DHAKA: The global nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, has closed a 12-year-long investigation into Iran’s nuclear activities, a key step towards lifting UN sanctions.The IAEA concluded Iran conducted nuclear weapons-related research until 2003 and to a lesser extent until 2009, but found no

DHAKA: New Zealand has confirmed that the black, white and blue silver fern design won a referendum to become a possible new flag, after the final votes were counted.A second referendum will be held in March to decide whether to adopt the new flag or keep the current one, reports the

DHAKA: China, Egypt and Iran topped a list of countries jailing journalists in 2015, a year that saw a slight decline in the number of journalists behind bars worldwide.A press freedom watchdog has said, reports Al Jazeera.The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists released a

DHAKA: Controversial plans for an EU Border and Coast Guard force are to be set out as part of an EU drive to curb the record influx of migrants.The European Commission is proposing a force with a stronger mandate than the EU’s current Frontex border teams.But some governments see the

DHAKA: The chief minister of India’s capital, Delhi, has alleged that his office has been raided by the country’s federal investigation agency.Arvind Kejriwal blamed India Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the ‘raid’, calling him a ‘coward and a psychopath’, reports the

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Moscow for talks to try to bridge gaps with Russia over the political process to end Syria’s civil war.He is now in talks with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and will later meet President Vladimir Putin, reports the BBC.The US and Russia

DHAKA: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has formed a coalition of 34 mainly Muslim countries - including powers such as Egypt and Turkey - to coordinate a fight against ‘terrorist organizations’.The alliance was announced by KSA defense minister and deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin

DHAKA: Chief Minister of Delhi in India Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that his office was sealed in a CBI raid on Tuesday morning, reports NDTV.The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) of India searched the Delhi Secretariat and the headquarters of the state government in the morning.The AAP

DHAKA: At least 41 Argentine police members were killed Monday after a bus they were traveling in flipped and fell off a bridge in the northern part of the South American nation.Authorities say the crash happened early Monday while a convoy of three buses with gendarmes officers was

DHAKA: Russia says one of its warships fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing boat in the Aegean Sea to avoid a collision.A Russian defense ministry statement said the Turkish vessel approached to 600m (1,800ft) before turning away in response to Russian small arms fire.The captain of

DHAKA: South African President Jacob Zuma has replaced newly appointed Finance Minister David van Rooyen with the more experienced Pravin Gordhan in a surprise Sunday night announcement.On Wednesday, the president sacked Nhlanhla Nene in a move that sent the rand to record lows and

DHAKA: Twenty women have won seats in municipal councils in Saudi Arabia as the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom allowed females to vote and run as candidates for the first time in history in an election on Saturday.The 20 elected females represent just under one percent of the roughly

DHAKA: At least 45 civilians were killed on Sunday in heavy bombardment of a besieged Syrian rebel stronghold east of Damascus that also struck a school.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rockets fired by regime forces rained down on the towns of Douma, Harasta, Saqba and Arbin

DHAKA: A woman has won a seat on a municipal council for the first time in Saudi Arabia, after the kingdom lifted its bar on women taking part in elections.Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi won a seat in Mecca province in Saturday’s vote, the electoral commission said, BBC reports on

DHAKA: Election workers in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were counting votes after the country’s first-ever election open to both female voters and candidates, in a tentative step towards easing restrictions on women.Saturday’s municipal poll, which was hailed by many as historic, saw

DHAKA: At least 21 people have been killed and about two dozens injured in a fire at a neurological hospital in Russia’s central Voronezh region. Two remain unaccounted for as authorities scour the rubble of the wooden structure which was destroyed by the blaze, reports the

DHAKA:  The 31-page document that details a landmark agreement reached on Saturday could be a turning point in the struggle to contain global warming, according to several experts who have been scrutinizing the small but momentous changes to the document’s wording.Here are some

DHAKA: A deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C has been agreed at the climate change summit in Paris after two weeks of intense negotiations.The pact is the first to commit all countries to cut carbon emissions, reports the BBC.The agreement is partly

DHAKA: France has submitted a draft climate deal to delegates at the UN climate change conference aimed at curbing emissions of the heat-trapping gases that threaten to wreak havoc on Earth's climate system.Describing it as ‘a historic accord’, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius

DHAKA: At least 34 bodies have been found lying in the streets of Burundi’s capital as unrest worsens.A BBC reporter saw 21 in one district of Bujumbura and local officials spoke of 13 in another. Most appear to be young men killed by gunfire, some with their hands tied behind their