DHAKA: Taliban insurgents threatened on Monday to attack Afghanistan’s run-off presidential election, warning voters to stay away from polling stations for fear of injury or death. Afghans are due to go to the polls on June 14 to choose whether Ashraf Ghani or Abdullah Abdullah should

DHAKA: Spanish King Juan Carlos will abdicate in favour of his son Prince Felipe, the nation announced on Monday, ending a 39-year reign that ushered in democracy but was later battered by royal scandals. The 76-year-old monarch, crowned in November 1975 after the death of General

DHAKA: Clashes and shelling on Sunday in and around the conflict-hit city of Fallujah, which lies just a short drive from Baghdad, killed 22 people. A doctor said, reports The Straits Times. Sunday’s unrest, which also left 36 wounded, struck in multiple areas of the city and its

DHAKA: Rocket fire from Gaza and Syria hit Israel early Monday in two separate incidents that prompted the Israeli military to hit back, just hours before the swearing in of a new Palestinian government. The exchanges of fire took place as palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was to unveil

DHAKA: Three brothers have confessed their involvement in the gang rape of two teenage girls in India. The Straits Times publishes this report quoting a police official. The men pleaded guilty to the rape charges but have not admitted to killing the girls, police spokesman Mukesh Saxena

DHAKA: Heavy fighting is ongoing in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, apparently between the armed group Ansar al-Shariah and irregular forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar. A former army general, reports Al Jazeera. Witnesses said on Monday that gunfire, which began the day before, could

DHAKA: A suicide attack killed three Turkish engineers and wounded another on Monday in eastern Afghanistan. Officials said, reports The Straits Times. ‘Around 7:15am, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed motorbike targeting a minibus belong to Turkish engineers in Behsud

DHAKA: A solar-powered plane that will be taken on a round-the-world journey in 2015 has made its inaugural flight. The Solar Impulse 2 vehicle lifted off from Payerne airfield in Switzerland at just after 03:35 GMT (04:35 BST; 05:35 CEST), returning two hours later. It is a larger,

DHAKA: K Chandrasekhar Rao took oath of office on Monday morning as the first chief minister of Telangana, India's 29th state, created at midnight yesterday by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh. As he was sworn in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "India gets a new state! We welcome

DHAKA: A bombing in a bar in Nigeria's northeast has killed at least 14 people and injured another 14 in the second attack targeting football fans in a fortnight. The blast on Sunday hit the town of Mubi in Adamawa state, one of three in the northeast which has been under a state of

DHAKA: At midnight, India got its 29th state in the form of Telangana, which has been carved out of Andhra Pradesh after decades of struggle. The supporters of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which has been at the forefront of the movement to create a separate Telangana state, have

DHAKA: Sri Lanka’s navy said on Sunday that it had seized 29 Indian fishermen, the first arrests since president Mahinda Rajapakse and India’s new premier held talks on resolving the thorny issue of poaching. The navy arrested the Indians along with six trawlers off the island’s

DHAKA: US defence secretary Chuck Hagel has praised US forces in Afghanistan over the release of a US soldier held for nearly five years by the Taliban. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed to US special forces in south-eastern Afghanistan as part of a prisoner swap. Hagel met some of

DHAKA: Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar Sunday hailed the release of five senior insurgents in exchange for United States soldier Bowe Bergdahl as a ‘big victory’. ‘I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation, all the mujahideen and to the

DHAKA: The father of one of two girls that were gang raped and lynched in northern India said on Sunday he had refused compensation from the state government he blamed for failing to stop the horrendous crime. The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he only wanted justice

DHAKA: The father of one of two girls that were gang raped and lynched in northern India said on Sunday he had refused compensation from the state government he blamed for failing to stop the horrendous crime. The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he only wanted justice

DHAKA: United States defence secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Afghanistan on a surprise visit on Sunday, following the release of soldier Bowe Bergdahl, held hostage by the Taliban for five years. A US defence official said, reports The Straits Times. Hagel arrived at Bagram Airfield, a

DHAKA: Thailand’s former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Sunday expressed her gratitude to supporters in a message on social media. Xinhua reported, says The Straits Times. ‘In the past week, many changes took place in our country. Many of you have expressed concern and asked

DHAKA: Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun seized by gunmen in northern Cameroon in April have been freed. Officials say, reports the BBC. The ex-hostages are said to have boarded a plane to Yaounde on Sunday. The three were kidnapped by gunmen from the building where they were

DHAKA: Thailand is not retreating from democracy and seeks understanding from its economic and strategic partners while the country undergoes political reforms. A top Thai official said on Sunday, reports The Straits Times. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand’s permanent secretary for