New Delhi:  In the wake of the Ayodhya verdict on Friday, bulk text and multimedia messages have been banned throughout the country for next 72 hours starting tonight.A plea for deferment of the verdict was filed in the Supreme Court today, but the bench refused to hear the matter saying

BEIJING: Thirteen people died and 33 others went missing as tropical storm Fanapi swept across southern China this week, triggering severe flooding and mudslides, state media reported Wednesday.Fanapi made landfall on the mainland Monday, one day after slamming Taiwan with heavy rains,

JAKARTA: Suspected Islamic militants killed three police officers in Indonesia early Wednesday in apparent retaliation for the arrest and killing of members of their group, police said.Twelve men surrounded a police station at Hamparan Perak, in Deli Serdang district of Sumatra island,

Taipeil: Taiwan raised the travel alert for India late Tuesday, following Sunday`s shooting in New Delhi which left two Taiwanese injured.The alert was raised from yellow to orange, the second most serious level on a four-scale system. The alert applies to the Indian capital New Delhi and

SYDNEY: A fresh rooftop protest broke out at an Australian immigration detention centre Wednesday, officials said, just hours after the end of another tense standoff that followed the suicide of an inmate.Nine people, reported by activists to be mainly Chinese nationals, climbed onto the

Washington: The US and India Tuesday pledged to work together to boost trade ties ahead of President Barack Obama`s first visit to the Asian power next month.Following a meeting in Washington between US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he is considering to put any possible peace agreement with the Palestinians to a national referendum."It is clear to me that any agreement that I will bring will be brought to the nation for a decision, and there are a

NEW YORK: Pakistan on Tuesday urged the United States to pressure India over Kashmir, saying recent unrest showed that New Delhi and not Islamabad was to blame for trouble in the Himalayan territory.On a visit to New York for a UN session on Pakistan`s devastating floods, Foreign Minister

LONDON: Amnesty International on Wednesday accused world leaders at a UN summit of damaging the fight against global poverty through their failure to combat human rights violations.A greater focus on rights would boost efforts to reach a set of key United Nations development goals, which

NEW YORK: NATO and Russia will seek to build a new foundation of trust at a key meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, encompassing common threats and lingering disagreements.The foreign ministers-level meeting of the NATO-Russia Council comes as the 28-nation

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao urged Japan to release a boat captain "immediately and unconditionally," state media said Wednesday, after his arrest in disputed waters set off a diplomatic crisis."Otherwise, China will take further measures," Wen was quoted as saying by the official

NEW YORK: The six powers seeking to curb Iran`s nuclear ambitions prepared to meet Wednesday to review the latest UN sanctions against Tehran and mull its appeals to enter negotiations.The meeting in New York of the permanent five UN Security Council members -- the United States, Russia,

UNITED NATIONS: European leaders have offered one billion euros (1.3 billion dollars) at the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) summit here, amid mounting calls for money to pay for the battle to cut extreme poverty.The huge sum was offered late Monday by EU commission president Jose

MUZAFFARABAD: A school bus carrying up to 35 children plunged into a river in Pakistani Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 15 pupils, an official said."We have recovered the bodies of 15 children," said Chaudhry Imtiaz, deputy commissioner for Muzaffarabad, the capital of

Bogota: An airstrike on a rebel camp by the Colombian Air Force may have killed up to 60 people, Admiral Edgar Cely, commander of Colombia`s military forces, said Monday, citing intelligence reports. The bombing raid Sunday in Putumayo province was first believed to have killed of 22

KABUL: Nine foreign troops were killed in a NATO helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the military alliance said, taking the overall death toll among foreign forces to an annual record.Two NATO troops, an Afghan soldier and a US civilian, were also injured, NATO`s

TOKYO: Japan`s top government spokesman warned Tuesday that all sides must avoid arousing "narrow-minded, extreme nationalism" in a row with China over Japan`s arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain.Tokyo and Beijing are embroiled in their worst dispute in years over the arrest, which

Jerusalem: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders 11 times in three Middle Eastern cities last week, a diplomatic marathon that produced only promises that the adversaries remain committed to the latest U.S.-led peace initiative.Clinton couldn`t

KABUL: Concerns grew about intimidation and fraud in Afghanistan`s parliamentary election as the Tuesday deadline for complaints about the conduct of Afghanistan`s parliamentary elections approached.Millions of Afghans voted Saturday in their second parliamentary poll since the 2001

NEW YORK: Former President Bill Clinton hopes that pledges to help quake-devastated Haiti at his philanthropic "summit" this week will push governments to fulfill promises of billions of dollars in reconstruction.Clinton, who is the U.N. special envoy for Haiti, will hold a special