Succession, health doubts loom over new Mugabe term in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: When Zimbabwe's veteran president Robert Mugabe suavely hosted journalists at State House on the eve of last month's election, there was only one question that caught him off guard.

Asked if the presence of Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa by his side meant that he was his chosen successor, Mugabe paused awkwardly amid laughter and then delivered an unconvincing reply that Mnangagwa just dropped by to see him.

Children among 650 dead in Damascus chemical weapon attack

Damascus: More than 650 people were killed in fierce Syrian army bombardment with chemical weapons of Damascus suburbs on Wednesday, the opposition said, branding it a "massacre" and calling for international intervention.

Britain, meanwhile, said it would refer the alleged chemical weapons attack, which could not immediately be verified and has been vehemently denied by the Damascus regime, to the United Nations.

Pak National Assembly is full of criminals, says Imran Khan

Rawalpindi:  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday said the National Assembly was full of criminals. 

Speaking at a byelection rally here in favour of PTI candidate Gul Bacha, Imran Khan said, people should find out the sources of income of candidates before electing their representatives. This seat was vacated by Imran Khan, after he won three seats in the parliamentary elections.

Over 100 tonnes of explosives seized in Quetta

Islamabad: Pakistan's security forces claimed to have foiled a major terror bid Tuesday night by seizing over 100 tonnes of explosives from Quetta, capital of Balochistan province.

 The explosive material was seized during a raid at a warehouse in the city's New Addah area. "Forces recovered 104,480 kg of explosive materials from the godown," said Colonel Maqbool Shah, Commandant Frontier Corps.

Over 100 tonnes of explosives seized in Quetta

Islamabad: Pakistan's security forces claimed to have foiled a major terror bid Tuesday night by seizing over 100 tonnes of explosives from Quetta, capital of Balochistan province.

 The explosive material was seized during a raid at a warehouse in the city's New Addah area. "Forces recovered 104,480 kg of explosive materials from the godown," said Colonel Maqbool Shah, Commandant Frontier Corps.

'Taliban call centre' busted in Pakistan, 5 held

Lahore: Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies have busted an illegal telephone gateway exchange in Lahore allegedly being operated by the Taliban to make ransom calls to families of persons kidnapped by the militant group.

Though Lahore police chief Rai Tahir did not confirm how many arrests were made during Tuesday’s raid, police sources said at least five suspects, including women, were taken into custody.

Did not seek US help in tackling Chinese incursions: Menon

Washington: India has denied seeking any assistance from the US on the Chinese border incursions in Ladakh, asserting that New Delhi is capable enough to take care of its own territorial integrity.

Did not seek US help in tackling Chinese incursions: Menon

Washington: India has denied seeking any assistance from the US on the Chinese border incursions in Ladakh, asserting that New Delhi is capable enough to take care of its own territorial integrity.

India's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant a threat: Chinese media report

Beijing: Describing the launch of India's aircraft carrier and Japan's biggest warship since World War II as a threat to China, a report in the state-run media today alleged some countries are backing New Delhi to balance Beijing's power.

The launch of India's INS Vikrant and Japan's helicopter carrier serve as a warning for China, said an article on the state-run Global Times' website.

Egypt questions Brotherhood's top leader in prison

Cairo: Egypt’s military-backed authorities arrested the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader on Tuesday, dealing a serious blow to the embattled movement at a time when it is struggling to keep up street protests against the ouster of President Mohamed Morsy in the face of a harsh government crackdown.

The Brotherhood’s spiritual guide, Mohammed Badie, was arrested in an apartment in the Cairo district of Nasr City, close to the site of a sit-in encampment that was forcibly cleared by security forces last week, triggering violence that killed hundreds of people.

18 killed in Indonesia church bus crash

Jakarta: The bus, carrying about 60 people from a church in northern Jakarta, was returning from a trip to the hilly resort town of Puncak.

A car and a packed church bus returning from an outing collided and plunged into a river in Indonesia’s West Java province, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than a dozen others, police said on Wednesday.

Journalist slain in Guatemala

Guatemala City: Broadcast journalist Carlos Alberto Orellana Chavez was shot dead Monday in the southern province of Suchitepequez, Guatemalan police said.

The body was discovered in the municipality of San Bernardino a few hours after the journalist was reported missing, police spokesman Pablo Castillo told EFE.

Philippines ship collision toll rises to 71

Manila: The toll in the collision of two ships in the Philippines rose to 71 Wednesday, with at least 49 people still missing, the Philippines Coast Guard (PCG) said.

Six bodies were recovered by divers Wednesday morning, including two children, reported Xinhua citing a statement.

21 killed in northwest China flash flood

Beijing: A flash flood swept through a construction site in the north-western Chinese province of Qinghai, killing at least 21 workers, State media reported on Wednesday. Three workers are still missing.

Rescuers are still searching for those unaccounted for in Tuesday’s disaster in Wulan county, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Seven injured people were sent to hospitals, it said.

Obama to meet Manmohan Singh on September 27

Washington: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet US President Barack Obama at the White House on September 27, during which they will chart a course to enhance bilateral ties and defence cooperation.  

The announcement came after National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon met his US counterpart Susan Rice and US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel yesterday to prepare for the “working visit” of Singh.

Syrian opposition claims 'poisonous gas' attack

Beirut: Syrian regime forces fired intense artillery and rocket barrages Wednesday on the eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus, in what two pro-opposition groups claimed was a “poisonous gas” attack that killed dozens of people.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling was intense and hit the capital’s eastern suburbs of Zamalka, Arbeen and Ein Tarma.

US sanctions Pakistani madrassa for aiding LeT

Washington: The US has sanctioned a top Al Qaeda official and a madrassa in Peshawar, serving as a terrorist training centre supporting Lashkar-e-Taeba, the Pakistan based terrorist group behind the Mumbai attack, and the Taliban.

Targetting Jamia Taleem-Ul-Quran-Wal-Hadith Madrassa, also known as the Ganj Madrassa, the Treasury department Tuesday said the Peshawar based religious school "serves as a training centre and facilitates funding for Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taeba, and the Taliban."

Pakistan Army says, Captain killed in Indian firing on LoC

Islamabad: The Pakistan Army today claimed “unprovoked” Indian firing across the Line of Control in Kashmir had killed one of its officers and injured a soldier.  

A senior military official said the incident took place in Shakma sector near Skardu on the LoC. 

Pakistan Army says, Captain killed in Indian firing on LoC

Islamabad: The Pakistan Army today claimed “unprovoked” Indian firing across the Line of Control in Kashmir had killed one of its officers and injured a soldier.  

A senior military official said the incident took place in Shakma sector near Skardu on the LoC. 

Homesick British put colonial stamp on India's gardens

New Delhi: India's monument to love, the Taj Mahal, was once even more romantic, cloaked behind towering foliage and only shyly revealing its contours as the visitor approached - until a British viceroy removed the mystery.

Lord Curzon, an enthusiastic gardener and Britain's viceroy to India from 1899 to 1905, "imposed an imperial stamp" on what has become the nation's most famous monument, says US historian Eugenia Herbert.

Homesick British put colonial stamp on India's gardens

New Delhi: India's monument to love, the Taj Mahal, was once even more romantic, cloaked behind towering foliage and only shyly revealing its contours as the visitor approached - until a British viceroy removed the mystery.

Lord Curzon, an enthusiastic gardener and Britain's viceroy to India from 1899 to 1905, "imposed an imperial stamp" on what has become the nation's most famous monument, says US historian Eugenia Herbert.

No pet hates as dog donates blood to save cat

Wellington: Traditional animal rivalries were set aside in New Zealand when a dog's blood was used to save the life of a poisoned cat in a rare inter-species transfusion, reports said on Wednesday.

Cat owner Kim Edwards was frantic last Friday when her ginger tom Rory went limp after eating rat poison, rushing to her local veterinary clinic at Tauranga in the North Island for help.

US leaks journalist's partner sues over UK detention

London: The partner of the US journalist behind the Edward Snowden leaks launched legal action against Britain on Tuesday for holding him under anti-terror laws as the government admitted it was kept informed about his detention.

David Miranda, a Brazilian national who has been working with his boyfriend Glenn Greenwald on the US intelligence leaks, was held and questioned for almost nine hours at London Heathrow Airport.

India's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant a threat: Chinese media report

Beijing: Describing the launch of India's aircraft carrier and Japan's biggest warship since World War II as a threat to China, a report in the state-run media today alleged some countries are backing New Delhi to balance Beijing's power.

The launch of India's INS Vikrant and Japan's helicopter carrier serve as a warning for China, said an article on the state-run Global Times' website.

South Korea's Asiana Airlines to cancel Fukushima flights

Seoul: South Korea's second-largest carrier Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it was cancelling charter flights to Fukushima in Japan from October due to radiation fears from the crippled nuclear plant there.

Asiana currently operates two return flights a month to Fukushima under a lease deal that expires at the end of September.

Japan to issue gravest Fukushima nuclear warning in two years

Tokyo: Japan will dramatically raise its warning about the severity of a toxic waterleak at the Fukushima nuclear plant, its nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday, its most serious action since the plant was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

The deepening crisis at the Fukushima plant will be upgraded from a level 1 "anomaly" to a level three "serious incident" on an international scale for radiological releases, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said.

Ex-refugee seeks lost love 70 years on

Shanghai: It was more than 70 years ago that Gary Matzdorff, a Jewish refugee, escaped Nazi Germany for China and found love, only to lose his paramour and then have to flee the Communists.

