US hospital ship Comfort leaving Haiti as military scales back in quake-ravaged country

US hospital ship Comfort leaving Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The U.S. military hospital ship Comfort has completed its relief mission in Haiti and is heading home.

Authorities say the 6 passengers killed in Arizona bus crash were Mexican citizens

All 6 dead in Ariz. crash were Mexican citizens

Class 12 English paper cancelled in Haryana

BHIWANI - Class 12 state board English examination was cancelled in Haryana Wednesday after reports of question paper leak, officials said.

Forensic test results’ delay keeps two Russians in jail

PANAJI - The Russian consulate in Mumbai has come to the aid of two Russians who are languishing in jail for more than a year sans chargesheets because the police have been unable to analyse the drugs allegedly seized from them.

Ulema Council threatens stir against cleric’s arrest

LUCKNOW - The Ulema Council Wednesday threatened to launch a statewide agitation against the arrest of a leading cleric, nabbed for his alleged role in last week’s communal clash in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district.

Himachal to crackdown on illegal mobile towers

SHIMLA - The Himachal Pradesh government will crackdown on telecom operators for the illegal and unregulated construction of mobile phone towers in the state, a minister said here Wednesday.

90,000 tonnes of iron ore seized in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR - More than 90,000 tonnes of iron ore have been seized from Orissa’s mineral-rich Keonjhar district during a crackdown on illegal mining, police said Wednesday.

Pakistani men discussing girls were planning terror attack

LONDON - Two Pakistani men apparently discussing girls online were really planning a massive Al Qaeda terror attack on Britain, a senior British intelligence officer has testified in court.

Jailed ex-Bihar MP holds press conference

PATNA - It happens only in Bihar. Former Bihar MP Anand Mohan, serving a life term for the 1994 lynching of Gopalganj district magistrate G.Krishnaiah, was allowed by the police to visit a politician’s residence and hold a press conference, an official said Wednesday.

Nepal minister forced to quit over security fracas

KATHMANDU - After a series of attacks on high profile people, including the murder of a media magnate and an attempt on Indian managing director of a medical college, Nepal’s Minister of State for Home Affairs Rizvan Ansari Wednesday quit his post.

Two held for smuggling liquor

FATEHGARH SAHIB - Two men were arrested in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib district for trying to smuggle liquor out of the state, police said Wednesday. Nearly 600 cases of alcohol were seized.

Man who dumped Indian boy being probed for immigration fraud

MELBOURNE - Gursewak Dhillon, a part-time taxi driver who dumped three-year-old Gurshan Singh Channa’s body nearly 20 km from his home in this Australian city, was being probed for “possible immigration fraud”, an official said Wednesday.

Israeli drug peddler, two cops booked for graft

PANAJI - An alleged Israeli drug dealer and two policemen were booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Goa Police Wednesday, officials said.

Abandoned ammunition blast kills three children in Himachal

SHIMLA - Bodies of three schoolchildren, believed to have been killed in an explosion of abandoned ammunition, were found Tuesday in the forests of Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, police said.

Funeral procession of Andhra student taken to assembly

HYDERABAD - The last wish of a student who committed suicide over the delay in formation of a separate Telangana state was fulfilled when his funeral procession was allowed to be taken to Gun Park near the Andhra Pradesh state assembly here.

Abandoned ammunition explodes, kills three children

SHIMLA - Three children were killed when abandoned ammunition exploded near an army firing range in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, police said Wednesday. The children were trying to remove scrap from the used mortar shells.

National Security Act slapped on Orissa criminal

BHUBANESWAR - The National Security Act was slapped Wednesday on a criminal arrested last week in Orissa’s mineral-rich Keonjhar district for his alleged involvement in illegal mining and other crimes, police said.

Pay tax arrears, Ahmedabad civic body tells Asaram’s ashram

AHMEDABAD - The Ahmedabad civic body has slapped a notice on spiritual guru Asaram Bapu’s ashram here for non-payment of property tax and asked it to pay Rs.3.5 lakh by next Wednesday.

Bhopal most unsafe for women in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL - Even as this Madhya Pradesh capital has been declared the second safest city in the country, figures revealed by Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta in the state assembly Wednesday indicate that the city was most unsafe for women in the state.

Farmer commits suicide over crop failure

PATNA - A debt-ridden Bihar farmer allegedly committed suicide after his maize crop failed, police said Wednesday.

Church must probe sex abuse claims: Vatican

Vatican City, March 10 (IANS/AKI) The Vatican said Tuesday that the Catholic Church must do everything possible to investigate claims of sex abuse in Ireland, Germany, Austria and Holland.

Court adjourns Rathore’s case till April 15

CHANDIGARH - A court Wednesday adjourned till April 15 the molestation case against former Haryana police chief S.P.S. Rathore after being told that his counsel was recovering from an injury.

Chilean police recover $3 mn worth of looted goods

Santiago, March 10 (IANS/EFE) Chilean police have recovered roughly $3 million worth of goods that were looted in the southern city of Concepcion and neighbouring towns after the Feb 27 earthquake, authorities said.

