New Delhi,May 30: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned North Korea on Saturday that the United States would not accept it as a nuclear weapons state and would consider any transfer of nuclear material to other countries or terrorist groups a “grave threat” to the United States and its allies.
New Delhi,May 29: In a fresh attack targeting Indians in Australia, a student suffered up to 30% burns after a suspected petrol bomb was hurled at him in his home in Sydney.
According to local newspaper for Indian community, South Asia Times, 25-year-old Rajesh Kumar was quickly covered by a blanket by his flatmate after the attack yesterday, an act which saved him from further injuries.
New Delhi,May 29: A sea of wailing mourners filled the streets of Seoul for the funeral Friday of ex-President Roh Moo-hyun, whose suicide six days earlier amid a deepening corruption probe plunged South Korea into grief and anger.
Heads bowed, thousands joined a solemn ceremony in the courtyard of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace before the hearse carrying Roh’s body headed to a grassy plaza outside City Hall for an emotional public ceremony attended by hundreds of thousands more.
Baghdad, May 28: I first met Abu Wissam at the foot of his son’s shallow grave. Never will he be able to erase the last image he has of his son’s body.
“He was cut to pieces,” he said. “His hands and feet were chopped off. And he was decapitated.”
For a long time, Iraqis would say that it was “outsiders” that were carrying out such atrocities. The truth that is so hard to accept for many is that that often was not the case.
Washington, May 28: Religious authorities have lashed out at the former US administration’s recently-exposed manipulation of the Holy Scriptures to glorify their ‘anti-terror’ campaign.
The former officials have been revealed to have quoted biblical verses out of their context in the classified reports which would be submitted for high-level consideration, Los Angeles Times reported on Monday.
Paris, May 27: France’s oldest and most successful Muslim school is on the verge of collapse over financial problems, with many pointing the fingers at the government for denying it the same grants given to all faith schools.
“We are collapsing under the weight of our debts,” Yvonne Fazilleau, the headteacher of Réussite (Ibn Rushd) school, told.
The school has debts to the tune of €300,000 and is on the brink of bankruptcy.
“Last week our accountant said to me: ‘We are penniless’.”
Fazilleau says the school managed to stay afloat last year through charity.
Athens, May 24: As protests continued unabated over the desecration of the Noble Qur’an by a Greek policeman, Muslim immigrants are calling for bringing the officer to justice for insulting the Muslim holy book.
“We want to live here in peace,” an Egyptian immigrant, who identified himself as Said told. “We don’t want trouble but we want the policeman to be punished.”
Hundreds of Muslim immigrants took to the streets of the capital Athens for the second consecutive day to protest the destruction of the Qur’an by a policeman.
Dubai, May 20: Israel has officially wiped Palestine off the map, beating Iran, whose president reportedly said he would wipe the Jewish state “off the map,” to the punch.
A Ministry of Tourism advertisement for Israel posted is several London Underground, or subway stations, features a map of Israel that includes all the occupied Palestinian territories, infuriating campaign groups who say Israel has done to Palestine what Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened to do to the Jewish state.
Colombo, May 13: Tamil Tiger supremo V Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottu Amman were on Wednesday issued fresh arrest warrants by a Sri Lankan court in connection with the assassination of former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, who was killed by a suspected LTTE sniper team in 2005.
This was the second time this year that the Colombo High Court had issued open warrants for arrest against the two LTTE leaders in the Kadirgamar case.
The court had earlier on January 26 issued the warrants for the two fugitives, also wanted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Washington, May 06: India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel should join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the global pact meant to limit the spread of atomic weapons, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
Speaking on the second day of a two-week meeting of the 189 signatories of the pact, assistant secretary of state Rose Gottemoeller also defended a US-India civilian nuclear deal, which developing nations have complained rewards New Delhi for staying outside the NPT.
Washington, May 06: The United States on Tuesday pressed Pakistan to confront Taliban militants whose influence is spreading in the nuclear-armed country but said it solidly supports Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
“Pakistan must demonstrate its commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and the violent extremists within its borders,” Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said in prepared congressional testimony.
Peoria, May 01: A man who was locked up without charges for years pleaded guilty on Thursday to training in al Qaeda camps and coming to the United States on a mission for the terrorist group the day before the September 11 attacks.
Ali al-Marri, 43, admitted to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organisation. A second charge of providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organisation was dropped.
Beijeng, April 28: The Khunjerab Pass connecting China and Pakistan has so far been used for joint security drills and a small amount of trade between the
two countries. For the first time, the historical pass is being opened up for tourism as the two nations intensify their people to people contacts.
Abu Dhabi, April 22: The Government will strengthen the law on human trafficking to make it easier to prosecute the gangs behind it, a senior Ministry of Interior official said yesterday.
Officials will redraw the classifications for human trafficking offences, Col Ahmed al Muharami, the manager of the human rights department at the ministry, said at a symposium in the capital.
The Government also plans to compile a database of offenders and victims to help keep tabs on the illegal trade and improve the sharing of information among UAE authorities.
London, February 28: An 11-day-old baby girl died after her mother unwittingly infected her with the virus which causes cold sores, probably through a kiss or breastfeeding, a coroner ruled.
An inquest on Thursday found newborn Jennifer Schofield died from Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). Her mother Ruth, 35, probably caught it late into her pregnancy, the coroner said, most likely for the first time in her life, meaning she had not developed immunity and nor had her child.
The virus attacked the baby’s major organs and she died within days.
Washington, February 25: After receiving accolades worldwide and sweeping Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire, the feel good film about a Mumbai tea boy, has now caught the fancy of US president Barack Obama.
Barack ObamaObama wants to watch British Director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, which is made with a modest budget of USD 13 million and has so far grossed around USD 100 million.
Washington, February 25: Sending a strong message to Pakistan and Afghanistan, President Barack Obama on Wednesday asserted that terrorists will not be allowed to plot against the US from safe havens “half a world away”.
He also promised to forge a new and comprehensive strategy with US’ allies to defeat Al-Qaeda and combat extremism.
“With our friends and allies, we will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan to defeat Al-Qaeda and combat extremism,” Obama said in his maiden address to the joint session of the US Congress.
Rome, February 25: Militants behind last year’s attacks on Mumbai used cell phones that were activated in the United States and paid for with funds sent from Italy, an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Corriere della Sera daily said India sent the intelligence information to Italy and other countries so anti-terrorism investigators could attempt to expose any ties to the network behind the November assault that killed at least 179 people.
Islamabad acknowledged for the first time this month that the November assault was launched from, and partly planned in, Pakistan.
Washington, February 25: President Barack Obama has asked Americans to ‘confront boldly the challenges we face’, saying the ‘day of reckoning has arrived, and the time to take charge of our future is here’.
‘Now is the time to act boldly and wisely – to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity,’ he said in his first speech Tuesday to a joint session of Congress.
New York, January 17:A nude picture of Madonna, taken when the queen of pop was a struggling dancer in New York in 1979, is expected to sell for at least $10,000, auction house Christie’s said Friday.
Madonna received $25 in payment for the modelling session, after answering a newspaper ad by photographer Lee Friedlander. The results of the session were published in Playboy magazine in 1985.
The full-frontal nude print, which is said to be the most revealing of the series, will be sold Feb 12 in New York, with many expecting Madonna herself to be among the high bidders.