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3 little liligers cavort at Russian zoo

The zoo in Novosibirsk, Russia’s third-largest city, is home to a unique animal — the liliger. That’s a big cat breed where the father is a lion and the mother is a lion-tiger hybrid, called a liger.

Schools in Muar to close following hazardous API readings

JOHOR BARU: All 211 schools involving some 15,000 students in Muar will close for two days as the Air Pollution Index in the district was 383 as of 11am today.

U.S. lawmakers float bill for Medicare to cover obesity treatment

WASHINGTON : A day after the American Medical Association classified obesity as a disease, U.S. lawmakers introduced bipartisan bills in the Senate and House of Representatives that would require Medicare to cover more obesity treatment costs.

NS camps in haze-affected states ordered to halt outdoor activities

KUANTAN: The National Service (NS) camps in Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, and Johor have been ordered to halt all outdoor activities immediately due to the current haze problem.

Indonesia says Singapore 'behaving like a child' over haze

JAKARTA: Indonesia on Thursday accused Singapore of “behaving like a child” by complaining about severe haze from raging forest fires on Sumatra island that has cloaked the city-state.

U.S. doctors target sugary drinks bought by government

NEW YORK : The American Medical Association joined the effort to discourage consumption of sugary drinks on Wednesday with a pledge to work to get them off U.S. government food aid programs for the poor.

UNESCO lists 6 Syrian heritage sites as 'endangered'

PHNOM PENH: UNESCO on Thursday added six ancient sites in Syria including a fortress of Saladin and a Crusader castle to the endangered World Heritage list, warning that more than two years of civil war had inflicted heavy damage.

Philippines financial district bans plastic bags

MANILA : The Philippines financial capital banned disposable plastic shopping bags and styrofoam food containers on Thursday, as part of escalating efforts across the nation’s capital to curb rubbish that exacerbates deadly flooding.

Kidnapped French sailor rescued by Nigerian troops

LAGOS : Nigeria’s military says its troops have rescued a French sailor kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Togo.

Malaysia willing to aid Indonesia on haze

SERI ISKANDAR : Malaysia is prepared to offer assistance to Indonesia to address the ongoing haze problem which is currently affecting several states.

Police submit findings to obtain death certificate for Chin Aik

GEORGE TOWN : Police will submit their findings of the missing Lim Chin Aik, 44, who has been reported to be missing by his family after the collapse of the mast of a building here last week, to obtain a death certificate.

Delhi Zoo loses another tiger

NEW DELHI : The Delhi Zoo lost another tiger last week when a white tigress died of septicaemia which it contracted after delivering four cubs.

Special ID card for foreign workers

BUTTERWORTH: Foreign workers will be given special identification cards for better management of the workforce starting next month.

New York's poor get urban farm in bid to fight obesity

NEW YORK : New York unveiled a giant vegetable garden Wednesday in the Brooklyn borough’s largest public housing development, in a bid to fight a growing obesity epidemic among the poor.

Moderate haze in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The haze in several places in Sabah was reported to be at the moderate level today.

Tibetan nun dies in self-immolation attempt: reports

BEIJING: A Tibetan nun who last week set fire to herself in protest at Chinese rule has died, a US-based broadcaster and rights group said.

Probe on trainee who gave birth at PLKN camp

MIRI : An investigation is to be conducted into the case of a National Service Training Programme (PLKN) trainee who delivered a baby in the toilet of a training camp in Johor yesterday.

Sony eyeing spin-off plan from 'all sorts of angles'

TOKYO : The head of Sony told shareholders Thursday the company’s board was studying from “all sorts of angles” a proposed plan to spin off part of its profitable entertainment arm but said it would not be rushed into a decision.

'Letters to Jackie' opens US documentary film festival

WASHINGTON : One of America’s premier documentary film festivals got underway late Wednesday with a fresh look back on the life and times of John F. Kennedy based on moving condolence messages to his widow.

US downgrades China, Russia over human trafficking

WASHINGTON : The U.S. has accused China and Russia of failing to meet minimum standards in fighting human trafficking, ranking them on a par with North Korea and Syria.

Muar schools closed as API reaches hazardous level

JOHOR BARU: All 211 schools in Muar have been ordered closed for two days as the Air Pollutant Index reached a hazardous level of 383 in the district this morning.

