Last-night world

A day after setting off an uproar among travelers opposed to the idea in-flight phone calls,the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission is backtracking.

US official says airlines have final say on calls on aircraft

NEW YORK: A day after setting off an uproar among travelers opposed to the idea in-flight phone calls,the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission is backtracking,saying he personally isnt in favor of it. But Wheeler acknowledged that ultimately it will be up to individual airlines to decide if they want to allow calls. AP

Newspaper man finds teddy bear bomb in US

RALEIGH: A US newspaper deliveryman picked up a teddy bear on a rural road,only to have authorities tell him later a bomb had been stuffed inside. Anthony Cannon said Friday he spotted the booby-trapped toy before dawn Thursday along his route near Lattimore,a tiny town in North Carolina. Later,he circled back to pick it up. AP

Afghanistan rejects US call for quick deal

KABUL: The future of US troops in Afghanistan remained in doubt on Friday after a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai rejected a US call to sign a security pact by the end of the year rather than after next years presidential election. The US has said it will not wait until after the April 2014 vote to seal the deal. Reuters

Obama says he doesnt dwell on safety

WASHINGTON: As US observed the 50th anniversary of President John F Kennedys assassination,President Barack Obama said on Friday he does not dwell on his own personal safety because he is well protected by the US Secret Service. Reuters

Death toll rises to 44 in Chinas pipeline blast

Beijing: The death toll from two blasts caused by leaked oil from a ruptured pipeline in a Chinese port city has risen to 44,authorities said Saturday as the state oil refiner apologised for one of the countrys worst industrial accidents. PTI

Surfer mauled by shark off Australia coast

PERTH: A 35-year-old surfer was fatally mauled by a shark Saturday off a notorious stretch of Australias west coast. Gracetown has now been the site of three fatal shark attacks on surfers in the past decade. AP

Multiple quakes jolt northeast China

Story continues below this ad

Beijing: Three shallow earthquakes struck northeast China,damaging thousands of houses and sending people out into the freezing cold,officials said Saturday. PTI