SEOUL: A South Korean team crossed the heavily fortified border to North Korea Friday for talks about restarting reunions for separated families, as tension on the peninsula showed signs of easing."It is an urgent task to help separated families reunite with their relatives. We must not

WASHINGTON: The number of people living in poverty in the United States leapt by nearly four million last year to 43.7 million, the highest number since the US Census began collecting data on America`s poor 51 years ago, officials said Thursday.One in seven people lived below the poverty

TOKYO: Japan`s cabinet resigned Friday, paving the way for a reshuffle by Prime Minister Naoto Kan later in the day, ministers told reporters.Justice Minister Keiko Chiba and Administrative Reform Minister Renho confirmed to reporters that they had all handed in their resignations.Kan is

AMMAN: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are committed and serious about making peace, which is "within reach."She was speaking in Amman after talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II as this week`s thorny negotiations continue

WASHINGTON: Afghanistan`s upcoming parliamentary elections will be "better" than the 2009 presidential ballot that was marred by widespread fraud, a senior US official said Thursday."We`ve seen progress" with Afghanistan`s Independent Election Commission (IEC) and Electoral Complaints

LONDON: A leading Pakistani politician living in exile in Britain has been murdered outside his London home, his party and sources said Friday.Imran Farooq, a senior member of Pakistan`s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party, was found with head injuries and stab wounds in north London on

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday announced it would give Pakistan a 451-million-dollar loan to help the country recover from devastating floods."The board`s approval enables the immediate disbursement of the full amount of this emergency assistance," the

PHNOM PENH: CAMBODIA`S UN-backed tribunal on Thursday indicted four former Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the regime`s most senior surviving member.`Brother Number Two` Nuon Chea, who served as deputy to Khmer Rouge founder Pol Pot,

WASHINGTON: Scientists have sequenced the genomes of two trees that produce cocoa beans, the basic ingredient in chocolate and a crop which millions depend on for a living, researchers said Wednesday.In the United States, researchers from food-maker Mars, technology giant IBM, several

EDINBURGH: Pope Benedict criticized Catholic church leaders on Thursday as "insufficiently vigilant" during decades of sexual abuse of children as he arrived in Britain to win over one of Europe`s most secular countries.The German pope was greeted by Queen Elizabeth at the start of his

JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas Thursday after he renewed his threat to quit peace talks in a row over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.The meeting at 10:30 am (0830 GMT) follows two days of inconclusive peace

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People`s Republic of Korea has proposed to hold military talks with South Korea, Yonhap news agency quoted military authorities in the South as reporting on Thursday.Pyongyang Wednesday suggested the working-level talks via a military

Kolkata:  "Kashmir is a tough and sensitive job. We should give Omar some time and support". That`s how Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi described the Kashmir situation while addressing the media after concluding his 3-day visit to Bengal.Rahul Gandhi spoke extensively on Kashmir.

YANGON: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi`s party on Wednesday protested against its dissolution by authorities in the military-ruled country for its boycott of the first election in 20 years.State media, quoting the election commission, reported late Tuesday that the National

New Delhi: Protest in Srinagar on 14 September 2010 Analysts say the protests are the biggest security challenge to Indian rule in 20 yearsIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed to protesters in Kashmir to shun violence - as police shot dead four more demonstrators.He spoke

ISLAMABAD:  Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Islamabad Wednesday for talks with Pakistani leaders covering issues between the wary neighbours, a foreign office spokesman told AFP.Karzai was greeted by food and agriculture minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal and other senior officials

PHNOM PENH: A mass strike by tens of thousands of Cambodian garment workers entered its third day Wednesday, with unions warning the stoppage could go on for weeks if employers ignored their wage demands.Estimates for the number of workers taking part in the industrial action varied

Paris:  Paris police evacuated the Eiffel Tower late Tuesday after an anonymous caller said a bomb had been placed on the popular tourist attraction, France Info radio reported.Some 2,500 people were on the tower and on the Champs de Mars, the green area surrounding it, when the alert

JERUSALEM:  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday presides over fresh Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Jerusalem aimed at narrowing the gap on Jewish settlements and tackling core issues.She arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday for more three-way talks with Israeli Prime

MEXICO CITY: Human rights groups Tuesday urged US lawmakers not to authorize 36 million dollars in anti-drug trafficking aid to Mexico because of human rights violations by its security forces."Releasing these funds would send the message that the United States condones the grave human