Emotional reunion after 60 yrs: North Korean Lee Yun-geun hugs his South Korean sister Lee Sun-hyang during their family reunion at the Mount Kumgang resort in North Korea on Thursday. Reuters

100-tonne radioactive water leak at Fukushima
Tokyo, February 20
A new leak of 100 tonnes of highly radioactive water has been discovered at Fukushima, the plant's operator said today, after it revealed only one of nine thermometers in a crippled reactor was still working.

Iran N-talks ends, next round on March 17
Vienna, February 20
Iran and six world powers ended theopening round of nuclear talks on an upbeat note on Thursday, with both sides saying they had agreed on a plan for further negotiations meant to produce a comprehensive deal to set limits on Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Indian, Pakistani get death in Dubai for murder
Dubai, February 20
An Indian and a Pakistani have been sentenced to death by a court here for killing the wife of the Indian national last year.

Brooks acquitted in Prince William’s bikini photo case
London, February 20
Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks was acquitted of a charge of paying for a picture of Prince William in a bikini as she gave evidence for the first time in her phone hacking trial here today.
Rebekah Brooks, former News International chief executive

Violence escalates in Venezuela
Caracas, February 20
Venezuelan security forces and demonstrators faced off in streets blocked by burning barricades in several cities on Thursday in an escalation of protests against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government, witnesses said.

Peshwar, February 20
Pakistani fighter jets pounded militant hideouts in the lawless North Waziristan and Khyber tribal regions, killing over 40 militants including foreigners, days after the government suspended talks with the Taliban over the execution of 23 troops.

The air strikes, which mostly targeted hideouts in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan Agency, were sanctioned by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself. Air strikes were also carried out in Khyber Agency.

The precision bombardment was part of surgical strikes which sources said should not be taken as a full-fledged military operation.

At least 40 militants, including foreign fighters, were killed in the air strikes, Pakistani news channels reported. "Militants involved in the bombing of a Peshawar cinema hall on February 13 and killing of an army major on February 18 were targeted in their hideouts in Bara area of Khyber agency today," a military source said. Sources said a factory making explosives and IEDs was destroyed in the air strikes in Khyber Agency.

Sources in the Pakistan government told PTI that Prime Minister Sharif authorised the air strikes last night. The government has been trying to engage the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in peace talks to end the decade-long insurgency that has claimed about 40,000 lives.

However, the peace process suffered a setback a Taliban faction killed 23 paramilitary personnel abducted in 2010.

The military leadership took the civilian government into confidence, citing potential threats from terrorists holed up in their safe havens in the tribal belt. The sources said the air strikes were aimed at protecting the people as militants were making plans to carry out attacks.

The air strikes came hours after the military in a rare move gave out casualty figures since an All-Parties Conference in September decided that talks were the way out to tackle the Taliban. "Innocent people (308 civilians, 114 military, 38 police) have embraced martyrdom and 1,264 (684 civilians, 531 military, 49 police) were injured due to terrorist acts throughout the country since the All-Parties Conference," a military official said. - PTI

Kiev, February 20
Fearing that a call for a truce was a ruse, protesters tossed firebombs and advanced upon police lines today in Ukraine's embattled capital, even as government snipers shot back and the almost-medieval melee that ensued left at least 70 people dead and hundreds injured.

Video footage on Ukrainian television showed shocking scenes today of protesters being cut down by gunfire, lying on the pavement as comrades rushed to their aid.

Trying to protect themselves with shields, teams of protesters carried bodies away on sheets of plastic or on planks of wood.

Protesters were also seen leading policemen with their hands held high around the sprawling protest camp in central Kiev. Ukraine's Interior ministry says 67 police were captured in all. It was not clear how they were taken. An opposition lawmaker said they were being held in Kiev's occupied city hall.

President Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition protesters are locked in an epic battle over the identity of Ukraine, a nation of 46 million that has divided loyalties between Russia and the West. — AP

Tokyo, February 20
A new leak of 100 tonnes of highly radioactive water has been discovered at Fukushima, the plant's operator said today, after it revealed only one of nine thermometers in a crippled reactor was still working.

