DHAKA: Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafiq says he will back army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for president in an election expected next year, adding to speculation that the man who led the overthrow of president Mohamed Mursi could become head of state.Shafiq, a former air

DHAKA: Iran’s entire Cabinet has opened Facebook pages in what is seen as a move toward greater openness, even though the social media site is blocked in the Islamic Republic.The Facebook pages of 15 ministers could be viewed in Tehran through a proxy server.Newspapers on Monday hinted

DHAKA: An explosion outside a school in southern China has killed at least two people and injured several others, state media say.At least 10 of the 17 people reported injured at the primary school in Guilin, Guangxi province, were school children, police say.Witnesses told Xinhua news

DHAKA: The UN nuclear agency chief told Iran on Monday it was ‘essential and urgent’ for it to engage with his inspectors on their concerns about suspected Iranian nuclear bomb research and to provide access to a key military site.Yukiya Amano was addressing a session of the

DHAKA: US state secretary John Kerry vowed Monday that the United States was not about to embark on a long-term military adventure in Syria, echoing US president Barack Obama’s pledge that any action would not be a repeat of the two controversial American wars of the past

DHAKA: Military strikes on Syria risk causing an ‘outburst of terrorism’ in the region and would spark a new wave of refugees.Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Syrian counterpart on Monday, reports The Straits Times.‘The possibility for a political

DHAKA: An al-Qaida affiliate has claimed responsibility for a series of car bombs that killed around 60 people in predominantly Shia districts of the Iraqi capital last week.The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which was formed earlier this year through a merger between al-Qaida’s

DHAKA: China urged the United States to proceed with extreme caution and return to the United Nations to discuss Syria after Washington said it was not seeking Security Council approval for action in response to a chemical weapons attack last month.Washington and Paris say forces loyal to

DHAKA: Turkey’s militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has halted its pullout from Turkey.The Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), the urban wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said in a statement that the withdrawal had been halted because the Turkish government had

DHAKA: A Thai Airways plane skidded off the runway in Bangkok after the nose wheel collapsed on landing, slightly injuring more than a dozen passengers.The airline said Monday, reports The Straits Times.The incident late on Sunday involved an Airbus 330-300 carrying 287 passengers and 14

DHAKA: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has a baby daughter, seemingly guaranteeing the future of a dynasty which has ruled the isolated and impoverished state for three generations, according to US basketball star Dennis Rodman who met Kim last week.Kim’s wife Ri Sol had appeared to be

DHAKA: Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has told a US broadcaster there is ‘no evidence’ that his government has used chemical weapons.In the interview with PBS, to be aired on Monday, he also suggested his allies would retaliate if the West attacked, reports the BBC.US state

DHAKA: The spiral of violence triggered by killings last month in Muzaffarnagar spread to far flung rural areas on Sunday, killing 16 more people. With this the death toll in the violence has increased to 27. With more than 40 people injured, many critically, the toll could increase,

DHAKA: The spiral of violence triggered by killings last month spread to Muzaffarnagar’s far flung rural areas on Sunday, killing 16 more people, taking the number of those consumed by the conflagration to 27. With more than 40 people injured, many critically, the toll could increase,

DHAKA: An attack by dozens of Muslim rebels shut down the major southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga on Monday, the mayor and military officials said.Followers of separatist leader Nur Misuari clashed with soldiers as Mayor Isabelle Climaco-Salazar ordered all schools and offices to

DHAKA: At least 18 people were killed in clashes between suspected Boko Haram fighters and a vigilante group in Borno state in north-eastern Nigeria, reports say.A majority of those killed were thought to have been vigilante members who had tried to defend the town of Benisheik against

DHAKA: Halil pulled up in front of his apartment complex in San Francisco and turned off the engine. We sat in his car side by side, as if we were on an awkward first date. He asked for my driver’s license and snapped a picture of it with his smartphone. I awaited further instructions.

DHAKA: The Duke of York has said he is ‘grateful’ for an apology from police after officers challenged him in the gardens of Buckingham Palace.In a statement, Prince Andrew, the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, said the police had a difficult job and

DHAKA: Syrian government forces may have carried out a chemical weapons attack close to Damascus without the personal permission of president Bashar Assad.Germany’s ‘Bild am Sonntag’ paper reported on Sunday, citing German intelligence says The Jerusalem Post.Syrian brigade and

DHAKA: Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets of Bardo, near the capital Tunis, late Saturday, calling for the government led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party to step down.They were marking the end of a 40-day period of mourning after the assassination of opposition leader