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4 killed, 30 hurt in Tel Aviv club bomb blast

     Tel Aviv: At least four people have been killed and 30 hurt in a suicide bomb blast at a popular sea front night club here. The attack happened at the entrance to the Stage club on Herbert Samuel Street, close to the promenade, Tel Aviv's police chief, David Tsour, was quoted as saying on Friday. Israeli media reports said that the blast occurred at 11.15 p.m. local time. The attack is the first since Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed earlier this month to end violence in pursuit of peace efforts. Condemning the attack, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has summoned an emergency meeting of his security chiefs and reportedly sought a joint investigation along with Israel into the incident. An international news agency quoting a Palestinian security official said the bomber was a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade recruited by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants.

9 Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in Congo ambush (Go To Top)

    Dhaka: At least nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers have reportedly been killed in an ambush in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reports reaching here on Saturday quoted UN sources as saying that the ambush took place on Friday morning in Congo's north eastern Ituri region, where 4,800 peacekeepers are deployed. The UN's spokesman in Kinshasa, Mamdou Bah, said the ambush happened at about 9.20 a.m. local time near the town of Kafe, which is 30 km north west of the provincial capital of Bunia. Investigations have been launched into the incident.

US stocks gain as oil shares hit new highs (Go To Top)

     New York: US blue-chip stocks hit new highs for 2005 Friday (February 25) after a three-day rally as oil company shares including Exxon Mobil Corp. touched historic peaks amid lofty crude prices and a brokerage upgrade. Also boosting market sentiment was a government report that showed gross domestic product in the fourth quarter was better than Wall Street had expected. With crude futures prices approaching $52 a barrel, Prudential Equity Group raised its rating on Exxon Mobil and increased price targets on major oil companies. Exxon jumped 3.5 percent to 63.26 dollars and ConocoPhillips Co. climbed 1.9 percent to 112.32 dollars. Earlier, both stocks hit all-time highs. ChevronTexaco Corp. advanced 1.3 percent to 61.94 dollars. Semiconductor makers Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp. helped lift the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Qualcom rose 4.2 percent to 37 dollars and Intel climbed 1.7 percent to 24.09 dollars. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 92.81 points, or 0.86 percent, to 10,841.60. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index was up 11.17 points, or 0.93 percent, at 1,211.37. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 3.70 points, or 0.67 percent, at 2,065.40.

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