World

Tokyo, May 1: Japan's new Emperor Naruhito formally ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne on Wednesday, a day after his father's historic abdication, and vowed to stand with the people as the country begins a new imperial era. In a brief address, his first to the nation since inheriting the throne, Naruhito vowed to "act according to the Constitution" while "always turning my thoughts to the people

Kathmandu, May 1: A total of 3,000 kilogrammes of solid waste has been collected from Mt Everest since April 14 when Nepal launched an ambitious clean-up campaign aimed at bringing back tonnes of trash from the world's highest peak, which has lately turned into a "garbage dump". The 45-day 'Everest Cleaning Campaign', led by Solukhumbu district's Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality began on

Charlotte, May 1: Two people were killed and four others wounded, three critically, in a shooting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, officials said. Police said one suspect, who some local media reported was a student at the school, was taken into custody following the rampage on the last day of classes for the academic year. Final exams were scheduled for next week. Charlotte

United Nations, Apr 30: The UN humanitarian chief has said there has been "no progress" in dealing with the reasons why more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh from western Myanmar's Rakhine state. Mark Lowcock, who just returned from a visit to Bangladesh, said on Monday Myanmar has failed "to put in place confidence-building measures that would persuade people it's safe to go back

Colombo, Apr 30: Sri Lankan officials said on Tuesday security forces were maintaining a high level of alert after intelligence reports that militants were planning fresh attacks before the start of Ramadan. The head of the police ministerial security division had said in a letter to lawmakers and other officials that attacks were expected on Sunday or Monday by militants dressed in army uniform

Wellington, Apr 30: New Zealand police said on Tuesday a man was arrested and bomb disposal officers found a package with a suspected explosive device at a vacant property in Christchurch, where 50 people were killed in attacks by a lone gunman on two mosques in March. Police cordoned off streets in the Phillipstown area of the city on New Zealand's South Island, with a bomb disposal team

Colombo, Apr 29: Female bombers posing as devotees may have been planning to attack Sri Lanka's Buddhist temples after authorities seized white clothes from a house that was raided following Easter Sunday blasts, a media report said on Monday. The Sri Lankan intelligence agency has received inputs of possible attacks on Buddhist temples by female bombers of the banned local terror outfit National

Ankara, Apr 29: A suspected United Arab Emirates spy who was detained by Turkish authorities 10 days ago has committed suicide in prison, a Turkish government source and state media said on Monday. The suspect was found dead in Silivri prison, on the outskirts of Istanbul, state news agency Anadolu reported. A Turkish justice ministry source confirmed the report to AFP. The man was taken into

Jakarta, Apr 29: Ten days after Indonesia held the world’s biggest single-day elections, more than 270 election staff have died, mostly of fatigue-related illneses caused by long hours of work counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official said on Sunday. The April 17 elections were the first time the country of 260 million people combined the presidential vote with national and regional

Colombo/Kalmunai, Apr 28: The father and two brothers of the suspected mastermind of Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday bombings were killed when security forces stormed their safe house two days ago, police sources and a relative of the suicide bombers told Reuters on Sunday. Zainee Hashim, Rilwan Hashim and their father Mohamed Hashim, who were seen in a video circulating on social media calling for all