World

Doctors are trying to unravel the mystery of an Indian village boasting 250 sets of twins born to just 2,000 families Baffled doctors are trying to unravel the mystery of an Indian village boasting more than 220 sets of twins born to just 2,000 families Photo: BARCROFT 78 pairs of twins Photo: BARCROFT The phenomenon ... Read more

TEHRAN: Iranian-Ameican journalist Roxana Saberi has been released from Evin prison after an Iranian Appeals Court downgraded her spying conviction from its original 8-year term to a lesser, suspended sentence of two years, her lawyer said. Saberi’s father, Reza, of Fargo, ND, said today in Tehran that he plans to bring his daughter home within ... Read more

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has compared himself to Jesus Christ and Napoleon, boasted today that he was the world’s most popular leader. The conservative premier, in his third term in office, said opinion poll findings in his possession showed his popularity at just over 75 per cent, making him far more popular than ... Read more

Over 100 Taliban fighters have been killed in six days of operations in Pakistan’s restive North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the military said Friday, even as the provincial government opened peace talks with a radical cleric and a top US commander served notice that Islamabad had just two weeks left to deal with the militants. ... Read more

L’AQUILA, Italy – Jarring aftershocks sowed panic in Italy’s earthquake zone Thursday, terrifying the thousands of homeless victims sheltering in crowded tent camps as the death toll reached 278. Two lifeless bodies were pulled from the ruins of a student dormitory in the centre of the Abruzzo capital L’Aquila early in the morning after a ... Read more

A WOMAN’S secret affair with her 13-year-old lover was exposed when her suspicious sister paid her a surprise visit late one evening and found the boy hiding in a wardrobe. The 32-year-old former canteen stall assistant had earlier had sex with the minor after inviting him to her flat. Yesterday, the unemployed woman was jailed ... Read more

L’AQUILA, Italy – A powerful earthquake tore through central Italy on Monday devastating historic mountain towns and killing at least 50 people, authorities said. Many remained unaccounted for as emergency services scrambled to find victims trapped under collapsed buildings in L’Aquila, which bore the brunt of the quake, and officials warned that the toll would ... Read more

One of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, the Lancet, has accused Pope Benedict XVI of distorting science in his remarks on condom use. It said the Pope’s recent comments that condoms exacerbated the problem of HIV/Aids were wildly inaccurate and could have devastating consequences. The Pope had said the “cruel epidemic” should be tackled ... Read more

AP, Baghdad The Iraqi journalist, who threw shoes at then-president George W Bush, was convicted Thursday of assaulting a foreign leader and sentenced to three years in prison, lawyers said. He defiantly shouted, “long live Iraq,” when the sentence was read. Muntadhar al-Zeidi’s bold act in December electrified many across the Middle East who consider ... Read more

DHARAMSHALA, India : Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was to address his community of exiles Tuesday, the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against China that forced him to flee to India. Prayers, vigils and protests were planned throughout the day in Dharamshala, the northern Indian hill town where the Tibetan government-in-exile has been ... Read more

From The Times Jeremy Page The US was secretly flying unmanned drones from the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan as early as 2006, according to an image of the base from Google Earth. The image — that is no longer on the site but which was obtained by The News, Pakistan’s English ... Read more

A Californian geography professor has used techniques for hunting endangered species to pinpoint three houses in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden could be hiding. By Ben Farmer in Kabul Using patterns of how animal species spread, the world’s most wanted terrorist can be tracked down to a town in the tribal region of North West ... Read more

LONDON (AP) — A 13-year-old boy pictured in a British tabloid cradling an infant is reportedly one of the country’s youngest-known fathers. Baby-faced and only 4 feet (1.22 meters) tall, the boy, Alfie, was just 12 when he impregnated Chantelle, now 15, The Sun said. Shown in a video posted Friday to the tabloid’s Web ... Read more

By The Staff at wowOwow.com UPDATE: The rumor that Geoge Clooney is dating the 26-year-old niece of assassinated Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is false, according to the actor’s publicist Stan Rosenfield. Rosenfield e-mailed wowOwow saying “The story is not true,” as rumors continue to grow that the striking actor has been cuddling up with ... Read more

AP Alberta: A 60-year-old woman in western Canada has given birth to twins after going to India for fertility treatments, the new mother told a Canadian broadcaster on Thursday. The Alberta Health Services issued a news release on Thursday saying the mother and two infants are in good condition. The health department also said the ... Read more

A man has died after his mobile phone exploded, bursting an artery in his neck, it has been reported. The shop worker from Guangzhiu, China, died moments after he put a new battery in his phone, it has been claimed. It was believed that he may have just finished charging the battery and had put ... Read more

From Times Online Tony Halpin in Moscow   It is normally a moment of cheery reassurance when an airline pilot greets passengers during preparations for take-off. But Alexander Cheplevsky sparked panic on flight Aeroflot 315 when he began to

Michelle Obama, America’s First Lady, has banned celebrity socialising for her daughters Malia and Sasha as she attempts to forge a normal family life in the White House. By Philip Sherwell in New York The girls’ final encounter for now with A-list stars came on the night of Barack Obama’s inauguration. The Jonas Brothers boy ... Read more

MELBOURNE: Australia’s second-largest city Melbourne ground to a halt Saturday, crippled by a once-in-a-century heatwave that has claimed almost 30 lives and razed at least 17 homes. Wildfires raged through the southeastern state of Victoria, where authorities said flames had come dangerously close to major electricity transmission lines which supplied power to Melbourne on Saturday. ... Read more

BAGHDAD: A huge bronze shoe sculpture has been erected in tribute to the Iraqi journalist who grabbed instant fame when he threw his shoes at former US president George W Bush last year. The shoe, in which a tree has been planted, stands three metres high (about 10 feet) and sits atop a white pedestal ... Read more