Friday, 17 Jan, 2025

International

‘Russia has 7,500 troops east of Ukraine’

DHAKA: Russia has 7,500 troops in the east of Ukraine, where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting government troops for months.Ukraine’s defence minister said, reports The Straits Times.‘Unfortunately, the stabilisation of the situation in the east of Ukraine does not depend

5.8 magnitude quake hits China’s Sichuan province

DHAKA: A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck China’s south-western province of Sichuan on Saturday.The US Geological Survey said, reports The Straits Times.The quake struck 39 kilometres north-west of the city of Kangding in the mountainous west of the province at 4.55pm at a depth of

28 killed in Kenya bus attack

DHAKA: Suspected members of the Somali militant group al-Shabab have killed at least 28 people in an attack on a bus in northern Kenya.Officials say, reports the BBC.The bus was travelling to the capital, Nairobi, when it was stopped in Mandera county, near the Somali border.After

Iran nuclear talks enter final days before deadline

DHAKA: Talks on Iran’s nuclear programme are entering a crucial weekend in Vienna but there is no sign of a breakthrough as Monday’s deadline looms. The US admitted that ‘serious gaps do remain’, reports the BBC. But Secretary of State John Kerry did cancel plans to leave

Bin Laden Son-in-Law's Lawyer Is Heading to Prison

DHAKA: An attorney for Osama bin Laden's son-in-law has been sentenced to 18 months in prison on tax charges. Stanley Cohen was sentenced Friday in federal court in Syracuse, New York, after pleading guilty to impeding the U.S. tax agency and failing to file tax returns, reports the abc

Pakistan's jihadis rally around ISIS banner

DHAKA: Across Pakistan, the black standard of the Islamic State has been popping up all over. From urban slums to Taliban strongholds, the militant group's logo and name have appeared in graffiti, posters and pamphlets, reports the India Times on Saturday. Moreover, last month, a

Obama phones Pak PM after announcing India trip

DHAKA: Hours after the White House publicly confirmed that President Obama will be the chief guest at India's Republic Day, the US president phoned Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to tell him that Washington values its ties with Islamabad. The mollifying phone call made from Air

S Lanka minister to challenge president Rajapaksa

DHAKA: Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka has announced to stand as the main opposition’s candidate against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in upcoming elections.“I thank the United National Party (UNP) for choosing me as the common opposition candidate,” said the

‘Martial law to stay in Thailand’

DHAKA: Thailand’s martial law will not be lifted for the foreseeable future despite an earlier pledge to lift the law in some provinces to help the tourism industry which has struggled since a military coup in May.The justice minister General Paiboon Koomchaya of Thailand said this on

Myanmar army admits attack on Kachin rebels

DHAKA: Myanmar’s army has admitted a heavy weapons strike in strife-torn northern Kachin state that rebels say killed over 20 people.The government-backed media said Friday, as escalation of the fighting cast doubt over faltering peace talks.The military said its artillery hit a

8 killed in US drone strike in Pakistan

DHAKA: At least eight militants have been killed in a US drone strike on a compound in Pakistan’s restive tribal region near the Afghan border.The CIA operated drone fired two missiles at the compound in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan Agency on Thursday killing eight terrorists,

Clashes erupt in Mexico protests on missing students

DHAKA: Riot police forcibly cleared protesters from Mexico City’s main square late Thursday as outrage mounted over the case of dozens of missing students.A few minor scuffles broke out as police swept through the square, but the demonstrators left largely without incident.A short

Japan PM Abe dissolves parliament for election

DHAKA: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dissolved parliament, paving the way for a snap election.Abe is seeking a new mandate for economic reforms and is delaying an unpopular increase in sales tax, reports the BBC.But opinion polls conducted by local media indicate low support for

Obama offer to 5m illegal migrants

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama unveiled his highly anticipated immigration plan, saying lifting the threat of expulsion from 5 million undocumented migrants would make the system "more fair and just."And, while he stressed migrants will not get "a free pass to American citizenship"

Envelope mailed to Czech minister contained poison

DHAKA: An envelope mailed to the Czech Republic’s interior minister from abroad contained poison.Radek Pokornik, a spokesman for the National Institute for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection of the country that conducted tests on the suspicious envelope said Thursday it

Senior IS figure killed in Iraq’s Mosul city

DHAKA: A leader of the Islamic State (IS) has been killed in an air strike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Residents and a local medical source said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times. They said Radwan Taleb al-Hamdouni, who they described as the radical militant group’s

‘No security in Europe without Russia’

DHAKA: Russia is key to ensuring European security, German chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday as she marked a quarter century of reconciliation with neighbouring Poland. ‘We are aware that Europe’s security can only be ensured, in the medium and long term, with Russia,’ Merkel

India issues alert of possible terror attack on Kolkata airport

DHAKA: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which mans Indian airports, was on Thursday asked to tighten vigil at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport after the Intelligence Bureau issued an alert regarding a possible attack on the airbase. Major airports

French IS extremists call for attacks on France

DHAKA: A horrified France was grappling with a new reality on Thursday in which hundreds of its citizens are openly joining extremist groups and directly calling for attacks on their homeland. A new video from the Islamic State (IS) group released on extremist forums and Twitter on

International monitors shot at in east Ukraine

DHAKA: A convoy of international monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was shot at by ‘uniformed personnel’ in east Ukraine. The organisation said Thursday, reports The Straits Times. The OSCE said that a uniformed man on the back of flat-bed