Monday, 20 Jan, 2025

International

Red Cross calls for 24-hour ceasefire

DHAKA: The Red Cross has called for a 24-hour ceasefire in Yemen to bring in desperately needed medical supplies after fierce fighting.It says medical teams and rescuers must access Aden, a stronghold of those loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, or more civilians will die.Fighting

Kenya declares three days of national mourning

DHAKA: Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday declared three days of national mourning during which the country’s flag shall fly at half-mast, following Thursday’s Garissa terror attack.Kenyatta said here that Kenya is in a profound state of mourning following the heinous attack

Indian navy evacuated 441 Indians from Yemen

DHAKA: The Indian Navy evacuated 441 people, including a pregnant woman and children, from the Port of Aden in strife-torn Yemen in almost ‘war-like conditions’ on Saturday.“Absolute tough environment at Aden….Evacuation of stranded Indians were carried out in almost war-like

Books on Islam sell out in France after militant attacks in Paris

DHAKA: Books on Islam are selling out in France after deadly extremist attacks in the capital raised uncomfortable questions about Europe’s fastest-growing religion.A special magazine supplement focused on the Quran has flown off the shelves, and shops are selling more books on Islam

5 arrested after Kenya university massacre

DHAKA: Kenyan police have arrested five men in connection with the university massacre of 148 people by Somalia’s Shebab Islamists, the interior ministry said Saturday, including suspected masterminds of the attack.‘Five people have been arrested, they are in custody and under

Modi to appoint Kashmiri leader to cabinet

DHAKA: Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is set to expand his council of ministers to include a key leader from the restive Kashmir region, sources said, as he looks to win the support of allies to push economic reforms through parliament.Mehbooba Mufti, daughter of Jammu and Kashmir

Houthi rebels pushed back in Aden

DHAKA: Loyalists of ousted Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi have pushed back Shia Houthi rebels in the southern city of Aden.Officials say, reports the BBC.The Hadi loyalists have been aided by air drops of arms and communications equipment from a Saudi-led coalition that is also

Obama, Raul to ‘interact’ at Summit of the Americas

DHAKA: United States president Barack Obama and Cuban counterpart Raul Castro will have an ‘interaction’ when they attend next week’s Summit of the Americas in Panama.A US official said Friday, The Straits Times publishes this report on Saturday.It will be the first between the two

Security questions as Kenya mourns

DHAKA: Kenya is mourning 148 people killed in Thursday’s al-Shabab attack on Garissa university campus, amid questions over why warnings were ignored.Kenyan newspapers say there was intelligence information of an imminent attack on a school or university.Locals question why security was

Sailor rescued after 66 days at sea

DHAKA: The last time Frank Jordan spoke with his son, Louis Jordan, was fishing on a sailboat a few miles off the South Carolina coast.The next time he spoke with him, more than two months had passed and the younger Jordan was on a German-flagged container ship 200 miles from North

Iran president vows to abide by deal

DHAKA:  Iran's president has vowed it will abide by the terms of the preliminary nuclear agreement it signed with six world powers, so long as they do too."The world must know that we do not intend to cheat," Hassan Rouhani said in a televised address to the nation, reports the BBC.But

Death row men freed after 30 years

DHAKA:  An Alabama man has been freed after spending nearly 30 years on death row.Anthony Ray Hinton, 58, was convicted of murdering two restaurant managers in Birmingham in 1985, but was granted a new trial last year.Tests on bullets found at the crime scene could not be connected to a

10 killed in Nigeria bus station blast

DHAKA: The death toll from an explosion near a bus station in Gombe, northeast Nigeria, has risen to 10.A doctor and nurse at the hospital treating the injured confirmed the matter, reports the NDTV.“We received 10 dead bodies from the blast at the Bauchi motor park (bus station),” a

Jordan signs NPP construction agreement with Russia

DHAKA: An inter-governmental agreement has been signed between Jordan and Russia last week in Jordanian capital Amman.The agreement envisages Russian cooperation in construction and operation of a nuclear power plant having two VVER units, each of 1000Mw capacity in the territory of

Belgian politician found dead in canal

DHAKA: Belgian police have found the body of missing politician Steve Stevaert in a canal, hours after he learnt he was to face trial over a rape allegation.Stevaert, 60, is a former leader of the Flemish Social Democrat party, and also served as mayor of the city of Hasselt and as a

Germanwings crash: Co-pilot ‘accelerated descent’

DHAKA: Data from the second ‘black box’ flight recorder belonging to the Germanwings plane that crashed in the Alps suggests that the co-pilot deliberately accelerated its descent.The French investigators said Andreas Lubitz modified the automatic pilot system several times to

Muslim girl in Mumbai wins Gita contest

DHAKA: Twelve-year-old Maryam Siddiqui is a rank holder at the exams in school. But recently, the class VI student has aced a written competition based on the Bhagwad Gita. The Muslim girl has won the first position among over 3,000 participants at the 'Gita Champions League' contest,

Kenya university assault killed 147

DHAKA: The death toll in the attack by al-Shabab Islamist militants on a university in north-eastern Kenya has risen to 147.Kenyan government officials say, reports the BBC.They added that the operation to secure the Garissa University College campus was now over, with all four attackers

Iran nuclear ‘framework’ deal agreed

DHAKA: An outline agreement on the future shape of Iran’s nuclear program has been reached after marathon talks with six major powers in Switzerland.The European Union and Iran announced the deal after eight days of negotiations in Lausanne.EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini

‘Many hostages in Kenyan university attack’

DHAKA: Somali Al-Shabaab militants said they were still holding many hostages inside a Kenyan university campus, nearly two hours after Kenya interior minister Joseph Nkaissery said the siege was nearing its end.‘We still control the scene and have many hostages,’ Abdiasis Abu Musab,