NEW DELHI: The Indian parliament adopted Wednesday a long-delayed law that will throw open the 150-billion-dollar Indian atomic energy market to foreign private nuclear groups.The law, which has been the subject of fierce wrangling between the government and opposition, is part of a 2008

BAGHDAD: More than a dozen apparently coordinated car bombs targeting Iraqi police and other attacks killed 52 people on Wednesday, just days before the US military officially ends its combat mission here.The trail of bloodshed started in the capital Baghdad before stretching to the north

TEHRAN: Iran has test fired its home-built surface-to-surface Fateh 110 missile, state television reported on Wednesday, less than a week after a similar test was carried out on another missile.State television showed a sand-coloured missile being launched from a vehicle and blasting into

Beirut: Seyyed Hassan Nasarllah, leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, called on Lebanon`s government to follow Tehran`s footsteps and build a nuclear facility to generate electricity like the reactor in Bushehr, Iran. "The cost of building the Bushehr reactor was less than

BANGKOK: Thailand said Wednesday that the extradition to the United States of an alleged Russian arms dealer dubbed the "Merchant of Death" has been delayed because of legal complications. Police had said on Tuesday that Viktor Bout, who faces terrorism charges, would be escorted from

Beijing: A Chinese vice minister was amongst the 54 seriously injured in the plane crash in Heilongjiang province that left 42 people dead. The passenger aircraft overshot the runway and burst into flames while landing at Lindu airport in Yichun city Tuesday night. Xinhua news agency

Los Angeles: Residents from about 200 homes are being evacuated as a fierce wildfire spread in a mountainous area about 96 km northwest of Los Angeles, US. The fire started around 12.25 p.m. Tuesday near the hills in the Lebec Oaks Road area of Kern county, Sean Collins, a spokesman for

STOCKHOLM: WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website that published secret U.S. military files on the war in Afghanistan last month, said it plans to release a document from the Central Intelligence Agency on Wednesday.WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been accused by two women of sexual

JERUSALEM: Israeli settlers warned on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face his "day of judgment" if he caves in to pressure to further limit settlement construction in the West Bank."This is not a time to mince words as this is literally a day of judgment for our

MEXICO CITY: Troops uncovered at least 72 bodies, including those of 14 women, on a ranch in northeastern Mexico after a clash with gunmen, the Mexican military said early Wednesday.The gruesome find came after a shootout between troops and suspected drug traffickers near the town of San

BAGHDAD: A suicide attacker blew up his vehicle at a police post in northeast Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 38, an interior ministry official said.The attack took place around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) in Qahira neighbourhood, the official said.The police and army

CANBERRA: Australia`s next minority government will be under pressure to retain a proposed mining tax, with three out of four independent and Green MPs who hold the balance of power saying they supported the controversial tax.Australia`s mining-share index hit an intraday low, shedding

PHOENIX: Arizona voters were to decide the fate of former Republican presidential candidate John McCain Tuesday in one of several closely-watched US races seen as a test of the country`s anti-incumbent mood.The four-term senator was polling well ahead of former congressman and

Washington: The US treasury department has frozen the assets of the finance chief of Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden`s son-in-law.The department Tuesday froze all assets Muhammad Abdallah Hasan Abu-al-Khayr has under US jurisdiction and prohibited US nationals from engaging in any

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations has launched an urgent appeal for more helicopters for Pakistan where it said 800,000 people have been cut off by the country`s devastating floods and were only reachable by air."As monsoon floods continue to displace millions in southern Pakistan, an

DANANG: Southeast Asian nations need closer cooperation to deal with incidents like the Philippines bus hijacking that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead, the regional bloc`s head said Wednesday."I think there is room for more cooperation and more exchange of best practices, training for

PAKOKKU: With undercover police lurking nearby, breakaway opposition leader Than Nyein pleaded in vain with local democracy activists to contest army-ruled Myanmar`s first election in 20 years.Standing up to the junta is fraught with risk, and with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi

MANILA: Flags across the Philippines flew at half mast Wednesday on a national day of mourning for Hong Kong tourists killed in a hostage crisis, amid a hailstorm of criticism over alleged police blunders.President Benigno Aquino called the day of mourning to remember the eight tourists

BEIJING: A Chinese airliner crashed and burst into flames while attempting to land in northeast China on Tuesday, killing 43 people on board, state media reported.The Henan Airlines plane overshot the runway while trying to touch down at an airport in the city of Yichun in remote

MOGADISHU: Gunmen in army uniforms stormed a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu frequented by government officials Tuesday, killing at least 31 people including legislators, the government said.Hardline al Shabaab Islamists linked to al Qaeda have been waging an insurgency for three