day of the G20 summit here in Pennsylvania Friday, police said.
Those arrested were fined for public order offences and later released, a police spokesman said.
Earlier in the day, protesters clashed with police, throwing rocks and garbage bins at officers, who retaliated with tear gas.
The Pittsburgh G-20 Resistance Project said six protest marches would be held during the two-day summit.
Seoul preparing for inter-Korea summit: former premier
By Xinhua
Seoul : Seoul had begun preparations for a new round of inter-Korea summit this year amid progress on nuclear issues with Pyongyang, former South Korean prime minister Lee Hae-chan said Monday.
Alternative Forum to Oil Summit Summoned
By Prensa Latina
Madrid : Different Spanish groups are planning a social meeting alternative to the World Oil Summit to be held in Spain in June, sources revealed on Saturday.
The social movement meeting will spread the experience of researchers and activists about "the impacts of oil companies on human communities and the ecosystem, and the search for alternatives to oil dependence."
The so call Oil Summit will gather in Madrid around 4,000 directive board members, representatives and promoters of the most important companies from the oil industry.
Peruvian teen found alive four days after mudslide
By EFE,
Lima : A teenager was rescued Sunday by police combing through the rubble of his house, which was hit by a mudslide four days ago in Ayacucho city in southeastern Peru, officials said.
The teenager was found while officers were removing rubble from the house in Ayacucho's Pueblo Libre section, police spokesman Miguel Guerrero told CPN Radio.
The teenager sustained a large wound in his right thigh when one of the house's support columns fell on him after the mudslide hit the structure, Guerrero said.
Obama phones Netanyahu to congratulate him on election victory
Washington: President Barack Obama on Thursday telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his election victory earlier this week, a call...
Spain to hand over six suspected pirates for trial
By DPA,
Madrid : Spain is planning to hand over to Kenya or the Seychelles six suspected pirates it captured off the coast of Somalia for trial, Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon said Wednesday.
The pirates were believed to have attacked a Panamanian vessel Tuesday, only to be repelled by gunfire from private guards onboard the ship.
A Spanish frigate forming part of the European Union's anti-piracy Operation Atalanta then intercepted several vessels transporting the suspected pirates, detaining six people.
Strong offshore earthquake shakes southern Japan
By SPA,
Tokyo : Japan's meteorological agency says a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 has struck off the south coast of the southern Japanese island of
Okinawa.
The agency says the quake occurred at 4:42 p.m. (0742 GMT) Tuesday about 30 miles (50 kilometers) below the ocean's surface.
The agency says there is no danger of a tsunami, or seismic waves, and there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Okinawa is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.
China backs U.S. over Iranian nuclear issue
By RIA Novosti,
Beijing : China agrees with the U.S. that Iran must prove its nuclear program is of a peaceful nature and not aimed at producing an atomic bomb, U.S. President Barack Obama said in Beijing on Tuesday.
"We agreed that the Islamic Republic of Iran must provide assurance to the international community that its nuclear program is peaceful and transparent," Obama said, speaking at a joint news conference with Chinese leader Hu Jintao.
Is another mass extinction of mammals on the way?
By IANS,
Washington : Thanks to global warming and ecological degradation, the sixth mass extinction is already on the way, equal to the "big five" that occurred over the past 450 million years, the last of which killed off dinosaurs, warn scientists.
Yet, estimates of how dire the current loss of species is have been hampered by the inability to compare species diversity today with the past.
US stocks surge on talk of stimulus
By DPA,
Washington : Wall Street stocks rose sharply Monday amid indications that a second fiscal stimulus package could be on the way to boost the faltering US economy.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in congressional testimony that another stimulus package "seems appropriate". White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that President George W. Bush was keeping an "open mind" to the idea.
An economic stimulus package passed in February spent $152 billion, most of it through tax credit checks sent to individual taxpayers.
Myanmar organizes diplomatic mission to look into cyclone-hit areas
By Xinhua,
Yangon : A diplomatic mission, organized by the Myanmar government, has been taken to some disaster-hit areas in the country Saturday by helicopters to look into the status of the areas after disaster, according to diplomatic sources.
It is the first time that the government made such move to allow foreigners to inspect the cyclone-torn regions in the aftermath of the disaster.
The diplomatic corps includes officials of resident United Nations organizations and foreign diplomats in Myanmar.
Winehouse suffers burns after kitchen mishap
By IANS,
London : Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse suffered burns after a pan of boiling water full of pasta fell on her in the kitchen.
