HONG KONG: Hong Kong's top court on Monday threw out a landmark case that would have given hundreds of thousands of foreign maids the right to seek permanent residency, ending a legal battle that split the city.In rejecting the bid to give maids the same residency rights as other foreigners, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that there was no need to refer the case to Beijing for a final say, which would have sparked new controversy....
BRUSSELS: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades entered emergency talks with the island's international creditors Sunday seeking to avert bankruptcy in a crisis that is again threatening the stability of the wider eurozone. The clock is...
KARACHI: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf returned home on Sunday after more than four years in exile, defying a Taliban death threat and vowing to risk his life to "save" the country."I have come back home today. Where are those who used to say I would never come back?" the former dictator, who plans to stand in a historic May 11 general election, told supporters at the airport here....
PAGADIAN, Philippines - An Australian ex-soldier just freed by Philippine extremists has recounted how his kidnappers fired shots to stop him escaping during his 15-month ordeal, a police officer said Sunday. Even when finally released, Warren Rodwell had to paddle a boat to a distant town and wade ashore through the mud to reach safety, said Inspector Eurem Macasil, the first policeman to meet him....
NICOSIA: Russia Friday spurned investment proposals that would have helped rescue the Cyprus economy, piling pressure on Nicosia as it races to stave off financial meltdown and possible exit from the eurozone.The European Union has given Nicosia until Monday to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.47 billion) to unlock loans worth 10 billion euros or face being choked from European Central Bank emergency funding in a move that would bankrupt the island....
NEW DELHI: Two Italian marines flew back to India Friday to face murder charges, after Rome dramatically reversed a decision that which had triggered a diplomatic firestorm.The Indian government hailed Italy's U-turn as a success for diplomacy after being earlier accused of violating international laws on diplomatic immunity....
BORDEAUX: Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with taking financial advantage of France's richest woman, as part of a probe into illegal party funding that could shatter his hopes of a political comeback.His lawyers said they would appeal against the decision to formally investigate Sarkozy over allegations he took advantage of elderly L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt when she was weakened by poor health....
ISTANBUL - Turkey's armed Kurdish rebellion is poised to enter a historic ceasefire on Thursday, the Kurdish New Year, at the command of a single man only a handful of people have seen since 1999. After months of meticulous planning with Turkey's intelligence agency, jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has outlined a "historic" call for a ceasefire to be made on Thursday, Kurdish lawmakers told reporters after meeting him on Monday....
NEW DELHI: Danish tourist Judith Jensen has a long list of don'ts to help her feel safe during her holiday in India.She won't hail a taxi off the street, she won't stay in an obscure hotel and she won't go out after dark -- all decisions made in response to the growing reporting of sexual crime in the country....
ROME: Italy on Monday said India was violating a convention on diplomatic immunity by preventing the Italian ambassador from leaving the country in an escalating row over two Italian marines on trial for killing two Indian fishermen."The Supreme Court's decision to prevent our ambassador from leaving the country without the court's permission is a clear violation of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations," the foreign ministry said in a statement....
