Omar Abdel Rahman

Blind sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the Egyptian-born cleric linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, died Saturday of natural causes in a US prison facility, the Justice Department said. He was 78 years old.

The three-day bloody hostage standoff at a natural gas plant in the Sahara took a dramatic turn on Friday as Algeria's state news service reported that nearly 100 of the 132 foreign workers kidnapped by Islamic militants had been freed.

Islamist hostage-takers at a remote Algerian gas field on Friday demanded a prisoner swap and an end to the French military campaign in Mali, a report said, as 30 foreigners were reported still missing in the worst international hostage drama for years.

Indian composer A R Rahman will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award at the upcoming Dubai International Film Festival.

Blind sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the Egyptian-born cleric linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, died Saturday of natural causes in a US prison facility, the Justice Department said. He was 78 years old.

The three-day bloody hostage standoff at a natural gas plant in the Sahara took a dramatic turn on Friday as Algeria's state news service reported that nearly 100 of the 132 foreign workers kidnapped by Islamic militants had been freed.

Islamist hostage-takers at a remote Algerian gas field on Friday demanded a prisoner swap and an end to the French military campaign in Mali, a report said, as 30 foreigners were reported still missing in the worst international hostage drama for years.

Indian composer A R Rahman will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award at the upcoming Dubai International Film Festival.