Court jails ex-diplomat for spying for Pakistan
NEW DELHI, May 20: An Indian diplomat convicted of passing state secrets to Pakistan's intelligence services has been jailed for three years, her lawyer said Sunday. Madhuri Gupta was found guilty in a New Delhi court on Friday of "spying and wrongful communication of information" while posted to the Indian embassy in Islamabad. Gupta, 61, was arrested in 2010 for allegedly passing information to the ISI, the intelligence wing of India's arch-rival Pakistan. — AFP
Maoist rebels detonate bomb in Chhatrisgarh, kills five
PATNA, May 20: Police say at least five police officials were killed and two others critically injured when Maoist rebels targeted their vehicle with a bomb in eastern India. Police say the rebels detonated a land mine on Sunday as an armored vehicle ran over it in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh state. Police say the two injured policemen were evacuated to a hospital in critical condition. The Maoist rebels, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting the Indian government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers, the poor and indigenous communities. — AP
Venezuela accuses US of sabotaging election
CARACAS, May 20: Venezuela on Saturday accused the United States of using new sanctions against its government's top officials to sabotage a controversial presidential election on Sunday, which the country's opposition says has been rigged. The US ramped up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro's government on Friday, accusing him of profiting from illegal narcotics shipments and imposing sanctions against the No. 2 official in the ruling Socialist Party, Diosdado Cabello. — Reuters
Pope Francis to nominate 14 new cardinals
MILAN, May 20: Pope Francis said on Sunday he would elevate 14 Roman Catholic prelates to the high rank of cardinal, the elite group of churchmen who are his closest advisers and can enter a conclave to choose his successor if they are under 80. The pope made the surprise announcement during his weekly Sunday address. He said the ceremony to elevate the nominees, known as a consistory, would take place on June 29.
Chinese scientists find 400m-year-old marine animal fossil
GUIYANG, May 20: Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have recently found a fossilized body piece of an extinct class of marine animal known as Cystoidea or cystoids in southwest China's Guizhou Province. — Xinhua
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