Seville, Nov 20 (IANS/EFE) The Duchess of Alba, the aristocrat with most titles in the world and one of Spain’s biggest fortunes, died Thursday in Seville at age 88 following a short illness, the city’s Mayor, Juan Ignacio Zoido, said. Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was hospitalised last Sunday with a stomach flu, pneumonia and an irregular […]
Moscow, Nov 20 (IANS /TASS) The Russian emergencies ministry will send the eighth humanitarian aid convoy to the rebel-held regions in east Ukraine, Deputy Minister Vladimir Artamonov said Thursday. “We expect the convoy to depart Nov 26-27,” Artamonov said. During the period from Aug 23 to Nov 16, seven convoys of the Russian emergencies ministry […]
Bangkok, Nov 20 (IANS/EFE) Indonesian National Police Thursday confirmed carrying out virginity tests on female recruits to prove their physical and moral strength, a test that Human Rights Watch (HRW) has branded as humiliating. The director of the legal department of the national police, Inspector General Moechgiyarto said these tests were reserved exclusively for women, […]
New York, Nov 20 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the list of 50 contenders for Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Time’s Person of the Year will be announced Dec 10. Modi, “once a controversial regional leader”, became India’s prime minister after leading his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a “landslide electoral […]
Bangkok, Nov 20 (IANS/EFE) At least 22 guerrilla fighters from the militant wing of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) have died in a heavy artillery attack by the Myanmar army, media reported Thursday. Another 15 Kachin guerrillas were injured when government troops opened fire late Wednesday on rebel strongholds in the city of Laiza in […]
Seoul, Nov 20 (IANS/EFE) A South Korean court Thursday sentenced the head of a ferry operator firm to 10 years in prison for negligent homicide over the sinking of the Sewol, which killed 304 people in April. Kim Han-sik, 71, “remodelled the ship and overloaded it with cargo in an effort to overcome the company’s […]
Tehran, Nov 20 (IANS) The head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran has said Tehran will not allow any “special” inspections of the country’s nuclear facilities, media reported Thursday. “We will not accept any special inspections” by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that are exclusively planned for Iran’s nuclear facilities, Ali-Akbar Salehi said, […]
Kolkata, Nov 19 (IANS) China’s Yunnan province has formally invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for a visit to foster sister city relations between Kunming and Kolkata, an official said Wednesday. Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province while Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. According to Wang Xuefeng, […]
Baghdad, Nov 19 (IANS/EFE) At least five people were killed and 11 others wounded Wednesday in a car bomb suicide attack in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, security sources told Efe news agency. The attack targeted Erbil’s municipal government headquarters, which had been spared until now despite the offensive that […]
Ramallah, Nov 19 (IANS) Palestinian Foreign Minister Reyad al-Malki Wednesday called on Spain to recognise the state of Palestine after its parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday in favour of establishing a Palestinian state. Al-Malki said in an emailed press statement that the Palestinian leadership expresses gratitude to the Spanish kingdom and all Spanish political parties for […]