Friday, 17 Jan, 2025

International

Rat poison chemical found in pills linked to India sterilisation deaths

DHAKA: Tablets linked to the deaths of more than a dozen women who visited a sterilisation camp in eastern India are likely to have contained a chemical compound commonly used in rat poison.A senior official in Chhattisgarh state said on Saturday, reports The Straits Times.Preliminary

7.3 earthquake hits Indonesia, Tsunami Warning

DHAKA: A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck 150 kilometers (93 miles) north-northwest off the coast of Kota Ternate, Indonesia, on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The quake struck at 10:31 a.m. local time at a depth of 47 kilometers (29.2 miles), according to the USGS. No

UK to seize 'foreign fighters' passports

DHAKA: British Prime Minister David Cameron has outlined plans to seize passports from British nationals linked to armed groups and stop them returning from fighting overseas.Cameron has also proposed landing bans on airlines that fail to comply with London's no-fly lists."We will

Aung San Suu Kyi condemns 'unjust' constitution

DHAKA: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said constitutional rules which bar her from running for president because her sons are half British are "unfair, unjust and undemocratic".At a news briefing with US President Barack Obama in Yangon, she said the reform process in

Israel eases Jerusalem Al-Aqsa mosque restrictions

DHAKA: Israel eased restrictions at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday after US Secretary of State John Kerry announced agreement on steps to reduce tensions at the flashpoint compound.The site, which is holy to Jews as well as Muslims, has been the focus of months of unrest in

Obama defends US immigration reform pledge

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama has defended plans to use his overriding executive powers to push through changes to the nation’s immigration system.He said Congress had been given ample opportunity to come up with its own plan but had failed to act, reports the BBC.Republicans in

Aung San Suu Kyi condemns ‘unjust’ constitution

DHAKA: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said constitutional rules which bar her from running for president because her sons are half British are ‘unfair, unjust and undemocratic’.At a news briefing with US President Barack Obama in Yangon, she said the reform process

World's tallest comes ‘eye2eye’ with smallest

DHAKA: The world's tallest man has met the world's smallest man for the first time.At 8ft 3in, it was a new high for Sultan Kösen to meet the world's shortest living man Chandra Bahadur Dangi at an event in London, reports The Telegraph.It is the first time the pair has met and their

Russia is now more dangerous than IS

DHAKA: Last weekend America announced that it was sending more troops to Iraq, Russia allegedly sent more troops into Ukraine and president Barack Obama set off for Beijing.Ask policymakers in Washington which of these parts of the world should be America’s top priority and the

Scottish nationalists change leader after referendum defeat

DHAKA: Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond will step down as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) at its annual conference on Friday after Scots voted against independence in September.The head of the party for nearly 20 years and first minister for seven years, Salmond

Climate change may mean 50 percent more lightning

DHAKA: Lightning has the power to spark wildfires and kill, and scientists said Thursday that climate change may lead to 50 percent more of it by century’s end.The report in the US journal Science is based on measurements of precipitation and cloud buoyancy, applied to 11 different

HK democracy protest leaders to fly to Beijing

DHAKA: Hong Kong democracy protest leaders said they will head to Beijing on Saturday in hopes of bringing their demands for political reform to the Chinese authorities, but there are worries they will not be allowed into the country.Protesters, spearheaded by the Hong Kong Federation of

IS issues ‘message from leader’

DHAKA: Islamic State (IS) has released an audiotape it says was recorded by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, days after reports said he had been killed or injured.In the recording, released via social media, the speaker says IS fighters will never cease fighting ‘even if only one

7 Indian army personnel get life term

DHAKA: Seven army personnel get life sentence, including two officers, in connection with the Machil fake encounter killing of three youths in Jammu and Kashmir in 2010.  Chief minister Omar Abdullah said “the Army has handed out life sentences to seven including the Commanding

Obama seeks deeper engagement with Vietnam

DHAKA: President Barack Obama said he sees opportunities for deeper engagement and cooperation with Vietnam despite the difficult history between the two nations. Obama cited trade, security and human rights as areas for cooperation as he prepared to meet on Thursday with Vietnamese

Doctor held over India sterilization deaths

DHAKA: The doctor who performed mass sterilization surgeries in Chhattisgarh of India on Saturday, after which 11 women died, has been arrested.  Dr RK Gupta was picked up for questioning on Wednesday night and has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, reports

Obama warns of Myanmar reform 'backsliding'

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama is to hold talks with Myanmar's President Thein Sein, hours after accusing his government of backsliding on reforms. Obama is in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, for the East Asia summit, which follows Wednesday's Asean meeting. In an interview with a

‘Being so wealthy is a great pain’

DHAKA: He may now be China’s richest man, but Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has admitted in a United States television interview that being so wealthy is actually causing him ‘great pain’. Ma has seen his fortune balloon to US$19.5 billion after Alibaba’s

US-led strikes kill 865 people in Syria

DHAKA: Air strikes by US-led forces in Syria have killed 865 people, including 50 civilians, since the start of the campaign in late September against Daesh militants. A group monitoring the war said on Wednesday, reports gulfnews.com. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human

Thailand expects one million fewer tourists this year

DHAKA: Thailand expects around 25 million tourists this year, down one million from 2013, the government said on Wednesday, thanks in part to months of street protests in the capital which ended with a coup. Two unsolved murders of two young British tourists on the island of Koh Tao in