Parties up the ante to get Indian votes
Kuala lumpur: Ahead of general elections in Malaysia, the 9,50,000-strong ethnic Indian community, mostly Tamils, is being wooed by both the ruling and opposition parties with catchy Tamil songs, pamphlets and online videos. Both sides are vying for the votes of ethnic Indians, which can play a crucial role, where the community makes up between 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the voters.
Roadside bomb kills three policemen
Kabul: An official says a remote-controlled roadside bomb has killed three police officers in southern Afghanistan, including a deputy provincial police chief. The attack occurred at 6 a.M. today, the day the Taliban had said that its spring offensive would begin.
World War-II veteran alan wood
los Angeles: Alan Wood, a World War II veteran credited with providing the flag in the famous flag-raising on Iwo Jima, has died. He was 90. Wood died April 18 of natural causes at his Sierra Madre home, his son Steven Wood said yesterday.
Indian boy wins spelling championship
Singapore: A 12-year-old Indian-origin boy has clinched a prestigious spelling championship, beating 30 others in the final showdown. Ashvin Sivakumar, a class VI-tudent at the Anglo-Chinese School, spelled his way to the top spot at the ‘RHB-The Straits Times National Spelling Championship’.
Rebels, troops clash at syria military bases
Beirut: Syrian rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad fought intense battles with his troops on Sunday at two military air bases in northern Syria, activists said. The fighting raged inside the sprawling Abu Zuhour air base in northwestern Idlib province and the Kweiras military air base in northern Aleppo province.
WTC building to be tallest in west
New York: Construction crews at the 9/11 site will raise the final two sections of a 408-foot spire to the top of the One World Trade Centre building on Monday, making the building the tallest in the western hemisphere. A stainless steel beacon weighing almost six tonnes will be the final piece put in place to give the building an iconic height of 1,776 feet, CNN cited a statement from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as saying.
Mubarak’s plea rejected, to stay in jail
Cairo: The Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday refused an appeal by former president Hosni Mubarak and decided to keep him in prison pending investigations in a case related to illicit gains, state media reported. The appeal was submitted against the April 24 decision.