US: 18 dead as hurricane Irene moves up East Coast

US: 18 dead as hurricane Irene moves up East Coast
100 flights cancelled in Canada over Irene storm
Tripoli returning to normalcy
US: Hurricane Irene weakens, sweeps Northward
Libya rebels tighten noose on Gaddafi bastion
Rebels free more than 10,000 Libyan prisoners
Libyan rebels spurn Gaddafi's offer of talks
Wind and rain from Hurricane Irene lash New York
Nepal gets a new Prime Minister
Five held for Taseer kidnapping case in Lahore
China's bullet trains slow down over safety concerns
Pakistan court orders confiscation of Musharraf's assets
Nepal heads for another Maoist government
8 dead as typhoon slams northern Philippines
Hurricane Irene: New York shuts down amid flooding fears
Hurricane Irene: Tornado warning for Brooklyn, Queens

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 04:28 AM PDT

The death toll in the United States from Hurricane Irene has risen to 18, with four new fatalities reported in the state of ennsylvania, US officials have said. Six deaths have been recorded in North Carolina, where Irene made landfall early Saturday morning with 85-mile (140-kilometre) per hour winds, before heading up the eastern seaboard and scoring a rare hit on New York.

100 flights cancelled in Canada over Irene storm

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 03:37 AM PDT

Canadian airlines cancelled over 100 flights at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Sunday as Hurricane Irene, after ravaging the US East Coast was approaching the country, the Toronto Star newspaper reported.

Tripoli returning to normalcy

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 03:14 AM PDT

Life is slowly returning to normal in Tripoli, a week after anti-regime rebels took control of most of the Libyan capital. Shops have reopened, there's brisk business at the market, and only the near-incessant blaring of car horns suggests that life has changed there for ever.

US: Hurricane Irene weakens, sweeps Northward

Posted: 29 Aug 2011 01:28 AM PDT

As Tropical Storm Irene drenched New York and New England on Sunday, the states where the hurricane first made landfall faced a sun-drenched - yet often powerless - day to assess loss of life, property damage and widespread inconvenience that, while significant, fell short of the worst forecasts of catastrophe.

Libya rebels tighten noose on Gaddafi bastion

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 05:58 PM PDT

Libyan rebels closed in on Moammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte from both east and west today, a senior military commander said, as the insurgents scrambled to restore essential services to Tripoli. Rebel forces moved to within 30 kilometres of Sirte from the west and captured Bin Jawad 100 kilometres to the east, the rebel commander in Misrata, Mohammed al-Fortiya, told. "We took Bin Jawad today (Sunday)" on the eastern front, and "the thwar (rebel fighters) from Misrata are 30 kilometres from Sirte" in the west, Fortiya said.

Rebels free more than 10,000 Libyan prisoners

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 04:29 PM PDT

More than 10,000 prisoners held by the regime of Moammar Gaddafi have been released since the rebels captured Tripoli, but nearly 50,000 are still missing, a rebel military spokesman said today.

Libyan rebels spurn Gaddafi's offer of talks

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 02:36 PM PDT

Libyan rebels on Sunday rejected an offer by Muammar Gaddafi to negotiate and said they have captured the eastern town of Bin Jawwad, forcing regime loyalists to flee after days of fighting.

Wind and rain from Hurricane Irene lash New York

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 12:24 PM PDT

Hurricane Irene made landfall on the coast of New Jersey early Sunday morning and continued its relentless push to the New York City area, shutting down mass transit, causing flooding and cutting power to more than a million people. Though the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved up the Eastern Seaboard, it continued to funnel storm surge and floodwater onto the coastline of New Jersey and New York. The National Hurricane Center said the storm reached Little Egg Inlet, north of Atlantic City, shortly after 5.30 AM, whipping the area with sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.

Nepal gets a new Prime Minister

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 11:15 AM PDT

A village boy from western Nepal's Gorkha district, that was once also the bastion of Nepal's Shah kings, Baburam Bhattarai, who was elected on Sunday as the Himalayan republic's fourth prime minister in three years, established himself as a star even before joining leftist politics.

Five held for Taseer kidnapping case in Lahore

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 10:52 AM PDT

Five people have been detained in Lahore in connection with the abduction of Shahbaz Taseer, the son of late Punjab province governor Salman Taseer, police said. Shahbaz Taseer was abducted from Lahore's Gulberg area on Friday. He was travelling with a friend when four armed men abducted them at gunpoint. His friend, who was later released, told the police about the kidnapping.

China's bullet trains slow down over safety concerns

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 08:26 AM PDT

China today implemented a new operation plan for all high-speed trains across the country by cutting down their speed to address the safety concerns, a move that comes following last month's deadly rail crash.

Pakistan court orders confiscation of Musharraf's assets

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 08:12 AM PDT

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has ordered the confiscation of former president Pervez Musharraf's property for his failure to appear before it in the 2007 case of former premier Benazir Bhutto killing, court officials said.

Nepal heads for another Maoist government

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 08:08 AM PDT

Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas were poised to return to power on Sunday after two years as parliament readied to elect the restive republic's fourth prime minister in three years.

8 dead as typhoon slams northern Philippines

Posted: 28 Aug 2011 07:53 AM PDT

Slow-moving Typhoon Nanmadol remained dangerous today despite weakening as it struck the tip of the mountainous northern Philippines, leaving at least eight people dead and scuttling a visit by a US Navy battleship group, officials said.