DHAKA: An assembly of more than 2,000 Afghan elders is due to discuss the text of a long-awaited bilateral security agreement with the US.The deal to be debated at the Loya Jirga will determine the presence of US troops in the country after 2014.A draft reportedly says the Afghan

DHAKA: World powers resumed efforts to clinch a preliminary deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme at talks in Geneva on Wednesday, with Russia and Britain confident that agreement can be reached.Seeking to end a long standoff and head off the risk of a wider Middle East war, the United

DHAKA: A powerful cyclone was hurtling on Wednesday towards India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, a month after a killer storm forced one million people to flee their homes, officials said.The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) advised the state administration to

DHAKA: Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon narrowly escaped a twin suicide bombing outside the embassy that killed 23 people, including an aide and four guards.An Iranian diplomatic source said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.‘Ambassador Ghazanfar Rokn-Abadi was on his way with

DHAKA: The remaining differences between Iran and world powers over a potential deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme are narrow and a historic deal is within reach.British foreign secretary William Hague said on Wednesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.‘The differences that remain

DHAKA: Fred Sanger, a double Nobel Prize-winning British biochemist whose work pioneered research into the human genome, has died at the age of 95.The University of Cambridge said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.Sanger, who once described himself as ‘just a chap who messed about

DHAKA: Hundreds of workers shouted slogans on Wednesday outside a Nokia factory in southern China to protest against what they called unfair compensation after the company sold its mobile telephones business to Microsoft Corp.Lack of trust in employers has often led Chinese workers to

DHAKA: Russia is hopeful that talks between Iran and world powers will produce a preliminary deal this week to ease the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme.Russia foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Iranian negotiators and diplomats from the

DHAKA: Israel successfully tested its newest missile defence system on Wednesday, a key step toward making the third and final leg of the country’s three-part defence system operational by next year.Israel’s defence ministry said, reports TDS.‘David’s Sling,’ also known as

DHAKA: Pakistan’s teenage activist Malala Yousafzai was Wednesday handed the EU’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize.To thunderous applause announcing the European Parliament prize, the assembly’s president Martin Schulz praised the 16-year-old’s crusade for all children’s

DHAKA: A UN General Assembly committee condemned Syria for widespread human rights abuses and expressed concern about such violations in Iran, North Korea and Myanmar, but also welcomed pledges by Iran and Myanmar’s presidents to improve some areas.The draft resolution on Iran was

DHAKA: Syria’s over 1,000 tonnes of chemical weapons and precursors could be destroyed at sea if no country agrees to dispose of them on its soil.The world’s chemical watchdog said Wednesday, reports daily Hurriyet.‘This possibility has been looked at for some time already,’

DHAKA: A spate of bombings in the Iraqi capital Baghdad mostly targeting Shia neighbourhoods has killed at least 28 people and wounded 65, security and medical officials said.Wednesday’s blasts struck across Baghdad from around 7:30am (0430 GMT) onwards, according to the officials who

DHAKA: The Pakistani government formed a special three-member tribunal on Wednesday to prosecute former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on treason charges for suspending the constitution in 2007.It comes after the government announced Sunday it would open treason proceedings against

DHAKA: The White House attempted to play down the impact of the limited lifting of economic sanctions that would take place under a nuclear deal being negotiated with Iran.US president Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, told CNN the amount of Iranian assets that would

DHAKA: Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran wanted friendly ties with all countries, including the United States, on the day Iran begins a new round of talks with world powers on its disputed nuclear programme.‘We want to have friendly relations with

DHAKA: Afghans fleeing fighting at home and seeking refuge in neighbouring Iran face increasing persecution by the Iranian government.Human Rights Watch said in a report on Wednesday, says The Jerusalem Post.The report, ‘Unwelcome Guests’, details a growth in arbitrary arrests,

DHAKA: Indonesia will immediately cease all joint military training and operations as well as exchange of information and intelligence with Australia.Indonesia president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday in the latest salvo as a bilateral row escalated, reports The Straits

DHAKA: China’s president Xi Jinping told his Iranian counterpart to seize the opportunity to improve relations with world powers, as diplomats hope to clinch a preliminary deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in charged talks resuming in Geneva on Wednesday.The United States, Russia,

DHAKA: At least 10 Egyptian soldiers are reported killed and several more wounded in a car bomb attack near the North Sinai city of el-Arish.Al-Masri al-Youm newspaper said a convoy of buses carrying infantry soldiers was hit by a roadside bomb as it moved through the Kharouba area.The