DHAKA: German chancellor Angela Merkel and centre-left election rival Peer Steinbrueck are due to take part in their only televised election debate.The event is seen as the Social Democrat (SPD) leader’s biggest chance to claw back Merkel’s lead in the opinion polls before this

DHAKA: Egyptian officials say they have foiled an attack on a container ship which was aimed at disrupting shipping in the busy Suez Canal.Canal authority head Mohab Mamish said a "terrorist element" targeted a Panama-flagged vessel on Saturday, but it was undamaged.There were reports of

DHAKA: The Peruvian government has extended to nine more regions a state of emergency called to cope with unusually cold weather and heavy snowfall.At least two people have died and 33,000 others have been affected by the cold spell, local officials say.Tens of thousands of animals have

DHAKA: U.S. authorities are tightening up domestic security measures ahead of a possible U.S. military attack on Syria.The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are warning of a higher risk of cyber attacks after months of similar disruptions by hackers known as the Syrian

DHAKA: President Barack Obama says the US should take military action against Syria and he will seek congressional authorisation for intervention.The US says the Syrian government carried out chemical weapons attacks on 21 August in which 1,429 people died.Mr Obama said the operation

DHAKA: A Delhi-based woman was allegedly gang-raped and her male friend assaulted by two police constables and their three friends here on the outskirts of the national capital.Four of the accused, including the two PAC constables, have been arrested for the incident that took place on

DHAKA: A Palestinian shot by Israeli soldiers in clashes in the West Bank this month died of his wounds on Saturday, hospital officials said.Kareem Abu Sbaih, 19, was shot on August 20 by Israeli soldiers making an arrest in the Jenin refugee camp.A second Palestinian was killed during

DHAKA: Tunisia’s Islamist-led coalition has failed to agree with the opposition on how to end weeks of political deadlock, mediators said on Saturday, ahead of planned anti-government protests.Tunisia was plunged into crisis by the July 25 assassination of opposition MP Mohamed Brahmi,

DHAKA: Five civilians died in clashes in Egypt on Friday when opponents and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Mursi clashed in several cities.Egypt health ministry said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.Three were killed in clashes in the Giza district in Cairo, one in the canal

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry, defence secretary Chuck Hagel, and other senior US national security officials will hold conference calls about Syria on Saturday afternoon with the Senate Democratic Caucus as well as the Senate Republican Conference.A White House official said,

DHAKA: An official says a passenger train in eastern Czech Republic smashed into a herd of cattle, killing 17 of them.Martin Drapal, spokesman for Czech Rail Safety Inspection, says the train heading from the town of Krnov to the city of Olomouc hit the animals two hours before midnight

DHAKA: The team of United Nations inspectors that was investigating the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria arrived at Beirut International Airport on Saturday.An international media correspondent said, reports The Jerusalem Post.The team had crossed the land border from Syria into

DHAKA: Opposition fighters across Syria are preparing to launch attacks that exploit anticipated US-led military strikes, but there are no plans to coordinate with Western forces.A Syrian rebel commander said on Saturday, reports TDS.The United States said on Friday it was planning a

DHAKA: Several countries have advised their citizens against travelling to Lebanon as regional tensions grow over a possible US military strike on Syria.Those issuing the advice include Bahrain, Kuwait, Britain and France, while Austria told its citizens to contact its embassy in Lebanon

DHAKA: A liquid ammonia leak from a refrigeration unit at a food company in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai killed 15 people on Saturday.The local government said, reports daily Hurriyet.The leak also sickened at least 26 others, who had been sent to hospital, with six in critical

DHAKA: Arab foreign ministers will meet in Cairo on Sunday to discuss Syria, Arab League deputy chief Ahmed Ben Helli said on Saturday, as the United States appeared to be readying a strike on the country.A routine meeting had been scheduled for Tuesday, but was advanced ‘in light of

DHAKA: Most French people do not want France to take part in military action on Syria and most do not trust French president Francois Hollande to do so, a poll showed on Saturday.The United States said on Friday it would punish Syrian president Bashar Assad’s government for a chemical

DHAKA: The United States Government assesses with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013. Embassy of the United States of America Saturday issued a press release on U.S. Government Assessment of the

DHAKA: Turkey president Abdullah Gül has said that any military action targeting Syria would be fruitless without the development of a political strategy, stressing the importance of diplomacy with Russia and Iran.‘I don’t believe any military intervention will bring results without

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin has challenged the US to present to the UN evidence that Syria was responsible for chemical weapons attacks.Putin said it would be ‘utter nonsense’ for Syria’s government to provoke opponents with such attacks when it was in a position of