World News

Kamikaze pilot crashes plane into federal tax agency building in Austin, Texas

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:59:00 +0000

An enraged software engineer went on a suicide mission yesterday by flying his small plane into an Internal Revenue Service office building in Austin, Texas.

Israeli spy agency Mossad suspected in Dubai assassination of Hamas commander

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:59:00 +0000

Dubai's police chief yesterday directly accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of the hit-squad slaying of a Hamas commander in a luxury hotel room on 20 January. Lieutenant-General Dahi Khalfan Tamim said he was "99 per cent, if not 100 per cent" certain that Mossad were behind the murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Malaysia canes three women for adultery

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:48:00 +0000

Malaysia has for the first time punished three Muslim women, convicted of adultery by a shariah court of Islamic law, with caning. The women also received short jail sentences.

British TV host apologizes for mistaking Catholic Ash Wednesday cross on U.S. Vice President's forehead for a bruise

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:01:00 +0000

Sky New presenter Kay Burley has been left red-faced after mistaking a Catholic Ash Wednesday symbol on U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's head for a "large bruise".

Sister of North Korean leader gaining power after a surprise comeback to politics

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:25:00 +0000

Kim Jong-Il's only sister appears to be gaining more power in North Korea after returning to the public spotlight for the first time in nearly six years, according to South Korean reports.

BBC TV presenter Ray Gosling arrested over gay lover's mercy killing

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:06:00 +0000

Veteran BBC TV and radio presenter Ray Gosling was arrested on suspicion of murder Wednesday after confessing he killed an ex-lover suffering from AIDS.

Afghan official: Taliban using human shields

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:42:00 +0000

MARJAH, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters are increasingly using civilians as human shields in the assault on the southern town of Marjah, an Afghan official said Wednesday as military squads resumed painstaking house-to-house searches in the Taliban stronghold.

Japan to question New Zealand anti-whaling activist

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:39:00 +0000

A New Zealand activist who boarded a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic is being taken to Japan for questioning.

Record 70 journalist deaths in 2009: rights group

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:32:00 +0000

Seventy journalists were killed in 2009, making it the worst year since records began 30 years ago, the Committee to Protect Journalists says.

Defeated Tymoshenko contests Ukraine polls

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:12:00 +0000

KIEV — Defeated Ukraine presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko on Tuesday launched a legal challenge to elections won by her rival Viktor Yanukovych, even as parliament set a date for his swearing-in.

Haiti earthquake damage estimated up to $14 billion

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:03:00 +0000

Haiti's massive earthquake could be the world's most devastating natural disaster since World War II in relation to the country's size and economy, causing as much as $14 billion in damage, according to a study released Tuesday by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Gen. Fonseka petitions against Rajapaksa's re-election as Sri Lanka's President

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:39:00 +0000

SRI LANKA- General (retd) Sarath Fonseka yesterday filed a petition in the Supreme Court, requesting that the re-election of Mahinda Rajapaksa as President of Sri Lanka at the Jan. 26 polls be declared void.

EU renews sanctions on Zimbabwe for another year

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:27:00 +0000

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Tuesday renewed its sanctions against Zimbabwe for another year, citing a lack of progress in implementing the country's power-sharing agreement.

Pope Benedict XVI condemns child abuse as 'heinous crime'

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:20:00 +0000

The sexual abuse of children is not just a "heinous crime" but a "grave sin" that offends God and wounds human dignity, Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday after a two-day meeting with Irish Catholic bishops at the Vatican.

PM: Israel to erect Red Army memorial

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:16:00 +0000

MOSCOW – Israel will erect a memorial commemorating the Red Army’s crucial role in the victory over the Nazis, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Russian Prime Minster Vladimir Putin at a photo opportunity before their meeting Tuesday.

Belgium police to question surviving train crash driver

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:59:00 +0000

Belgian authorities are waiting to question a train driver who survived a collision near Brussels on Monday that left at least 18 people dead.

Passports Faked in Dubai Killing

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:49:00 +0000

The U.K. and several other European countries said that passports used by 11 suspects wanted in connection with the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Dubai had been faked.

Hillary Clinton warns of Mideast nuclear arms race

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:37:00 +0000

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told an audience of Saudi college women on Tuesday that it is the shared responsibility of Iran's neighbors to ensure it does not get nuclear weapons.

US missile kills 3 in northwest Pakistan

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:23:00 +0000

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. missile strike has killed at least three people near the Afghan border.

Thai court denies bail for 'Merchant of Death'

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:02:00 +0000

Thailand’s appeal court on Tuesday rejected a bail request by Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout as a legal battle over plans to extradite him to the United States looked set to drag into a third year.