PORT MORESBY:Papua New Guinea was hit Wednesday by a 6.6-magnitude earthquake, geologists said, though no destructive tsunami was expected and no immediate damage was reported.The quake hit at 5:18 am (1918 GMT Tuesday), 132 kilometres (82 miles) east of Kandrian on New Britain Island at

WASHINGTON: British Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday ruled out an inquiry into the release of the Lockerbie bomber, delicately navigating US fury over the move as he met President Barack Obama.Cameron however did order his top civil servant to review documents on the release of

SEOUL: The United States and South Korea will stage about 10 naval exercises in coming months including one starting Sunday as a deterrent to North Korea, Seoul`s defence ministry said Wednesday. On Tuesday the US and South Korean defence chiefs announced a major exercise from July 25-28

MONTEVIDEO: A cold snap across a swathe of Latin America has left dozens dead across several countries, as the region shivers through its winter season.In Argentina, 33 people died as polar air sent temperatures down to around minus 14 Celsius (seven degrees Fahrenheit) in the center of

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Tuesday welcomed an international conference in Kabul, saying it represented a "major step forward" for the future of Afghanistan.Obama insisted the US strategy in Afghanistan was the right one, as visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron said

LONDON:  The leader of a separatist Kurdish rebel group which has been locked in a guerrilla war against Turkey has said his fighters will disarm if Ankara meets certain conditions, in a BBC interview Wednesday. Murat Karayilan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK), said he

SEOUL:  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived Wednesday for a visit aimed at showing strong support for South Korea following a deadly naval attack blamed on North Korea. She and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were Wednesday morning to visit the Demilitarised Zone dividing the

SEOUL:  US commanders in South Korea used a bullhorn to notify North Korean troops across the border of upcoming military exercises after Pyongyang refused to accept a phone call, an official said Wednesday. The United States and South Korea Tuesday announced that a major exercise --

KATHMANDU: Nepal`s Maoists will push for a return to power on Wednesday when the parliament votes for a new prime minister to fill a three-week political void in the formerly war-ravaged Himalayan country.The Maoists, who fought a 10-year battle against the state before entering politics

BANGKOK - Thailand said Tuesday that it was lifting a state of emergency in three northern provinces but not in Bangkok, two months after the end of anti-government protests in the capital that turned deadly.The emergency law, which bans public gatherings of more than five people and

SEOUL - A major US-South Korean military exercise involving about 20 ships, 200 planes and 8,000 personnel will start Sunday in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to deter North Korea, the US military said Tuesday.The July 25-28 drill will highlight the resolve of the two countries "to face any

PESHAWAR - Five militants, three of them wearing suicide bomb vests, were killed on Tuesday when they attacked a military training centre in northwest Pakistan, officials said.The armed attackers tried to enter the training ground in the northwestern town of Mardan and a gun battle with

BAGHDAD: A Briton was killed in an attack on a private security firm`s convoy in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday, British government officials said."One British national was killed today during an attack against a convoy in east Mosul," British embassy spokeswoman Sophie

SEOUL: A two-star South Korean general was charged Tuesday with leaking secrets to North Korea, including the South`s war plan in case of attack, military officials said.The secrets include a contingency plan prepared by US and South Korean troops in case of war with the North, the

DUBAI: Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri slammed Arab leaders as "Zionists" who are helping Israel`s siege of the Gaza Strip, in his first message since December posted online Monday.He also mocked US President Barack Obama for saying that the Taliban will not gain power in

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Monday launched a new National Oceans Policy, designed to promote healthy eco-systems in coastal waters, seas and Great Lakes surrounding the United States.Obama formalized recommendations of an ocean policy task force in an executive order, as his

TOKYO: A former North Korean spy responsible for the 1987 bombing of a Korean Air jetliner flew to Japan Tuesday to meet the families of Japanese abducted by North Korean agents, a report said.Kim Hyon Hui, who arrived on a government-chartered flight from South Korea, where she lives,

WASHINGTON: British Prime Minister David Cameron makes his White House debut Tuesday, with President Barack Obama`s aides insisting high political sensitivities over BP will not mar the meeting.Cameron`s closely-watched trip also comes amid rising skepticism among some experts and opinion

PARIS:  The first six months of 2010 brought a string of warmest-ever global temperatures, but connecting these dots to long-term climate change patterns remains frustratingly difficult, experts say.Not only was last month the hottest June ever recorded, it was the fourth consecutive

PARAMARIBO: Former dictator Desi Bouterse was overwhelmingly elected president Monday by Suriname`s parliament even though he is on trial for the summary executions of 15 people in 1982.The parliament of the South American nation voted 36 to 13 in favour of Bouterse, who came to power the