DHAKA: The European Union on Thursday froze the assets of ousted Ukraine leader Viktor Yanukovych, ex-premier Mykola Azarov and 16 former ministers, businessmen and security chiefs, all on grounds of fraud.All 18 listed in the EU’s Official Journal were targeted as people ‘subject to

DHAKA: China’s health ministry on Thursday dampened speculation that the country could dump its one-child policy and allow families to have two.The world’s most populous country has restricted most families to one child since the late 1970s, but its ruling Communist party said in

DHAKA: The US is imposing visa restrictions on Russians and Crimeans who it says are threatening Ukraine.In addition, the White House said Thursday that president Barack Obama has signed an executive order authorizing sanctions on groups and individuals ‘responsible for activities

DHAKA: Gunmen were preventing a group of 40 military observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from entering Crimea on Thursday for a monitoring mission.A Western diplomatic source said, reports The Straits Times.‘They are stuck but they are not

DHAKA: The Ukrainian region of Crimea could adopt the Russian rouble as its currency and ‘nationalise’ state property as part of plans to join the Russian Federation.A regional official was quoted as saying on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.Interfax news agency cited Rustam

DHAKA: The Ukrainian region of Crimea could adopt the Russian rouble as its currency and ‘nationalise’ state property as part of plans to join the Russian Federation.A regional official was quoted as saying on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.Interfax news agency cited Rustam

DHAKA: An Egyptian court on Thursday suspended the murder trial of Mohamed Mursi after his lawyers requested new judges, sources said, third such case against the deposed president to be put on hold.The case is part of a relentless crackdown the government has been waging against Mursi

DHAKA: MPs in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea have voted to formally become part of the Russian Federation.Parliament said the decision would be put to the Crimean people for their verdict in a referendum on 16 March.A government minister in Kiev said they believe it would be

DHAKA: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni on Thursday launched legal action over the publication of potentially compromising tapes secretly recorded during his 2007-12 term as French president.The Straits Times publishes this report.Lawyers for Sarkozy filed

DHAKA: The Libyan government says former leader Col Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saadi, has been extradited from Niger and is now in custody in Tripoli.Pictures posted on the internet showed him having his head and beard shaved, reports the BBC.Saadi Gaddafi, the former head of Libya’s

DHAKA: Qayoum Karzai, the older brother of Afghanistan`s President Hamid Karzai has dropped out of the race for next month’s presidential elections.Thursday’s announcement comes after weeks of speculation that the elder Karzai would bow out in favour of Zalmai Rassoul, his brother`s

DHAKA: At least five soldiers from the Afghan army have been killed in a Nato air strike in eastern Afghanistan.They were killed in the early hours of Thursday in the Charkh district of Logar province.Nato confirmed the "unfortunate incident" and said it was investigating the

DHAKA: Venezuela`s President, Nicolas Maduro, has broken diplomatic relations and frozen economic ties with Panama.The decision comes after the Central American nation requested a meeting at the Organization of American States (OAS) to discuss Venezuela`s crisis, BBC reported.Maduro was

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry has described a meeting with his Russian counterpart over Ukraine as "tough", but promised to continue talking.Kerry said he was committed to working with Moscow to ease the crisis, reports BBC.Russia`s Sergei Lavrov refused to meet his Ukrainian

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday held direct talks on Ukraine in Paris on the sidelines of an international meeting on Lebanon.A diplomatic source said, reports The Straits Times.Kerry and Lavrov held discussions along with

DHAKA: Violent clashes erupted between BJP and AAP workers in New Delhi, Lucknow and Khari village in Gujarat on Wednesday after AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal was briefly detained by police during his Gujarat tour.Police said that Kejriwal was detained for allegedly violating the model code

DHAKA: Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that photographs from Crimea of military vehicles with Russian number plates and video of an armed man claiming he is Russian were a ‘provocation’ and ‘nonsense’.Shoigu was responding to questions about photographs

DHAKA: Diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in Ukraine are gathering pace as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov prepare to hold crucial talks in Paris.The US wants independent observers in the flashpoint region of Crimea and direct talks between

DHAKA: Israel’s military said it intercepted a ship carrying Iranian ‘advanced weaponry’ bound for Gaza in the Red Sea between Eritrea and Sudan on Wednesday.‘Earlier today, the IDF (Israeli army) prevented an attempt to smuggle an Iranian shipment of advanced weaponry intended

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have said they are withdrawing their ambassadors to Qatar because Doha had not implemented an agreement among Gulf Arab countries not to interfere in each others’ internal affairs.The three countries said the move was necessary