Sunday, 08 Dec, 2024

International

Ship with Chinese crew hijacked off Somalia

BEIJING - A Singapore-flagged cargo ship with 19 Chinese crew aboard was hijacked Monday by pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, Chinese and EU authorities said. The MV Golden Blessing was travelling to India from Saudi Arabia when it was hijacked, the China Marine

Japan starts talks with India on nuclear power

TOKYO - Japan began the first round of talks with India in Tokyo Monday on exporting nuclear power generation technology made by technology giants such as Toshiba and Hitachi, the foreign ministry said. The first round of two-day talks are aimed at devising a treaty to allow cooperation

15 dead in Pakistan gas tanker blast

KARACHI - At least 15 people were killed and dozens more injured when a tanker exploded in the southern Pakistani city of Hyderabad on Monday, officials said. "At least 15 people were killed and 40 injured, it was an accidental blast," government spokesman Jamil Soomro told AFP. "It was

Pirates hijack Singapore ship with Chinese crew in Gulf of Aden: state media

BEIJING - A Singaporean ship with 19 Chinese crew aboard was hijacked Monday by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the China Marine Rescue Centre said. The ship, called the "Golden Blessing," was traveling to India from Saudi Arabia when it was hijacked, the centre said on its website, adding

Corruption scandal hits China`s aviation sector

BEIJING - Two executives at state-owned China Southern Airlines have been detained as part of a wide-ranging probe into corruption in the aviation industry, state media said Monday. Investigators took away the two managers, who work in the department charged with flight scheduling, in a

No sex please, we`re astronauts: NASA commander

TOKYO : There is no room for romance on board the cosy confines of the International Space Station, a NASA space shuttle commander said Monday when asked what would happen if astronauts had sex in space. "We are a group of professionals," said Space Shuttle Discovery commander Alan

Bomb blast kills eight Afghan civilians: police

GHAZNI - A Taliban-type bomb tore through a mini van in central Afghanistan Monday, killing eight civilians including women and children, police said. The blast from an improvised bomb, a device widely used by the Taliban in their attacks on security forces, killed the civilians in Andar

BP says oil spill costs reach 2.65 billion dollars

LONDON - BP has spent 2.65 billion dollars (2.14 billion euros) on responding to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the British company announced Monday as its costs rose further. "The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately 2.65 billion dollars, including the

Thai `Red Shirt` leader to run in Bangkok poll

BANGKOK : A Thai protest leader accused of terrorism was released from prison briefly Monday to apply to run in a by-election seen as a key test of the opposition`s prospects of success in nationwide polls. Kokaew Pikulthong, a senior "Red Shirt" involved in the mass rally in Bangkok

N.Korea says to bolster nuclear deterrent in new way

SEOUL: North Korea said Monday it would bolster its nuclear weaponry with an unspecified new method in response to what it called US hostility and recent developments. "The recent disturbing development on the Korean peninsula underscores the need for the DPRK (North Korea) to bolster

Japanese PM prods Hu to condemn SKorean ship sinking

TORONTO : Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he asked Chinese President Hu Jintao in talks here Sunday to condemn North Korea`s alleged sinking of a South Korean warship. Citing a G8 summit declaration Saturday condemning the attack that left 46 people dead, Kan said he "encouraged

Four Norwegian soldiers killed in Afghanistan International Desk

OSLO : A roadside bomb hit a Norwegian convoy in Afghanistan on Sunday and killed four soldiers, the military announced, in the deadliest single attack on the Scandinavian country`s troops in the conflict. "Four soldiers were killed this afternoon," military spokeswoman Heidi Langvik

First Atlantic storm kills 10 in Central America

MANAGUA : The first major storm of the Atlantic season barreled Sunday across the Yucatan Peninsula, after unleashing landslides and floods that killed at least 10 people in Nicaragua, Guatemela and El Salvador. Downgraded to a tropical depression, Alex was expected to restrengthen as it

CIA chief warns Iran could have nukes ready by 2012

WASHINGTON : Iran has enough low-enriched uranium to make two weapons, which it could have prepared and ready for delivery as early as 2012, CIA director Leon Panetta said Sunday. "We think they have enough low-enriched uranium for two weapons," Panetta told the ABC network`s "This Week"

Scarred Kyrgyzstan adopts new constitution

OSH : Kyrgyzstan`s new constitution won overwhelming popular support in a referendum, with more than 90 percent of the vote, the country`s electoral commission said Monday as preliminary results rolled in. According to results published by the commission on its website after ballots from

Obama ups pressure on `belligerent` North Korea

TORONTO : US President Barack Obama Sunday demanded the United Nations and China ramp up pressure on North Korea for its "belligerent behavior" and warned against turning a blind eye to its deadly acts. Using the global stage of a G20 summit here, Obama said the international community

Merkel`s win, Cameron`s loss as footie fever hits G20

TORONTO : British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "deeply disappointed" after England lost to Germany in its World Cup match, adding he had questions about an English goal which was disallowed. He was talking after playing hookie from economic summit talks in Toronto, Canada, to

Pak-bound ship with arms, ammunition towed to Kolkata

KOLKATA: Mystery is intensifying over a Karachi-bound ship intercepted in the Hooghly waters of India with arms and ammunition. The police, Cost Guard and customs searched the ship and found 40 Pakistani war vehicles, four army jeeps, and three containers of arms and ammunition marked

Iran has enough uranium for `two weapons`: CIA chief

WASHINGTON - CIA chief Leon Panetta said Sunday he thinks Iran has enough low-enriched uranium to make two weapons, and that it would take at least two years to prepare the bombs and a delivery system. "We think they have enough low-enriched uranium for two weapons," Panetta told the ABC

Vote counting to begin in Somaliland

HARGEISA: Authorities were expected to begin counting votes Sunday in the breakaway state of Somaliland, a day after a peaceful presidential election, the electoral board said. "Some of the ballot boxes were brought early this morning to the headquarters of the National Election