DHAKA: Four Iranian-Americans, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, have been freed in Iran in a prisoner swap deal.Iranian and US officials said, reports Al Jazeera.Rezaian, who was taken into custody in July 2014 and convicted on espionage charges last year, was to be flown

DHAKA: Taiwan should abandon its ‘hallucinations’ about pushing for independence as any moves towards it would be a ‘poison’.Chinese state-run media said after a landslide victory for the island’s independence-leaning opposition, reports Al Jazeera.The comment comes after Taiwan

DHAKA: Dozens of people have died in an offensive by so-called Islamic State on government-held areas of Deir al-Zour in eastern Syria, local media say.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 85 civilians were killed in the attack, as well as 50 Syrian soldiers, reports the

DHAKA: International sanctions on Iran have been lifted after a watchdog confirmed it had complied with a deal designed to prevent it developing nuclear weapons.The EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the deal would contribute to improved regional and international peace and

DHAKA: Pro-independence candidate Tsai Ing-wen has effectively won Taiwan’s presidential elections after Eric Chu, the candidate and chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), conceded defeat.Tsai of Taiwan’s main opposition party was on course for a landslide election victory on

DHAKA: A siege is over at a Burkina Faso hotel seized by suspected Islamist gunmen, the government says, but reports say a nearby hotel is now under attack.In all, 126 hostages were freed at the Splendid Hotel in the West African state's capital, Ouagadougou, the interior minister said,

DHAKA: International sanctions on Iran will be lifted in hours when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issues its final report on Tehran’s nuclear program.Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying, reports Al Jazeera.Zarif arrived in Vienna earlier

DHAKA: An international team of astronomers may have discovered the biggest and brightest supernova ever.The explosion was 570 billion times brighter than the sun and 20 times brighter than all the stars in the Milky Way galaxy combined, according to a statement from The Ohio State

DHAKA: The US, Iran and the EU are set to meet in Vienna on Saturday to discuss progress towards implementing Iran's nuclear deal, the US State Department says.Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.There is widespread speculation Iran

DHAKA: At least 20 people have been killed and another 15 wounded on Friday in an ongoing Al Qaeda attack on a hotel in the capital of Burkina Faso popular with United Nations staff and westerners.Gunshots and explosions rocked Ouagadougou's four-star Splendid hotel and the nearby

DHAKA: A bus taking passengers to a ski resort in central Japan has veered off a mountain road, killing 14 people and injuring 27.The bus, with 41 people on board, was travelling overnight from Tokyo to a resort in Nagano prefecture, reports the BBC.The accident happened near the town of

DHAKA: Jakarta's chief of police says Indonesia is hunting terror cells believed to have been involved in the attack on the capital.Two civilians and five attackers died in Thursday's gun and bomb assault in a busy commercial district, reports the BBC.Insp Gen Tito Karnavian said the

DHAKA: Turkey has killed 200 militants of the Islamic State (IS) of Iraq and Syria in cross-border operations after an ISIL suicide bomber killed 10 German tourists in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet Square on January 12. Turkey has fired 500 cannon shots at ISIL targets in Iraq and

DHAKA: At least seven people have been killed in a series of explosions in central Jakarta, Indonesia’s police told Al Jazeera, as gunfire rang out of the capital’s downtown area.An unknown number of people were injured in the ongoing security operations at the Sarinah area near the

DHAKA: The next ice age may have been delayed by over 50,000 years because of the greenhouse gases put in the atmosphere by humans.Scientists in Germany say, reports the BBC.They analyzed the trigger conditions for a glaciation, like the one that gripped Earth over 12,000 years ago.The

DHAKA: At least six people were killed in a series of blasts in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, with reports of ongoing gunfire.The blasts happened outside the Sarinah shopping centre, near the presidential palace and UN offices, reports the BBC.Police have cordoned off the area.Police

DHAKA: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan’s Hokkaido on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).No tsunami warning was issued by authorities for the quake which struck 51km southeast of Shizunai.The quake hit at 09.25am (Bangladesh time) off the

DHAKA: A car bomb blast has hit a police headquarters in south-eastern Turkey, killing five people and injuring at least 36.Quoting local media, BBC reported on Thursday.A woman and a baby were reported among the dead. Rescuers are searching through the rubble at the scene in Cinar

DHAKA: All 10 US Navy sailors detained by Iran after drifting into its territorial waters a day earlier have been freed.The US and Iran said on Wednesday, reports the BBC.The US Navy said the American crew returned safely and there were no indications that they had been harmed while in

DHAKA: A record number of asylum seekers in Britain are being left destitute, and planned legislation could plunge thousands more into poverty.The British Red Cross said on Wednesday, reports the Jerusalem Post.The charity said it had supported more than 9,000 refugees and asylum seekers