Browsing: World News

President Barack Obama landed in the Philippines on Monday to cement new defence ties on the last leg of an Asian tour conducted against a backdrop of territorial tensions between US allies and China. Obama flew into Manila from Malaysia, hours after…

French engineering group Alstom said on Sunday that it has suspended trading in its shares as expectations grew for a possible bidding war between industrial giants General Electric and Siemens. The announcement came after French President Francois…

The PLO’s central council on Sunday adopted a plan to pursue attempts to join 60 United Nations bodies and international agreements, according to a statement from the governing body of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The council, under the auspices…

Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed John Paul II and John XXIII the Catholic Church’s newest saints at a festive ceremony joined by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims for two pontiffs who helped shape 20th-century history. “We declare and define as saints…

Pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels holding captive an international team of military observers from the OSCE said Sunday they are “prisoners of war” and brought them before the media in a news conference. The group of eight men, all Europeans, were part of…

US President Barack Obama paid homage to Malaysia’s moderate brand of Islam and picked his way through his hosts’ contentious politics Sunday on the latest leg of his Asian tour. Obama started his first full day in Kuala Lumpur at the marble-colonnaded…

Five members of the US-led NATO force in Afghanistan died in a helicopter crash in the south of the country on Saturday, NATO officials said, adding the cause of the incident was being investigated. The crash was the largest single loss of life for…

Pilgrims and dignitaries from the world over streamed into Rome a day before John Paul II and John XXIII are named saints in the first ever double papal canonisation. In front of the Vatican Saturday, families and groups of scouts armed with folding…

For decades, Indian cinema’s formula for success has consisted of love stories, dancing and awe-inspiring landscapes. But a new leading role is emerging – the Bollywood superhero. The rise of science fiction comes as Indian audiences increasingly…

The death toll from twin jihadist bombings that struck a Shiite political rally in the Iraqi capital ahead of next week’s parliamentary election has risen to 33, officials said Saturday. Friday’s attack by a Sunni militant group came at the height of…

A Japanese whaling fleet left port Saturday under tight security, marking the first hunt since the UN’s top court last month ordered Tokyo to stop killing whales in the Antarctic. Four ships departed from the northeastern fishing town of Ayukawa to…

Concerns are growing among anguished families that the bodies of those who died in the sinking of a South Korean ferry may never be found, as search teams suspended work Saturday because of bad weather. A looming storm and high tides put a temporary…

1. For over 2,500 years Iranians have been known for their beautiful and masterfully woven rugs. However, when Iranian…

President Barack Obama and top European leaders are moving ahead on a new round of sanctions against Russia, US officials said amid hints they could come within days. US sanctions could be imposed as early as Monday, a source close to the issue told…

The Group of Seven rich countries agreed Saturday to impose new sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, after Kiev accused Moscow of seeking to trigger a “third world war”. The G7 nations, in a joint statement, said they would “move swiftly…

A nearly two-week strike at a huge shoe factory in southern China appears to have ended after the Taiwan-backed company agreed to meet some of the workers’ demands, including raising their living allowance and benefit payments. More than 80 percent…

A key Palestine Liberation Organisation body was set to hold Saturday talks after Israel pulled out of US-sponsored peace negotiations in response to a Palestinian reconciliation deal with Hamas. The meeting of the PLO’s Central Council at its West…

US President Barack Obama was all about business even at a special sushi dinner in Tokyo, which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wanted to use as a bonding opportunity, reports said Saturday. “It was all about work,” Abe told his key ministers Friday…

Two Chinese coastguard ships sailed into waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea Saturday, the Japanese coastguard said, two days after US President Barack Obama declared his support for Japan. The vessels entered 12 nautical miles (22…

North Korea is a “pariah state” whose heavily militarised border with the South marks “freedom’s frontier”, US President Barack Obama told American troops in Seoul on Saturday. Obama, who was wrapping up a two day visit to South Korea, said Pyongyang…