Now 92, Matzdorff returned to his former home in Shanghai hoping to find the Chinese woman he spotted across a dance hall floor again.

US embassy in Sanaa, Yemen reopens after security threats

Washington: The US embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, reopened on Sunday after closing earlier this month due to concerns over potential terrorism attacks, the US State Department said.

The Yemen embassy was one of about 20 US embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa that were closed in early August when the United States said it had picked up information about unspecified terrorism threats.

Human activity driving climate change: leaked report

Washington: Human activity is almost certainly the cause of climate change and global sea levels could rise by several feet by the end of the century, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report leaked to media on Tuesday.

The draft summary of the report all but dismissed recent claims of a slowdown in the pace of warming, which has seized upon by climate-change sceptics.

Human activity driving climate change: leaked report

Washington: Human activity is almost certainly the cause of climate change and global sea levels could rise by several feet by the end of the century, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report leaked to media on Tuesday.

The draft summary of the report all but dismissed recent claims of a slowdown in the pace of warming, which has seized upon by climate-change sceptics.

Hacker who exposed Facebook bug to get reward from unexpected source

Boston: A man who hacked into Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook page to expose a software bug is getting donations from hackers around the world after the company declined to pay him under a programme that normally rewards people who report flaws.

Khalil Shreateh discovered and reported the flaw but was initially dismissed by the company's security team. He then posted a message on the billionaire's wall to prove the bug's existence.

Wedding witness needed? These photographers say, 'I will'

New York: Hundreds of people get married at New York City Hall every day. Some couples forget flowers or rings, but what about the one real necessity - a witness?

That's where Goran Veljic and Braulio Cuenca come in. Between them, the two wedding photographers have served as witnesses for thousands of couples, a duty that both markets their services and allows them to share in the happiest day of people's lives.

Greek state broadcaster resumes news programing

Athens: Greece's new state television channel has begun airing news programs, more than two months after the government's abrupt closure of state broadcaster ERT drew international condemnation and led to a severe political crisis.

The move Wednesday came as Europe's public broadcaster said it was halting its relay of programs by ERT's sacked workers, who have been occupying the company's building and producing 24-hour programing in defiance of the closure.

Taliban 'call centre' busted in Pakistan, five arrested

Lahore: Pakistan's law enforcement agencies have arrested five people in Lahore while cracking down on an illegal telephone gateway exchange allegedly being operated by the Taliban to make ransom calls to families of persons kidnapped by the militant group.

Though Lahore police chief Rai Tahir did not confirm how many arrests were made during the raid, police sources say at least five suspects including women have been taken into custody.

Villagers tell of slaughter by a soldier in Kandahar

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington: One by one, the Afghan men and boys took the witness stand inside a military courtroom Tuesday to tell of a night of gunfire, bloodshed and horror a world away.

They had been flown here on tourist visas by the U.S. military, the first witnesses to testify at a sentencing hearing for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who has pleaded guilty to killing 16 Afghan civilians - most of them women and children - as he stalked through their mud-walled compounds in Kandahar province in March 2012.

Over 200 killed in gas attacks near Damascus: Syrian activists

Amman: Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a nerve gas attack on rebel-held districts near Damascus on Wednesday that they said killed more than 200 people.

Activists said rockets with chemical agents hit the suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar in the Ghouta region.

Pakistan floods affect nearly one million: officials

Islamabad: Heavy monsoon rains triggering floods have affected nearly one million people and killed 139 others across Pakistan in the last three weeks, disaster management officials said on Wednesday.

"The rains affected 931,074 people, killed at least 139 and wounded 804 others," a senior National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) official told AFP.

Philippine ferry disaster death toll rises to 71

Manila: The confirmed death toll from a ferry disaster in the Philippines rose to 71 on Wednesday as hopes faded for finding any more survivors of the tragedy, authorities said.

Divers pulled out six more bodies from the interior of the sunken ferry while body parts were found on a small island nearby, said provincial disaster management officer Neil Sanchez.

Rare polio outbreak spreads to Israel's north

Jerusalem: Israel's president is urging the country's children to get polio boosters after a rare outbreak of the virus spread to the north of the country.

President Shimon Peres met with children getting vaccinations at a Jerusalem clinic on Wednesday together with the Health Minister, Yael German.

18 killed in Indonesia after bus plunges into river

Cisarua: Eighteen people were killed and dozens injured today when a bus plunged into a river as it returned from a church outing on Indonesia's main island of Java, police said.

The bus was carrying passengers from a Jakarta church back to the capital after a visit to a hill resort when the accident happened at Cisarua in West Java province, local police spokesman Martinus Sitompul told AFP.

Egypt's new constitution may ban Mohamed Morsi's party

Cairo: Religious parties in Egypt like that of ousted President Mohamed Morsi's party may face dissolution while the ban on deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak's party could be revoked under a proposed new constitution that seeks to overhaul the country's political system.

A 10-member technical committee handed over the amended draft yesterday to Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour after a month of deliberations and revisions.

Former Pope Benedict says 'God told me' to resign: report

Vatican City: Former Pope Benedict has said he resigned after "God told me to" during what he called a "mystical experience", a Catholic news agency reported.

Benedict, whose formal title is now Pope Emeritus, announced his shock resignation on February 11. On February 28 he became the first pontiff to step down in 600 years.

David Cameron was behind UK attempt to halt Edward Snowden reports: sources

London: British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered his top civil servant to try to stop revelations flowing from the Guardian newspaper about US and British surveillance programmes, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

News that Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood had contacted the Guardian drags Cameron into a storm over Britain's response to media coverage of secrets leaked by fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

Thirty-two feared dead in Malaysian hilltop bus crash

Kuala Lumpur: A bus travelling from the Malaysian hilltop gambling resort of Genting Highlands to the capital Kuala Lumpur plunged 200 feet into a ravine today, killing as many as 32 people, officials said.

Rescue workers had taken 17 survivors to hospital, but said 32 passengers were still in the wreckage.

Chances of Hosni Mubarak's release brighten even as future turns grim for Egypt

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could be freed from jail after a court reviews his case on Wednesday, potentially stirring more unrest in a country where army-backed authorities are hunting down his Muslim Brotherhood foes.

Egypt arrests Brotherhood's top leader

Richest member of US Congress worth at least USD 355 million

Republican Darrell Issa of California was 2012's richest member of Congress, worth at least USD 355 million, according to a ranking.

The congressman, who made his fortune in car security systems, topped the annual list of the 50 wealthiest lawmakers published on Tuesday by The Hill newspaper, a trade publication about Washington politics.

Richest member of US Congress worth at least USD 355 million

Republican Darrell Issa of California was 2012's richest member of Congress, worth at least USD 355 million, according to a ranking.

The congressman, who made his fortune in car security systems, topped the annual list of the 50 wealthiest lawmakers published on Tuesday by The Hill newspaper, a trade publication about Washington politics.

China: Supporters protest Bo Xilai's trial in the biggest political scandal since Gang of Four

A handful of supporters of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai protested outside a courthouse in eastern China on Wednesday on the eve of his trial to denounce what they said was politically motivated persecution.

About 10 people held up signs outside the courthouse in the eastern city of Jinan in Shandong province, where Bo is set to appear in public on Thursday for the first time in 17 months to face charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

China: Supporters protest Bo Xilai's trial in the biggest political scandal since Gang of Four

A handful of supporters of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai protested outside a courthouse in eastern China on Wednesday on the eve of his trial to denounce what they said was politically motivated persecution.

About 10 people held up signs outside the courthouse in the eastern city of Jinan in Shandong province, where Bo is set to appear in public on Thursday for the first time in 17 months to face charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

16 dead as Indonesia bus plunges into river

Sixteen people were killed and dozens injured on Wednesday when a bus plunged into a river as it returned from a church outing on Indonesia's main island of Java, police said.

The bus was carrying 60 passengers from a Jakarta church back to the capital after a visit to a hill resort when the accident happened in Cisarua, West Java province, local police spokesman Martinus Sitompul told AFP.

Pakistan: 'Taliban call centre' busted by Lahore police

Police in Pakistan have busted an illegal telephone gateway exchange here allegedly being operated by the Taliban to make ransom calls to families of persons kidnapped by them including the sons of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani and slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer.

Though Lahore police chief Rai Tahir did not confirm how many arrests were made during yesterday's raid, police sources say at least five suspects including women have also been taken into custody.

Pakistan: 2 killed in bombing at railway station in Balochistan

At least two persons were killed and 10 injured when a bomb went off at a railway station in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Wednesday.

The explosion occurred near the ticket office at the railway station in Chaman town near the Afghan border when a train was preparing to leave for the provincial capital Quetta, TV news channels reported.

Pakistan: 2 killed in bombing at railway station in Balochistan

At least two persons were killed and 10 injured when a bomb went off at a railway station in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Wednesday.

The explosion occurred near the ticket office at the railway station in Chaman town near the Afghan border when a train was preparing to leave for the provincial capital Quetta, TV news channels reported.

Egypt: Mohamed ElBaradei faces arrest over 'betraying' army

Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's former interim vice president, is being sued for a "betrayal of trust" over his decision to quit the army-backed government in protest at its bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

The case points to the prospect of a new wave of politically driven lawsuits being brought to court following the downfall of President Mohamed Morsi, whose supporters brought a raft of cases against opposition figures during his year in power.

