EU bars Libyan airlines from Europe's skies
Brussels: The EU barred all Libyan airlines from European airspace on Thursday for fear violent clashes between warring factions mean the authorities can no longer guarantee the safety of their aircraft. "Recent events in Libya have led to a situation whereby the Civil Aviation Authority is no longer able to fulfil its international obligations with regard to the safety of the Libyan aviation sector," an EU official said. AFP
US plans to build first airport for drones
London: It will be an airport with a difference and one without the key characters in any conventional airport -- pilots. It would be the first airport dedicated to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, the Defence Systems website reported Wednesday. IANS
No Pope, Dalai Lama meeting in Rome
Vatican City: Pope Francis will not meet the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader visits Rome this weekend, a Vatican spokesman said today -- a decision apparently seeking to avoid upsetting China. The Dalai Lama arrives in the Italian capital tomorrow for three days to attend a meeting with other Nobel peace laureates.
Shrien Dewani's house vandalised in UK
London: British-Indian millionaire Shrien Dewani's house in the UK was vandalised, a day after he returned from South Africa after being cleared by a court of plotting the murder of his Indo-Swedish bride during their honeymoon. White paint was thrown over the driveway of the millionaire businessman's plush home at Westbury-on-Trym, a suburb of the city of Bristol. PTI
New stem cell can grow into any body part
Melbourne: Scientists have discovered a new stem cell that can be programmed to become any part of the body. The stem cell is a type of pluripotent cell, which can be programmed to become any cell type in the body, from brain to heart, and can be used to grow new organs and tissue for transplant, theage.com.au reported. PTI
Swiss charge black money whistleblower with data theft
geneva: Swiss authorities has charged a fugitive banking analyst, Herve Falciani, with data theft in what is considered to be one of the biggest security breaches in the country's often-secretive banking sector. Falciani has been accused of stealing information between 2006 and 2007 relating to 24,000 HSBC customers. The leak put pressure on Switzerland to crack down on tax cheats. AP
Fidel Castro wins China's peace prize
Beijing: Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro was awarded China's Confucius Peace Prize for this year, state media reports said Thursday. The award ceremony took place Tuesday in the campus of Peking University in Beijing. The Cuban students studying in China accepted the award on behalf of Castro as he could not attend the award function, Global Times reported. IANS
