DHAKA: Rahul Gandhi has returned to Delhi after a 57-day sabbatical, which included a course in vipassana or silent meditation.The Congress vice president arrived by an 11.15am flight from Bangkok and was welcomed at his home by his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi, and sister

DHAKA: Indonesia on Thursday banned small retailers from selling beer, despite an outcry from the booze industry and in tourism hotspots over the Muslim-majority country’s latest offensive against drinking.The ban restricts the sale of beer and pre-mixed drinks - such as spirits with

DHAKA: A Chinese academic study hailed the role of the country’s first lady in public diplomacy, reports said Thursday, the latest sign of Beijing’s hunger for soft power on the global stage.Peng Liyuan, the wife of president Xi Jinping, has ‘enchanted domestic and international

DHAKA: The UN peace envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, has resigned, a UN official said Wednesday (Apr 15), after losing support from Gulf countries for his mission in the conflict-riven nation.The Moroccan diplomat had been UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy for Yemen since

DHAKA: South Korean president Park Geun Hye vowed on Wednesday to punish ‘anyone’ involved in corruption as she faced a growing bribery scandal that has embroiled her prime minister and other close aides.‘I will not forgive anyone responsible for corruption,’ Park told a meeting

DHAKA: Egypt and Saudi Arabia are considering holding joint military maneuvers in the kingdom as the allies carry out air strikes in its neighbor Yemen.Egypt president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s office said, reports The Straits Times.Other Gulf Arab countries would also participate, the

DHAKA: Houthi rebels have condemned Tuesday's UN Security Council arms embargo imposed on them and their allies.They called for protests against what they termed UN support of ‘aggression’, the BBC publishes this report on Wednesday.The Houthis have made rapid advances across the

DHAKA: The US Congress will have a say on a nuclear deal with Iran, under a new agreement reached with the White House.President Barack Obama withdrew his opposition to a bipartisan bill that was unanimously passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, reports the BBC.He has

DHAKA: New Horizons was 115 million km from Pluto (larger sphere) when its Ralph camera captured the viewThe New Horizons probe, which is bearing down on Pluto, has captured its first colour image of the distant dwarf planet, reports BBC.The picture, just released by the US space agency,

DHAKA: Remains of up to nearly 400 unaccounted for service members tied to the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor will be exhumed this year, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.The hope is that most of the battleship's sailors and Marines can be identified."The secretary of defense and I

DHAKA: About 400 migrants have died in an attempt to reach Italy from Libya when their boat capsized, survivors said on Tuesday. The tragedy was the latest in the Mediterranean where the death toll from shipwrecks has surged this year. The boat, carrying about 550 migrants, flipped

DHAKA: Iran will submit a four-point peace plan for resolving the crisis in Yemen to the United Nations on Wednesday.Iran’s English-language television channel Press TV reported on Tuesday, said The Straits Times.The channel gave no further details. Iranian foreign minister Mohammad

DHAKA: More than 20 passengers were injured when an Asiana Airlines Airbus A320 overran a runway in western Japan on Tuesday evening.Officials and local media said, reports The Straits Times.The South Korean carrier’s Flight OZ162, which took off at Incheon airport, was attempting to

DHAKA: Washington is ‘aggressively’ warning Beijing over the repercussions of its demand that US tech firms should hand over their encryption keys if they want to do business in China.A top US official said on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.The statement by US commerce secretary

DHAKA: Chinese premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday praised the former Japanese government official who issued a landmark apology over the wartime sexual slavery of Asian women, hailing his ‘bravery’ in facing history.Li greeted a trade delegation led by Yohei Kono, who as the country’s

DHAKA: Armed tribesmen seized control of Yemen’s only gas export terminal Tuesday after an army unit assigned to protect it surrendered.A military source said, reports The Straits Times.The tribesmen decided to organize their own protection for the Balhaf plant, operated by Yemen LNG,

DHAKA: The Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria group has lost control of ‘25 to 30’ percent of the territory it holds in Iraq after coalition air strikes and an Iraqi offensive.The Pentagon said Monday, The Straits Times publishes this report on Tuesday.The radical group took control

DHAKA: About 70 army personnel were found to be involved with the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria militant group.Malaysian officials said on Monday, reports The Straits Times.Deputy defense minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri told the parliament that the figure was based on confirmation

DHAKA: Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton formally launched her second presidential bid with a video on her website, putting her forward as a champion of everyday Americans.The 2-minute video was a stark contrast from the stodgy one that she used in her 2008 campaign. While the

DHAKA: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has formally entered the 2016 race for the White House in a bid to become the first woman US president.She launched her campaign website on Sunday, telling Americans she wanted to be their ‘champion’.Clinton ran for the Democratic