Bangladesh: Ex RAB man says BNP-Jamaat govt withheld 2004 explosions main suspect

Allegedly, Banladesh Nationalist Party-Jamaat government had tried to protect the main suspect of the 2004 grenade attack that targeted the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina, an ex-intelligence official said on Wednesday, as Bangladesh observed the 9th anniversary of the incident in which 24 people were killed.

"HuJI (Harkat-ul-Jihad) chief Mufty Abdul Hannan had confessed his involvement in the attack in our interrogation but we could not get his statement recorded in the court," Rapid Action Banglaesh's (RAB) former deputy director Major (retd) Atiqur Rahman told a Dhaka court.

Egypt: Court to hear Hosni Mubarak's plea for release today

An Egyptian court will today hear an appeal by Hosni Mubarak in a corruption case, raising the prospects of the former dictator's release from prison. The court will convene at Tora prison in Cairo where the ousted leader is being held, judicial sources said. On Monday, the court had ordered 85-year-old Mubarak's release pending a probe into a separate case in which he is accused of splurging 1.1 billion pounds in public funds to renovate his palatial private residences, drawing him closer to release as the number of charges he faces decrease.

UK to raise reported Syrian chemical weapons use at UN

Britain said on Wednesday it would raise a reported chemical weapons attack by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad at the United Nations Security Council and called on Damascus to give U.N. inspectors access to the site.

"I am deeply concerned by reports that hundreds of people, including children, have been killed in airstrikes and a chemical weapons attack on rebel-held areas near Damascus," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.

American Civil Liberties Union uncover govt program for 'screening' and 'blacklisting' Muslims

Civil liberties advocates said Wednesday they have uncovered a government program to screen immigrants for national security concerns that has blacklisted some Muslims and put their U.S. citizenship applications on hold for years.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said in a report that federal immigration officers are instructed to find ways to deny applications that have been deemed a national security concern. For example, they'll flag discrepancies in a petition or claim they failed to receive sufficient information from the immigrant.

Syrian activists say gas attack near Damascus killed more than 200

Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a nerve gas attack on rebel-held districts near Damascus on Wednesday that they said killed more than 200 people.

Activists said rockets with chemical agents hit the suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar in the Ghouta region. Bayan Baker, a nurse at Douma Emergency Collection facility, said the death toll from the attack, collated from medical centres in the region, was 213.

Syrian activists say gas attack near Damascus killed more than 200

Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a nerve gas attack on rebel-held districts near Damascus on Wednesday that they said killed more than 200 people.

Activists said rockets with chemical agents hit the suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar in the Ghouta region. Bayan Baker, a nurse at Douma Emergency Collection facility, said the death toll from the attack, collated from medical centres in the region, was 213.

Syrian activists say gas attack near Damascus killed more than 200

Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a nerve gas attack on rebel-held districts near Damascus on Wednesday that they said killed more than 200 people.

Activists said rockets with chemical agents hit the suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar in the Ghouta region. Bayan Baker, a nurse at Douma Emergency Collection facility, said the death toll from the attack, collated from medical centres in the region, was 213.

Flood toll in Pakistan rises to 118

At least 118 people have been killed and more than 800 injured in the continuing rains and floods in Pakistan, the government said on Tuesday.

More than half a million people have also been affected as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is trying to rescue the people and provide relief to the victims.

Was treated like a criminal: Miranda

Attitude typical of totalitarian states, says Brazilian Human Rights Commission

David Miranda, partner of The Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald who has broken most of the stories about the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, was constantly threatened with jail during his nine-hour detention at the Heathrow airport on Sunday, when he was held under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Mr. Miranda was detained while transiting in Heathrow airport en route from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro.

U.K. defends detention

Responding to criticism that the detention and interrogation of David Miranda under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act was a misuse of its powers, Scotland Yard on Tuesday said its decision to do so was “legally sound”. The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson QC, is to meet the police on Tuesday to seek an explanation on this issue.

Probe against Jamaat gets under way

The investigating agency of Bangladesh’s war crime tribunals have launched a formal probe into the alleged war crimes committed by the Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party during the country’s liberation war in 1971.

The probe began after the two tribunals, set up to deal with war-time offences, through several verdicts put the spotlight on Jamaat-e-Islami’s role in 1971.

CIA admits to role in 1953 Iranian coup

The CIA has publicly admitted for the first time that it was behind the notorious 1953 coup against Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq, in documents that also show how the British government tried to block the release of information about its own involvement in his overthrow.

On the 60th anniversary of an event often invoked by Iranians as evidence of western meddling, the U.S. national security archive at George Washington University published a series of declassified CIA documents.

Egypt questions Brotherhood's top leader in prison

Egypt’s military-backed authorities arrested the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader on Tuesday, dealing a serious blow to the embattled movement at a time when it is struggling to keep up street protests against the ouster of President Mohamed Morsy in the face of a harsh government crackdown.

The Brotherhood’s spiritual guide, Mohammed Badie, was arrested in an apartment in the Cairo district of Nasr City, close to the site of a sit-in encampment that was forcibly cleared by security forces last week, triggering violence that killed hundreds of people.

Manmohan to pay working visit to US in September

NSA Shivshankar Menon meets his U.S. counterpart Susan Rice, and Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel to prepare for the September 27 "working visit".

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House next month, where the two leaders will chart a course seeking enhanced bilateral ties and defence cooperation between the two countries, U.S. officials have said.

‘Taliban call centre’ busted in Pakistan, 5 held

Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies have busted an illegal telephone gateway exchange in Lahore allegedly being operated by the Taliban to make ransom calls to families of persons kidnapped by the militant group.

Though Lahore police chief Rai Tahir did not confirm how many arrests were made during Tuesday’s raid, police sources said at least five suspects, including women, were taken into custody.

21 killed in northwest China flash flood

A flash flood swept through a construction site in the north-western Chinese province of Qinghai, killing at least 21 workers, State media reported on Wednesday. Three workers are still missing.

Rescuers are still searching for those unaccounted for in Tuesday’s disaster in Wulan county, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Seven injured people were sent to hospitals, it said.

18 killed in Indonesia church bus crash

The bus, carrying about 60 people from a church in northern Jakarta, was returning from a trip to the hilly resort town of Puncak.

A car and a packed church bus returning from an outing collided and plunged into a river in Indonesia’s West Java province, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than a dozen others, police said on Wednesday.

Tobacco brands slip into Myanmar without fanfare

As some of the world’s biggest companies trumpet their arrival in Asia’s hottest frontier market, the tobacco industry has a different strategy: It’s slipping into Myanmar without fanfare.

The nation of 60 million people emerged from half-a-century of isolation and brutal military rule two years ago. With most international sanctions against the country lifted or suspended, foreign businesses from Coca-Cola and Unilever to Suzuki Motors have scrambled to get in.

Spending a penny could cost $16 in Chinese city

People with a poor aim are to be fined if they miss their mark when using public toilets in a Chinese city, officials said -- provoking online derision over how the rule will be enforced. The penalty will apply to those who urinate outside the bowl of facilities in Shenzhen, the southern boom town neighbouring Hong Kong, although draft regulations seen by AFP did not specify a minimum quantity of spillage required to be classed as a violation.

“Such uncouth use of a public toilet will be fined 100 yuan ($16) by authorities” from next month, a city government official told reporters on Tuesday.

CIA admits role in 1953 coup that killed Iranian democracy

The CIA for the first time has publicly admitted that with British help it engineered the notorious 1953 coup against Iran’s then democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mossadeq. Sixty years after the overthrow of Mossadeq, a declassified CIA document has acknowledged that the US spy agency was involved in the coup.

The independent National Security Archive research institute, which published the document yesterday, said the declassification is believed to mark the CIA’s first formal acknowledgement of its involvement.

Chinese map takes PoK away from Pak

Chinese telecom giant Huawei’s message to Pakistan on its independence day has reportedly offended the country by failing to include Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) as part of Pakistan’s territory on its Facebook page. The firm, Tech in Asia, has pointed out that Huawei had taken the Google Maps image of Pakistan and coloured it green along with part, but not all of PoK. The tagline along the map that said: “smart ideas can alter the course of history” has ignited a fiery debate over Huawei’s depiction of the current political reality between India and Pakistan, with some taking the map to be offensive.

A person can weigh differently at various places on Earth

Want to lose weight fast without dieting or exercising? Move to higher grounds!  A person can weigh differently at various place on Earth because of the fluctuations in Earth’s gravity, according to a new high-resolution map. Gravity is often assumed to be the same everywhere on Earth, but it varies because the planet is not perfectly spherical or uniformly dense, researchers said.

Earth’s gravity is weaker at the equator due to centrifugal forces produced by the planet’s rotation. It’s also weaker at higher altitudes, further from the planet’s centre, ‘NewScientist’ reported.

Obama to meet with national security aides on Egypt aid

President Barack Obama will meet with national security aides on Tuesday to discuss the future of US aid to Egypt in the wake of its military-backed government's fierce crackdown on Islamists.

But the White House insisted that reports it had already cut assistance were wrong, insisting that military and economic grants were merely under review.

School evacuated in US after shots reported

Scores of children were safely evacuated from an elementary school in the state of Georgia on Tuesday as police responded to reports of shots being fired and arrested a suspect, authorities said.

