DHAKA: At least 46 security personnel, Taliban fighters and civilians have been killed in clashes in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.Officials say, reports the BBC.Several people were also taken hostage in the Taliban assault on Kandahar airport, which began on Tuesday.The airport

DHAKA: Australia has announced a surge in defence spending, a move that reflects concern over military expansion in the region.Military spending will grow by A$29.9b ($21.4b, £15.4b) over next 10 years, the 2016 Defence White Paper outlined, reports the BBC.The largest investment will be

DHAKA: Apple boss Tim Cook has hit back at the FBI over the handling of a court order to help unlock the iPhone of San Bernardino killer Syed Rizwan Farook.Cook told ABC his company first learned of the controversial request when it was reported in the news media, reports the BBC.“I

DHAKA: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are holding their first one-on-one debate, as they vie to be the Democratic presidential pick.The TV debate in New Hampshire is their first since the Democratic race was whittled down to two this week, reports the BBC.The first state-by-state

DHAKA: One of al-Qaeda’s senior commanders was killed by a US drone strike in southern Yemen.A military source told Al Jazeera.Fighters belonging to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were preparing to receive the body of Jalal Baleedi, also known as Hamza al-Marqashi, after he

DHAKA: An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck 174 km southeast of Indonesia’s eastern island of Ambon Wednesday.The US Geological Survey said, reports NDTV.There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the quake, which the USGS initially said was 7-magnitude and which

DHAKA: Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric undermines US national security by boosting the Islamic State (IS) group.The Pentagon has warned, reports the BBC.The leading Republican presidential candidate has said Muslims should be banned from entering the US, in the wake of the deadly

DHAKA: Syrian rebels have begun evacuating from the last area they hold in the city of Homs under a ceasefire deal reached with the government.A monitoring group has said, reports the BBC.The deal means the entire city returns to government control.Those leaving are due go to areas of

DHAKA: The House of Representatives has voted to tighten visa-free travel to the US following the Paris attacks.The measures would bar people who travelled to Iraq and Syria after March 2011 from the visa waiver programme, reports the BBC.People who have visited Iran and Sudan - which the

DHAKA: Ten Taliban fighters have been killed after staging an attack on the heavily-fortified Kandahar airport compound in southern Afghanistan, officials told media.Simultaneously on Tuesday night, Taliban forces attacked both residential blocks housing government employees and the

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia is hosting a three-day meeting in Riyadh to try to unite the Syrian opposition before potential talks with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.There have been attempts to do this before, but this time international peace efforts are gaining momentum.There is a

DHAKA: Five people were lightly injured when a homemade explosive detonated at a bus stop in central Moscow.Authorities said on Tuesday, reports NDTV.The device went off Monday night on Pokrovka Street, a trendy area in central Moscow dotted with bars and restaurants.‘A hooliganism

DHAKA: A Syrian opposition meeting is due to begin in Saudi Arabia that will discuss ways to overcome their differences before potential talks with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.The talks, due to take place from Tuesday, are seen as the most serious effort yet to unify the

DHAKA: Half of Beijing’s private cars have been ordered off the streets and many construction sites and schools closed after the government raised the alert on pollution in the Chinese capital to the highest level, red.A grey haze descended on Tuesday on the city of around 21.5 million

DHAKA: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for a halt to Muslims entering the US, in the wake of the deadly California shootings.In a campaign statement, he said a ‘total and complete’ shutdown should remain until the US authorities ‘can figure out’ Muslim

DHAKA: Ankara would never take any step that would damage Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said in a letter to his Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi, noting that Turkey would not deploy troops in the area until Baghdad’s

DHAKA: Flights have resumed in the southern Indian city of Chennai after a week of devastating floods.Operations were halted last week after heavy rains flooded the airport and damaged key equipment.A massive relief operation is continuing to get food and medicines to tens of thousands of

DHAKA: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake has hit Tajikistan, according to the US Geological Survey.It struck at 7.50am today with an epicentre in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, around 70 miles west of the city of Murghob, seismologists said.Tremors were felt in Delhi, as well as in

DHAKA: An air strike has killed four Syrian military personnel in Deir al-Zor province, news reports said on Monday.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike hit part of the Saeqa military camp near the town of Ayyash in Deir al Zor province, Al Jazeera reports.The air raid

DHAKA: NATO has ruled out sending ground troops to fight against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg told a Swiss newspaper, stressing the need to bolster local forces in the conflict.‘That is not on the agenda of the coalition and the NATO