Saturday, 23 Sep, 2023

International

Two Koreas agree to reopen Kaesong

DHAKA: North and South Korea have agreed to reopen their Kaesong joint industrial park next week, five months after it was shut during soaring military tensions.Following a marathon negotiation session that went through the night, the two sides on Wednesday set a date of September 16 for

India clash toll climbs to 38, curfew continues

DHAKA: Curfew remained in force in riot-hit areas of Muzaffarnagar with the army patrolling troubled places as the death toll in the clashes in the district and adjoining towns rose to 38.Over 360 people have been arrested in connection with the violence.‘A total of 38 people have died

Gulf Arab states still want deterrent action

DHAKA: Gulf Arab states renewed their demands on Tuesday for the United Nations Security Council to take deterrent measures against Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government over a chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people.The statement was the first from the Sunni

Obama to press ahead on request to Congress on Syria

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama will press ahead with his plan to ask Congress to approve the use of military force in Syria, despite Syria’s recent acceptance of a Russian proposal to give up its chemical weapons.White House spokesman Jay Carney said on television on Tuesday, reports

Philippine rebels use ‘human shields’

DHAKA: Muslim militants traded gunfire with Philippine troops Tuesday and were using almost 200 villagers as human shields, officials said, in a stand-off after a deadly attack on a southern city.Gunshots rang out on the coastal outskirts of Zamboanga city on the second day of a

Obama strike threat becomes butt of Syrian jokes

DHAKA: A Syrian caricature shows US president Barack Obama smile and pluck the petals of a daisy, as he wonders, ‘Should I bomb? Or shouldn`t I bomb?’Syrians on both sides of their civil war are resorting to black humour, sharing jokes and cartoons via mobile phone and the

Syria signs big contracts with Iran

DHAKA: Syria has signed ‘major contracts’ with Iran that would cover its needs for food, medical and other supplies.Syria state television said on Tuesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.A protracted civil war has left Syria divided and displaced millions of people.The country has

Egypt bans mosque preachers in crackdown on Islamists

DHAKA: Egyptian authorities will bar 55,000 unlicensed clerics from preaching in mosques in the latest move against sympathizers of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.Egypt’s minister of religious endowments said on Tuesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Egyptian authorities have

‘Afghanistan needs more policewomen’

DHAKA: Women make up only one per cent of Afghanistan’s police force and as a result women are reluctant to seek justice for rising levels of violence.International aid agency Oxfam said on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.There is an average of one female police officer for every

Pakistan to release most senior Taliban prisoner

DHAKA: Pakistan has agreed to release its most senior Afghan Taliban prisoner, former deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, a senior government official said on Tuesday.The Afghan government has long demanded that Islamabad free Baradar, whose arrest in 2010 saw Pakistan accused of

Amnesty decries ‘extreme political violence’ in Egypt

DHAKA: Amnesty International called on Tuesday for an independent investigation into killings by Egyptian security forces as well as torture and violations of the rights to free speech and assembly.The military’s overthrow of president Mohamed Mursi in July after mass protests against

Syria accepts Russian weapons proposal

DHAKA: Syria said on Tuesday it has accepted Russia’s proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control for subsequent dismantling.Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moallem said on Tuesday after meeting with Russian parliament speaker that his government quickly

23% of men ‘admit to rape in Asia’

DHAKA: Almost a quarter of men surveyed in a UN report looking at violence against women in parts of Asia have admitted to committing at least one rape.Rape was particularly common within relationships. However, one in 10 men admitted raping a woman who was not their partner.Ten thousand

French resolution demands Syria destroy chemical arms

DHAKA: A French draft resolution to be introduced at the UN Security Council demands that Syria comply with a Russian proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control and then dismantle them or face ‘serious consequences’, said French foreign minister Laurent

‘India gangrape trail verdict delivered under pressure’

DHAKA: The four men accused of the gang rape of a young woman were found guilty on Tuesday by a fast-track court in a case that triggered a national outcry over the safety of women in the country.Mukesh Singh, 26, Pawan Gupta, 19, Vinay Sharma, 20, and Akshay Thakur, 28, were convicted of

Jordanian MP opens fire in parliament

DHAKA: A Jordanian member of parliament has reportedly opened fire inside one of the halls of the parliament building in Amman, releasing a single shot from his weapon.There were no injuries reported in the incident in which MP Talal Al Sharif allegedly fired his automatic weapon at MP

Iran to send satellite to orbit soon

DHAKA: Iran plans to send the domestically designed ‘Sharifsat’ satellite into orbit in the near future, the chancellor of Sharif University of Technology has said.More than 100 students, alumni, and academics of the university have worked to design and manufacture the Sharifsat

Russia plan slammed as ‘political manoeuvre’

DHAKA: Syria’s main opposition group denounced as a ‘political manoeuvre’ a Russian plan to head off threatened punitive US airstrikes on Syria by destroying the regime’s chemical weapons.Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov suggested on Monday that Damascus hand its chemical

France to float UN Syria resolution

DHAKA: France will put a resolution to the UN Security Council to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control so they can be destroyed.French foreign minister Laurent Fabius says, reports the BBC.He said it would threaten ‘extremely serious’ consequences if Syria

Afghan police arrest 2 over India writer’s murder

DHAKA: Afghan police have arrested two militants over the murder of an Indian writer whose book about her dramatic escape from the Taliban was made into a Bollywood film, an official said on Tuesday.Sushmita Banerjee, 49, was dragged out of her husband’s house by masked gunmen in