Thursday, 26 Dec, 2024

International

Storm kills 11 in Delhi, disrupts Commonwealth Games work

  NEW DELHI: Heavy rains in New Delhi killed 11 people and flooded construction sites for the Commonwealth Games as the Indian capital races to be ready for the October event, officials said on Tuesday. An intense monsoon storm dumped 51 millimetres (two inches) of rain on the city in

Indian police look to pyramid power to cut road accidents

MUMBAI - They have been credited with supernatural or paranormal properties since the days of ancient Egypt. Now the putative power of pyramids is to be harnessed by Indian police to cut road accidents. Traffic officers in Nagpur, 540 miles (870 kilometres) west of Mumbai, have agreed to

China landslides leave 17 dead, over 40 missing

  BEIJING: Seventeen people were confirmed dead and 44 others were missing after torrential rains triggered landslides in southwest China on Tuesday, a local official and state media said. In Yunnan province, four people were killed and 42 others went missing when a mountain side came

Fidel Castro in rare Cuban TV interview

HAVANA: Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared on state-run television for the first time in nearly a year on Monday, looking alert and healthy but with a wavering voice that betrayed his advanced age.Castro, 83, appeared animated as he discussed for an hour his views on the Middle

Fiji expels Australian envoy for `unfriendly acts`

SUVA: Fiji expelled Australia`s top diplomat Tuesday as Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama accused Australia and New Zealand of plotting to embarrass the Pacific island nation.The expulsion came hours after the five-member Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) cancelled this month`s summit in

Obama to roll out new AIDS strategy

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will Tuesday declare that America`s battle against AIDS is at a "crossroads" and roll out a plan to cut new infections and improve care for those who have the disease.Thirty years after the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burst to global attention,

Somalia`s Shebab militants claim deadly Uganda attacks

KAMPALA: Somalia`s Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels have claimed responsibility for bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people as they watched the World Cup final, in the region`s worst attacks in 12 years.The twin bombings in the Ugandan capital dampened Africa`s World Cup euphoria and drew

India, Pakistan to meet for trust-building talks

ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministers of nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India will Thursday hold wide-ranging talks aimed at building trust and resuming frozen peace talks.The two nations are unlikely to make headway over long-standing border disputes or Pakistani militant activities that

Six released Cuban political prisoners leave Cuba for Spain

HAVANA: Six political prisoners released by Cuba traveled to Spain late Monday along with their close relatives, the first of 52 authorized to leave the country, an official at the Spanish embassy in Havana told AFP.Their release will be the culmination of a surprise deal between the

NATO chief warns against weak support for Afghan campaign

LONDON: The Taliban will escalate their attacks on international forces in Afghanistan if Western political support weakens in the face of the increasingly fierce insurgency, the head of NATO warned Tuesday.Anders Fogh Rasmussen also told the Daily Telegraph newspaper he could not give a

N.Korea delays talks with UN Command on warship

SEOUL: North Korea has delayed military talks scheduled for Tuesday with the US-led United Nations Command about the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, the Command said.The meeting would have been the first of its kind since the warship went down in March near the disputed

BP confirms new cap in place over oil-leaking well

WASHINGTON: BP confirmed said Monday it had successfully placed a new cap over the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, hoping the giant valve will seal the well or contain all the gushing crude.An integrity test lasting between six and 48 hours will begin on July 13 to properly assess the well, BP

Trio jailed for life over transatlantic jet bomb plot

LONDON - Three men from London were sentenced Monday to life imprisonment after being convicted over a plot to blow up transatlantic flights using liquid bombs.Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Waheed Khan and Waheed Zaman will serve at least 20 years in jail over the conspiracy that led to the

Trio jailed for life over transatlantic jet bomb plot

LONDON - Three men from London were sentenced Monday to life imprisonment after being convicted over a plot to blow up transatlantic flights using liquid bombs. Ibrahim Savant, Arafat Waheed Khan and Waheed Zaman will serve at least 20 years in jail over the conspiracy that led to the

India launches five satellites into orbit

BANGALORE - India successfully launched five satellites into orbit on Monday, three months after the country`s space ambitions suffered a setback when a rocket crashed at lift-off.The five satellites included an advanced remote sensing satellite called Cartosat-2B, as well as a satellite

Death Toll Rises to 74 in Uganda twin bomb blast

KAMPALA: The death toll from twin blasts that hit the Ugandan capital as football fans gathered to watch the World Cup final has risen to 74, officials say. Another 70 were injured in the explosions at a Kampala rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant. The blasts went off as crowds of

Japan government loses upper house majority

TOKYO: The centre-left government of Japan`s new Prime Minister Naoto Kan lost its narrow majority in parliament`s upper house in elections Sunday, spelling the threat of legislative paralysis.The government was not immediately threatened, because it holds a majority in the more powerful

22 killed in violent day for Colombian soldiers, rebels

BOGOTA: Soldiers killed 12 Marxist rebels in an overnight raid in central Colombia while 10 soldiers were killed in separate clashes with guerrillas near the Venezuelan border, the military said Sunday.The dead rebels included four women and eight men who were tasked with providing

Strong 6.2 quake strikes Chile: US seismologists

SANTIAGO: A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake rattled northeastern Chile late Sunday in the region of Antofagasta, home to one of the driest places on Earth, US seismologists said.The quake had a depth of 56.7 miles (91.3 kilometers) and was centered about 50 miles (80 kilometers)

Catholic Church urges protest against Argentina gay bill

BUENOS AIRES:  The Catholic Church stepped up its offensive against a gay marriage proposal, using Sunday Mass to urge its faithful to protest before Congress on the eve of a decisive Senate vote.Argentina, where 91 percent of the population says it is Catholic, could become the first