Thursday, 16 Jan, 2025

International

4 on trial for China knife attack

DHAKA: Four people were convicted Friday of plotting a knife attack that killed 31 people at a railway station in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming.A court in the city said in an online statement the accused led a terrorist group that planned and executed the attack, which

Malala’s attackers arrested

DHAKA: The Pakistani army said Friday it had arrested the gunmen who tried to kill schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousafzai in the country’s restive northwest in 2012.The teenage activist was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen but recovered and went on to earn international plaudits

Yahoo ‘threatened’ by US govt with fine

DHAKA: Yahoo said the US government threatened to fine it $250,000 a day if the search giant failed to hand over user data.According to court documents, the National Security Agency (NSA) had demanded that Yahoo comply with new surveillance rules, something the company said was

CIA triples estimate of Islamic State strength

DHAKA: Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria now have about 20,000 to 31,500 fighters on the ground. The Central Intelligence Agency said this which is much higher than a previous estimate of 10,000. Among those in Syria are 15,000 foreign fighters including 2,000 Westerners, some

Australia terror alert level high

DHAKA: Australia has raised its terror alert level to "high" for the first time since the national alert system was introduced in 2003, reports CNN. According to the four-level system, a reading of "high" means a terrorist attack "is likely," however the country's Prime Minister Tony

Pakistan rushes to protect cities from floods

DHAKA: Pakistani authorities Thursday moved to protect two major cities from raging floodwaters, readying explosives to divert swollen rivers, in a crisis which has hit nearly two million people.The floods and landslides from days of heavy monsoon rains have now claimed more than 450

10 Arab states to help US-led against IS

DHAKA: Ten Arab states, including heavyweight Saudi Arabia, agreed on Thursday in Jeddah to rally behind Washington in the fight against Islamic State jihadists, as it seeks to build an international coalition."The participating states agreed to do their share in the comprehensive

‘Scotland is on cusp of making history’

DHAKA: Scotland is on the ‘cusp of making history’ by voting for independence, the country’s first minister has predicted.Alex Salmond described the independence referendum as a ‘process of national empowerment’ and said the country was ‘rediscovering self confidence’ and

Russia warns US against strikes on IS in Syria

DHAKA: Russia has warned that US air strikes against militants in Syria would be a ‘gross violation’ of international law.A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said any such action, without the backing of the UN, would be ‘an act of aggression’, reports the BBC.‘The US

Japan newspaper apologises for false Fukushima report

DHAKA: The publisher of Japan’s leading newspaper apologised to readers on Thursday for several serious errors in its reporting, retracting an article that claimed workers abandoned their posts during the Fukushima nuclear disaster.Asahi’s publisher Tadakazu Kimura, speaking at a

US marks 9/11 attacks anniv

DHAKA: Americans on Thursday marked the 13th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, with somber ceremonies of remembrance in New York and Washington.President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and vice president Joe Biden observed a moment of silence on the White House south

Russia still has around 1,000 troops in Ukraine

DHAKA: Russia still has around 1,000 troops in eastern Ukraine, a Nato military officer said on Thursday, casting doubt on reports of a reduction in Russian forces there.Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday he had information that 70 percent of Russian troops who had

Hamas says may have to talk directly with Israel

DHAKA: Hamas’s exiled deputy leader said Thursday the group could be forced to negotiate directly with Israel, ahead of planned talks in Cairo to consolidate a truce.But an Israeli minister dismissed any possibility of talking directly with the Islamist movement, whose charter calls

India test fires nuclear-capable missile

DHAKA: In another successful demonstration of the missile programme, the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) successfully fired the short range Agni-1 missile propelled by a solid rocket propellant system, from Wheeler’s Island, off Odisha’s coast, on Thursday.The missile, which has a

Myanmar lifts curfew in violence-racked state capital

DHAKA: Myanmar on Thursday lifted a curfew imposed in June 2012 when clashes between Buddhists and minority Muslims erupted throughout western Rakhine state, killing at least 192 people that year.Most victims of the violence were Muslim Rohingyas, who live under apartheid-like

Syria rebels free UN peacekeepers

DHAKA: The Syrian rebel group the Nusra Front has released all UN peacekeepers from Fiji, Al Jazeera has learned. The 44 peacekeepers were expected to cross from Syria into the Israeli side of the Golan Heights. On Wednesday the group posted a video on its Twitter and YouTube accounts

SNC welcomes Obama speech on IS

DHAKA: Syria’s Western-backed National Coalition opposition  (SNC) on Thursday urged US Congress to approve as soon as possible president Barack Obama’s policy on Islamic State militants after he authorized US airstrikes for the first time in Syria.‘The Syrian Coalition ...

Saudi to back US in training moderate Syrians

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia has indicated it would be willing to host a training program for moderate Syrian opposition fighters.American officials told the New York Times on Wednesday night, The Jerusalem Post publishes this report on Thursday.A senior State Department official told the Times

Syria jihadists to free 45 UN peacekeepers

DHAKA: Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front has said it will free 45 Fijian UN peacekeepers whom it kidnapped after the capture of a border crossing with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In a video released late Wednesday through its media wing, the group said it had consulted

‘Thai coup leaders must end repression’

DHAKA: Thailand’s military government has engaged in ‘widespread’ human rights violations since the May coup.Amnesty International says, reports the BBC.In a report, the rights group cited arbitrary detentions, a clampdown on free speech, allegations of beatings and unfair trials