The incident took place when Winehouse decided to hold a dinner party for her pals on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. The singer was left doused in boiling water and suffered burns on her legs, reports www.femalefirst.co.uk.
Fellow holidaymakers are aghast by the singer's carelessness in covering and caring for her injuries, the report added.
32 killed as tornadoes rip US
By IANS,
Chicago : Tornadoes spawned by a powerful storm system swept across the Midwest and Southeast US, wiping out two small towns and killing at least 32 people.
India’s A.K. Mehrotra in race for Oxford poetry position
By IANS,
London : It is a 300-year-old post at the venerable Oxford University and previous occupants include W.H. Auden, Matthew Arnold and Seamus Heaney. Now Indian poet and teacher A.K. Mehrotra's name is doing rounds as Oxford's new professor of poetry.
"With a week to go before nominations for Oxford's new professor of poetry close, the competition has heated up after a new candidate threw his name into the ring alongside Derek Walcott and Ruth Padel," the Guardian reported Thursday.
Obama urges Congress to pass ‘Buffett Rule’ for higher tax on rich
By IANS,
Washington : US President Barack Obama urged Congress Saturday to pass the "Buffett Rule" tax plan, which is designed to increase the tax rate on the wealthiest Americans.
Tolerable levels for melamine established at a WHO meeting
By IRNA,
Geneva : International experts have established a tolerable daily intake (TDI) for melamine, the implicated chemical found recently in contaminated milk products, WHO said on Saturday.
The TDI is the outcome of a meeting organized by the World Health Organization held this week in Ottawa, Canada to address the issue.
The TDI is lower than previous TDIs suggested for melamine by some national food safety authorities.
Netanyahu to endorse Reuven Rivlin in presidential poll
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will endorse Reuven Rivlin in next month's presidential election, a spokesperson for his office said...
Brittle materials show flexibility in nanosize
By IANS
Washington : Silica, which is quite brittle, becomes quite flexible and easy to bend at the nano level, opening up the possibility of using it to make versatile nanomachines, says a new study.
Maryland University researchers Pradeep Namboodiri and Doo-In Kim demonstrated that, at the nano level, silica continues to deform beyond its normal breaking point - becoming ductile like gold.
The atoms of ductile substances are able to shuffle around and remain cohesive for much longer than their brittle cousins, which contain faint structural flaws.
Venezuela mourns Chavez
By IANS/EFE,
Caracas : Venezuelans are mourning the death of president Hugo Chavez while government officials make preparations for his funeral and succession.
Medvedev stresses Russia’s leading role in global economy
By DPA,
St Petersburg : Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stressed Russia's leading role in the world economy Saturday and criticized US fiscal policy.
"Russia has long been a global player and now we want to have a say in the rules of the game," Medvedev said at an international economics forum in Saint Petersburg.
The United States had not lived up to its responsibility as the leading financial power during the most recent crisis. International institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund had not performed well either, he noted.
Nobel Peace Prize for former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari
By IANS,
Oslo : Former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari was Friday awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 "for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts".
In awarding the prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee noted that Ahtisaari's efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to "fraternity between nations" in Alfred Nobel’s true spirit.
Spanish Rich Poor Gap Widening
By Prensa Latina
Madrid : The gap between rich and poor is broadening in Spain, with a tenth of the richest earning more than the poorest 60 percent, an official report released in Madrid confirmed.
The figures are contained in a document from the Institute of Fiscal Studies, attached to the Ministry of Economy and Treasure, released by Insurgent on-line edition.
The study was carried out based on income tax returns for the period 2001-1004 made before the fiscal entity.
Bargain-hunting BASF buys yet another firm
By DPA,
Berlin : BASF, the world's biggest chemicals company, unveiled yet another takeover Tuesday, prolonging a string of acquisitions in the midst of the current market slump.
A day after announcing a 581-million-euro ($726 million) bid for Revus Energy, a Norwegian company with 60 oil and gas concessions under the North Sea, BASF said it has agreed to acquire a polyurethane business belonging to Recticel of Belgium.
Analysts say they expect Ludwigshafen-based BASF to report a modest profit increase when it publishes third-quarter figures this Thursday.
Myanmar to refer Thai-pattern tsunami-resistant model village
By Xinhua,
Yangon : Myanmar has sent an engineering delegation to neighboring Thailand to study resettled villages there destroyed by tsunami in 2004 as a reference to build more storm-resistant model village, the local-language Myanmar Times reported Friday.
It will be another endeavor of Myanmar to seek technical know-how to build such model village in cooperation with international experts after the Japanese.
