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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...

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives resigned on Tuesday after weeks of protests erupted into a police mutiny, leaving the man widely credited with bringing democracy to the paradise islands accused of being as dictatorial as his predecessor. Nasheed handed power over the Indian Ocean archipelago to Vice-President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, saying continuing in power would result in his having to use force against his people. "I resign because I am not a person who wishes to rule with the use of power," he said in a televised address. "I believe that if the government were to remain in power it would require the use of force which would harm many citizens." In the morning, soldiers fired tear gas at police and demonstrators who besieged the Maldives National Defence Force headquarters in Republic Square. Later in the day, scores of demonstrators stood outside the nearby president's office chanting "Gayoom! Gayoom!," refering to his ...

World stocks and the euro fell back Thursday, prompting a rush to safe-haven government bonds as concerns resurfaced about the euro zone banking system and signs of funding stress. In a nervous, fast-moving market, the euro fell to a near five-month low against the low-yielding yen and oil tumbled, while renewed buying by the European Central Bank pushed Italian and Spanish government bonds higher. Banking sources told Reuters that one bank in Asia had cut credit lines to major French lenders while others in the region were reviewing trades and counterparty risks due to concerns about the exposure of French banks to peripheral euro zone bonds European banks sought to secure dollar funding beyond one week in the currency derivatives market, pushing one gauge of funding costs to its highest levels since the 2008 crisis as investors and banks hoarded funds to protect themselves from further market volatility. Societe Generale, which suffered a sha...

Apple Inc scored a big victory in its patent infringement battle against Samsung Electronics after a German court barred the Korean firm from temporarily selling its flagship Galaxy tablet in the European Union except the Netherlands. The court order comes a week after Samsung was forced to delay the Australian launch of its latest Galaxy tablet because of similar lawsuits. Apple has said Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied the iPhone and iPad. It has sued in the United States,Australia and elsewhere. Samsung has countersued Apple. "There's no doubt the court decision will have an adverse effect on Samsung. Samsung is clashing with Apple in many places, which could result in a temporary fall in sales and increase costs related to litigation," said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities in Seoul. By 0230 GMT (10:30 p.m. EDT), Samsung shares were up 0.8 percent in a broader market up 1.2 percent after s...

Wyoming state legislators will consider three new bills next week aimed at reining in "shell" companies formed under the state's liberal incorporation laws, according to Wyoming Secretary of State Max Maxfield. The move follows a Reuters investigation in June that showed how Wyoming, Nevada and Delaware have become popular business-secrecy destinations at a time when Washington is demanding other countries improve financial and corporate transparency. Reuters found that one 1,700-square-foot house in Cheyenne is home to more than 2,000 firms, including hundreds of shell companies -- paper-only firms with few assets. Some of those firms have been used to shield real estate for a jailed former prime minister of Ukraine, sell fake parts to the Pentagon and process payments for illegal online gambling. Maxfield told the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle newspaper on August 8 that the bills would strengthen his office's ability to issue cease-and-desist orders against firms...

P. Ramasamy Deputy Chief Minister of Penang, Malaysia hopes that the Indonesian government will not send back the 89 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka who were detained in Indonesia. The 89 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka were detained by the Indonesian authorities in the waters of New Galan as the refugees were attempting to reach New Zealand. “While Indonesia has the right to protect its territorial integrity, it is hoped that the government would exercise humanitarian care in dealing with these refugees,” Ramasamy said today. “There is fear in the humanitarian circles principaly from the Tamil Diaspora that they might be possibly sent back to Sri Lanka by the Indonesian government. “Thousands of Tamils are still languishing in camps under very depressing social, economic and health conditions (in Sri Lanka),” claims Ramasamy. Tamil humanitarian bodies dealing with the Tamil refugees’ problem are also urging Indonesia not to send back the 89 refugees to Sri Lanka. “They are advising the ...