PNG undertakers burn dead on open pit

SYDNEY : A funeral home in the Papua New Guinea capital came under fire Thursday for reportedly burning unclaimed bodies in an open pit after nearby residents complained of the stench.

Police are prepared for Blackout 505

IPOH: The police are prepared for the planned illegal Blackout 505 rally at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur this Saturday.

148 forest fire hot spots detected in Indonesia's Riau province

PEKANBARU: An official of the Pekanbaru Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (MBKG) said here on Wednesday that 148 hot spots of forest and plantation fires were detected in Riau Province, Indonesia's Antara reported.

Cervical cancer vaccines cut rates of HPV infections

CHICAGO : The U.S. introduction of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in 2006 has reduced infections with the human papillomavirus or HPV - the sexually transmitted virus that causes the disease - by more than half among girls and young women, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday.

Children suffer as Pakistan battles measles epidemic

LAHORE, Pakistan : In the intensive-care ward of Lahore’s Mayo hospital, pale, spotty children cry in the intense heat of the Pakistani summer — victims of a devastating measles outbreak.

Panic over MERS virus fades in Saudi

AL-HUFUF, Saudi Arabia: People in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province have again started greeting friends with the traditional kiss on the cheek, and face masks in public are becoming rarer, as panic subsides over the outbreak of a deadly respiratory disease that hit the country last year.

China astronauts give students lecture from space

BEIJING: China has held its first classroom lecture from its orbiting space station as part of efforts to popularize the successful manned space flight program among young people.

Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to jail for tax dodge

ROME : An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced celebrated fashion house duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for avoiding taxes totalling 200 million euros ($268 million).

South Korea star Park Ji-Sung dating TV host

SEOUL : South Korea’s most famous footballer Park Ji-Sung, and one of its most eligible bachelors, used a packed press conference Thursday to announce he was dating a local TV sports presenter.

Guan Eng lashes out at JKP over delay

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng lashed out at Menara Umno building owners for holding up the reopening of a closed stretch of Jalan Macalister earlier.

Children taken from Canadian Mennonite community

WINNIPEG, Manitoba: Children have been removed from an orthodox Mennonite community in Canada where adults have been charged with assaulting youngsters using items such as cattle prods and leather straps.

Singapore, Indonesia to hold talks on smog crisis

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Indonesia were scheduled to hold emergency talks Thursday after thick smog from forest fires on Sumatra island reached unprecedented levels in the city-state.

China jails 11 for extremist crimes in Muslim west

BEIJING: China says it has sentenced 11 people for inciting religious extremism and related crimes in the northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang.

1 killed, 5 injured in helicopter crash in Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal: A helicopter has crashed in remote northwestern Nepal, killing one passenger and injuring five other people on board.

Brazil's poor feel left behind on road to World Cup

OLINDA: Brazilians left behind by a vaunted economic boom have come to see next year’s World Cup not as a celebration of the country’s rising stature, but as a symbol of its lingering inequality.

Steve Carell returns in ’Despicable Me 2’ as a dad with doubts

LONDON : He may now be a doting dad marketing a range of jams and jellies, but Steve Carell’s Gru character in the sequel to the animated supervillain children’s comedy “Despicable Me” still longs for a little bit of the old criminal fun.

Jordan teens think 'honour killings' justified: study

AMMAN : Belief that so-called honour killings are justified is still common among Jordanian teenagers, a Cambridge University study revealed on Thursday.

Stop force-feeding Guantanamo prisoners -U.S. senator

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE : U .S. Senator Dianne Feinstein urged the Pentagon on Wednesday to stop force-feeding hunger-striking prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and called the practice “out of step” with medical ethics and international norms.

Australia royal prank call station tries to halt probe

SYDNEY: A radio station at the centre of a prank call targeting Prince William’s pregnant wife Catherine that led to the suicide of a nurse is trying to block further investigation of its actions, Australia’s communications watchdog said Thursday.

US woman, allegedly enslaved, spent time in jail

CLEVELAND : A mentally disabled mother whom authorities said was enslaved for two years along with her daughter spent time in jail this year after pleading guilty to beating the girl, but her attorney told a judge that her captors forced her to do it.

Attackers torch buses at Venezuela university

HAVANA : A group of masked assailants has attacked a leading university in the Venezuelan capital, torching two buses and seriously damaging its rectory building.

