World

Indo-Asian News Service Xi’an: Archaeologists have unearthed the earliest man-made cave houses and privately-owned pottery workshops in China which date back 5,500 years. After four years of excavation, a row of 17 cave houses were found on a cliff along the Jinghe River in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, said Wang Weilin, deputy director of the ... Read more

UK government report says playgrounds must be designed to increase likelihood of injuries so children learn to manage risks By Agencies London: Children should be allowed to break their legs and eat poisonous plants as part of their physical and social development, says a UK report. The government document by Play England and the Department ... Read more

The Nazi doctor Josef Mengele is responsible for the astonishing number of twins in a small Brazilian town, an Argentine historian has claimed. By Nick Evans in Buenos Aires The steely hearted “Angel of Death”, whose mission was to create a master race fit for the Third Reich, was the resident medic at Auschwitz from ... Read more

The head of a Mexican police chief was delivered to his colleagues in an ice box in the country’s latest drug-related violence. The incident came as 16 other people were also killed in Mexico’s northern state of Chihuahua in attacks the authorities believe are linked to the country’s drug wars. “Hitmen cut off commander Martin ... Read more

By Hannah Wood, Mirror.co.uk Two fishermen who were lost in shark-infested waters for 25 days have been rescued. The duo was found desperately waving their shirts while helplessly floating in an icebox through treacherous waters. An Australian Coastwatch plane was flying across the Torres Strait, between Australia and Indonesia, on Saturday when the crew spotted ... Read more

Barack Obama will make history when he is sworn in as the 44th President. Here is everything you need to know about the inauguration and the celebrations and festivities surrounding it: By Aislinn Simpson, Catherine Elsworth, Mike Pflanz and Tom Leonard Bible Barack Obama will swear his presidential oath of office on the bible Abraham ... Read more

Zimbabwe’s central bank will introduce a $100 trillion Zimbabwean banknote, worth about US $33 on the black market, to try to ease desperate cash shortages, state-run media said on Friday. Prices are doubling every day and food and fuel are in short supply. A cholera epidemic has killed more than 2,000 people and a deadlock ... Read more

NEW YORK: A US Airways plane carrying 155 people crashed into New York’s Hudson River Thursday, but all aboard had a miraculous escape as the freezing waters rose around them, US officials said. The Airbus carrying 150 passengers and five crew lost power in both engines almost simultaneously, a highly rare event, just minutes after ... Read more

A student who is auctioning her virginity to pay for a masters degree in Family and Marriage therapy has seen bidding hit £2.5million ($3.7m). Natalie Dylan, 22, claims her offer of a one-night stand has persuaded 10,000 men to bid for sex with her. Last September, when her auction came to light, she had received ... Read more

From Times Online  Third shark attack in 24 hours prompts panic on Australian beaches Sophie Tedmanson in Sydney Australian beachgoers are on Jaws alert after three shark attacks in separate locations around the country over the past 24 hours. On Monday a snorkeller suffered 40 puncture wounds after fending off what is thought to have ... Read more

Agencies Parepare: Rescuers battled rocky seas on Monday as they searched for nearly 250 people missing and feared dead after a ferry capsized off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. About 250 passengers and 17 crew were believed to have been aboard the 700-ton Teratai Prima when it sank on

Agencies Occupied Jerusalem: The Israeli army pushed ahead with its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, with tanks and infantry battling Hamas fighters. Hamas said that Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian fighters in the outskirts of Gaza City. In northern

A 12-year-old boy has been found guilty in the United States of murdering his mother following a row over his household chores. A judge in Arizona ruled prosecutors had proved the boy acted intentionally when he shot his mother, Sara Madrid, eight times last year. The boy, from the city of Douglas in Cochise County, ... Read more

MICHAEL LEVENSON Boston, Jan. 2: Seems fair to say that the passengers who boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 59 in Amsterdam yesterday did not expect that by the time they landed in Boston seven hours later they would have new faith in themselves, and almost certainly not in the state of humanity. But as they jubilantly ... Read more

By David Willey, BBC News, Rome The Vatican City State, the world’s smallest sovereign state, has decided to divorce itself from Italian law. Vatican legal experts say there are too many laws in Italian civil and criminal codes, and that they frequently conflict with Church principles. With effect from New Year’s Day, the Pope has ... Read more

Sri Lanka’s military have seized control of the Tamil Tiger rebels’ de facto capital of Kilinochchi, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced. He described the taking of the northern town as an “unparalleled victory” for government forces. A pro-Tamil website confirmed the news but said the town was mostly empty as the rebel fighters had moved ... Read more

From Times Online Sex on beach Briton, Vince Acors, speaks out for first time Nico Hines A British businessman today spoke out for the first time about his conviction for having sex on a beach in Dubai, saying that he had been “extremely naive” but claiming that the verdict against him was unjust. Vince Acors ... Read more

• Shredded westuit found off Perth coast • Son hears father’s screams Ellen Connolly in Sydney, guardian.co.uk A snorkeller is believed to have been snatched by a shark as he swam last weekend with his son at a beach south of Perth. Witnesses reported seeing a dorsal fin and thrashing in the water before the ... Read more

India has advised its citizens against travelling to Pakistan as tension continues in the wake of last month’s deadly attacks in Mumbai. India’s foreign ministry said travel was “unsafe” after reports Indians had been detained following recent bomb attacks in Pakistani cities. Pakistani officials say the tension has meant scaling down military operations against militants ... Read more

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has topped the list of US officials for the number of gifts received in 2007, a state department report shows. Ms Rice received $312,000 (£211,000) worth of jewels from the king of Saudi Arabia – worth three times more than his gifts to President George W Bush. Among the ... Read more