Washington - The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to eliminate restrictions on the Navy's sonar use in training exercises off the California coast.
The 5-4 decision by the high court was a blow to environmental groups who argued the practice harms sea life and causes some species of whales to beach themselves.
The Supreme Court determined the restrictions hamper the Navy's ability to detect increasingly sophisticated enemy submarines that could threaten the fleet, but offered no opinion on the damage the sonar could inflict on marine mammal life.
Berlin - German premium-car rivals BMW and Daimler are mulling plans to combine more of their parts purchasing operations, including industrial buying in China and the United States, a news report said Wednesday.
Together, the two companies can exert heavy pressure on supplier companies to obtain lower prices for components.
In its Thursday issue, the newspaper Handelsblatt was to quote BMW chief purchasing officer Herbert Diess saying, "we are talking about bundling our purchasing activities in certain markets such as China and the United States."
New York - The UN General Assembly on Wednesday opened a two-day conference on religion and peace, with its president launching yet another attack against rich countries for morally bankrupting the rest of the world.
Kings, presidents and delegations from 70 countries attended the debate on how to use the values of religions and cultures to bridge misunderstandings, mostly between east and west, in order to help solve political and armed conflicts.
Zagreb - A village football team from third division, which have been awarding goal scorers with live lambs, was defeated on Wednesday by mighty Dinamo Zagreb in a quarter final match of Croatian national cup.
Dinamo Zagreb beat Zagora 2:1 in the first match of the quarter finals and practically secured its place in the semi final matches.
Zagora became well known in Croatia after their decision to award goalscorers with live lambs.
Dhaka - Bangladesh's two arch political rivals - Sheikh Hasina Wajed of Awami League and Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party - have agreed to resolve broader national issues through dialogue, political aides of the two leaders said Wednesday.
Hasina wants discussion on specific issues while Zia opts for dialogue without any "agenda and pre-condition."
Moscow - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has not ruled out another run in the Kremlin, backed a proposal on Wednesday to extend by two years the presidential term.
Putin, however, added it was too soon to say who would be the next candidate for the constitutionally-stretched office.
Legal experts say the changes would not benefit Putin's successor President Dmitry Medvedev, though Russian lawmakers moved Wednesday to fast-track approval of his bill.
Berlin - German premium-car rivals BMW and Daimler are mulling plans to combine more of their parts purchasing operations, including industrial buying in China and the United States, a news report said Wednesday.
New York - The UN General Assembly on Wednesday opened a two-day conference on religion and peace, with its president launching yet another attack against rich countries for morally bankrupting the rest of the world.
Zagreb - A village football team from third division, which have been awarding goal scorers with live lambs, was defeated on Wednesday by mighty Dinamo Zagreb in a quarter final match of Croatian national cup.
Dhaka - Bangladesh's two arch political rivals - Sheikh Hasina Wajed of Awami League and Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party - have agreed to resolve broader national issues through dialogue, political aides of the two leaders said Wednesday.
Moscow - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has not ruled out another run in the Kremlin, backed a proposal on Wednesday to extend by two years the presidential term.
