Friday, 29 Mar, 2024

International

India PM meets Putin with nuclear deal in doubt

DHAKA: Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh met Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday amid signs that the two giants had failed to reach a breakthrough on a long-delayed nuclear power deal.Singh is using one of his last major foreign trips as prime minister before 2014 general

3 divorces every hour in Saudi Arabia

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia has an average of three cases of divorce every hour, official figures indicate.The total divorce cases recorded in 2012 were more than 30,000, an average of 82 a day and 3.4 an hour, according to a study published in local daily Al Eqtisadiya on Monday, reports

Japan delays cleanup of towns near nuclear plant

DHAKA: Radiation cleanup in some of the most contaminated towns around Fukushima’s nuclear power plant is far behind schedule, so residents will have to wait a few more years before returning.Japan environment ministry officials said they are revising the cleanup schedule for six of 11

China court to issue Bo appeal decision on Friday

DHAKA: A Chinese court will rule on Friday on the appeal of the once-powerful politician Bo Xilai, it announced on Monday, another step towards closing a scandal that has rocked the ruling party.Bo was sentenced to life in prison in September by the Intermediate People’s Court in Jinan,

Malala inspires US school curriculum

DHAKA: The 16-year-old Pakistani teen targeted for a Taliban assassination because she championed education for girls has inspired the development of a school curriculum encouraging advocacy.George Washington University announced on Monday that faculty members are creating multimedia

France summons US envoy over spying claims

DHAKA: French foreign minister Laurent Fabius has summoned the US ambassador over newspaper claims that the US spied on millions of phone calls in France.France has labelled such activity between allies as ‘unacceptable’, reports the BBC.Le Monde says the data, based on leaks from

Baghdad cafe bombing kills 55

DHAKA: At least 55 people have been killed in a series of suicide explosions in Iraqi cities, with the highest death toll reported at a cafe in a Shia Baghdad neighbourhood.Sunday`s cafe attack killed at least 36 people and wounded 45 others.Police officials said they saw a suicide bomber

Blast in train kills 4 in Pakistan

DHAKA: An explosion struck a Quetta-bound Jaffar Express on Monday killing four persons and injuring 16 others in Pakistan.The train which departed from Rawalpindi was passing through Dera Murad Jamali district of the restive Balochistan province when the blast occurred causing damage to

Fukushima overwhelmed with radioactive water

DHAKA: Highly radioactive water overflowed barriers into Japan`s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station after its operator Tepco underestimated how much rain would fall and failed to pump it out quickly enough.Tepco has been battling to contain radioactive water at the nuclear complex,

UK nuclear power plant set for go-ahead

DHAKA: The government is set to give the go-ahead for the UK`s first new nuclear station in a generation.France`s EDF Energy will lead a consortium that includes Chinese investors, to build the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset.Ministers say the deal will help take the UK towards

3 killed in Egypt church gun attack

DHAKA: Three people, including a girl aged eight, died when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a wedding party outside a Coptic Christian church in Cairo.At least nine others were wounded in the attack in Giza, officials said.There was no immediate claim of responsibility.Egypt`s Coptic

Nigerian militants kill 19 motorists

DHAKA: The armed men reportedly stopped motorists on the road and ordered them out of their cars before shooting them or hacking them to death.Witnesses told the BBC the men were from Boko Haram, though the Islamist militant group has not yet commented.North-eastern Nigeria is under a

‘Obama frustrated by snags in health-care rollout’

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama is frustrated by the problems in the rollout of his signature health care reform, and the administration intends to fix them, but the programme’s real test will not come until early next year.US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Sunday, reports The

Egyptian troops fire teargas to disperse Islamist protesters

DHAKA: Egyptian security forces fired bird shot and tear gas to prevent supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi from marching on Sunday to the site of a protest camp that was destroyed two months ago.The crowd of about 500 people were students from Al-Azhar University, the

Manmohan leaves for Russia, China

DHAKA: Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh left Sunday for a four-day trip to Russia and China aimed at strengthening trade ties and addressing a festering border dispute with Beijing.The prime minister will also look to secure energy, defence and other economic deals in both

Kuwait denies taking UNSC seat

DHAKA: Kuwaiti diplomats have denied media reports that Kuwait would supplant Saudi Arabia at the United Nations Security Council.Riyadh last week said that it rejected its rotating Security Council seat hours after winning it, saying that the council was incapable of ending wars and

Hundreds flee homes in typhoon-hit Japan island

DHAKA: Hundreds fled their homes on Sunday on a Japanese island already devastated by a typhoon for fear that torrential rain would trigger fresh mudslides.The town of Oshima, 120 kilometres south of Tokyo, advised 2,300 residents in two districts on the island of the same name to

Pope hails Vatican sprinters as ‘spiritual athletes’

DHAK: Catholic faithful sprinted along the main avenue leading to the Vatican on Sunday in an unusual initiative hailed by Pope Francis as showing that believers were ‘spiritual athletes’.The Vatican organised the event named ‘100 Metres of Running and Faith’, saying it wanted to

Sydney Opera House celebrates 40 years

DHAKA: The Sydney Opera House, world heritage-listed as ‘one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity’, celebrated its 40th birthday Sunday with a flotilla of lifesavers, Aboriginal dancers and a gigantic cupcake.Huge crowds packed the steps for a distinctively Australian

US plans to send $1.6 billion in aid to Pakistan

DHAKA: The Obama administration has reportedly made a quite decision to resume military and economic assistance to Pakistan as relations between the two countries have thawed.CNN on Saturday cited a senior administration official as saying, The Jerusalem Post reports.According to the