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Syrian forces push into Douma, residents flee

Syrian government forces pushed their way into Douma on Saturday after weeks of siege and shelling and fleeing residents spoke of corpses in the streets of the town near the capital Damascus. Full story

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Nepali Congress steps up efforts to oust PM

Nepali Congress, the country’s oldest party, has stepped up its campaign to remove the Baburam Bhattarai led Maoist-Madhesi coalition and replace it with a national unity government, reports Hindustan Times on Friday. Full story

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Rights group urges Lanka to stop harassing media

An international rights group on Saturday called on Sri Lanka to stop ‘harassing’ media organisations, a day after police shut down opposition news websites for allegedly carrying false reports. Full story

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India’s monsoon seen picking up

India’s crucial monsoon rains should pick up in July after a slow start over vast swathes of the country, which has threatened crops from rice to sugar, forecasters said. Some 26 out of India’s 36 weather zones... Full story

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Kalam was ready to swear Sonia as PM in 2004

APJ Abdul Kalam was ready to swear Sonia Gandhi as the prime minister after the 2004 polls when he was the President despite pressure from various political leaders before Manmohan Singh was nominated to head the UPA government. Full story

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South Korea to open controversial new mini-capital

After a decade of wrangling, South Korea is set to inaugurate a new mini-capital seen by supporters as a developmental triumph and by critics as a classic pork-barrel project. Sejong City will by 2015 house... Full story

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Senate confirms first US envoy to Myanmar in 22 years

The US Senate on Friday confirmed president Barack Obama’s nominee to be the first US ambassador to Myanmar in more than two decades, the latest step in greater engagement with a nation undergoing... Full story

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Suu Kyi returns to Myanmar after tour

Hundreds of cheering supporters welcomed democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi back to Myanmar Saturday after her triumphant five-nation European tour. The opposition leader arrived in Yangon after an exhausting two-week visit to Europe where... Full story

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PLO calls for UNSC meet on settlements

The Palestine Liberation Organisation called on Saturday for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Israel’s policy of building Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. The call came after news that... Full story

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13 communist rebels killed in Philippine clashes

Philippine soldiers killed 13 communist guerilla rebels in two separate clashes on Saturday, in what military officials described as one of the biggest victories over the insurgents in years. Full story

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US fire toll at two as Obama tours zone

A shocked US President Barack Obama on Friday toured ‘heartbroken’ Colorado neighborhoods torched by rampaging wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and left two dead. Full story

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Mali Islamists destroy holy Timbuktu sites

Al-Qaeda-linked Mali Islamists armed with Kalashnikovs and pick-axes began destroying prized mausoleums of saints in the UNESCO-listed northern city of Timbuktu on Saturday in front of shocked locals, witnesses said. Full story

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Al-Qaeda mines kill more than 70 in Yemen

Agence France-Presse . SanaaMore than 50 civilians and 23 military personnel have been killed by mines sown by al-Qaeda since the militants were chased out of areas of south Yemen on June 13, the... Full story

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Pepper spray fired as Chinese leader visits HK

The police fired choking volleys of pepper spray against Hong Kong crowds demonstrating against president Hu Jintao Saturday as he visited the unruly city to mark its return to Chinese rule. Full story

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Spanish fires destroy vast forest tracts

Nearly 1,000 Spanish firefighters backed by 28 water-bombing aircraft and helicopters Saturday sought to contain wildfires that had razed vast forest areas and threatened villages. Forest fires raged in the Valencia and... Full story

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‘Assange faced tough choice’

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faced a ‘difficult choice’ in defying a British police order for extradition to Sweden, one of his lawyers said Friday. Assange was confronted with risks no matter which path he took... Full story

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First white woman stands in Senegal’s elections

She was born in Paris but fell in love with Senegal, where filmmaker and photographer Laurence Gavron not only took nationality but is the first white woman to stand in parliamentary elections. Full story

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Kabila blames unrest on ‘dark’ national, foreign forces

Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Joseph Kabila on Friday blamed ‘dark national and foreign forces’ for violent unrest in the eastern part of the country. Rwanda has denied accusations it has been... Full story

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Suspected al-Qaeda associate arrested in New York

A man suspected of association with al-Qaeda has been arrested here and charged with providing material support to the terror network and possessing and using firearms to promote violence. Full story

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1,000 held in Sudan demos

About 1,000 people were detained and hundreds injured — many by tear gas — during anti-regime protests on Friday in Sudan, an activist group said on Saturday’s anniversary of president Omar al-Bashir’s coup. Full story

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Mongolia’s ruling party calls for new elections

Mongolia was facing political gridlock on Saturday with the ruling party leading calls for fresh elections and rejecting a new voting system that was intended to bring more fairness to the polls. Full story

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