No one was reported injured in the incident involving an "active gunman" in the Ronald E McNair Discovery Learning Academy in DeKalb County, Georgia near Atlanta.

"There have been reports of shots fired. There are no injuries," Melvin Johnson, the DeKalb County school board chairman, told WSB TV Atlanta.

Egypt holds Islamist chief, drawing US criticism

Egyptian authorities detained the leader of the Islamist movement of deposed president Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday, in a move that Washington condemned but without suspending $1.3 billion a year in aid. The mounting crackdown by the military-installed interim government on Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood threatened to complicate longstanding US alliances in the region.

Key NATO member Turkey accused Israel of having a hand in the July 3 coup by the Egyptian army, drawing a rebuke from Washington.

Al-Jazeera America goes live, woos viewers

Al-Jazeera America went live Tuesday, accompanied by a campaign of traditional and social media for its cable channel launch, as it pledged to outdo its rivals with serious, in-depth journalism. "We're on the air! #AlJazeeraAmerica has just launched, and we're live. Are you ready to take a new look at news?" the channel announced on Twitter at 1900 GMT.

Opening the lineup was a preview of the daily schedule, which includes news, magazine and interview programs.

Over 30,000 Syrian refugees arrive in Iraq: UNHCR

Around 30,000 Syrian refugees have crossed over into Iraq in the last few days, marking one of the biggest influx of refugees since Syrian conflict began over two years ago, the UN's refugee agency has said.

Since last Thursday "around 30,000 Syrians have streamed into northern Iraq ... across a wide swathe of northern Syria", reported Xinhua on Tuesday citing UN High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) spokesperson Adrian Edwards.

US court to sentence Bradley Manning today

A US military judge said she'll announce on Wednesday the sentence for Army Pfc Bradley Manning, who gave reams of classified information to WikiLeaks.

Manning faces up to 90 years in prison for leaking more than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department diplomatic cables in 2010 while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.

Egypt: ElBaradei sued for 'betrayal of trust'

Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's former interim vice president, is being sued for a "betrayal of trust" over his decision to quit the army-backed government in protest at its bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

The case points to the prospect of a new wave of politically driven lawsuits being brought to court following the downfall of President Mohamed Morsi, whose supporters brought a raft of cases against opposition figures during his year in power.

Egypt: ElBaradei sued for 'betrayal of trust'

Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's former interim vice president, is being sued for a "betrayal of trust" over his decision to quit the army-backed government in protest at its bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

The case points to the prospect of a new wave of politically driven lawsuits being brought to court following the downfall of President Mohamed Morsi, whose supporters brought a raft of cases against opposition figures during his year in power.

Hackers to reward school dropout who exposed Facebook bug

A man who hacked into Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook page to expose a software bug is getting donations from hackers around the world after the company declined to pay him under a program that normally rewards people who report flaws.

Khalil Shreateh discovered and reported the flaw but was initially dismissed by the company's security team. He then posted a message on the billionaire's wall to prove the bug's existence.

Hackers to reward school dropout who exposed Facebook bug

A man who hacked into Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook page to expose a software bug is getting donations from hackers around the world after the company declined to pay him under a program that normally rewards people who report flaws.

Khalil Shreateh discovered and reported the flaw but was initially dismissed by the company's security team. He then posted a message on the billionaire's wall to prove the bug's existence.

NSA surveillance covers 75% of US Internet traffic

The National Security Agency's surveillance network has the capacity to reach around 75% of all US Internet communications in the hunt for foreign intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Citing current and former NSA officials, the newspaper said the 75% coverage is more of Americans' Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed.

'Taliban call centre' busted in Pak, 5 held

Pakistan's law enforcement agencies have arrested five people in Lahore while busting an illegal telephone gateway exchange allegedly being operated by the Taliban to make ransom calls to families of persons kidnapped by the militant group. Though Lahore police chief Rai Tahir did not confirm how many arrests were made during yesterday's raid, police sources say at least five suspects including women have been taken into custody.

The raiding team also found weapons and explosives in the house in the thickly-populated area of Green Town in Lahore.

India, US bank on Manmohan visit to boost ties

Amid a perception that India-US relationship has plateaued of late, both countries are banking on a "very successful" visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here next month to take their ties to greater heights. Manmohan Singh will be here Sep 27 for a very short working visit, but National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, who was here to lay ground for the visit expressed confidence Tuesday "in terms of substance it's going to be a good visit."

As of now the plans include only a "very substantive" meeting with President Barack Obama followed by a lunch at the White House, he told Indian media here after meetings with his counterpart Susan Rice, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns among others.

No slowdown in pace of global warming: leaked report

Human activity is almost certainly the cause of climate change and global sea levels could rise by several feet by the end of the century, according to an Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report leaked to media on Tuesday.

The draft summary of the report all but dismissed recent claims of a slowdown in the pace of warming, which has seized upon by climate-change sceptics.

16 dead as Indonesia bus plunges into river

Sixteen people were killed and dozens injured on Wednesday when a bus plunged into a river as it returned from a church outing on Indonesia's main island of Java, police said.

The bus was carrying 60 passengers from a Jakarta church back to the capital after a visit to a hill resort when the accident happened in Cisarua, West Java province, local police spokesman Martinus Sitompul told AFP.

Syrian opposition claims 'poisonous gas' attack

Syrian regime forces fired intense artillery and rocket barrages on Wednesday on the eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus, in what two pro-opposition groups claimed was a "poisonous gas" attack that killed dozens of people. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shelling was intense and hit the capital's eastern suburbs of Zamalka, Arbeen and Ein Tarma.

It quoted activists as saying that regime forces fired "''rockets with poisonous gas heads" in the attack that killed "tens of people."

Pakistan says officer killed by Indian shelling

The Pakistani military said on Wednesday one of its officers had been killed by Indian troops firing across the disputed border in the Kashmir region. "Another soldier ... was seriously wounded due to unprovoked Indian shelling," said a military official. The incident follows the killing of five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Himalayan region this month.

Pakistan says one dead in latest Kashmir clash

Pakistan's military accused India on Wednesday of killing an army officer and seriously wounding a soldier in the latest clash across the disputed border in Kashmir.
   
Tensions have flared between the nuclear-armed neighbours in recent weeks over the Himalayan territory,
which both control in part but claim in full.

Virginity test for students in Indonesia? Debate is on - Rest of World

PALEMBANG: Indonesian officials on Tuesday dismissed as excessive and unethical a proposal by an education official on Sumatra island that would require female senior high school students to undergo virginity tests to discourage premarital sex and protect against prostitution.

Muhammad Rasyid, head of the education office in South Sumatra's district of Prabumulih, said he wants to start the tests next year and has proposed a budget for it. But other officials and activists have criticized the plan, arguing it is discriminatory and violates human rights.

N Korean inmates got frogs to eat, mother forced to kill child - Rest of World

SEOUL: Public executions and torture are daily occurrences in North Korea's prisons, according to a dramatic testimony from former inmates at a UN Commission of Inquiry that opened in South Korea's capital on Tuesday. This is the first time that the North's human rights record has been examined by an expert panel, although the North, now ruled by a third generation of the founding Kim family, denies that it abuses human rights. It refuses to recognize the commission and has denied access to investigators.

Harrowing accounts from defectors now living in South Korea related how guards chopped off a man's finger, forced inmates to eat frogs and a mother to kill her own baby.

Japan upgrades Fukushima leak to "serious incident" - Rest of World

TOKYO: Japan's nuclear regulator on Wednesday upgraded its evaluation of a radioactive water leak at the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima to a level three "serious incident."

Fukushima water leak warning hiked to level 3, as govt scrambles to plug leak - Rest of World

NEW DELHI: In a sudden escalation of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the Japanese nuclear watchdog has announced that it is raising the danger level of the radioactive water leak.

After 300 tons of highly radioactive water was found spreading near the storage tanks in the plant, the government had declared that it was a level 1 incident - called an 'anomaly' - on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). Now it will be raised to level 3 which is called a "serious incident", a spokesperson for Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)said, according to Reuters.

16 dead as Indonesia bus plunges into river - Rest of World

ISARUA (Indonesia): Sixteen people were killed and dozens injured today when a bus plunged into a river as it returned from a church outing on Indonesia's main island of Java, police said.

The bus was carrying 60 passengers from a Jakarta church back to the capital after a visit to a hill resort when the accident happened in Cisarua, West Java province, local police spokesman MartinusSitompul said.

US weighs pros, cons of cutting some aid to Egypt - Middle East

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration, undertaking a major review of US relations with Egypt, edged closer to a decision on Tuesday about curtailing some of America's $1.5 billion in annual aid after the Egyptian military's crackdown on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

Top administration officials met at the White House to review the possibility of cutting military or economic aid to Egypt, a longtime US ally and the most populous nation in the Arab world. Some cuts are forthcoming, according to US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly about the sensitive discussions.

Egypt's Mubarak back in court, lawyer to seek his release - Middle East

CAIRO: Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak will face a new court hearing on Wednesday during which his lawyer will seek his release from prison, judicial sources said.
The hearing is the fourth and final case against the long-time president, who was toppled in a popular uprising in February 2011.

Since April, courts have ordered Mubarak's conditional release in the three other cases against him -- two involving corruption, and one for allegedly killing protesters.

Egypt's political strife puts Christians in peril - Middle East

MINYA: Last Wednesday, AyubYoussef was driving to the southern Egyptian town of Delja where he works as a Catholic priest when a friend called and told him to turn back.