The toxic water is no longer escaping from a storage tank on the site, said a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power, adding it was likely contained, but the news is a further blow to the company's already-battered reputation for safety. "As there is no drainage way near the leak, which is in any case far from the ocean, it is unlikely that the water has made its way into the sea," he said.

The tank, one of hundreds at the site that are used to store water contaminated during the process of cooling broken reactors, sits around 700 metres (2,300 feet) from the shore. The water it contains is highly radioactive, with a beta radiation reading "at 230 million becquerel per litre", he said.

That contamination level compares with government limits of 100 becquerels per kilogramme in food and 10 becquerels per litre in drinking water. A becquerel is a unit of radioactivity.

Beta radiation, including from cancer-causing strontium-90, is potentially very harmful to humans and can cause damage to DNA. But it is relatively easy to guard against and cannot penetrate a thin sheet of aluminium.

"We are now in the process of recovering the leaked water and the earth it has contaminated," the spokesman added.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said, however, it sees no serious risks to environment outside the plant at this point. — AFP

Vienna, February 20
Iran and six world powers ended theopening round of nuclear talks on an upbeat note on Thursday, with both sides saying they had agreed on a plan for further negotiations meant to produce a comprehensive deal to set limits on Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

In a joint statement, they said the next round of negotiations would begin in Vienna on March 17, continuing a process likely to take at least six months and probably longer.

Expectations had been modest as the talks started Tuesday, and the upbeat tone on a framework for future talks appeared aimed in part to encourage skeptics inside and outside Iran that the negotiations had a chance to succeed despite huge gaps between the Iranians and the six powers.

The six want Tehran to agree to significant cuts in its nuclear program to reduce concerns it could be turned quickly to weapons use. — AP

Tehran, February 20
Iran and Britain officially resumed diplomatic relations today severed by London after students stormed its Tehran embassy in 2011, a senior Iranian official said.

"From today relations between Iran and Britain are resumed at the non-resident charges d'affaires level," Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said, adding that the countries' flags were raised atop their embassies in Tehran and London. The British Foreign Office confirmed the news.

Britain had ordered the closure of Iran's embassy in London after shuttering its own in Tehran when hundreds of Islamist students stormed the compound in November 2011.

The students -- protesting against Western sanctions over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme -- ransacked the building as well as the ambassador's residence in north Tehran. Since then, the Swedish embassy in Tehran has represented Britain's interests there, while the Omani embassy in London has done the same for Iran.

"By ending the job of countries' interest sections, the charges d'affaires are now responsible for the bilateral relations," said Takht-Ravanchi. In November, the two countries had already named non-resident charges d'affaires, and Britain's new envoy, Ajay Sharma, visited Iran in December. — AFP

London, February 20
Former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks was acquitted of a charge of paying for a picture of Prince William in a bikini as she gave evidence for the first time in her phone hacking trial here today.

The former editor of Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News Of The World tabloid was cleared of one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office but still faces four other charges.

Brooks denied knowing anything about phone hacking while she was editor of News of the World. When asked if hacking had ever been brought to her attention, Brooks replied: "No, not at all." The 45-year-old acknowledged that private detectives were used at the News of the World but added: "It is common practice in Fleet Street." The judge directed the jury to acquit her of an allegation that she authorised a reporter to pay 4,000 pounds for a picture of Prince William dressed as a bikini-clad Bond girl at a fancy dress party. — PTI

Caracas, February 20
Venezuelan security forces and demonstrators faced off in streets blocked by burning barricades in several cities on Thursday in an escalation of protests against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government, witnesses said.

At least five people have died since the unrest turned violent last week, with scores of injuries and arrests. The demonstrators, mainly students, blame the government for violent crime, high inflation, product shortages and alleged repression of opponents. In affluent east Caracas overnight, security forces fired teargas and bullets, chasing youths who threw Molotov cocktails and blocked streets. — Reuters