DHAKA: China has passed controversial new anti-terrorism laws, saying they are needed to combat growing threats.The new laws, passed on Sunday by China’s legislature, create a new anti-terror agency and security forces with significant powers.Critics say the laws are too broad and can

DHAKA: Iraqi forces have retaken a former government compound in Ramadi from where Islamic State (IS) group militants have been resisting an army offensive, the military has said.The complex was "under complete control" and there was no sign of IS fighters, a spokesman said, reports the

DHAKA: Nasser al-Bahri - Osama Bin Laden's former bodyguard - has died after a long illness, medical sources in Yemen said.They said Bahri, a Yemeni national, passed away on Saturday in a hospital in the southern city of Mukalla. He is believed to have been in his 40s, reports the

RIYADH: A Bangladesh national was killed in a road accident in Jeddah of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on Sunday midnight (Bangladesh Time).The deceased was identified as Jamal Uddin, hailed from Astogram upazila of Kishoreganj. He had been living in Saudi Arabia for an era. He was

DHAKA: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke at the opening of the 29th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran on Sunday morning calling for unity between Islamic nations.Rouhani defined the theme of the conference, ‘The Muslim World’s Current Crises’, to be the lack of

DHAKA: The owner of a gypsum mine in China’s eastern Shandong province has killed himself, as rescuers try to reach 17 miners who have been trapped for two days.China state media report, says the BBC.One person died and four miners escaped when the mine collapsed on Friday.Since then,

DHAKA: The death of a prominent Syrian rebel leader is being seen as a major blow to the tenuous peace process, with the opposition’s interim leader warning that other commanders could also be targeted for assassinations.Zahran Alloush, the leader of the Jaysh al-Islam group, was killed

DHAKA: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the secretive leader of the Islamic State group, called for an uprising in Saudi Arabia and pledged to attack Israel, in an audio recording released Saturday and attributed to him.The 24-minute recording would be Baghdadi's first in seven months, during which

DHAKA: At least 24 people are now known to have died after nearly a week of tornadoes, heavy rains and flooding in several US south-central states.Six people died in Texas after a new tornado touched down near Dallas late on Saturday.Earlier, the bodies of a man and a woman - who were

DHAKA: It’s been nearly a week since news broke about secret talks between Turkish and Israeli officials in a bid to accomplish the normalization process by sealing a long-negotiated deal.Having already secured a formal apology, Turkey has long been waiting for Israel to fulfill the

DHAKA: The commander of one of the most effective rebel forces battling Syria's government has been killed in an air strike, a monitoring group and Syrian state media reported Friday.Zahran Alloush, general commander of Jaysh al-Islam, was killed in eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus,

DHAKA: The birthplace of former U.S. President Bill Clinton in Hope, Arkansas, was slightly damaged in a suspected arson fire early on Friday, police said.The fire to the rear of the house, designated a National Historic Site, was reported shortly after 3 a.m. CST, Hope Police Chief J.R.

DHAKA: As many as 50 people are feared dead after another landslide at gold and jade mines in northern Myanmar, a local official said on Saturday.The latest spill of waste rock accumulated during the mining process occurred near jade mines in Kachin state, 350 kilometres north of

DHAKA: More than 150,000 people in South American countries --Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil -- have been driven from their homes by some of the worst flooding in years.Heavy summer rains have caused rivers to swell across a vast area.In Paraguay, the most affected country,

DHAKA: At least 30 people were injured in a magnitude-6.3 earthquake Friday that shook northeast Afghanistan where it borders Pakistan and Tajikistan, officials said.The injuries occurred in various localities of Peshawar, Pakistan, about 200 miles from the quake epicenter, according to

DHAKA: Pope Francis tackled war, terrorism and the migrant crisis in a wide-ranging Christmas message, calling for peace and reconciliation around the world.The pontiff said he prayed for the success of recent UN resolutions for peace in Syria and Libya, reports the BBC.The Pope also

DHAKA: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent over an hour at his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif’s ancestral home near Lahore on Friday evening after springing a massive surprise in a tweet announcing that he would ‘drop by’ on his way back to Delhi from Kabul.Sharif, who is

DHAKA: Indian premier Narendra Modi landed at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport Friday (December 25) on a surprise visit, where Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif were present to receive him.Television footage showed Modi exit his jet

DHAKA: Scores of people are reported killed in an explosion at an industrial gas plant in south-eastern Nigeria.A truck is said to have exploded as it was off-loading butane cooking gas in the town of Nnewi in Anambra State.Reports of fatalities vary from 35 to more than 100 people

DHAKA: A clear-up has begun after a violent storm left at least 14 people dead and destroyed homes in several US South and Midwest states on Christmas Eve.Mississippi was worst hit, with seven people dead, while six others were killed in Tennessee, reports the BBC.A seven-year-old boy,