By the time he reached the town on Sunday, about 20 houses had been burned. An ancient monastery was smashed and ransacked. One of his parishioners, a 60-year-old barber named Iskander Tous, had been killed in the chaos.

Syrian activists say gas attack near Damascus kills more than 200 - Middle East

AMMAN: Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a nerve gas attack on rebel-held districts near Damascus on Wednesday that they said killed more than 200 people.

Activists said rockets with chemical agents hit the suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar in the Ghouta region.

Son says he may be used as pawn in Bo’s trial - China

BEIJING: Expelled Chinese Communist Party official Bo Xilai's son has suggested that he may be used as a pawn to force his father to cooperate in his trial that begins on Thursday.

Bo is facing trail for corruption and abuse of power while his wife, Gu Kailai, has been given suspended death sentence for killing a British businessman.

Chinese woman manager who stole $82m nabbed in Fiji - China

BEIJING: An insurance executive who fled Shanghai after stealing $82 million from her company has been nabbed in Fiji. The executive, dubbed "beautiful woman manager" by the local media, has been escorted back to Shanghai.

The executive, Chen Yi, has been accused of using her charms to persuade customers to buy investment schemes without authorization from her employer, the Shanghai Fanxin Insurance Agency, worth 500 million yuan ($82 million).

'India's indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant a threat to China' - China

BEIJING: Describing the launch of India's indigenous aircraft carrier and Japan's biggest warship since World War II as a threat to China, a report in the state-run media today alleged some countries are backing New Delhi to balance Beijing's power.

The launch of India's INS Vikrant and Japan's helicopter carrier serve as a warning for China, said an article on the state-run Global Times' website.

Chinese ships depart for rare drills with US Navy - China

BEIJING: Three Chinese ships are sailing east to join rare naval drills with the United States as Beijing ramps up its military diplomacy amid regional territorial disputes and other tensions.

The ships left the port of Qingdao on Tuesday to participate in search-and-rescue drills with the US Navy in the waters off Hawaii. Afterward, the ships will continue on to Australia and New Zealand for similar exercises

China's latest rooftop building: A temple - China

BEIJING: The latest rooftop architectural wonder highlighted in China is a temple that brings worshippers closer to the heavens by being on top of a 21-storey apartment block.

Surrounded by foliage, the temple has glazed golden tiles and traditional upturned eaves with carvings of dragons and phoenixes, but defies convention by standing on top of the tower in Shenzhen, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

21 killed in northwest China flash flood - China

BEIJING: Chinese state media say a flash flood swept through a construction site and killed at least 21 workers in the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai. Three workers are still missing.

The official Xinhua News Agency said on Wednesday that rescuers are searching for those missing from Tuesday's disaster in Wulan county, and that seven injured people had been sent to hospitals. The remote region lies amid high mountains, 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) west of Beijing.

Video of French cop hitting black woman stirs row - Europe

PARIS: French prosecutors have launched an investigation after a video showing a police officer beating a black woman with a baton and spraying tear gas directly into her face sparked outrage.

Interior minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday that prosecutors in the central city of Tours had ordered the IGPN police internal affairs branch to investigate after the video, called "Shame on the French police", was posted on the internet on Sunday.

Three dead in Germany restaurant shooting: Police - Europe

BERLIN: A man opened fire in a restaurant in a small town in southwest Germany on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring five others before taking his own life, police said.

Heidelberg police said a meeting of property owners was taking place in the restaurant in the town of Dossenheim, and there had reportedly been an argument shortly before the shooting.

Intern at a London bank dies after working for 72 hours - UK

A 21-year-old who was interning at a London investment bank has died after reportedly working 72 hours in a row. Moritz Erhardt was an exchange student from Germany studying at the University of Michigan and was interning at the Bank of America in London when he died, seven days before he was due to complete his summer internship.

Churchill’s ‘War Office’ is on sale - UK

LONDON: Britain has put on sale one of its most iconic buildings: Winston Churchill's War Office.

Declared "surplus to requirements", the ministry of defence's Old War Office building in Whitehall — which stands diagonally opposite Prime Minister David Cameron's official residence, 10 Downing Street — will now be sold as part of a money-saving drive.

UK home ministry, Scotland Yard to be taken to court for ‘illegal’ detention - UK

LONDON: Britain's home ministry and Scotland Yard are set to be dragged to court over the detention and interrogation of the partner of a Guardian journalist who helped Edward Snowden expose mass email surveillance.

British law firm Bindmans which is representing David Miranda has decided to file a legal complaint against the home office and the Scotland Yard in the high court over the "unlawful" detention at Heathrow international airport under anti-terror laws.

Musharraf charged with Benazir’s murder - Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday became the first army chief in the country's history to be formally indicted for a crime: the murder of Benazir Bhutto during an election rally after her return from exile in December 2007. The unprecedented move by the anti-terrorism court that charged Musharraf could upset the all-powerful army and trigger an angry reaction.

In a hearing that lasted 20 minutes, the court indicted Musharraf along with six others, including two senior police officers and four suspected militants, on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder. Musharraf denied the charges and the case was adjourned until August 27.

Pakistan seizes 100 tons of bomb-making equipment - Pakistan

QUETTA: Security forces seized 100 tons of bomb-making material from Quetta, one of Pakistan's most violent cities, on Tuesday night, a security official said.

The material was the same type used in two bombings of a predominantly Shiite Muslim part of Quetta this year that killed around 200 people, Col. Maqbool Shah of the Frontier Corps said.

US sanctions Pakistani madrassa for aiding LeT - Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The US has sanctioned a top al-Qaida official and a madrassa in Peshawar, serving as a terrorist training centre supporting Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan based terrorist group behind the Mumbai attack, and the Taliban.

Targeting Jamia Taleem-Ul-Quran-Wal-Hadith Madrassa, also known as the Ganj madrassa, the treasury department on Tuesday said the Peshawar based religious school "serves as a training centre and facilitates funding for al-Qaida, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Taliban."

'Taliban call centre' busted in Pakistan, 5 held - Pakistan

LAHORE: Pakistan's law enforcement agencies have arrested five people here while busting an illegal telephone gateway exchange allegedly being operated by the Taliban to make ransom calls to families of persons kidnapped by the militant group.

Though Lahore police chief Rai Tahir did not confirm how many arrests were made during yesterday's raid, police sources say at least five suspects including women have been taken into custody.

Egypt could survive without US military aid: Interim PM Hazem el-Beblawi - USA

WASHINGTON: Egypt's interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi has said in an interview it would be a mistake if the United States cut off military aid but insisted Cairo could survive without it.

A possible move by Washington to stop US weapons deliveries and other assistance to Egypt "will be a bad sign and will badly affect the military for some time," Beblawi told ABC News yesterday.

School evacuated in US after shots reported - USA

MIAMI: Scores of children were safely evacuated from an elementary school in the state of Georgia today as police responded to reports of shots being fired and arrested a suspect, authorities said.

No one was reported injured in the incident involving an "active gunman" in the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in DeKalb County, Georgia near Atlanta.

US reopens Yemen embassy after 'Qaida threat' - USA

WASHINGTON: The United States has reopened its embassy in Yemen, the State Department said Tuesday, two weeks after it closed for fear of an al-Qaida attack.

A statement said that the embassy in Sanaa had "re-opened to provide limited public services" on Sunday.

Same-sex spouses may get US military benefits

Same-sex spouses of US military members could get health care, housing and other benefits by the end of August under a proposal being considered by the Pentagon. But earlier plans to provide benefits to gay partners, who are not married, may be reversed.

A draft defense department memo obtained on Wednesday by The Associated Press says the department instead may provide up to 10 days of leave to military personnel in same-sex relationships so they can travel to states where they can marry legally.

Pak hints at going ahead with talks

Pakistan on Wednesday sent out feelers about being committed to a sustained and meaningful engagement with India, even as the Indian government remains under fire from the opposition to suspend the talks after five Indian solders were killed in an ambush in Poonch sector in J&K on Tuesday.

Pakistan had denied any involvement in the incident.

Imran's party terms Sharif's stay on execution of three militants 'un-Islamic'

Islamabad: A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) leader has said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision to stay the execution of three death row militants between August 20 and 22, is an 'un-Islamic act'.

According to the Express Tribune, Ali Muhammad Khan questioned the PakistanGovernment's decision in the National Assembly. He pointedly asked under which law had the prime minister suspended the death penalties?

Pak envoy to UN urges end of drone strikes in country to protect civilians

Islamabad: Pakistan's envoy to the United Nations Masood Khan has called for an end to drone strikes in his country to protect civilians.

Masood has backed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon statement of restricting the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ( UAVs) under the international humanitarian law, the Daily Times reports.

UN investigator claims Pak Army chief Kayani doubted Taliban role in Bhutto's assassination

Islamabad: United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary General Heraldo Munoz has said that Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani suspected the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) having assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Munoz believes that former President General Pervez Musharraf might have had a hand in facilitating Bhutto's assassination by ignoring her security needs after their political deal went sour, the Dawn reports.

Pak madrassa blasts US ban for working as 'terrorist training centre'

Islamabad: Pakistan's Madrassa Taleemul Quran Ganj administration has denied to the United States Department of the Treasury economic sanctions over allegedly providing training to terrorists and insurgents in the name of conducting religious studies.

The Ganj madrassa in Peshawar has ridiculed the ban by the US that slammed the educational institute calling it a 'terrorist training centre' that provides support to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the Dawn News reports.

