KABUL: A US soldier and an Afghan woman were killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan, NATO said Friday, amid a surge in Taliban violence and counter-insurgency operations across the country. The soldier was operating under NATO`s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and died

BEIJING: Four people went missing after a fishing boat rented by students capsized on Friday in a river in northeastern China in strong winds, state media reported. The incident happened just before 8:00 am (0000 GMT) on the Songhua river in the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang province,

BEIJING: Authorities in China`s restive Xinjiang region believe two suspects, a man and a woman, were behind an explosion that killed seven people and injured 14 others, state media reported Friday.The pair allegedly tossed explosives from a three-wheeled vehicle into a crowd on Thursday

LONDON: Britain has warned Libya that any celebrations to mark the one-year anniversary Friday of the Lockerbie bomber`s release would be "tasteless, offensive and deeply insensitive".The Foreign Office urged restraint amid fears there could be a repeat of scenes last year when Abdelbaset

SEOUL: North Korea on Friday demanded an apology and compensation from Japan for its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the peninsula, denouncing the annexation as "state terrorism.""Japan can never shirk its obligation to make an apology and reparations to the DPRK (North Korea) for its

BAGHDAD: An Al-Qaeda group on Friday claimed it was behind a suicide bombing on a crowded Iraqi army recruitment centre in Baghdad that killed 59 people in the deadliest attack this year, US monitors said.The Islamic State of Iraq said Tuesday`s attack, which coincided with the holy

WASHINGTON: The United States has persuaded Israel that Iran would take one year or longer to build a nuclear weapon, dimming the prospects of a preemptive strike on Iran`s nuclear facilities, The New York Times said late Thursday."We think that they have roughly a year dash time,"

TOKYO: Iran is ready for immediate talks with world powers over a nuclear fuel swap deal, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview published in Japan on Friday.Iran is "ready to resume in late August or in early September" talks with the five permanent members of the UN Security

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to announce Friday that Israel and the Palestinians will resume direct peace talks for the first time in 20 months, the New York Times reported.The Times, citing two unnamed officials briefed on the situation, said Israeli

SEOUL: South Korea said Friday it wanted Pyongyang to apologise for the sinking of one of its warships before it could consider a resumption of North Korea nuclear disarmament talks. The comments followed a visit by a top Chinese envoy to Pyongyang this week to discuss the disarmament

SHIMLA: At least 20 passengers died when the bus they were travelling in plunged into a gorge Thursday in northern India, a day after 37 people were killed in a similar accident in the same state. Twelve others were injured when the bus fell into the ravine 40 kilometres (25 miles) from

KABUL: Afghanistan marked independence day Thursday as the Taliban-led insurgency drags on, with foreign troop deaths at record highs and the government under pressure to honour pledges on corruption and security. August 19 commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Rawalpindi in 1919,

Kabul: A suicide car bomb struck a police vehicle in southern Afghanistan, killing a district police chief and four other people, and a NATO soldier died in a separate attack, NATO and Afghan officials said Thursday. "The insurgents pulled alongside the Daman district police chief`s

Yangon: Military-ruled Myanmar Thursday announced restrictions on campaigning for November`s general election that it said were to assure the polls are "free and fair". Candidates wishing to address the public must apply for permission at least seven days in advance, according to the

Taipei: Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou called Thursday on the US to sell F-16s to Taipei to boost the island`s defences after the Pentagon said this week that China is gaining military superiority over Taiwan. "Taiwan people`s top concern is Taiwan`s security," Ma said. "I hope the US can

Washington: As many as one in five Americans think wrongly that President Barack Obama is a Muslim, indicating a significant increase in the number of such people since his inauguration in January 2009. At the same time, the number of people who now correctly identify Obama as a

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is expected to contribute at least $2 billion to help Pakistan recover from its worst ever floods.The economic costs of the floods are expected to run into the billions of dollars, stepping up pressure on Pakistan`s government just

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis remain without food and shelter as the UN prepared to meet Thursday to drum up aid for the flood-stricken nation amid criticism of the slow pace of the relief effort.Foreign aid has begun reaching some of the 20 million flood victims, but

TEHRAN: After decades of delay and sanctions, Iran on Saturday launches its Russian-built first nuclear power plant in the face of Western suspicion that its atomic programme has a covert military agenda.Iran`s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said last week that "on August 21, the

Australia:  Australian judge has ruled that a Muslim woman must remove her full veil while giving evidence before a jury in a fraud case.The judge in Perth said she did not consider it appropriate that the witness appear with her face covered.The prosecution said the woman - identified