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Delhi eases visa rules to boost tourism 07 Feb 2014 - 09:20 am

NEW DELHI: Tourists travelling to India from 180 countries will no longer have to queue at their local consulates to obtain visas after...

Pakistan, Taliban begin talks 07 Feb 2014 - 09:20 am

ISLAMABAD: Negotiators for Pakistan’s government and the Taliban met for more than three hours yesterday in the first round of talks aimed at...

Election watchdog plagued by delays and funding woes 07 Feb 2014 - 09:19 am

KABUL: Afghanistan’s election watchdog may not be ready in time for a presidential vote in April because of funding and staffing problems, a...

Tokyo stocks close up 2.17pc 07 Feb 2014 - 09:17 am

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks closed 2.17 percent higher on Friday, with investors encouraged by gains on Wall Street and a weaker yen ahead of...

Chilly weather death toll 16 07 Feb 2014 - 09:17 am

Kabul: Chilly weather and heavy snowfall have claimed the lives of more than a dozen people, including women and children, in Afghanistan’s northern...

Drones to prevent possible attacks 07 Feb 2014 - 09:17 am

ISLAMABAD: The United States has agreed to halt drone strikes in Pakistan except for stopping an attack on its forces in Afghanistan or...

Khan’s party reveals rigging in 35 constituencies in May 07 Feb 2014 - 09:17 am

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf has revealed a bizarre scandal involving a secret conversation with a top political party leader and a Western diplomat and...

14 dead as bus falls into ravine in Philippines 07 Feb 2014 - 09:11 am

MANILA: Fourteen people including two foreigners were killed and 31 others were injured as a tourist bus fell into a deep ravine in...

Japan Beethoven not deaf: Ghost composer 07 Feb 2014 - 08:15 am

TOKYO: The musical brains behind a supposedly deaf composer dubbed “Japan’s Beethoven” claimed yesterday that the mock maestro was a scheming manipulator who...

Bomber run imperils reunions plan: N Korea 07 Feb 2014 - 08:14 am

SEOUL: A nuclear-capable US B-52 bomber sortie over South Korea has endangered plans for reunions between families from the North and South of...

Syria 07 Feb 2014 - 07:44 am

Syria, UN reach aid deal on Homs 07 Feb 2014 - 07:19 am

Syrian refugees shop in a hypermarket after receiving their humanitarian aid shopping vouchers at Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of...

Bombs rip through Baghdad 07 Feb 2014 - 07:17 am

bomb explosions in the Al Obeidi Shia area, on the outskirts of Baghdad. BAGHDAD: Seven bombs ripped through Baghdad killing five people yesterday,...

Turkey tightens Internet controls 07 Feb 2014 - 07:16 am

ANKARA: Turkey’s parliament has approved Internet controls enabling web pages to be blocked within hours in what the opposition decried as part of...

Iran prepared to modify Arak nuclear reactor 07 Feb 2014 - 06:42 am

DUBAI: Iran is prepared to modify its planned Arak heavy water reactor to help allay Western concerns, its atomic energy chief said in...

Parliament backs Rowhani plan for subsidy cuts 07 Feb 2014 - 06:41 am

DUBAI: Iran’s parliament has approved politically sensitive plans to slash subsidies on fuel and food, but delayed implementation for several months while authorities...

Iraqi forces abuse women prisoners: HRW 07 Feb 2014 - 06:41 am

BAGHDAD: Thousands of women are being illegally held in Iraqi prisons, where they suffer torture and other forms of abuse, including sexual assault,...

Settlers charged over attacks 07 Feb 2014 - 06:41 am

JERUSALEM: Three Israeli settlers have been charged with carrying out so-called “price tag” attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the justice...