Oz politician under fire for alleged 'racial slur' against indigenous minister

Sydney: Premier of NSW, Barry O'Farell has been reportedly called on to apologise for a perceived racial slur against Labour frontbencher Linda Burney and saying that she hadn't achieved her career success on merit.

During a heated exchange over whether the current community services minister, Pru Goward, had misled parliament over caseworker numbers, Burney said that Goward had lost the confidence of every caseworker in this state to which the premier in defence of Goward said that Burney cannot say that she has achieved every position in her life on merit.

US 'snoop-op' privacy breaches forces legal news website to shut down

London: A legal news website that publishes information on technology and patent legal cases is set for a closure citing inability to operate under the current US surveillance policies.

The award-winning Groklaw website, founded in 2003, promises its sources anonymity but now it is doubtful if contributors can be ensured of secrecy or can be shielded from forced exposure.

Toxic water may be removed from Fukushima n-plant

Tokyo: Some 300 tonnes of highly-contaminated water that leaked from a storage tank at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may be removed later Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has said.

The company reported the leak Tuesday, which led the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority to consider raising the severity assessment of the event to level three from the initial level one, Xinhua reported.

Churchill's wartime speeches 'may not have been as inspirational as believed'

London: Sir Winston Churchill's famous wartime speeches may have been far less inspirational and influential than previously thought, it has been claimed.

Professor Richard Toye says that Churchill's speeches actually provoked considerable controversy and criticism, with some Briton's believing he was drunk during radio broadcasts, the Daily Express reported.

Egypt Interim PM doesn't fear civil war

Washington: Egypt's Interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi has said that he does not fear a civil war in his country and also warned the US that any cut in military aid would be a bad sign.

“Really, in truth, I do not fear civil war,” Beblawi told ABC News, in his first interview since assuming the post last month after the ouster of Mohamed Morsi as president.

Thailand, Pakistan agree to foster ties

Bangkok: Thailand and Pakistan have agreed to promote bilateral trade, cooperation and investment.

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra arrived in Islamabad Tuesday for an official visit to reinforce amicable relations with Pakistan's newly-elected government and build a strong economic partnership between the two nations, Xinhua reported citing the Thai News Agency.

US says reports of aid suspension to Egypt inaccurate

Washington: The United States has said reports of cutting off annual aid to Egypt by the Obama administration were inaccurate, as it is under a review, which has not been concluded yet.

Principal Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said that the US aid and assistance relationship with Egypt was under a review, but it has not been cut-off.

32 feared dead in Malaysian hilltop bus crash

Kuala Lumpur: A bus travelling from the Malaysian hilltop gambling resort of Genting Highlands to the capital Kuala Lumpur plunged 200 feet into a ravine on Wednesday, killing as many as 32 people, officials said.

Rescue workers had taken 17 survivors to hospital, but said 32 passengers were still in the wreckage.

US 'clueless' over extent of Snowden's 'snoop-data' access

Washington: The US' NSA, which was caught off-guard when whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked huge amount of classified data about the government's surveillance programs, the agency is yet to identify the amount of data he gained access to and still possesses.

Intelligence community sources said that the NSA is 'overwhelmed' trying to assess the damage and still doesn't know the full extent of what Snowden took with him when he worked as a former contractor at the agency.

Syria denies using chemical gases against rebels

Damascus: Syrian state media on Wednesday denied reports circulated by opposition activists about the army's use of chemical gases against rebels in the suburbs of Damascus.

The news circulated by the activists' media outlets, "which are partners in shedding the Syrian blood", are totally "baseless", Xinhua reported quoting the state-run SANA news agency.

God told me to resign: Ex-Pope Benedict

Vatican City: Former Pope Benedict has said he resigned after "God told me to" during what he called a "mystical experience", a Catholic news agency reported.

Benedict, whose formal title is now Pope Emeritus, announced his shock resignation on February 11 and on February 28 became the first pontiff to step down in 600 years.

Cameron was behind UK attempt to halt Snowden reports: Sources

London: British Prime Minister David Cameron ordered his top civil servant to try to stop revelations flowing from the Guardian newspaper about US and British surveillance programmes, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

News that Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood had contacted the Guardian drags Cameron into a storm over Britain's response to media coverage of secrets leaked by fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

Iran's envoy to UN nuclear agency expected to leave post: Sources

Vienna: Iran's veteran envoy to the UN nuclear agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, is expected to leave his post soon but there is no word yet on who will replace him, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.

If confirmed, it would come less than a week after the new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, appointed a pragmatist to head Iran's atomic energy organisation.

Catholic monastery in Israel attacked by vandals

Jerusalem: Vandals hurled a firebomb at the outer wall of a Roman Catholic monastery in Israel and daubed anti-Christian graffiti on it, a police spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

No damage was caused to the Beit Jimal monastery, near the town of Beit Shemesh, and no one was hurt, the spokeswoman, Luba Samri said.

Pakistani court indicts Pervez Musharraf in Benazir Bhutto case

A court in Pakistan has formally indicted former military dictator Pervez Musharraf over his failure to prevent the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the public prosecutor in the closely watched case said on Tuesday.

Pervez Musharraf arrested in Akbar Bugti murder case

15-day Raksha Bandhan festivities begin in Peshawar

The Hindu community from across Khyber-Pakthunkhwa province of northwest Pakistan converged here today for 15 days of festivities to mark Raksha Bandhan.

The grand event is being held at Kalibari Temple in Peshawar cantonment. Elders of the minority Hindu community decided to celebrate the event in a befitting manner this year.

Syrian Kurds battle al-Qaeda-linked rebel faction

Kurdish militias fought al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups in north-eastern Syria on Tuesday in heavy fighting that has helped fuel a mass exodus of civilians from the region into neighboring Iraq, activists said.

The clashes between Kurdish gunmen and Islamic extremist rebel groups have sharply escalated in Syria’s northern provinces in recent months. The violence, which has left hundreds dead, holds the potential to explode into a full-blown side conflict within Syria’s broader civil war.

Neanderthals had ‘distinct cultures’: study

Two cultural traditions existed among Neanderthals living in what is now northern Europe, around115,000 to 35,000 years ago, a new study has found.

The study by the University of Southampton found that Neanderthals were more culturally complex than previously acknowledged.

Israel, Palestine to hold another round of talks today

A senior Palestinian official says Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are to meet for their second round of peace talks. The first round was held last week in Jerusalem, under a cloak of secrecy.

The Palestinian official, who is close to the negotiations, refused to say where Tuesday’s talks are being held. He spoke on condition of anonymity because both sides promised U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry not to discuss details with the media.

Israel, Palestine to hold another round of talks today

A senior Palestinian official says Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are to meet for their second round of peace talks. The first round was held last week in Jerusalem, under a cloak of secrecy.

The Palestinian official, who is close to the negotiations, refused to say where Tuesday’s talks are being held. He spoke on condition of anonymity because both sides promised U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry not to discuss details with the media.

First official snaps of Prince George released

Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton on Tuesday released the first official photographs of their son Prince George, four weeks after the baby was born.

The pictures were taken by Kate’s father Michael Middleton in the family home garden in Bucklebury, Berkshire, earlier this month.

Kayani had doubts about Taliban involvement in Bhutto’s death

Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had expressed doubts about a claim by the regime of his former boss Pervez Musharraf that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by the Pakistani Taliban, a UN investigator has said.

Gen Kayani suspected whether the slain Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud had organised the assassination, as was claimed by an Interior Ministry spokesman at a news conference a day after Bhutto’s death on December 27, 2007.

UK prosecutors charge Daily Mirror, Sun reporters

British prosecutors say they are charging four journalists from the Daily Mirror and Sun newspapers with bribing officials for information.

The Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday that former Daily Mirror journalist Greig Turnbull faces two charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office after he allegedly paid two prison officers for information about high-profile prisoners.

Russia scrambles to contain record floods

Russians in the Far East on Tuesday battled rising floodwaters as authorities evacuated more than 23,000 people from affected areas and scrambled to prevent the outbreak of infections.
   
Heavy rains pounding Khabarovsk, a Far Eastern city located near the Chinese border, since July have swelled the local Amur River to levels unseen since the 19th century, damaging property, infrastructure and crops and displacing tens of thousands.

Operator says new radioactive leak at Japan's Fukushima

An estimated 300 tonnes of radioactive water is believed to have leaked from a tank at Japan's crippled nuclear plant, the operator said Tuesday as it battled the latest toxic water threat.
   
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said the leak was believed to be continuing on Tuesday at Fukushima and it had not yet pinpointed the source of it.
   
TEPCO said puddles with extremely high radiation levels have been found near the water tanks at the plant.

Forced to destroy Snowden files, says Britain’s Guardian

British agents oversaw the destruction of an unspecified number of the Guardian newspaper's hard drives after the paper began publishing revelations from Edward Snowden's leaks, the paper's editor said on Monday.

Alan Rusbridger made the claim in an opinion piece published on the Guardian's website, saying that a pair of staffers from British eavesdropping agency GCHQ monitored the process in what he called "one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history".

Revolting! France outraged over police 'violence' video

French prosecutors have launched an investigation after a video showing a police officer beating a black woman with a baton and spraying tear gas directly into her face sparked outrage. Interior Minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday that prosecutors in the central city of Tours had ordered the IGPN police internal affairs branch to investigate after the video, called "Shame on the French police", was posted on the Internet on Sunday.

