Islamabad - When Malala Yousafzai and her friends left their school in Pakistan's restive Swat district last week, they were not sure whether they would ever be able to return.
The teenagers are among 120,000 girls whose future hangs in the balance as hundreds of schools and colleges in the scenic valley ceased to function Friday, one day after the deadline given by the Taliban for a complete ban on female education.
"We sat there in our classroom and wept in chorus. Our dreams were shattered and there was no one to help us," said 14-year-old Malala, who wanted to become a pilot. "I had thought I was destined for the stars but they are pushing me to the caves."
Vilnius - The authorities in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, were in watchful mood Friday as crowds gathered outside the national parliament building and government offices to demonstrate against tax increases, job losses and public spending cuts.
The demonstration, organized by trade unions, was expected to draw several thousand participants from across the Baltic country.
Moscow - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Iran and Syria on Friday to bring pressure to bear on the radical Palestinian Hamas movement to accept a plan proposed by Egypt for a truce in the Gaza Strip.
"We need to put all our strength behind Egypt's plan for an end to the fighting in Gaza," Lavrov told journalists at a briefing in Moscow.
"If we take this path in particular, we are sending the appropriate signal to Hamas representatives and to those states that have influence on Hamas, above all this means Iran and Syria," he said.
New York, Jan. 16 : With just four days left for Barack Obama's inauguration as the United States' 44th President, the American fashion industry has started creating inauguration-themed clothing.
They are producing T-shirts, tote bags and scarves range from runway darlings Derek Lam and Narcisco Rodriguez to everyday folks with a good sense of humour.
Madrid - The international art event known as the Cow Parade began in Madrid on Friday with 105 colourful fiberglass cows showing up in the Spanish capital.
The life-size models painted by professional and amateur artists can be seen in central districts of the city until March 31, after which the artistically best of them are to be auctioned for a minimum price of about 1,500 euros (2,000 dollars) each, media reports quoted officials as saying.
London, January 16 : A team of Japanese researchers says that it has designed an Iron Man-style robotic suit that can give even the most infirm farmer new-found strength.
Project leader Shigeki Toyama, a robotics professor at The Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, describes the prototype robot suit as the latest technological advance designed to assist Japan''s rapidly ageing farmers.
"I have been working on this for about 10 years now because few young people want careers in agriculture now and older farmers need help to do their work," the Telegraph quoted him as saying.
Vilnius - The authorities in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, were in watchful mood Friday as crowds gathered outside the national parliament building and government offices to demonstrate against tax increases, job losses and public spending cuts.
Moscow - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Iran and Syria on Friday to bring pressure to bear on the radical Palestinian Hamas movement to accept a plan proposed by Egypt for a truce in the Gaza Strip.
New York, Jan. 16 : With just four days left for Barack Obama's inauguration as the United States' 44th President, the American fashion industry has started creating inauguration-themed clothing.
Madrid - The international art event known as the Cow Parade began in Madrid on Friday with 105 colourful fiberglass cows showing up in the Spanish capital.
London, January 16 : A team of Japanese researchers says that it has designed an Iron Man-style robotic suit that can give even the most infirm farmer new-found strength.
