One dead, dozens hurt in Egypt Nile Delta clashes

CAIRO: One person was killed and dozens injured in overnight clashes between police and protesters in Egypt's Nile Delta city of Mansura, a security official told AFP on Saturday.A week of demonstrations in Mansura turned violent late on Friday when police fired tear gas at protesters outside the governorate headquarters, witnesses said."One protester died while 30 protesters and 10 policemen...

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Football: Giggs signs new one-year deal at Man Utd - club

LONDON: Ryan Giggs, who is set to make his 1,000th appearance in senior football this weekend, has signed a new one-year contract at Manchester United, the club announced on Friday.The English Premier League leaders said the deal keeps the 39-year-old Wales winger at Old Trafford until June 2014 and sees him complete a 23rd season as a first-team player.Coach Alex Ferguson told manutd.com:...

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Japan scrambles fighters to meet China plane

TOKYO: Japan scrambled fighter jets on Thursday to head off a Chinese government plane flying towards disputed islands in the East China Sea, the defence ministry said.It said the Y-12 propeller plane did not enter airspace around the Tokyo-controlled islands known as the Senkakus, which Beijing claims as the Diaoyus.The aircraft headed back towards China after Japan's military planes...

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Hong Kong unveils budget, warns on global risks

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's finance chief on Wednesday unveiled a budget to kickstart growth in the city and temper property prices but warned the world economy could face headwinds from possible trade and currency battles.During a speech interrupted by protests, Financial Secretary John Tsang also set out a series of measures to support the middle class and alleviate poverty in the first budget...

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GIC raises US$1.25b by selling shares in Global Logistic Properties

SINGAPORE: The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) has raised US$1.25 billion by selling about 596 million shares in warehouse operator Global Logistic Properties (GLP).GIC sold the shares at S$2.60 each, which is a 4.8 per cent discount to Monday's closing price.Following the share sale, it now holds a 37 per cent stake in GLP, down from 49 per cent.GIC said the move is part...

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Budget 2013: Personal income tax rebates for taxpayers

SINGAPORE: The government has introduced a slew of measures to help Singaporeans cope with the rising cost of living.These measures include income tax rebates, extra GST voucher and Service & Conservancy Charges rebates.Taxpayers who are 60 years and above will enjoy a higher income tax rebate of 50 per cent, capped at S$1,500.Those who are below 60 years old will get a rebate of 30...

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Indian PM calls for calm after deadly Hyderabad blasts

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday appealed for calm as he flew to Hyderabad and visited some of the 117 people wounded in twin bombings last week which killed 16 people.Singh also visited the blast site in Dilsukh Nagar, where two bicycle bombs exploded within a few minutes of each other outside a cinema and near a bus stand on Thursday evening.The prime minister...

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Iran won't go beyond nuclear obligations: envoy

TEHRAN: Iran said Saturday it will not go beyond its obligations nor accept anything outside its rights under the non-proliferation treaty, ahead of talks with major powers over its disputed nuclear drive."We will not accept anything beyond our obligations and will not accept anything less than our rights," said the Islamic republic's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, quoted by ISNA...

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Spate of blasts killed 83 in Damascus' deadliest day

DAMASCUS: A spate of bombings across Damascus killed at least 83 people in the deadliest day for the capital since Syria's war erupted, a watchdog said Friday, as the opposition discussed a plan for peace talks with the regime.Thursday's biggest bombing, which both the regime and its opponents blamed on "terrorists", killed 61 people and left a trail of destruction in the city centre,...

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Malaysian driver, Myanmar national arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint

SINGAPORE: A Malaysian driver and a Myanmar national have been arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint.They were caught at about 12.25am on Thursday after immigration officers checked a Malaysian-registered car that was leaving Singapore.When the driver opened the car boot, the officers found a man hiding inside. The driver, 26, and the Myanmar national, 62, were arrested and are being investigated.The...

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Pistorius "fought non-stop" with girlfriend on night of killing

PRETORIA: "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius returned to court Wednesday to hear explosive allegations that he fought "non-stop" with his slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on the night of her killing.With the South African sporting hero already facing a tough fight to win bail, the prosecution presented police evidence to flesh out the charge he deliberately murdered the cover girl on Valentine's...

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Turkey crackdown on radical group after US embassy attack

ANKARA: Turkish police launched a massive nationwide crackdown on Tuesday against a radical Marxist group which claimed a suicide bomb attack against the US embassy this month, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.Police issued arrest warrants for 167 people in 28 cities as part of the operation against the Revolutionary People's Liberation Front (DHKP-C), which is classified as...

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Indonesia floods, landslides kill 17

MANADO, Indonesia: Four children were among 17 people killed over the weekend in central Indonesia after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, officials said on Monday.The children, aged between two and nine, died along with 13 adults when flooding and landslides hit the northern part of Sulawesi island early Sunday, provincial disaster management agency spokesman Howke Makawarung...

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Mystery gold gifts for tsunami-wracked Japan port

TOKYO: A Japanese city devastated by the 2011 tsunami has received anonymous gifts of gold worth more than $250,000 in a phenomenon dubbed a "goodwill gold rush" ahead of the second anniversary of the disaster.The president of the company which operates the port in the northeastern city of Ishinomaki last week received a parcel containing two slabs of gold each weighing one kilogram (2.2...

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No health effects from Fukushima: Japan researcher

TOKYO: A Japanese government-backed researcher said Friday no health effects from radiation released by the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have been seen in people living nearby.The pronouncement by Kazuo Sakai of Japan's National Institute of Radiological Sciences is the latest by authorities seeking to quell fears over the long-term effects of the disaster.But it was dismissed by campaign...

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French medical body for euthanasia in "exceptional" cases

PARIS: France's medical ethics council said Thursday that euthanasia should be allowed in exceptional cases and when suffering patients make "persistent and lucid requests."Invoking a "duty to humanity," the body said that euthanasia should be reserved for "exceptional cases" like putting an end to "prolonged suffering", or "unbearable" pain.President Francois Hollande had referred a report...

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Pope makes first appearance since shock resignation

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI made his first public appearance Wednesday since the shock announcement of his resignation, sticking with his schedule by presiding over his weekly general audience.Tickets to the event in the Vatican's Paul VI auditorium were issued well in advance, so several thousand pilgrims experienced the historic moment out of sheer luck just two days after the 85-year-old...

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Shocked world media speculates on pope's successor

MANILA: The world's media speculated on whether the next pontiff may come from the developing world, while paying mixed tributes to Pope Benedict XVI following his shock resignation announcement.The 85-year-old Benedict said on Monday that he would step down at the end of this month because of health reasons, becoming the first leader of the Catholic Church to resign of his own free will...

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Philippines' Aquino visits rebel stronghold

SULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines: Philippine President Benigno Aquino paid a historic visit Monday to Muslim rebel territory in a bid to speed up efforts to end one of Asia's longest and deadliest insurgencies.Four months after his government agreed on a roadmap with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for a final peace deal by 2016, Aquino travelled to the insurgents' stronghold in the far south...

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Man arrested for allegedly molesting women on public bus

SINGAPORE: Police have arrested a man for allegedly outraging the modesty of two women on a public bus.The 29-year-old suspect was nabbed at about 2:45pm on Saturday.His victims, aged 21 and 35, were molested on separate occasions on board the same bus, in the vicinity of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5.Upon being alerted of the incidents, the bus captain immediately stopped his vehicle and closed...

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