"An investigation has been opened. The matter has been referred to the IGPN," Valls said. "We need the whole truth and full transparency... The police must be irreproachable, the vast majority of police officers carry out difficult and remarkable work."

Teenage girl charged with Sikh man's assault denied bail in UK

A British court has rejected the bail plea of a teenage girl caught on video punching a 80-year-old Sikh man in the face and shoving him to the ground.

Coral Millerchip, 19, was arrested on Friday and charged with assault of the man at Coventry, a city northwest of London.

Partner of leaks journalist suing UK over detention: Guardian

The partner of US journalist Glenn Greenwald is taking legal action over his detention by British authorities, the editor of The Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday.

"David Miranda is taking a civil action over his material and the way that he was treated," editor Alan Rusbridger, whose newspaper has worked with Greenwald and Edward Snowden to expose US intelligence tactics, told the BBC.

Treat my father fairly, my mother is defenceless now: Bo Xilai's son

The son of shamed Chinese politician Bo Xilai has urged that his father be allowed to defend himself against a slew of allegations including corruption and abuse of power without any constraint. Bo Guagua said that his father, expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) last year and indicted of several crimes last month, should be given the right to answer his critics.

Charged with bribery, corruption and abuse of power, Bo Xilai goes on trial in a court in Jinan in eastern China, few hundred kilometers from Beijing, on Thursday.

Egypt: ElBaradei faces court for betrayal of trust

Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's former vice president, will be sued in court for a "betrayal of trust" over his decision to quit the army-backed government in protest at its bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. The case, brought by an Egyptian law professor, will be heard in a Cairo court on September 19, judicial sources said on Tuesday.

It points to the prospect of a new wave of politically driven lawsuits being brought to court following the downfall of President Mohammed Morsi, whose supporters brought a raft of cases against opposition figures during his year in power.

US military judge weighs sentence for Bradley Manning

A US military judge has said she will announce a sentence on Wednesday for Bradley Manning, the soldier convicted of espionage for giving classified government documents to WikiLeaks.

The judge, colonel Denise Lind, opened proceedings in the court early on Tuesday and adjourned
within five minutes to begin her deliberations on Manning's punishment over the massive leak.

Egypt's Brotherhood names interim head after chief arrested

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday named a new interim head after its chief was arrested. Mahmoud Ezzat was appointed as the supreme guide of the group after its spiritual leader Mohammed Badie was arrested as part of a crackdown on Islamists demanding reinstatement of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

"Mahmoud Ezzat, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, will assume the role of supreme guide of the group on a temporary basis after the security forces of the bloody military coup arrested supreme guide Mohamed Badie," the Freedom and Justice Party website said.

Boat carrying 105 passengers sinks in Indian Ocean: Australian officials - Rest of World

SYDNEY: A boat carrying around 100 asylum seekers sank in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, and Australian officials were hurrying to rescue passengers from the water.

The boat sank about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of Christmas Island, where Australia operates a detention camp for asylum seekers. There were an estimated 105 people on board, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.

New leak from storage tank at Japan nuke plant - Rest of World

TOKYO: The operator of Japan's tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant says about 300 tons of highly radioactive water have leaked from a storage tank there.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said on Tuesday that the contaminated water leaked from a steel storage tank at the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. TEPCO hasn't figured out how or where the water leaked from the tank.

300 tons of radioactive water leaks out at Fukushima - Rest of World

NEW DELHI: About 300 tons of highly radioactive water has leaked from a storage tank at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, according to Tepco, the plant's operator. In a statement TEPCO said that the water level in one of the 1000-ton steel tanks was found to be down by a third.

A TEPCO employee found a big puddle of water outside the tank on Monday morning.

Pistorius seeks deal with dead lover's family: Report - Rest of World

JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's Paralympic sprint star Oscar Pistorius is trying to negotiate an out-of-court compensation deal with the parents of his slain lover Reeva Steenkamp, a local newspaper said on Tuesday.

Lawyers for Pistorius, who goes on trial in March on murder charges for shooting dead Steenkamp, are mulling a settlement for emotional stress and loss of income, The Times reported.

Over 100 rescued after boat sinks in Indian Ocean - Rest of World

SYDNEY: Rescuers pulled more than 100 suspected asylum seekers to safety on Tuesday after their boat sank in the Indian Ocean.

The boat sank about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of Christmas Island, where Australia operates a detention camp for asylum seekers. An Australian navy ship hurried to the scene after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a call for help from someone on board Tuesday morning. When the navy ship arrived, the boat was partially submerged and passengers were struggling in the water.

Red Cross chief visits North Korea, pledges humanitarian aid - Rest of World

GENEVA, Geneve: The Red Cross said on Tuesday its president had begun a rare official visit to both North and South Korea, pledging to strengthen the organisation's humanitarian assistance and cooperation with the countries.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said its president Peter Maurer arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday to begin the first official visit to both Koreas by the head of the organisation in 21 years.

Saudi man, weighing 610 kilograms, forklifted to hospital - Middle East

RIYADH: A Saudi man weighing 610 kilograms (1,344 pounds) was forklifted to hospital on Monday for medical treatment at the expense of the monarch to reduce his weight.

Khaled Mohsin Shairi was flown from his southwestern hometown of Jizan to Riyadh on a specially-equipped plane, SPA state news agency reported.

Iran has 18k centrifuges, 10k operating, says official - Middle East

TEHRAN: Iran has about 18,000 centrifuges, of which 10,000 are operating, the outgoing head of the country's atomic energy panel has said.

Iran has 17,000 first-generation (IR-1 ) centrifuges out of which 10,000 are running, said Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) chief Fereidoon Abbasi, reported Xinhua citing the Press TV.

​Egypt turmoil deepens, militants kill 25 cops - Middle East

CAIRO: Egypt's volatile Sinai Peninsula saw some more violence on Monday when suspected militants ambushed two minibuses carrying offduty policemen, killing 25 of them execution-style and wounding two, security officials said.

The killings, which took place near the border town of Rafah. This is a day after police took action to free a prison guard from rioting detainees , killing 36 in the process. At least 850 people have died in Egypt since last Wednesday in clashes pitting followers of Morsi against the army-backed government.

‘Mubarak may be released this week’ - Middle East

CAIRO: Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president overthrown in 2011 revolution , may be soon released from prison, his lawyer and a judicial source said on Monday . He is likely to be freed this week after a court on Monday ordered his release pending a probe into a graft case, a development that could further inflame passions in the conflict-ridden Arab nation.

A media report said that Mubarak still faces retrial on charges of complicity in the murder of protesters so any release could be temporary. However, Reuters report says that he even though he still faces a retrial in that case after appeals from the prosecution and defence, it would not require him to stay in jail. Mubarak did not appear at a hearing in the case on Saturday . He was also absent from Monday's session.

Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie: State media - Middle East

CAIRO: Egyptian security forces have arrested the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, state media reported on Tuesday, pressing a crackdown on his group.

Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at an apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo, the state news agency reported.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood names interim head after arrest of supreme guide - Middle East

CAIRO: Muslim Brotherhood has named an interim leader to head the group after its supreme guide was arrested on Tuesday, the website of its political party said.

"Mahmoud Ezzat, deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, will assume the role of supreme guide of the group on a temporary basis after the security forces of the bloody military coup arrested supreme guide Mohamed Badie," the Freedom and Justice Party website said.

Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie - Middle East

CAIRO: Egyptian security forces arrested the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday, continuing their crackdown on the group.

Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at an apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo near the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque. This was the site of one of the two major sit-ins which the security forces forcibly dispersed last Wednesday.

ElBaradei faces charges over 'breaching national trust' - Middle East

CAIRO: Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, who recently quit as Egypt's interim vice president and left the country in the face of deadly crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood supporters by military-led government, may face charges of "breaching national trust" in a court here.

The Nasr City misdemeanour court on Tuesday decided that on September 19 it will consider the case filed against ElBaradei for "betraying" the public by resigning on August 14, a charge that could carry an $1,430 fine if he is convicted.

Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie - Middle East

CAIRO: Egyptian security forces arrested the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday, continuing their crackdown on the group.

Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at an apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo near the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque. This was the site of one of the two major sit-ins which the security forces forcibly dispersed last Wednesday.

Israel, Palestinian negotiators hold Jerusalem talks - Middle East

RAMALLAH: Israeli and Palestinian officials held talks in Jerusalem on Tuesday and were to meet again later the same day, Palestinian sources said, just six days after they resumed direct negotiations.

An initial two-hour meeting took place in secret in the morning, with negotiators set to return to Jerusalem's King David Hotel for a "second round of talks" at around 7:30pm (1630 GMT), a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

China will defend its maritime rights, defence minister Chang Wanquan says - China

WASHINGTON: Military relations between China and the United States are steadily improving but Beijing remains determined to defend its maritime rights, the country's defence minister said Monday during a US visit.

Although General Chang Wanquan and his US counterpart, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel, struck an optimistic tone after more than three hours of talks, the Chinese official made clear Beijing would not make concessions when it comes to its core interests.

​Forensic expert who challenged autopsy in Bo Xilai case quits post - China

BEIJING: A forensic scientist who questioned the official version of the death of British businessman Neil Heywood in the Bo Xilai scandal has now resigned from the quasi-official Chinese Forensic Medicine Association. The female scientist, Wang Xuemei, has objected to another autopsy report.

