DHAKA: Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa`s first black president, was regarded as one of the great figures of the past century for his generosity of spirit, sacrifices in the name of equality and his efforts to reconcile the races in South Africa amid the

DHAKA: South Africa`s first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, South Africa`s president says.Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa`s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.He had been receiving intense home-based medical care

DHAKA: Almost five billion mobile phone location records are logged by the National Security Agency every day.The Washington Post reports, says the BBC.The data is said to help the NSA track individuals, and map who they know, to aid the agency’s anti-terror work.The ‘dragnet

DHAKA: Pope Francis on Thursday set up a committee to fight child sex abuse in the Catholic Church and give pastoral care to victims following a recommendation from a council of cardinals he has asked to advise him.The announcement was made by United States cardinal Sean O’Malley, the

DHAKA: A series of attacks at Yemen`s defence ministry have left at least 29 dead and more than 70 hurt, officials say.A suicide car bomb blew up at the gates of the complex in Sanaa’s Bab al-Yaman district, at the entrance to the old city, and a gunbattle followed at a hospital

DHAKA: Two Libyan soldiers were shot dead in separate incidents Thursday in the increasingly lawless eastern city of Benghazi, security officials said.The killings are the latest in a spate of attacks in Benghazi on members of the military and the police force, as the North African nation

DHAKA: Britons may have to work for longer before claiming a state pension, under further austerity plans to be presented by finance minister George Osborne in a Budget update on Thursday.Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne has already written to ministers explaining that another £3

DHAKA: Rebels loyal to Al-Qaeda have kidnapped and executed an Iraqi freelance cameraman working in northern Syria.A press freedom watchdog told media on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.‘Yasser Faysal al-Joumaili’s execution was the first of a foreign journalist in Syria’s

DHAKA: Five girls of a family, aged between 8 and 13 years, were allegedly shot dead in their sleep at a village in Gaya in Bihar Wednesday night.The girls, who were cousins, were alone in their house when the attackers allegedly barged in and shot them.A district official said the girls

DHAKA: Egypt’s public prosecutor referred three political activists to trial on Thursday on charges including protesting without permission, a judicial source said.It was the first case of activists being charged under the provisions of a new law criticized for stifling the right to

DHAKA: Japanese police said on Thursday they have arrested a woman for calling them more than 15,000 times over a six-month period.Authorities repeatedly visited the 44-year-old and asked her to cease and desist.When she failed to stop making the calls, which started in May, police

DHAKA: Floods in Malaysia this year are shaping up to be one of the worst since 2007, with more than 34,000 people evacuated so far and water levels continuing to rise in Johor, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.By Wednesday evening, the Johor authorities had evacuated 8,402 people from

DHAKA: At least 20 people were killed and dozens wounded on Thursday in a bomb attack and gun battles at Yemen’s defence ministry compound in Sanaa.A military source told media, reports The Jerusalem Post.Those killed include a number of militants who stormed the compound after a bomb

DHAKA: A US-based thinktank has claimed that India is expanding its ability to produce highly enriched uranium for military purposes, including more powerful nuclear weapons, citing satellite imagery of an under construction gas centrifuge facility near Mysore.In their latest report,

DHAKA: Dangerous radioactive medical material taken when a truck was stolen in Mexico has been found, local officials say.The material, cobalt-60, was removed from a protective casing and then abandoned nearby.The thieves may have been exposed to life-threatening radiation levels, but

DHAKA: Thailand’s revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej asked the nation to work together for ‘stability’, speaking at an event to mark his 86th birthday during a lull in political tensions after violent anti-government protests.The monarch, who is treated as a near-deity by many Thais,

DHAKA: An explosion and fighting have been reported near Yemen`s defence ministry building in the capital Sanaa.Smoke was seen rising from the complex in Bab al-Yaman district, at the entrance to the old city, reports the BBC.Witnesses heard gunshots as an ambulance rushed to the scene.

DHAKA: US President Barack Obama has called for action to remedy what he described as profound income inequality and a lack of social mobility in the United States of America.He called for a rise in the minimum wage and for stronger collective bargaining laws, among other measures,

DHAKA: Venezuela’s embassy in Kenya used diplomatic bags to smuggle drugs, a witness in a trial over the murder of the mission’s ambassador told a Nairobi court Wednesday.‘I am aware that the embassy was used to traffic drugs using the diplomatic bag,’ former embassy driver Kevin

DHAKA: Iraq’s prime minister has arrived in Iran’s capital for a three-day visit that will focus on the civil war in Syria and bilateral ties.Iranian state television says Nouri al-Maliki will hold talks with Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, president Hassan Rouhani and