|
| December 19, 2008 | Friday | Zilhaj 20, 1429 |
|
Iraq arrests 40 over coup plot
BAGHDAD, Dec 18: Iraq has arrested almost 40 policemen accused of plotting a coup against the Shia-led government and bringing Saddam Hussein’s old party back into power, a senior interior ministry official said on Thursday.... 
|
|
Violence rocks Gaza as truce set to expire
JERUSALEM, Dec 18: Violence flared around the Gaza Strip on Thursday on the eve of an expiry of a truce but Israel stressed it would not rush into a major military operation in the besieged Palestinian territory....
|
|
||
|
Minister sees foul play in Karkare’s killing
NEW DELHI, Dec 18: A Muslim minister in India has kicked up a storm with an observation that the killing of Hemant Karkare, who headed an anti-terror squad, in Mumbai during last month’s terror attacks was a conspiracy....
|
|
US wants China military ties resumed
WASHINGTON, Dec 18: The US hopes China, which suspended military contacts with Washington in October, will soon resume them to work together against piracy in the Gulf of Aden, US defence officials said on Thursday....
|
|
|
||
Barrage of tear gas suffocates Athens
ATHENS, Dec 18: The Greek capital was suffocating under a barrage of tear gas on Thursday as 5,000 protesters swamped riot police outside parliament, 12 days after the killing of a teenager by police sparked riots....
|
|
‘I’m not qualified to land plane,’ pilot tells passengers
LONDON, Dec 18: A British passenger plane was forced to turn back minutes before landing in Paris because the pilot of 30 years’ experience was not qualified to land in fog, an airline confirmed on Thursday....
|
|
|
||
|
Russia held 149 spies in 2008, says intelligence chief
MOSCOW, Dec 18: Russia caught 149 spies working for foreign governments in 2008, including a network of Georgian agents, the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday....
|
|
Nato, Russia to resume high-level talks today
BRUSSELS, Dec 18: Nato and Russia will on Friday hold their first high-level talks in four months, after alliance foreign ministers ordered a thaw in tense relations with Moscow, officials said....
|
|
|
||
|
Swiss engineer completes first world tour in solar-powered car
GENEVA, Dec 18: A Swiss engineer completed the first-ever round-the-world trip in a solar-powered car on Thursday after more than 17 months on the road during which he crossed almost 40 countries....
|
|
Carla Bruni wins $57,500 in damages
SAINT DENIS DE LA REUNION (France), Dec 18: A French court awarded first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy 40,000 euros ($57,500) in damages from a company that sold bags emblazoned with a picture of her in the nude....
|
|
|
||
|
Argentine cattle move from Pampas to feedlots
SANTA LUCIA (Argentina): Cows grazing freely on the vast Pampas have long been part of Argentine tradition. Now that view is changing as ranchers herd their cattle into feedlots....
|
|
Israel: an accord with entire Arab world
LONDON: Forget the two-state solution: start thinking about the four-state problem. The phrase comes from Palestinian negotiator and analyst Ahmad Khalidi, who has toiled for decades to see two states side by side, one for Palestinians, the other for Israelis....
|
|
|
||
|
Maids face life of abuse in Lebanon
BEIRUT: An Ethiopian housemaid lies bandaged in a government hospital after falling from a 12th floor balcony. She says her Lebanese employer pushed her off....
|
|
Afghans from north and south fight it out with dogs
KABUL: The crowd surges forward as two huge mastiffs launch themselves at each other in the ring, before one ends the bout by grabbing the other’s throat, and is then paraded in triumph....
|
|
|
||
