DHAKA: Thailand’s army chief is to hold talks with key players in the political crisis, a day after declaring martial law in the protest-hit nation. General Prayuth Chan-Ocha has asked to meet the government, the Senate speaker and the two main protest factions. After the talks it

DHAKA: Thousands of police in at least 14 Brazilian states are holding a one-day strike over pay. The strike takes place less than a month before the beginning of the football World Cup, in another hiccup in preparations for the event. The industrial action affects several World Cup

DHAKA: Narendra Modi, who will be sworn in as India's Prime Minister on Monday, is expected to resign as chief minister around 3pm Wednesday after attending a special session of the state legislative assembly where he will be given a farewell. Later at 4 pm he will attend the meeting of

DHAKA:  At least 118 people were killed Tuesday in twin blasts at a market in the central Nigerian city of Jos, an official said, warning the toll could climb. The explosions, which targeted Terminus market, went off some 20 to 30 minutes apart, setting fire to the entire venue, reports

DHAKA: Nigeria has formally asked the UN Security Council al Qaeda sanctions committee to blacklist the Islamist militant group Boko Haram after the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls. UN diplomats said on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times. If there is no objection by the 15-member

DHAKA: Russia and Western powers are on the brink of a new Cold War over the crisis in Ukraine. Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times. ‘Basically we are slowly but surely approaching a second Cold War that nobody

DHAKA: Thailand’s opposition demonstrators vowed on Tuesday to keep up their campaign to topple the government, despite the imposition of martial law by the military to quell political violence. ‘We will still keep fighting - we have not won at all,’ protest leader Suthep

DHAKA: Ukraine confirmed on Tuesday that Russia had pulled its troops back from the border for the first time in a move that could ease spiralling tensions five days ahead of a make-or-break presidential poll. The state border service's surprise announcement that none of the estimated

DHAKA: Narendra Modi will be sworn in as Indian prime minister and form a government on May 26, after winning the general election in a landslide last week. The president of his right-wing party said on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times. ‘Narendra Modi’s swearing-in as prime

DHAKA: Thailand’s caretaker prime minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan said on Tuesday he had asked the Election Commission to organise an election on August 3. Niwatthamrong also said he would talk to the army chief ‘as soon as possible’ to end the country’s political crisis,

DHAKA: The BJP leadership made some progress in settling top slots in government with party chief Rajnath Singh tipped to be the home minister while senior leader Arun Jaitley could be the next finance minister. While a degree of clarity is emerging on ministry formation, the BJP is yet

DHAKA: At least four people were killed and 15 injured on Tuesday after parts of a freight train derailed and collided with a passenger train south of Moscow. The emergencies ministry said, reports The Times of India. The ministry said the accident occurred at 1:00pm local time (0900

DHAKA: Narendra Modi was unanimously elected as the leader of BJP parliamentary party on Tuesday with the Prime Minister-designate saying the election result was a vote for ‘new hope and aspiration’ and he would try his best to live up to the expectations of the people of the country.

DHAKA: The US has sent 130 more military advisors to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says.The marines and special operations forces will assess the humanitarian situation and will not be engaged in combat, a US defence official said.The US has been

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama has led tributes to US actor and comedian Robin Williams, who has been found dead, aged 63, in an apparent suicide.Marin County Police in California said Williams was pronounced dead at his home after officials responded to an emergency call around

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia told Israel on Tuesday that it must reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians if it is to survive as a nation, and criticized Muslims for being divided and failing to stop the Jewish state attacking its Arab neighbors.‘Israel has to realize that peace is the

DHAKA: The killings of at least 817 people by Egyptian security forces last year probably amount to a crime against humanity.Human Rights Watch says, reports the BBC.A report by the US-based group says 1,000 or more people probably died in one day around Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque.The deaths

DHAKA: Several thousand civilians remain trapped by militants on a mountain in northern Iraq and need ‘life-saving assistance’.The United Nations warns, reports the BBC.Members of the Yazidi sect fled there 10 days ago after fighters from Islamic State (IS) seized the town of

DHAKA: South Africa’s ex-president Thabo Mbeki has called for a boycott of Israeli goods to show solidarity with Palestinians.The public should mobilise against Israel so that it ‘does pay a price for the position that it is taking’, Mbeki said in the capital, Pretoria, reports

DHAKA: US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Israel and the Palestinians to utilize the temporary cease-fire in Gaza. He also urged the groups for ensuing indirect diplomatic negotiations in Egypt to reach talks regarding a ‘bigger, broader approach to a two-state solution’. In