World News

Two days of clashes between rival ethnic groups killed 11 people in isolated northern Democratic Republic of Congo this week, the country's United Nations peacekeeping mission said on Friday.

International community on Thursday pledged its support to help Afghanistan tide over the crisis and move ahead on the road of development.

Nairobi, Nov 19(ANI): Sahrawi human rights-defender and political activist Aminatou Haidar, considered by her supporters as the "Sahrawi Gandhi", has gone on a hunger strike at a Spanish airport after being expelled over her refusal to accept Moroccan nationality.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to be sworn into office for a second full term on Thursday as he struggles to rebuild a tarnished reputation and convince the West he is still a credible partner after eight years of war.

The world may have already moved on, but quantitative finance guru Paul Wilmott is undaunted in his quest to save the global financial system from mindless mathematicians.

New York, Nov 20 (DPA) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Friday called the 20-year-old Convention on the Rights of the Child as a beacon and guide to protect 'the youngest and most vulnerable members of society'.

Washington, Nov 20 (IANS) Expressing concern about the rise of terrorism in Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said India would like the United States to use all its influence with Islamabad to stop using terror as an instrument of state policy.

Washington, Nov 20 (IANS) Ahead of his upcoming summit with President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed the hope that the the US will be 'more liberal' in transferring technologies to India to make their landmark civil nuclear fully operational.

New York, Nov.20 (ANI): A special edition issue of UNICEF's flagship The State of the World's Children report, tracking the impact of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the challenges that remain, was released on Thursday on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Convention's adoption by the UN General Assembly.

Lima, Nov 20 (DPA) A Peruvian criminal gang is suspected of killing dozens of peasants in order to sell their tissue for use in beauty products, local media reported overnight.

Berlin/Brussels, Nov 20 (DPA) Top diplomats from the so-called '5+1' group of world powers expressed disappointment Friday at Iran's rejection of a compromise deal on the country's controversial nuclear programme and urged its leaders to reconsider.

Lifeboats and military helicopters rescued hundreds of people overnight in northern England and a policeman was feared dead as torrential rain flooded homes and washed away bridges.

A Briton who strangled his wife during a nightmare because he believed he was attacking an intruder, walked free from court on Friday after prosecutors withdrew their case against him.

Somalia has announced it plans to ratify a global treaty aimed at protecting children, leaving the United States as the only country outside the pact, UNICEF said on Friday.

Port-of-Spain, Nov 20 (IANS) French President Nicholas Sarkozy and UN chief Ban Ki-moon will be attending the Commonwealth of Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the Trinidad and Tobago capital Nov 27-29 as special guests, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said. Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen will also attend.

Demonstrators gathered for a second day near the Algerian embassy in Cairo on Friday to protest against what they said was violence against Egyptians during a play-off for the World Cup soccer finals.

Geneva, Nov 20 (IANS) Afghanistan is the most dangerous place in the world for a child to be born, the UN has said.

Jerusalem, Nov. 20 (ANI): In the wake of Iran refusing to export 70 percent of its low-enriched uranium for further processing, Israel has urged the international community to impose sanctions aimed at denying Teheran any nuclear fuel cycle capabilities.

Jerusalem, Nov. 20 (ANI): Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has expressed her opposition to the Obama administration's freeze settlement demands by saying that all the Jews moving to Israel need a place to live.

Jerusalem, Nov. 20 (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will seek a final-peace accord with the Palestine Authority if talks resume, and not an interim solution.

Islamabad, Nov 20 (IANS) The alleged mastermind of the suicide attacks on the World Food Programme office and on a police helpline office here has been arrested, police said Friday.

Sydney, Nov 20 (DPA) An Australian who strangled his wife for waking up his dog and then went out for a drink at his local pub was sentenced to prison Friday by a Melbourne court.

Venezuelan soldiers on Thursday blew up two makeshift foot bridges that stretched across the border to Colombia in the latest incident to stoke a diplomatic dispute between the Andean neighbors.

REUTERS - Colombia said on Thursday Venezuelan soldiers had blown up two small pedestrian bridges that stretch across their border in the latest incident to stoke a dispute between the Andean neighbors.

The United States has severely restricted access to a spot on the Mexican border where families and lovers divided by illegal immigration could unite briefly to hold hands or kiss through a fence.

The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Iran on Friday for a violent crackdown on protesters after presidential elections this year that the Iranian opposition says were rigged.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is an "unworthy partner" who does not deserve a big boost either in U.S. troops or civilian aid, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

Senior officials from six world powers expressed disappointment on Friday that Iran had not accepted proposals intended to delay its potential ability to make nuclear bombs, and urged Tehran to reconsider.

A masked gunman entered a church and murdered a Russian Orthodox priest who had received death threats for converting Muslims to Christianity and criticising Islam, prosecutors and church officials said on Friday.

Lahore, Nov 20 (IANS) The Human Rights Committee of the Lahore High Court Bar Association has condemned suicide attacks and the use of violence against innocent lives, saying there is no justification in Islam for terrorism.