London:  A school in the UK has banned girls from wearing skirts as teachers believe hemlines had risen to a level that was both "impractical" and "immodest". Governors at Diss High School in Norfolk have agreed that a trouser-only uniform will be adopted from September, based on the recommendati

An Indian national, part of 25 compatriots charged with involvement in Singapore's worst riot in 40 years, today became the first person to be sentenced in the case - receiving 15 weeks in jail by a court here. 32-year-old Chinnappa Vijayaragunatha Poopathi, a construction worker, had pleaded guilty

Melbourne:  At least 20 homes have been razed in the worst fire conditions Australia has seen since a deadly 2009 inferno which killed 173 people, with flames threatening the country's second-largest city, officials said on Monday. Hot, dry winds and soaring temperatures fanned scores of major bl

8 February 2014 Ceremony opens with the Russian alphabet projected on the stadium floor Fireworks are seen over the Olympic park during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi on Friday. — AP Music, dance and plenty of Russian bravado unleashed the ultimate achievement o

BEIRUT: The Syrian government reached an agreement with the United Nations on Thursday to secure the evacuation of hundreds of trapped civilians from besieged parts of the central city of Homs, according to Syria's state-run TV. The TV did not give further details but quoted Homs Governor Talal B

(Photo used for instructional purpose only) TRIPOLI: Libya has completely destroyed the chemical arsenal it inherited from Muammar Gaddafi, 10 years after the now slain dictator signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, foreign minister Mohamed Abdelaziz announced on Tuesday. The completion of t

The globe is facing a "tidal wave" of cancer, and restrictions on alcohol and sugar need to be considered, say World Health Organization scientists. It predicts the number of cancer cases will reach 24 million a year by 2035, but half could be prevented. The WHO said there was now a "real need"

ADEN: A cargo ship sank off the coast of Yemenkilling 12 Indian sailors onboard, Yemen interior ministry said on Saturday. The ship, which was carrying car tyres and car parts, ran aground on Thursday night but the incident did not come to the attention of Yemeni security until 10 hours later, it

Dubai: Aid agencies in Syria have evacuated hundreds of people from the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Yarmouk in a rare moment of coordination between the government and rebel forces, as military continued its offensive on rebel-held areas of Aleppo, killing 13 people on Saturday. Granting reli

CHICAGO: A 35-year-old mother and her eight young children were killed when a fire gutted their wooden frame home in the US state of Kentucky, officials said today. Two people — the children's father, Chad J Watson, 36, and an 11-year-old child — survived. Both were taken via air ambulance to a h

CAIRO: Egypt's military on Monday backed a presidential bid by its commander Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, state media reported. Sisi, who will resign from the army to stand for office, is tipped to easily win a presidential election due to be held by mid-A

A bakery has been fined more than £10,000 after a woman found a SCREW inside her lunchtime bread roll. The female customer was seconds from biting into the white roll when she noticed the rusty object in the bread. She had purchased the £1.20 pack of buns from Budgens supermarket in Waddington

Tehran:  He loves rotten meat, especially porcupine and fills his smoking pipe with animal excreta instead of tobacco! Living in a remote village of Dejgah in southern Iran, Amou Haji, 80, has another unique feat to his credit. He has not bathed for last 60 years and hates water, said a report

TOKYO: International airports in Japan are striving to become friendlier to Muslims amid a steep increase in visitors from the Islamic world following the Japanese government's relaxation of regulations for issuing visas. An increase in private prayer rooms for Muslims, who pray five times a day,

19 January 2014 The aircraft was pounded by fierce winds and rain before being hit by lightning and crashing near a village. Jakarta - A light aircraft crashed and burst into flames on a beach in eastern Indonesia on Sunday after being hit by lightning, killing all four people on board, an off

  (IANS) / 15 January 2014 Doctors have removed a mass of impacted hair weighing half a kg from the stomach of a 12-year-old girl in China’s Henan province. Doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology in Luoyang, Henan province, surgically rem

An Algerian man believed to be the world’s oldest person died at the age of 130 years in hospital in the North African Arab country after he was admitted two years ago for the first time in his life, newspapers reported on Monday. Mubarak Rahmani was born in 1884 in a desert village near the bord

Charleston, West Virginia:  The White House has issued a federal disaster declaration in West Virginia, where a chemical spill that may have contaminated tap water has led officials to tell at least 300,000 people not to bathe, brush their teeth or wash their clothes. The chemical, a foaming agen