North Korea conducts ‘live-fire drill’

S Korea says military is “fully prepared” after Pyongyang notified it of second live-fire exercise in four weeks. North Korea has begun a live-fire drill near its maritime border with South Korea,... Read more »

Bombings near Baghdad kill 10

At least 10 people have been killed when twin bombings struck a town northeast of the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad, a day before the country’s parliamentary elections. Security and medical officials said... Read more »

Sixteen dead in Bangladesh storm

DHAKA: A severe storm has killed 16 people and destroyed 1,000 homes in northern Bangladesh, police and government officials said Monday. The storm tore through scores of villages overnight on Sunday, uprooting... Read more »

1,300 Muslims leave Central African Republic capital

BANGUI: Heavily armed African and French peacekeepers escorted some of the last remaining Muslims out of Central African Republic’s volatile capital on Sunday, trucking more than 1,300 people who for months had... Read more »

Philippines defence pact boosts US influence

Signing of deal during Obama trip raises concern over US influence and impact on Manila’s already strained Chinese ties. Manila – US President Barack Obama has arrived in the Philippines in a visit widely... Read more »

UAE Telecom Etisalat signs multi-currency deal

Etisalat, the leading telecommunications operator in the UAE, said it has signed a multi-currency club deal worth 3.15 billion euros ($4.35 billion) with a group of seventeen international, regional and local banks.The move is aimed... Read more »

Egypt court sentences 683 Muslim to death

Amid crackdown on opposition, judge also confirms death sentences for 37 alleged Muslim Brotherhood supporters. The Egyptian court that previously sentenced 529 Muslim Brotherhood members to death has sentenced an additional 683... Read more »

Obama in first US presidential visit to Malaysia since 1966

KUALA LUMPUR: US President Barack Obama arrives Saturday in Malaysia hoping to energise aloof ties with a Muslim-majority nation whose government is under the microscope for wide allegations of abuse of power... Read more »

Strong 6.5-magnitude quake strikes off Tonga: USGS

WELLINGTON: A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the Pacific nation of Tonga on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no immediate tsunami warning or reports of significant damage. The... Read more »

Deadly mosque bombing in Karachi, Pakistan

At least four killed and 30 wounded in explosion outside mosque in city of Karachi. A bomb attack in Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi, has killed at least four people and wounded 30... Read more »

G7 leaders agree on new Russia sanctions

US and EU officials agree on new sanctions against Moscow, as Russian military drills continue along Ukrainian border. Source: AFP And Reuters US President Barack Obama and top European leaders are moving... Read more »

Obama brands North Korea a ‘pariah state’

US president says the government in Pyongyang would “rather starve its people than feed their hopes and dreams”. North Korea is a weak “pariah state” whose heavily militarised border with the South... Read more »

Jordan backs Palestinian unity deal

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour says Amman backs recent reconciliation deal between the resistance movement of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Ensour also praised Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh for signing the unity... Read more »

Saudi Arabia to build world’s biggest desal plant

Saudi Arabia has commissioned the first phase of the world’s largest desalination project, being built at a cost of SR27 billion ($7.2 billion) in Ras Al Khair, a report said.The plant for production... Read more »

Pakistan joins the 3G club

ISLAMABAD: The four cellular service providers bidding on licences for next generation mobile technology emerged the winners of Wednesday’s bidding war, with Mobilink, Telenor and Ufone picking up licences for 3G services... Read more »

Journalist hurls shoe at Shahbaz, misses target

LAHORE: Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif narrowly escaped a shoe hurled at him during the inauguration of a three-day South Asia Labour Conference in Lahore. The shoe-hurler turned out to be a... Read more »

China frees Japanese cargo ship in $28m deal

Seizure, relating to unpaid compensation for Chinese ships leased in 1936, sparked Japanese formal diplomatic complaint. China has released a Japanese cargo ship after its owners paid $28m to settle a pre-war... Read more »

Guard kills US doctors in Kabul hospital

A police guard opens fire at an international hospital in Afghanistan’s capital, killing at least three Americans. At least three American doctors have been killed by a security guard at an international hospital in... Read more »

21 killed near Syria’s Aleppo in airstrikes

At least 21 people were killed in an air strike near the Syrian city of Aleppo Thursday. (AFP) “The number of people killed in an air strike this morning against the market... Read more »

Obama Arrives in Asia as Disasters Complicate Mission

TOKYO — President Obama arrived here on Wednesday evening to begin a four-country tour of Asia, after first stopping in Washington State to survey the devastation left there by last month’s deadly... Read more »

IPL 2014: Top Five Cricketers Of The Week

5 Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) Matches: 2 Wickets: 5 Overs: 8 Runs Conceded: 38 Average: 7.6 Economy Rate: 4.75 Strike Rate: 9.6 Sunil Narine – the mystery spinner – started the IPL 2014 picking up four wickets against the... Read more »

Obama seeks to reassure partners on Asia trip

Islands at centre of China-Japan are covered by US-Japan defence alliance, US president says as he leaves for Tokyo. The islands at the centre of a dispute between Tokyo and Beijing are... Read more »

Saudi billionaire stops by Jordan’s Zaatari

Jordan is doing its best to cope with the large number of Syrian refugees, but the international community should work to end the conflict in Syria, Saudi Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal said during... Read more »

North Korea may be close to fourth nuclear test

NORTH Korea could well be preparing to carry out its fourth nuclear test, South Korea’s Defence Ministry says. Defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok has told a press briefing today, there has been... Read more »