Sunday, 08 Dec, 2024

International

Zarif urges Saudi Arabia to work jointly for ‘stability’

DHAKA: Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif appealed Monday to Saudi Arabia to work together with his government toward achieving regional ‘stability’, in remarks to media during a visit to Oman.‘I believe that our relations with Saudi Arabia should expand as we consider

Thai PM for talks as police use rubber bullets on protesters

DHAKA: Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Monday she would ‘open every door’ to find a peaceful solution to the current political crisis, as thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital seeking to topple her government.She told a news conference that police

7 killed in Italy factory fire

DHAKA: At least seven people have died and two are badly injured after fire swept through a Chinese-owned clothing factory in the Italian town of Prato.The blaze broke out in a loft where 11 people were sleeping, causing part of the roof to collapse, fire officials said.The cause of the

Croatians vote against same-sex marriage

DHAKA: A majority of Croatians voted in a referendum on Sunday to ban gay marriages in what is a major victory for the Catholic Church-backed conservatives in the European Union`s newest nation.The state electoral commission, citing initial results, said 65 percent of those who voted

Suicide truck bombing kills 4 Afghan police

DHAKA: A suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden truck into a police base near Kabul on Monday, killing four officers and wounding 17 other people including a local police chief.Afghan officials said, reports The Straits Times.The Taliban, the main Islamist militant group behind

China hails lunar probe ‘Chang’e-3’ as successful

DHAKA: China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon in the early hours of Monday, in a major milestone for its space programme.‘The probe has already entered the designated orbit,’ the official Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Zhenzhong,

Suu Kyi urges ‘freedom from fear’

DHAKA: Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi called on World Aids Day for an end to discrimination against those living with the disease as experts warned against complacency in fighting the global scourge.Speaking as the UNAids global advocate for people living with HIV/Aids, Suu Kyi drew

UN main office, schools, offices shut in Bangkok

DHAKA: The United Nations closed its main office in Bangkok, dozens of schools closed and many civil servants stayed away from work on Monday as the Thai capital braced for more violence in a spiraling political crisis.After a weekend of chaos in pockets of Bangkok, protesters vowed to

Thailand protests amid strike call

DHAKA: Thai authorities again fired tear gas as anti-government protesters returned to barricades outside official buildings in the capital, Bangkok.Some schools and universities closed, amid a call for a general strike on the ninth day of protests.On Sunday, police fired tear gas and

4 killed as New York train derails

DHAKA: Four people were reported dead on Sunday after a passenger train bound for New York`s Grand Central Station derailed in the Bronx.Metropolitan Transportation Authority police say the train derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station just after 7.20am.Pictures showed five carriages

Japan PM to discuss China air zone with Biden

DHAKA: Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said on Sunday he would discuss China’s expansion of its air defence zone with US vice president Joe Biden in Tokyo to coordinate their stance after apparently contradictory responses.China raised regional tensions with its declaration on

Gunmen kill colonel and son in Yemen

DHAKA: Gunmen shot dead a Yemeni army colonel and his son on Sunday when he stopped his car at a roundabout in his hometown.A local official said, extending a string of assassinations of top armed forces figures by suspected Islamist militants, reports The Jerusalem Post.Four passers-by

Thai govt urges Bangkok public to stay indoors overnight

DHAKA: Thailand’s government told people in Bangkok to stay indoors on Sunday night after a day of violence in which protesters seeking to topple prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra launched attacks on state agencies.‘After 10:00pm until 5:00am, if it is not necessary, we ask people to

China excited over first lunar rover launch

DHAKA: China’s state media and people eagerly awaited the launch early Monday of the country’s first lunar rover mission, the next step in an ambitious space programme.The Chang’e-3 rocket carrying the ‘Jade Rabbit’ rover to explore the moon is set to blast off at 1:30am (1730

Egyptian Islamist leader issues warning from exile

DHAKA: A leader of a hardline Egyptian Islamist group that fought the state in the 1990s warned that the army had driven the nation to the ‘edge of a precipice’ since he fled the country after president Mohamed Mursi’s ouster in July.The state and Islamists are old foes in Egypt, a

Metro train derails in New York City

DHAKA: Bronx area of New York City, prompting a major emergency services response.A witness quoted by media, Rebecca Schwartz, said some of the carriages of the Metro-North train had been submerged in water, but this was unclear from pictures of the scene.ABC News says there are reports

Syria-fuelled violence kills 3 in Lebanon

DHAKA: Three people were killed overnight in fighting in the north Lebanese city of Tripoli, security sources said on Sunday, raising to nine the death toll in 24 hours of violence fuelled by sectarian tensions over Syria’s civil war.The clashes between Tripoli’s Alawite minority,

HRW urges Saudi Arabia to probe violence in illegals crackdown

DHAKA: Human Rights Watch on Sunday urged Saudi authorities to launch a probe into violence that accompanied a crackdown launched last month against illegal migrant workers.It also warned of a ‘humanitarian disaster’ if the workers remain held in deportation centres across the Gulf

Thousands take part in Ukraine protests

DHAKA: Thousands of pro-Europe demonstrators are marching through the Ukrainian capital in protest at president Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal to sign an EU trade deal.Crowds gathered in a park before moving toward Kiev’s Independence Square, in defiance of a court order banning rallies

Republicans in Northern Ireland look to Taliban for weapons

DHAKA: Taliban-inspired technology is boosting the capacity of dissident republicans to wage war against the security services, with the discovery of advanced weaponry never seen before in Northern Ireland.Independent on Sunday reveals, reports The Times of India.The degree of technical