DHAKA: Egyptian military engineers defused on Saturday mortar rounds rigged to explode on a railroad linking the canal cities of Ismailiya and Suez, security officials said.Police called in the military experts after residents of a village near the railroad spotted the bomb, the officials

DHAKA: Tony Abbott’s Liberal-National coalition appears on course for a decisive win in Australia`s general election.Early counting showed a swing to the opposition coalition in several states, with exit polls forecasting it would secure a lower house majority.Public broadcaster ABC’s

DHAKA: Indian lawmakers have passed a long-awaited bill to ban manual scavenging, the clearing of human waste from toilets, by workers seen as the ‘ultimate untouchables’ under the country’s ancient Hindu caste-hierarchy.Already illegal under a largely ineffective 1993 law, the

DHAKA: New fighting has broken out between rebels and regime forces on the outskirts of the Christian town of Maalula in Syria.A watchdog said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.‘There are clashes just inside the town in the western district between Popular Committees (militia) and

DHAKA: Chinese president Xi Jinping on Saturday will oversee China’s entry into Kashagan, a vast oilfield in Kazakhstan, as he tours post-Soviet Central Asia to secure hydrocarbons for the world`s largest energy consumer.The US$5 billion deal further increases China’s rising clout in

DHAKA: Iran has released an Indian crude oil tanker that was detained last month over pollution concerns, an Indian shipping official said on Saturday, ending a dispute between the countries that have historically had strong trade ties.The tanker, Desh Shanti, carrying 140,000 tonnes of

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry is set to meet with senior Lithuanian officials on Saturday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Syria, as well as peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to a statement released by the US state department.Lithuania currently

DHAKA: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday called a clear win for the Tony Abbott-led conservative opposition over prime minister Kevin Rudd’s Labor in national polls.‘The coalition is on a pretty secure 74 seats already. On that basis they’re going to get a

DHAKA: Three Chinese ships carrying hundreds of sailors arrived in Hawaii on Friday to join a search-and-rescue exercise with the United States Navy during a rare visit intended to foster familiarity.The guided missile destroyer Qingdao, a frigate and a supply ship were welcomed with

DHAKA: At least one person was killed and four wounded on Saturday when angry demonstrators tried to storm the Iranian consulate in western Afghanistan during a protest over visas, officials said.Around 200 protestors took to the streets of Herat city and tried to attack the consulate

DHAKA: Polls closed in Australia’s most populous states where Saturday’s national elections are expected to be won or lost, with conservative challenger Tony Abbott set for a big victory.Voting stations in the crucial states of Queensland and New South Wales shut at 6:00pm (0800 GMT),

DHAKA: Pakistan on Saturday announced the release of seven senior Afghan Taliban figures to help the peace process in war-torn neighbour Afghanistan.The Foreign Ministry said, reports The Strait stimes.‘In order to further facilitate the Afghan reconciliation process, Pakistan is

DHAKA: Nigerian soldiers backed by air support have tracked down and killed 50 members of Islamist sect Boko Haram in the sect`s northeastern stronghold.An army spokesman said on Saturday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Suspected members of Boko Haram killed 20 people in two attacks late on

DHAKA: Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt last year, was honored Friday with the Children’s Peace Prize for her work promoting education for girls in her homeland.The 16-year-old said she accepted the prize in the historic Knights’ Hall

DHAKA: The United States tightened security at diplomatic missions in Lebanon and Turkey on Friday because of potential threats, ordering some personnel out of Lebanon and offering to evacuate those in Adana in southeastern Turkey.The State Department warned US citizens against traveling

DHAKA: NASA launched an unmanned rocket to the moon Friday night to study its lunar atmosphere and environment.The 90-foot rocket carrying the orbiter was expected to be visible to much of the eastern U.S. seaboard when it launched from Virginia, officials said earlier. If skies were

DHAKA: At least 25 infants are reported to have died at a government-run children`s hospital in Kolkata in the last three days.BC Roy Post-Graduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences is considered to be one of the best specialty children`s hospitals in the state. Rejecting allegations of

DHAKA: Voters across the Maldives will go to the polls for a presidential election nearly 18 months after a violent change of leadership shook the Indian Ocean archipelago.Saturday’s vote will test the popular holiday destination`s young democracy after the ousting of its first elected

DHAKA: A man has been arrested on suspicion of burglary, trespass and criminal damage after scaling a fence to get into Buckingham Palace, police have said.He was found "in an area currently open to the public during the day" at about 22:20 BST on Monday, the Metropolitan Police said.A

DHAKA: Speeches by key leaders at the end of the G20 summit in St Petersburg have laid bare the bitter divisions over possible military action in Syria.Russian President Vladimir Putin restated his opposition to any strike, saying it would destabilise the region.US President Barack Obama