India warships retreat from Kolkata

Kolkata - India's navy on Tuesday withdrew two warships from Kolkata's port, a spokesperson said, as the eastern city was placed on high alert for a possible "terror" attack.

The navy said the ships had withdrawn for "prior operational reasons", although a port official indicated they had been due to take part in an exhibition on Wednesday.

"They had come there as part of preparations for the navy week exercise and moved out of the port for some prior operational reasons," spokesperson DK Sharma told AFP.

"Like every year, the ships will return as and when the opportunity exists."

Christian couple burnt alive in Pakistan

Islamabad - An angry mob on Tuesday burnt alive a Christian couple in eastern Pakistan for allegedly desecrating the Muslim holy book the Qur'an, police said, in another incident highlighting persecution of religious minorities.

Several dozen Muslim men led by local clerics in Kot Radha Kishan town of Punjab province first tortured the couple and then threw them into the fire of a brick kiln, police official Muhammad Binyamin said.

Shahzad Masih, 35, and his wife Shammah Shahzad, 31, were laborers at the kiln in Kasur district, some 50km from the provincial capital Lahore, Binyamin said.

Ukraine supports peace, but ready for war

Kiev - Ukraine remains committed to a peace process with pro-Russian separatists, but is rearming and prepared for war should they attempt to launch a new offensive, President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the start of a crisis meeting of security chiefs in the capital Kiev, Poroshenko said that he had not given up on a deal brokered in September to end the seven-month conflict, in which more than 4 000 people have died.

"Ukraine remains a firm supporter of the peace plan," Poroshenko said. However, "other participants" of the Russian-supported truce accord are not meeting their obligations, he said, referring to Moscow and the rebels.

Poroshenko warned that Ukraine's military was ready for any separatist attempt to expand the territory they control - as they have repeatedly threatened to do.

Gunshots hit California mosque

Coachella - No one was hurt when gunfire struck a mosque in the desert city of Coachella before dawn Tuesday, authorities in Southern California said.

A report of shots fired was received at 05:01, and responding officers determined that several shots struck the Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley building and a vehicle, the Sheriff's Department said. The building was occupied, but nobody was injured.

The shooting in the city about 40km southeast of Palm Springs was being investigated as a possible hate crime, a Sheriff's Department statement said.

Fashola blasts TAN, says Jonathan not Transforming Anything

Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola has lampooned the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) for orchestrating the return of President Goodluck Jonathan administration through false claims saying, “This government is unwilling; it has nothing to offer Nigerians.”

Despite the series of adverts powered by TAN to convince Nigerians, Fashola, who spoke as a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of Women In Business (Wimbiz) Conference held at the Eko Hotels in Victoria Island, said he remained convinced that the country under the leadership of PDP was not transforming the country as portrayed by the group.