SEOUL: South Korea warned North Korea Wednesday it would not tolerate provocations during an upcoming naval exercise in the Yellow Sea, after Pyongyang threatened "strong physical retaliation" for the drill. "Our military will keep a close eye on our enemy, be ready under any

  PESHAWAR: Pakistan issued new flood warnings and the country on Wednesday faced a "serious humanitarian disaster" after downpours which have affected 3.2 million people and killed up to 1,500. A week into the crisis and as more monsoon rains lashed the country, anger was reaching

NEW DELHI: International funding will be sought for the proposed revival of the ancient Nalanda University, a global centre for learning, and Singapore Buddhist organisations have already offered donations for the construction of a world-class library."We will go for international fund

KARACHI - Political and ethnic violence erupted in Pakistan`s biggest city of Karachi after the murder of an MP, killing 46 people as protesters torched vehicles in the deadliest episode since January. The lawmaker, who represented the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a partner in the

MOSCOW - Firefighters Tuesday struggled to contain the worst wildfires to hit Russia for decades, as a relentless heatwave and the carelessness of the public sparked hundreds more blazes across the country. President Dmitry Medvedev has declared a state of emergency in seven Russian

JOHANNESBURG - A judge on Tuesday jailed South Africa`s former police chief and the ex-president of Interpol, Jackie Selebi, for 15 years for accepting bribes from organised crime. Judge Meyer Joffe said he believed Selebi was the most senior official ever convicted of graft in South

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan issued fresh flood warnings on Tuesday, braced for further chaos and a public health disaster as disease broke out among 3.2 million people hit by the worst floods in generations. A week into the crisis and as more monsoon rains lashed the country, anger was growing

NEW YORK  - Ambitious plans to build a mosque next to New York`s Ground Zero cleared a major hurdle on Tuesday when a commission unanimously voted down a proposal to landmark an existing structure on the site from a protected list. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously

ADAYSSEH - Lebanese and Israeli troops traded fire Tuesday along their tense border in the fiercest clashes since a war four years ago, with officials reporting three Lebanese soldiers and a journalist dead and several Israeli soldiers wounded.Lebanon`s Hezbollah TV, Al-Manar, said a

JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities Tuesday announced the discovery of a unique bracelet in an excavation in northern Israel, dating back to the late Bronze Age.   The "extraordinarily well preserved" ancient bronze bracelet is decorated with engravings and the top of it is adorned with a

MOSCOW: A Russian regional airliner crashed upon landing in eastern Siberia on Monday, killing all 15 people onboard, the emergency situations ministry said."An An-25 aircraft flying from Krasnoyarsk crashed at 1740 GMT while trying to land, near the airport for the city of Igarka," an

  MOSCOW: A Russian regional airliner crashed upon landing in eastern Siberia on Monday, killing all 15 people onboard, the emergency situations ministry said. "An An-25 aircraft flying from Krasnoyarsk crashed at 1740 GMT while trying to land, near the airport for the city of Igarka,"

KAMPALA - An overloaded boat capsized on the Ugandan side of Lake Albert overnight, killing at least 33 people, in the second such disaster to strike the country in two weeks, police said Monday.The boat capsized on Lake Albert, Africa`s seventh largest lake, which lies in northwestern

WASHINGTON - The United States will end its combat mission in Iraq as scheduled on August 31 despite a recent flare-up in violence, President Barack Obama said in a speech prepared for delivery Monday."Shortly after taking office, I announced our new strategy for Iraq and for a transition

TEHRAN: Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday he was ready for "face-to-face" talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama on issues concerning the international community."We are hopefully coming for the UN assembly," Ahmadinejad said in an address to expatriate

KANDAHAR - A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Monday, killing five children and injuring one other, a police official told AFP."Five children were killed in the first blast and one child is wounded," said Kandahar deputy police chief

SEOUL - The United States hopes new sanctions on North Korea will be strong enough to discourage "provocative activities" and encourage it to scrap its nuclear weapons programme, a senior US envoy said Monday.Robert Einhorn said Washington wants measures "that provide strong incentives

JOHANNESBURG - A fire swept through a home for the elderly near Johannesburg, killing 18 people and leaving 84 homeless during the night, paramedics said Monday."Eighteen people are dead and 84 rescued," private emergency services provider Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha told AFP."The

KANDAHAR - A suicide bomber killed four civilians on Monday in Afghanistan`s southern Kandahar province, an official said, as violence escalates ahead of an anti-insurgent offensive by U.S. and NATO troops.              The bomber was on foot and the target seemed to have