Jet Airways flies bigger plane on Malaysia route
By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Jet Airways has introduced a bigger Airbus A330-200 aircraft for its Kuala Lumpur-Chennai route with a capacity to carry more passengers on its daily flights. The Airbus started its service Saturday.
The wide-bodied Airbus A330-200 can accommodate 190 passengers for its economy class and 30 for its premier class, compared with a maximum of 140 passengers on its Boeing B737-800 previously.
Oil spill could have powered 68,000 cars
By IANS,
Washington : The oil leaking in the Gulf of Mexico could have powered 68,000 cars, 6,100 trucks or 3,100 ships for a year.
James J. Corbett, a professor of marine policy at the University of Delaware, updates the numbers on his website based on the daily average estimated spill rate of 30,000 barrels.
The science team analysing the spill has estimated that it ranged between 20,000 and 40,000 barrels a day, nearly double the original estimate.
Hamas attack kills boy in Israel
Jerusalem: A four-year-old boy was killed Friday evening by a mortar attack on southern Israel by Hamas, authorities said.
The child was killed when a...
Hungary first nation to ratify Lisbon treaty
By DPA
Budapest : Hungary has become the first country to ratify the European Union's Lisbon Treaty after an overwhelming parliamentary vote in favour.
All 27 EU member states signed the treaty in a ceremony in Lisbon Thursday and are expected to ratify it as soon as possible.
Only five members of the Hungarian parliament Monday voted "no" to ratifying the treaty, with 325 voting "yes" and 20 abstaining.
Kosovo independence unfavorable for Russia-NATO ties – Rogozin
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : The unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo will have a negative effect on Russia-NATO relations, Russia's envoy to the alliance said Friday.
"This certainly makes dialogue difficult. There won't be a war or any mutual understanding and promotion of other projects due to our conflicting outlook," Dmitry Rogozin said during a video conference organized by RIA Novosti.
Russia was against the Serb breakaway province's declaration of independence, which was backed by a number of Western countries.
Iran to issue visas for mothers of detained US hikers
By DPA,
Tehran : Iran Monday declared its readiness to issue visas for the mothers of the three detained US hikers, state media reported.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on state television that mothers of the three hikers could obtain visas at Iran's United Nations mission in New York.
Mottaki said the decision had solely humanitarian - and not political - reasons.
The three US hikers were detained in July by Iran when they strayed across the border from Iraq's Kurdish region. They have been held in Tehran's Evin prison.
Climate-change activists shut down Australian power station
By DPA
Sydney : Climate-change protesters shut down one of Australia's biggest power stations Monday in an embarrassment to Prime Minister John Howard as he hosts a summit in Sydney that draws leaders of the US, China, Russia, Japan and Indonesia.
Output was halved for five hours at the coal-fired Loy Yang power station near Melbourne after activists forced a shutdown by breaking in and chaining themselves to equipment.
Indian-origin Muslim cleric gets honorary doctorate
London: An Indian-origin Muslim cleric has been awarded an honorary doctorate by University of Leicester in Britain in recognition of his commendable work for...
Nurses accused of killing 16 in Uruguay hospitals
By IANS/EFE,
Montevideo : Uruguayan authorities tried Monday to calm people following an alarm generated by the deaths of 16 patients in two Montevideo hospitals at the hands of two nurses.
Bomb scare grounds Thai plane in US
By IANS,
Los Angeles : A Thai Airways plane with about 200 passengers on board was grounded in Los Angeles Wednesday after a bomb threat was made, authorities said.
Germany says no “significant rise” in illegal entries after eastern border opens
By IRNA
Berlin : A spokesman for the German Interior Ministry here Friday stressed there had been no "significant rise" in the number of illegal entries after the recent official lifting of borders between Germany and its eastern European Union neighbors, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Addressing a weekly government press briefing, Mattthias Wolf said according to statistics released by the Federal Police, there had been 425 cases of illegal entries for the period between December 21 and January 9.
Singapore flags flown at half-mast for Malaysia quake victims
Singapore : Flags were flown at half-mast here on Monday as the country mourned the deaths on Malaysia's Mount Kinabalu following a 5.9 magnitude...
Lebanese army arrests 17 persons over Beirut bloody riots
By Xinhua
Beijing : The Lebanese Army on Saturday arrested 17 people over killing of seven protestors in Beirut a week ago, the official National News Agency reported.
Those detained included three officers, two non-commissioned officers, six soldiers and six civilians, said the report.
The military police ordered the arrests in light of the riots that took place on Sunday in the southern suburb of Beirut, a statement released by the military prosecutor's office was quoted as saying.