DHAKA: The Iranian authorities on Saturday hanged 16 ‘rebels’ following overnight clashes in which 14 border guards were killed on the frontier with Pakistan.An Iranian judicial official said, reports The Straits Times.‘Sixteen rebels linked to groups hostile to the regime were

DHAKA: UN aid chief Valerie Amos demanded stronger action by the UN Security Council to get desperately needed aid into Syria, where 2.5 million people in need have not received help for almost a year.Violence and excessive red tape have slowed aid delivery to a trickle in Syria.More than

DHAKA: German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the European Union’s 28 member states to reach a ‘no spy deal’ similar to an agreement France and Germany seek with the United State following allegations Washington tapped her mobile phone.A German government spokesman late on Friday

DHAKA: Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe, in an interview published on Saturday, said Japan was ready to be more assertive in guarding against what he said might be an attempt by China to use force to attain its diplomatic goals.But a top retired Chinese diplomat said any move by Tokyo to

DHAKA: Fresh floods have killed at least 18 people in the same part of eastern India that this month saw the worst cyclone to hit the country in more than a decade.Indian officials said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.Torrential rains made rivers spill their banks in India`s

DHAKA: The authorities in Saudi Arabia have stepped up warnings to women not to defy a ban on female drivers by taking part in a mass driving protest.The interior ministry has reiterated that anyone flouting the ban is likely to face unspecified punishment.Saturday’s planned protest is

DHAKA: Fourteen Iranian border guards have been killed in a clash with gunmen on the border with Pakistan.The official Iranian news agency Irna says, reports the BBC.The clashes took place on Friday night in a mountainous region outside Saravan, a border town in the south-east province of

DHAKA: An earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck early on Saturday morning off Japan`s east coast, triggering a small tsunami, the US Geological Survey said.The quake struck at a depth of 10km at 2:10am local time (1710 GMT) about 327km off southeast of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture.As it

DHAKA: Seventy-four members of an Islamist militant group in Nigeria were killed in an air and ground offensive Thursday, the Nigerian military said Friday.The assault on militants from Boko Haram led to the destruction of the militant group’s camps in the remote Galangi and Lawanti

DHAKA: At least 40 people, including children, have been reported killed in a car bomb blast in Syria, outside a mosque in a town in Damascus province.The blast, in the town of Suq Wadi Barada, came just before the end of Friday prayers and brought down the mosque`s entrances.Both the

DHAKA: Germany is to send its top intelligence chiefs to Washington to "push forward" an investigation into allegations the US spied on its leader Angela Merkel.The heads of foreign and domestic intelligence would hold talks with the White House and the National Security Agency, a

DHAKA: Iran’s apparent new readiness to address international concerns about its atomic ambitions will be tested in talks with UN inspectors on Monday, with diplomats hoping for progress such as on access to a sensitive military site.However, the diplomats say Iran will probably agree

DHAKA: Seventeen people were killed and hundreds of villages and several towns were inundated as torrential rains lashed large parts of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth day on Friday.Heavy rains under the impact of low pressure area and a vigorous northeast monsoon hit coastal Andhra,

DHAKA: Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh does not own a mobile phone or use personal email, giving New Delhi ‘no cause for concern’ about new US hacking revelations.The Prime Minister’s Office said on Friday, reports The Times of India.The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday

DHAKA: Clarence House has denied reports that the Prince of Wales believes becoming king will be a form of prison.A report in Time magazine quoted an unnamed official saying how Prince Charles is worried he will not achieve ambitions linked to his interests before ‘the prison shades’

DHAKA: A Chinese court has rejected the appeal of former politician Bo Xilai and upheld his life sentence for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.The former Chongqing Communist Party leader was convicted of the charges in September.He was removed from office in 2012 amid a scandal

DHAKA: The Prince of Wales is in no rush to become king because he fears being monarch will be a form of prison, according to one of his officials.The unnamed individual is quoted in a profile of Prince Charles published in Time magazine which features the prince on its front cover.Time

DHAKA: Violence against a Muslim minority in Myanmar is feeding a wider anti-Muslim feeling that poses a serious threat to the country`s economic and political reforms as it emerges from half a century of military rule, according to a UN envoy."The situation in Rakhine State has fed a

DHAKA: The gap between men and women has narrowed slightly in the past year in most countries, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report.Iceland, Finland and Norway top the list of 136 nations, based on political participation, economic equality and rights like education and

DHAKA: France and Germany want to hold talks with the US by the end of the year to settle a row over spying, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.It follows claims that her mobile phone and millions of French calls have been monitored by the US National Security Agency (NSA).Mrs