MOGADISHU: At least 29 Somali civilians were killed in fighting between insurgents and government troops backed by African Union forces in Mogadishu, medics said Tuesday.The fighting broke out on Monday afternoon and continued overnight after fighters from the Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab

Kathmandu: The festival of Raksha Bandhan, when sisters pray for the long life of their brothers, turned into stark tragedy in Nepal Tuesday as all 14 people aboard a private aircraft carrying tourists were killed following a crash near Kathmandu.The flight by domestic airline Agni Air

Washington: The United States has asked Pakistan to have a constructive relationship with India and Afghanistan,  saying effective and coordinated action across the region was needed to meet the common threat of terrorism.    "These are individual judgments made country by country,"

SEOUL: South Korea has detected a "massive" deployment of North Korean troops and arms near the capital Pyongyang, Seoul`s defence ministry said Tuesday.The large number of soldiers, armoured vehicles and artillery have been stationed near the communist state`s capital since July 12, the

WASHINGTON: A US general said on Monday that Afghan forces will not be ready to take over security duties from NATO-led troops for at least another year, three months after a scheduled start of a US withdrawal.The United States and its NATO allies view building up the Afghan army and

MONTREAL: Amnesty International`s new secretary general, Salil Shetty, on Monday accused the Canadian government of a "serious worsening" of human rights in Canada."Amnesty International is more and more concerned about the serious worsening of the human rights approach of this

WASHINGTON: Former US president Jimmy Carter plans to visit North Korea soon on a mission to secure the release of an American man serving eight years of hard labor there, Foreign Policy magazine said Monday."Jimmy Carter is set to travel to North Korea very soon, according to two sources

CANBERRA: Australia faces a week of political wrangling as votes were counted on Monday from an inconclusive election, with financial markets rowing back on early expectations of a minority conservative government.Online bookmakers changed their betting to make Prime Minister Julia

COPIAPO, Chile: Chilean miners who survived 18 days after a cave-in received hydration gel and medication through a narrow drill hole on Monday, but officials said it could be months before the men are freed.In what relatives called a miracle, the miners on Sunday tied a note to a

SUKKUR, Pakistan: Pakistan braced for more flooding in the south as officials began talks in Washington on Monday with the International Monetary Fund on how to shore up the battered economy to maintain stability.The IMF said it would review Pakistan`s budget and economic prospects due to

MONTREAL: Organizers delayed until later Monday a high-tech expedition that aims to create a detailed map of the wreckage of the Titanic, nearly a hundred years after the fabled ship sank in the Atlantic.Postponed by one day, the mission is now readying to leave at 2230 GMT Monday "after

MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike on Monday killed 12 people including five militants in Pakistan`s northwestern tribal belt near the Afghan border, security officials said.The strike hit the Dandey Darpa Khel area, about five kilometres (three miles) from Miranshah, the main town in North

WASHINGTON: The United States said Monday it is "mindful" of the Palestinian call for Israel to halt settlements, but stopped short of saying it will back such a demand at new peace talks here next month.In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat warned

WASHINGTON: Vice President Joe Biden on Monday insisted the US-led war effort in Afghanistan showed promise and that it was too soon to judge it a failure.Biden, speaking to military veterans, also said a July 2011 deadline for the start of a troop withdrawal would not signal a US

MANILA : Philippine security forces stormed a bus packed with Hong Kong tourists on Monday to end a dramatic hostage crisis that unfolded live on global television, leaving eight people and the gunman dead.The day-long ordeal began when a disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an M-16

SRINAGAR: Suspected militants have shot dead three people in Indian-administered Kashmir, including a mother and her teenage daughter, a police statement said Monday.It said four masked militants barged into a house in southern Kulgam district late Sunday evening and shot dead a 40-year

SUKKUR: At least 20 people were killed Monday when a bus overturned in strong water currents in flood-hit Pakistan, officials said.The accident took place near Khad Buzdar village in the centre of the country. The bus, which had 50 people on board, was bound for the northwestern city of

KATHMANDU: Nepal`s parliament was due to hold its fifth vote Monday to try to elect a new prime minister for the troubled nation amid little hope of an end to the long leadership vacuum.Nepal has been without a government since June, when former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stood

DUSHANBE: Twenty-five Islamic militants serving long jail terms have escaped from a prison in the Central Asian state of Tajikistan that borders Afghanistan, killing five guards, authorities said on Monday.The inmates broke free late Sunday from a detention centre of Tajikistan`s State

KABUL: Two NATO soldiers, one of them American, were killed in attacks on Monday in volatile regions of Afghanistan, the alliance said, a day after four US troops died in violence.NATO`s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement that two of its soldiers had died