ANTARA News - International

Pakistani jailed for 33 years over Bin Laden hunt: officials

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:58:58 +0700

Peshawar, Pakistan (ANTARA News/AFP) - A Pakistani surgeon recruited by the CIA to help find Osama bin Laden was jailed on Wednesday for 33 years for treason, officials said. Shakeel Afridi, who was sacked as a government doctor two months ago, was found guilty under the tribal justice ...

Three Lebanese pilgrims killed in Iraq bombing

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:24:19 +0700

Falluja, Iraq (ANTARA News/Reuters) - At least three Lebanese Shi`ite pilgrims were killed and seven wounded on Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their bus in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, a police source said. The attack in Ramadi, the capital of mainly Sunni Anbar province and a ...

US ambassador in Afghanistan leaves for health reasons: US

Wed, 23 May 2012 01:03:16 +0700

Washington (ANTARA News/AFP) - The United States said Tuesday that Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, is leaving his job for health reasons in the summer. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Crocker told the Afghan government and NATO-led forces that "he intends to ...

6 Taliban dead, 2 Afghan police hurt in clashes

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:20:35 +0700

Kabul (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - Clashes between Taliban militants and Afghan police left six insurgents dead and two policemen injured on Tuesday, officials said. In the first incident, according to officials, a group of armed Taliban stormed a police checkpoint in Ghazi Abad district of ...

Stockholm ready to boost ties with Iran

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:36:56 +0700

Outgoing Swedish Ambassador to Tehran Magnus Wernstedt on Tuesday expressed his country's readiness to boost ties with Iran in all fields of interests.

5.8-magnitude quake jolts near Bulgarian capital

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:44:49 +0700

Sofia (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - A 5.8-magnitude earthquake occurred near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia early Tuesday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. So far, there have been no reports of damage or casualties. The quake occurred some 9 km north of Pernik, which is 25 km ...

UN chief meets with president of Pakistan

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:43:21 +0700

Chicago (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday met with Asif Ali Zardari, president of Pakistan, and " their discussions focused on Afghanistan," Ban`s spokesman told reporters here. During the meeting held on the sidelines of the ongoing NATO summit here, "the ...

Iraq attacks kill four

Tue, 22 May 2012 07:28:26 +0700

Baghdad (ANTARA News/AFP) - Shootings and bombings killed four people and wounded 11 others in central Iraq on Monday, security officials said. "Two policemen were killed and three others wounded when gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Taji," north of Baghdad, an interior ministry official said ...

Qaeda claims Yemen attack on advisers, US denies

Tue, 22 May 2012 06:58:37 +0700

Sanaa (ANTARA News/AFP) - Al-Qaeda militants on Monday claimed they raked with gunfire a convoy carrying four US military advisers in Hudaida, but American officials said they had no such personnel in the west Yemen port city. Al-Qaeda said in a statement that jihadists had opened fire on ...

Rebels kill 12 troops in Colombia ambush: official

Tue, 22 May 2012 05:51:50 +0700

Bogota (ANTARA News/AFP) - Lefitist guerrillas killed 12 Colombian army troops Monday and wounded four others in an ambush in a rural area in the northern tip of Colombia near the border with Venezuela, authorities said. "Unfortunately we have received reports of 12 soldiers dead and four ...

Afghans will not stand alone: Obama to NATO

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:34:39 +0700

Chicago (ANTARA News/AFP) - US President Barack Obama vowed Monday the international community would not abandon Afghanistan as it seeks to take control of its own security and shape its future. "As Afghans stand up, they will not stand alone," Obama told the opening of an unprecedented NATO ...

Top officials meet as North Korea nuclear test feared

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:37:30 +0700

Senior US, South Korean and Japanese officials began talks Monday on North Korea and other issues amid concerns the communist state may be planning another nuclear test, Seoul`s foreign ministry said.

Hollande says NATO allies understand Afghan position

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:36:23 +0700

French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that he had reached agreement with his NATO allies over his decision to withdraw French troops early from Afghanistan, saying they had understood his position.

NATO chief says `no intention` to intervene in Syria

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:20:13 +0700

Chicago (ANTARA News/AFP) - NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Sunday voiced concern about violence in Syria, but said the alliance has "no intention" of taking military action against the regime. "We strongly condemn the behavior of the Syrian security forces and their crackdowns on the ...

G8 praises remarkable efforts of Myanmar leaders

Mon, 21 May 2012 07:13:45 +0700

Camp David, Maryland (ANTARA News/AFP) - G8 leaders on Saturday praised the "remarkable efforts" of President Thein Sein and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in delivering democratic reforms to Myanmar. The positive comments come just days after the United States eased sanctions on the ...

Gunmen shoot dead jail warden in Pakistan: police

Mon, 21 May 2012 04:37:27 +0700

Quetta, Pakistan (ANTARA News/AFP) - Gunmen on a motorcycle have shot dead a senior prison official in Pakistan`s troubled southwestern city of Quetta, police said Sunday. Imtiaz Ahmad, chief warden of the district prison, was targeted late Saturday when two people riding a motorcycle sprayed ...

Lawyers for fugitive Iraq vp withdraw from case

Mon, 21 May 2012 04:33:04 +0700

Baghdad (ANTARA News/AFP) - Lawyers for Iraq`s fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni who is accused of running a death squad, on Sunday withdrew from the case, on the grounds their appeals had been rejected. The vice president, last known to be in Turkey, is the subject of an ...

18 killed as Yemen army battles Qaeda

Mon, 21 May 2012 04:29:08 +0700

Aden (ANTARA News/AFP) - Clashes between the army and Al-Qaeda militants on the outskirts of the Islamist stronghold of Jaar in southern Yemen left 18 people dead overnight, military and tribal sources said on Sunday. "Violent clashes on Jaar`s western outskirts between the army and Al-Qaeda ...

5.9 magnitude earthquake strikes near Bologna, Italy

Sun, 20 May 2012 15:12:30 +0700

Bologna, Italy (ANTARA News/Reuters) - A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck near Bologna, Italy, on Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake, which initially registered at magnitude 6.3, was centered 22 miles (35 km) north-northwest of Bologna in northern Italy at a relatively ...

LebanesePM surprised over gulf states` travel warning

Sun, 20 May 2012 15:05:02 +0700

Beirut (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed on Saturday surprise towards the travel warning to his country issued by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Bahrain, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. The NNA said that Miqati had contacted in this ...