South Korea is set to reach agreement with the US on expanding its ballistic missile range to better guard against attacks by North Korea, the South's leader was quoted Thursday as saying. The two allies are close to agreement on revising a 2001 deal that restricts Seoul's missile range to 300 kilometres (186 miles), President Lee Myung-Bak said in an interview with Dong-A Ilbo newspaper and other media. "Missiles with a 300-kilometre range …

The Encyclopedia Britannica (Encyclopaedia Britannica in Latin), globally acknowledged as one of the most scholarly of encyclopedias, has finally moved into the digital age after 244 years, the best possible news that can greet researchers and knowledge seekers all around the planet. According to international news agency “Reuters,” the development that the Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer publish its printed editions and instead focus …

Seems like Amitabh Bachchan can’t stay away from work too long as the megastar is all set play a special part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) opening ceremony April 3. The 69-year-old, who underwent two abdominal surgeries last month, will host the ceremony in Chennai. “Asia Cup over soon and then IPL …opening extravaganza in Chennai .. and yours truly a small part of it …nervous as hell. April 3 is the day for the opening, preparing for it …

As the government prepares to face the opposition in Parliament, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today exuded confidence that the UPA has “all the numbers” that are needed to tackle issues. “I think pressure is part of parliamentary life. We are willing to discuss and debate all issues on the floor of Parliament,” he said ahead of the start of the Budget Session. “I am confident that we have all the numbers that are needed,” the Prime Minister …

Indian superstar Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from international cricket on Friday at the age of 39, ending a 16-year career that made him an idol at home and abroad. "It is time to move on and let a new generation of players make their own history," Dravid told reporters at a crowded news conference in Bangalore alongside Indian cricket board president Narayanaswamy Srinivasan. The stylish batsman was the number two run-getter in Test …

The United States led international pledges of emergency aid to Congo after huge blasts at an arms depot in Brazzaville killed more than 150 people and left 1,000 injured. President Denis Sassou Nguesso announced a curfew in the capital and cordoned off the area around the devastated eastern district of Mpila, as Congo issued a plea for international help on Monday. The government said an electrical short-circuit likely caused a fire which triggered …

Thirty-eight Syrians were killed on Friday, including 10 shot dead in Baba Amr after regime forces overran the rebel district of the central city of Homs, a watchdog said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told that 10 Syrians were "shot dead" in Baba Amr, but added: "The circumstances of their deaths are not clear." The Britain-based watchdog said regime forces had turned a Baba Amr shopping centre into a detention …

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri hailed what he said is the "shrinking influence" of the United States across the world due to attacks it has sustained from extremist groups, in an audio message Wednesday. "I congratulate you all as the US influence on the world is quickly shrinking," Zawahiri said in the 24-minute audio released on jihadist forums. "One of the latest signs of this is the reduction in the US Defence Department's budget, which is …

A total of 231 nominees are up for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, the Nobel Institute said Monday, with Bill Clinton, Helmut Kohl, the EU and US soldier and WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning known to be on the list. With 188 individuals and 43 organisations, the number of candidates comes close to last year's record of 241, when the prestigious award went to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee, and Yemeni …

The World Bank was on Friday to propose a coalition of governments, global organisations and other groups to protect the oceans, aiming to raise $1.5 billion in the next five years for the purpose. World Bank president Robert Zoellick was to tell a global conference in Singapore that the new partnership would bring together various groups to confront problems of over-fishing, marine degradation and loss of habitat. "The world's oceans are in danger, …