Strong 5.5 quake rattles Venezuela
Caracas: A strong earthquake jolted Venezuelans from their sleep early Thursday, forcing residents in the capital to evacuate buildings in their pajamas before sunrise. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The 5.5 magnitude quake struck just before 5 am.
Thursday (local time) and was centered near the town of San Diego, 165 kilometers west of Caracas, the capital. It had a depth of 10 kilometers and was felt across seven states, along with a 5.0 magnitude aftershock a few minutes later.
UAE to reopen Damascus embassy
Damascus: The United Arab Emirates will reopen its embassy in Damascus Thursday, an official said, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian Government back into the Arab fold.
The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012, as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war.
Pak, UK sign prisoner transfer agreement
Islamabad: Pakistan and the UK on Thursday signed a prisoner transfer agreement, allowing foreign inmates in both countries to serve their sentences closer to home.
The UK-Pakistan Prisoner Transfer Agreement was signed by British
High Commissioner Thomas Drew and Pakistan Interior Secretary Azam Suleman Khan in Islamabad.
UN ‘unequivocally condemns’ Kabul attack
United Nations: The United Nations has “unequivocally condemned” the recent attack on a Government compound in Afghanistan’s heavily populated Capital city of Kabul, in which more than 40 people were killed.
Expressing their sympathy and concern, the Security Council issued a statement underlining that the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors “of these reprehensible acts of terrorism” needed to be held accountable and brought to justice.