International news of the week

Saturday

New York: Indian-origin Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria has returned an award he received from the Jewish group Anti-Defamation League over its opposition towards the Ground Zero mosque.

London: In their face-to-face at Chequers after Cameroon sparks off a storm with his comment that Pakistan was looking both ways on the issue of terrorism, a triumphant Zardari – dubbed the 'artful dodger' in the British media – claimed that he won the latest war of attrition.

Sunday

Beijing: Flood fury continues to wreck havoc in China where 127 people were killed and 2,000 were untraced after one of the worst landslides hit the remote Gansu province submerging a township inhabited by 1.3 lakh people, mostly Tibetans.

Islamabad: Instead of cheers, President Asif Ali Zardari is 'greeted' by shoes at a party convention in the British city of Birmingham but he luckily escaped being hit, Pakistani media reports.

Monday

Kathmandu: As Nepal remains in a political deadlock, a top Maoist leader suggests that the two contenders, former rebels chief Prachanda and his Nepali Congress rival R C Poudyal, should withdraw from the prime ministerial race for formation of a national government.

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla as legal, while accusing Turkey for not doing enough to prevent the confrontation that killed nine Turkish activists on board.

Tuesday

Lahore/Peshawar: Thousands of people flee a city in central Pakistan threatened by two swollen rivers as aid organisations raced to provide food and much-needed supplies to over 14 million people affected by the country's worst floods.

United Nations: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has roped in Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh for a high-level panel on global sustainability aimed at finding "practical answers" to lift people out of poverty while tackling climate change.

Wednesday

Colombo: A high-level commission appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to look into the last seven years of conflict with the LTTE opened public hearings , amid global apprehensions over its credibility and mandate to probe war crimes.

London: A US-based Indian-origin IT wizard claims to have solved one of the world's most complex and intractable mathematical problems that could transform mankind's use of computers.

Thursday

Kathmandu: In a surprise move, Maoist supremo Prachanda agrees to withdraw from the prime ministerial race if his Nepali Congress rival Ram Chandra Poudyal also agrees to quit, according to a deal being worked out by CPN-UML to end the six-week long political deadlock.

Washington: Ahead of India's Independence Day, the US today said the 'Indian Dream' of freedom, tolerance and prosperity continues to offer an example for people who yearn for democracy and liberty around the globe.

Friday

Colombo: A Sri Lankan military court strips the country's war hero and former Army chief Sarath Fonseka of his rank and medals after finding him guilty of dabbling in politics, while in service.

Dubai: Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, custodian of Islam's two holiest mosques has issued a royal decree saying only approved scholars can issue fatwas or Islamic religious edicts.