DHAKA: A mining firm has revealed the discovery of an "exceptional" 122.52-carat blue diamond. Petra Diamonds said the discovery was made at the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The London-based firm saw its share price rise more than 6% in early Friday trades as a result of the

DHAKA: A Ukrainian military plane was shot down overnight Friday, killing all 49 people on board, a spokesman said. It is likely one of the bloodiest single events in that nation's current period of turmoil. The Ilyushin-76 military transport plane went down while approaching an airport

DHAKA: Afghans are voting in run-off polls that will determine who will succeed President Hamid Karzai. The choice is between former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani. It should be the first time that power in Afghanistan has been democratically

DHAKA: Iraq’s most senior Shia cleric has issued a call to arms as Sunni-led insurgents seize more towns. The call by a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came during Friday prayers, as the militants widened their grip in the north and east, and threatened to march south.

DHAKA: The families of passengers on the missing Malaysian passenger plane have begun to receive initial compensation payments of $50,000 (£30,000). So far six Malaysian families and one Chinese family have received the money, and insurers are assessing the claims of 40 more Chinese

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama on Thursday said his government is looking at "all options" to help Iraq fight Islamists militants, including military action.His remarks came after the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Tikrit fell to Sunni Islamist insurgents during a lightning advance.Obama

DHAKA: At least five people were killed and over 40 reportedly injured due to a leakage in a methane gas pipeline at a water pump house in the Bhilai steel plant in Chhattisgarh on Thursday night.According to sources, the incident took place at about 7:00pm. Though the officials claim

DHAKA: Police in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo have used tear gas to break up a protest against the football World Cup, hours before the city hosts the opening match. At least one person was arrested, reported BBC. Protesters said they planned to march close to the stadium where the

DHAKA: An Indian woman said on Thursday that she was gang-raped by four officers at a police station, the latest in a string of shocking sex attacks in the troubled state of Uttar Pradesh. The woman said she had gone to the station overnight on Monday in the state’s Hamirpur district

DHAKA: A Pakistan court has backed ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s request to leave the country. The Sindh High Court removed Musharraf’s name from an exit control list on Thursday. The former leader is currently barred from leaving Pakistan. The government has 15 days to

DHAKA: A prominent anti-coup activist in Thailand faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted of incitement, computer crimes and ignoring a summons by the junta. Police said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times. Sombat Boonngamanong, who led a social media campaign to stage peaceful

DHAKA: Japan on Thursday summoned the Chinese ambassador to complain about fighter jets flying ‘dangerously’ close to two of its military planes over the East China Sea. Officials said, reports The Straits Times. In the latest up-close confrontation between the two sides, Tokyo said

DHAKA: A 10-year-old home-schooled California boy with presidential ambitions, who at age 4, became one of the youngest Americans admitted to the high-IQ society Mensa, has received his high school diploma, his mother said. Tanishq Abraham got his diploma on Sunday in a ceremony at the

DHAKA: The economic crisis in Europe and North America led to more than 10,000 extra suicides, according to figures from UK researchers. A study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, showed ‘suicides have risen markedly’. The research group said some deaths may have been

DHAKA: Ground staff at Rio de Janeiro's airports plan to stage a 24-hour partial strike on Thursday, the day Brazil hosts the opening match of the football World Cup. The workers vowed to maintain 80 percent service but the strike will raise fears of delays as thousands of football fans

DHAKA: Iraq's prime minister has asked the United States to carry out drone and air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters, but the US has so far refused to get involved, according to a report.  The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the request was

DHAKA: The US has resumed its drones programme in Pakistan, with two strikes on militant strongholds in the North Waziristan tribal region overnight. Officials say at least three militants were killed with reports of 16 dead. It come days after militants attacked Karachi international

DHAKA: Thailand's ruling junta has ordered TV regulators to ensure that football fans will not have to pay to watch any matches at the World Cup. The military said it was part of its "happiness campaign", which has seen a number of policy gimmicks, such as free haircuts and concerts.

DHAKA: Turkish Mosul Consulate Öztürk Yılmaz had prepared a discharge plan on June 10 when they realized that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had approached 200 meters from consulate compound, but was unable to fully implement the plan due to security circumstances in

DHAKA: Öztürk Yılmaz, Turkey’s consul general in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul who was abducted by Islamist militants on Wednesday. He has previously served as an advisor to Turkey’s prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Turkish officials have learned that the Turkish Mosul