Dane held for peddling drugs in Assam

GUWAHATI - A Danish national was arrested Wednesday in Assam’s Jorhat town on charges of drug trafficking, police said.

New Zealand teen jailed for 15 years for murder

WELLINGTON - A 17-year-old New Zealand youth was sent to prison Wednesday for 15-and-a-half years for murdering a taxi driver who was a refugee from Afghanistan.

Four Indians die in suspected arson of Malaysian shop

KUALA LUMPUR - Authorities suspected arson in a fire Wednesday that razed a textile shop and killed four Indian nationals in southern Malaysia.

Nazi-era mass grave found at Austrian army base

VIENNA - Excavations at a newly identified Nazi-era mass grave are set to start soon at an Austrian army base, Defence Minister said Wednesday.

Railway cop held on rape charges

JAMMU - A constable of the Railway Protection Force has been arrested for allegedly raping a passenger at the Jammu railway station, police said Wednesday.

Scribe who threw shoe at Chidambaram assaulted

NEW DELHI - Jarnail Singh, the Sikh journalist who made headlines in April last year for lobbing his shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram, was Wednesday assaulted outside a city court allegedly by supporters of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar.

Train derails in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW - Rail traffic was disrupted on the busy Lucknow-Varanasi route Wednesday after a passenger train derailed in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkarnagar district. No one was injured, an official said.

Apology for women raped by father for over 25 years

LONDON - British authorities have apologised to two women for failing to protect them from their father, who raped both for more than 25 years and fathered nine children with them.

Obama warns situation in Haiti remains ‘dire’

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama warned Wednesday that the situation in Haiti remains “dire” and called on the world to step up its efforts in the earthquake devastated Caribbean nation.

Five children injured in bomb explosion

LUCKNOW - Five children, including a girl, were injured when a country-made bomb hidden in a garbage dump exploded Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, police said.

Cricket betting ring busted in Gujarat

GANDHINAGAR - Eight people were arrested and Rs.8 lakh seized from them when the Gujarat Police busted a ring taking bets on an Australia-New Zealand cricket match.

Sajjan Kumar gets bail in anti-Sikh riots case

NEW DELHI - Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and nine others were Wednesday granted bail by a city court in two cases relating to their alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Police find photos of godman ‘marrying’ missing woman

GHAZIABAD - Police searching for a missing self-styled godman and a woman devotee he is accused of kidnapping have recovered photographs of the two as a married couple.

Couple commits suicide in Agra

AGRA - A couple was found dead in their home here Thursday in what appeared to be a suicide pact, police said.

Three strong quakes shake Chile (Second Lead)

SANTIAGO - Three strong quakes shook Chile Thursday, just minutes before the start of the inaugural ceremony of incoming President Sebastian Pinera.

Chhattisgarh assembly panel to probe child selling case

RAIPUR - Amid a heated debate in the Chhattisgarh assembly Thursday, Speaker Dharamlal Kaushik ruled that a house committee will probe into a TV sting expose of alleged sale of a minor by an orphanage centre based on outskirts of capital Raipur.

Call centre employee killed by jealous team leader

NOIDA - A 23-year-old employee of a call centre in Noida was allegedly murdered by her team leader, jealous over her dumping him for another man, police said Thursday.

Over 10 houses burgled in two days in Gurgaon

GURGAON - More than 10 houses were burgled in upmarket sector 56 of Gurgaon in the last two days, police said Thursday.

Fresh earthquake shakes Chile

SANTIAGO - A strong quake shook Chile Thursday, just minutes before the start of the inaugural ceremony of incoming President Sebastian Pinera.

Another quake strikes Chile

SANTIAGO - Two strong earthquakes hit Chile Thursday, minutes ahead of the start of the inauguration ceremony for new President Sebastian Pinera.

30 killed in fresh fighting in Somalia

MOGADISHU - At least 30 people were killed and 83 injured Thursday as fierce fighting continued between government forces backed by African Union peacekeeping troops and Islamist insurgents in the Somalian capital.

Six of family electrocuted trying to save child

PATNA - Five people of a family were killed Thursday in a Bihar village while trying to save a child who had came in contact with a high voltage wire, police said. The child could not be saved.

Delhi man, mother get life terms in dowry death case

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Thursday upheld life sentences to a man and his mother for killing his wife for dowry. The court also regretted the stand of the girl’s family, saying the case shows discrimination against the girl child still exists in Indian society.

Modi summoned on riots, Congress wants him to go

GANDHINAGAR - The 2002 Gujarat riots returned to haunt Chief Minister Narendra Modi Thursday when a Supreme Court-appointed investigation team summoned him for questioning March 21. The Congress immediately asked him to step down.

Three held for illegal mining in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR - Three people were arrested for illegal mining in Orissa’s mineral rich Keonjhar district Thursday, taking the total number of people held for the offence in the past week to 10, police said.

Criminal arrested for murder of two RPF troopers

NEW DELHI - Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested a criminal who was wanted for the murder of two troopers of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), police said Thursday.