IMF to review Pakistani budget in floods aftermath

ISLAMABAD – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it has called a meeting to review Pakistan’s budgetary and economic prospects in the aftermath of the floods that have devastated the country’s infrastructure.

Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh is to head the Pakistani delegation in the talks with IMF officials that scheduled to take place in …. Read the original article  : IMF to review Pakistani budget in floods aftermath.

Another contraband haul from train from Pakistan, authorities worried

ATTARI – Fake currency of face value Rs.9.5 lakh and one kg of heroin were recovered from a goods train coming from Pakistan, causing worry to the authorities who say these trains are increasingly becoming a smuggling medium.

“During our daily search operation of the goods train that comes from Pakistan, we found counterfeit currency and … Read : Another contraband haul from train from Pakistan, authorities worried.

Chhattisgarh villagers in fear after another triple murder

RAIPUR – Terror has struck a Chhattisgarh village after three children, below the age of 10, were found brutally murdered on Friday, the second such triple murder in the village in a month.

The people of Nimora village, about 15 km from here, are keeping indoors out of fear and complain that police are not doing … Original source on Gaea Times at : Chhattisgarh villagers in fear after another triple murder.

Pakistanis use stones, sandbags to strengthen river levees as floods sweep toward sea

Pakistanis use stones, sandbags to stave off flood

HYDERABAD, Pakistan – Workers placed sandbags and stones to strengthen river levees in flood-ravaged Pakistan’s south as the rising water threatened new areas Sunday.
Three towns in the Thatta district were in danger, and officials began evacuating around 150,000 people from lower lying areas Saturday. The surge in the …. Original source  : Pakistanis use stones, sandbags to strengthen river levees as floods sweep toward sea.

Madan Tamang murder: prime accused flees police custody

DARJEELING – Gorkha Janamukti Morhca central committee member Nicol Tamang, one of the prime accused in the murder of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL) chief Madan Taman, fled from police custody in Darjeeling district early Sunday.

“He escaped from the Pintail village guest house in the Dagapur area,” Inspector General of Police (North Bengal) Ranveer …. Source article  : Madan Tamang murder: prime accused flees police custody.

River in north China overflows; 94,000 people evacuated from flooded city

Rain batters China anew; 94,000 evacuated in flood

BEIJING – Flooding has forced the evacuation of 94,000 people in the north China port city of Dandong after heavy rains caused the Yalu river to breach its banks, state media said Sunday.
More rain was expected to pound the region, which borders North Korea, and threatened to trigger …. Original source  : River in north China overflows; 94,000 people evacuated from flooded city.

Firefighters battling large blaze at apparently vacant Boston warehouse; no injuries reported

Large fire burns at Boston warehouse; no one hurt

BOSTON – About 160 firefighters are battling a widespread blaze at a warehouse in an abandoned industrial complex in Boston.
Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald says crews were called to the fire in the city’s Roxbury neighborhood just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, and the blaze is extensive enough … Read more : Firefighters battling large blaze at apparently vacant Boston warehouse; no injuries reported.

Filipino-German beauty queen killed in accident

MANILA – A Filipino-German beauty queen and two companions were killed in a road collision in the eastern Philippines, a police spokesman said Sunday.

Melody Gersbach, 24, died on arrival at a hospital Saturday shortly after the van she was riding was struck by a passenger bus in Bula town in Camarines Sur province, 225 kilometres … Original source on Gaea Times at : Filipino-German beauty queen killed in accident.

Tropical depression forms in the Atlantic far from land; strengthening expected

Tropical depressions form in the Atlantic, Pacific

MIAMI – A new tropical depression has formed in the Atlantic, but the system is far from land.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that the tropical depression is expected to strengthen and could become a tropical storm Sunday.
The depression was located about 600 miles (970 … Original article on : Tropical depression forms in the Atlantic far from land; strengthening expected.

Man takes deadly leap from roof to stage at concert

SAN FRANCISCO – A concertgoer died in an apparent suicide when he jumped from the roof of an amphitheatre onto the stage where a folk music duo was performing, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

The death occurred during a concert by the group Swell Season late Thursday at Mountain Winery’s outdoor stage outside Saratoga, California, … Read more : Man takes deadly leap from roof to stage at concert.

