Category: World

Deadly blast hits Somali capital

At least four people have been killed in a car-bomb blast near the Somali foreign ministry building in the capital, Mogadishu. The attack, which wounded 15 others, occurred on Tuesday while Kenya’s defence minister, Yusuf Haji, and foreign minister, Moses Wetangula, were meeting Somali officials in the offices of the foreign ministry. “There was heavy explosion near the foreign affairs...

Gatwick Airport: Air India passengers stranded on plane

Passengers were stranded on a plane on the tarmac at Gatwick Airport for more than eight hours after fog caused their flight to be diverted. The Air India flight was on its way from Mumbai to Heathrow Airport when the weather conditions forced it to divert...

Libya NTC forces ‘in Bani Walid’

Forces loyal to Libya’s interim authorities say they have entered Bani Walid, one of the last towns still loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi. NTC military commanders said they met heavy resistance from Gaddafi loyalists in the town, some 170km (110 miles)...

US bishop charged in child-abuse priest case

WASHINGTON- Prosecutors charged the Roman Catholic bishop of Kansas City, Missouri on Friday of failing to report a priest accused of taking lewd pictures of young children. Bishop Robert Finn, 58, is the most senior Catholic church official in the United...

‘Occupy’ protests at financial crisis go worldwide

Protests at financial mismanagement and government cutbacks have been held in cities around the world. At least 20 people were injured in clashes at the biggest rally, in Rome, as riot police fought masked militants who had attacked property. Police used...

Yemen security forces fire on protesters

Yemeni security forces have opened fire on demonstrators in the capital Sanaa, demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens more, medics said. Security forces used live rounds as well as tear...

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox quits

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox has resigned after a week of pressure over his working relationship with friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty. Mr Fox was being investigated amid claims he broke the ministerial code. In a letter to David Cameron,...

Strauss-Kahn sex case: French inquiry dropped

A French inquiry into attempted rape claims against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been dropped. The prosecutor’s office said the evidence suggested sexual assault – a less serious offence than attempted rape, with a shorter statute...

Amnesty urges Libya to tackle ‘stain’ of detainee abuse

Libya’s interim authorities must end arbitrary detention and abuse of inmates, Amnesty International says. In a report, the London-based rights group said it had uncovered evidence of torture and ill-treatment of thousands of people detained in...

Eight dead in California shooting

He could not confirm media reports that the gunman was wearing body armour, but appeared confident the man arrested was the suspect. “He appeared co-operative, and did not resist our officers when he was detained,” Sgt Bowles said, adding:...

US links Iran with plot to kill Saudi envoy

US authorities have charged two Iranians in a “plot directed by elements of the Iranian government” to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US as part of a major “terror” attack. Eric Holder, the US attorney general, said on...

Hamas hails Palestinian prisoners deal

Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, has said that more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons will be released in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas reached a deal with Israel on Tuesday for the release 1,027 prisoners...

Burma ‘to free 6,300 prisoners’

Burma’s president is to grant amnesty to more than 6,300 prisoners, state-controlled media has announced. The announcement, on state television, did not specify how many of those freed would be political detainees. But the news came hours after...

Ukraine’s ex-PM ‘exceeded powers’

A judge has ruled that former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko criminally exceeded her powers when she signed a gas deal with Russia in 2009. The verdict is still being read but its meaning is not fully clear. Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year...

UN publishes Afghanistan prisoner ‘torture’ report

KABUL- Prisoners in some Afghan-run detention facilities have been beaten and tortured, a UN report has said. It says detainees in 47 facilities in 24 provinces run by the Afghan Directorate of Security and National Police have suffered abuses. The allegations...

Egypt army seeks probe into Cairo clashes

Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces [SCAF] has called for a speedy investigation into Sunday night’s deadly clashes in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, that left at least 26 dead and more than 300 injured, mostly Coptic Christians. The...

American professors win Economics Nobel

Americans Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for research that sheds light on the cause-and-effect relationship between the economy and policy instruments such as interest rates and government spending. Sargent...

Polish PM Tusk claims victory after lead in polls

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has claimed victory in parliamentary polls after exit polls gave a clear lead to his Civic Platform party. Initial results suggest Mr Tusk’s centre-right party won almost 10% more than its conservative challenger,...

Egypt PM Essam Sharaf urges calm after Cairo clashes

The Egyptian prime minister has appealed for calm after 24 people were killed in clashes between Coptic Christians and security forces. The violence broke out after a protest in Cairo against an attack on a church in Aswan province last week, which Copts...

Deadly Cairo clashes over Coptic protest, 24 killed

CAIRO: At least 24 people have been killed and scores more injured in clashes between mostly Coptic demonstrators and military police outside the state television building in central Cairo. A curfew was imposed on Cairo’s Tahrir Square and downtown...

Gaddafi town Sirte ‘close to falling’

Interim government forces in Libya have made significant gains in the battle for the city of Sirte – hometown of the fugitive leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. National Transitional Council (NTC) commanders said they had captured the main hospital, the...