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Saturday, July 04, 2009 KOLKATA: At least eight people died after the bus in which they were travelling fell off a bridge on the rail tracks near the Howrah station in West Bengal on Saturday, Indian police said here. The accident took place around 4pm when the bus fell from Bankim Setu on the railway tracks, almost 50 feet below the bridge. "Rescue operation is on. We are apprehending that at least six to seven people are dead in the accident and another five or more are injured," a police official said. Police and railway medical teams have rushed to the spot. "The bus fell between the two platforms (11 and 12). We have stalled operations in platforms from Platform No 10 to 23. But local trains are plying normally," Eastern Railway's chief public relations officer Samir Goswami said. "Operations on those platforms have been stopped because we have cut the electricity supply following the accident," Goswami added. A number of long distance trains were...

Saturday, July 04, 2009 LOS ANGELES: An auction house Profiles in History have announced that they will be auctioning off a number of Michael Jackson-related items in October. The top item, a glove Jackson wore on the 1984 “Victory” tour, which according to curator Joseph Maddalena should sell for at least $60,000. It’s a pretty amazing piece of memorabilia: Made as a one-of-a-kind item by a designer named Ted, it is lined with 50 tiny lights that are connected to a battery in the cuff and twinkle randomly thanks to a series of circuits. The auction, scheduled for October 1 and 2, also contains a fedora worn by Jackson and the motorcycle jacket and gold belt from the “Bad” video.

, Saturday, July 04, 2009 SEOUL: North Korea test-fired a seventh missile Saturday from its base on the east coast, South Korea's defence ministry said. The missile fired at 5.40 pm (0840 GMT) had the same range as the six fired earlier in the day, a spokesman said.

Saturday, July 04, 2009 HELD AL-QUDS: Jews and Arabs should not live next to one another, a local newspaper on Friday quoted Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Attias as saying."We can all be bleeding hearts, but I think it is unsuitable to live together," the minister was quoted as telling the Israel Bar Association in Tel Aviv."Arabs don't have where to live, so they buy apartments in places with a Jewish nature, which causes unwanted friction," said Attias, of the religious Shas party.In a reference to Arab Israelis, he also complained about "the expansion of a population that doesn't love the state of Israel, to say the least."The English-language newspaper quoted Arab-Israeli MP Ahmed Tibi as lashing out at Attias."Relating to Israel's Arab citizens as something threatening and foreign, coming from a minister in a government that should be distributing resources (equally) borders on violating the law against incitement and racism...

July 04, 2009 LONDON: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he would be willing to meet US President Barack Obama in Syria to discuss Middle East peace efforts, in a British television interview. "We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this," Assad said while talking to British news channel. Asked whether this could happen soon, the president said: "That depends on him. "I will ask you to convey the invitation to him," he told the news channel in the brief interview broadcast Thursday. Assad's outreach comes as Washington tries to engage with its former foe after President George W. Bush froze relations with Damascus following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005. Asked by news channel if such a meeting could herald a new era of cooperation in the region, Assad said it could, if peace could be secured. "It's normal to have differences between different cultures, between differen...

Saturday, July 04, 2009 SEOUL: North Korea test-fired five ballistic missiles Saturday, South Korean officials said, in an apparent message of defiance to the United States on the eve of its Independence Day holiday. They came as Washington seeks support for tough enforcement of United Nations sanctions aimed at shutting down the North's nuclear and missile programmes. Seoul's foreign ministry said the first four weapons launched into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) were ballistic missiles, which the North is banned from firing under various Security Council resolutions. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the latest missile, fired at 2:50 pm (0550 GMT), was of the same type as the first four. It was the first time in three years that the North fired multiple ballistic missiles. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said they had a range of between 400 and 500 km (250-312 miles) but declined to say what type they were. A local news agency said they were either Scuds, or Rodon...

Saturday, July 04, 2009 KHOST: Two US soldiers were killed in an explosion in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, the US military said,as Afghan authorities reported that 32 rebels died in an ensuing US helicopter attack. "There was an incident with a possible IED (improvises explosive device) in Paktika province this morning in which two US service members were killed," Sergeant Charles March, a military spokesman said. The military spokesman could not give further details but Hamidullah Zhwak, a spokesman for the local administration, said the US casualties occurred when a fuel tanker was exploded by the rebels in front of a government building."After the blast the American helicopters came in and attacked the Taliban who were preparing to attack the district headquarters," he said, referring to the Zirok district where the incident took place.

Updated at: 1256 PST, Saturday, July 04, 2009 NEW YORK: The Statue of Liberty will be reopen for visitors today. This is the first time the statue's crown will be open since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. However, only 30 visitors will be given access to the crown every hour, and they will need to climb 168 steps on a narrow, spiral staircase to reach it. The statue sees as many as 15,000 visitors every day, most of whom, if without a crown-access ticket that can be reserved online as early as one year in advance, will have to be content with a circle around the statue's pedestal. Tickets for the first-day opening sold out within hours, local media reported earlier. The Statue of Liberty is a monument that was presented by the people of France to the United States of America in 1886 to celebrate its centennial. The crown visit, which provides a broad view of the New York Harbor through 25 windows, was available for the public prior to Sept. 11, 2001.

Pakistani security officials examine the wreckage of the minibus which was transporting the 11 engineers PARIS : Anti-terror judges leading an inquiry into the 2002 killing of 11 French engineers in Pakistan have asked France's defence minister to open up classified government files, a source said Saturday. Judges Marc Trevidic et Yves Jannier want "all documents" pertaining to the Karachi attack -- linked to a contract with French state firm DCN and murky commissions -- be made available, French weekly Le Point added on its website. The inquiry has focused on allegations of a link to a corrupt 1994 submarine deal with Islamabad, amid suspicions the attack could have been ordered as punishment after Paris stopped paying commissions to Pakistani intermediaries. The 11 engineers, along with three Pakistani victims, were employed on the submarine deal when a car packed with explosives rammed in...

Saturday, July 04, 2009 LONDON: Serena Williams clinched her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam crown with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 victory over sister Venus, the defending champion, here on Saturday.The victory added to her 2002 and 2003 wins at the All England Club and shattered Venus's hopes of a hat-trick of titles and sixth overall which would have taken her level with Billie Jean King.Saturday's final was the fourth all-Williams title match-up at Wimbledon and eighth in all Grand Slams with the win giving Serena the edge in head-to-head meetings at 11-10.Of the eight major finals the sisters have faced each other in, Serena has won six."It feels so amazing. I'm so blessed. I feel like I shouldn't really be holding the trophy, Venus should be holding it, she always wins," said Serena who currently holds three of the four Grand Slam titles."I can't believe I have won 11 majors. It's a real honour."Venus, 29, admitted Serena had been the b...