"I cannot tolerate that my name and an academic organisation that produces such ridiculous and irresponsible conclusions be associated," she said about herself in a video posted online.

​Yahoo closes email services in China - China

BEIJING: Yahoo's email service in China has been shut down. The decision to pull out of the world's biggest internet market is seen as part of the company's efforts to support its Chinese partner and online shopping giant, Alibaba, sources said.

Yahoo China has advised its users to transfer their accounts to Alimail, which is run by Alibaba. Users, who opt for the transfer, will continue to receive emails send to their Yahoo addresses until December 31, 2014.

Miss your mark in the toilet? Pay $16 fine - China

BEIJING: People with a poor aim are to be fined if they miss their mark when using public toilets in a Chinese city, officials said — provoking online derision over how the rule will be enforced.

The penalty will apply to those who urinate outside the bowl of facilities in Shenzhen, the southern boom town neighbouring Hong Kong, although draft regulations seen by AFP did not specify a minimum quantity of spillage required to be classed as a violation.

China returns runaway executive in $82 million scandal from Fiji - China

SHANGHAI, China: A Chinese insurance executive who allegedly took 500 million yuan ($82 million) from her company and fled the country has been escorted back from Fiji by police, state media reported.

Chinese police tracked down the former general manager of the Shanghai Fanxin Insurance Agency, Chen Yi, with the help of Interpol, the official Xinhua news agency said.

China bans more New Zealand dairy products - China

BEIJING: Chinese quarantine authorities have suspended the imports of lactoferrin from a dairy firm based in New Zealand after discovering excessive amounts of nitrate in its product.

The incident follows close on the heels of a scandal involving Fonterra, the largest dairy company in New Zealand, which admitted on Aug 5 that 38 metric tons of its whey protein was contaminated with a bacterium that can cause botulism.

​‘Qaida plotting attack on Europe’s rail network’ - Europe

BERLIN: The al-Qaida is plotting attacks on Europe's highspeed rail network, German mass circulation daily Bild reported on Monday, citing intelligence sources.

The extremist group could plant explosives on trains and tunnels or sabotage tracks and electrical cabling, said Bild, Europe's most widely read daily . Bild said the information came from the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States, which had listened in to a conference call involving top al-Qaida operatives.

Spain tells Britain to remove Gibraltar 'reef' - Europe

MADRID: Spain told Britain on Tuesday it must remove 70 concrete blocks dropped into the waters off Gibraltar before Madrid will agree to dialogue in a heated dispute over the British outpost.

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo sharply criticized Gibraltar's creation of the reef last month in disputed waters that were used by Spanish fishermen.

9 suspected militants killed in Russia's Dagestan - Europe

MAKHACHKALA, Russia: Police killed nine suspected militants on Tuesday, including a prominent warlord, in a clash in the restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, Russian authorities said.

The clash occurred when police stormed a house in the town of Buinaksk, said Andrei Chatsky, a spokesman for the Russian National Antiterrorist Committee. Earlier reports by Russia's investigative bodies had said that only four militants, and the owner of the house where the clash took place, were killed.

Row in UK over Snowden-linked detention - UK

LONDON: British authorities faced a furore on Monday after they held the partner of a journalist who worked with Edward Snowden to expose US mass surveillance programmes for almost nine hours under anti-terror laws.

David Miranda — the Brazilian partner of Glenn Greenwald, an American journalist with Britain's Guardian newspaper — was held on Sunday as he passed through London's Heathrow Airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro from Berlin.

UK had newspaper disks destroyed: Guardian chief - UK

LONDON: British agents oversaw the destruction of an unspecified number of the Guardian newspaper's hard drives in an apparent bid to keep Edward Snowden's leaks safe, the paper's editor said.

Alan Rusbridger made the claim in an opinion piece published on the Guardian's website, saying that a pair of staffers from British eavesdropping agency GCHQ monitored the process in what he called "one of the more bizarre moments in the Guardian's long history."

Grandad Middleton takes first official photos of Prince George - UK

LONDON: Prince William and his wife Catherine on Tuesday released the first official photographs of their baby son George -- and in a break with tradition they were taken by her father Michael Middleton.

The intimate photographs were shot earlier this month in the garden of the Middletons' family home in rural Bucklebury, west of London, and show the newborn prince lying peacefully in his mother's arms.

Teenage girl charged with Sikh man's assault denied bail in UK - UK

LONDON: A British court has rejected the bail plea of a teenage girl caught on video punching a 80-year-old Sikh man in the face and shoving him to the ground.

Coral Millerchip, 19, was arrested on Friday and charged with assault of the man at Coventry, a city northwest of London.

UK govt defends detention of journalist's partner linked to Snowden - UK

LONDON: The British government broke its silence Tuesday about the detention of a journalist's partner for nine hours at Heathrow Airport, saying authorities "have a duty to protect the public and our national security."

Police used a contentious anti-terrorism law to detain David Miranda, the partner of Guardian newspaper journalist Glenn Greenwald, on Sunday. Greenwald has published stories about US and British surveillance programs based on documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Next round of Bhutan-China border talks to be held on Thursday - South Asia

THIMPHU: Bhutan and China will hold their next round of boundary talks here on August 22, it was announced on Tuesday.

The eight-member Chinese delegation led by vice foreign minister Liu Zhenrin will arrive here on Wednesday for the 21st round of boundary talks between the two countries, a foreign ministry statement said.

Nepal to open five new peaks to mountaineers - South Asia

KATHMANDU: Nepal will open five peaks of over 8,000 metres to expeditions when the autumn climbing season begins, taking the total number of such mountains to 13.

The new peaks - Lhotse Middle, Lhotse Shar, Kanchenjunga South, Kanchenjunga Central and Kanchenjunga West - all measure over 8,400 metres (27,559 feet).

Nepal to open five new peaks to mountaineers - South Asia

KATHMANDU: Nepal will open five peaks of over 8,000 metres to expeditions when the autumn climbing season begins, taking the total number of such mountains to 13.

The new peaks - Lhotse Middle, Lhotse Shar, Kanchenjunga South, Kanchenjunga Central and Kanchenjunga West - all measure over 8,400 metres (27,559 feet).

Kashmir a national issue, jugular vein of Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif - Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Describing Kashmir as the "jugular vein" of his country, prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday said India and Pakistan should join hands to tackle poverty and disease instead of wasting their resources on wars.

Kashmir is a "national issue and the jugular vein of Pakistan" and its resolution is as dear to him as other Pakistanis , Sharif said in his first address to the nation since assuming office in June.

Pak gunman speaks to investigators from hospital bed - Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A 53-year-old gunman, who was shot after five-hour standoff with police in Islamabad last week, briefly spoke to investigators on Monday from his hospital bed.

Sources said Malik Sikandar told them he had fired shots in the air out of anger after arriving near the president's house in a car along with his wife and two kids on Thursday last.

Pakistan court charges Musharraf with killing of Benazir Bhutto - Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan's ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf was indicted on three counts on Tuesday over the 2007 murder of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide attack, a prosecutor said.

Charging a former army chief is an unprecedented move in a country ruled for more than half of its life by the military and where the army is still considered the most powerful institution.

US bomber crashes in Montana, four crew members survive - USA

WASHINGTON: A US Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber crashed on Monday in the northern state of Montana but its four-strong crew managed to eject before impact, the military said.

The plane had taken off from Ellsworth Air Force base, home of the 28th Bomb Wing, on what was described as a routine training mission.

Steve Wozniak and Ashton Kutcher in war of words over ‘Jobs’ - USA

A new biopic of Steve Jobs has prompted a furious row between Steve Wozniak, Apple's cofounder and Ashton Kutcher, the actor who stars as the technology pioneer. 'Jobs' , directed by Joshua Michael Stern, follows its subject's journey from California college dropout to the digitised revolution heralded by the 2001 unveiling of Apple's iPod.

The film, which opened in the US last weekend, tells how Jobs joined forces with Steve Wozniak (Josh Gad) to construct the first Apple computer kit in Jobs's parents' garage . But Wozniak posted a dismissive, impromptu review on technology website Gizmodo. "I thought the acting throughout was good. I was attentive and entertained but not greatly enough to recommend the movie," he said.

Creditors file objections to Detroit bankruptcy - USA

DETROIT: The city's biggest employee union, retirees and even a few dozen residents filed objections Monday to Detroit's request for bankruptcy protection, the largest municipal filing in US history and a move aimed at wiping away billions of dollars in debt.

The filing by the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees Michigan Council 25 also came before expected objections from two city pension systems, bondholders, banks and others who hope to convince federal Judge Steven Rhodes not to allow the Chapter 9 bankruptcy petition by Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr.

Elmore Leonard, crime novelist, dies aged 87 - USA

DETROIT: Elmore Leonard, a former adman who later became one of America's foremost crime writers, has died. He was 87.

His researcher, Gregg Sutter, says Elmore died on Tuesday morning from complications from a stroke.

US designates Pakistani madrassa as 'terror organisation' - USA

WASHINGTON: The US on Tuesday designated a Pakistani madrassa as a terrorist organisation supporting the Lashkar-e-Taiba, al-Qaida and Taliban, the first time such action has been taken against a seminary.

Ganj Madrassa in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, officially known as Jamia Taleem-Ul-Quran-Wal-Hadith Madrassa, is the first seminary to be the target of sanctions that forbid Americans from having any business interaction with it.