US Senate passes Iran nuclear review bill, House up next
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to pass a bill giving Congress the right to review, and potentially reject, an international nuclear agreement with Iran.
The 98-1 vote sent the measure to the House of Representatives, which is expected to consider it as soon as next week.
The White House has said President Barack Obama would sign it into law if it also passes the House, as expected. READ MORE HERE
Tennis: Nadal eases into Madrid quarters
MADRID (AFP) - Defending champion Rafael Nadal continued his serene progress into the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy's Simon Bolelli on Thursday.
Nadal has yet to win a European clay court tournament this season after defeats to Novak Djokovic at the Monte Carlo Masters and Fabio Fognini at the Barcelona Open last month.
However, he remains the heavy favourite in the Spanish capital in the absence of world number one Djokovic and will continue his quest for a fifth Madrid title against Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov on Friday. READ MORE HERE
One dead in apparent India athletes' suicide pact
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indian authorities launched an investigation Thursday after a young female athlete apparently killed herself by eating poisonous fruit in a suspected suicide pact following alleged harassment at a state-run sports facility.
Police said one girl had died and three others were left in a critical condition after deciding to commit suicide together following harassment at a water sports centre in south India.
The girls were found in an unconscious state at a hostel after eating a toxic fruit before being rushed to hospital, police said. READ MORE HERE
Britain's election: Conservatives on track to win most seats but short of a majority
LONDON (AFP/REUTERS) - British exit poll shows Conservatives are on track to win most seats (316) but with no outright majority, defying a neck-and-neck race with the centre-left Labour party.
Mr Ed Miliband's Labour party is likely to win 239 seats according to the forecast, with the Scottish National Party (SNP) winning 58 seats, which would be a massive surge in support from the six seats they held in the last parliament.
The Liberal Democrats, junior partners in Cameron's coalition government, slumped to 10 seats from 56 currently, according to the poll. READ MORE HERE
US appeals court rules NSA bulk data sweep illegal
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US appeals court ruled Thursday that the National Security Agency's massive collection of phone records of Americans is illegal because it exceeds the scope of what Congress authorised.
The laws used as a basis for the bulk data collection "have never been interpreted to authorise anything approaching the breadth of the sweeping surveillance at issue here," said the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a 97-page opinion.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the READ MORE HERE