Palm Beach police in Florida, US have detained three men, alleged to be illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka, early Saturday morning, foreign media reported.   The men were arrested after an officer saw them walking with backpacks in the 2000 block of South Ocean Boulevard at round 1 a.m.   Their only identification was Sri Lankan drivers’ licenses and their backpacks were filled with wet clothes, a Palm Beach police spokesman said.   They spoke little English, but were able to communicate that they came over from the Bahamas and were dropped off by a small boat, he said. The men were turned over to Border Patrol, reports Palm Beach Daily News.  

Rupert Murdoch was expected to fly to London to tackle a scandal engulfing his media empire while journalists prepared the last edition of a best-selling weekly they say he has sacrificed to protect plans to expand his television business. The planned visit of the News Corp chief executive coincided with calls on Prime Minister David Cameron to speed up an inquiry into phone-hacking allegations which could jeopardize Murdoch's proposed takeover of a British broadcaster. It has also unearthed allegations journalists working for Murdoch and others paid police for information and raised questions about relations between politicians, including Cameron, and powerful media owners like Murdoch. Alan Rusbridger, editor of the left-leaning Guardian newspaper, said the past week had seen a whirlwind of stunning political, business and judicial developments.

The Tamil Nadu Government urged the Centre to impress upon the Sri Lankan government, the need for taking up immediate measures to rehabilitate the Tamils in their own area. Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, in his address to the 14th Assembly on Friday said “lakhs of Tamils have perished during the recent war in Sri Lanka and the remaining were leading a pathetic life of subjugation in their own homeland.” He said the AIADMK government would take necessary steps to renovate the Sri Lankan Tamil refugee camps in the state, enabling them to live with dignity in Tamil Nadu.

NATO aircraft destroyed the guard towers at Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, a NATO official said on Saturday, then staged a rare daytime air strike on the Libyan capital, heightening pressure on him to quit. "RAF Typhoons, along with other NATO aircraft, last night used precision-guided weapons to bring down guard towers along the walls of Colonel Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah complex in the center of Tripoli," Major General John Lorimer, chief British military spokesman, said in a statement.

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose to an eight-month high last week and productivity growth slowed in the first quarter, clouding the outlook for an economy that is struggling to gain speed. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, the highest since mid-August, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims were pushed up by factors ranging from spring break layoffs to the introduction of an emergency benefits program. Economists had expected claims to fall to 410,000. A second report from the department showed nonfarm productivity increased at a 1.6 percent annual rate, braking from a 2.9 percent pace in the fourth quarter. The growth pace was above economists' expectations for 1 percent. "I think we're in a situation where the markets and the Fed have been too optimistic," said Bob Andres, chief investment strategist and economist at Merion Wealth Partners in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. "I don...

Japan's Nissan Motor Co Ltd won a 10-year contract to build the next generation of New York's iconic yellow taxis, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Tuesday. Nissan beat Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv and U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co for a deal city officials estimated at around $1 billion. Nissan's design will be based on its NV200 minivan model. "It's going to be the safest, most comfortable, and most convenient cab the City has ever had," Bloomberg said. "We started this process to leverage our taxi industry's purchasing power to get the highest quality taxi," he noted. "The new taxis will be custom-designed to meet the specific demands of carrying 600,000 passengers a day." On a conference call, Nissan officials said they expected to provide up to 26,000 taxi cabs over the lifetime of the contract starting in 2013, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of about $29,000. "It's very important for Ni...

Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan and his body has been recovered by U.S. authorities, U.S. officials said Sunday night. President Barack Obama was to make the dramatic announcement shortly in a hastily called, late-night appearance at the White House: That the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks was killed in an American-led operation in a mansion outside Islamabad. It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden. A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, "USA, USA." Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring bin Laden to justice "dead or alive" for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people, but never did before leaving office in early 2009. U.S. officials said that after searching in vain for the al Qaeda leader since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the...

