Ingrid Betancourt rescued

Ingrid Betancourt (photo) and three Americans, held by rebels, have been rescued by the Colombian authorities.
Said to be in a very poor health, Ms Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician, has been held for more than six years by the Farc, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

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Iran-Israel story is false say the US

Reported comments by a defence official saying that it was increasingly likely Israel would attack Iran in the coming months have been criticised by the US state department.

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Ground Zero rebuild timetable abandoned

As it was “not realistic”, the owner of the World Trade Center has abandoned the timetable for rebuilding work at the site of the 9/11.
A dozen issues which had slowed work and raised costs have been listed over by Christopher Ward, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive director.

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Nepal prince leaves nation after monarchy abolition

For the first time in more than two years, Paras Shah (photo, from nepalnews.com), the former Crown Prince of Nepal, has left the country, on a flight to Singapore.
Speculation has been made that the controversial former heir is permanently moving to the island city, after the throne has been abolished.

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Iraq guards lost their immunity

Allowing foreign security guards in Iraq to be prosecuted under national laws, the US has agreed to scrap immunity for them, has said the Iraq foreign minister.
“The immunity for private security guards has been removed. The US has agreed on it”, said Hoshyar Zebari on Tuesday, after briefing Iraqi MPs on the controversial US-Iraq [...]

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Fuel prices raised in Bangladesh

Amid soaring crude oil prices, fuel prices have been raised by the Bangladesh government, by between 34-67 per cent, officials say.
Government finances have been stained by the surge of crude oil prices. As a consequence, authorities have said that they have no alternative to the sharp increases.

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Obama seeks US religious votes

Barack Obama (photo), the US Democratic candidate to the White House, said he wanted to provide more money, as well as government support, to faith-based social programmes.
Set up by Georges W. Bush, the current office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives had not lived up to expectations, said the Illinois senator.

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Grave water crisis in the West Bank

The West Bank is facing grave water shortages, largely because of Israel’s “discriminatory” policies, said B’Tselem, Israeli human rights group.
The group criticises the distribution of joint water resources, as well as limits placed by Israel on the Palestinian Authority’s ability to drill new wells.
“It will have serious repercussions on the economy and health”, B’Tselem [...]

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Risk of cancer lowered by Mediterranean diet

The risk of cancer could be cut by 12%, just by adopting a couple of elements of the Mediterranean diet, say scientists.
Using more olive oil alone cut the risk by 9%, found a study of 26 000 Greek people.

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Clashes in Mongolia capital, five people killed

In Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital, five people have died and more than 300 were hurt in violent protests over alleged electoral fraud, says Tsend Munkhorgil, the Justice minister.
He said that hundreds of people were reportedly detained.
A state of emergency and curfew has been declared by the president, and parts of the city have been [...]

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