DHAKA: The head of the opposition Syrian Supreme Military Council cut short a visit to France and said he would head to Syria for talks with rebel brigades that broke with the Western-backed coalition.General Salim Idris, who commands the coalition’s military wing known as the Free

DHAKA: Israel will be easing some restrictions imposed on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as a part of ongoing peace talks with the PalestiniansIsrael’s international relations minister Yuval Steinitz announced that Israel will issue 5,000 new work permits for Palestinians, extend the

DHAKA: India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh branded Thursday’s attack by militants on an Indian police station and army camp in disputed Kashmir as ‘barbaric’ but, without mentioning Pakistan, said it would not derail efforts to pursue peace through dialogue.‘This is one more

DHAKA: Diplomats at the UN say the five permanent members of the divided Security Council appear to have reached agreement on a resolution to require Syria to dismantle its chemical-weapons stockpiles.Their comments on Thursday came a day after Sergey Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign

DHAKA: The United States and China agree it is important for Tehran to respond positively to existing nuclear proposals by six major powers.US officials said ahead of a meeting on Thursday between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.‘Both the US and China

DHAKA: The death toll from a massive earthquake that jolted southwest Pakistan rose to 356 on Thursday, with officials saying that thousands have been left homeless and about 300,000 people had been affected in remote parts of Balochistan province.The 7.7-magnitude quake struck Tuesday

DHAKA: The Egyptian army launched a military campaign on Thursday targeting strongholds of armed groups in the Sinai Peninsula south of Rafah.Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported, says The Jerusalem Post.Ma’an quotes witnesses as saying Egyptian helicopters struck targets in the

DHAKA: Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas will be allowed to sit in the UN General Assembly’s heads-of-state chair.Bloomberg reported on Thursday, says The Jerusalem Post.Abbas, who is scheduled to speak at the UN on Thursday at noon EST, will be the first Palestinian leader to use the

DHAKA: Iranian president Hassan Rohani on Thursday called on Israel to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) ‘without delay’ for a ‘nuclear-free zone in the Middle East’.Speaking at the UN General Assembly, the Iranian president called for a ‘total

DHAKA: A UN-backed special court in The Hague has rejected an appeal against war crimes convictions by lawyers representing former Liberian President Charles Taylor.It ruled that his convictions had been proved beyond doubt.Taylor appeared impassive in court as the judge upheld his

DHAKA: At least 21 people have been killed in blasts targeting markets in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, reports say.Bombs in the Sabaa al-Bour area, north of Baghdad, killed at least 14 people, officials said. More than 40 others were reportedly injured as the area was packed with shoppers.A

DHAKA: Some of Europe`s key animals have made a comeback over the past 50 years, a report suggests.Conservationists say species such as bears, wolves, lynx, eagles and vultures have increased in numbers.They believe that protection, curbs on hunting and people moving away from rural areas

DHAKA: At least 158 people have been killed since fighting broke out earlier this month between separatist rebels and soldiers in the Philippines, state news reported Wednesday.The majority of those killed, 125, were militants from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the

DHAKA: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said he cancelled his plan to take part in the UN General Assembly in New York to "protect my life" after purported threats on it.I decided then and there to continue back to Caracas and drop the New York trip to protect a key goal:

DHAKA: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says he wants to reach a deal with world powers on Tehran`s nuclear programme in three to six months.He told the Washington Post he saw a resolution of the issue as a "beginning point" in easing US-Iran relations.Mr Rouhani said he was fully

DHAKA: As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives here on a four-day visit, a Sikh rights group has secured summons against him from a US court in connection with the alleged human rights violations in the counter-insurgency operations in Punjab in the 1990s.The Sikh for Justice (SFJ), the

DHAKA: In a major fidayeen attack, militants dressed in army fatigues have killed at least 12 people in a police station and an Army cantonment in Jammu and Kashmir this morning. Over a dozen people are injured and more casualties are feared.The militants first attacked a police station

KOLKATA: The third Bangladesh book fair is set to be begun in Kolkata on Thursday.Bangladesh deputy high commissioner to Kolkata in a press conference confirmed the matter to banglanews.A total of 28 publishers from Bangladesh will join the fair at Gaganendra showroom of Nandan-Rabindra

DHAKA: Rescuers in Pakistan are striving to reach victims of a massive earthquake that struck the country`s southwest, killing at least 328 people, wounding more than 500 and flattening thousands of mud-built homes.The 7.7 magnitude quake struck Balochistan’s Awaran district on Tuesday

DHAKA: Militants launched a coordinated assault against local government and police buildings in northern Iraq on Wednesday, with suicide car bombs and mortar attacks killing at least 10 people.Iraq police and medical sources said, reports The Jerusalem Post.The attacks, which military