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WASHINGTON: Amid high expectations of a change in some controversial policies pursued in the last eight years, Barack Hussein Obama assumes power today as the first ever African-American of the United States. The unprecedented enthusiasm on the historic occasion both domestically and globally rests on the 47-year old Obama’s campaign promises to set America in a new direction aimed at restoring its prestige that especially suffered in the aftermath of the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. On top of the legal, moral and political questions connected to the two wars, US economic recession is bound to test his skills in the backdrop of the Bush Administration’s unpopular policies. President George W. Bush leaves office Tuesday with an approval rating of 22 percent as Obama moves into the White House as the 44th president with unrivaled high rating of 83 percent. The Americans also hope for the beginning of a new era of a better sense of national unity as they see too much division alo...

NEW DELHI: India's military Tuesday tested a surface-to-surface version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which it had developed jointly with Russia, a defence ministry spokesman said. The missile was fired from the Pokhran range in the western desert state of Rajasthan, bordering Pakistan that was also the site of India's nuclear tests in 1998. The official said the test was "routine," but it comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Mumbai militant attacks that New Delhi says were directed from Pakistani soil. The BrahMos has a range of 290 kilometres (180 miles) and can carry a 300-kilogram (660 pounds) conventional warhead. The eight-metre (26-foot) missile weighs about three metric tonnes and can be launched from land, ships, submarines or aircraft, traveling at a speed of up to Mach 2.8. A version of the BrahMos is already used by the Indian navy. First tested in June 2001, the missile is named after India's Bra...

NEW DELHI: India has said that Lieutenant Colonel S P Purohit, allegedly involved in Malegaon blasts and Samjhauta Express bombings, will not be handed over to Pakistan. In an interview, Indian Defence Minister AK Antony termed Malegaon blasts as ‘Indian internal affair’ saying probe continued into the incident. Responding to a question, Antony said that Purohit would not be handed over to Pakistani authorities.

GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE: Parents of five 9/11 victims called Monday for the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay to remain open and for the military commissions to try the five men accused of perpetrating the attacks. "We demand that this camp stay open and that the process continue," said Joe Holland, whose son was killed during the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington. "Right here, right now, this is a good process, they are getting a fair trial," Holland told reporters, referring to the military commissions established by the administration of President George W. Bush to try "war on terror" detainees held at the controversial facility. "Guantanamo has been described as a national embarrassment. Mass murder in America is embarrassing," said Donald Arias, his voice trembling with rage.

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's navy said Tuesday it had destroyed four Tamil Tiger boats off the coastal district of Mullaittivu, where government forces are closing in on the rebels. Naval craft thwarted an attempt by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to get away from the besieged district, a navy spokesman said adding that a naval craft was also damaged in the pre-dawn sea battle. The heavy fighting came as the military said it had stepped up a naval blockade in the area to prevent any rebel leaders from fleeing the country in the face of the military's biggest ground, air and sea offensive against them.

WASHINTON: Critics of outgoing President George W. Bush turned a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House into a rowdy street theater on the eve of his handover of power to Barack Obama. An activist coalition calling itself ShoeBush.org piled a motley collection of dozens of old shoes, including tan combat boots said to have been worn by U.S. troops in Iraq and children’s bright yellow flip-flops, at what amounted to Bush’s doorstep. “We wanted to shoo and boo Bush on his last day in office,” said Ann Wilcox of Washington D.C., who marched with the group of about 500 peace activists. The footwear was tossed between Inaugural parade reviewing stands under watchful eyes of uniformed Secret Service officers. It was a reminder of an Iraqi journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, who hurled his two shoes at Bush during a news conference marking the outgoing president’s farewell visit to Iraq. A hooded, black-clad man posing as the Grim Reaper stood nearby with a sign saying “Death thank...

WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will sit out Barack Obama's inauguration at an undisclosed location as the "designated successor" in the event of a catastrophe, the White House announced Monday. While the eyes of the world are glued Tuesday to Obama's historic swearing-in, attended by outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush and both outgoing and incoming senior aides, Gates will stay away, said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "In order to ensure continuity of government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been designated by the outgoing administration, with the concurrence of the incoming administration, to serve as the designated successor during Inauguration Day, Tuesday, January 20th," Perino said. It is common practice for one senior US official to sit out major events, like the annual State of the Union speech, to ensure that the US government has clear leadership in the event of a disaster or terrorist attack. But Washington has been especially a...

WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will sit out Barack Obama's inauguration at an undisclosed location as the "designated successor" in the event of a catastrophe, the White House announced Monday. While the eyes of the world are glued Tuesday to Obama's historic swearing-in, attended by outgoing US President George W. Bush and both outgoing and incoming senior aides, Gates will stay away, said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "In order to ensure continuity of government, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been designated by the outgoing administration, with the concurrence of the incoming administration, to serve as the designated successor during Inauguration Day, Tuesday, January 20th," Perino said. It is common practice for one senior US official to sit out major events, like the annual State of the Union speech, to ensure that the US government has clear leadership in the event of a disaster or terrorist attack. But Washington has been especially att...

NEW DELHI: Health authorities in the eastern Indian state of Sikkim on Monday confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu and said thousands of poultry would be killed to control its spread. The outbreak was reported in the southern part of the state, where officials will slaughter between 5,000 and 8,000 birds and disinfect affected areas, according to media reports. "We are awaiting the arrival of a central team following which the culling operations would start," PTI quoted K.C. Bhutia of the animal husbandry and veterinary services department as saying. India has spent the last year battling its worst outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus. Authorities in the eastern state of West Bengal slaughtered more than five million birds in 2008 to stem the spread of the disease. Last month officials in the northeast state of Assam killed more than 250,000 chickens after fears that the disease had spread to humans. However, no human cases have been reported in India.

LOS ANGELES: Queen of pop Madonna is receiving online death threats from fanatic for her commitment to Jewish Kaballah sect. Fuming Muslims are leaving terrifying messages on websites calling to behead her. Following the threats, the Material girl has stepped up her personal security as fears grow for her three children. She has also hired two minders, who previously worked for the Israeli secret services, who have been at her side 24/7. She has also boosting arrangements at her homes around the world, and is calling for her former husband, movie director Guy Ritchie, 40, to do the same at both his London pad and sprawling country mansion. One fanatic called for the 50-year-old star to be beheaded, reports Daily Star.

KUWAIT CITY: Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on Monday announced the donation of one billion dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza and called for putting an end to Arab differences. "On behalf of the Saudi people, I declare the donation of one billion dollars for programmes to rebuild Gaza," the Saudi monarch said at the opening session of an Arab summit in Kuwait. "We have to overcome Arab political differences that led to a division in the Arab ranks which can be exploited by those who want to achieve their regional ambitions" King Abdullah said. He also warned that the Arab peace initiative "will not remain on the table forever." Arab leaders are tipped to approve the setting up of a two-billion dollar fund for the reconstruction of Gaza. Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah announced at the summit's opening his country will donate all 34 million dollars needed by the UN relief agency for refugees, or UNRWA, for its Gaza Strip relief...