Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ruled out a complete freeze in settlement activity as demanded by the US and said talks with Washington were ongoing over how long any halt would last. “The Palestinians are expecting a complete freeze in construction and it is clear that this will not happen,” a senior official quoted [...]

Pakistan on Monday responded to India’s accusation that groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba are planning attacks from across the border by saying that New Delhi should share actionable information to prevent such incidents. “We have repeatedly requested the Indian government to share with us whatever information it has in this regard. Sharing of real-time, credible and actionable [...]

About 40 per cent of people who have died of swine flu or fallen seriously ill were young and otherwise healthy, an expert from the World Health Organisation told a conference in Vienna on Monday. Forty per cent of the most serious cases, as well as deaths, concerned people “who would otherwise be considered healthy,” [...]

Muntazer al-Zaidi, the television reporter jailed for throwing his shoes in disgust at former US president George W Bush, will be released on Tuesday, a day later than expected, his family said. Zaidi’s brother, Durgham, was in tears on Monday as he told reporters that the necessary legal procedures had not been completed and they [...]

50 overs India 319 for 5 (Tendulkar 138, Yuvraj 56*, Dhoni 56) beat Sri Lanka 272 (Kandamby 66, Harbhajan 5-57) by 46 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details. How they were out! The ghost of the R Premadasa lights was almost buried tonight. Sachin Tendulkar’s master class, not far off his best, his 86th international century, [...]

Britain’s Foreign Office took the unusual step on Sunday of denying a newspaper report that diplomats had reached a secret agreement with Libya that would prevent the killer of a British policewoman from being tried in Britain. A spokesman who asked not to be identified because of departmental policy said there was no truth to [...]

There seems to be growing tension between India and China. Beijing on Sunday took exception to the detention of United Arab Emirates air force aircraft at Kolkata airport earlier this week. It called the incident an attempt by Indian officials “to spy on Chinese military secrets” and said India violated diplomatic rights because the cargo [...]

The Iraqi television reporter who threw his shoes at former US President George W Bush in one of the more bizarre episodes of the Iraq war might use his new iconic status in Iraq to promote humanitarian causes, his family said. The reporter, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, is to be released on Monday after nine months in [...]

In a move to discourage people from using oil and gas energy, France will impose a levy on oil, gas and coal consumption by households and businesses from next year. This will make France the largest economy to impose such a tax that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emission from the country. France’s neighbours Sweden, [...]

US will accept Iran’s offer of talks but maintained that nuclear issue would be the central part of it, even as Tehran in its proposal has insisted that it would not negotiate over the future of its nuclear programme. “We will seek an early meeting and we will seek to test Iran’s willingness to engage,” [...]

The International Border at Attari near Wagah in Punjab became the scene of a confrontation on Friday night between Pakistani Rangers and India’s Border Security Force. The trouble started after two rockets were fired from across the border around 10 pm. The rockets landed close to two villages in Attari near Wagah in Punjab. No [...]

Amid calls for withdrawal of the security cover to former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, a leading British daily has revealed that the UK government was spending around 25,000 pounds (approximately Rs 20 lakh) daily for his protection. The Metropolitan Police Specialist Protection Unit, known as SOI, has assigned a round-the clock team of at least [...]

Pakistan on Friday claimed that the trial of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives arrested for involvement in the Mumbai attacks would be completed within four months, even as it sought more time to examine the evidence provided by India against the terrorist group’s founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. Refuting the contention of Indian leaders like Home Minister P [...]

Afghan journalists have blamed international troops for the death of a kidnapped colleague during a rescue operation earlier this week. Afghan journalist Sultan Munadi died in a pre-dawn raid by British commandos. He was killed as he tried to lead the foreign journalist he was working with to safety. The loss of the colleague has [...]

Barack Obama is facing his toughest battle yet as US President as he tries to push through his contentious healthcare plan. In a powerful speech, which drew huge applause from the Democrats and hostile reactions from Republicans, Obama told the US Congress that healthcare in the country just had to change. “The reform I’m proposing [...]

Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has said he doesn’t want to lead the team and suggested that a new face be given the vice-captain’s responsibility, so that he can be groomed to take over the reins after captain MS Dhoni. “I don’t want to be a captain, I have already told selectors about it. I have [...]

Hollywood actor Matt Damon says he had fun while working on The Informant because he could binge on food as well as skip his workout sessions. “It was very, very easy to gain weight. It was very, very fun, probably the best time I had working because I didn’t have to go to the gym [...]

Renee Zellweger, who celebrated her landmark 40th birthday in April, believes her quirky appearance will always land her roles, regardless of her age. Asked if she had noticed more exciting parts drying up, she said: “It’s so hard to comment because I don’t see it. I don’t know. I’m so spoiled with respect to the [...]