Over 200 prisoners died of AIDS in Mozambique jails last year

MAPUTO: At least 208 prisoners died of AIDS inMozambique's jails last year, Mozambiqan news agency AIM reported.

4 shot, 3 dead at Kentucky condo shooting

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky : Gunfire erupted Wednesday in a Louisville condominium building, leaving three people dead and a fourth person seriously injured, authorities said.

Cat nurses orphaned pit bull puppy in US

CLEVELAND : A cat caring for four newborn kittens is nursing an orphaned week-old pit bull puppy in Cleveland.

'Nowhere Boy' director to make '50 Shades' film

LOS ANGELES : British director Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct a movie version of erotic best-seller “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the studios behind the project announced Wednesday.

US: 2 men tried to make X-ray weapon

ALBANY, New York : U.S. authorities accused two men of assembling a portable X-ray weapon that they intended to use to secretly sicken opponents of Israel.

Social network gaffes plague Japanese politicians

TOKYO: On the Internet, no one can save you from yourself. That is a lesson many Japanese politicians have learned recently in painful, awkward and at times costly fashion.

Venezuela: Plane that disappeared in '08 found

CARACAS, Venezuela : Venezuelan authorities say the undersea wreckage of a small plane that disappeared five years ago with 14 people aboard has been found.

US 'landlords from hell' plead guilty to felonies

SAN FRANCISCO: Prosecutors called them the “landlords from hell.” A U.S. couple accused of going to extreme lengths to drive tenants from a San Francisco apartment building — including cutting holes in one tenant’s floor with a power saw while he was still inside — have pleaded guilty to several felonies.

Football: Italy eliminate Japan in thriller, Brazil advance

RECIFE, Brazil : Italy booked their place in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup here Wednesday with a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 win over Japan that also sent Brazil into the last four.

Floods strand pilgrims in India, deaths could rise

LUCKNOW: Monsoon flooding that has stranded thousands of people and caused landslides in northern India has killed almost 120 people, and the prime minister said the toll could rise substantially.

Football: English ref Webb 'moved' by Brazil singing

FORTALEZA, Brazil : English referee Howard Webb was “really moved” by the acappella rendition of the Brazilian national anthem sung by fans before Brazil’s 2-0 Confederations Cup win over Mexico on Wednesday, according to Selecao coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Gamer outrage prompts Xbox One policy changes

SAN FRANCISCO : Microsoft handed gamers a victory Wednesday by backing off plans for new-generation Xbox One consoles to require Internet connections and put restrictions on playing second-hand game disks.

FBI: tip led to arrest of ex-professor in Mexico

LOS ANGELES : A former University of Southern California professor arrested in Mexico for alleged sex crimes involving two children in the Philippines has been deported to the United States after a Mexican citizen recognized his picture in the newspaper and informed the U.S. Embassy, federal authorities said Wednesday.

Brazil fare hikes rolled back in victory for protests

RIO DE JANEIRO : Brazils’ two biggest cities on Wednesday rolled back transit fare hikes that had triggered massive protests as demonstrators clashed with police outside a Confederations Cup match.

John McAfee resurfaces as ranting video star, mocks McAfee software

BOSTON : Eccentric former software pioneer John McAfee is back in the spotlight - lashing out at the anti-virus software that bears his name in a profanity-laced video.

Dotcom 'in tears' after Megaupload files deleted

WELLINGTON : Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom says he’s “in tears” after a European company announced it had deleted all the data it was hosting from the shuttered file-sharing site.

"The Sopranos" actor James Gandolfini dies in Italy at age 51

LOS ANGELES : HBO and James Gandolfini’s managers say the actor famous for his role in “The Sopranos” has died in Italy.

UN: Resources should finance development, not war

UNITED NATIONS : The United Nations’ deputy secretary-general is urging countries to transform natural resource inequities that have fueled conflicts over oil, diamonds and precious metals and use those resources to finance economic development and provide basic services like health care and clean water.

Baked Alaska: Unusual heat wave hits north US

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: A heat wave hitting Alaska may not rival the blazing heat of Phoenix or Las Vegas, but to residents of the northernmost U.S. state, the days of hot weather feel like a stifling oven — or a tropical paradise.

