DHAKA: Malaysia’s top court has upheld opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s conviction for sodomy.Anwar was accused of having sex with a male aide in 2008. Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, but very few people are ever prosecuted.The popular politician was sentenced to

DHAKA: Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad says his government is receiving messages from the US-led coalition battling the jihadist group, Islamic State.Assad told the BBC that there had been no direct co-operation since air strikes began in Syria in September.But third parties, among

DHAKA: After leading his party to an outsized win in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal received a congratulatory call from India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tweeted this information.Arvind Kejriwal, who will return for a second term as Chief Minister, reportedly told the PM that he would

DHAKA: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leading in the counting of votes that has begun at 8:00am (Indian time) on Tuesday, for the Delhi assembly election.Barring one constituency, results for the rest of the 69 seats are likely to be declared by 1.30pm, reports TOI.This time, 673 candidates

DHAKA: Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria has withdrawn some of its insurgents and equipment from areas northeast of the Syrian city of Aleppo, rebels and residents say, adding to signs of strain in the Syrian provinces of its self-declared caliphate.The group, which has recently

DHAKA: At least 1,500 Russian troops and convoys of military hardware entered Ukraine over the weekend.The Ukrainian military said on Monday, reports The Strait Times.‘One thousand five hundred Russian soldiers and 300 pieces of military equipment, including Grad missile systems,

DHAKA: Russian President Vladimir Putin said the conflict in Ukraine will continue if rival groups there do not agree among themselves.The president said this in comments published on Monday ahead of a proposed summit with French, German and Ukrainian leaders, reports the NDTV. The

DHAKA: Three members of the Sudanese Red Cross were killed in an attack in the war-torn Blue Nile area, which lies on Sudan’s southeastern border, where Khartoum is currently battling rebels.Ahmad Mohammed Adam, a senior official of the Humanitarian Affairs Commission, on Sunday

DHAKA: Negotiations aimed at resolving the crisis in Yemen are set to resume on Monday and will be brokered by the UN envoy to the country, Jamal Benomar.The United Nations said this which reports the Jerusalem Post.The Gulf Cooperation Council on Saturday accused Shi’ite Houthi

DHAKA: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged an end to disunity after surviving a party confidence vote on his leadership.Liberal Party MPs voted by 61 to 39 not to open up his position to challengers, reports the BBC.The leadership test, initiated by a backbencher on Friday,

DHAKA: At least 40 people have been killed and dozens injured in a stampede and clashes between police and supporters of Egypt’s Zamalek football club at a game in Cairo.According to witness accounts, police tried to set up barricades and used tear gas to disperse football fans

DHAKA: A Turkish court ordered the arrest of 21 police officers on Sunday as part of an investigation into the illegal wiretapping of politicians, civil servants and businessmen.The Dogan News Agency reported, says The Straits Times.Raids began in several cities as prosecutors

DHAKA: An intellectually disabled Nepalese woman was savagely raped and murdered before her mutilated body was dumped in a field in northern IndiaPolice said Sunday about the country’s latest brutal sex attack, reports The Straits Times.The 28-year-old woman went missing on February 1

DHAKA: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that he would rather see no deal reached with major powers on his country’s nuclear programme than one that undercut national interests. His comments came as US Secretary of State John Kerry met Iranian counterpart

DHAKA: North Korea test-fired five short-range missiles into the sea off its east coast Sunday, a day after its announced launch of a new rocket raised tensions. The country fired the missiles into the East Sea from its eastern city of Wonsan between 4:20-5:10pm local time. A defence

DHAKA: Thailand’s military government has denied former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra permission to travel overseas to ensure she is in the country to face criminal charges later this month.A government spokesman said on Sunday, reports The Straits Times.The attorney-general will

DHAKA: The Prince of Wales has described the extent to which young people are becoming radicalised as ‘alarming’ and one of the ‘greatest worries’.In an interview with Radio 2’s The Sunday Hour, Prince Charles spoke of his hopes to ‘build bridges’ between different

DHAKA: The electoral commission in Nigeria has postponed the 14 February presidential election by six weeks over concerns about the security situation.Commission chief Attahiru Jega said he had been told troops would not be available to help patrol the ballot because they would be

DHAKA: US NBC anchor Brian Williams has said he is temporarily taking himself off air, days after apologising for wrongly saying he came under fire in Iraq.Williams said it had become "painfully apparent" that he was too much a part of the news.He repeatedly told a story about being

DHAKA: A year after its 49-day stint in power ended abruptly, Arvind Kejriwal's AAP was set to return to power in Delhi, exit polls said Saturday after record voting in assembly elections whose outcome is bound to have national ramifications.Half-a-dozen exit polls said the AAP, born