'US committed to work with new Maldivian Govt'

Male: The US on Saturday backed President Mohammed Waheed Hassan's plan for a "national unity" government in Maldives and ignored his ousted predecessor Mohammad Nasheed's demand for snap polls, giving a diplomatic boost to the new regime. "Based on my talks, I am encouraged that a wide range of parties are engaged in talks to form a unity government and these talks are making progress," visiting US Assistant Secretary of...

UK police arrest 5 at Murdoch's Sun newspaper

London: British police on Saturday arrested five senior members of staff at News Corporation's flagship newspaper The Sun, the company said, as part of investigations into alleged payments to police by journalists for information. The payments investigation, dubbed Operation Elveden, is part of a wider probe into illegal news gathering practices that have rocked Britain's political, media and police establishments and last year prompted the closure of News Corp's Sunday...

UK judge bans public prayers

London: The right of Christian worship in British schools and Parliament faced a fresh assault after a High Court banned prayers at council meetings. In a landmark ruling on Friday on a case brought by the National Secular Society and an atheist councillor, formal acts of prayer in the chambers of town and city halls were outlawed by High Court Judge. Justice Ouseley issued a declaration that there was no...

UK's oldest couple to give advice on Twitter

London: A British couple who have been married for 76 years - the longest in the country - have now joined Twitter to speak about the secret of their remarkable romance. Lionel and Ellen Buxton from Dover, Kent, have invited users of the networking website to tweet them with their problems. The couple said they have not spent more than one night apart in the past eight decades, the Daily...

UK police looking for Indian 'tantrik'

London: The UK police is looking for an Indian-origin man who posed as a 'spiritual healer' and allegedly sexually assaulted a teenager. Scotland Yard has issued the appeal for Viswanathan Shadtray, who allegedly sexually assaulted the 18-year-old victim in east London's Newham area when she and her mother approached him for healing. "The suspect posed as a spiritual healer and in doing so gained the victim's trust. He preyed on...

Another Indian student stabbed in London

As questions of safety arise for Indians, the British High Commissioner said that UK is a safe country. ...

Disappointed with India: Maldives ex-President to CNN-IBN

CNN-IBN's Sumon K Chakrabarti spoke exclusively to deposed President Nasheed who said he is disappointed with India's reaction to the mutiny and hoped India would correct its course soon. ...

Iran to announce nuclear progress: Ahmadinejad

Tehran: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday the Islamic Republic would soon announce "very important" achievements in the nuclear field, state TV reported. He was speaking on the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic revolution. Tens of thousands of Iranians joined state-organised rallies across the country to mark the occasion. Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America"....

Maldives: Waheed to announce his cabinet soon

Male: Maldives new President Mohamed Waheed Hassan is likely to announce his "national unity" cabinet soon and has ordered a probe into the recent events that unfolded in this archipelago nation. "The cabinet is likely to be announced in two or three days," a senior Maldivian government official said. Waheed called for chaos on the streets to stop and to restore peace and calm. "The way of responsible leaders is...

Maldives crisis: US, UK call for negotiated talks

Male: The United States and the United Kingdom stepped in to try and diffuse the Maldives political crisis on Saturday. The UK government said the new Maldives government must prove its legitimacy first. US Assistant Secretary Robert Blake also arrived in the island country for talks with the new president. Blake is also in Male to try and diffuse the crisis Blake met the new president Mohamed Waheed and former...

London: Indian student stabbed; 11 arrested

London: An Indian student, Pravin Reddy, doing an MBA at the London Business School was stabbed on Friday in the London borough of Newham Scotland Yard on Saturday said. Eleven people have been arrested following the stabbing of the Indian student who was not named by the Scotland Yard. Pravin was admitted to the London Royal hospital with deep neck, abdomen & chest injuries. The family has been informed Pravin...

Russia: Man dumps 1 kg gold bar in charity box

Minsk: A gold bar weighing one kilogram was dropped into a charity collection box in the Belarussian city of Brest, a media report said on Friday The gold bar was discovered in a charity box set up in a grocery store to collect money for the Orthodox Church, the ONT television reported. The anonymous donor also slipped the $50,000 gold brick's certificate of authentication into the collection box. According to...

Tension in Maldives as 200 taken into custody

There are reports of tension in parts of Maldives, especially in Addu, where some people are believed to have been tortured. ...

Maldivian tourism: Shaken but not stirred

Male: Political instability in Maldives might have tarnished a bit of the country's image as the tropical tourist paradise but everyone in the island nation is keeping their fingers crossed. Maldives known for its deep blue seas, turquoise reefs, white sandy beaches and palm trees attracts several lakh tourists every year, more than its total population of about 3.5 lakh. Even though the unrest this week following the ouster of...

Indians among world's happiest people: Poll

New York: Despite economic woes, wars, conflicts and natural disasters the world is a happier place today than it was four years ago and Indonesians, Indians and Mexicans seem to be the most contented people on the planet. More than three-quarters of people around the globe who were questioned in an international poll said they were happy with their lives and nearly a quarter described themselves as very happy. "The...