Ex-Soviet states see threat of Afghan spillover

ALMATY: Afghanistan’s Taliban may seek to establish a foothold in ex-Soviet Central Asia to recruit supporters and disrupt supplies for US troops in A

China’s defence chief vows closer ties with DPRK

BEIJING: China and isolated North Korea should deepen military ties, the Chinese defence minister said on Tuesday, saying international turbulence had

‘Leaving coma after 23 years is like rebirth’

BRUSSELS: With a caretaker holding his hand, a Belgian man who was diagnosed as comatose for 23 years typed out a message on Tuesday that he felt rebo

Tehran not opposed to sending uranium abroad

LA PAZ/TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Bolivia for a short visit on Tuesday, the second leg of a Latin America tour of three

‘Iran can take legal action over Russian missiles’

TEHRAN: Iran can take legal action against Russia if it fails to honour a deal to supply Tehran with an advanced air defence missile system, a top gen

Sri Lanka detains asylum-seekers

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s navy has detained at least 100 people trying to sail illegally to Australia, an official said on Tuesday, days after a boatload o

Obama urged to join Mine Ban Treaty

WASHINGTON: US acceptance of a treaty banning landmines is “long, long overdue” and President Barack Obama should use a 10-year review this weekend to

Hatoyama’s ex-aide faces indictment

TOKYO: A former aide to Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is facing indictment for misreporting political donations, media reports said on Tuesday

Big Bang machine attains first particle collisions

ZURICH: Scientists have smashed together proton beams for the first time in a 27-km tunnel under the French-Swiss border in an initial step towards di

Darwin debate rages on 150 years after ‘Origin’

PARIS/LONDON: Even 150 years after it first appeared in print, Charles Darwin’s “On The Origin of Species” still fuels clashes between scientists conv

Israeli warplanes pound Gaza Strip

BUENOS AIRES/GAZA CITY: US President Barack Obama is “doing nothing right now” to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Palestinian P

US pitches unique F-35 fighter jet to Israel

WASHINGTON: The United States has offered to add Israeli systems and munitions to a new US-built fighter jet and deliver it to Israel by 2015, provide