DHAKA: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the Geneva-2 conference on Syria should be held without delay because any delay will increase the number of victims in this conflict.‘Everyone agrees that this forum should take place as soon as possible,’ Lavrov said in an interview

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia officially told the United Nations that it would not be taking up a UN Security council seat, opening the way for Jordan to take the place.Saudi envoy to the United Nations Abdullah al-Mouallimi wrote to UN leader Ban Ki-moon to inform him of the move and reaffirm a

DHAKA: An abandoned puppy rescued from a rubbish dump in India has trekked to Everest Base Camp, becoming what is believed to be the first dog to tackle the peak.His owner said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.Former professional golfer Joanne Lefson told media she adopted the

DHAKA: Libya’s Berber minority will boycott a committee to draft a new national constitution, Berber leaders and the election commission said, in a move that complicates attempts to end oil and gas protests.Members of the Berber, or Amazigh, minority have halted gas exports to Italy and

DHAKA: At least 19 people were killed in bomb attacks targeting Iraqi police and pilgrims on Wednesday, police and medical sources said, just before the end of a Shia Muslim religious festival.No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which coincided with the holy

DHAKA: Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski on Wednesday apologised for the ‘absolutely scandalous’ ultra-nationalist rioting that occurred outside the Russian embassy in Warsaw and ignited a diplomatic row with Moscow.The havoc erupted on Monday on Polish independence day, when

DHAKA: Mobs overran a rice warehouse on the island worst hit by the Philippine typhoon, setting off a wall collapse that killed eight people and carting off thousands of sacks of the grain, while security forces Wednesday exchanged gunfire with an armed gang.The incidents in or close to

DHAKA: Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has pledged revenge against Shia Houthi rebels in northern Yemen for their assault on a Salafi school in Dammaj.Yemen Site Monitoring Service reported late on Tuesday, citing a statement from the group, reports The Jerusalem Post.Fighting

DHAKA: Deposed Islamist Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi said on Wednesday he was kidnapped and held by the Republican Guard and then at a naval base a day before he was formally ousted by the military.He also intends to sue the army-installed authorities over his ouster in July, his

DHAKA: Former Australian leader Kevin Rudd has announced his retirement from politics.In an emotional speech, the former Labor Party leader said he had not arrived at the decision lightly, reports the BBC.But Rudd, who served as prime minister twice, attributed the decision to his family

DHAKA: A young Frenchman who weighs 230 kilograms and was deemed too heavy to fly on a jetliner arrived in New York Tuesday to head home by ship.Kevin Chenais and his parents arrived at Penn Station in New York by train from Chicago.They will stay at a hotel in Brooklyn until they catch

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin was in South Korea Wednesday, pushing a pet project for a new trading route linking Asia and Europe by rail that requires prying open North Korea.The ambitious scheme envisages an ‘Iron Silk Road’ uniting the rail networks of South and North

DHAKA: India’s top police official was under fire on Wednesday for saying, ‘If you can’t prevent rape, you might as well enjoy it’.Central Bureau of Investigation chief Ranjit Sinha made the comment on Tuesday during a conference about illegal sports betting and the need to

DHAKA: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Vietnam have been elected to the UN`s human rights watchdog, despite concerns about their rights records.Campaign groups have condemned the election of the countries to the 47-seat Human Rights Council.Human Rights Watch said some new

DHAKA: Afghan opium cultivation has reached a record level, with more than 200,000 hectares planted with the poppy for the first time, the United Nations says.The UNODC report said the harvest was 36% up on last year, and if fully realised would outstrip global demand.Most of the rise was

DHAKA: Philippines President Benigno Aquino says the death toll from Friday`s typhoon may be lower than first thought.In an interview with CNN, he said the number of 10,000 killed was "too high" and the figure was more likely up to 2,500.The UN says more than 11 million people are

DHAKA: Egypt`s government says it is lifting the country`s three-month state of emergency and night-time curfew.The move comes two days earlier than expected, after a court ruling.An aide to the prime minister said the measures had ended at 14:00 GMT, but the government later said it was

DHAKA: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his housing minister to reconsider construction plans for more than 20,000 homes in the West Bank.He said the plans, announced by Housing Minister Uri Ariel earlier on Tuesday, would create unnecessary friction with the international

DHAKA: For hour after hour, driving into the heart of typhoon-stricken northern Cebu, it was the same picture.Hundreds of families, picking through the remains of their destroyed homes, hoping to find some treasured keepsakes; and children lining the roadside, for mile after mile,

DHAKA: The 30 people arrested following a Greenpeace protest at an Arctic oil rig were transferred to St Petersburg on Tuesday.Greenpeace International and Russian transport officials said, reports The Straits Times.A sealed wagon attached to a passenger train transported the group from