DHAKA: A top South Sudan army commander based in the key oil-producing Unity state appears to have defected to rebel forces.The country’s army spokesman said on Friday, The Straits Times publishes this report on Saturday.‘We have lost contact with the commander... and there are

DHAKA: China has denounced Japan’s plans to boost military purchases, accusing it of playing up regional tensions as an ‘excuse’ to ramp up defence spending.The cabinet of hawkish Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe agreed Tuesday to spend 24.7 trillion yen between 2014 and 2019 , a

DHAKA: The Saudi health ministry announced on Saturday a new MERS death, raising to 56 the number of people killed by the coronavirus in the country with the most fatalities.The victim was a 73-year-old Saudi man, who suffered from chronic illnesses, the ministry said on its website,

DHAKA: Thailand’s main opposition Democrat Party has announced it will boycott snap elections set for 2 February.Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told a news conference it would not be fielding candidates, saying, ‘Thai politics is at a failed stage’, reports the BBC.Thai prime

DHAKA: Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers, were charged on Saturday in connection with a Turkish corruption investigation that prime minister Tayyip Erdogan has called a ‘dirty operation’ aimed at undermining his rule.Suleyman Aslan, the general manager of state-owned

DHAKA: UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged Philippine typhoon survivors to ‘never despair’ as he pledged on Saturday to rally global backing to help them recover from one of their country’s deadliest disasters.‘Never despair. The UN is behind you. The world is behind you,’

DHAKA: India external affairs minister Salman Khurshid said Saturday that India and the US are in talks to resolve the stand-off over the alleged mistreatment of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade and both sides would not want their close ties to be hurt by this ‘one

DHAKA: A Chinese rocket launched Bolivia’s first telecommunications satellite early on Saturday with the president of the South American country declaring it a success.The Long March-3B carrier rocket blasted off from the Xichang satellite launch centre in China’s south-western

DHAKA: Egypt’s deposed president Mohamed Mursi and 132 others, including members of Hamas, will stand trial for a prison break and the murder of officers during the 2011 uprising, prosecution sources said.The other defendants include leaders of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, who also

DHAKA: The leader of the most powerful rebel group in Syria, Ahrar al-Sham, says he will not recognise any agreement reached in the Geneva peace conference planned for January.Hassan Aboud, speaking to Al Jazeera from an undisclosed location inside Syria, said the group would

DHAKA: British prime minister David Cameron on Saturday expressed Britain’s ‘unconditional admiration’ for the families of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing on the attack’s 25th anniversary.Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988,

DHAKA: Thailand’s opposition is meeting on Saturday to mull a possible boycott of snap elections in a crunch weekend for the crisis-gripped kingdom as protesters prepare to ramp up rallies aimed at toppling the government.The opposition Democrat Party, whose MPs resigned en masse to

DHAKA: An 8-year-old boy walking to school with his elder sister was fatally struck on Friday by a tractor trailer driven by a Newark man with a suspended license, police said. Little Noshat Hassan Nahian, who was supposed to perform in a school play that morning, ran ahead of his

DHAKA: North Korea sent a fax to South Korea on Thursday, threatening to "strike mercilessly without notice" after protests against the secretive regime this week in Seoul.The message warned that North Korea would strike if "the provocation against our highest dignity is to be repeated in

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama has warned that South Sudan is on the "precipice" of a civil war, after clashes in the capital Juba spread around the country.He said 45 military personnel had been deployed to South Sudan on Wednesday to protect American citizens and property.At least 500

DHAKA: Chile`s Supreme Court has for the first time ordered the state to pay compensation to the relatives of one of the victims of the 2010 tsunami.The BBC`s Gideon Long in Santiago says the ruling could set a precedent for hundreds of other compensation claims.More than 500 people died

DHAKA: Four people have been killed in a shooting at Manila`s international airport, the official Philippines News Agency reported Friday.The dead include Ukol Talumpa, the mayor of a town in the southern Philippines, and his wife, the news agency reported on its website.The shooting took

DHAKA: Payment details from up to 40 million credit cards could have been stolen after they were used in the stores of US retail giant Target.The retailer said it was investigating after discovering that thieves had gained access to its payment systems.The data breach began around 29

DHAKA: Three Indian peacekeepers have been killed in an attack on a UN base in South Sudan, India`s UN envoy said.The UN said attackers from the country`s second-largest ethnic group forced their way into the Akobo base in conflict-wracked Jonglei state on Thursday, pursuing civilians

DHAKA: Seventy-six people have been injured, seven seriously, after part of a ceiling in London`s Apollo Theatre collapsed during a show, police say.The venue in Shaftesbury Avenue was packed for a performance of The Curious Incident Of The Dog in the Night-Time.Eyewitnesses heard "a