DHAKA: A Tibetan monk has set himself on fire in an act of protest in China, reports and campaign groups said on Tuesday, as top Communist Party leaders hold a key gathering.Tsering Gyal, 20, set himself alight on Monday in Guolou, a Tibetan area of Qinghai province in southwestern China,

DHAKA: Egypt is now the worst country for women`s rights in the Arab world, according to a poll of gender experts.The study found sexual harassment, high rates of female genital mutilation and a growth in conservative Islamist groups contributed to the low ranking, reports the BBC.The

DHAKA: The ministry of external affairs will discontinue the India-Bangladesh Passport (IBP) service from November 15, 2013.However, the passports already issued will remain valid till their expiry.No new applications for IBP will be accepted by any of the state governments, who were

DHAKA: A national state of calamity has been declared in the Phillipines as the country reels from the destruction of Typhoon Haiyan, with an expected death toll expected to reach tens of thousands.The president, Benigno Aquino, on Monday declared emergency measures to get aid to the many

DHAKA: A tropical cyclone that hit the north-eastern Somali region of Puntland over the weekend killed up to 100 people.Puntland`s President Abdirahman Farole said thousands of livestock had also died and hundreds of homes had been destroyed.The semi-autonomous region was hit by strong

DHAKA: One of the most senior leaders of the Haqqani militant network has been shot dead near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, security sources say.Nasiruddin Haqqani, who was in his early 30s, was the group`s financier and a son of its founder Jalaluddin.Reports say his body has been

DHAKA: Four men charged in connection with Kenya’s Westgate mall massacre in September appeared in court on Monday, with defence lawyers and prosecutors arguing over if they should be granted bail.All four have pleaded not guilty to the charges of ‘supporting a terrorist group’, as

DHAKA: Failure to reach a peace deal with Israel would be better than inking an agreement which allows it to continue its settlement building.A top Palestinian negotiator said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.‘In the absence of political will from the Israeli side to take the

DHAKA: The United Nations atomic energy watchdog and Iran on Monday signed a joint statement on future cooperation to resolve remaining nuclear issues.The agreement is a step towards resolving concerns of the International Atomic Energy Agency about Iran’s nuclear activities and opens

DHAKA: Sectarian tension between Shia and Sunni Muslims is probably the most serious threat to world security, according to Iran’s foreign minister.Speaking to the BBC, Mohamed Javad Zarif blamed some Sunni countries for what he called ‘fear-mongering’.‘Some people have fanned the

DHAKA: Sectarian tension between Shia and Sunni Muslims is probably the most serious threat to world security, according to Iran’s foreign minister.Speaking to the BBC, Mohamed Javad Zarif blamed some Sunni countries for what he called ‘fear-mongering’.‘Some people have fanned the

DHAKA: Nations launched a new round of talks on Monday for a 2015 deal to cut Earth-warming greenhouse gas emissions in the aftermath of a deadly Philippines typhoon the UN`s climate chief labelled ‘sobering’.The 12-day United Nations talks opened amid a slew of warnings about

DHAKA: One of the most senior leaders of the Haqqani militant network has been shot dead near the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, reports say.Nasiruddin Haqqani, who was in his early 30s, was the group’s financier and a son of its founder Jalaluddin.Reports say his body has been taken for

DHAKA: India’s Mars spacecraft suffered a brief engine failure Monday as scientists tried to move it into a higher orbit around Earth, but controllers denied any setback to the ambitious low-cost mission.The Mars Orbiter Mission, which blasted off on November 5 for an 11-month trip to

DHAKA: Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid is optimistic about future relations with fellow Asian power China, with Delhi viewing Beijing as ‘rivals who are also partners’.But in an interview with The Australian newspaper published on Monday, Khurshid said a festering Himalayan

DHAKA: The United States, Australia and the United Nations are mobilising emergency aid to the Philippines as the scale of the devastation unleashed by super typhoon Haiyan emerges.The Pentagon is sending military personnel and equipment to assist with the relief effort following the

DHAKA: The head of the United Nations atomic energy agency, Yukiya Amano, said he hoped to finalise a technical agreement with Iran during a trip to Tehran on Monday.Iranian media reported, says The Jerusalem Post.‘I hope that today we can have a joint statement based on understandings

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry said on Monday Washington was ‘not (in) a race’ to complete talks with Iran on its nuclear programme.Speaking at a news conference with United Arab Emirates foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan in Abu Dhabi, Kerry said Washington

DHAKA: Japan switched on the first turbine at a wind farm 20km off the coast of Fukushima on Monday, feeding electricity to the grid tethered to the tsunami-crippled nuclear plant onshore.The wind farm near the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant is to eventually have a generation

DHAKA: Syria’s main opposition alliance says it will attend planned peace talks, if a number of conditions are met.After a vote early on Monday, the National Coalition reiterated that president Bashar al-Assad would ‘have no role in the transitional period’, reports the BBC.It also