Hundreds of thousands of people waving flags and banners poured down London's Mall boulevard to cheer the newlyweds as they kissed twice on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Then they went back in, the glass doors closed and the spectacle was over. "This kind of royal wedding happens just once in a lifetime, so I thought I had to come and see," said Seong Jiyong, a South Korean student studying English. "The monarchy is like our Hollywood, the movies, for us," said Californian Diane Weltz. Middleton, who wore a laced ivory colored dress with a long train for the ceremony, became the first "commoner" to marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350 years. The 29-year-old, whose mother's family has coal mining roots, has brought a sense of modernity to the monarchy and helped restore popularity to an institution tarnished by the death of William's hugely popular mother Princess Diana in 1997. Fans from Asia to the United ...

The spiritual leader Sathya Sai baba stopped responding to the treatment and has reportedly passed away. After a prolonged battle with several ailments, Sai Baba passed away at Puttaparthi at 7.45 am on Sunday, Indian media reported. Satya Sai Baba had been undergoing treatment at Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh for the last 26 days owing to the malfunctioning of vital organs. The 84-year-old was admitted to hospital on March 28 with breathing and heart problems. Early on Thursday morning, doctors had said his condition was very critical and most of his organs were not responding to treatment. The condition of his liver and his low blood pressure were causing concern, they had said. Godman to some, miracle-man to others and revered as God by lakhs of his followers, Sathya Sai Baba had the rich, famous and powerful from the world of politics, business, films and sport flocking to his doorstep in Puttaparthi, the small Andhra Pradesh village that he ...

After weeks of bickering over the 2011 budget, when it finally came time to cast ballots nobody seemed quite sure what to do. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, the man tasked with coaxing his party into backing a bill neither side much liked, leaned against a table on the House floor, nervously jiggling a slip of paper. Freshman Rep. Allen West, a firm “no,” thumbed his Blackberry in the corner. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, who moments before had cited Henry Clay -- “If you can't compromise, you can't govern” -- to urge the bill's passage, circulated through the crowd, smiling and patting backs. Members squinted up at the voting board as it slowly lit with results. Both sides can breathe a sigh of relief. HR 1473, which will keep the government open through Sept. 30 while trimming $38 billion from the federal budget, cleared the House this afternoon with bipartisan support, 260-167. Fifty-nine Republicans spurned their party to vote against the bill, while 81 of the House's...

Eight people were shot and another was killed in a shooting at birthday party at the Minaret Temple at about 11:30 p.m. in Chester Friday night, according to Chester police. Police have a suspect in custody. All nine victims were taken to Crozer Chester Medical Center. Two remain in critical condition and six are in stable condition, police said.

Cairo, April 3 (IANS/RIA Novosti) - Rebels who plundered Libyan army depots have sold weapons to Al Qaeda militants in the North African country, an Algerian daily said Saturday. The militant group has already received heavy weaponry and air defence missiles from the Libyan rebels, the L’Expression newspaper said quoting a source from the Algerian security forces. It added that if Western nations decide to equip the Libyans, these weapons could also come to the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists. “Al Qaeda continues to recruit fighters on Libyan territory and is preparing a war against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi,” the paper said. The Libyan political crisis, which evolved into military clashes between opponents and supporters of the country’s longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, began in mid-February. The conflict has already left thousands of people dead and forced many more to flee the country. The UN Security Council Resolution 1973, adopted March 17, imposed a no-fly zone ove...

A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted on Sunday after nearly two weeks of relative silence, sending ash and rocks up to four kilometres (two and a half miles) into the air, a local official said. It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked northern areas on Friday, unleashing a fierce tsunami and sparking fears that more than 10,000 may have been killed, reports AFP. The 1,421-metre (4,689-feet) Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range saw its first major eruption for 52 years in January. There had not been any major activity at the site since March 1. Authorities have maintained a volcano warning at a level of three out of five, restricting access to the entire mountain. In April last year, the eruption of the Eyjafjoell volcano in Iceland dispersed a vast cloud of ash, triggering a huge shutdown of airspace that affected more than 100,000 flights and eight million passengers.