CURITIBA - Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered to give asylum to an Iranian woman condemned to death by stoning for adultery.

SHILLONG - A Meghalaya farmer abducted by Bangladeshi nationals last week from a disputed area near the border remains in police custody there, says India's Border Security Force (BSF).

MOSCOW - Russian security forces violently dispersed opposition rallies in Moscow and St Petersburg Saturday, taking into custody former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov and dozens of other protestors, the broadcaster Echo of Moscow reported.

NEW DELHI - President Pratibha Devisingh Patil Saturday called for a fresh look at figures that put the number of case backlog in courts at a staggering three crore.

NEW DELHI - President Pratibha Patil Saturday called for a review of figures that put the number of pending cases before Indian courts at a staggering 3 crore. She also stressed on innovative ways to clear the backlog.