ISLAMABAD: Pakistan won more aid pledges Tuesday as UN officials warned money needs to come through faster to help 20 million people hit by disastrous floods and stave off a "second wave of death" from disease. Torrential monsoon rain triggered catastrophic floods which have affected a

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama`s administration has decided to support the creation of a UN inquiry into war crimes allegedly committed by Myanmar`s government, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. Citing US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the newspaper said the

SOCHI: Russia on Wednesday hosts Pakistan`s embattled President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai for a regional summit expected to focus on security in Afghanistan. The Pakistan leader is expected to fly in to the Black Sea resort of Sochi for only a few hours after he was

Beirut: A military court has sentenced to death two Lebanese after convicting them of spying for Israel, Labanon`s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. The judge, Nizar Khalil, pronounced the judgement Tuesday after convicting Ousama Ali Berri and fugitive Salim Atmeh of spying

BOGOTA: Colombia`s constitutional court Tuesday declared a US-Colombian accord that gave the US military access to at least seven Colombian bases to be unconstitutional. The court ordered the government to submit the agreement to the Colombian Congress, arguing that it should be executed

LONDON: Britain`s first coalition government since World War II is still enjoying a political honeymoon 100 days after coming into office, a poll suggested on Wednesday. The survey for the Guardian newspaper showed 46 percent of voters deemed the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition

Beijing: At least 67 people were missing after mudslides hit a remote town in southwest China`s Yunnan province early Wednesday, authorities said.Power supplies and telecommunications were cut following the mudslides in Puladi Township in Gongshan, Xinhua reported.Rescuers were sent to

BAGUIO: Thirty-five people were killed when a packed passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in the northern Philippines on Wednesday, rescuers said. The bus, carrying 47 people, had just left the mountain resort city of Baguio, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Manila, when its

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai Tuesday issued a decree ordering that all private security firms in the country should be disbanded within four months."I approve the full disbandment of private security companies, both national and international, within four months," Karzai said in

London: Eating bits of chocolate occasionally can help protect women from heart failure. However, daily consumption seems to negate its positive benefits.In a first ever nine-year study involving 31,823 Swedish women, researchers looked at the link between quantity of high-quality dark

BEIJING: The death toll from a massive explosion at a fireworks factory in northeastern China has risen to 19, with more than 150 others injured, state media said Tuesday.The blast early Monday shattered the windows of buildings one kilometre (half a mile) away from the plant near the

SEOUL: A group of South Koreans crossed the tense border into North Korea Tuesday for the first time since a travel ban was imposed three months ago, officials said. A doctor and four others from a relief group travelled to the North`s border city of Kaesong to deliver anti-malaria aid

BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded army recruitment centre in Baghdad killing 59 people Tuesday, officials said, as violence coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan raged across Iraq.The attack, the deadliest this year, wounded at least another 100 people and

KATHMANDU: As Nepal`s parliament prepares once again to try to elect a new prime minister after four failed attempts, concern is growing over the role of neighbouring India in the protracted political crisis. Nepal`s prime minister agreed in May to step down to pave the way for a new

LONDON: A strike that could have shut down six British airports on a key holiday weekend was averted on Monday after management offered a new pay deal to workers, both sides said. Members of the Unite union, including firefighters and security staff, had originally voted by three to one

SUKKUR: Pakistani flood victims, burning straw and waving sticks, blocked a highway on Monday to demand government help as aid agencies warned relief was too slow to arrive for millions without clean water, food and homes.Public anger has grown in the two weeks of floods, highlighting

MILWAUKEE: The White House on Monday denied press reports that President Barack Obama warned Turkey it could lose its chance to obtain US-made weapons over its position on Israel and Iran.Britain`s Financial Times newspaper quoted a senior official as saying that Obama told Turkish Prime

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama`s administration announced Monday it will grant no more permits for deep water oil exploration without requiring studies on their impact on the environment.The Interior Department said it would award offshore drilling permits only to projects

TAIPEI : Taiwan said Tuesday it was "closely monitoring" China`s arms build-up following a US government report warning that China`s military advantage over the island was growing. "China has not given up the use of force against Taiwan, and we are closely monitoring China`s military

SEOUL: North Korea flew an unmanned plane for surveillance or as a decoy after it fired a volley of shells near the disputed sea border with South Korea last week, an official said Tuesday. The impoverished but nuclear-armed communist state has also aired rare footage of its new main