HOME  INTERNATIONAL

Army recaptures Aleppo heart as fighting rages

The Syrian army recaptured three Christian neighbourhoods in the historic heart of Aleppo from rebels Thursday but fierce clashes continued in other parts of the main northern city, residents said. Loyalists forces also battled rebels in Damascus... Full story

---

Sri Lanka govt shuts down universities

Sri Lanka’s government has closed down almost all universities for an indefinite period amid a row about the future of education in the island. Academics have been on strike for nearly two months, accusing the... Full story

---

India’s weak atomic watchdog poses ‘grave risks’

India’s nuclear energy regulator is weak and lacks independence which poses ‘grave risks’ to the country, the national auditor warned on Thursday in a report. The Comptroller and Auditor General said it had... Full story

---

Man partly to blame for Antarctic ice shelf collapse: study

An ice core extracted from an Antarctic islet has yielded further evidence of the impact of man-made warming on the frozen continent, fuelling concern for the future of ice shelves, a report said Wednesday. Full story

---

Seif to be tried in Sept

Slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam will go on trial in September in the town of Zintan where he has been held since last November, the prosecution’s spokesman said on Thursday. ‘A committee from the prosecutor general’s... Full story

---

Pakistan barber has eyes, lips, tongue cut out

A barber in rural Pakistan was left fighting for his life after being horrifically mutilated over a relationship with a married woman from an influential local family, the police said Thursday. Full story

---

Heavy rain, floods kill 21 in Pakistan

Flash floods triggered by heavy rain have killed more than 20 people and destroyed hundreds of houses in northern Pakistan, officials said on Thursday. Irshad Bhatti, a spokesman for the country’s National Disaster... Full story

---

US, Pakistan must ‘divorce’ as allies: Husain Haqqani

The United States and Pakistan should stop pretending they are allies and amicably ‘divorce,’ Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington said on Wednesday, citing unrealistic expectations in both countries... Full story

---

Taiwan evacuates over 3,000 as typhoon closes in

Taiwan evacuated more than 3,000 people Thursday ahead of Typhoon Tembin, as a military official warned major measures were needed a avoid a repeat of a deadly disaster three years ago. About 50,000 soldiers were on standby on the island... Full story

---

Nepalese man bites snake in revenge attack

A Nepalese farmer who was bitten by a venomous snake took revenge by sinking his teeth into the reptile and killing it, police said on Thursday. Mohamed Salmo Miya was farming near his village 200 kilometres southeast... Full story

---

South Korea to return protest letter, angering Japan

South Korea said Thursday it would return a protest letter from Japan’s prime minister without answering it, further angering Tokyo amid a bitter row over disputed islands. Prime minister Yoshihiko Noda’s letter will be returned... Full story

---

NASA’s Mars rover makes first test drive

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Wednesday made its first test drive, leaving wheel tracks near its landing spot — now dubbed ‘Bradbury Landing’ in honour of late science fiction author Ray Bradbury. Full story

---

Race tightens for Obama in key US states: poll

The president, Barack Obama, leads his Republican rival Mitt Romney in the battleground of Ohio, but the race has tightened in two other key states ahead of the November 6 elections, according to a poll out Thursday. Obama continues to enjoy a... Full story

---

S Africa mourns victims of mine violence

South Africa’s major platinum mines closed on Thursday to allow workers to attend memorials for the 44 people killed last week in a wildcat strike at a Lonmin facility. Lonmin and nearby Impala Platinum closed for the day as workers prepared for... Full story

---

Swedish prosecutors rule out London trip to hear Assange

Swedish prosecutors on Thursday ruled out travelling to London to question Julian Assange over alleged sex crimes even though the WikiLeaks founder’s lawyer said he had key information relating to the matter. Full story

---

Quebec student protesters eye elections

Thousands of protesters marched against planned tuition hikes in Montreal on Wednesday, opposing the Liberal government of Premier Jean Charest, two weeks before parliamentary elections. Full story

---

Turkish soldiers kill 16 PKK militants

Turkish troops have killed 16 Kurdish guerrillas in an operation in south-east Turkey targeting militants who launched a bomb attack on a military convoy that killed five soldiers, the local governor’s office said on Thursday. Full story

---

Newspapers warned over Prince Harry nude photos

The British royal family on Wednesday warned the country’s newspapers not to publish nude photographs of Prince Harry cavorting with friends on holiday in Las Vegas. The photographs, published in the... Full story

---