Briefly World

Eurostar was hit by new problems on Thursday as a high-speed train travelling from Brussels to London became stuck in the Channel...

Eurostar train stuck for 2 hours in Channel Tunnel

London: Eurostar was hit by new problems on Thursday as a high-speed train travelling from Brussels to London became stuck in the Channel Tunnel for about two hours because of a technical problem. The train was towed to a station in Britain,where passengers were transferred to another train and arrived about three hours late to London8217;s St Pancras station,a company spokesman said. Eurostar said it was investigating the cause of the problem. The breakdown caused delays across Eurostars network,the only rail link between Britain and the European continent through the 50-kilometre long Chunnel Tunnel.

China tainted milk problem was kept secret for months

BEIJING: Chinese authorities kept concerns about the safety of a Shanghai dairys products secret for nearly a year before announcing last week that the company had been shut for manufacturing contaminated milk,an official said on Thursday. Food safety authorities in Shanghai found contamination in Shanghai Panda Dairy Co Ltds products last February and started investigations immediately,an official from a district prosecutors office said. Chinese authorities said the dairy was one of 22 that produced tainted milk in 2008.

Embattled British PM survives new plot

London: Ministers rallied round embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Thursday after he faced down a leadership challenge,but the failed plot dealt him a new blow months ahead of general elections. Ex-ministers Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt called on Wednesday for a ballot of governing Labour Party lawmakers on whether Brown should remain their leader.

Prospects of change in Lanka in offing

Colombo: Proclaiming that prospects of a change in the island nation were in the offing,Sri Lankas presidential challenger Sarath Fonseka on Thursday vowed to restore democracy and eradicate corruption from the country. The time has come for a change to take place in Sri Lanka, Fonseka said,unveiling his 10-point election manifesto titled Believable Change.

Choppers pursue Japanese whalers

SYDNEY: An aggressive conservation group searched Antarctic waters by helicopter on Thursday for a key Japanese whaling ship,renewing its relentless pursuit of the hunters just one day after one of its boats was wrecked in a clash. The chopper from Sea Shepherd Conservation Societys main ship was trying to find the Japanese fleets whale processing ship and resume attempts to harass the whalers into giving up their hunt,the groups founder and ship captain Paul Watson said.