Friday, 28 Feb, 2025

International

S.Korea releases final report on warship sinking

SEOUL: South Korea Monday released a full report into the deadly sinking of a warship blamed on North Korea, saying it was acting to quell "groundless" suspicions about who was to blame for the tragedy.The defence ministry report, numbering around 300 pages, reaffirms conclusions reached

India`s lost Buddhist university to rise from ashes

NEW DELHI: Indian academics have long dreamt of resurrecting Nalanda University, one of the world`s oldest seats of learning which has lain in ruins for 800 years since being razed by foreign invaders.Now the chance of intellectual life returning to Nalanda has come one step closer after

Newborn baby found alive in Manila airport garbage

Manila: Authorities in the Philippines on Monday tried to trace the mother who gave birth then abandoned her newborn baby on a flight from the Middle East. The baby boy, covered in blood and wrapped in tissue paper, was found by an airport security officer in a garbage bag unloaded from

Japan frees 14 from Chinese trawler, holds captain

TOKYO: Japan on Monday released the 14 crew of a Chinese fishing trawler that collided with two Japanese coastguard vessels in disputed waters last week, but kept its captain in detention.The incident has sparked a diplomatic row between the Asian powers, with China calling off planned

Mexico nabs drug kingpin Sergio Villarreal

MEXICO CITY: Authorities have arrested one of Mexico`s most wanted men, alleged drug trafficker Sergio Villarreal, who is said to work for the Beltran Leyva cartel, a military source told AFP."Sergio Villarreal, `El Grande,` was arrested with two other people in a non-violent operation in

Australia lawyer `smokes` Koran, Bible pages

SYDNEY: An Australian lawyer tore pages from the Koran and the Bible and smoked them on YouTube, days after a US pastor`s threat to burn Islam`s holy book triggered deadly protests and global condemnation.In a 12-minute clip entitled "Bible or Koran -- which burns best?" Alex Stewart, who

Thousands held without trial in Iraq jails: Amnesty

BAGHDAD: Tens of thousands of detainees are being held without trial in Iraqi prisons and face violent and psychological abuse as well as other forms of mistreatment, Amnesty International said Monday.The London-based human rights watchdog estimates 30,000 people are held in Iraqi jails,

Six dead in US shooting

Washington: A man shot dead five people Saturday in a park in the US state of Kentucky before turning the weapon on himself, Xinhua reported. The attack took place around 11.35 a.m. in a trailer park in Mount Carmel community. The assailant was armed with a shotgun. Police found the

Obama says Islam not the enemy on 9/11 anniversary

NEW YORK: President Barack Obama told a deeply polarized America on Saturday that Islam is not the enemy as ceremonies took place to mark an unusually tense, ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.Moving remembrance ceremonies were held to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed when Islamist

US marks 9/11 anniversary amid Islam tensions

NEW YORK: Remembrance ceremonies, marred by global tensions over a Florida pastor`s threat to burn the Koran, were to take place Saturday in New York and at the Pentagon on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.The rituals honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001,

S.African court blocks plan to burn Bible

JOHANNESBURG: A Johannesburg court has blocked a South African businessman from burning Bibles on Saturday in response to a Florida pastor`s threat to burn the Koran, a local newspaper said.The Johannesburg High Court issued an urgent interdict late Friday blocking Mohammed Vawda from

US pastor agrees `in principle` not to burn Quran

Washington/New York: After a day of flip-flops, a Florida pastor, who earned international headlines and censure after threatening to burn copies of the Quran on the 9/11 anniversary Saturday, "has agreed in principle" not to go ahead with the controversial event.Pastor Terry Jones

Police say 13 killed in bus crash in Pakistani Kashmir

MUZAFFARABAD: At least 13 people were killed on Friday when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, police said.The accident took place near the town of Kotli, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of regional capital Muzaffarabad, local police station chief

Gas blast, fire ravage California town, six dead

SAN FRANCISCO: California firefighters were battling a huge fire still raging Friday hours after a gas pipeline exploded destroying or damaging more than 170 homes, amid reports at least six people had been killed.The massive explosion and inferno ripped through a neighborhood in San

Threat to burn Koran an incitement to `terror`: Mecca imam

MECCA: The imam of Mecca said on Friday that a US pastor`s threat to burn copies of the Koran was an incitement to "terrorism.""The call to burn copies of our holy book is a form of terrorism and an incitement to terrorism," Saleh bin Humaid said in a sermon marking the Muslim feast of

Pastor puts Koran-burning on hold, Muslim world seethes

GAINESVILLE: A Florida pastor suspended plans to burn hundreds of Korans but the move failed to stem a global tide of Muslim outrage Friday, as he warned the torching ceremony could yet take place. Radical evangelist Terry Jones first announced on Thursday he had scrapped Saturday`s mass

Terrorists try to enter Mumbai, warns Maharashtra CM

Mumbai: As Mumbai gets ready to usher in Eid and Ganesh Chaturthi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has stated that two suspected terrorists are trying to enter the city, reports NDTV. The government has released photos of these men. Chavan says it was the Union Home Ministry who

One shot dead in Koran protest in Afghan north

KUNDUZ: One man was shot dead when protesters, angry over plans by a U.S. pastor to burn copies of the Koran, attacked a NATO base in Afghanistan`s north on Friday, a provincial government spokesman said.A crowd, estimated at 10,000 by a spokesman for the Badakhshan province governor, had

Explosives found at power plant in Caucasus: reports

MOSCOW: Staff at a hydro-electric power station in Russia`s volatile North Caucasus found explosives in what appears to have been a bid to blow up the plant, Russian news agencies reported Thursday. Staff found the makeshift explosive device following a fire at the Irganaiskaya power

Vitamin B could put off Alzheimer`s: study

LONDON: Large daily doses of B vitamins could halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with warning signs of Alzheimer`s, potentially delaying the onset of the disease, a study suggested Thursday. Brain shrinkage, a natural part of ageing, happens faster in people with mild