Tehran, May 9 (IANS) Iran has received the fourth and fifth installments of previously frozen assets under an interim nuclear deal with world powers, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced Thursday. The installments, amounting to one billion dollars, have been deposited to the account of the CBI in the Central Bank of United Arab Emirates, […]
Beijing, May 9 (IANS) A total of 1,281 people died of infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in April, the country’s National Health and Family Planning Commission announced Thursday. A total of 836,954 infectious disease cases were reported last month, Xinhua quoted the commission as saying in a statement. No cases of Class-A infectious diseases were […]
Rome, May 9 (IANS) Claudio Scajola, a former Italian economic development and interior minister, was detained Thursday on charges of helping a fugitive convicted for mafia links, prosecutors said. Scajola, 66, a member of three-time premier Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right Forza Italia (FI) party, was arrested at a Rome hotel where he was staying in. “From the […]
Washington, May 9 (IANS) The US Thursday imposed sanctions on six Syrian officials, two refineries, and a Russian bank, in a move to raise pressure on Damascus and its supporters. The officials on the blacklist included Brigadier General Bassam Al-Hassan, an advisor to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Xinhua quoted the Treasury Department as saying in a […]
Abuja, May 9 (IANS) China will earmark more than half of its foreign aid for Africa without attaching preconditions, visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Thursday. “China will, as always, continue to increase its assistance to Africa in both quantity and quality to the extent of its ability, ensuring that more than half of its […]
Baghdad, May 9 (IANS) A total of 39 people were killed and 41 injured in separate violent incidents, including during a security operation, across Iraq Thursday, police said. In northern Iraq, police carried out an offensive targeting insurgent groups in Mosul, some 400 km from Baghdad, killing 17 gunmen believed to be linked to the infamous […]
Damascus, May 9 (IANS) A large explosion in Syria’s Aleppo city has destroyed a hotel and several other buildings, BBC reported Thursday citing state media and activists. Rebel fighters are believed to have detonated a bomb placed in a tunnel beneath the Carlton Citadel Hotel, near the city’s medieval citadel and souk. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory […]
Tehran, May 9 (IANS) Iran will not accept any limitations on its crude oil exports by foreigners, the country’s oil minister said here Thursday. “Iran will not accept any numbers and figures for the volume of its oil exports dictated by others,” Xinhua quoted Bijan Namdar Zanganeh telling reporters on the sidelines of an international exhibition […]
Mexico City, May 9 (IANS) A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Mexico Thursday. There was no immediate report of any casualty or damage to property, Xinhua reported. The quake jolted area near Tecpan de Galeana municipality in Guerrero state, about 300 km from capital city of Mexico City, the US Geological Survey […]
Rome, May 8 (IANS) Italy’s coalition government Wednesday won a confidence vote in the Senate on a labour decree which is going through parliamentary procedure to be converted into law. The decree, which has to go back to the lower chamber for further review, had 158 “yes” votes against 122 “no” votes, Xinhua reported. The centre-left […]