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An Indian national accused of trying to rape a Filipina housemaid was cleared of the charges by a United Arab Emirates (UAE) court but was still sentenced to one month in prison for trespassing. The Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the Indian worker, 30, of the charge that he tried to rape the maid, 25, for lack of corroborated evidence, according to a Gulf News report Sunday. Gulf News  said the man may be released soon as he has already been in detention for a month. It added that the primary judgment remains subject to appeal within 15 days. But the chief judge upheld a charge of trespassing, due to the man's entering the residence the woman was working in without permission. The man had denied the charges against him. “No I did not trespass into the villa. Actually she is the one who invited me in. I am not guilty,” he said before the court. According to Gulf News, the woman testified that the man entered the house without permission and chased her into her bedroom, w

Sri Lanka’s navy arrested a boatload of people heading to Australia and raised the number of would-be illegal immigrants detained this month to a record 500, an official said Sunday. A fishing trawler carrying 31 people was intercepted off the island’s western coast on Saturday, and another 20 were arrested on shore ready to board the vessel, the navy official said. “We had the highest number of arrests this month,” said the official, who asked not to be named. “We stopped eight trawlers off the eastern coast and three off the western coast as they set off for Australia.” The official said the figures were in contrast to 200 people arrested between May and June, and that the July arrests were the highest on record during a one-month period. Most of the would-be illegal immigrants had paid up to 300,000 rupees ($2,300) as an advance for the perilous journey and were to give an additional 400,000 ($3,000) on reaching Australian shores, according to the official. The boat people have b

Turkey has set up a secret base with allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct vital military and communications aid to Syria's rebels from a city near the border, Gulf sources have told Reuters. News of the clandestine Middle East-run "nerve centre" working to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad underlines the extent to which Western powers - who played a key role in unseating Muammar Gaddafi in Libya - have avoided military involvement so far in Syria. "It's the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main co-ordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom," said a Doha-based source. "The Americans are very hands-off on this. U.S. intel(ligence) are working through middlemen. Middlemen are controlling access to weapons and routes." The centre in Adana, a city in southern Turkey about 100 km (60 miles) from the Syrian border, was set up after Saudi Deputy For

Microsoft Corp. announced the winners of the 10th annual  Imagine Cup , the world’s premier student technology competition, honoring student technology innovations that address the world’s toughest problems. The winning Software Design project developed by Ukrainian Team quadSquad allows deaf individuals to communicate verbally using custom-designed sensory gloves and a smartphone application to translate sign language gestures into speech. Games focused on the environment from Thailand team TANG Thai and math education from U.S. team Drexel Dragons won the two Game Design competitions. The Imagine Cup 2012 competition winners were announced tonight at the Imagine Cup World Festival and Awards Ceremony at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, in front of 106 student teams. The event was the culmination of a five-day celebration of technology, teamwork and innovation. More than 350 students from 75 countries traveled to Sydney after competing in local and online events, re

Following a search operation at the Galle Prison, authorities discovered 44 mobile phones among the inmates, the Prisons Department stated. The search operation was conducted last night (July 10) by the Prisons Intelligence officers. The Prisons Department stated that three high-tech mobile phones were also seized during the operation. Rehabilitation and Prisons Reform Minister Chandrasiri Gajanayake stated that stern legal action will be taken against any prison officials who are proven to have helped the inmates acquire these mobile phones.

Syria's conflict spilled further into Lebanon on Saturday when mortar fire from government forces crashed into villages in the north, killing two women and a man after rebels crossed the border for refuge, residents said. In contrast with Turkey, which openly harbors rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Lebanon was not expected to respond militarily and has played down the effect of regular clashes along the frontier. But rebels have used north Lebanon as a base and Assad's forces have at times bombed villages and even crossed the border in pursuit of militants, threatening to inflame tensions in Lebanon given a long history of Syrian domination there. Residents of Lebanon's Wadi Khaled region said several mortar bombs hit farm buildings five to 20 km (3 to 12 miles) from the border at around 2 a.m. At midday villagers reported more explosions and said they heard gunfire close to the border. In the village of al-Mahatta, a house was destr

Under huge pressure from political parties in Tamil Nadu, the Indian government has decided to end the training of Sri Lankan personnel at the Tambaram Air force Station near Chennai. The nine Sri Lankans have been moved to the Yalahanka base in Bangalore.  Their nine month training is meant to help them learn ground handling of transport air craft. As a way of justifying their move from Chennai, the Indian government says that this phase of the Sri Lankans’ training is complete; the new one will begin in Bangalore. But Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa says Lankan airmen should not be trained anywhere in India. “Tamils will not accept the training being imparted in Bangalore. I insist that the Sri Lankan personnel should not be trained anywhere in India and the Centre should take steps for their return to Sri Lanka,” she demanded Ms Jayalalithaa had taken offense to the training being offered in her state. “This is anti-Tamil and inappropriate at a time when the whole world

A 16 year old student in the Parakumyaya area in Welikanda consumed poison and killed herself, the police reported. The girl was a resident of the Parakumyaya area while the Welikanda police are conducting further investigations into her suicide.