Moscow gives Obama's nuclear cuts proposal cool reception

MOSCOW: Russian officials on Wednesday reacted coldly to the call by President Barack Obama to jointly reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles by a third, saying the United States should address Moscow’s concerns over missile defence first.

New MERS virus spreads easily, deadlier than SARS

LONDON: A mysterious new respiratory virus that originated in the Middle East spreads easily between people and appears more deadly than SARS, doctors reported Wednesday after investigating the biggest outbreak in Saudi Arabia.

France hit by weather chaos, floods claim two victims

TOULOUSE, France: Flash floods in southwestern France claimed two elderly victims in the space of 24 hours as unseasonal storms caused havoc across huge swaths of the country on Wednesday.

Quebec to become home to only Holy door outside Europe

MONTREAL: The first Holy door outside of Europe will soon grace one of the oldest Catholic parishes in North America, in the Canadian province of Quebec, a church official told AFP on Wednesday.

Paris tackles rudeness to tourists with new manual

PARIS: One of the world’s most visited cities but also famous for its rudeness, Paris has embarked on a campaign to improve its reputation and better cater to the needs of tourists.

One of 3 HK tourists injured in KK train accident, dies

KOTA KINABALU: One of three tourists from Hong Kong, who were injured when their vehicle was hit by a train near the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) Terminal 1 at Jalan Lintas in Petagas at 5.35pm, today, has succumbed to injuries.

Britain's William and Kate do not know sex of royal baby

LONDON: Prince William and his wife Catherine do not know the sex of their baby, which is expected in mid-July and will be born by natural delivery, palace sources said Wednesday.

World powers to meet on Syrian rebel demands

PARIS: A French diplomat says officials from the United States and other countries will meet in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday to decide how to respond to requests for help from the Free Syrian Army.

Singapore smog breaches 'hazardous' level

SINGAPORE: Smog levels in Singapore from Indonesian forest fires hit the highest level on record Wednesday as the air pollutant index breached the “hazardous” level.

Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion

MILAN: A Milan court has convicted the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion.

Palace sheds some light on Kate's baby plans

LONDON: With Prince William and the former Kate Middleton expecting their first child in mid-July — and much of the world interested in the birth of a future monarch — officials at Clarence House have released some of the couple’s plans, although many details are still being kept private.

Todashev's body brought to Russia for burial

GROZNY, Russia: The father of a Russian man killed while being questioned about ties to the Boston Marathon bombing suspects says he has brought the body to Russia for burial.

Myanmar court convicts Muslims over violence

YANGON, Myanmar: Authorities in Myanmar say a court has found two Muslim women guilty of sparking a recent outbreak of sectarian violence in the country, one of them by bumping into a novice monk.

August trial set for US man in kidnapping of women

CLEVELAND: A tentative Aug. 4 trial date has been set for a man accused of kidnapping three women and holding them in his home for about a decade.

Best-selling author Vince Flynn dies at age 47

ST. PAUL, Minnesota: Vince Flynn, a best-selling author of political thriller novels, has died at age 47 after a two-year battle with prostate cancer.

Madonna premieres tour film, talks secret project

NEW YORK: Madonna said there were days she was exhausted during her recent “MDNA” world tour, but she decided to press on.

Country singer Slim Whitman dies at age 90

MIAMI: Country singer Slim Whitman, the high-pitched yodeler who sold millions of records through ever-present TV ads in the 1980s and 1990s and whose song saved the world in the film comedy “Mars Attacks!,” died Wednesday at a Florida hospital. He was 90.

Football: Togo admit using banned Romao in World Cup

JOHANNESBURG: Togo have joined Ethiopia in admitting that they fielded a suspended player in a 2014 World Cup Africa zone qualifier.

France shoots wolf dead after authorising bigger cull

NICE, France: French nature officials have shot dead a female wolf in the foothills of the Alps in the first such killing since the government authorised increased culling of the protected species.

Health monitoring system mobilised nationwide due to haze

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has mobilised the health monitoring system nationwide, specifically in areas badly affected by haze to detect increases in related diseases.

Proposal for vernacular schools rebranded as School of Oriental Studies

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah has proposed that Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) be rebranded as School of Oriental Studies open to all Malaysians where they can learn Bahasa Melayu, English, Mandarin and Tamil under one roof.