World News

KABUL: An International Conference opened here today with the Afghan President, Mr Hamid Karzai seeking help to move towards self-governance as the meeting backed his efforts to involve elements in Taliban but said any amnesty should only be extended to those who had no links to global terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, a stance supported by India.

ISLAMABAD: The Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton today told the Pakistani leadership that the US wants a continuation of Indo-Pak dialogue so that the two sides could amicably resolve their outstanding problems, diplomatic sources said here today.

BEIJING: Floods and landslides triggered by torrential downpours in China have left scores of people dead and missing in recent days, officials said Monday, as water levels in major rivers reached dangerous highs.

TORREON (MEXICO): To cries of “Kill them all!” gunmen opened fire at a weekend fiesta on Sunday, mowing down at least 17 people in an attack that laid bare the brutality of Mexico’s long-running drug war.

JERUSALEM: Heaping praises on Mahatma Gandhi, whom he described as a “transformational” leader, the Israel’s Nobel Laureate President, Mr Shimon Peres has said that many in Israel view him as a Prophet, even as he described India as a “role model of tolerance”.

ISLAMABAD:  In a series of flip-flops, the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said he will not go to India for talks only for “a leisure trip” and backtracked on his earlier claim that his counterpart Mr S M Krishna received repeated calls from New Delhi taking instructions during their July 15 parleys.

BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber killed 43 people at an army office west of Baghdad today, as anti-Qaeda fighters gathered to receive their salaries, defence and interior ministry officials said.
Another 40 people were wounded in the 8.30 am local time attack, the officials said.

ISLAMABAD: The US Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for strategic talks aimed at bolstering bilateral ties and securing firmer support for the war in Afghanistan.

NEW YORK: The world is marking the first Nelson Mandela International Day to commemorate the birthday of South Africa’s first black president, who turns 92 today (July 18).

BEIJING: At least 33 people, including 28 mine workers, were killed when an electric cable caught fire inside a coal shaft and an explosion rocked a shipyard in two separate incidents in China’s northwest and east.