Saturday, 18 Jan, 2025

International

‘Greece can’t make changes to detriment of other Europeans’

DHKA: The new Greek government cannot make dramatic changes to its economic policy and expect other European states to foot the bill.German vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.‘All citizens of Europe must be able to expect that changes in Greek

SL govt plans probe into rights abuses

DHAKA: Sri Lanka is planning an investigation into accusations of human rights abuses in the final stages of a 26-year civil war amid international frustration at the failure to look into numerous civilian deaths.A government spokesman said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.Former

Obama to request hike in US military budget

DHAKA: United States president Barack Obama plans to ask for an increase in military spending in a proposed budget for 2016, with a request for US$585 billion that would exceed funding caps mandated by Congress.Officials said on Wednesday, The Straits Times publishes this report on

Sujatha sacked, Jaishankar new Indian foreign secy

DHAKA: A day after Barack Obama flew out of India, the Modi government on late Wednesday evening announced the abrupt "curtailment of tenure of foreign secretary Sujatha Singh with immediate effect" — a not very polite way of saying it was sacking her eight months before she was due

IS issues threat to kill Jordanian pilot

DHAKA: Islamic State militants say they will execute a Jordanian pilot "immediately" if Amman does not hand over a female suicide bomber by sunset Thursday (Jan 29), as Japan waits in anguish for news of a journalist the extremists are also holding.In a new audio recording, a voice

New German protest group leader quits

DHAKA: The new leader of Germany’s controversial Pegida anti-Islamisation group Pegida has resigned a week after her predecessor, reports say.Kathrin Oertel appeared on TV at the weekend and had become the public face of the movement after Lutz Bachmann stepped down, reports the BBC.A

UN peacekeeper killed after Hezbollah-Israel clash

DHAKA: The UN says a peacekeeper has been killed in Lebanon amid border clashes between Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Israeli army.The UN urged ‘maximum restraint’ from all parties to avoid further escalation.Four Israeli soldiers were injured when an anti-tank missile hit

Jordan in pilot exchange offer to IS

DHAKA: Jordan says it is willing to hand over an Iraqi woman on death row in exchange for a Jordanian pilot being held by Islamic State (IS) militants.The offer comes ahead of a 24-hour deadline by IS to kill Moaz al-Kasasbeh and Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, reports the BBC.The

4 killed in Vietnam military helicopter crash

DHAKA: Four people were killed on Wednesday when a Vietnamese military helicopter crashed minutes after it set off from southern Ho Chi Minh City.An army official told the media, reports The Straits Times.The UH-1 helicopter, known as a Huey, lost contact just eight minutes after

US admits snow forecast errors

DHAKA: The US National Weather Service (NWS) has admitted its forecasts were wrong, after predicting a ‘potentially historic blizzard’ would strike.The storm piled deep snow on Connecticut and Massachusetts, but New York City was largely spared.The city's mayor, Bill de Blasio,

WB chief warns of pandemic threat

DHAKA: The president of the World Bank has warned that the world is "dangerously unprepared" for future deadly pandemics like the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.Jim Yong Kim, speaking in Washington, said it was vital that governments, corporations, aid agencies and insurance companies

11 dead after gunmen storm Libya hotel

DHAKA: Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Libya's capital, killing at least 11 people, including three guards and five foreigners, before blowing themselves up after being surrounded by security, officials said.The attack, which included the use of a car bomb, struck the popular

Kosovo hit by worst unrest since independence

DHAKA: Riot police and protesters fought running battles in the Kosovo capital Pristina Tuesday as anti-government protests erupted into the worst unrest since the former Serbian province seceded in 2008.A media reporter saw masked police officers firing tear gas and water cannon,

Obama lands in Saudi Arabia for talks with new King

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama landed in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to shore up ties with new King Salman and offer condolences after the death of his predecessor and half-brother, King Abdullah.Air Force One touched down at King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh,

IS in Libya claims assault on Tripoli hotel

DHAKA: Fighters of the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya have claimed an attack on Tripoli’s luxurious Corinthia Hotel,.The SITE Intelligence monitoring group said on Tuesday.In a message on Twitter, the IS branch in western Libya said that its militants had stormed the hotel, which

200 South Sudan child soldiers freed

DHAKA: South Sudanese rebels on Tuesday released 280 child soldiers, the first batch of some 3,000 to be freed but with thousands more still fighting.The UN children's agency said, reports The Straits Times.Some 12,000 children, mainly boys, have been forcibly recruited by armed

10 killed as Greek F-16 jet crashes at base

DHAKA: A Greek F-16 fighter jet crashed into other planes on the ground during Nato training in southeastern Spain on Monday, killing at least 10 people.Spain’s defense ministry said, reports The Times of India.Another 13 people were injured in the incident at the Los Llanos base,

Obama wraps up India visit with town hall meeting

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama will host a town hall-style meeting in India on Tuesday, seeking to stress the shared values of the world’s largest democracies as he wraps up a visit aimed at reinvigorating their sometimes tense ties.The speech to around 1,500 young Indians comes

Temperatures in Australia rising faster

DHAKA: Australia faced a rise in temperature of potentially more than 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, an increase that would outpace global warming worldwide, the country’s national science agency said on Tuesday.In its most comprehensive

Snowstorm emergency declared in US

DHAKA: An emergency has been declared in several US states as a storm bringing hurricane-force winds and 90cm (36ins) of snow barrels down on the north-east.Boston, New York and Philadelphia began shutting down Monday evening (local time) as the flurries began, with the worst