ROME: A simple blood test can give an accurate pointer of when a woman will hit the menopause, according to research to be presented at a fertility conference here on Monday. If confirmed by other scientists, the test devised by Iranian doctors would be a boon for women seeking to plan

BEIJING - An overloaded bus taking mourners to a funeral veered off a mountain road and plunged into a ravine in northern China, killing 11 people and injuring 31, state media reported Sunday. Forty-two people were on the private 19-seat bus heading to the funeral when it careened off

BEIJING - China scrambled Sunday to repair water defences shattered by relentless rain, state media said, after flood-related disasters claimed the lives of 235 people this month. Jiangxi province flood control officials said a major dyke that broke last week as the river running through

RIYADH - Saudi doubts over US-driven sanctions on Iran, the flagging Middle East peace process and Afghanistan will be the focus of King Abdullah`s talks at the White House this week, analysts say. Tuesday`s meeting between President Barack Obama and the 86-year-old sovereign of the

OSH - Kyrgyzstan on Sunday voted on a new constitution aimed at establishing a parliamentary democracy, ignoring warnings that the referendum risked inflaming ethnic tensions after deadly clashes. The interim authorities have defiantly pressed ahead with the referendum despite horrific

TEL AVIV - The top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday for talks with Israeli military and defence officials, both sides said. "This is a very short visit -- he will meet with Defence Minister (Ehud) Barak and with (Chief of Staff) Gaby Ashkenazi and a

TORONTO - The leaders of the world`s most powerful countries were to pursue talks Sunday on settling their differences over how to nurse the fragile world economy back to health. The G20 nations convened in the eastern Canadian city of Toronto on the heels of a tough-talking G8 summit,

SYDNEY - A woman who performed a striptease on top of Australia`s giant red rock Uluru on Sunday prompted renewed calls for people to be banned from climbing the important indigenous site, a report said.Alizee Sery, 25, stripped down to a white bikini after climbing the central Australian

MEXICO CITY - Nine people have been killed and other nine have been wounded when gunmen attacked a drug rehabilitation center in Northern Mexico, authorities said.The officials said the attack occurred late Saturday in the city of Gomez Palacio, in Durango state.All the victims, which

TORONTO - In a display of unshakeable unity against nuclear-armed North Korea, US President Barack Obama agreed Saturday to wrap up a long delayed free trade deal with South Korea and extend Washington`s wartime command of South Korean forces.As tensions surged on the Korean peninsula

BRISBANE : Australia and Ireland showed they were both still very much works in progress during the Wallabies` scrappy 22-15 win in their one-off rugby union Test in Brisbane. But while Ireland can now take a well-earned break until the November internationals, the Wallabies have a far

OSH, June 27, 2010 (AFP) - Polling stations opened in Kyrgyzstan Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution amid fears the poll could spark a resurgence of deadly inter-ethnic violence. BDST: 0853 HRS , June 27, 2010 SIS

TORONTO : Leaders from the world`s eight foremost industrialized countries on Saturday abandoned a pledge to finish long-running trade negotiations by the end of the year. Leaders said they would push ahead with World Trade Organization talks -- which have been stalled over agricultural

WASHINGTON :  US President Barack Obama`s pick to fill a second US Supreme Court vacancy, Elena Kagan, faces her first confirmation hearing on Monday amid political tensions rubbed raw by looming elections. "It is a highly charged partisan environment. We are a few months from an

TORONTO: Toronto police used tear gas and arrested 75 when a violent mob tried to hijack a peaceful protest by some 10,000 people against the G20 summit here Saturday, the city`s police chief said. "We have never seen this level of wanton criminality on our streets," chief Bill Blair

CAMP VICTORY:  The withdrawal of American combat troops and equipment from Iraq is 60 percent complete two months ahead of a deadline that will serve as a precursor for a complete US military pullout. Camp Victory, a giant sprawling base on the edge of Baghdad airport, is one of eight

TAIPEI, :  Every Chinese leader since Mao Zedong has seen Taiwan as the ultimate prize. Now that prize may have moved a little closer, through the medium of trade and common economic interest. Senior envoys from Taiwan and China will sign a sweeping and eagerly awaited trade agreement

HUNTSVILLE: The leaders of the world`s richest nations warned Saturday the global recovery was still fragile and that the economic crisis had compromised development goals set by the United Nations. "Our annual summit takes place as the world begins a fragile recovery from the greatest

TORONTO: British Prime Minister David Cameron raised the highly controversial death of a former KGB spy in London in his first meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Downing Street said Saturday. "The prime minister made clear that there were still points of disagreement between

PATNA: At least 24 people were killed and 50 injured on Saturday when an overcrowded bus collided with a truck in eastern India, police said. The bus driver lost control of the vehicle on a sharp bend near a market in Dhanarua village, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Bihar state capital