Kathmandu: Nepal`s opposition Maoist party Friday announced it was pulling out of the prime ministerial race with chief and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda withdrawing his candidature from the vote scheduled for Sep 26.The former guerrillas reached the decision after

SEOUL: North and South Korean officials held talks Friday about restarting reunions for families separated by war 60 years ago, as tension on the peninsula showed signs of easing.Tens of thousands of Koreans on both sides have not seen family members since the 1950-53 war divided the

Bogota: Police in the Colombian city of Barranquilla "arrested" a parrot after it helped several alleged drug dealers and thieves get away during a raid, the daily El Heraldo reported.The incident happened Wednesday, when close to 300 police officers arrived to raid a house following

Khartoum: At least 37 people were killed and 26 wounded after a bus collided with another vehicle on a highway in Sudan`s White Nile state, south of Khartoum, authorities said Thursday.After the collision, the bus caught fire and all its passengers were burnt, Xinhua reported.Sudan has

BRUSSELS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy stunned a European summit Thursday, clashing with top officials and tripping up on a claim that Germany was about to copy controversial Roma deportations.Sarkozy angrily rejected suggestions by the European Union`s justice commissioner that drew

KAKUMA: The 75,000 refugees camped under the burning sun on a rocky plain in Kenya`s arid northwest represent a cross-section of east Africa`s various wars and crises.From Somalia, south Sudan, Darfur, Ethiopia and Rwanda, all have made their way to the town of Kakuma -- close to nowhere

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