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JAKARTA: A powerful quake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit off the Indonesian island of Maluku on Sunday, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

KABUL: The Taliban denied Saturday that leaders of the group fighting to overthrow the Afghan government had met with UN representatives to discuss bringing peace to Afghanistan. The Taliban issued a statement branding reports of a meeting with the UN’s outgoing special representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, in Dubai this month as “rumours” and “propaganda”.

WASHINGTON: India has enduring civilizational links with Afghanistan. India will continue to assist Afghanistan in building its institutions and its human resources. With these two sentences, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday threw down the gauntlet to Washington, Islamabad and perhaps even Beijing and other world capitals that India would not be budged from pursuing its interests in Afghanistan — primarily of preventing the country from turning toxic under Pakistan’s malignant influence and American uncertainty.

A French magistrate has ordered former President Jacques Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges dating back to his time as mayor of Paris, in an unprecedented move against a former French head of state, Chirac’s office said. The retired Chirac, who was mayor from 1977 until 1995 when he was elected president, is not certain to go on trial, however, as Paris public prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin had previously said that there was no case against him. Marin is likely to appeal the decision by Xaviere Simeoni, a magistrate whose role is to investigate cases and decide whether suspects should face trial

Abu Dhabi:- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, launching a rapid series of meetings with Palestinian and Israeli officials to keep up pressure for a peace deal. She was due to fly to Israel later on Saturday for evening meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak