Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif has told President Obama the US should halt drone strikes in Pakistan, a critical source of tension in the relationship. The two leaders held wide-ranging talks at the White House on Wednesday, pledging to strengthen the often-strained ties between the nations. The le

Cairo: At least 51 people were killed in clashes in Egyptian cities on Sunday, security sources said, after opponents and supporters of deposed president Mohamad Morsi took to the streets in one of the bloodiest days since the army seized power. In a sign of more possible violence to come, an

Washington: President Barack Obama on Wednesday scaled down a long-planned trip to Asia, as a US government shutdown entered a second day with no end in sight to the funding row in Congress that triggered it. Obama is expected to leave on Saturday for summit meetings in Indonesia and Brunei.

Singapore: Singapore, with a little less land mass than New York City, is running out of room for its 5.4 million people. The city-state has built upward - with apartment buildings reaching as high as 70 stories - reclaimed underused properties for housing and pushed out coastlines for more u

A major earthquake hit a remote part of western Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 45 people and prompting a new island to rise from the sea just off the country's southern coast. The earthquake was so powerful that it caused the seabed to rise and create a small, mountain-like island about 60

A U.N. report released Monday confirmed that a deadly chemical arms attack caused a mass killing in Syria last month and for the first time provided extensive forensic details of the weapons used, which strongly implicated the Syrian government. While the report's authors did not assign blame

Washington: NASA has joined the world of Instagram - and has already attracted an incredible 56,374 followers within hours of posting its first pictures on the social media site. The US space agency posted two images for its debut. One of the images was a detailed picture of the Moon and its

Moscow/ Washington: In a dramatic turn of events, Syria today agreed to a Russian proposal to surrender its chemical weapons to "uproot US aggression", hours after President Barack Obama said he would "absolutely" put on hold any military strike on the country if it does so. Pouncing on a cas

The Pentagon is readying more intense and longer attack on Syria than originally planned, set to last three days, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday. War planners now aim to unleash a heavy barrage of missile strikes to be followed swiftly by additional attacks on targets that may have

JERUSALEM (AFP): Israel's housing minister has given final approval to construct more than 1,000 apartments in Jewish settlements, just three days before Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are to resume in Jerusalem. Sunday's announcement said the new homes would be built in settlements in the W

St Louis: Torrential rains lashed the U.S. midsection on Thursday, causing flash flooding that killed a woman and a child, damaged homes and forced multiple water rescues. Up to 10 inches (254 millimeters) of rain pounded Missouri overnight. A woman died in the far southwestern corner of the

KARACHI (Dawn): Heavy monsoon rains swept across Pakistan on Saturday, claiming up to 34 lives and leaving several people injured in different parts of the country. At least seven people were killed by rain-related incidents in different areas of Balochistan, said provincial secretary informa

CAIRO: Egypt’s interior ministry on Thursday promised Muhammad Mursi’s supporters “safe exit” if they quickly leave their Cairo protest camps, as police prepared to disperse them amid international appeals for restraint. The call to disperse, which came after police commanders discussed how to carr

Cairo: Protesters holding sticks and wearing helmets and makeshift body armor stand behind mounds of sandbags, tires and brick walls. They change guards every two hours to ensure they stay alert. With Egypt's military-backed government signaling a crackdown is imminent, supporters of ousted I

CAIRO: Egypt Friday formally detained Muhammad Mursi for allegedly abetting Palestinian militants in murdering policemen and staging prison breaks, as clashes between the deposed leader’s supporters and opponents killed two people. Mursi’s detention, under a court order for a renewable 15 days, furt

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for the release of Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Mursi as his supporters and the military who toppled him sought to defuse soaring tensions ahead of rival rallies Friday. Ban demanded that Mursi and his high-level backers “be released or have their cases reviewed t

CAIRO: Egypt’s military chief on Wednesday called on his countrymen to hold mass demonstrations to voice their support for the army and police to deal with potential “violence and terrorism,” a move that signals a stepped up campaign against supporters of the ousted Islamist president. Gen. Abdel-F

Syria (AFP): Five thousand people a month are dying in the Syria war which has now thrown up the worst refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, UN officials said on Tuesday. A host of top officials called on the divided UN Security Council to take stronger action to deal with the fallo