Pakistan votes in landmark polls, attacks kill 18
LAHORE, Pakistan, May 11 (AFP) -Millions of Pakistanis turned out to vote in landmark elections today, defying deadly Taliban attacks to take part in an historic democratic transition for the nuclear-armed state. Bomb attacks killed 12 people in Karachi while gunmen shot dead six in the restive southwest, as the election commission extended voting by an [...]
Grandson of Malcolm X killed in Mexico City
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The grandson of murdered U.S. civil rights leader Malcolm X, Malcolm Shabazz, who was convicted as a child for a fire that killed his grandmother, has died in Mexico City after an apparent beating. Mexico’s attorney general’s office said a murder investigation was under way. Shabazz, 29, died early on Thursday [...]
Russia withheld details on Boston suspect: report
WASHINGTON, May 10 (AFP) -Russia withheld “crucial” information from the United States on one of the suspects of last month’s deadly Boston Marathon bombings, The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday. Citing unnamed US officials, the Journal said on its website that the information consisted of text messages between the mother of Tamerlan Tsarnaev and a [...]
Bangladesh miracle survivor ‘doing great’: Doctor
SAVAR, Bangladesh, May 11 (AFP) -Bangladeshi doctors treating a “miracle” survivor pulled from ruins of a collapsed building after 17 days said today she was doing “great” and had been reunited with her family. Reshma, 18, a seamstress dug out from the rubble of the garment factory complex Friday, “never gave up hope” she would be [...]
Cleveland mother forgives daughter’s captor
The mother of Gina DeJesus, who was held captive in an Ohio house of horrors for nine years, has said she would forgive Ariel Castro – a stark contrast to the initial reaction toward her daughter’s alleged kidnapper. Nancy Ruiz says she has known Castro for decades, having grown up in the same area, and often [...]
Fennel is no fun, but chilli chats to basil
Scientists from the University of Western Australia may found evidence that plants can ‘talk’ each other using microscopic sounds. A study looking into how chilli plants grow has discovered that when seedlings are put next to so-called ‘friendly’ plants, they grow stronger. Yet, when the seedlings were put near ‘bad neighbours’, such as fennel, germination [...]
Is the flying car finally here? First model set to go on sale in two years
The first flying cars are set to go on sale to the public as early as 2015. Terrafugia has announced its Transition design, which is part sedan, part private jet with two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car, will be on sale in less than two [...]
Israeli attacks on Syria escape Security Council scrutiny
UNITED NATIONS, May 10 (IPS) – Israel, which has launched three air strikes inside Syria since January this year, has escaped scrutiny or condemnation by a Security Council which remains sharply divided. The continued air attacks have escalated tensions in the region and threatened a wider regional conflagration, according to reports from the Middle East. Mouin [...]
The problem with poor countries’ GDP
SEATTLE – Even in good financial times, development aid budgets are hardly overflowing. Government leaders and donors must make hard decisions about where to focus their limited resources. How do you decide which countries should get low-cost loans or cheaper vaccines, and which can afford to fund their own development programmes? The answer depends, in [...]
