Friday, 29 Nov, 2024

International

India cabinet to consider $5.5bn loan from WB arm

DHAKA: India’s cabinet will on Thursday consider a finance ministry proposal to borrow an additional US$4.3 billion from an arm of the World Bank, according to a cabinet agenda document.Under the proposal India would borrow the money from the International Bank of Reconstruction and

Obama calls off Congress vote

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama has postponed a congressional vote on military action in Syria, vowing to pursue diplomacy to remove the regime’s chemical weapons.Damascus has admitted for the first time that it has chemical weapons, and has agreed to abide by a Russian plan to hand

Toxic liquor kills at least 12 in Pakistan

DHAKA: Toxic liquor has killed at least 12 people in central Pakistan, police and health officials said on Wednesday.The deaths occurred near the farming town of Rahim Yar Khan, where the men were drinking locally made liquor at a party.Eight of them died on Monday while four more

6 killed in Iraq attacks

DHAKA: Attacks in Iraq killed six people Wednesday, including a school principal who was among several victims in a spate of shootings in the north.The latest bloodshed comes as authorities carry out wide-ranging operations targeting militants and implement tight restrictions on vehicle

5 policemen killed in Thailand

DHAKA: Suspected Muslim insurgents killed five policemen in Thailand’s deep south on Wednesday in one of the most serious attacks since talks between a major Muslim rebel group and the government to end nearly a decade of conflict stalled.‘A special investigative unit was on duty when

Assad marks birthday as strike threat recedes

DHAKA: Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad marks his 48th birthday on Wednesday with the threat of US-led strikes against his regime in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack apparently receding.A Syrian pro-regime site called on residents of the capital Damascus to demonstrate

Japan on high alert for disputed islands anniv

DHAKA: Japan’s coastguard said it was ‘on high alert’ Wednesday, a year to the day since Tokyo nationalised islands that China says it has owned for centuries.Often-testy ties have soured dramatically over the last 12 months, with frequent confrontations between official ships from

US eases sanctions on Iran

DHAKA: The United States relaxed sanctions on Iran on Tuesday to make it easier for US humanitarian groups to work there and sports exchanges to occur between Americans and Iranians, a possible goodwill gesture after Iran elected a new moderate president.The move announced by the US

Myanmar Buddhist committee bans anti-Muslim groups

DHAKA: A government-appointed body that oversees Myanmar’s Buddhist monkhood has issued a directive intended to check the influence of a monk-led movement accused of stoking violence against minority Muslims.At least 237 people have died in sectarian violence since June last year and

Khamenei hopeful new US policy on Syria is ‘serious’

DHAKA: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday he hoped that a US pledge to pursue diplomacy to remove the threat of chemical weapons in Syria was ‘serious’.Irans’ state news agency IRNA reported, says The Jerusalem Post.‘I am hopeful that the United

Judge urged to sentence Delhi gang rapists to death

DHAKA: Prosecutors sought the death sentence on Wednesday for four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a student on a New Delhi bus last December, saying the ‘diabolical’ crime had shocked the country’s conscience.Judge Yogesh Khanna is hearing arguments in a fast-track

‘Military option in Syria is still valid’

DHAKA: France said on Wednesday it remained determined to punish Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over what it calls his use of chemical weapons if diplomacy fails, and a military strike was still possible.Paris put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday

Egypt bombs strike Sinai intelligence HQ

DHAKA: Car bombs have hit Egypt’s intelligence headquarters in the Sinai peninsula, killing four peopleEgypt’s state TV says, reports the BBC.More than 10 people were wounded in the attack on the building in Rafah, on Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip.The bombings came after at

`Climate change` killed off mammoths

DHAKA: Researchers have found evidence to suggest that climate change, rather than humans, was the main factor that drove the woolly mammoth to extinction.A DNA analysis shows that the number of creatures began to decrease much earlier than previously thought as the world`s climate

PNG attack kills porters, hurt 9 foreigners

DHAKA: Nine trekkers from Australia and New Zealand have been caught up in a deadly attack in Papua New Guinea which killed two local guides.The Australians and one New Zealander were hiking in PNG`s Black Cat Track when they were attacked by robbers.Several members of the group,

Obama vows to keep pressure on Assad

DHAKA: President Obama says he will pursue diplomatic efforts to remove Syria`s chemical weapons but has ordered the US military to "be in a position to respond" if such measures fail.In a televised address, he said he had asked Congress to postpone a vote authorising the use of force.The

US income inequality at record high

DHAKA: The income gap between the richest 1% of Americans and the other 99% widened to a record margin in 2012, according to an analysis of tax filings.The top 1% of US earners collected 19.3% of household income, breaking a record previously set in 1927.Income inequality in the US has

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