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

DHAKA: Turkish police have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Istanbul and Ankara on the first anniversary of deadly anti-government protests. Some 25,000 police surrounded and blocked Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the epicentre of the 2013 rallies. PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier

DHAKA: At least 16 people were missing after a helicopter believed to be carrying top regional officials and businessmen crashed into a lake in north-western Russia. Russia police and the emergencies ministry said on Sunday, reports The Straits Times. According to preliminary

DHAKA: German magazine Der Spiegel says British PM David Cameron warned that the UK could leave the EU if Luxembourg ex-PM Jean-Claude Juncker became president of the European Commission. It reported Cameron as saying that the appointment could destabilise his government, which may bring

DHAKA: Thousands of police and soldiers have been deployed around the Thai capital, Bangkok, to try to prevent anti-coup protesters from gathering. Parts of the city centre have been blocked off to traffic, and train stations are closed. Activists have been using social media to call

DHAKA: China strongly denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and United States Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel Sunday for "provocative" remarks accusing Beijing of destabilising actions in contested regional waters. Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the general staff

DHAKA: The mystery of how Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 flew into oblivion, and the challenge of finding new ways to track aircraft, will hang over the annual conference of airlines that opens Sunday in Doha. The loss of the Malaysia Airlines plane, with 239 people on board, was a shock

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama says he received security guarantees from Qatar over five Guantanamo Bay prisoners who were transferred to secure the release of a US soldier in Afghanistan. US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed to US forces after being held for nearly five

DHAKA: The only US soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed as part of a swap deal with the Taliban, brokered by the government of Qatar. Bowe Bergdahl's release was part of a negotiation that included the freeing of five high-profile Afghan prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay,

DHAKA: The son of the Brazilian football legend Pele has been sentenced to 33 years in jail for laundering money raised from drug trafficking. Edinho is a retired footballer who played goalkeeper for Pele's old club, Santos, in the 1990s, reports the BBC. He was first arrested in 2005

DHAKA: The boss of Europe’s biggest home improvements retailer Kingfisher said on Saturday that a vote for independence from the United Kingdom would make Scotland a less attractive place in which to invest. Kingfisher, which operates the DIY chain B&Q across Britain as well as

DHAKA: Pakistani army officers said the military, backed by helicopter gunships, killed 14 militants in a clash near the Afghan border in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region. The officers said a group of insurgents sneaked into Pakistan on Saturday and attacked a military checkpoint,

DHAKA: Nick Clegg accused the controversial mayor of Tower Hamlets of ‘arrogance’ as he backed an investigation into the borough’s chaotic election process. UK’s Deputy Prime Minister launched an extraordinary attack on Lutfur Rahman amid allegations of voter intimidation at

DHAKA: Flights into and out of the northern Australian city of Darwin were cancelled on Saturday and some to Bali affected due to huge ash clouds thrown up by an Indonesian volcano. Indonesia’s Sangeang Api volcano began erupting on Friday and its ash is sweeping south towards

DHAKA: A roadside bomb has killed 12 civilians in eastern Afghanistan, officials have said. Afghan provincial officials in Ghazni said two minivans hit a roadside bomb in Giro district, Al Jazeera publishes this reports without mentioning the date. The passengers in the two vehicles

DHAKA: Union minister Smriti Irani has requested the Delhi University (DU) to reinstate five officials who were suspended for leaking her documents amid a controversy over her educational qualifications. ‘Since DU is an autonomous institution I have put forth my personal appeal to the

DHAKA: A Chinese military official on Saturday blasted the United States for making ‘threats’ after the US defence chief accused Beijing of inflaming tensions in the disputed South China Sea. China state television reported, says The Straits Times. US defense secretary Chuck Hagel