SUU KYI POSTPONES MAJOR ELECTION RALLY

YANGON: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has postponed a major political rally in the central city of Mandalay because the venue offered by the authorities is too small, her National League for Democracy party said on Friday.

QUEENSLAND PM DECLARES STATE OF CALAMITY

BRISBANE, Australia: Premier Anna Bligh of the Australian state of Queensland announced on Friday that a state of calamity had been declared in the state and a disaster coordinator had been appointed in response to the massive floods there.

IRAN LAUNCHES SATELLITE INTO SPACE

TEHRAN: As part of activities celebrating the 33rd victory anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran successfully launched an observation satellite named “Promise of Science and Industry” into space on Friday upon the order of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

UN: FAMINE OVER IN SOMALIA

NAIROBI: Famine conditions have ended in war-torn Somalia six months after they were first declared, but the situation remains dire with nearly a third of the population needing emergency support, the United Nations (UN) said on Friday.

EUROPEAN COLD SNAP DEATH TOLL RISES TO 164

WARSAW: Europe’s cold snap has claimed 164 lives, as countries from Ukraine to Italy struggle with temperatures that plunged to record lows in some places and with more cold weather forecast.

SYRIAN FORCES TORTURE CHILDREN – RIGHTS GROUP

UNITED NATIONS: Children as young as 13 are a particular target in the “rampant” use of torture by Syrian government forces battling opposition protests, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Friday.