Saturday, 21 Dec, 2024

International

Fraud `hits 40 million US credit cards`

DHAKA: Payment details from up to 40 million credit cards could have been stolen after they were used in the stores of US retail giant Target.The retailer said it was investigating after discovering that thieves had gained access to its payment systems.The data breach began around 29

Peacekeepers killed at S Sudan UN base

DHAKA: Three Indian peacekeepers have been killed in an attack on a UN base in South Sudan, India`s UN envoy said.The UN said attackers from the country`s second-largest ethnic group forced their way into the Akobo base in conflict-wracked Jonglei state on Thursday, pursuing civilians

76 injured in London theatre

DHAKA: Seventy-six people have been injured, seven seriously, after part of a ceiling in London`s Apollo Theatre collapsed during a show, police say.The venue in Shaftesbury Avenue was packed for a performance of The Curious Incident Of The Dog in the Night-Time.Eyewitnesses heard "a

‘Maid tried to blackmail me’

DHAKA: An Indian diplomat who was arrested in New York City and accused of paying her housekeeper about $3 an hour had claimed the woman blackmailed her over the summer.An Indian official said Thursday, reports gulfnews.com.The case has sparked a diplomatic furore between the United

Rebels take key South Sudan town

DHAKA: South Sudanese rebels have taken over a key town, the military has said, as fighting continues after Sunday’s reported coup attempt.‘Our soldiers have lost control of Bor to the force of Riek Machar,’ said army spokesman Philip Aguer, reports the BBC.President Salva Kiir has

Putin praises US on Iran deal but says sanctions harmful

DHAKA: Russian president Vladimir Putin praised the US role in forging an interim deal to ease concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme but said he hoped the blacklisting of additional Iranian companies under existing sanctions would not undermine progress toward a comprehensive

Syrian Kurds demand independent delegation at Geneva

DHAKA: Syrian Kurds are demanding their own delegation separate from both the government and opposition at next month`s peace talks in Switzerland aimed at halting the conflict in Syria.Kurdish political leaders said on Thursday, reports The Jerusalem Post.The Kurds say they need

Egypt court drops charges against Mubarak’s last PM

DHAKA: An Egyptian court on Thursday dropped the last outstanding corruption case against Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafik, judicial sources said, possibly clearing the way for him to return from self-imposed exile.The court referred the case back to the prosecutor,

MB rejects terrorism charges against Mursi

DHAKA: The Muslim Brotherhood denounced the Egyptian authorities on Thursday for charging former president Mohamed Mursi and other Islamists with terrorism and conspiring with foreign groups, saying the allegations were ‘risible’.The Brotherhood also reiterated calls for all nations

UN finds systematic disappearances in Syria

DHAKA: A United Nations panel probing war crimes in Syria says people around the country are systematically vanishing without a trace as part of a widespread campaign of terror against civilians.The expert panel says it found ‘a consistent country-wide pattern’ of Syrian security,

India demands that US drop case against diplomat

DHAKA: India’s foreign minister has demanded that the United States drop a case against an Indian diplomat who was strip-searched after being arrested in New York City.Dr Deyvani Khobragade was accused of paying her Indian housekeeper far less than she had claimed on a visa

22 killed as suicide bomber hits Shias in Iraq

DHAKA: A suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt among Shia pilgrims in Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 17 people, while militants shot dead a family of five.Iraq officials said, reports TDS.The attack on the pilgrims in the Dura area of south Baghdad took place at a tent where

Tibetan monk sets self on fire in China

DHAKA: A Tibetan monk set himself on fire in northwest China on Thursday, state media said, in what Tibetan media described as a suicide in protest against Chinese policies.The monk, 43, ‘committed self-immolation’, in Gansu province, which has a heavy ethnic Tibetan population,

Saudi jailed 15 years for ‘Qaeda recruiting’

DHAKA: A Saudi court has jailed a man for 15 years after convicting him of recruiting 14 nationals to join Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in neighbouring Yemen.Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Thursday, says The Straits Times.A Riyadh court specialised in security cases convicted the unnamed Saudi

Tokyo governor resigns in money scandal

DHAKA: Tokyo’s governor, one of the main faces of the mega-city’s successful bid to host the 2020 Olympics, resigned December 19 after admitting he was naive for accepting an undeclared $500,000 from a hospital tycoon.Naoki Inose, who was elected head of one of the world’s biggest

Chinese military to guard Syria chemical weapons destruction

DHAKA: China is to send a military ship to help protect a specially adapted US vessel that will destroy Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.China foreign ministry said on Thursday, reports The Jerusalem Post.Syria is due to hand over deadly toxins which can be used to make sarin, VX gas

Mandela signer admitted to psychiatric hospital

DHAKA: The sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial, who claimed schizophrenia after being accused of being an arm-flapping fraud, has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital.South African media reported on Thursday, says Times of India.Thamsanqa Jantjie sparked outrage

‘Iran can resume 20% enrichment in less than 24 hours’

DHAKA: Iran can resume 20 percent uranium enrichment in less than 24 hours, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a day before the resumption of talks in Vienna on how to implement an interim nuclear deal aimed at temporarily freezing Iran’s nuclear programme.Zarif told

`Billion star mapper` set for launch

DHAKA: Europe is about to launch the Gaia satellite - one of the most ambitious space missions in history.The 740m-euro (£620m) observatory is going to map the precise positions and distances to more than a billion stars, reports BBC.This should give us the first realistic picture of how

Nearly 1,000 killed in CAR, says Amnesty

DHAKA:  Nearly 1,000 men were killed over a two-day period this month in the Central African Republic, according to Amnesty International.The human rights group said Wednesday that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in that country, reports CNN."Crimes that have