NEW DELHI - India agreed on Friday to release four detained Pakistani nationals on the eve of talks in Islamabad between the interior ministers of the South Asian neighbours, a government statement said. Home Minister P. Chidambaram "as a gesture of goodwill" approved the release of the

TBILISI - Georgia secretly tore down the historic bronze statue of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet dictator`s home town of Gori overnight, officials said Friday."Stalin`s monument in Gori was dismantled overnight," Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria told AFP, adding that the government

SINGAPORE - A Swiss expatriate pleaded guilty on Friday to vandalism and trespass for spray-painting a Singapore metro train in a daring stunt for which he is expected to be caned and jailed. Oliver Fricker, 32, is to be sentenced later for the two crimes, which alarmed Singapore

SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il`s poor health is driving him to speed up preparations for the transfer of power to his youngest son Kim Jong-Un, South Korea`s spy chief says.   Won Sei-Hoon, National Intelligence Service (NIS) director, told parliament Thursday that Jong-Un is

The Indian government`s new $280m package to compensate the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster falls short of expectations, campaigners say. The government has said the money will also go into cleaning up the polluted factory site and improve medical treatment of the victims. The

MANILA, June 25, 2010 (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of slum dwellers remain living in flood-prone areas of the Philippine capital as the rainy season builds despite pledges to move them after a barrage of deadly storms last year. A month into the tropical nation`s annual rainy season,

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama have marked a warming in ties between their countries on the Russian leader`s first visit to the White House. Speaking after their talks, Mr Obama said the pair had "succeeded at resetting our relationship". He said

The US Congress has overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against foreign companies that trade with Iran, over its nuclear programme. Those firms that supply Iran`s Revolutionary Guards or contribute to the country`s energy industry are targeted by the bill. The sanctions are designed

COLOMBO, June 25, 2010 (AFP) - The head of a UN panel probing alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka`s civil war has criticised a decision by Colombo to block him and colleagues from entering the country, a report said Friday. Marzuki Darusman, a former Indonesian attorney general, was

BEIJING: A prominent Tibetan environmentalist who said he was "brutally tortured" in custody has been jailed for 15 years on tomb-robbing charges that were dropped years ago, his lawyer said Friday. Karma Samdrup, a 42-year-old art collector, went on trial this week in China`s

SEOUL:  South Korea`s president urged North Korea Friday to stop its "reckless military provocations" as the two countries marked the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of their war. Six decades later, the peninsula is still divided by barbed wire and minefields. Tensions remain high

SEOUL: North Korea has announced a ban on shipping off part of its west coast and South Korea is watching for any signs of missile tests, the defence ministry in Seoul said Friday. "The move is seen as part of a routine exercise by North Korean troops, but we are closely monitoring their

HONG KONG, Hong Kong on Friday passed a package of democratic reforms that stops well short of a one person, one vote system for the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Lawmakers voted in favour of the more contentious part of the package, which will see 10 directly-elected seats added to the

BEIJING: China`s central bank set the strongest yuan exchange rate in years on Friday, as international pressure builds for a stronger currency ahead of the weekend Group of 20 summit in Canada. The People`s Bank of China said it set the central parity rate -- the centre point of the

WASHINGTON: Only one in 10 Americans keep their salt intake within recommended levels, with the rest overstepping the limits and risking high blood pressure and heart ailments, a CDC report said Thursday. The Atlanta, Georgia-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found

SYDNEY:  Australia`s new Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she supported the war in Afghanistan and had told US President Barack Obama on Friday he could rely on her to continue the fight. Gillard, who was installed as prime minister on Thursday after Kevin Rudd was deposed as Labor

NEW YORK: Bangladesh becomes largest troop-contributing country to peacekeeping missions of the United Nations, said Alain Le Roy, UN Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.He disclosed this Wednesday in a meeting with Tareque Siddiqui, defence advisor to the

SARGODHA: A Pakistani court on Thursday sentenced five Americans to 10 years each in jail after finding them guilty of waging war against the state and funding a terrorist group, lawyers said.The five Americans, aged 19 to 25, had been on trial in a closed court in a prison in the eastern

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama hopes to return from the Group of Eight and Group of 20 meetings in Canada with new evidence that key powers will fulfill pledges to heal the global economy.At the G8 "rich nations club" Friday and Saturday in the Muskoka vacation area, north of

TORONTO: Canada on Wednesday welcomed the first arrivals for the G8 and G20 talks as a leaked draft communique said leaders will warn that the economic recovery remains "uneven and fragile."The leaders, as well as throngs of journalists, protesters and 20,000 police providing security,