SEOUL - Twelve passengers were killed and eight others were seriously injured when their bus fell from a bridge near Seoul`s international airport on Saturday, police said.The death toll rose to 12 from five within a few hours after the accident, with some passengers succumbing to

LAHORE - Shops and offices were shut in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Saturday in a protest strike over suicide attacks on an Islamic shrine which killed 43 people.Police said they have "apprehended" several people in their investigation into Thursday`s bombings, which left a

KINSHASA - At least 200 people died when a tanker truck filled with oil exploded and set fire to a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Red Cross said Saturday, doubling an earlier toll."A tanker truck coming from Tanzania overturned in the village of Sange. There was

TEHRAN - Iranian authorities have cut off the hand of a convicted thief after a court ruling in the western city of Malayer, the hardline Kayhan newspaper reported on Saturday."Following a court ruling, a thief`s hand was amputated in Malayer," the report said, referring to the city

SEOUL - A third man has been arrested over a plot to assassinate a top ranking defector from North Korea, a report said Saturday.The man, whose family name is Han, was a former North Korean agent who has been living in South Korea since the 1960s, Yonhap news agency said, quoting

KABUL - US General David Petraeus made his public debut Saturday as commander of the war in Afghanistan, attending the celebration of US independence Day at the heavily-guarded American embassy. Commander Petraeus have call for united effort in Afghanistan.The four-star general, who

BISHKEK - Career diplomat Roza Otunbayeva was sworn in as conflict-torn Kyrgyzstan`s president on Saturday, making her the first female leader in the history of ex-Soviet Central Asia.Standing before a crowd of more than 1,000 cheering onlookers at a packed soviet-era concert hall in the

NEW DELHI - India inaugurated a multi-billion-dollar airport terminal in New Delhi on Saturday -- a shiny glass and steel symbol of the country`s aspirations as an emerging global powerThe state-of-the-art hub, which cost nearly three billion dollars and can handle 34 million passengers a

HONG KONG - Thirteen people were plucked to safety after a private helicopter plunged into Hong Kong harbour on Saturday, police said.Two passengers were slightly injured in the crash, and all on board the helicopter were taken to hospital for observation, including two crew members, a

WASHINGTON: The United States is urging Beijing to be more transparent in its restive northwestern region of Xinjiang ahead of the tense anniversary of China`s worst ethnic bloodshed in decades.Urumqi, the capital of the vast, arid but resource-rich region, erupted in violence on July 5,

WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tightened rules on media relations for the US military, only days after the top general in Afghanistan was sacked over disparaging comments he and aides made in an interview.In a three-page memo sent Friday to senior military and civilian

CLEVELAND: "King" James held court for a second straight day but it was Dwyane Wade rather than LeBron James who had the most tongues wagging as NBA teams continued to woo free agents on Friday.Miami Heat star Wade started his day meeting with the New York Knicks, and said he came away

NEW ORLEANS: New claims against BP from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are pouring in more than twice as fast as the British energy giant is paying them out, US officials said Friday.Analysis by a consulting group hired by Louisiana to track claims and BP payments amid the

WASHINGTON:The US unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent last month as more than half a million people abandoned the job hunt, fueling doubts about the economic recovery.The Labor Department reported on Friday a net loss of 125,000 jobs last month even as unemployment fell to its lowest

SYDNEY: The head of the Catholic Church in Melbourne has offered an "unreserved apology" to victims of sexual abuse by priests, a report said Saturday.Archbishop Denis Hart says in a letter to be read out at services across the city over the weekend that recent abuse scandals have brought

WARSAW: Victory for Bronislaw Komorowski in Poland`s snap presidential election Sunday could end a policy logjam, boosting stalled economic reforms, but also test his governing liberals` mettle, analysts say.Most recent opinion polls have shown Komorowski is the favourite to win the

MEXICO: Sunday`s elections in nearly half of Mexico`s states are expected to serve as an unofficial referendum on President Felipe Calderon`s clampdown on drug violence that is gripping the country. The violence is not only a campaign issue, it has hit the campaign. In the highest-level

MANILA: New Philippine President Benigno Aquino vowed Friday to strengthen the armed forces in a bid to crush a Maoist insurgency and Islamist rebellion which have simmered for decades. He said the 130,000-strong force was too small to properly protect a nation of more than 90 million

MINSK: Belarus, Russia sign long-awaited gas transit deal. BDST: 1430 HRS, July 2, 2010

ANKARA: Turkish jets bombed Kurdish rebel targets in neighbouring northern Iraq overnight following deadly clashes inside Turkey, the military said Friday. "The targets were hit successfully," it said in an online statement, without any mention of casualties among the separatist