BEIJING: More than 120,000 people have been evacuated in northeast China following serious floods that have already left four dead and forced the relocation of thousands in neighbouring North Korea.Heavy summer downpours have dangerously swollen the Yalu river, which forms the border

SRINAGAR: Six people were hurt Sunday when police fired pump action shotguns at stone-throwing protesters in Kashmir, where more than 60 people have died during anti-India protests.Police said the incident took place in Srinigar, the main town in Indian Kashmir, when police were

VINEYARD HAVEN: The resumption of direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians is a welcome diplomatic coup for US President Barack Obama, as long negotiators steer clear of well-known obstacles, political observers said."We`re very hopeful" the talks will lead to a lasting

TEHRAN: Iran unveiled a prototype long-range unmanned bomber on Sunday, the latest in a stream of announcements of new Iranian-made military hardware as tension mounts over its nuclear programme.On a stage in front of military officials, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pulled a sheet away

Japan: Tarapur Atomic Power Station in Thane district of Maharashtra state, India India`s atomic energy market is worth a reported $150 billion.The Indian and Japanese foreign ministers have held talks on a civil nuclear co-operation agreement.The Japanese minister, Katsuya Okada, said

KARACHI: Pakistani authorities Sunday evacuated tens of thousands from flood-threatened areas in the south but insisted that the 2.5 million people of Hyderabad were safe from the nation`s worst-ever inundation.The weak civilian government has faced an outpouring of fury over sluggish

PORT-AU-PRINCE: UN peacekeepers in Haiti appealed for calm Saturday after electoral officials rejected international hip-hop star Wyclef Jean`s candidacy in Haiti`s November 28 presidential election.Jean, who has a strong following among Haiti`s youth, was the best known of the 15

WASHINGTON: A new tropical depression, the sixth of the Atlantic hurricane season, has formed over the central Atlantic Ocean and could become a hurricane by Monday, the US National Hurricane Center said Saturday.Tropical Depression Six currently packs winds of 45 kilometers (30 miles)

CARACAS:  A soldier opened fire at a military base in Caracas early Saturday, killing two officers and wounding six other soldiers before fleeing, authorities said.The shooting at Fuerte Tiuna erupted after an argument between the soldier, who was identified as Jeffersson Trujillo, and a

TAIPEI: Six earthquakes including one with a magnitude of 5.4 struck off Taiwan`s east coast early Sunday, the Seismology Centre said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warning.The moderate 5.4-magnitude quake hit shortly after midnight, 35 kilometres (22

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian police said all hostages taken Saturday by heavily armed gunmen who stormed an upscale Rio hotel have been released, adding that one person was killed in a shootout and nine suspects were arrested.The incident began when a group of heavily armed criminals

JERUSALEM: Five years ago on Sunday, the last of 8,000 Jewish settlers were pulled out of the Gaza Strip, some kicking and screaming, in a move that remains controversial in Israel to this day.Israel`s handling of the evacuees has been widely seen as a test case for a potentially much

WASHINGTON: The United States sees no "proliferation risk" from Iran`s Russian-built first nuclear power plant at Bushehr that was loaded with fuel Saturday, the State Department said.The Russian involvement in the reactor, intended for civilian purposes, "underscores that Iran does not

CAIRO: Two Italians were arrested at Cairo airport trying to smuggle out a Van Gogh painting stolen from a museum earlier on Saturday, Egypt`s Culture Minister Faruq Hosni told AFP."Two Italians, a man and a woman, were arrested while trying to leave the country with the painting," Hosni

ISLAMABAD: Nearly a month after Pakistan`s worst ever natural disaster flooded a fifth of the country and hit 20 million people, the spectres of social unrest and Islamist extremism are stalking the nation.Torrential rains have had a catastrophic impact on the impoverished, nuclear-armed

MELBOURNE: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Sunday reassured voters she would deliver "stable and effective" government as parties try to cobble a coalition government after inconclusive elections.Gillard laid out her claim to remain as leader, saying her Labor party had won the

MOSCOW: Russian security forces Saturday killed a top militant suspected of organising the deadly suicide attacks on the Moscow metro and who was reportedly married to one of the female bombers.Magomedali Vagabov was killed in a clash with security forces in the Caucasus region of

BANGALORE: A minister in southern India has been fired after 24 beggars died in one week at a camp for the destitute in the high-tech city of Bangalore.Karnataka social welfare minister D. Sudhakar was relieved of his post following the deaths of 24 beggars at the state-run camp in

PESHAWAR: A bomb blast killed six anti-Taliban militia fighters in Pakistan`s northwestern tribal belt on Saturday and wounded five others, officials said.The remote controlled attack hit a checkpoint manned by volunteers from an anti-Taliban militia in Mohmand, a tribal district close to

JERUSALEM: Israel and the Palestinians accepted on Friday an invitation by the United States and other powers to restart direct talks on September 2 in a modest step toward forging a deal within 12 months to create a Palestinian state and peacefully end one of the world`s most intractable