S Korean ferry owner formally arrested
Seoul: The head of the company that owns a South Korean ferry that sank and left more than 300 people dead or missing was formally arrested on Friday as authorities worry he may destroy evidence, officials said.
‘Yemen defence minister escapes Qaeda ambush’
Aden: Yemeni Defence Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmad and two senior security officers escaped unhurt when their convoy
was ambushed by Al-Qaeda fighters in the south, a military source said.
Cambodia seizes record 3 tonnes of illegal ivory
Phnom Penh: Cambodian authorities intercepted three tonnes of illegal ivory that was stashed in shipping containers, in the largest such seizure in the Southeast Asian country, an official said.
ANC gets commanding victory in S Africa polls
Pretoria: South Africa’s ruling ANC on Friday notched up a commanding victory in the fifth post-apartheid election, giving President Jacob Zuma a second term in office after the first was marred by controversies including claims of corruption and a sluggish economic growth.
Shelling, clashes in Iraq’s Fallujah kill 8
Baghdad: Early Friday morning shelling and clashes in Fallujah, a town near Baghdad that has been held by anti-government fighters for more than four months, killed eight people, a doctor said.
Grass-cutting row claims 11 lives in Pak
Karachi: A trivial row over cutting of grass claimed 11 lives as two tribes clashed in a remote area of Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, police said on Friday.
N Korea unleashes racist slurs against Obama
Seoul: After bombarding South Korea’s female President with sexist invectives, North Korea’s State news agency has fired off racist insults against President Barack Obama that US officials condemn as “disgusting.”
Berlusconi begins community service
Cesano Boscone: Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi on Friday began community service for tax fraud on Friday in a spectacular fall from grace for the flamboyant ex-premier, who will likely seek political gain from the symbolic punishment.
‘France opens probe into MH370 crash’
Paris: Paris prosecutors have launched a judicial investigation for involuntary homicide following the Malaysia Airlines plane crash, a judicial source said on Friday.