World News

WASHINGTON: Osama bin Laden's spokesman and son-in-law has been captured by the United States, officials said Thursday, in what a senior congressman called a "very significant victory" in the ongoing fight against al-Qaida.

CARACAS: Venezuelans flocked to see president Hugo Chavez lying in state on Thursday, as his political heir revealed he would be embalmed “like Lenin” and displayed in the barracks where he plotted a failed coup.

NAIROBI: Kenya’s presidential race has tightened as early pace-setter Uhuru Kenyatta’s lead shrank over his main rival Prime Minister, Mr Raila Odinga, raising the prospect of a second round run-off.

BEIJING: The idea of non-violence as an alternative to armed uprising which formed the core of Mahatma Gandhi's movement had a China connection as hundreds of Chinese took part in his first peaceful protest in Zanzibar in 1906, a noted Indian historian said.

SEOUL: North Korea today vowed to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, amplifying its threatening rhetoric hours ahead of a vote by UN diplomats on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.

CAIRO: Egypt’s Administrative Court has overturned a presidential decree by Mr Mohammed Morsi that called for general elections next month.

LAHORE: A Pakistani anti-terrorism judge has given the death sentence to the mastermind of a 2010 suicide attack on a Sufi shrine in Punjab province despite facing death threats from the Taliban during the trial.

VATICAN: Pope Benedict XVI's gold papal ring, the symbol of his power used to officially seal documents and ensure their authenticity, has been cancelled, Vatican spokesman, Mr Federico Lombardi said.

LONDON:  The House of Lords in the UK has voted to outlaw caste discrimination among South Asians, a move hailed by activists as a major step in combating the social menace.

DHAKA: Bangladesh government today reacted sharply to the top opposition leader, Ms Khaleda Zia's refusal to meet the visiting India’s President, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, saying it "is a departure from democratic norms and courtesy".