ISLAMABAD: The United Nations rushed a top envoy to Pakistan on Thursday to address the urgent plight of 3.2 million people hit by the worst floods in generations as officials warned the crisis was spreading.As the humanitarian disaster pushed into a second week, fears are growing of a

SEOUL: A forum of 100 global business chiefs will be held alongside the next G20 summit to underscore the Group of 20`s role as the top world body for economic cooperation, officials said Thursday.South Korea, which chairs the G20 leaders` meeting on November 11-12 in Seoul, will push to

MAKASSAR: Up to 10 people were feared dead after two cargo ships collided in Indonesian waters, an official and survivors said Thursday.The Trisal Pratama, carrying 2,000 tonnes of cement, sank after it collided with the Indimatam, loaded with scrap metal, in the Makassar Strait early

WASHINGTON: The United States is in advanced negotiations to share nuclear fuel and technology with Vietnam, including a proviso that would allow Hanoi to enrich uranium on its own, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.Congressional critics of the deal say the terms would undercut the

MANILA: The Philippines is suffering a crippling brain drain with many of its most talented and qualified workers heading overseas for higher-paid jobs and better lifestyles, employers say.The shock resignations last week of 25 Philippine Airlines pilots, who left for bigger salaries

HAMBURG: Marlon Brando started it, Diana Ross and Nicolas Cage picked up the trend and Johnny Depp perfected it. The ueber-rich and famous often dream of owning their own private island and a German-born Canadian entrepreneur has made a fortune making it happen for them.As founder of one

WASHINGTON: US officials said Wednesday they were highly confident no more oil would leak into the Gulf of Mexico after BP successfully plugged the well, but said there was still a lot more work to do.We "have reached a static condition in the well that allows us to have high confidence

NEW YORK: Bill Gates and Warren Buffett think fellow US billionaires should donate most of their vast fortunes to charity -- and they revealed Wednesday that 40 are set to do just that."Forty of the wealthiest families and individuals in the United States have committed to returning the

NEW DELHI: Violent protests in Indian Kashmir have forced the suspension of train services and fuel supplies to the Muslim-majority region, officials said Wednesday.Anand Sharma, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Tankers` Association, which supplies 2.4 million litres (634,000 gallons)

RAIPUR: Indian police and Maoist fighters were locked in a fierce gun battle on Wednesday in the central state of Chhattisgarh, one of the rebels` key strongholds, officials said.The clash took place in deep jungle about 500 kilometres (300 miles) south of the state capital Raipur, and no

HONG KONG: Hong Kong`s Cathay Pacific on Wednesday announced plans to buy 30 new planes for almost eight billion US dollars, underlining the carrier`s expansion as it reported strong first-half profits.In a statement to Hong Kong`s stock exchange, Cathay said the total catalogue price for

CHARSADDA: Desperate survivors crushed into relief centres Wednesday after Pakistan`s worst floods in living memory as officials feared a food crisis could compound the humanitarian disaster.With over three million people affected by the flooding, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told

MARBELLA:  US First Lady Michelle Obama and her nine-year-old daughter Sasha arrived Wednesday on Spain`s Mediterranean coast for a vacation with friends at a luxury hotel where they have booked 60 rooms.The pair and their entourage arrived at the Hotel Villa Padierna in the hills above

TEHRAN - A grenade exploded on Wednesday near the motorcade of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the western city of Hamedan, but the Iranian president was unhurt, a conservative website reported."This morning a hand grenade exploded next to a vehicle carrying reporters accompanying the president in

ADAYSSEH: Israeli troops on Wednesday uprooted trees along the border with Lebanon, completing an operation interrupted by a deadly gunbattle with Lebanese soldiers, an AFP correspondent witnessed. The troops were seen using a crane that reached over a fence in a disputed border area

LONDON: British food safety officials said Tuesday that meat from the offspring of a cloned cow had entered the country`s food chain last year.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) made the discovery as it probed a report that milk from the offspring of a cloned cow had been put on sale for

LONDON: The diplomatic row over Britain`s accusation that Pakistan supports terrorism intensified Wednesday as President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in London with a vow to tackle the charges head-on. Zardari -- also under fire for continuing a European trip despite deadly floods at home --

  NEW YORK: A plan to build a mosque and Islamic center next to Ground Zero, sparking a national debate on religious tolerance, won a crucial battle Tuesday in New York. The city`s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously not to declare the building now occupying the site

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration on Tuesday rebuffed a call for a US-Iranian summit, but saw signs that growing international sanctions may force Iran into holding big-power talks about its nuclear aims. The US Treasury Department at the same time imposed sanctions on 21 firms it

ADAYSSEH: Lebanese and Israeli troops traded deadly fire on their tense border Tuesday in the worst clash since the 2006 war between the Jewish state and Hezbollah, with the Shiite movement`s leader warning against future Israeli "aggression."Two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist