HONIARA  : A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck near the Solomon Islands in the western Pacific Saturday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, updating its previous estimate of a 7.1-magnitude quake. No immediate threat of a tsunami was

SYDNEY: The shadowy deposing of Australian leader Kevin Rudd by his female deputy appears to be paying off, with the first polls suggesting Julia Gillard would win the election with a commanding lead. Gillard became Australia`s first female prime minister Thursday after disposing of Rudd

LONDON : French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde Friday called the euro "a credible, solid" currency and expressed confidence that troubled eurozone member Greece will be able to cut its public debt. Asked in an interview with the BBC whether the European currency faced a threat to its

MIRANSHAH : A US drone strike in Pakistan`s lawless northwest tribal belt, on the border with Afghanistan, killed two militants and wounded two others early on Saturday, security officials said. The drone targeted a house in Mir Ali area, 30 kilometres (around 20 miles) east of

NEW YORK - Accused Kingston drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke arrived Thursday in New York to face drug and gun-trafficking charges following his extradition from Jamaica, US authorities said.Coke "arrived this evening in the Southern District of New York to face charges of conspiracy to

MONTERREY - Police are increasingly fleeing their posts in rural communities in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon after the killings of more than 60 officers in the area so far this year. Authorities blame warring drug traffickers for growing violence in the northern state which has

NEW DELHI - India agreed on Friday to release four detained Pakistani nationals on the eve of talks in Islamabad between the interior ministers of the South Asian neighbours, a government statement said. Home Minister P. Chidambaram "as a gesture of goodwill" approved the release of the

TBILISI - Georgia secretly tore down the historic bronze statue of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet dictator`s home town of Gori overnight, officials said Friday."Stalin`s monument in Gori was dismantled overnight," Deputy Foreign Minister Giga Bokeria told AFP, adding that the government

SINGAPORE - A Swiss expatriate pleaded guilty on Friday to vandalism and trespass for spray-painting a Singapore metro train in a daring stunt for which he is expected to be caned and jailed. Oliver Fricker, 32, is to be sentenced later for the two crimes, which alarmed Singapore

SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il`s poor health is driving him to speed up preparations for the transfer of power to his youngest son Kim Jong-Un, South Korea`s spy chief says.   Won Sei-Hoon, National Intelligence Service (NIS) director, told parliament Thursday that Jong-Un is

The Indian government`s new $280m package to compensate the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster falls short of expectations, campaigners say. The government has said the money will also go into cleaning up the polluted factory site and improve medical treatment of the victims. The

MANILA, June 25, 2010 (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of slum dwellers remain living in flood-prone areas of the Philippine capital as the rainy season builds despite pledges to move them after a barrage of deadly storms last year. A month into the tropical nation`s annual rainy season,

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his US counterpart Barack Obama have marked a warming in ties between their countries on the Russian leader`s first visit to the White House. Speaking after their talks, Mr Obama said the pair had "succeeded at resetting our relationship". He said

The US Congress has overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against foreign companies that trade with Iran, over its nuclear programme. Those firms that supply Iran`s Revolutionary Guards or contribute to the country`s energy industry are targeted by the bill. The sanctions are designed

COLOMBO, June 25, 2010 (AFP) - The head of a UN panel probing alleged war crimes during Sri Lanka`s civil war has criticised a decision by Colombo to block him and colleagues from entering the country, a report said Friday. Marzuki Darusman, a former Indonesian attorney general, was

BEIJING: A prominent Tibetan environmentalist who said he was "brutally tortured" in custody has been jailed for 15 years on tomb-robbing charges that were dropped years ago, his lawyer said Friday. Karma Samdrup, a 42-year-old art collector, went on trial this week in China`s

SEOUL:  South Korea`s president urged North Korea Friday to stop its "reckless military provocations" as the two countries marked the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of their war. Six decades later, the peninsula is still divided by barbed wire and minefields. Tensions remain high

SEOUL: North Korea has announced a ban on shipping off part of its west coast and South Korea is watching for any signs of missile tests, the defence ministry in Seoul said Friday. "The move is seen as part of a routine exercise by North Korean troops, but we are closely monitoring their

HONG KONG, Hong Kong on Friday passed a package of democratic reforms that stops well short of a one person, one vote system for the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Lawmakers voted in favour of the more contentious part of the package, which will see 10 directly-elected seats added to the

BEIJING: China`s central bank set the strongest yuan exchange rate in years on Friday, as international pressure builds for a stronger currency ahead of the weekend Group of 20 summit in Canada. The People`s Bank of China said it set the central parity rate -- the centre point of the