DAMASCUS: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met in Damascus on Saturday, two days after Assad held talks with a U.S. envoy about the prospects of renewing peace negotiations with Israel.The meeting suggested that Iran wants to keep close tabs on

BANGKOK: A convoy of Thai "Red Shirts" headed to their northern heartland Saturday for rallies marking four years since the coup that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra and four months since deadly protests ended.The procession of 80 cars, vans and pickup trucks snaked out of the Thai capital as

KARADIYANARU: Sri Lankan authorities Saturday began clearing rubble and wreckage after 25 people were killed in the first major explosion since the end of a decades-long civil war.Heavy earth-moving equipment was being brought to the village of Karadiyanaru, in the east of the island, as

BEIJING: More than 100 protesters rallied Saturday near Tokyo`s embassy in Beijing, furious over Japan`s arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain, a move that has sparked a major diplomatic row.The demonstration began just metres (yards) from the embassy gate but when police blocked the

SRINAGAR, India: Thousands of residents of Indian Kashmir poured on to the streets Saturday after the death of another protester in a wave of anti-India unrest that has gripped the region for three months.Defying a strict curfew, protesters in Srinagar chanted "we want freedom!" and

WELLINGTON: A storm the size of Australia whipped New Zealand Saturday leaving tens of thousands of people without power and sending a stadium roof crashing down.The second natural disaster to hit the country in a fortnight lifted roofs and uprooted trees as hurricane-force winds swept

UNITED NATIONS: The world`s conflicts, crises and diplomatic dramas -- from stumbling efforts to cut poverty to Iran`s nuclear drive and Pakistan`s flood disaster -- will be debated and disputed by global leaders from Monday at the annual UN summit.Presidents Barack Obama of the United

WASHINGTON: A publisher has agreed to remove US intelligence secrets from a memoir by a former army officer in Afghanistan after the Pentagon raised last-minute objections, officials said Friday.The book, "Operation Dark Heart," had been printed and prepared for release in August but St.

BAMAKO: The Mauritanian army was fighting militants of Al-Qaeda`s north African wing Friday near the border with Mali`s Timbuktu region, a Malian security source told AFP."Clashes are taking place this moment between AQIM and the Mauritanian army on Mauritanian territory, in the area near

HAVANA: The American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet will perform in Cuba for the first time in half a century in November in homage to former prima ballerina Alicia Alonso on her 90th birthday, organizers said Friday.Alonso, who founded Cuba`s national ballet company in 1948,

LONDON: Pope Benedict XVI faced Saturday the first major protests of his visit to Britain as police kept six street cleaners in custody for questioning over a suspected "terrorist" plot linked to his trip.The 83-year-old pontiff was set to lead a huge open-air prayer vigil in London`s

MADRID: Roman Polanski`s political thriller "The Ghost Writer" picked up the critics` award for best picture as the San Sebastian film festival got underway here Friday.Polanski "is an author in every sense" and "every aspect of this prize is his," said British actress Olivia Williams,

UNITED NATIONS:The United Nations on Friday appealed for a record two billion dollars in emergency aid for the millions of victims of Pakistan`s devastating floods.The Pakistan floods are "the worst natural disaster the United Nations has responded to in its 65-year history," UN Secretary

KABUL: Insurgents launched a rocket attack in Kabul on Saturday as Afghanistan went to the polls to elect a new parliament, with security forces on full alert after Taliban threats to derail the vote.The election is the latest step in a US-led process to bring democracy to the

KABUL (AFP) – Afghans braved sporadic rocket and bomb attacks to vote for a new parliament Saturday, with the war-weary nation on full security alert after the Taliban threatened to derail the high-stakes election.At least two people were killed after polling stations opened and UN and

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced a 40-billion-dollar Wednesday drive to improve the health of women and children, which he said would save millions of lives around the world.Governments, philanthropists and private groups pledged the cash, giving a spectacular

JERUSALEM: A Palestinian was shot dead by an Israeli guard in east Jerusalem on Wednesday during clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians, police and witnesses said.Another two Palestinians were wounded as the guard, whose job was "to protect Jewish residents," opened fire

KABUL: President Hamid Karzai Friday called on all Afghans, including Taliban militants, to vote in the country`s parliamentary election at the weekend."We hope that our people in every corner of our country, in every city of our country and every province will go to polling stations and

TOKYO: Japan`s Prime Minister Naoto Kan of the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) on Friday announced a sweeping reshuffle of his cabinet. Here is the new ministerial line-up:Post NameFinance Yoshihiko NodaForeign Affairs Seiji Maehara (new)Economy, Trade and Industry Akihiro

COLOMBO: At least 27 people were killed including two Chinese contractors in eastern Sri Lanka on Friday after an accidental blast at an explosives depot at a police station, a military spokesman told AFP.Military spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawala told AFP that police were issuing