10 evacuated by helicopter as wildfire chars 2,000 acres in rural San Diego County

Wildfire chars 2,000 acres outside San Diego

SAN DIEGO – A pair of hikers and eight people in a cabin were evacuated by helicopter as a wildfire consumed thousands of acres of grasslands in rural San Diego County.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Roxanne Provaznik says the blaze began Saturday afternoon in the county’s …. Original source  : 10 evacuated by helicopter as wildfire chars 2,000 acres in rural San Diego County.

Family of 24-year-old Ohio man killed by captive bear takes some comfort in animal’s death

Bear who mauled caretaker is put to death in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A bear that mauled to death a caretaker was euthanized Saturday at the request of the family of the victim, whose father said he had told his son to leave the job.
The bear attacked Brent Kandra, 24, when he opened its cage Thursday … Original article on : Family of 24-year-old Ohio man killed by captive bear takes some comfort in animal’s death.

Captive bear that killed 24-year-old Ohio man who was feeding it is euthanized, family says

Captive bear that killed Ohio man is euthanized

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The father of a 24-year-old Ohio man who was killed by a captive bear says the animal is dead.
John Kandra says several relatives watched a veterinarian euthanize the bear on Saturday. It had attacked Kandra’s son, Brent, after he opened the bear’s cage for a … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Captive bear that killed 24-year-old Ohio man who was feeding it is euthanized, family says.

23 die as more mudslides hit China

BEIJING – At least 23 people have died and 69 are missing after mudslideS hit a remote mountain village in southwest China, Xinhua reported Saturday.

Rescuers have retrieved 11 bodies Saturday, four days after the disaster in Yunnan province.
“The chances of survival for the missing people are slim,” said Hou Xinrong, director of public …. Source article  : 23 die as more mudslides hit China.

Van Gogh painting stolen from Cairo museum

CAIRO – One of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings, “Poppy Flowers”, has been stolen from a museum in Cairo, Egypt’s Ministry of Culture said Saturday.

It was not immediately clear how the thieves managed to steal the painting from the Mahmoud Khalil museum, but Culture Minister Farouq Hosni ordered urgent measures to prevent it being … Original source on Gaea Times at : Van Gogh painting stolen from Cairo museum.

13 die in Bangladesh after drinking adulterated liquor

DHAKA – At least 13 people died and many others fell ill after drinking adulterated locally-made liquor in Bangladesh’s Sylhet district, police said Saturday.

Six people died at Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital and the other seven died in their village homes after they had consumed the home-made liquor Thursday night in Golabazar, 265 km northeast … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : 13 die in Bangladesh after drinking adulterated liquor.

Blast at militant house in Somalia kills 10 fighters, including from Pakistan, Afghan, India

Somalia blast kills fighters from Pakistan, India

MOGADISHU, Somalia – An explosion overnight at a house used by insurgents in the Somali capital killed at least 10 al-Shabab militants, including seven foreign fighters, the Somali Information Ministry said Saturday.
The statement said the blast, in a southern Mogadishu neighborhood, may have been caused by a premature car … Read : Blast at militant house in Somalia kills 10 fighters, including from Pakistan, Afghan, India.

Sterlite Industries charged for evading duty

CHENNAI – The customs and excise department Saturday charged Vedanta group’s Tuticorin-based Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd for evading duty by mis-declaration of export consignment. The company officials, however, charged the customs officials as being vindictive.

Charging Sterlite Industries for misdeclaration, excise officials said the company tried to ship out copper waste for separating gold and silver … Read more »».

Somali rebels increasingly resemble Taliban: floggings, music bans and possible al-Qaida links

Somalia rebels looking increasingly like Taliban

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Men are forced to grow beards. Women can’t leave home without a male relative. Music, movies and watching sports on TV are banned. Limbs are chopped off as punishment, and executions by stoning have become a public spectacle.
Somalia is looking more and more like Afghanistan under the …. Original source  : Somali rebels increasingly resemble Taliban: floggings, music bans and possible al-Qaida links.

Two held for killing techie in Greater Noida

GREATER NOIDA – Two men were arrested Saturday for allegedly murdering a software engineer in Greater Noida township of Uttar Pradesh, police said.

Deepak Singh and Rajesh Bhati were arrested for stabbing Abhinav Ratnawat, originally from Jaipur in Rajasthan, in Greater Noida July 27 after a robbery, police said.
“The two youths were on a …. Read the original article  : here.